Silent Ark

Chapter 52: The Unexpected Guest

After the renovation of Lao Chen Grilled Fish, several semi-open areas were partitioned off inside.

My high school classmate's table is by the window.

Separated by two rows of empty tables and a wooden lattice, three people sat at the table against the wall.

Yao Chong didn't notice when he entered.

But Liu Pan noticed.

Because less than two minutes after he sat down, someone at that table stood up, picked up a cup, and walked over to him.

"Holy crap? Brother Chong?"

A rough voice.

Yao Chong turned his head.

A burly man walked over.

He was about 1.8 meters tall, with a round face and a buzz cut. He was wearing a black polo shirt, and a faint scar could be seen on his forearm at the cuff—an injury he sustained during his internship at a construction site.

Zhou Yi.

The dorm room next to the university.

Department of Civil Engineering.

Throughout Yao Chong's four years of university, the door to the dormitory next door was never closed, because Zhou Yi was always visiting.

He came to borrow chargers, laundry detergent, notebooks, anything he could borrow.

Occasionally, he would borrow Yao Chong's bed—after getting drunk.

"Zhou Yi?"

"It's me!" Zhou Yi slapped Yao Chong on the shoulder with such force that the whole table shook. "You little brat, you've disappeared for three years! You didn't answer the phone or reply to WeChat messages. I thought you were being held captive by the Swiss."

"Pretty much. It's for work purposes; usually, we're only allowed to use the work machine."

"Hahaha!" Zhou Yi laughed loudly, then he saw Liu Pan. "Oh, Brother Pan is here too!"

"Here." Liu Pan held up the Arctic Ocean.

"Come on, come sit down!" Zhou Yi called out to his table, "Hey guys, come on over here, Chong-ge's here!"

Yao Chong frowned slightly.

"Need not--"

"What do you mean, 'no need'? I haven't seen you for three years."

Zhou Yi has already gone back.

A few seconds later, he came over with two people.

The first one is Wang Xindong.

Yao Chong's college classmate.

Quantum physics.

But those who know him know that his family makes down clothing under the brand "Xinyu". In northern winters, you can see long down jackets with a swan logo on the chest everywhere.

Its market value is several billion.

Wang Xindong doesn't look like a rich second-generation.

He was wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers.

Her hair was a bit long, and her bangs covered half of her eyebrows.

He was wearing black-rimmed glasses with thick lenses.

But his temperament is completely different from Sun Yifei's.

Sun Yifei's wealth is evident in what he wears—cashmere coats, luxury watches, and meticulously styled hair.

Wang Xindong's nobility is innate—he doesn't need anything external to prove anything.

Just by standing there, he's worth billions.

"Yao Chong." He walked over and extended his hand.

"Xindong".

The two shook hands.

Wang Xindong's hands have calluses.

It's not a cocoon from the gym—it's a cocoon from the lab.

The marks left from long-term use of precision instruments are on the pads of the thumb and forefinger.

"I heard you're at CERN?"

"Yes, I'm back."

"It's good to be back." Wang Xindong nodded. "I have a project here, the application of superconducting materials in power transmission."

If you are interested—

"Let's eat first," Yao Chong said.

"OK."

The second one is Fu Tianhao.

Li Meng almost dropped her phone when he walked over.

"...Fu Tianhao?!"

Fu Tianhao was wearing a black baseball cap pulled low, covering most of his face.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt underneath and a dark blue work jacket on top.

But his features are too easily recognizable—a sharp jawline, a high nose bridge, and lips with a curve that makes him look like he's smiling even when he's not.

He took off his hat.

Her chestnut-colored hair was a bit long and slightly messy under the hat.

"Hello." He nodded to Li Meng.

Li Meng's mouth was open, unable to close.

"I...I'm your fan..."

"Thank you." Fu Tianhao smiled.

His smile was subtle, but infectious—the kind of smile that makes you feel like he's smiling at you even though he smiles at the whole world.

Zhang Yuan whispered to Liu Chang, "Who is Fu Tianhao?"

Liu Chang pushed up his glasses: "A popular actor, with box office earnings of over 3 billion last year."

"More than three billion?"

"Renminbi (RMB)".

Zhang Yuan shut up.

Fu Tianhao walked over to Yao Chong's side.

"Brother Chong."

"When did you get back?"

"I finished filming a movie last week." He glanced at Yao Chong. "You've gotten so much stronger."

You've lost weight.

"It's necessary for the role." Fu Tianhao smiled. "I gained weight for my last movie role as a general, but this time I'm playing a physicist, so the director made me lose another 15 pounds."

"Playing a physicist?"

"Well, I was thinking of asking you to be my consultant, but you've disappeared."

"……Feel sorry."

"It's alright, I've been researching papers for three months myself." He paused for a moment, "I've read your published papers three times."

The paper on the anomalous magnetic moment of muons was very well written.

Yao Chong glanced at him.

"Can you understand it?"

"I can understand about 60%, after all, I have a science and engineering background," Fu Tianhao said. "As for the remaining 40%, I pretended to understand it."

Zhou Yi burst into laughter.

He plopped down next to Zhang Yuan and took a swig of the Arctic Ocean soda from the table.

"Sweet, not bad."

Then he saw Sun Yifei.

"Who is this?"

"A high school classmate," Yao Chong said.

Zhou Yi glanced at Sun Yifei.

Sun Yifei, wearing a dark blue cashmere coat and a luxury watch with a dark blue dial, sat there holding a water glass.

Zhou Yi glanced at it again.

Then he turned to Yao Chong and said:

"Chong-ge, your high school classmate is dressed quite formally."

This is not sarcasm.

But Sun Yifei understood the implication—in Zhou Yi's eyes, his cashmere coat and luxury watch were not "expensive," but "formal."

It's like someone going to a job interview and deliberately wearing an ill-fitting suit.

Sun Yifei put down his water glass.

He looked at the group of people.

A burly man wearing a windbreaker.

A rugged man in a polo shirt.

A bespectacled man wearing a hoodie.

A celebrity wearing a baseball cap.

They surrounded Yao Chong like a group of hedgehogs, each with its own unique quills—they didn't prick each other, but all of them stood up with their quills pointed at outsiders.

Yao Chong sat in the middle.

She was wearing an XXL black long-sleeved shirt.

There is no sign.

There is no logo.

There is no decoration whatsoever.

But he sat there as if he were sitting in his own living room.

Sun Yifei suddenly felt that his dark blue cashmere coat was very heavy.

It's not physically heavy.

It's another kind.

After Wang Xindong sat down, he listened intently.

He didn't say much.

But when Sun Yifei mentioned "real estate between the Third and Fourth Ring Roads," his eyebrows twitched.

"You bought eleven sets?"

Sun Yifei glanced at him.

"right."

"From the Third Ring Road to the Fourth Ring Road," Wang Xindong repeated.

He adjusted his glasses.

"I collaborated with Jiangnan Space Frame on a project last year."

Applications of superconducting materials in ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines—Do you know about the corridor planning for UHV lines?

Sun Yifei's expression changed slightly.

"mean--"

"This means that the planning direction for that area over the next five years is new industrial land, not residential area."

"You should know that modern smart factories don't need many workers, right?" Wang Xindong's voice was flat. "You can check the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's announcement; it was just approved last month."

He picked up his water glass.

"Of course, the plan can be changed."

But if you're betting on "the restoration of physical laws leading to an equivalent increase in housing prices," then you might also need to bet on "the planning remaining unchanged."

If both variables are true at the same time, the probability is —”

He smiled.

"Not high."

Sun Yifei remained silent.

His hands were on the table.

The fingers are very steady.

But the knuckles are white.