Side Story 22: Gu Tingyin!

When Shen Zhijin returned to the laboratory, the group of people there was very surprised to see him.

“Senior Brother, did you come back here as soon as you got off the plane?”

“We thought you would go home first today!”

“That’s right. Two weeks on a business trip is quite long. You still have to get used to the jet lag.”

!!

Shen Zhijin put down the stack of documents in his hands with an indifferent expression on his face.

“I’ll go home after I’m done with this.”

Xu Zhe walked over and could not help but ask, “Boss, please give us a chance to live, okay?”

This prodigy was still so hardworking. Did he have a death wish or something?

Shen Zhijin said, “Give me the observation data from the past two weeks.”

“Wow.”

Shen Zhijin flipped through the experimental records before glancing at Kong Wenhan and the others.

The others were terrified.

What was going on? They had been really honest recently! They had not made any mistakes!

Finally, Kong Wenhan suddenly realized something. He leaned over, lowered his voice, and vowed, “Senior Brother, don’t worry. In the two weeks that you were away, we didn’t even… ahem… have a meal with Junior Sister Gu!”

Shen Zhijin lifted his eyelids slightly. No emotions could be seen in his calm eyes.

Kong Wenhan was excited, ‘Sure enough, my guess was right! This was what Brother Zhijin was concerned about!’

He said firmly, “It’s true! She hasn’t even been here once!”

She had not come at all. She had not even come to eat, much less see her!

As soon as Kong Wenhan finished speaking, he suddenly felt the surrounding temperature drop.

Shen Zhijin looked at him.

“Not even once?”

“Not even once!”

He had rejected her right to her face and she had ended up in the hospital just because of a meal. His senior brother was so heartless and only focused on scientific research. Which girl could stand it?

Shen Zhijin did not say anything.

She had been discharged from the hospital the next morning, and he left after sending her back to her dormitory.

At that time, she had even asked him why he was so busy, and he had told her that he needed to go to Bai City that afternoon.

Of course, she also knew that he would be coming back today.

Shen Zhijin said, “Give me the summary of the previous research papers by tomorrow.”

Kong Wenhan was speechless.

“Senior Brother, this… this is too sudden. Didn’t you say that it would be fine as long as it’s handed in before Friday?”

Shen Zhijin said, “I thought you were quite free recently.”

“…”

“What’s the matter? Is there a problem?”

“No, I promise to complete the task!” Kong Wenhan insisted as he held back his tears.

“Hey, why did I hear that Junior Sister Gu is here today?” Xu Zhe suddenly said.

Kong Wenhan was shocked, “Impossible! How could we not know that she was coming?”

With that face, it was impossible for there to be no news if she had been to the physics department’s territory!

Shen Zhijin also turned his head and looked over.

Xu Zhe said, “Oh, that’s right, she’s here in the area, but not here exactly. She’s at the Astronomy Society meeting. When I met Wei Cheng at noon, he said that this year’s recruitment finally had a higher proportion of boys than girls.”

In the past, Shen Zhijin had been the target of the people who joined. This time, it was obviously because of Gu Tingyin.

After all, Shen Zhijin might not go, but Gu Tingyin had officially become a member of the Astronomy Society. How could their appeal be the same?

Everyone was silent.

Shen Zhijin closed the documents in his hands.

…

In the library.

Shen Zhijin handed the book over.

The teacher in charge of filing the files smiled and said, “So, you’re back from Bai City? According to your usual habit of borrowing books, I was just thinking that you would have returned the books two weeks ago. It’s a good thing it’s not overdue.”

Shen Zhijin gently nodded.

Actually, he had planned to return the book that day, but Gu Tingyin had had an allergic reaction. He had ended up staying in the hospital for the whole day, so the matter had been put aside.

“This time, you’re borrowing these two books, right?”

The teacher flipped through the book in his hand as he prepared to register it.

He was about to nod when he suddenly heard two unfamiliar male voices coming from behind.

“Was that really Gu Tingyin sitting by the window just now?”

“It’s her! She’s so pretty, who else could it be?”

...

