WBSGVS Chapter 42

Qingli thought that contacting Dong Qing would take at least another six months. After all, it was only November.

As a senior in high school, she no longer had to worry about math competitions. Her focus was now on mastering the fundamentals and improving her physics skills.

With plenty of time on her hands, Qingli’s pace became more relaxed, allowing her to once again enjoy high school life.

Every day, she rushed to the cafeteria with a group of energetic students to get in line for lunch. After school, she would meet up with a few close friends to shop for accessories, and on weekends, they occasionally went shopping for new clothes together.

She also occasionally ran into Pei Xiyue.

Since that one encounter, the two, who had already rarely met, had become even less likely to cross paths. However, after the math competition, Qingli found that she encountered him more frequently when she had some free time.

Each time, Pei Xiyue looked at her with an expression that suggested he felt he had let her down, which puzzled Qingli and made her even less inclined to interact with him.

While enjoying her life, Qingli’s skills in physics improved even faster than before. In this field, she truly felt like a fish in water—completely at ease. With a solid foundation in math, her progress was rapid.

Before long, her physics teacher shook her head and said, “No, if you go any further, you’ll exceed the level of a typical competition. You need to find a specialized teacher.”

The teacher was responsible for multiple classes, preparing lessons, teaching, grading assignments, and answering questions from other students. Teaching at a deeper level would be a burden for her.

Qingli understood this well and noticed that Professor Zhang seemed to take a liking to her, so she mustered the courage to ask him for help.

He quickly provided her with a series of exercises and a WeChat ID: “If you have any questions, just ask her. You can call her ‘Senior.’”

Qingli added her as a friend and intended to offer payment, knowing she would need more than a brief assistance. However, the other party was very enthusiastic and refused to accept any payment, saying only to focus on her studies.

Days passed, and the problems she received became increasingly difficult. One day, after sending a question, she received a voice message in response.

She assumed it was from her Senior, but when she opened it, she heard the voice of a gentle middle-aged man.

This voice was deeply etched in the original owner’s memory, impossible to forget.

It was Dong Qing’s.

He briefly pointed out the most critical aspect of the problem, and the voice message lasted no more than six seconds.

After listening, Qingli didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she answered the question first, took a photo of her solution, and sent it back, then politely asked, “Thank you! Are you Senior’s teacher?”

No wonder her Senior was so enthusiastic—did she know Qingli would eventually study under Dong Qing?

The other party sent another voice message, this time with a much gentler tone, sounding more like the man from the original owner’s memories: “Yes, young one, add me on WeChat, and I will give you problems to work on.”

Qingli promptly added him using the number he provided. She quickly received a response, which was a massive file.

It took her quite a while to download and open it, but once she did, it was filled with various physics problems, all neatly categorized.

However, beyond this, Dong Qing did not contact her further; any questions she had were still directed to her Senior.

By the time she finished all the problems and sent them to Dong Qing’s email, it was already March of the following year.

Qingli then received a voice message from Dong Qing: “You did well on the problems. I heard you’re also good at math. Are you interested in coming to school early? There’s a small project that requires students proficient in math.”

After successfully securing a recommendation, Qingli no longer needed to take the college entrance exam, and she could also skip classes as long as she participated in the joint graduation examination at the end of high school, provided she had the school’s approval.

Upon hearing this, Qingli was certainly interested. A professor from the National Defense University would have the school’s backing. She immediately typed: “Of course, I’d love to. When can I start? I can leave right away.”

“No rush. Let me contact your school’s teachers first. You’re still a minor, and I need to get the school’s consent.”

“Okay.”

With everything settled, Qingli told Xu Nianhan immediately. They had previously been rivals, but after the math competition, they had moved into different fields. They weren’t exactly competitors anymore, but they still exchanged ideas and studied together occasionally.

Xu Nianhan was very supportive: “That’s great! It’s a pity no one has contacted me; otherwise, I’d want to go too.”

Qingli happily chatted with him for a while before starting to prepare for her move.

The National Defense University was in the western province, which wasn’t a bustling area, but it was relatively prosperous due to the school, and there were plenty of rental apartments available.

After the math competition, Qingli, the first-place winner, received a prize of 100,000 yuan. Coupled with the money she received from the Pei family earlier, she had enough funds to directly contact an agent via video call to help her select a fully furnished two-bedroom apartment that was very close to the school.

