Chapter 38: The Aloof God Cannot Be Approached (13)
Huo Xian followed the sound, and upon seeing the person, he showed an appropriate level of surprise: “Professor Bai?” In contrast to his expression was his posture; like many young people who encounter their idols or someone they respect, he stood up straight, humble and respectful.
Bai Haihan was a little surprised. He asked softly, “Young man, do you know me?”
“I’ve read your articles and lectures. Your research on superconducting materials for magnetic confinement fusion reactors is world-renowned.” Huo Xian said earnestly, and when he mentioned superconducting materials, a look of admiration unconsciously filled his eyes.
Bai Haihan was even more surprised. He said kindly, “That was more than ten years ago. How old are you, young man?”
“Sixteen. I’m in my first year of high school.” Although Bai Haihan’s tone was teasing, Huo Xian still answered seriously, then lowered his voice slightly: “Your contributions to the country will not be forgotten by time. Your name will forever be engraved on the milestone of China’s physics community.”
Huo Xian’s words were not without flattery, but Bai Haihan had heard a lot of flattery and could already distinguish the intentions of those who flattered him. Obviously, the young man in front of him wasn’t saying these words to please him, but from the bottom of his heart.
The waiter, delivering the takeout boxes, glanced at Bai Haihan, seeming puzzled why he wasn’t sitting down, but didn’t ask. After she left, Huo Xian frowned slightly: “Professor Bai, why are you…” He glanced at the young man, Hua Jin, beside Bai Haihan, his voice lower: “Here?”
Bai Haihan naturally understood what he meant. He waved his hand, saying gently, “It’s okay, everyone is here.” Then he asked, “Are you waiting for your family? Can I sit down for a while?”
Huo Xian showed an almost imperceptible look of being flattered, quickly saying: “No, I’m alone. Please sit.” “…” This was referring to Hua Jin, but Hua Jin didn’t sit down; instead, after Bai Haihan sat down, he stood obediently beside him.
Meeting Huo Xian’s puzzled gaze, the young Hua Jin’s ears turned red, and he said shyly, “It’s okay, I’ll stand for a while.”
Huo Xian didn’t mind.
Bai Haihan then explained why he had stopped. The problem Huo Xian had been working on was a rather difficult physics competition problem, but his solution was very smooth, and his handwriting was also very beautiful. The next problem was even more difficult, and Bai Haihan was curious if Huo Xian had a solution, so he spoke up.
Huo Xian didn’t hesitate: “I have a solution.”
Before Bai Haihan could speak again, he picked up his pen and started solving the problem. As he said, his solution was clear, and his writing was smooth and without hesitation. A difficult problem (four small questions) that might take half an hour to solve in the finals was solved by him in less than ten minutes, unbelievably fluent.
Hua Jin initially shyly stole glances at Huo Xian a few times, but later his attention was completely focused on his paper, clearly captivated.
Hua Jin was also Bai Haihan’s student. The original owner had met him once before, and because it was only once, Huo Yuan, who wasn’t sensitive to human appearances, didn’t recognize him.
“Good, good, the solution is beautiful.” Bai Haihan put on his reading glasses, carefully looked at his solution twice, and praised him repeatedly, before asking, “Young man, what’s your name? Do you like physics?”
Huo Xian answered truthfully: “My name is Huo Xian. Huo of squander, Xian of idle. I like physics.”
“A high school student can already solve the final exam questions. Is it due to cultivated interest from a young age?” Bai Haihan, like a kind elder, asked without putting any pressure on him.
Huo Xian nodded: “My father is a university physics teacher. Since I was a child, he has explained the principles to me using physics knowledge through some details in life.”
Bai Haihan smiled and nodded: “Good, very good, this is how it should be taught.” Then he sighed slightly. Due to China’s national conditions, the older generation rarely paid attention to cultivating children’s interests and hobbies; there was no concept of such cultivation at that time. Although there is now such a concept, it is ignored because of the burden of raising children. However, he also believed that everything was temporary, and China’s future would be better.
Bai Haihan was interested in chatting and asked some more in-depth questions. Huo Xian could answer some, and some he couldn’t. He wasn’t nervous about the ones he couldn’t answer, but humbly asked for guidance and took notes. Bai Haihan found him even more amiable as he saw his thick notebook, and felt extremely relieved.
However, when he casually mentioned his future study direction, Bai Haihan didn’t expect to get an accurate answer, yet he did.
“Military weapons.” Huo Xian’s answer was only two words.
Bai Haihan was surprised and even more interested: “Is your father also researching military weapons?”
Huo Xian shook his head: “My father studies thermodynamics. He also wanted to join the institute to learn from you, but you happened to have developed superconducting materials in those years, and everyone who wanted to join the institute was top talent in the country. My father… fell short.”
“Oh?” Bai Haihan raised his eyebrows.
Every time Huo’s father saw the superconducting materials on TV news, he couldn’t help but regret the fierce competition to join the institute back then, and regretted not being smarter. If he were smarter, he might not have been rejected…
Huo Xian didn’t expose his father’s shortcomings, but said instead: “Three years ago, the US military publicly admitted to making significant progress in antimatter bomb research.”
Hearing the words “antimatter bomb,” Bai Haihan’s expression darkened slightly. Currently, not many countries are researching antimatter weapons. Antimatter weapons are energy weapons, theoretically incredibly powerful, but many problems remain unsolved in the research process.
Bai Haihan looked at Huo Xian with a look of exploration and seriousness. He didn’t expect that the young man he had met unexpectedly today would be interested in antimatter weapons. He thought that children’s ideas are always innocent and bold, daring to think, daring to do, and passionate.
