Chapter 74 Patient 18
In this pre-computer age, large-scale calculations relied entirely on manpower. While waiting for the mainland contract to be finalized, and before the most important tasks were assigned, everyone in the nuclear physics laboratory was a computer.
Chu Wang, clutching a stack of differential calculus materials, walked from the Ge Mansion to the Qiao Mansion, his mind still preoccupied with Liang Zhang. Standing at the foot of the Qianxun stone steps, before the Qiao Mansion even came into view, Xue Zhenzhen emerged from behind the yellow flowers. On a cold winter night, she had draped a coat over her dinner gown and worn wooden clogs, her calves and feet bare, her toes red from the cold. Zhenzhen shivered and panted. Seeing her approach, she rushed over with footsteps, trying to stop her.
"What's wrong with you?" Chu Wang laughed when he saw her look.
"You...don't go up there. Let me ask you first," Zhenzhen rushed towards her, trembling all over, "What's going on between you and Xu Shaoqian?"
"Me and him?" Chu Wang pointed at himself and laughed. "It's fine. I have a fiancé and he has a wife. We're not related at all, so what can I do?"
"I thought so too." Zhenzhen managed to calm herself down. "But the problem is his wife. She just called my aunt. After she finished the call, her face changed and she scolded you and Mrs. Ge at home."
Chu Wang suppressed his smile and asked, "Mrs. Xu? What did you say?"
"What else can I say? They say you're engaged, and you're having an affair with her husband, and everyone in school knows about it. They also say they can see you're really in love, so they called your aunt and asked her to send a telegram to ask your father's opinion. If your father agrees, she'll take a step back and think of a way for you two, naturally giving priority to helping lovers."
Zhenzhen's words were euphemistic. Chu Wang savored them carefully, but still got the hint. Looking down at the stone floor, he smiled and said, "She knew the Lin family was famous and that their daughters couldn't afford to lose face, so she said I had an affair with Mr. Xu, ruining my reputation. She claimed I loved him deeply, but even marriages have a first-come, first-served order. I came late, so I have to be his mistress. If I agree, my father will annul the engagement for me, and she will forgive me and Professor Xu. If I don't agree, don't blame her for being rude. My father will have to publish an announcement to expel me from the family tree for the sake of the family's reputation. Under these circumstances, I have no other choice but to be his mistress."
Zhenzhen nodded, gritting her teeth in hatred, "What's wrong with this Mrs. Xu? She always drives away the women around her husband, never rushing to act as a matchmaker."
"She..." Chu Wang thought for a moment, then looked up at the sky and smiled, "She really loves Professor Xu."
"You're still laughing at this hour?" Zhenzhen said anxiously, "Don't go back to the Qiao Residence today. Mrs. Qiao just sent someone to send a telegram to your father, and I couldn't stop her. Go straight back to the Ge Residence to find Mrs. Ge."
"Well, don't worry too much. It's so cold, you should go back first. If Mrs. Qiao finds out, you'll get scolded."
After persuading Zhenzhen to return to Qiao Mansion with just a few words, Chu Wang ran back to Ge Mansion.
A serenade was playing in the mansion, and the laughter of men and women could be heard. It was a lively place. Suixi brought some red wine from the basement and walked into the garden. He ran into her and asked in surprise, "Why are you back today, young lady?"
"I'm looking for my aunt. Is she in there?"
"Someone just came to ask for it. Mrs. Ge just went out. Is it something urgent?"
The two of them stood in the garden. Chu Wang wanted to wait for her, but suddenly changed his mind and said, "Sui Xi, I have something urgent to do. I need to go out now."
Suixi nodded and said, "I'll go find Mr. Henry and get a driver for you."
Standing under the eaves, waiting for the first bus, watching the night begin to fall and the stars twinkle in the sky, she felt a strange sense of peace in her heart. Maybe it was detachment or extreme anger, or perhaps it was because she had experienced too much today and this matter was not in her heart... She couldn't say which it was. Although the weather was cool, the wind was blowing, but she didn't feel cold.
