It was New Year's Day last year, and yesterday marked exactly one year since then.
"It was New Year's Day last year, and yesterday marked exactly one year since then."
39.
After the red envelopes were distributed, Lan Jian was called to the study by Zhong Shiqing alone.
Zhong Shiqing's study was filled with books, and a lifelike portrait of Zhong Guan, a veteran of the Southern Democratic Party, hung on the wall—Zhong Shiqing's ancestor. Zhong Shiqing took a thick, heavy red envelope from a drawer. Lan Jian's first reaction was to refuse, but Zhong Shiqing's next words made it impossible for her not to.
"This is a red envelope from your teacher to congratulate you and Chongming on your marriage. All your fellow students who have successfully tied the knot have received one. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to drink at your and Chongming's wedding banquet, so I'm giving it to you today." Zhong Shiqing stuffed the red envelope into Lanjian's palm. "Lanjian, you are a good child. Your teacher hopes that you and Chongming will both be well."
“Teacher…” Lan Jian recalled what her teacher said to her that day in the Fourth Nuclear Department. He said that she, Meng Lan Jian, was not the only one who was not in control of her own destiny. “Would you blame me for not telling you that my blood uncle was the one who ‘destroyed’ the nuclear research institute?”
Meng Lanjian still refuses to easily reveal Yan Jisheng's name.
“Lanjian,” Zhong Shiqing sighed, “do you know how old I was when I returned from abroad to become an assistant professor?”
Lan Jian shook her head.
Forty-two years old.
Nanjing University has a rigid rule that no matter how much impressive research a scholar has done abroad, he must be hired as an assistant professor. Zhong Shiqing was already an assistant professor at a top university abroad and could have been promoted directly to associate professor upon returning to China, but Nanjing University waited two years before promoting him to associate professor. Then, after another six years, he was promoted to full professor at the age of fifty.
"But do you know how old Yan Jisheng was back then?" Zhong Shiqing was at the height of his career during those years, and he felt a burning hatred whenever he thought of Yan Jisheng, who had prevented him from entering the Nuclear Research Institute. "Yan Jisheng was forty years old, two years younger than me. But he was already an associate professor at the Nuclear Research Institute and the youngest director in the entire history of the Nuclear Engineering Institute."
"He won the 'Russeff Prize' awarded by the Nuclear Engineering Institute that year with his unique ballistic system design, and for a time he was the talk of the town. All the old professors at the nuclear engineering institute thought they saw hope that Nanlu could develop nuclear weapons. Later, I heard from a few old guys that none of them really knew whether Yan Jisheng's ballistic system design could succeed. Because at that time, no one in Nanlu could make a matching aircraft and delivery system, nor did they have the conditions for experimentation." At this point, Zhong Shiqing couldn't help but sigh, "The day you came to the Nuclear Research Institute with your ballistic system design, I had a fleeting thought that I saw the blueprint that was taken to Beiluan back then."
Meng Lanjian majored in aircraft design as an undergraduate. Her mentor, Jing You, who guided her to her master's degree, was Yan Jisheng's only doctoral student that year. After graduating, Jing You stayed at the university for only a year before being implicated in Yan Jisheng's defection and unable to continue teaching at Nanjing University. At that time, Huaqiao University had just established the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Jing You switched to aircraft design as one of the founders of the department.
“You said you couldn’t understand why your teacher said this system wasn’t compatible with current aircraft. You came to the Nuclear Research Institute not only to study nuclear physics, but also to learn reactor design from me.” Zhong Shiqing recalled Meng Lanjian’s expression when he came to him before even graduating with his master’s degree, and remembered his last student, determined to pursue a doctorate abroad—their stubbornness was identical. Zhong Shiqing’s early studies in reactor design principles were already “outdated,” and there was very little he could teach Meng Lanjian. He also understood that Meng Lanjian had absolutely no interest in nuclear weapons research and development.
Reactor engineering falls under the category of nuclear explosion, while ballistic system design is more applied to missile and rocket launches. Meng Lanjian, whose expertise is in aerodynamics but who came to the nuclear research institute to study nuclear energy, was truly obsessed with why the blueprint in her hand could not be put into practice.
"But you said back then that you couldn't teach me this because I'm from Beiluan. According to the details of the Nuclear Peace Treaty, I came to the Nuclear Research Institute to learn about nuclear energy, not nuclear weapons."
“Yes, I did say that.” Zhong Shiqing’s old eyes were already cloudy, but he could still see the undiminished light in Meng Lanjian’s eyes. “But if I said that I can’t teach you, but I can send you to the most advanced place in the world to learn what you want to learn and find the answers you’ve been seeking, would you want to go?”
Zhong Shiqing's words ignited a spark in Meng Lanjian's heart. "Teacher, are you talking about Chongming's alma mater?"
“Yes,” Zhong Shiqing took out a document from the table. “Before Xue Xiang came back this time, the agreement between the two schools was officially signed. I started preparing for this when Chongming graduated from Nanjing University and went to C University. When I admitted you, I said that as long as you come, I will give you the best. Lanjian, the new year has begun. After you pass the doctoral qualifying exam, you will become a doctoral student at C University this September.”
"Your teacher is waiting for you to return home after completing your studies."
...
It was nearly midnight when the party ended at the Zhong residence. Xue Xiang had a junior sister named Wen Fang who lived in the same neighborhood as him. Wen Fang, who hadn't been drinking, drove Xue Xiang's car to take him home, while Chongming and Lan Jian took a taxi. Chongming had drunk too much and his steps were a little unsteady. Lan Jian helped him into the car, and she fell into a long period of deep thought after her conversation with Old Master Zhong.