Within a week, she received approval for her leave from school, and her belongings were packed up and air-freighted.

With everything settled, Qingli entered the laboratory only to discover that it was not Dong Qing’s project that needed manpower; it was a project run by his students.

This made sense.

She initially thought he was opening a backdoor for her, knowing her identity.

However, taking advantage of this opportunity, she performed exceptionally well in the group. She excelled in math and absorbed physics knowledge rapidly. At first, she could only assist with some calculations, but after a while, she was able to help with some operations as well.

As time passed, Qingli celebrated her eighteenth birthday in the company of her senior brothers and sisters. Although it was a bit tiring, she gained a wealth of knowledge.

During a gathering in the group, Dong Qing, as the mentor, came over and specifically praised her, saying that she wouldn’t need to go through any assessments and could transfer to a different department at the start of the semester.

“Wow! Our little junior sister has become a little junior sister now!”

“Our group is no longer the only flower reigning supreme!”

The junior sister shot a fierce glare at the one who spoke and rubbed Qingli’s head: “Oh, our little junior sister is so impressive! If we team up, we can make these boys kneel in surrender!”

Qingli smiled softly, not saying much.

Who wouldn’t like a girl who was not only talented but also humble and pretty, with a sweet personality? Even the usually aloof Dong Qing couldn’t help but remind the seniors to take good care of her.

After wrapping up the experiments, Dong Qing went to visit his teacher, Lin Hengzhi.

However, Lin Hengzhi, who had been in the hospital before, has now returned to the research institute. Feeling a bit better, he was eager to continue his research.

To see him, Dong Qing would have to wait until mealtime.

At that time, someone would chase him out of the lab for lunch, insisting he couldn’t return until he was full.

“Teacher, today I brought you pig liver soup, bok choy, and twice-cooked pork,” Dong Qing said as he placed the lunch box on the table and took out each dish.

The food was prepared by his wife, and both husband and wife showed great respect for this teacher, frequently delivering meals without complaint.

On days off, it was Dong Qing who delivered the meals; on working days, it was his wife.

Even Lin Hengzhi, who was known for being hard to please, softened his expression in the face of such devoted students. “Why go through all this trouble? I don’t eat that much.”

He held the rice bowl and began to eat the dishes.

Dong Qing joined him, and the portions were substantial enough that at least one more person could join them. He chuckled, “It’s just three dishes and a soup; it’s not much trouble at all!”

Lin Hengzhi grunted and continued eating.

Dong Qing knew his teacher didn’t like to talk much and preferred to do the talking himself. “Teacher, I recently discovered a particularly promising talent. She’s a little girl with a special gift for physics; she learns very quickly. Plus, she’s also great at math—she won first place in the math competition!”

Lin Hengzhi initially didn’t react, but when he heard “first place in the math competition,” he glanced at Dong Qing in surprise. “How did you notice this little girl? Be careful, or Old Tan will come crying to me.”

Dong Qing chuckled to himself. “That’s not my concern. She insisted on joining the physics department. You know our department is the strongest in the academy, and the math competition’s recommendation can’t directly choose her. I specifically called Dean Tan to mention her. If she passes the assessment, I’ll help her transfer at the start of the semester.”

Hearing this, Lin Hengzhi nodded. “That’s good; doing research isn’t an easy task. You should take good care of this little girl.”

“Ah, she doesn’t need me to take care of her anymore,” Dong Qing shook his head and said with a hint of pride, “Her learning ability is exceptional. I heard that she only studied for more than half a year to win first place in the math competition. As for physics, she’s progressing even faster. Since the math competition ended last November, she’s been seriously studying physics for just six months, and her hands-on skills are almost on par with the graduate students!”

“Wow!” Lin Hengzhi’s eyes lit up. Though he was reclusive by nature, he had taken in many apprentices because he couldn’t bear to waste talent. This girl reminded him of his granddaughter.

She was also a child with remarkable learning abilities.

However, he hadn’t followed his granddaughter’s news for a long time. He only had time to think about her during meals, his mind still preoccupied with the recent experiments. He generally found Dong Qing’s conversations uninteresting, but this time he listened intently.

He knew his personality; since his wife left him, he hadn’t dared to say a word out of guilt. He wouldn’t even dare to raise his granddaughter himself. All he could do was ask a friend for help. The best he could do was provide her with a good environment, believing she would be better off without him.