After getting in the car and closing the windows, she felt a sudden warmth inside, and dozed off in a daze. They parked outside Lianhua Road. The driver offered to take her inside with an umbrella, but Chu Wang refused. She took the broad, heavy black umbrella and rang the bell at the Xu residence. It was Wen Ma who hurried over. Upon seeing her, her face darkened, "Why are you here?"
Mrs. Xu's voice came from afar: "Is the master back?"
Wen Ma responded from a distance, "It's Miss Lin—the Third Miss."
Mrs. Xu: "Oh, then please invite her in."
Chu Wang didn't wait for Wen Ma to lead the way, and walked into the house from the courtyard in a few steps. The door was open, and Mrs. Xu was reading in the living room, a stove in front of her. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and asked, "Why are you here at this time?"
Chu Wang smiled. "Thanks to Mrs. Xu, my father might be discussing with my eldest aunt how to expel me from the family tree. I'd like to know what Mrs. Xu means."
Mrs. Xu glanced at her and placed the copy of the Yi Bao on the footstool. "Sit down first." Seeing that Chu Wang showed no sign of moving, she sighed again, "Are you really willing to marry that Young Master Si?" Picking up the Yi Bao, she flipped open a page that revealed an article critical of Si Yansang. She asked, "Mr. Si has been very popular in China lately. He hasn't returned yet, and he hasn't joined any particular school. The leaders of the various schools have analyzed him, but they haven't been able to come up with a clear conclusion. Which school does Mr. Si belong to? Crescent Moon School, Yusi School, or Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School?"
Chu Wang said coldly, "What does this have to do with Madam Xu?"
Mrs. Xu put down the newspaper and sighed. "Why are you being so stubborn now? You can't understand him, just like I can't understand my husband—to be together for a lifetime, yet never understand each other, is truly a very lonely thing. And you—I know you and him are a match unlike any other. He's a man like that, his character, you and I have seen over the years. If I weren't such a burden, with his character, wealth, and education, he could have married anyone he wanted. If you marry him, there may not be anyone in the world who would treat you half as well as he does."
"Whether I marry my fiancé or not is my own family affair, and there's no need for Mrs. Xu to interfere. Whether I understand him or not, and whether I want to be with him or not, is naturally my decision. But Mrs. Xu, your misunderstanding of Professor Xu is irreparable. Please don't blame me for your failure. There are probably more than one outstanding man in the world, and Mrs. Xu has only had Professor Xu in her life. But why do you insist that I must have met the wrong person except your husband?"
Mrs. Xu was a little anxious. "Even though I said this to your aunt, how could I really ask you to be his mistress? I'm a dying body, and I won't last more than a few days. When the time comes, if you marry him, won't you still be the legally married wife? After I die, not only him, but the entire Xu family's wealth, even my dowry, will be yours - how could there be anything else like this? Besides, with the rest of the family treating you like this, what good is it to stay with them?"
"Mrs. Xu is also very thoughtful and meticulous. She has taken into account the interests of all parties. It can be said to be perfect. She even knew to call my eldest aunt instead of my youngest aunt. She really understands me very well." Chu Wang sneered. "Then, Mrs. Xu, if I ask you: if you ask him to divorce you immediately and let him marry me as the main wife of the Xu family, would you agree?"
"I..." Mrs. Xu looked at her angrily, but she even managed to laugh. "I'm half buried in the ground, why are you jealous of me?"
"You don't want to?" Chu Wang sneered. "You don't want to, it's nothing more than you're afraid that you won't be able to leave your name in the Xu family tree after you're buried. I'm living a good life in this world, but you insist on using my good reputation to ruin my reputation - Madam Xu, you really thought of everything, but you didn't think about me."
Mrs. Xu touched her sore spot. She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.
"Don't be jealous. If you insist on me getting married, then you should think of a way to force Professor Xu to divorce you first, and then force him to agree to marry me. Otherwise, there is no such good thing in the world."
After Chu Wang finished speaking, he pushed the door open and was about to leave without even looking at her. Mrs. Xu called her several times from behind and wanted to get up and chase him, but her legs were too weak and she fell to the ground. Wen Ma wanted to stop Chu Wang, but when she saw Mrs. Xu fall to the ground, she turned back and quickly helped her up, shouting with heartache: "Madam, why are you doing this? You treat her so well, and this Miss Lin San is so cruel-"
Mrs. Xu didn't want her help, and pushed her away, shouting outside: "You didn't have to be with him before, but after today, I'm afraid no one else would dare to marry you except him. Chu Wang, why are you so stubborn? Come back soon--" After calling out several times without any response, she pushed Wen Ma: "Why do you care about me? Go and stop the Third Miss, don't let her do anything stupid."