“When I heard them say that she was pretty, I was wondering just how pretty she could be. Tsk, my face hurts! Hey, then what book is she reading? Did you see it? Why don’t we go and ask?”

“Don’t. Isn’t she pursuing Senior Shen?”

“That’s true, but Senior Shen doesn’t like her. I heard that he even rejected her face-to-face. Since they’re not together, there should be no problem for others to pursue her.”

The two boys were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not see the person involved standing not far in front of them.

Shen Zhijin suddenly said, “Teacher Zhang, I suddenly remembered that I forgot to take a book.”

Teacher Zhang waved his hand.

“Alright, you go then.”

…

The books that were kept on the sixth floor of the library basically belonged to the natural science category.

Cosmic astrophysics accounted for a considerable proportion of this.

Shen Zhijin was most familiar with this place.

...

So, he quickly saw the girl sitting by the window.

The long wooden tables were arranged neatly. She had chosen a remote corner and sat there lazily as she read a book with her head lowered.

The afternoon sun shone on her face, and even her waist-length hair seemed to glow with a light gold aura.

She was holding a pen in her hand and seemed to be taking notes, looking very serious.

Usually, there were not many people here, but today, it was obviously much more lively.

Most of the people there were boys, and they turned to look at her from time to time.

Finally, a boy walked over with a book in his arms to ask if the seat beside her was occupied.

The seats in the library were all public. She looked up and shook her head.

The boy was overjoyed and immediately wanted to take a seat.

However, just then, Gu Tingyin’s eyes suddenly lit up and she stood up.

The boy was stunned for a moment and turned around.

It was Shen Zhijin.

In the next second, Gu Tingyin quickly walked over.

“Shen Zhijin, why are you at the library?”

She spoke in a soft voice as she came to stand in front of him, but her face was full of unconcealed surprise.

“I thought you would have gone home first since you’re back today!”

Shen Zhijin said simply, “I came here to return a book.”

“Oh, I see!”

Gu Tingyin saw that he was indeed holding a book in his hand.

She felt that they were simply too fated to meet on the first day of his return!

“T-then …”

She racked her brains, not wanting to part with him just like that.

“I’m currently reading “The New Solar System”. I don’t understand some parts of it. Could you help me take a look?”

Shen Zhijin’s gaze fell on her table.

Other than that book, there was also a notebook, and she seemed to be studying very diligently.

He nodded his head.

Overjoyed, Gu Tingyin turned to look at the boy.

“Student, I’m sorry, but this seat has already been taken!”

“…”

Although the boy was reluctant to leave, there was no reason for him to stay since this was what she had already said.

Gu Tingyin tugged at his sleeve lightly.

“Quickly, sit down!”

Thus, under the watchful eyes of countless people, Gu Tingyin pulled Shen Zhijin to the seat next to her.

The sound of hearts breaking could be heard all around.

…

“Shen Zhijin, look at this. I don’t really understand the part about the change in Venus’s position…”

Gu Tingyin pushed the book over and pointed at a section.

Shen Zhijin furrowed his brows.

This was the English version of the original work. Of course, this was not the main point. Gu Tingyin had come back from abroad, so she had no problem reading this.

The key was that there were a lot of technical terms in the book, and it also involved many astrophysics concepts.

She did not have any foundation in this subject, so it was no wonder that she could not understand it.

“This book isn’t suitable for you to read now. Change to another one.”

He said.

In addition to these professional books, there were also many general science books in the library. She would probably be better off reading those.

But to Gu Tingyin, there was something wrong with his words.

Her eyes widened slightly.

“Shen Zhijin, so even you think that I can’t understand these things?”

Shen Zhijin was at a loss for words.

Was there even a need to think about it?

He looked into her eyes and said in a calm voice, “Then tell me, what’s the main difference between Venus’s change in position and the moon’s?”

Gu Tingyin did not know the answer.

Her earlier arrogance instantly subsided.

She rubbed her fair fingers against the book and said in a very subdued voice, “I… I’m going to Yun Hill to observe the stars… I have to be prepared, don’t I?”

Shen Zhijin had not known about this yet.

“The Astronomy Society?”

