Chapter 88 Craps [VIP]
Chapter Summary: I'm wondering whether I should go back to China.
December, Boston.
The thick snow piled up on the windshield of the car, forming a blanket-like layer. Fu Xianyin reached out and touched it; the layer closest to the window had already frozen into ice, clinging firmly to the glass.
Fu Xianyin sighed, cursed herself for being a gambling addict, and resignedly began shoveling snow.
She didn't get home until the early hours of this morning. She lost focus when turning a corner, took the wrong turn, and was too lazy to turn back to the apartment's underground parking garage, so she just parked on the ground.
When she locked the car, she forgot to take the window cover out of the trunk and put it back on.
Since she already had one foot in the apartment, Fu Xianyin was too lazy to bother anymore and could only comfort herself by saying that the snow wouldn't be too heavy that night.
The result is that I can't be a gambler.
It snowed heavily all night last night, and when Fu Xianyin opened the curtains this morning, she saw nothing but white.
A thick layer of snow had accumulated on the ground, along the roadside, and even on some of the low rooftops nearby.
Even the snow falling from the sky didn't stop; large flakes of snow fell boldly.
For a fleeting moment, Fu Xianyin even felt as if she had returned to the night before the college entrance examination.
White paper scraps fluttered down, covering the ground in a white blanket.
The cold wind outside the window made Fu Xianyin shiver. She closed the window and smiled helplessly.
This is already her sixth year in the United States.
It has been six years since she left Beichuan.
Fu Xianyin walked into the living room, made herself a cup of coffee, and the cold liquid forced her still somewhat groggy brain to start working again. She casually tossed the cup into the dishwasher, then opened the refrigerator to check her food supplies.
She's been too busy lately and hasn't gone grocery shopping in a long time. The empty refrigerator contains only some instant food and drinks, and a lone egg.
Fu Xianyin cracked the eggs into a pan and fried them, then went to the freezer to find something to eat.
There was a bagel in the freezer. It was lying in a sealed bag, frozen solid.
It's to the point that it could be used as a murder weapon.
She didn't know when she bought the bagel, but it had always been kept in the freezer. Fu Xianyin was the type who believed that "food in the freezer lives forever," so she took out the bagel and tossed it into the air fryer to toast it.
There's not much to wear in the depths of Boston's winter.
Fu Xianyin casually wore a hoodie and jeans underneath, with a thick down jacket on top, and casually clipped her long hair up before heading to school for work.
The university system in the United States is relatively more relaxed, and when Fu Xianyin first arrived at school, it happened to be one of the worst years of her life. Everything around her was unfamiliar: a strange environment, an unfamiliar language, and even the food was difficult to swallow.
The thing I'm most familiar with is actually studying.
So Fu Xianyin simply filled her life with studying.
She spent three years completing her undergraduate degree and then applied directly to MIT for her PhD.
This year marks her third year of pursuing her PhD.
It's less like going to school and more like starting a job when you're pursuing a PhD.
This semester, she needs to teach some undergraduate physics courses for lower-level students. In addition to teaching, she also has her own research projects to do with her professors, so her life is not easy at all.
But Fu Xianyin seemed quite happy.
Although what she was doing was tiring and difficult, it was also the direction that Fu Xianyin liked.
In terms of daily life, over the years, things that were once unfamiliar have long since become habits.
Last night's blizzard had left a layer of snow on the roads, and Fu Xianyin, fearing she might lose control of the car, didn't drive too fast, as did the cars around her. Normally, at that speed, someone would have honked long ago, but after the blizzard, everyone was prioritizing their safety, and everyone was driving slowly.
Upon arriving at the school, Fu Xianyin stretched and went into her office.
Before leaving home this morning, she received an email from her supervisor, asking her to go to his office to see him after arriving at the school.
My advisor's name is Andrew, a very kind and good-natured old man. Fu Xianyin has excellent grades and is patient enough to do those tedious experiments. Andrew liked her very much from the moment she entered the school. In the past few years, he has not only guided her on many good projects, but also introduced her to many big names in the industry.
He genuinely cared for and loved Fu Xianyin, his student.
Fu Xianyin also liked him very much.
She knocked on the door symbolically, and after hearing the sounds inside, she pushed the door open and went into the office.
