Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 7

Chapter 07

Liang Ke sped back to the lab. On the way, she passed a roadside stall—it was her absolute favorite, a specialist in stinky tofu. The tofu was pungent, the seasoning was rich, and the price was honest. There were a lot of customers; the wait time was easily over fifteen minutes.

Liang Ke slowed down to look, but eventually, she hardened her heart and drove on. This level of willpower and decisiveness surprised even her. The security guard, seeing her return yet again, asked what was going on.

“Has Dr. Shu from our lab left yet?”

“Haven’t seen her.”

Liang Ke looked up and frowned. “Then why aren’t the lights in her office on?”

“No idea.” The young guard scratched his head. “Want me to check the logs?” He then realized something and added, “Engineer Liang, you’re cute and all, but you don’t have the clearance to view a leader’s attendance logs. Why don’t you just call Dr. Shu and ask? Don’t make things difficult for me.”

Taking his advice, Liang Ke dialed Shu Qingchen’s mobile. There was no answer. She thanked the guard and sprinted upstairs.

Nao Nao was sweeping the floor on the first floor and sensibly called the elevator down for her. Liang Ke patted its head. “Why are you sweeping so loudly?”

“High suction, high efficiency. Finish early, rest early,” Nao Nao said, enunciating every word. Finally, it mimicked Liang Ke’s habit of stretching. “It’s Friday. You’re so free; don’t you have a date?” With that, it followed her into the elevator, keeping pace step for step.

“Kids shouldn’t pry into adults’ love lives,” Liang Ke pushed it out. “Get to work, and stop thinking about slacking off.”

…

All the lights in the lab were out. Refusing to give up, Liang Ke circled the main hall, checked the server room, and ran through both floors. Finally, she had to use the visual intercom to ask Nao Nao for help: “Check the public area surveillance. See if this person is there.” She held up a photo of Shu Qingchen.

“Oh, now you think of me,” Nao Nao said moodily, its tone dripping with sarcasm. “A child doesn’t want to get involved in an adult’s love life.”

“What are you talking about? Is your program bugging out? Don’t just use phrases you’ve learned at random.” Liang Ke paced, rubbing her hair. “There’s no ‘love life’ here. I’m just worried about her safety.”

“She’s perfectly safe, though she doesn’t seem to be in high spirits,” Nao Nao said, flipping through the feeds. “Oh, I really like her outfit. A soft, light-colored coat… those straight-leg trousers really flatter her legs…”

“Where is she?” Liang Ke tapped the screen to interrupt Nao Nao’s rambling.

“How crude,” Nao Nao huffed.

Liang Ke took a deep breath. “A deep clean plus an oiling service.”

“Deal.” Nao Nao clapped its little hands. “Go to the Microscale Matter Research Center. She’s at the entrance.”

“What’s she doing there?”

“Professor M, the head of the center, has cornered Dr. Shu for a chat,” Nao Nao reported. “She looks very reluctant, but she can’t find a way to escape.”

Liang Ke froze for a moment, located the Microscale Center on the floor plan, and began power-walking down the corridor. Professor M came from a chemistry and materials science background with a prolific publication record and a team of dozens. His specialty was worlds apart from Shu Qingchen’s; what could they possibly be talking about?

Besides, Shu Qingchen didn’t even know everyone in her own department yet. Why was she chatting with a materials science leader? Liang Ke had been searching for her and worrying the whole way.

Admittedly, Professor M was a learned man. When Liang Ke arrived, he was giving Shu Qingchen a detailed explanation of the key points of chemical charge injection technology and the great significance of converting fullerene molecular crystals into polymer crystals. Out of politeness, the latter was listening patiently, unable to find an opening to end the conversation.

“Professor M, hello!” Liang Ke stopped, out of breath, and quickly turned to Shu Qingchen. “Dr. Shu, so this is where you are! I’ve been looking everywhere.”

“Looking for me? Is something wrong?” Shu Qingchen looked at the returned Liang Ke, her tone surprised.

“Yes, there is!” Liang Ke suddenly sounded grumpy and made something up on the spot. “Professor Hu has an urgent project to discuss with you. He’s been waiting in the car for ages. You… you didn’t answer your phone.”