“Study hard. Your future is in your hands.” Bai Haihan encouraged him.
After chatting for a while, Bai Haihan remembered that he had interrupted Huo Xian’s meal. Even though the restaurant had air conditioning, the food had become cold after almost half an hour.
Professor Bai felt a little embarrassed and was about to order another table for him.
Huo Xian stopped him: “It’s okay, Professor Bai. I’ll just ask the waiter to heat it up. Would you like to join me? I’ll order a few more dishes.”
This time, it was Bai Haihan’s turn to stop him. He had an appointment with friends, and naturally, the location was a private room on the second floor with better privacy and security.
To compensate Huo Xian, Bai Haihan ordered a few more dishes for him after going upstairs, but he didn’t give him an email address to ask questions.
Huo Yuan was puzzled: [Why didn’t he give you his email?] Huo Xian performed so well, and perfectly solved the problem. Bai Haihan clearly admired him, yet something went wrong.
Huo Xian was quite calm about this. He packed the untouched dishes on the table and replied: [The research on antimatter weapons belongs to the military field. I’m still young; I’m not at that level yet.]
[You have the ability. Shouldn’t you be cultivated earlier?] Huo Yuan was puzzled.
Before Huo Xian could speak, Hua Jin, who had gone upstairs with Bai Haihan, ran over. Without saying a word, his face turned red. He said shyly, “Excuse me, Huo Xian, my name is Hua Jin, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.” Huo Xian politely nodded.
Hua Jin was a little embarrassed: “That… I’m a student at Haida Affiliated High School. I’m in my third year of high school this year.”
Hearing this, Huo Xian was slightly surprised. Hua Jin looked about the same age as him, or maybe even younger, yet he was two grades higher.
“I… can I add you as a friend? I also like physics.” Hua Jin was quite nervous, but still tried to maintain a natural expression. He had two lovely dimples when he smiled.
Huo Xian didn’t refuse and took out his phone to add him as a WeChat friend.
After adding him as a friend, Hua Jin sent him an email address, noting it was Professor Bai’s private email. He mumbled, “If you have any problems, you can send an email to ask.” He paused and added softly, “The professor is sometimes very busy, so he might not reply promptly.”
“I understand, thank you.” Huo Xian thanked him.
Hua Jin’s face turned even redder. “You’re welcome… I won’t disturb your meal. Enjoy your meal, goodbye.” He said, holding his phone, and quickly ran upstairs like a rabbit.
Making Huo Xian think he was scary.
Huo Yuan said: [He should leave early.]
Huo Xian: [Hm? Why?]
Huo Yuan said: [His heart rate has soared from 100 to 140 since he started talking to you, maintaining 140 for almost a minute. His sympathetic nervous system is overexcited, and there is a risk of malignant arrhythmia.]
Huo Xian: [……] He saw Hua Jin’s nervousness, but overexcited sympathetic nervous system?
When he looked away, he happened to make eye contact with a pair of eyes. At this dinner hour, the restaurant was clearly full, and the voices were loud. Yet, the person had just entered and spotted him among so many people. Was this… “fate”?
You Zi’an’s expression darkened the moment he saw Huo Xian, quickly averting his gaze, and trying to block He Wenqu with his own body. But he was almost half a head shorter than He Wenqu, and He Wenqu turned his head and saw Huo Xian.
Then You Zi’an saw the brilliance in He Wenqu’s eyes, ignoring the confusion of those around him and walking straight towards Huo Xian.
Before he reached him, his voice arrived first: “Huo Xian, didn’t you say you weren’t coming?” He said, reaching out to put his hand on Huo Xian’s shoulder.
Huo Xian raised his hand to block him, his expression cold, his voice clear and cold: “You might have misunderstood.”
“Huh? Misunderstood what? Didn’t you come to celebrate my birthday with me?” He Wenqu was already used to his coldness. After being stopped from putting his hand on his shoulder, he didn’t mind, and tried to bypass his hand and move forward.
Huo Xian’s expression turned cold, and he grabbed his wrist with one hand and pulled hard.
He Wenqu winced in pain, realizing the coldness in Huo Xian’s eyes, and couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart. He quickly said with a forced smile, “I’m sorry, I…”
“He Wenqu.” Huo Xian interrupted him, then let go of his hand, coldly saying: “My presence here today is purely coincidental. If I had known your birthday banquet was here, I wouldn’t have come.”
His words were sharp and ruthless, like a sharp knife, stabbing directly into He Wenqu’s heart.
At that moment, He Wenqu felt as if his blood had turned cold. He looked at the person close at hand, his lips trembling, asking, “Why do you hate me so much?”
Huo Xian asked back: “Don’t you know why I hate you?”
He Wenqu’s heart skipped a beat. All he could think about was “He knows! He knows! He knows!” The color drained from his lips, his mind went blank, and he didn’t know how to explain himself, or how to face Huo Xian again.
He felt like a criminal who had committed heinous crimes, and the person in front of him was the victim. He was ashamed to face the victim.
Until his wrist was grasped by someone; the warm touch brought him back from his bewilderment and guilt. He looked beside him and saw You Zi’an standing beside him, his expression firm. He really wanted to hug him and cry.
You Zi’an looked at Huo Xian coldly, his voice icy: “The person you disdain will be cherished by someone else. I just hope you won’t regret it later.”
Author’s Note: Xian Ge: No regrets.
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Thank you to the little fairies “Siwu” watering nutrient solution +1, “Lun En Freeman” watering nutrient solution +1, “EMMM” watering nutrient solution +4, “Siwu” watering nutrient solution +1
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