CH 79

After filling out Yan Uni’s direct admission confirmation form, Jiang Chen received a call from old Mr. Xiang.

Old Mr. Xiang would call Jiang Chen basically every week. When the laboratory had new data, the domestic computer science research had made new progress, or when he saw a good scientific journal article, these were all the topics of their conversations. Although the two chatted mostly on academic discussion, occasionally other things came up as well.

The life experience and academic knowledge possessed by a bigwig in the industry were like a vast ocean. Once he was willing to teach a person, it would be an understatement to describe that person’s gain with the words “benefited a lot”. Jiang Chen learned not only professional knowledge from old Mr. Xiang, but also his attitude towards scientific research and his open-mindedness towards life.

Although they hadn’t known each other for long, and they only contacted each other through mobile phones, both Jiang Chen and old Mr. Xiang felt that their relationship was more like a friendship between kindred spirits rather than between teacher and student.

So, when old Mr. Xiang said he wanted to invite Jiang Chen over to his house as a guest, Jiang Chen agreed without hesitation.

On the second weekend of December, Jiang Chen brought the latest “Changjiang Image Recognition System” to the Xiang’s.

Old Mr. Xiang had been waiting in the living room early, and before the housekeeper even had the chance to lead Jiang Chen in, he was already walking over to meet him at a vigorous pace, taking three steps at a time: “Have you brought the new image repair system you researched?”

Jiang Chen raised the backpack he was carrying, and said with a smile, “It’s here.”

“Quick, quick.” Old Mr. Xiang eagerly grabbed his wrist: “Let’s go to my study and let me see if it is as amazing as you said. The few old photos I prepared have been scanned into the computer. Later——”

“Dad.” Coming out of the living room, an elegant woman appeared. She stopped in front of the two of them with a smile, smiled kindly at Jiang Chen, and then looked at old Mr. Xiang: “This is the first time for Xiao Jiang to come to our house. And you don’t even let him sit down and have a drink.”

Old Mr. Xiang turned his head and asked Jiang Chen, “Are you thirsty?”

Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment, and Ms. Xiang winked at him.

“Maybe a little thirsty…..”

“Then you Ah Zhi can bring a glass of water to my study later.” Old Mr. Xiang waved his daughter’s hand away, and said to Jiang Chen as he went upstairs, “Where was I, oh yes, the old photos, those few photos are quite a few years old, and the faces can barely be seen very clearly, perfect to let us experiment with the restoration effect on the photos.”

Jiang Chen was dragged by old Mr. Xiang, so he could only politely nodded to Ms. Xiang, apologized and followed.

Seeing the two of them enter the study, Ms. Xiang smiled helplessly, turned around and walked into the dining room, and said to the girl waiting at the table: “Your grandfather brought him upstairs, and he didn’t even let Xiao Jiang drink a sip of water.”

The girl smiled slightly and said, “I’ve already guessed this would happen.”

“But even though we only had a brief face-to-face meeting, the child looks like a good one.” Ms. Xiang sat down next to the girl, and said with a smile, “Clean and polite, with clear eyes and a good temper. You have good eyes.”

“Eldest Aunt!” The girl huffed, her ears turning red.

“Still shy.” Ms. Xiang teased: “I’ve never seen you care so much about a boy before? You really like him? Didn’t you only meet him once?”

The girl blushed, but her tone was firm: “If you like someone, just meeting them once is enough to be sure.”

Ms. Xiang tapped her forehead: “Don’t say that Auntie didn’t give you a chance, I’ll leave it to you to deliver water to the study later.”

The girl pursed her lips into a smile and nodded.

In the study room, one old and one young put their heads together, staring at the progress bar on the laptop screen.

Old Mr. Xiang: “How long does it usually take to restore a photo?”

Jiang Chen: “Looking at the degree of blurriness, it usually takes less than two minutes. This photo should take longer.”

“I heard that even videos can be repaired?” Old Mr. Xiang asked, “Have you tried it?”

“Tested one hundred and eighty-seven times, and tested it three times after debugging.” Jiang Chen said: “The clarity and restoration are both very high, but the duration is still difficult to grasp. I have improved the testing for more than half a month, but the speed is still the same. The improvement is not much, the fastest in the laboratory was a 20-minute video, the degree of blur was average, and the repair time was 1 hour and 23 minutes.”

Old Mr. Xiang nodded: “That’s normal. It’s the computer’s CPU that slows down the speed, not your software problem. However, the current home computers on the market may not be able to load your image repair system. You are now working with Li De so is this image repair system also going to be authorized to them?”

“This is my own new product.” Jiang Chen shook his head with a smile: “At present, it is not suitable for the market. I haven’t figured out how to go about it yet.”