Andrew was working at his desk when he saw Fu Xianyin come in and beamed with joy.
Fu Xianyin placed a bag of chocolates on Andrew's desk and said, "We don't have many snacks at home, but we have some in the car. Try some."
Andrew glanced at the chocolate, then turned his head away, saying, "I need to think about my health."
Having known Andrew for so long, Fu Xianyin was already familiar with his temperament.
She didn't stand on ceremony with her mentor at all, tearing off a piece and throwing it into her mouth, saying as she chewed, "If you won't eat it, I will."
The aroma of chocolate filled the office. Andrew resisted the temptation, opened a folder, and found a project proposal. However, he couldn't resist after only flipping through two pages. He held out his palm to Fu Xianyin and said, "Give me a piece."
Fu Xianyin smiled and gave him the whole bag.
After putting the chocolate in his mouth, Andrew showed a satisfied smile.
As he chewed, he pushed the project proposal to Fu Xianyin and said, "Here, this is the project. It requires you to go on a business trip."
Fu Xianyin glanced at it twice and asked, "Where are we going? To a seminar?"
Andrew smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not a seminar, it's going home."
Fu Xianyin paused for a moment as she flipped through the project proposal.
This project is a collaboration with a domestic company. Since it involves some astrophysics knowledge, they are responsible for providing background information and conducting some experimental research, while the domestic company is responsible for software development and providing financial support.
Fu Xianyin started working on this project around last year, but Andrew was in charge. She didn't directly contact the other company; she mainly did the research and work assigned to her by Andrew.
Fu Xianyin isn't the type to be particularly gossipy. Since taking on this project, aside from diligently completing her tasks, she hasn't really researched the other company's information much. She only knows that the boss seems to be quite young and is Chinese.
She knew the project schedule by heart, and the only information she didn't know was about the other company, so she wasn't in a hurry to look at it now.
Fu Xianyin pulled out a chair in front of her desk, sat down casually, tossed the project proposal aside, and asked:
So you mean you want me to go back to China?
Andrew nodded and said, "Yes."
He looked up at Fu Xianyin and asked, "Haven't you been back for many years? Wouldn't it be a good thing to take this opportunity to go back?"
Fu Xianyin lowered her head and curved the corners of her lips slightly. Instead of answering Andrew's question, she said, "So, is this the reason you sent me on this business trip?"
Andrew rolled his eyes in exasperation and said, "Besides me, you know this project best. Who else would go if not you?"
He sensed a hint of evasion in Fu Xianyin's words, but he didn't force her. He simply said, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. Stay here and work hard."
Andrew spun around in his chair, pursed his lips, and muttered under his breath, "Don't you want a holiday? What a great opportunity."
Fu Xianyin smiled, not giving a definite answer, but simply took the project proposal and said, "Then I'll think about it."
Andrew waved to her, and just as Fu Xianyin was about to leave, he called out, "If you'd like, you can spend Christmas with my family this year. My children miss you very much."
Fu Xianyin smiled and thanked her.
She knew Andrew was thinking of her.
Andrew knew she hadn't been back to China for many years and that she worked hard, so he assumed she wasn't going back because of her busy work schedule. Now that he had this opportunity, it was only natural that he would think of her.
only……
Fu Xianyin sighed.
Andrew didn't actually know the real reason she wasn't going back to China.
Fu Xianyin carefully put away the project proposal, reviewed her presentation slides from this afternoon's class, and then, after thinking for a moment, opened WeChat.
In the small group chat, Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao had already chatted a lot.
Both of them are currently pursuing graduate studies. They live in different cities and provinces, but they are still relatively close to each other compared to Fu Xianyin.
In the group chat, Cheng Zhaozhao was complaining about the damp and cold weather in the south.
Cheng Zhaozhao: [It's so cold, so cold, so cold! I feel like it's chilling to the bone.]
Chen Nianke: [Aren't you supposed to be immune to the cold? Is it because you're getting older?]
Cheng Zhaozhao: [I'm 23, that's about right.]
Cheng Zhaozhao: [Kitten sighing.jpg]
Cheng Zhaozhao: [I'm not kidding, but with this awful weather, who can survive? I'm definitely not going to make it.]