Going abroad for a joint program was Meng Lanjian's goal as soon as he entered the nuclear research institute.
She had spent seven and a half years in Nanlu, and while she was familiar with it, she had long since grown weary of it. She was a homeless person in Nanlu, so she had always been adrift, moving from Huaqiao University to Nanjing University, changing dormitories and moving countless times in the meantime.
But now she's married.
She has a home in the southern foothills, a home with Chongming Island.
She prided herself on being a person with clear goals, and marriage wouldn't change her original decision. But psychologically, she thought she would definitely miss Chongming. Unless Chongming also went to Country X, they would be separated for at least a year.
Besides, she wasn't a genius like Chongming; she couldn't guarantee she could graduate in three years.
Xue Xiang once told Lan Jian, "Nanjing University's doctoral scholarship is for four years, but my requirement for doctoral students is that they can leave after producing two papers in three years. You don't have to rush into my lab. You can stay at the Institute of Nuclear Energy for half a year, take some classes, see if you can adapt to the environment, and then decide whether you want to follow me."
Lan Jian asked Xue Xiang, "Teacher, if I play for half a year first, and then work hard for the next three years to meet your requirements, what should I do for the remaining six months?"
Xue Xiang replied matter-of-factly, "Submitting papers to conferences around the world, and getting paid to travel!"
At that time, Lan Jian hadn't graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology yet; she had only been admitted early and came to Nanjing University to meet with a professor. Perhaps because she was so engrossed in her conversation with Xue Xiang, Lan Jian missed the shuttle bus back to Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Huazhong University of Science and Technology was an hour's drive from the city where Nanjing University was located, but Nanjing University was situated in the mountains, so Lan Jian needed to take a shuttle bus to the bus station before she could go back. While she was waiting for the next bus, Chongming came to the lab.
That was the first time the two met.
Xue Xiang's office has just been moved to the twelfth floor. He was originally using Zhong Shiqing's old laboratory, which is located in the Nuclear Research Institute. The new laboratory is in dire need of construction, and Xue Xiang said that the move wouldn't be completed until Lan Jian enrolls in school. He arranged to meet her here so he could show her around beforehand.
Chongming knew Lanjian was coming, so he came all the way from his workplace to the new laboratory at the school to greet Lanjian.
As soon as Xue Xiang saw Chongming, he said to him, "Your junior sister missed the bus. Can you take her to the city bus station later?"
Chongming agreed without hesitation, then introduced himself to Lanjian. The three of them chatted enthusiastically about academic anecdotes, and the time quickly passed.
Before Chongming got out to drive, Xue Xiang said to Lan Jian with a mysterious look, "Don't be scared by his luxury car."
When Lan Jian came downstairs and saw Chongming's million-dollar SUV, she hesitated for a moment. But her hesitation wasn't about how expensive the car was; it was about—
"Senior, would you prefer me to sit in the back or the front passenger seat?"
"If you don't get carsick, sit in the back," Chongming said with a gentle smile to Lanjian.
Lan Jian did not ask directly, nor did Chongming give a clear answer.
For the next six months, she prepared for her master's thesis at UW and hardly ever came to NTU again.
During Lan Jian's first semester at Nanjing University, she spent almost all her days in classes in order to complete her credits as soon as possible, rarely going to the lab. Occasionally, she would come to the lab after class, and usually only Chongming was there. Lan Jian was clueless about romantic relationships, and seeing that Chongming always stayed in the lab and never went on dates, she assumed that she might have misunderstood him about what happened in the passenger seat.
Chongming was gentle and quiet. If you didn't initiate conversation, he would remain silent after greeting you until you said goodbye. Lanjian had always admired boys who spoke slowly and deliberately, never uttering a word of nonsense except for matters of seriousness—she held a vague sense of worship for such people who were sparing with words.
Near the end of the first semester, at Hui's suggestion, Xue Xiang, who no longer had to shuttle between the two places and had officially settled in on the twelfth floor, welcomed the first gathering of the new laboratory. That day, Lan Jian heard the sound of her own heart breaking in Chongming's words, "But for me, it's not good at all."
On that same day, perhaps because Chongming and Lanjian had spoken frankly, Ma Yue asked him a candid question, asking him exactly when he had gotten together with his senior, to which he answered truthfully.
He said, "It was New Year's Day last year, and yesterday marked exactly one year."
Meng Lanjian choked on the hot pot sauce, accidentally eating sesame paste, which she found most unbearable, and ran to the tea room to rinse her mouth. Night had fallen, and the twelfth-floor corridor was deserted, save for their heavy particle laboratory, from which bursts of laughter occasionally drifted.
Later, whenever Meng Lanjian thought about January 2nd, she felt that it was a turning point in her life.
Meng Lanjian first met Xue Xiang on January 2nd of last year, the day after the New Year's Day holiday ended.
Chongming had just gotten a girlfriend the day before he met Lanjian.
The so-called twist of fate might be something as trivial as "Meng Lanjian and Chongming were only one day apart in the passenger seat of that luxury SUV".
@Author: I've only written about Lan Jian's romantic timeline before, without laying out Chongming's and "ex's" timeline. It wasn't intentional to throw in some heartbreak... it's just that the plot needs to move forward!
By the way, there won't be much content related to nuclear weapons. I'm not a professional author, so please be gentle if there are any inaccuracies. Thank you!
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