Old Mr. Xiang pondered for a moment, and said, “Xiao Jiang, if you believe in Grandpa, Grandpa suggests that you sell the Changjiang Image Recognition System to the country or cooperate with the country in research and development. You haven’t entered a national laboratory yet, so you may not be very clear about how much this image repair system can facilitate the current scientific research progress in our country, but you likely already know that its research and development is of great significance to the development of the country in many aspects.”

“I know, so…..”

——Knock, knock, knock.

Jiang Chen paused and looked towards the door.

The conversation was interrupted at a critical moment, causing old Mr. Xiang to frown, a hint of anger in his voice: “Who is it? Come in.”

The door of the study room was gently pushed open, and a gentle and pretty girl appeared holding a tray of water with a smile: “Grandpa, I didn’t bother you, did I?”

Old Mr. Xiang’s expression softened, and a smile appeared on his face: “Why are you here to bring the water? Didn’t you say that you have an appointment with your classmate in the morning and want to go shopping together?”

“My classmate has something to do, so we canceled it temporarily.” The girl turned her eyes to Jiang Chen, and smiled sweetly: “Do you still remember me?”

Jiang Chen nodded: “Miss Han.”

Han Qiya curved her eyes, and her voice contained delight: “It’s been almost five months since we last met at the He’s. I didn’t expect you to still remember me.”

Old Mr. Xiang turned to look at Jiang Chen: “You two know each other?”

Jiang Chen: “We’ve met once.”

There was a hint of cunning in Han Qiya’s smile: “Not only did we meet once, we even danced together.”

Old Mr. Xiang: “When?”

Han Qiya: “At He Qianyang’s birthday.”

Old Mr. Xiang was surprised: “Isn’t that when you just returned to the country?”

“That’s right.” Han Qiya blinked at Jiang Chen: “So this should be considered fate, right?”

Jiang Chen pursed his lips and smiled, but said nothing.

Han Qiya knew when to stop, and she simply put the tray of water on the tea table, and said with a smile: “Last time when I was at the He’s, I noticed that you seldom drink beverages and seem to prefer drinking plain water, so I only brought you mineral water, if you want to drink something else, I’ll go down and get it for you.”

“No, I’ll just drink water, thank you.”

Old Mr. Xiang snorted: “I have never seen you so enthusiastic towards guests before. Alright, you go downstairs to play by yourself. We still have proper business to discuss. Just call us when it’s time to eat.”

“Then I won’t bother you two, don’t exhaust yourselves, remember to rest.”

“Got it, got it.” Old Mr. Xiang waved his hand: “Go quickly.”

The door of the study was closed, old Mr. Xiang glanced at Jiang Chen’s expression, sighed in his heart for his granddaughter, and said, “Let’s continue.”

Back at the desk, the photos on the computer have already been loaded. Seeing the highly restored old photos on the screen, old Mr. Xiang put all the distracting thoughts out of his mind, and couldn’t help but stretch out his hand to rub it, “This restoration rate——it’s too high.”

Jiang Chen smiled, not pretending to be modest: “This is the highest standard that current technology can achieve.”

“If it’s used in military research or medicine…..” Old Mr. Xiang withdrew his hand in a murmur, then turned to look at Jiang Chen: “Xiao Jiang, your system is of great use.”

Pausing for a moment, old Mr. Xiang straightened up and said in a solemn tone, “I hope you will carefully consider my proposal just now. The Changjiang Image Recognition System you developed can bring far more than just money and benefits. If you can make the best use of it, it is very likely to be an important part of promoting the development of the country and making China a world power. Its existence is not only of great significance to China, but also to the development of human science and technology as a whole.”

Jiang Chen said seriously, “I will definitely think about it seriously.”

Old Mr. Xiang nodded, with a gratified smile on his face, but serious eyes: “Don’t disclose any information about the Changjiang Image Recognition System to anyone for the time being, it can be a calamity to hold such a precious thing in your hands. A huge fortune will also bring you danger.”

“But if you encounter trouble, come to me.” Old Mr. Xiang patted him on the shoulder: “Although Grandpa is old, I can still say a few words in some places. It’s no problem to protect you.”

Jiang Chen nodded slightly, and said with a smile, “Thank you, Grandpa Xiang.”

……

There was a knock on the study door, and the person outside said: “Grandpa, Jiang Chen, it’s time to eat.”

The two stopped discussing, and after Jiang Chen put away the scrap paper he had just used for calculations, old Mr. Xiang got up and said, “Let’s go, go down to eat.”

After opening the door and seeing the person waiting outside the study, Jiang Chen’s eyes flashed with surprise, “Mr. Xiang.”

Xiang Hong nodded with a smile and said, “We meet again.”

“What Mr. Xiang?” Old Mr. Xiang said, “You call me Grandpa, and he also calls me Grandpa. You can just call him by his name.”

Seeing Jiang Chen’s hesitant expression, Xiang Hong laughed: “Grandpa is right, we don’t need to be so formal, you can just call me Brother Xiang.”