Fu Xianyin smiled and began typing.
Fu Xianyin: [It's cold here too.]
Fu Xianyin: [Last night there was a blizzard, and my windshield was frozen solid. I spent half the morning shoveling snow.]
Chen Nianke: [I told you to move the car last night, but you were too lazy to move it.]
Cheng Zhaozhao: [I'm too lazy to move the car, and I can't even be bothered to put a cover on it.]
Cheng Zhaozhao: [Everyone calls you a gambling addict.]
Chen Nianke: [See? Gamblers never end well.]
Cheng Zhaozhao: [She was just saying that; a gambler will definitely gamble again next time.]
Fu Xianyin couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw the two of them attacking her in the group chat.
She suddenly and inexplicably sent a message:
I'm thinking about whether I should go back to China.
The lively group chat suddenly fell silent for a moment.
Fu Xianyin was about to tap two emojis when her phone suddenly started vibrating, and a group call request popped up at the top of the chat page.
She put on her headphones, went outside, and answered the phone.
The moment the call connected, Fu Xianyin heard Cheng Zhaozhao shout:
"Hey sis, are you going back to China? Really?"
Her voice was punctuated by the sound of whistling wind, as if she hadn't even had time to run outside before answering the phone.
After listening to the noise on her end, Fu Xianyin quieted down.
She said, "I'm still hesitating, I haven't made up my mind yet."
She told the two of them about the business trip for the project.
Chen Nianke sighed and said, "If you ask us, we definitely want you back."
Cheng Zhaozhao asked softly, "Yinyin, do you want to go back to China?"
Fu Xianyin stood at the entrance of the teaching building, looking at the heavy snow outside the window, and said softly, "To be honest, I don't know."
When she first went abroad, she practically fled.
During those years, she didn't want to hear or even mention the word "returning to China," let alone go back to China.
Summer vacation in the United States is long. Every summer, her classmates go back to China. When asked if she has bought a plane ticket or when she will go back, she would avoid the topic as if it were a taboo subject.
Later, she gradually became less sensitive to it, but the idea of returning to China no longer appeared in Fu Xianyin's mind.
In recent years, Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao have tacitly avoided mentioning the words "returning to China".
Whenever the two of them missed Fu Xianyin, it was the other way around—they would come to America to see her, not the other way around—that Fu Xianyin would return to China.
This was the first time Fu Xianyin had taken the initiative to bring up the matter of returning to China with them.
She pushed open the classroom doors, and the cold wind mixed with biting snow lashed against her.
Fu Xianyin's voice was carried away by the wind and flew into the distance, somewhat ethereal: "I used to think that it wouldn't matter if I ran away for the rest of my life. Anyway, I'm a coward. I was born this way and there's no way to change it. But now that so many years have passed, I suddenly have a feeling that I'm running away from something."
“Before, I could convince myself with the excuse that I had no reason to return to China, but now that I have such a reasonable reason, I feel that I have no reason to keep running away.”
Chen Nianke said, "But you don't need to force yourself to do things you don't want to do."
She said, "If you miss us, Cheng Zhaozhao and I can come see you. You have no reason to go back to China if you don't want to."
Fu Xianyin said, "I know, I just suddenly felt... I don't really want to, I'm a little confused."
Fu Xianyin stepped onto the snow, and the snow shattered with a crack.
She said, "Let's roll the dice. If it's an odd number, I'll go back; if it's an even number, I won't."
Cheng Zhaozhao said, "Is it really that hasty?"
As she spoke, Fu Xianyin had already pressed the dice-throwing emoji.
The dice kept spinning on the chat page. Fu Xianyin stretched and took a deep breath.
The cold air seeped into her lungs, yet she inexplicably felt lighter from head to toe.
She said, "Life is inherently very hasty."
Like playing craps, the dice rolled around in the table for a while before finally coming to a steady stop on the velvet-covered tabletop under everyone's watchful eyes.
The gambler has placed a huge bet, just waiting for the final judgment.
[Author's Note]
The countdown to our reunion has begun!
I know this transitional chapter is a bit boring, but there's some information that needs to be revealed. Please bear with me, everyone, the reunion will be here soon! I'm not kidding!
Don't abandon me just because these chapters are boring 555
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