Shu Qingchen pulled out her phone and indeed found two missed calls. She apologized, explaining that she usually kept it on silent in the lab and hadn’t adjusted the settings yet.

“Adjust what? If you’re not busy, come downstairs with me first,” Liang Ke said to Shu Qingchen, but her eyes were on Professor M. Her tone was unusually sincere.

“I’m sorry, Professor M. I think we can discuss Long-range Ordered Porous Carbon (LOPC) another day…” Shu Qingchen struggled to recall the term.

“Oh, LOPC. Formed by fullerene molecules connected via covalent bonds,” Professor M pushed up his glasses. Through the lenses, he noticed something burning in Liang Ke’s eyes, so he decided to reschedule his popular science lecture. “We’ll talk another time. Don’t keep Old Hu waiting.”

Liang Ke relaxed, bid farewell to Professor M, and followed Shu Qingchen downstairs. Now that the impulse had passed, she began to feel nervous, wondering how she was going to explain the fact that Old Hu wasn’t actually in the car.

But no matter how nervous she was, she had to face reality. Shu Qingchen quickly discovered the truth. She stood with her arms crossed, squinting at Liang Ke. “Why did you lie?”

“Um,” Liang Ke looked from the ground to the sky, from the wheel rims to the floor tiles. She murmured, “Nao Nao said it liked your outfit. A soft, light-colored coat… straight-leg trousers that flatter your legs…”

“Liang Ke.” Shu Qingchen’s tone was calm, but she was the kind of person who possessed natural authority without needing to be angry. They appeared cold and steady, but in reality, they were sharp and penetrating, able to strike without a sound.

Liang Ke didn’t want to be “struck without a sound.” She briefly evaluated her actions and, out of a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, decided to tell the truth. “I was just worried you were being cornered by an odd colleague and wanted to help you escape as quickly as possible.”

Then, she put on a dejected “believe it or not, no good deed goes unpunished” expression.

“Are you spying on me?” Shu Qingchen asked, displeased.

“Yeah,” Liang Ke responded subconsciously before realizing and immediately denying it. “No, no! I went back to the lab and couldn’t find you, so I asked Nao Nao to check the public surveillance.”

“Why were you looking for me?”

“Because I thought you were pitiful,” Liang Ke blurted out the truth in her haste.

“Pitiful?” Shu Qingchen’s eyes widened.

“Yes.” Liang Ke figured since she’d said it, she might as well be completely honest. She explained, “The New Year is coming. Even the most hardworking colleagues are looking forward to a break. Everyone is preparing for the holiday; no one’s heart is really in their work. Even if you have many people caring about you from far away, you still have no relatives or friends in this city. Everyone else has left, but you’re stuck guarding a computer and reading literature all by yourself. It looks very tragic.”

This speech made Shu Qingchen burst out laughing. Liang Ke was confused. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Yes, yes, quite right,” Shu Qingchen said in a tone one might use to coax a child. She opened the passenger door and sat in, fastening her seatbelt. “But I’m not all alone. I have friends.”

“Friends? Who?”

“You.” Shu Qingchen tilted her head and winked at Liang Ke. “Aren’t you getting in?”

“Getting in? To go where?” Liang Ke’s brain suddenly short-circuited at the mention of being a “friend.”

“To go out and have fun, of course. Did you come back specifically to read literature with me?” Shu Qingchen countered.

Liang Ke looked up at the sky, turned, and ran back into the Research Institute hall. When she returned, she was cradling a trash can.

Nao Nao was placed in the back seat. It had been arguing with Liang Ke, but as soon as it saw Shu Qingchen was in the car, it immediately behaved, becoming refined and quiet. Every time it spoke, it used extremely polite language.

Liang Ke watched it in the rearview mirror, wanting to ask several times: Did you take the wrong medicine?

But with Shu Qingchen present, she chose to restrain herself. Both the human and the trash can’s manners had improved by several grades.

By the time they reached their destination, it was 9:30 PM. Liang Ke had parked the car in a wasteland on the outskirts of the city. Behind them was a barren slope; not far ahead lay a dried-up riverbed filled with jagged rocks. There were very few lights to be seen.

Shu Qingchen and Nao Nao got out of the car one after the other. They took in the surroundings, then both fell into a long, silent stare at Liang Ke.