Chapter 34 – Succeed tomorrow

Translator: Abo Dammen

Fu Nan’an’s single sentence put Chi Zhao’s heart at ease. With Professor Fu holding firm, what was there to be afraid of? After chatting a bit more, Chi Zhao held his phone and lay on the bed, drifting off into a hazy nap. When he woke up again, his other roommates were already gone.

Chi Zhao had the day off and wasn’t in a hurry to go out. After leisurely washing up, he went to the lab. The project was about to be publicly announced, and everyone in the research group was quite excited. For them, it was practically a done deal. They had prepared to celebrate early on. Chen Kaiji, who was working on a different project under Fu Nan’an, made a special trip to find Chi Zhao to talk, saying he wanted to bask in their reflected glory.

“You absolutely have to treat me to a meal, Chi-ge,” Chen Kaiji said, slinging an arm around Chi Zhao’s neck as soon as he saw him still sitting in a corner reading. “I see you bustling around every day, this project definitely has half the credit thanks to you.”

Chi Zhao was startled by him and found the arm around his neck uncomfortable, so he reached up and pried the arm off. “Why should I treat you for our project group’s matter? I contribute the effort, and I have to pay money too?”

Chen Kaiji grinned cheekily, shamelessly trying to drape his arm over Chi Zhao again. “So what? What’s our relationship? What’s your relationship with Professor Fu? If you round it up, we’re practically family. Why use such distant language among family?”

Who knew where he got such crooked logic. Chi Zhao wouldn’t let him get closer, backing away a bit. “Go on, get out of here. Professor Fu and I are completely pure. Don’t you go slandering us here.”

Chen Kaiji knew about the situation between Chi Zhao and Fu Nan’an. Chi Zhao hadn’t hidden it from him. Both were people who had taken the initiative in pursuing love, with Chen Kaiji having comforted Chi Zhao several times right after the rejection. Now, seeing the relationship between the two progressing, Chen Kaiji was naturally the happiest person besides the parties involved.

He hadn’t dared to joke about it before, afraid of upsetting Chi Zhao, but now he had no fear. He practically found new ways to tease Chi Zhao everyday. “Isn’t it going to happen soon anyway? Chi-ge, just confess today, and you’ll succeed in getting with him tomorrow. The day after, the kid will be in university.”

“Alright, alright, do I need to respond to the national policy and have a second child for you someday too?”

It was all in jest, and Chi Zhao let him talk. They joked and laughed for a long time, with smiles all over their faces.

Although they hadn’t yet pierced that layer of window paper, Chi Zhao could feel the change in Fu Nan’an’s attitude towards him. He didn’t know if this counted as the ambiguous period, but this feeling of being entangled yet secretive was strange and wonderful. He didn’t dare guess Fu Nan’an’s thoughts, yet he also found this feeling of his whole heart rising and falling quite interesting. Since Fu Nan’an wasn’t making it explicit, he wouldn’t state it directly either. In any case, it took one to beat and one to be beaten, which is a willing dynamic.

After bantering for a long time, they finally moved away from the topic of having children. Chi Zhao patted Chen Kaiji’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. Once we secure this project, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal.”

After working hard for so long, seeing the project about to be approved, everyone in the group was thrilled. The senior brothers and sisters worked with high morale, and the lab was filled with laughter and cheerful voices. Everyone had already discussed where to go to celebrate in the evening. But when the afternoon announcement of the list came down, their group’s name wasn’t on it.

Seeing it, the lab fell into instant silence. It was a long time before someone finally spoke up weakly, “Is this… a mistake?”

The final list was to be publicly announced on the official website, but beforehand, they had clearly heard rumors that their project was ranked first. Several people, with tacit understanding, refreshed the website page, closed it, and opened it again. The list in the announcement column remained unchanged, which meant they had been screened out.

Silence.

Still silence.

The smiles stiffened on everyone’s faces. Clearly, no one had encountered this situation before. Finally, Chen Kaiji was the first to speak, his tone certain, “You should call and ask. This must be a mistake. Weren’t the defense scores and rankings already out? What else could get you screened out? Ethics review? You know that’s impossible, right?”

The defense ranking was basically the final list, and the subsequent audits were just formalities. Chen Kaiji’s words finally broke the long-standing silence in the lab. Everyone also felt this was too preposterous.

The eldest senior sister nodded. “Right, let’s go ask.”

Another said, “Call Professor Fu first.”

Fu Nan’an had outpatient clinic today and hadn’t come to the lab yet. They hurriedly tried to call him, but Fu Nan’an had obviously already received the news and beat them to it, calling first. “Don’t worry yet.”

Through the phone receiver, Fu Nan’an’s voice was still very deep and steady, “I’ve already asked someone to look into it. We should get a reply by tonight at the

earliest.”

With Professor Fu’s statement, the people in the lab felt slightly reassured. Each of them said “Okay,” still holding onto hope. They absolutely believed in their own capabilities and couldn’t believe they had been eliminated just like that.

The period of anxiously waiting for the result was destined to be uncomfortable.

Although the project hadn’t been approved for now, the work that needed to be done still had to be done. Taking a step back, even if this project really wasn’t selected, they still had to strive for the next opportunity. Life always has moments of hitting a wall. They couldn’t just give up because of one failure.

