TIL - 1

After the National Day parade, a conflict had just erupted in a family within a residential complex near Guang’anmen Outer Street in Beijing.

Wen Xinyuan wanted to give his daughter Wen Huo’s bed to his son Wen Bing. Wen Huo was unwilling but didn’t make a scene; she simply locked her room door from the inside. She wouldn’t go out, nor would she allow anyone in.

Wen Xinyuan thought Wen Huo was being unreasonable and scolded her from outside the door. Wen Bing ate his meal, seemingly indifferent to whether he got that bed or not.

Soon after, Wen Xinyuan stopped scolding, and Wen Huo emerged from her room.

Wen Xinyuan thought she had agreed and was considering offering her other compensation, but unexpectedly, she was dragging a suitcase, merely intending to return to school.

Wen Huo told him, “I can give anything to my brother, but not the bed.”

Wen Xinyuan was furious and was about to chastise her severely, but his phone rang, and he let her off the hook.

Wen Huo’s parents divorced when she was very young. She was awarded to her mother, went with her to Canada for a few years, and even acquired Canadian citizenship. Later, when her mother was getting married, she became a burden, so she returned to China and continued high school.

She attended Huazhong University of Science and Technology, majoring in Physics. Later, she was admitted to Tsinghua University’s Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics postgraduate program with top marks, returning to her birthplace, Beijing.

She was born in the Air Force Compound in Gongzhufen, and her father, Wen Xinyuan, was considered one of the most legitimate “Big Yard Kids” from that era.

She also had an older brother, Wen Bing, who was three years her senior. He had suffered a head injury when he was very young, leaving him somewhat intellectually disabled. He mostly ate and slept, weighing around 180 catties (approximately 90 kg), and currently worked odd jobs at the Beijing office of Phoenix Weekly.

Because of his disability, Wen Xinyuan coddled and pampered him, and not only that, he expected Wen Huo to do the same.

From a young age, Wen Huo had to wait for Wen Bing to choose his food and drink first. When the intellectually disabled Wen Bing caused trouble, she had to clean up his messes. For as long as she could remember, Wen Bing was the one who usurped the rights she deserved as a child, so her heart was distant from him; there was almost no affection between them.

Fortunately, she was intelligent and understood things after being told once. So, most of the time, she was able to compromise, but “most of the time” did not mean “all the time.”

Wen Bing’s bed collapsed after he had a sudden urge to jump on it like a trampoline in the middle of the night. There was still a single bed in the house, but he couldn’t turn over in it while sleeping. So Wen Xinyuan went to Wen Huo again, but this time, Wen Huo did not agree.

She disliked people touching things in her room, especially her bed; she intensely disliked it.

In fact, apart from some partiality towards Wen Bing in minor daily matters and treating Wen Huo like an adopted child, Wen Xinyuan didn’t show much favoritism elsewhere. For instance, he always supported Wen Huo’s pursuit of academics.

Of course, it might also be because it was a dream he hadn’t fulfilled. It was hard to say that his influence wasn’t a factor in Wen Huo’s interest in physics and mathematics.

Wen Huo’s grandfather was a general with three stars. He owned a Jimny back then, and new gadgets always appeared at his house first. Being accomplished, he was somewhat autocratic and extremely strict with his only son, insisting that he join the military and pursue his career there.

He never asked Wen Xinyuan if he was interested in a military career, nor did he care; he just wanted him to grow up according to his own wishes.

This might have been the cause that led to the effect of Wen Xinyuan letting go of Wen Huo and allowing her to choose her future freely.

But even with such freedom, it didn’t mean she had to compromise on everything.

Before leaving, Wen Huo locked her bedroom door. Wen Bing chased after her, called her name, and stuffed a pineapple bun into her hand.

The bun was greasy, and the grease stained her hand. She looked up at him, and he smiled foolishly, saying, “Sister, this bun is delicious, have some.”

Wen Huo looked down at the bun in her hand, finally took a bite, and smiled at him: “Thank you, brother.”

It was getting late, and Wen Huo had a lot to do at school, so she quickly said goodbye to Wen Bing and left.

*https://www.google.com/search?q=hpo8.com

Wen Huo was very good at managing her time. She prioritized her daily tasks and moved between the research institute and the office, a two-point line. Her interactions were mostly with her advisor or formulas.

She was recently preparing a paper to submit to PRL, a thirty-page document, which she repeatedly revised and calculated. The result, however, was her advisor telling her that her discovery had little physical significance. She was very discouraged and barely slept for several nights.

To prove the importance of her discovery, she had spent most of her time conducting measurements at the research institute for over two months.

Her advisor had three graduate students, and she was the only female. She had the highest talent, but also the highest error rate; her ideas were always very extreme. The earliest paper recommended by Sce???advances from their group was authored by her, but the process was not smooth.

She had to reconstruct her theory after multiple rejections, and only then, fully prepared, did she resubmit it. The convoluted process is too long to elaborate on.

For this paper, she also put in two hundred percent effort, but her mindset was not as “succeed or die” as it had been then.

When she returned to her dorm, her roommate Qiu Mingyun had just finished showering and was drying her hair. Seeing Wen Huo, she was surprised: “You’re back so soon?”

Wen Huo sat down at her desk and picked up a comb to comb her hair: “I still want to study.”

Qiu Mingyun laughed: “I almost believed you.”

Wen Huo and Qiu Mingyun were both physics majors but in different directions, one applied and one theoretical. Their daily tasks were also different, yet it didn’t prevent them from getting along very harmoniously. They couldn’t be called best friends, but calling them friends was fine.