——
Wen's mother was eager to protect her master, so even though she was scolded by Mrs. Xu, she did not really abandon her and chase after her.
Chu Wang's words were harsh, but he knew they wouldn't hold true. He simply let out a sigh of relief, and his steps became lighter. As she entered the courtyard and was about to cross the tennis court, she saw a figure standing outside the fern bushes. As if they had been planning this for a long time, they saw her emerge and approached her.
Before she could see who it was, she recognized Xu Wenjun's voice: "Didn't I warn you to stay away from my uncle? Why did you call him again this afternoon? You didn't listen to my advice, and you brought this upon yourself."
Chu Wang smiled bitterly: "You said so before, I am very grateful. But there is no way I won't look for him."
After a pause, Xu Wenjun asked again: "So do you like him?"
"What do I like about him?"
"You don't like him, but you still stay with him all day? You're not some ignorant child anymore. You're not that important to my uncle, are you? Why do you have to talk to him alone about everything?"
"Your uncle treats me no differently than he treats anyone else at the institute. Liang Zhang, Robert, Chandra... If I were a man like them, would you still say this to me?"
"But you are not."
"Yes, I'm not. Precisely because I'm not, you have this misunderstanding? There are countless kinds of bonds between people in this world. How can you arbitrarily reduce them to the one that best satisfies the imagination of the general public based on mere speculation?"
"What kind of relationship could there be?"
Chu Wang thought for a moment and looked up at the sky. The weather had been so good recently that it was rare to see a sky full of stars on a late winter night. So she asked, "What do you think that one is?"
"A star. A very bright one."
"Yes. That's the answer given by most people. Some people would also say that it's Sirius, which can only be seen in winter and early spring. It's in the southeast of Orion and most of the time, it's the brightest star in the sky." Chu Wang squinted his eyes and said, "And if you ask anyone in the institute, they will tell you: This is Alpha Canis Majoris, a star with a companion star. It has a final state, supported by the repulsive force between neutrons and protons, called a neutron star. After reaching this final state, it will stop shrinking and become a white dwarf, just like Sirius' companion star."
"What do you mean by that?"
Xu Wenjun was a little confused, but Chu Wang became more and more energetic as he spoke. "If you ask me, I will tell you: it has its own spectrum, just like every star in the Milky Way. If it approaches us, its spectrum will shift to the blue end; if it moves away from us, its spectrum will shift to the red end. And this result will prove one thing -"
"I don't understand."
"It's right that you don't understand—just as you can't understand me now. When your uncle comes back, ask him the question again and see how he answers you."
After Chu Wang finished speaking, he turned around and walked away. He was so hurried that he didn't even notice the people he passed by.
Xu Shaoqian paused, about to ask her why she had come so late. Chu Wang didn't even notice him. In the blink of an eye, she was out of the yard and in her car. He shook his head and smiled, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
After walking a few steps into the yard, before he could speak to Wenjun, Wen's mother came out and said with a sob, "Master, you are finally back."
Seeing that she looked unwell, he hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Madam?" Without waiting for her answer, he quickly walked into the house. Seeing that Mrs. Xu was still lying in bed, he breathed a sigh of relief, sat down beside her, and stretched out his hand to warm himself by the fire.
When Mrs. Xu saw that it was him, she hurriedly asked, "Have you seen Chu Wang?"
"I saw her, but she didn't see me. She came so late, what happened?"
"You also know that there is a reason why she came so late, why didn't you stop her?" Mrs. Xu was extremely angry and simply turned her head away and ignored him.
.
Mrs. Xu was used to being unreasonable with him, so Xu Shaoqian didn't get angry and went to ask Wen Ma again. Wen Ma was at a loss, looking left and right in panic, wiping her apron with her fingers nervously, and just sighed, "That Miss Lin San has such a cruel heart!"
