Chapter 88

Outside the office, the students were truly anxious. After waiting for over half an hour, with no sign of the conversation inside winding down, they had no choice but to knock on the door, gritting their teeth. This project was a significant investment, embodying the collective effort and passion of everyone involved—more precious than their own children. The issue they had encountered was beyond their ability to resolve, otherwise, they would never have disturbed Professor Jin.

Professor Jin merely said, "Come in and talk." The students, as if granted a reprieve, filed in hurriedly, clutching a stack of documents, ready to speak. Noticing Feng Xia and Zhang Ying, they hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to proceed, as their project required confidentiality.

Professor Jin waved his hand and said, "It's fine, go ahead."

The male student immediately began, "Teacher, the trajectory we designed this time has a significant deviation. If fired in bursts, the deviation becomes even larger. We've checked everything but can't identify the problem. We also considered whether alternative materials could be used, but found no solution. The accuracy of the trajectory is far from what we predicted."

As he spoke, he handed a stack of documents to Professor Jin, presumably the experimental reports. The others behind him also appeared exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes. They were all students from the firearms manufacturing department, who had been working tirelessly for days to refine this prized creation.

What was remarkable was the bright, unwavering light in the eyes of these young people—determined and resolute. Feng Xia admired such individuals.

She quietly observed them, meeting the gaze of one female student, who offered a faint, friendly smile, radiating goodwill despite her fatigue toward this young newcomer.

Professor Jin handed a portion of the data to Feng Xia, signaling for her to take a look. Feng Xia initially hesitated to accept it, but Professor Jin shook his head, indicating it was fine. The calculations required for this experiment were immense, and relying solely on Professor Jin would take considerable time to verify.

Trusting his judgment, Feng Xia stopped hesitating and picked up the materials, meticulously reviewing the calculations. The students nearby were dumbfounded. This girl looked to be about fourteen—barely literate in their eyes—and yet the professor trusted her to verify the data! They exchanged subtle glances, puzzled by the professor's intention, wondering if he was dissatisfied with them.

Feng Xia read through the data extremely quickly, finishing a page in just a few minutes. Both she and Professor Jin had pens and paper, but she rarely wrote anything down, only occasionally jotting a few notes. The students, too polite to crowd around and look, could only watch from a distance, finding her actions increasingly absurd—not because of her personally, but because the idea of a fourteen-year-old verifying ballistic calculations for them was laughable.

Half an hour later, Feng Xia held up a sheet of paper and said calmly, "This calculation is wrong. You used the old national standard for your initial calculations, but the international community has released a new standard. The latter part of your work seems to follow the new standard, but the difference between the two is significant. You'll need to redo the calculations based on the new standard." She handed the document to Professor Jin, who examined it carefully. As an expert in the field, he immediately saw she was correct and passed it back to the students.

The students gathered around to examine it. Lacking the sharp eyes of the two, they took up their pens and worked through it step by step. Ten minutes later, they reached the same conclusion: exactly as the girl had said—they had used the wrong national standard. No wonder they had been racking their brains all day; this was the root of the problem.

The students looked somewhat embarrassed, but their gazes at Feng Xia were filled with admiration, praise, and awe. At fourteen or fifteen, they were still struggling with high school textbook problems, yet this young girl could verify calculations for such a precision project. Truly incredible! Simply amazing!

Saving their gratitude for later, they thanked the teacher and Feng Xia before hurrying back to continue their work.

This moment wasn't entirely coincidental; it was also a test by Professor Jin of Feng Xia's abilities. Clearly, her performance was flawless. Professor Jin once again sighed at how fortunate Wan Fulin was to have such an exceptional student.

The three of them had lunch together. Professor Jin also gave Feng Xia several books—the latest international publications on mechanical manufacturing. Feng Xia accepted them with a smile. She then accompanied the old gentleman for a walk around the campus of Tsinghua University before bidding him farewell. Professor Jin was reluctant to let her go; it was rare to find a younger generation so attuned to his interests, and Feng Xia had the patience to listen to him. But as all good things must come to an end, he simply urged her to visit Tsinghua again before letting her leave.

That evening, when Professor Jin's students successfully resolved the ballistic issue and the experiment was a success, they came to report their results to the teacher. Seizing the opportunity, they inquired about Feng Xia: "Teacher, is she going to be our junior sister in the future? She's incredible! We've always heard of prodigies like Gan Luo becoming a prime minister at twelve, but we thought it was just exaggerated talk. We never imagined there could be such a genius! Teacher, when will our junior sister join the lab?"

Professor Jin tapped his students on the head and said, "Not even a shadow of that possibility yet. Junior sister? She's Wan Fulin's student. What business is it of yours?"

Hearing this, the students fell silent. Everyone in the field knew of Wan Fulin, especially since he and Professor Jin were close friends. They lamented inwardly—so she's Old Mr. Wan's student. It seems our teacher missed his chance. But then again, true genius shines wherever it goes. If you don't act quickly, such opportunities are lost.

Meanwhile, Zhu Guangya had returned from Peking University. He and Feng Xia arrived home just moments apart. Seeing Zhang Ying sitting on the living room sofa, he paused for a moment before understanding dawned. The three exchanged a cordial greeting. The authorities had arranged for Zhang Ying to live next door to Professor Zhu's residence, ensuring she could respond promptly to any situation.

Moreover, Professor Zhu's home was located within the 101 Research Institute's residential area, where security was guaranteed. If Feng Xia lived elsewhere, Zhang Ying would likely have to sleep in the room next to hers.

Professor Zhu Guangya took a sip of tea and complained indignantly to Feng Xia, "I went to see Old Zhang today, and how shameless can he be? He had the nerve to say that giving you lessons makes him your legitimate teacher, and that it's only natural for a student to do research with their teacher! Unacceptable! Absolutely infuriating! Feng Xia, let me ask you: are you planning to research batteries next, or will you follow Old Zhang and delve into fluid mechanics?"

Facing Professor Zhu Guangya's binary dilemma, Feng Xia blinked and replied, "Professor, have you forgotten? My teacher asked me to read more books while I'm in Beijing. I visited Professor Jin Zhaozhong today as well."

Zhu Guangya's face stiffened. Right—her roots were in firearms development. What were they arguing about? Mentioning Wan Fulin, however, made Zhu Guangya a bit uneasy. It seemed like they were leading the young sprout from his garden astray. But no, that wasn't his fault—Wan Fulin should blame Old Zhang.

After this self-consolation, Zhu became even more genial toward Feng Xia, casually asking, "So, what do you plan to work on next? Firearms?"

Feng Xia shook her head, a sweet smile on her face. "No, I plan to rest for a while and then go home."

Ah, that's right—Feng Xia was only on loan.

She would leave eventually!

At that moment, Professor Zhu's heart shattered. Sob! Why couldn't she be his student? Why!