In Qiu Mingyun’s eyes, Wen Huo looked very well-behaved but was rebellious inside. Her figure and face were simply not suited for a place like a research institute.

Yet, Wen Huo loved academics and was twenty-four, without even a boyfriend.

Qiu Mingyun dried her hair, took the comb from Wen Huo’s hand, and while combing her own hair, asked her, “Do you know Shen Cheng?”

Wen Huo pulled out her phone and opened a shopping website: “Mm.”

Qiu Mingyun then felt her phrasing was a bit off: “Oh, look at me, who doesn’t know Shen Cheng?”

Wen Huo typed “double bed” into the search bar.

Qiu Mingyun smoothed her hair, pulled out a chair, sat down, and said, “He has an open lecture next door. Are you going?”

Shen Cheng, former researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His father was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his mother was a documentary director. His grandfather had served as Chief of Staff of the South Sea Fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, and his grandmother was a medic at the time.

He got married a few years ago; his wife was a third-tier actress in the entertainment industry. The following year, they had a daughter via surrogacy.

After his marriage, he left the Institute of High Energy Physics and established an intellectual property agency, becoming a patent agent. Thanks to his father’s connections and social status, his success came easily. In his early thirties, he was already laden with labels.

Of course, what he was most talked about was his handsome appearance and his status in the Beijing inner circle. And then there was the story of how he and his flower-like wife fell in love.

Shen Cheng was low-key; apart from his wedding a few years ago, which widely circulated online, his name was rarely heard. But to insiders, he was the most elusive and formidable figure. Ultimately, his resume was too impressive, to the point that a non-professional open lecture he co-organized with Peking University next door caused widespread discussion and interest, mostly among women.

Qiu Mingyun saw that Wen Huo wasn’t listening and snatched her phone: “Professor Shen! Huo Huo! Don’t you want to go?”

Wen Huo couldn’t even get tickets; by the time they heard about it, tickets were likely already gone: “Do you have any way to get in?”

Qiu Mingyun didn’t, but she thought Wen Huo might be able to get tickets: “Professor Shen is also from a military compound, so you’re sort of neighbors, right?”

Wen Huo explained to her: “He’s at the Naval Compound, I’m at the Air Force Compound. And as for connections, only my father’s generation could barely claim some; our generation has mostly distanced ourselves.”

Qiu Mingyun didn’t understand, but she knew it was impossible, so she didn’t force Wen Huo and returned her phone: “Alright.”

Wen Huo took her phone and continued looking at solid wood double beds. A bed between two and two point three meters cost over two thousand yuan. Couldn’t Wen Xinyuan spare two thousand yuan? Of course not; he was just accustomed to exploiting Wen Huo.

Qiu Mingyun sighed: “I really want to attend Professor Shen’s lecture. So frustrating.”

Wen Huo finally chose two models and was ready to order them after checking seller feedback.

Qiu Mingyun saw that she wasn’t paying attention to her and glanced at her phone screen: “What are you looking at so seriously?”

“Buying a bed.”

“Did your bed break?”

“Yeah.”

Qiu Mingyun didn’t press further, throwing herself onto her bed: “Those girls are going to get to see Professor Shen for cheap!” She kicked her legs and complained a couple of times, then suddenly sat up: “But it’s useless anyway, he’s married, they don’t stand a chance.”

Thinking that, Qiu Mingyun felt much better and changed clothes for her date.

*https://www.google.com/search?q=hpo8.com

Wen Huo spent the entire afternoon at the research institute. Her senior brother dropped by at one point and incidentally asked her if she wanted to attend the academic salon in the evening. Many prominent figures would be there, and he happened to have two tickets. She politely declined.

After her senior brother left, Wen Huo realized it was getting dark. She checked the time; it was already past six. She packed up and left the institute.

She didn’t return to her dorm but took a taxi to the vicinity of Huamao, entering a residential complex.

As she neared the building entrance, she was bumped into by a beautiful lady. Wen Huo reached out to steady her and noticed she was crying. Wen Huo didn’t pry; she brushed past her and entered the building.

While waiting for the elevator, a gentleman approached. He had a somewhat forbidden fragrance about him, similar to what’s used in churches. She didn’t quite understand it but loved the scent. A moment later, a young lady with a visibly pregnant belly also walked over.

The elevator doors opened, and the three of them entered one after another, then turned to face the door.

Inside the elevator, the pregnant lady reminded Wen Huo that her shoelace was untied. Wen Huo thanked her and was about to bend down to tie it when her backpack slid from her shoulder, hanging in front of her chest and hindering her movement.

Seeing this, the gentleman squatted down and tied her shoelace for her.

Wen Huo watched him tie her shoelace, suddenly holding her breath in her chest. Her intense focus made her unaware of the pregnant lady’s subtle expression.

The gentleman tied her shoelace, and she thanked him.

The elevator arrived. Wen Huo and the gentleman exited together, then walked one after another to a door. The gentleman opened the door, and Wen Huo waited quietly behind him.

The door opened, and he entered first, followed by Wen Huo.

The door closed. He stood with his back to Wen Huo, unbuttoning the cuff of his right sleeve with his left hand. Just his back view was more captivating than the forbidden scent on him, making it hard to find a breathing rhythm.

Wen Huo put down her backpack and softly called him: “Professor Shen.”

He unbuttoned his cuff, loosened his tie, and poured himself a glass of water before speaking: “Come here.”

Wen Huo walked towards him, just as she had every time over the past year. She rarely refused his requests, and his attitude towards her had always matched the upper-middle class’s perception of this area—a mistress district.