In Chapter 792, in the movie ticket laboratory, Zhou Zhe held the probe of a multimeter, preparing to measure the voltage value of a key circuit.
However, his gaze was somewhat unfocused, and his thoughts had already uncontrollably drifted to the archives.
She flew onto that cup of warm ginger tea, and a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.
Just then, his hand holding the positive probe, with his absent-minded movements, was about to poke a high-voltage terminal next to him!
"Zhou Zhe!"
A low shout exploded in his ears like thunder, followed by a hand suddenly reaching out and precisely grabbing his wrist with such force that the probe stopped abruptly just millimeters from the terminal.
Zhou Zhe jolted awake, his soul returning to its place in an instant, and cold sweat poured out, soaking the cotton work clothes on his back.
He looked up in surprise and saw Lu Qingyang staring at him with a serious expression.
Lu Qingyang picked up an insulating board from the side, slapped it over the dangerous terminal, and then turned around and said:
“Zhou Zhe, I went to great lengths to bring you in so that you would have the opportunity to access the most cutting-edge technologies and learn real skills, not so that you could wander around in a daze and almost lose everything we own, including you and me, weighing a hundred pounds or so.”
Zhou Zhe's face instantly flushed red, overwhelmed with shame, and he stammered, "Qingyang, I...I didn't mean to..."
Lu Qingyang ignored his explanation: "Here, work is work, but you must be 100% serious. Every piece of data and every operation can affect the success or failure of the final result, and even... safety."
He pointed to the expensive instruments and the lab benches with their dense wiring around him. “If you perform well and settle down, you’ll have a chance to stay. This isn’t just a job; it’s your future, understand?”
Zhou Zhe thought of his parents, who lived far away in the countryside, toiling in the fields, and how they scrimped and saved to support his education. He also thought of the family's hopes that he carried on his shoulders.
Then I think of that quiet and pretty Comrade Su in the archives... She's just a poor student from the countryside, with no family background, no money, and she doesn't even have a job yet. She's thinking about these romantic things all day long. She's completely out of her mind!
How could that girl possibly be interested in someone as unreliable as me, who almost made a mistake at work?
A surge of shame overwhelmed him, dispelling the nascent feelings that had just begun to sprout in his heart.
"Qingyang, you're right, I was wrong. I can't... I can't go on like this anymore. I have to work harder and focus all my energy on experiments and studies. I can't be distracted anymore!"
Since being awakened by Lu Qingyang that day, Zhou Zhe has visited the archives much less often, only going there reluctantly when he truly needs to consult irreplaceable documents.
Moreover, they always had a clear goal: to borrow something and leave immediately, never lingering. They didn't even dare to raise their heads, afraid that if they looked any longer, the thoughts they had finally managed to suppress would resurface.
Occasionally, I would catch a glimpse of Su Xiaowen's slender figure in the corridor or the hot water room.
Or when Zhou Zhe overheard people chatting about things like, "That Xiao Su in the archives, her family seems to be intellectuals, she's quite well-off, and it seems someone's been trying to set her up with a boyfriend lately," it felt like a tiny needle pricked his heart, and a wave of bitterness washed over him.
He became even more silent, throwing all his energy into the experiments, almost to the point of neglecting to eat or sleep, and he also became a little thinner.
Lu Qingyang saw this.
He could see Zhou Zhe's hard work and improved abilities, and he also vaguely sensed the deep-seated timidity and inferiority complex that Zhou Zhe had developed due to his family background.
This young man is hardworking and honest, and not stupid, but his background has hampered his ambition.
He felt that sometimes it's about helping your brothers out, not just at work.
One evening, Lu Qingyang gave him two pieces of paper and casually stuffed them into Zhou Zhe's hand.
Zhou Zhe looked down and saw two movie tickets for "Romance on Lushan Mountain," for tomorrow night.
He froze, looking up at Lu Qingyang blankly.
Lu Qingyang said casually, "Movie tickets. The movie is good. Let's go see it. Let's invite someone you like."
He paused, looked at Zhou Zhe, and his tone became more serious, "Zhou Zhe, don't be so absolute about everything. Dating is dating, and doing experiments is doing experiments. They are two separate things. As long as you can distinguish between them and don't bring your emotions into the lab and affect our work, you can go ahead and make contact. I can tell you that you can't hide your feelings. What's the point of just speculating and scaring yourself about what other women are like? You have to try to find out. Asking someone to a movie isn't illegal."
Zhou Zhe held the two light movie tickets, his palms sweating slightly.
He was torn between two conflicting emotions: on one hand, the embarrassment of Lu Qingyang having hit the nail on the head; on the other hand, his long-standing inferiority complex.
"I...I'm afraid they won't agree..." Zhou Zhe's voice was so low it was like a mosquito's buzz.
"How do you know you're unwilling if you don't ask? I've given you the ticket, it's up to you whether you go or not, but let me tell you, tickets for 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' are extremely hard to come by right now."
"Hey, Qingyang, you..."
Zhou Zhe held the movie ticket, his resolve softening.
After finishing the experiment that day, Zhou Zhe absentmindedly carried the thermos to the water room to boil water.
Her mind was still in turmoil, one moment recalling Lu Qingyang's knowing look as he handed her the movie tickets, the next Su Xiaowen's quiet profile with her eyes lowered, and then her own low, mud-brick house.
He turned on the tap, and boiling water gushed into the bottle, steaming up a cloud of white mist. He was completely unaware of it until a sharp burning pain shot through the back of his hand.
"Ouch!" He instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but his wrist was gently but firmly pulled from behind and pulled to the side, avoiding the continuing flow of hot liquid.
Zhou Zhe turned around, still shaken, and through the misty air, he saw Su Xiaowen's face, which showed a hint of worry.
"Comrade Zhou Zhe, you almost burned your hand." Her voice was still gentle, but it sounded a bit more urgent than usual.
As if burned, Zhou Zhe abruptly pulled his hand back from between her cool fingers and hid it behind his back. His heart was pounding like a drum, and even his ears turned bright red.
"No...it's nothing, thank you, Comrade Su."
Su Xiaowen didn't leave immediately. She stood silently to the side, watching Zhou Zhe hurriedly turn off the tap and put the thermos stopper back in place. Then, as if gathering her courage, she asked softly, "You... why haven't you come to the archives to look up information these past few days?"
Her questions were asked cautiously, with a hint of probing.
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