As Lin Hengzhi contemplated this, he took out his phone, awkwardly unlocked it, and a flood of various messages appeared. After scrolling through them, he found the message he had been hoping for. Though it came a bit later than usual, it was particularly heartwarming.

The text message stated that his granddaughter’s grades had been improving and that she had ranked among the top in recent monthly exams. However, there were no updates for the last two months.

Just as Lin Hengzhi was puzzled by this, he set his phone down. Before he could react, he heard Dong Qing answer a phone call, his voice immediately becoming tense: “You said Fu Qingli is sick? What’s wrong with her?”

“Why was she sleeping in the lab last night? Didn’t I tell you to take care of her?”

Dong Qing frowned, irritated with his students for neglecting the girl. She had come from the southern province alone without any relatives to look after her.

Concerned about this matter, he didn’t notice the shocked and agitated expression on the teacher’s face. Once he heard his students’ replies, his expression improved slightly. He asked about Qingli’s condition before hanging up the phone.

After putting down the phone, he glanced apologetically at the teacher and explained, “Fu Qingli is the child I mentioned. She’s an orphan who came here alone from the southern province. She just turned eighteen a while ago. I asked her senior brothers and sisters to take good care of her, but it turns out they neglected her, and she got sick. They’re all research fanatics, just like you, and they don’t take care of their health.”

He spoke in one breath, but his voice grew softer as he noticed the teacher’s expression. Feeling anxious, he asked, “Teacher, are you… okay? Is something wrong?”

Lin Hengzhi hurriedly snapped back to reality, blinking as his eyes turned misty. A tear escaped his eye and dampened his trousers.

He took a couple of deep breaths, suppressing his emotions, and said slowly, “What did you just say her name was? Say it again!”

Dong Qing’s heart raced. Seeing the teacher in such an uncharacteristic state, he couldn’t help but speculate; could she be a relative of the teacher? He repeated, “Fu Qingli. ‘Fu’ is the character for Taifu, ‘Qing’ means blue, and ‘Li’ means glazed. She just turned eighteen last month and arrived here two months ago.”

Lin Hengzhi nodded vigorously, urgency in his voice. “That’s her! She came here!”

“Teacher, don’t rush. Just tell me who she is. She’s right here; she won’t run away. I’ll have her come see you right now!” Dong Qing reassured him while holding his hand.

Lin Hengzhi slowly calmed down, though his chest still felt a bit agitated. He had devoted most of his thoughts to research, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love his granddaughter. Previously, he hadn’t dared to meet her; he felt ashamed. Now that she was truly in front of him, the urge to see her surged uncontrollably.

However, he knew the complexities of his identity. Since he had decided to keep it hidden, he didn’t want to reveal himself. Therefore, Lin Hengzhi looked at his student, his lips trembling slightly as he said in a hushed voice, “You know that your teacher’s wife left me because I neglected my family, almost causing her to have an accident, right? That’s why she divorced me and took the child away.”

Dong Qing nodded, cautious not to say too much about it, but secretly disapproving of the teacher’s stance.

Lin Hengzhi forced a bitter smile. “She remarried and cut off all contact with me, not wanting the child to know about a father who never took responsibility. I thought I’d spend my life like that. But eight years ago, my superiors helped me find my granddaughter.”

Dong Qing’s heart sank, confirming his suspicion. He felt a sense of relief and immediately said, “So she’s your granddaughter! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lin Hengzhi’s expression turned even more pained. “I didn’t go to see her. Just as your teacher’s wife said, I’m not fit for family life. So, I arranged for her to be adopted by a good family, my old friend…”

He recounted the deal with Pei Mingjiang and sighed. “I thought I would only be able to look at her photos and reminisce, but I never expected she would come before me. I still want to see her; please help me.”

Initially thinking Dong Qing would agree right away, he was surprised to see a strange expression mixed with anger on his face.

“Is it difficult?” Lin Hengzhi hesitated, feeling sad. If they were in different cities, it wouldn’t matter, but now they were in the same city.

Dong Qing quickly shook his head and said with difficulty, “But, teacher, you said you found her a good family, yet I heard her say her life isn’t good at all. She was even quite desperate at one point…”

“What?!” Lin Hengzhi’s face changed dramatically as he looked at him in shock and anger, instantly imagining countless scenarios of her being bullied.

But clearly… the reports from Pei Mingjiang had indicated that everything was fine…