7 PM, the liveliest time in the lab.

Fu Nan’an was also in the lab. He had swapped shifts with someone and came early to supervise the students’ experiments. While called “supervising,” it was more about comforting them. Everyone felt bad about what happened. When Professor Fu was around, the project group felt like it had a backbone. He was their support.

And besides conducting experiments, everyone was tacitly waiting for something. It was hope, but also a judgment.

“Incoming call reminder, Professor Zhang, 158…”

It was a call from a teacher on the review panel.

The lab was very quiet. Fu Nan’an stood up and walked outside the lab. Chi Zhao was a bit worried and tiptoed out after him.

The corridor was quiet. Chi Zhao carefully moved to a spot near Professor Fu. Fu Nan’an couldn’t see, so he didn’t notice Chi Zhao’s presence. The voice from the phone was muffled. Chi Zhao held his breath, and through the back-and-forth conversation, he managed to roughly understand what they were discussing.

Professor Zhang was one of the expert panel judges, representing a certain authority. He said that personally, he very much admired Fu Nan’an’s project. However, this was a university-industry collaboration project. The defense result was not the final outcome, and the practical feasibility still needed to be evaluated by the foundation.

It sounded like he had said everything, yet also like he had said nothing at all. Chi Zhao didn’t know if organizations like this all preferred to be evasive. It was hard to find a definite answer in their words. Professor Zhang’s meaning was very clear, that they greatly admired Fu Nan’an, regretted this outcome, but the established fact could not be changed.

If the established fact cannot be changed, then surely asking for a reason isn’t too much, is it? In his agitated state, Chi Zhao made a slight noise. Fu Nan’an immediately looked towards him. “Who’s there?”

Chi Zhao was momentarily unsure whether to admit it, but Fu Nan’an had already hung up the phone and was looking in his direction. “Is that Chi Zhao?”

It had to be said that Professor Fu’s perception was too sharp, so it was hard to hide anything from him. Since he couldn’t hide it, he wouldn’t try. Chi Zhao touched the tip of his nose, a bit embarrassed, and called out, “Professor Fu.”

“So it really is you,” Fu Nan’an’s expression softened upon hearing Chi Zhao’s voice. Chi Zhao asked how he knew it was him. Fu Nan’an smiled and said, “You’re probably the only one who would follow me out to eavesdrop.”

Chi Zhao embarrassedly rubbed his face.

“How much did you hear?” Fu Nan’an asked him.

Chi Zhao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I think I heard pretty much everything.”

Fu Nan’an asked again, “Do you feel quite angry?”

Chi Zhao nodded and said yes. Fu Nan’an said, “I’m angry too. Don’t worry, this matter won’t just be left like this.”

He paused, then continued, his tone very steady and deep, “I can accept any failure, but definitely not under such unclear and unjustified circumstances.”

Professor Fu had always been this kind of person. He acted this way himself and taught everyone the same principle: one should fight for their rights, regardless of the final outcome.

In the following days, Fu Nan’an was noticeably busier, inquiring for information everywhere, searching for evidence. Amidst the busyness, Professor Fu visibly lost weight. Chi Zhao often saw him walking hurriedly one moment and leaving hastily the next. Within a couple of days, a large bruise appeared on Fu Nan’an’s temple. He had bumped into something because he was walking too fast and not paying attention.

Professor Fu’s anxiety made Chi Zhao anxious too. Seeing the wound on Fu Nan’an’s face upset Chi Zhao more than if he had been hurt himself. Whenever he had free time, he would run to Fu Nan’an’s office to help him apply medicine. The medicated oil felt cool on the bruise. Chi Zhao massaged it carefully and asked Fu Nan’an about the current situation.

“Not confirmed yet,” Fu Nan’an’s eyes showed fatigue but also determination. “But there will definitely be a day when it is confirmed.”

There really wasn’t much Chi Zhao could do to help with this matter. Fortunately, Fu Nan’an still had his senior colleague, Jiang Mingyuan, willing to help. Jiang Mingyuan had helped Fu Nan’an many times before. Chi Zhao’s first reaction upon hearing he was also assisting was relief.

“Professor Jiang, if there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Chi Zhao said earnestly and sincerely when he ran into Jiang Mingyuan in Fu Nan’an’s office that day. “I don’t know a lot, but I will definitely help wherever I can.”

Jiang Mingyuan was a professor in his early 40s. His features were somewhat sharp, but his expression was kind. When he heard Chi Zhao’s words, he smiled and then gently patted Chi Zhao’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I will help your Professor Fu.”

Both Fu Nan’an and Jiang Mingyuan gave off a very reliable feeling. With them taking charge, Chi Zhao felt less worried. Another day, when Chi Zhao went to buy

food for Fu Nan’an and returned, he happened to see Jiang Mingyuan in Fu Nan’an’s office. Not wanting to disturb them, Chi Zhao waited outside the door for a long time before entering. Just as Chi Zhao entered, Jiang Mingyuan was about to leave. Chi Zhao asked, “Professor Jiang, will you join us for the meal?”

Jiang Mingyuan’s complexion didn’t look good. He forced a smile and said, “I have something to attend to right now. Next time.”

Jiang Mingyuan’s expression was unpleasant, and Fu Nan’an’s was similarly grim. As soon as Chi Zhao entered, he began to worry. He quickly set the food aside and went to touch Fu Nan’an’s hand. He asked if something had happened. Fu Nan’an held his hand loosely in return and said, “It’s nothing.”