Jiang Chen followed easily: “Brother Xiang.”

When they went downstairs, there were already two people sitting in the dining room, they were Ms. Xiang and Han Qiya whom Jiang Chen had seen when he arrived at the Xiang’s.

Seeing them coming down, Han Qiya smiled and said, “Grandpa, Jiang Chen, I’ve already prepared the rice for you.”

“What are you standing up for.” Old Mr. Xiang pulled Jiang Chen to sit beside him: “Everyone have a seat.”

Ms. Xiang smiled and said, “Dad, you dragged Jiang Chen upstairs as soon as he came, and you haven’t introduced him to us yet.”

“Introduce what.” Old Mr. Xiang picked up his chopsticks: “Your niece and your son have already met him, and didn’t you just meet him too, it’s just a family meal, how can there be so many bothersome things.”

Jiang Chen got up and smiled slightly: “Hello, Auntie. My name is Jiang Chen. I’m sorry to bother you today.”

Ms. Xiang smiled gently: “Xiao Jiang, you can call me Auntie Xiang. You, Xiao Hong and Ya Ya all know each other so don’t be too restrained and polite. Just treat this place as your own home, and you can come over to play often in the future.”

Old Mr. Xiang: “You tell him to treat this as his own house, yet you let him get up and introduce himself, Xiao Jiang, sit down and eat, just ignore them.”

Jiang Chen smiled at Ms. Xiang and sat down.

The Xiang family didn’t have the habit of eating in silence. Everyone would occasionally say a few words, discussing new periodicals. The atmosphere was harmonious and warm, and Jiang Chen gradually integrated into it.

Just when they finished talking about the new drug discovery in the latest issue of the medical journal, Ms. Xiang changed the subject and looked at Jiang Chen: “Xiao Jiang, I heard that you have been recommended to Yan University. Then this year must be much easier?”

Jiang Chen said with a smile: “Although I have received early admission, there are other things to do, so it’s not easy.”

“Is there anything else?” Ms. Xiang asked curiously, “Are you going to still take the college entrance examination?”

“Including the college entrance examination.”

“I see. Your Grandpa Xiang has mentioned it many times, saying that you are scientific research material but I have never heard of what you are researching. Could you tell Auntie?”

Old Mr. Xiang raised his eyes: “What do you want to know so much for? You’re a pharmacist, and you don’t study computers, so you won’t understand it anyway.”

“Dad, what are you saying, didn’t I learn a lot from you when I was young?”

“You still remember what you learned when you were a child?” Old Mr. Xiang snorted coldly: “If you remembered, how could you go into medicine? Not only did you dive into medicine yourself, you also brought my grandson into it as well.”

“What’s wrong with studying medicine?” Ms. Xiang said, “Do you know that the new type of…..”

At the dinner table, the father and daughter began arguing about the higher achievement of their respective industry.

Xiang Hong leaned over to Jiang Chen, and said in a low voice, “Don’t mind them, my grandfather was angry for a long time because my mother chose medicine instead of computer science, and he had originally  let go of it after a long time has passed, but later I also chose to study medicine. His promising seedling also chose to study medicine, so…..” Xiang Hong shrugged, feeling a little helpless: “We’re used to them arguing every now and then, and this is their way of strengthening their relationship.”

Jiang Chen smiled, “It can be seen that Grandpa Xiang and Aunt Xiang have a very good relationship.”

“I remember you have a good relationship with Shi Fengyue.” Xiang Hong lowered his voice: “I’ll tell you a little secret about him. My grandfather’s most promising seedling is actually Shi Fengyue. When I chose not to learn computer science my grandfather was only angry for two days, but when Shi Fengyue didn’t choose computer science either, he is still angry even now and doesn’t want to see him at all.”

Jiang Chen: “Why?”

“At the beginning, I didn’t choose to study computer science because my talent is mediocre in this area. Grandpa knew it very well, so the anger was at most just anger at me following my mother’s old path, but Shi Fengyue is different. He was only seven or eight years old at that time, and because he was not in good health and could not go out to play he only spent his days with the computer at home and reading books.” Xiang Hong recalled: “For a long time, other than the research institute, my grandfather went to the Shi family’s house every day. He taught him everything he knew, and because Shi Fengyue was too smart and learned things too quickly, while my grandfather taught him, he even also taught himself other branches within computer science every day, just to be able to teach Shi Fengyue fresher knowledge every day. At that time, he really had high hopes for Shi Fengyue and naturally feelings developed after a long time of mentorship, so it was not only just high hopes. Our family all felt that, to Grandpa, Shi Fengyue might be more like another grandson to him than just a student.”

