Chapter 81: The Test

In the end, Professor Ding found himself unable to out-talk her and simply dropped the formalities altogether. Too much courtesy only bred distance. Carrying two bags, Zhong Yuxiu was about to leave when Professor Ding reached out his hand.

“Here, let me take one. A young lady shouldn’t be doing heavy lifting.”

“Don’t worry about me, I can manage this much.” She sidestepped him. “Once we’re out the door, Comrade Hao and Comrade Tian won’t let me carry anything anyway.”

At that, Professor Ding relented and walked out of the laboratory with her. Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo, seeing them emerge, hurried over.

“Comrade Zhong, Professor Ding, are you heading back?” Hao Nan asked, already reaching to take the items from Zhong Yuxiu’s hands; he took one, handing the other to Tian Shangguo.

“Yes, we’re going home for lunch. You must be hungry too. Sorry, I always lose track of time when I’m absorbed in research.” She made no attempt to correct her habit.

Hao Nan shook his head. “Your work is important. We don’t mind waiting.”

A low rumble—‘gulu gulu’—came from Hao Nan’s and Tian Shangguo’s stomachs in turn, a flicker of embarrassment passing through their eyes.

“I’m famished too. Professor Ding, let’s go and have lunch,” Yuxiu said calmly to spare the two men any embarrassment.

Professor Ding smiled and nodded, walking ahead with Zhong Yuxiu. Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo exchanged glances and quickly followed. Their physical activity meant they grew hungry easily; missing lunch was no small matter for them.

Once outside the school, the large backpacks slung over Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo’s shoulders drew many glances—their two black bundles were impossible to ignore.

When they reached home, Zhong Yuxiu took out her keys and opened the door, inviting Professor Ding inside. “Goudan!”

A series of beeps answered, and Goudan appeared at the kitchen door.

“Serve tea.”

Another beep, and Goudan turned back into the kitchen, soon returning with two cups of tea—one for each guest—before heading back to its tasks.

“Professor Ding, please have some tea to quench your thirst. I’ll go see if lunch is ready.”

“Comrade Zhong, let me go. You and Professor Ding should sit and rest,” Tian Shangguo spoke up first. With a guest present, how could he let Comrade Zhong attend to the kitchen herself?

Zhong Yuxiu smiled. “Alright, thank you.”

“No trouble at all.” Tian Shangguo set down his black cloth bag and headed straight for the kitchen.

Seeing this, Hao Nan asked, “Comrade Zhong, should I take your things upstairs or leave them downstairs?”

“Take them upstairs, just leave them by the door. Otherwise, we’ll have to move them again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hao Nan carried the two large bags up, placing them outside Zhong Yuxiu’s room, then returned. “Comrade Zhong, your things are outside your room. If you need anything moved, just let us know.”

“Thank you both.” Zhong Yuxiu smiled, then noticed Tian Shangguo coming over with bowls and chopsticks. “Comrade Tian, is lunch ready?”

Tian Shangguo nodded. “Yes, Goudan is serving the soup. It’ll be out in a moment. You and Professor Ding can wash up and get ready to eat.”

Zhong Yuxiu nodded with a soft laugh, turning to Professor Ding. “After you, Professor.”

“Alright, I’ll wash up first and see what delicious dishes Goudan has made this time.” It wasn’t his first meal at the Zhong residence; he was much more at ease now than during his first visit.

“I’ll go help.” Zhong Yuxiu quickly made her way to the kitchen, washing her hands at the sink, her eyes drifting to the dishes laid out on the counter: four meat dishes, one soup, and two vegetable dishes. The meat dishes included both cold and stir-fried selections, the soup was nourishing for the mind and spirit, and the vegetables were simply stir-fried shredded radish and Chinese cabbage—staple autumn and winter fare.

One by one, they brought out the dishes, then sat around the table and enjoyed their much-delayed lunch. Zhong Yuxiu couldn’t help but eat three bowls of rice; Professor Ding was full after just one small bowl, while Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo ate slightly more than Zhong Yuxiu.

Afterwards, Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo cleaned up, while Goudan was sent upstairs to move things into the room.

Zhong Yuxiu and Professor Ding rested for a while before heading upstairs. She opened the door and led Professor Ding into the laboratory.

“Professor Ding, shall we install and test it now? Do you think that’s feasible?”

“Absolutely. If there are any issues, we’ll correct them on the spot. Once we’re sure it works at close range, we can test it at a distance. If it works from afar, then that’s a success.”

Yuxiu nodded. The two divided the tasks: Professor Ding handled the complex camera installation; Zhong Yuxiu took care of connecting the computer and camera, ensuring the computer operated smoothly.

Professor Ding placed the camera at the farthest corner from the computer, the most secluded spot in the lab.

Zhong Yuxiu plugged in the power and turned on the computer, which came with a built-in system. After a brief initialization, the computer was up and running within minutes. She then connected the devices.

“Professor Ding, please turn on the camera.”

“Alright.” Professor Ding pressed the switch.

The camera was rather outdated. Zhong Yuxiu wished she could improve it further, but the materials wouldn’t allow for it; this was as good as it could get.

She quickly wrote a program on the spot—her mind held the blueprint, and she had created the chip’s software herself. The coding went smoothly, and as soon as it compiled, it was ready to use.

“All done.”

Professor Ding leaned in and realized she had just written a program, akin to a word processing function on a computer; but this one displayed the camera’s feed. The image wasn’t clear, but it was just good enough to distinguish who was who.

“It actually works!” He could hardly believe it. Usually, their projects required numerous, even dozens of, attempts before success. Working with Comrade Zhong was astonishingly easy—her calculations were so precise, her results almost never needed correction.

There was no need for revisions.

Professor Ding understood the principles and couldn’t help but admire her—his own youthful self paled in comparison to Zhong Yuxiu.

“Comrade Zhong, shall we try the camera downstairs?”

“Let’s.” Zhong Yuxiu nodded. “Goudan, take down the camera and install it downstairs. Bring the wiring too.”

A pair of beeps answered.

Goudan activated from standby, scanned for the camera, removed it, and carried both the wiring and the camera downstairs. On the first floor, it quickly found a suitable spot and installed the camera.

By this time, Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo had finished cleaning the kitchen. As they stepped out, they saw the scene.

“Goudan, what are you doing? What’s that you’re putting up—is it a new invention by Comrade Zhong and Professor Ding?” Hao Nan approached, circling the camera, even sticking his face in front of it.

Goudan ignored his antics.

Upstairs, Zhong Yuxiu and Professor Ding stared at the screen, where an enormous face filled the frame. The two of them were speechless for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.