“How did you know?” Gu Tingyin looked up in surprise.

“Well, this month is suitable for stargazing. Are you guys going to see Venus conjoining the moon?”

Shen Zhijin did not pay much attention to such activities that were more inclined to ordinary astronomy enthusiasts, but it was not difficult to guess.

Gu Tingyin did not doubt him and only nodded excitedly.

“Yeah! It’s that one! I’m afraid I won’t be able to find it even if I look for a long time…”

She really did not know much about this aspect. A novice like her going stargazing without anyone’s guidance would be no different from simply gazing at the stars.

Shen Zhijin paused.

Gu Tingyin handed her notebook over to show her sincerity.

“You see! I even took notes!”

Shen Zhijin’s gaze fell on it and he suddenly froze.

Seeing that he was looking a little awkward, Gu Tingyin found it strange.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with my notes–”

She followed his gaze and her voice stopped abruptly.

The handwriting on the notebook was very beautiful. Even without looking at the contents, just a glance was very pleasing to the eye.

The premise was that there was an “illustration” in the lower right corner.

There was a little girl in a long dress who was running, her long hair fluttering in the wind, and her skirt fluttering behind her.

She was carrying a plane in her left hand and a little boy in a white shirt under her right arm.

“…”

“…”

Gu Tingyin’s hand silently withdrew from the book to hide under the table.

If she could, she herself would have disappeared too!

She had not been able to understand the book. It had been so boring that she had just drawn a few lines and imagined herself hijacking the plane, before carrying Shen Zhijin off and running away.

Who would have known that he would see it?!

After a long time, Shen Zhijin asked, “Do you still want to read this book?”

Gu Tingyin did not even dare to raise her head.

“No, I’m not going to read it!”

He said, “Then I’ll put it back.”

With that, he stood up.

Gu Tingyin tried to change the topic and asked, “By the way, the stargazing event is this Saturday. Will you be going?”

She could not understand the books, but there was still the assessment to deal with. Surely, it would be easier with his help, right?

Shen Zhijin paused for a moment.

“I have an experiment to conduct on that day.”

“Oh… okay.”

Gu Tingyin laid her head on the table and turned her head away from him.

Yes, that was true. He was very busy.

However, he had already seen that drawing anyway. She had embarrassed herself so much, yet he was not even willing to help her with this!

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

After a while, Shen Zhijin returned and saw Gu Tingyin sitting up straight. She asked very seriously, “I’ve thought it through. I really didn’t have any foundation before, so it’s not very appropriate for me to suddenly look at these things. However, it should still be possible to do a crash course! Can you teach me how to find what I want to see the fastest way?”

This was a little abstract. Shen Zhijin thought about it and prepared to draw a star map for her so that she could learn how to recognize it.

He flipped to a page of his notes.

“Venus conjoining the moon is actually very beautiful, you…”

The pen did not fall.

That was because, on the second page, there was also an additional drawing.

She must have just drawn it.

The little girl had thrown the plane away, grabbed the collar of the little boy who refused to help, and dragged him into a small dark room, as if she was about to ravage him.

“…”

“…”

Gu Tingyin was completely numb.

She had felt so embarrassed and angry for a moment that she had deliberately vented her anger. Who would have known that Shen Zhijin would come over and flip a page to help her draw the star map?

If she could still defend herself with the previous painting, saying that she had drawn it out of boredom, what about this one?

Gu Tingyin’s head was almost buried under the table.

The air was still, as if it had completely frozen over.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shen Zhijin finally put down the pen.

It was an extremely soft sound, but it seemed like thunder to Gu Tingyin’s ears.

She looked up pitifully.

“T-that Yingluo, I can explain…”

Shen Zhijin’s expression was exceptionally calm, as if he was saying, ‘Then, please explain. I’m listening.’

“…”

Gu Tingyin instantly felt like she had nothing left to live for after being stared at in that manner.

She felt that it was useless to say anything now.

In the end, after a difficult mental struggle, she finally forced out a sentence.

“… Can you still give me a crash course?”

Shen Zhijin closed his eyes.

“Gu Tingyin!”