Jiang Chen did not expect that Shi Fengyue and old Mr. Xiang actually had such a past. He raised his eyes and looked at old Mr. Xiang and Ms. Xiang who were still arguing, and suddenly recalled that every time he clashed with Shi Fengyue, Shi Fengyue seemed to be like a copy of old Mr. Xiang, arguing strongly for his views and being extremely stubborn.

“Why didn’t Shi Fengyue choose computer science?”

Xiang Hong sighed softly: “This matter is a knot in Grandpa’s heart, and it is also something that none of us could understand, but I think there must be a special reason.”

“Actually, it wasn’t just my grandfather at the time, because Shi Fengyue was learning things so fast, several old professors in the compound especially liked to teach him, but except for computer science, there was no subject that could keep him going for more than half a year, because it simply didn’t take more than half a year for him to reach the level that others have devoted themselves to studying for a decade, and this was even when he was in poor health and learning many subjects at the same time.”

“So, at the beginning, everyone, including my grandfather, thought that Shi Fengyue would engage in computer science research in the future. Not only because of his talent in computers and his relationship with Grandpa, but also because it is the subject that he persisted in the longest and studied most in-depth before the age of fourteen.”

Jiang Chen raised his eyes: “Before the age of fourteen?”

“Shi Fengyue disappeared for a year when he was fourteen years old, there was a lot of commotion at that time, but I don’t know the details of this incident, I only know that at that time almost everyone thought that something might have happened to Shi Fengyue, but unexpectedly about a year later, he came back. Not long after he came back, he went abroad to study medicine, and Grandpa has been angry because of this until now.”

Xiang Hong put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth and said with a smile: “But I think what Grandpa is really angry about is not because he suddenly chose to study medicine, but because he was worried about what happened in the year when he disappeared without a trace.”

Sitting in the car, Jiang Chen looked at the shadows outside the window passing by quickly, and what Xiang Hong said during lunch came to the forefront of his mind.

Where did Shi Fengyue go at the age of fourteen? What happened that year? How did he live alone for a year without anyone finding out?

Jiang Chen was rarely curious about other people’s experiences, and he also felt that he had no interest in prying into other people’s privacy, but for some reason, these questions kept lingering in his mind, making him unable to think about other things.

At a red light, the car stopped slowly. Jiang Chen scanned all the license plates he could see in front of him, and memorized the numbers and letters in a string in his mind. Cars bagan moving on the other roadway and new cars filled in empty spaces. The wheels in his brain kept running without rest, adding new numbers after the previous numbers, and when the street lights lit up, the combination of numbers and letters had reached the hundreds.

This was his habit when he usually found it difficult to concentrate and get rid of distracting thoughts. Memorizing requires concentration, and when memorizing a string of irregular numbers and letters, he had to recall the numbers and letters he memorized before. Before he knew it, his attention would be completely focused on the combination of numbers and letters in his mind, without any distractions.

However, the method that always worked before lost its effect today. When the car started up again, Jiang Chen dropped the string of numbers and still had those questions in his mind. The difference was that he recalled his conversation with Shi Fengyue in the hospital garden.

He asked Shi Fengyue: Since you are so afraid of trouble, why do you want to be a doctor?

Shi Fengyue asked back: Since you are so smart, why do you still follow the prescribed order?

At that time, although he and Shi Fengyue were the relationship between a doctor and a family member of a patient, every time they met, they would always oppose each other unconsciously, so when he got such an answer, Jiang Chen only thought that Shi Fengyue just didn’t want to answer this question, so he didn’t ask any more and didn’t think much about it again.

But thinking about it now, Shi Fengyue’s expression seemed to be a little different from the previous moment’s casual expression when he spoke, but Jiang Chen couldn’t recall exactly what was different.

……

Not long after Jiang Chen left, Xiang Hong came out of the kitchen.

“Have you finished washing the dishes?” Ms. Xiang was watching TV. Seeing that he was about to go out, she asked, “Where are you going? Didn’t you say you are off today?”

Xiang Hong put the paper bag on the side, put on his shoes and said, “I’m going to the research institute.”

“What’s in your bag? Are you taking it to the research institute?”

“Experimental sample.” Xiang Hong got up: “I’m leaving, don’t wait for me today, I won’t be home for dinner.”

Seeing that he left without looking back, Ms. Xiang let out a sigh and took Han Qiya’s hand: “It’s better to have a girl, if I gave you a sister instead, she would definitely accompany us to watch TV and go shopping together. I might even have a granddaughter already.”

Han Qiya smiled and said, “Cousin must have something important to do.”

After picking up the car from the garage, Xiang Hong called He Yanfeng.

“Old He, where are you?”

“The company.”

Xiang Hong glanced at the paper bag on the side, looked away, grabbed the steering wheel and said, “I’ll meet you at your company. There seemed to be an abnormality in your DNA test before. I’ll fetch a few hairs from you and check again later.”

He Yanfeng had no doubts: “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

“See you later.”