Xu Shaoqian frowned, "You say."
Before Wen Ma could reply, Mrs. Xu blurted out, "Since you two are so in love, I'll take matters into my own hands. When I'm dead, I'll let you marry her openly!"
After hearing this, Xu Shaoqian lowered his head and thought for a while, then asked, "What's your idea?"
"Are there not enough ways to make her marry you?"
Xu Shaoqian smiled.
Mrs. Xu glanced at him. "That girl just got angry with me. I'm worried that since she's young and would rather die than live in disgrace, she might do something stupid. Why don't you drive over quickly to stop her and talk her out of it? What's the point of laughing here?"
"Do you really want me to drive over and get her back?"
Xu Shaoqian still lowered his head, shrouded in shadows, his expression unrecognizable. "If you live well in this world, you'll achieve the best of both worlds for you and me. Why do you have to drag others into this, hurting yourself and others? I've always been accommodating to you, but this time, you're truly... dead wrong."
Mrs. Xu turned away without answering. Xu Shaoqian stopped talking to her and pushed the door open, but he made no attempt to drive after them. Wenjun, expecting a quarrel inside, remained standing in the courtyard, too lazy to enter to intervene. But the stillness inside genuinely struck him as odd, so he continued to pretend to stare upwards.
He walked over, and the uncle and nephew looked up at the sky together. Following Wen Jun's gaze, Xu Shaoqian sketched an outline with his hand, "Canis Major. Mercury, Procyon, and Rigel. That's Sirius. Also known as Alpha Canis Majoris."
Xu Wenjun turned his head and stared at Xu Shaoqian.
"What else did she say to you?" Xu Shaoqian asked.
"She said: Like every star in the Milky Way, it has its own spectrum. If it approaches us, its spectrum will shift toward the blue end; if it moves away from us, its spectrum will shift toward the red end. And this result will prove one thing -"
"Redshift. You see them as identical, and you assume they must be moving closer together, but in fact, they've been moving away from each other since the moment they were created."
When Xu Shaoqian looked up at the starry sky, his eyes seemed to be speckled with stars, making his expression exceptionally clear, reminiscent of Chu Wang's just now. Xu Wenjun was slightly surprised, "Uncle, you've said so much, and I still don't understand a word."
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I was a little worried at first, but now it seems," Xu Shaoqian said with a smile, "your aunt won't succeed."
——
As soon as she got off the car, she saw Suixi and Mrs. Ge waiting on the steps outside the fence of the Ge Mansion. When she saw the car coming, she hurriedly took two steps forward and didn't notice that the silk scarf around her neck was blown away by the wind. Suixi was frantically picking up the silk scarf from behind and hurriedly caught up. Before the car stopped, Mrs. Ge opened the car door aggressively. When she saw Chu Wang, her anger disappeared immediately, she calmed down and said softly, "I heard everything. Don't be afraid, your aunt is here for you. I don't think the guy next door and Lin Yu dare to do anything to you."
"I'm not afraid." Chu Wang smiled at her.
Seeing her grinning, Mrs. Ge knew everything was fine. She poked her forehead with her finger and said, "If you see me laughing like this later, you'll laugh at me for being unruly in the Ge Mansion."
Chu Wang stuck out his tongue, "I know."
"Where did you go?"
Chu Wang stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, thinking for a moment, "Every wrong has its perpetrator. I've suffered in vain, and I'm just asking for justice."
Mrs. Ge glanced at her. "But there's something I still want to ask you. Just when I received a call asking me to go to the post office to write a letter, the girl next door had already sent a telegram to Paris. If you don't agree to help Mrs. Xu, she can't do anything to you. But, do you really not want to be a daughter of the Lin family anymore?"
"Neither of them is a good person. I am relieved to have gotten away from them earlier."
"But you have to know that without this status, the marriage with Young Master Si will no longer count."
Without waiting for her to reply, Mrs. Ge pulled a letter from her coat pocket—a wrinkled envelope covered with postmarks and stamps. She observed her expression for a moment before saying, "It's from January of last year. I don't know how it got here from England; it took a year. If I hadn't asked someone to keep an eye on it with the immigration police, it would have been delayed for much longer."
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