Chapter 247 - 246: I Have a Classmate

Chapter 247: Chapter 246: I Have a Classmate

Following the address Teacher Qi had given him, Yu Zhiming found a small, unassuming, and even somewhat shabby-looking restaurant.

It made him think for a moment that he had gone to the wrong place.

Stepping into one of the restaurant’s only two private rooms, Yu Zhiming saw Teacher Qi and a vibrant, ponytailed girl who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen.

"Zhiming, let me introduce you. This is my youngest daughter, Qi Xin. She’s been pestering me to meet you."

Qi Xin put on a well-behaved expression and said in a sweet voice, "Hello, Brother Zhiming!"

"I’ve seen a lot of photos and news about you in the past, Brother Zhiming, both online and in the news."

"Seeing you in person today, you really are handsome—even better looking than in the pictures."

Yu Zhiming smiled faintly. "Qi Xin, thank you for the compliment. And you’re very pretty too."

Yu Zhiming walked over to Teacher Qi’s other side, picked up the teapot from the table, and refilled Teacher Qi’s and Qi Xin’s cups. He then poured one for himself before sitting down.

Qi Yue took a sip of his tea and chuckled. "Zhiming, I heard you were rather dismissive of the doctors from Johns Hopkins Hospital. They say you only exchanged a single sentence with them before storming off."

Yu Zhiming replied with a smile, "Teacher, it wasn’t that dramatic. We even did introductions and chatted for a bit."

He then recounted what had happened the other day.

Qi Yue sighed softly. "I’ve also studied abroad, so I know what it’s like to feel that deep-seated arrogance from some of the people there, as well as their condescension and prejudice toward us."

"But back then, I was there to learn, so for many things, I could only pretend not to see them or just endure it."

Qi Yue smiled again. "But you, Zhiming, you don’t need anything from them. You’re young and full of fire. When faced with their condescending attitude, you certainly don’t have to put on a pleasant face for them."

After a brief pause, he changed the subject. "How was your vacation at Lake and Mountain Lodge?"

Yu Zhiming nodded. "It was quite nice. Beautiful scenery, quiet, and lots of great food."

"The only downsides were that it was expensive, and a lot happened."

"’A lot happened?’" Qi Yue seized on the key phrase and asked.

Yu Zhiming then briefly recounted the incidents: the kid who spied on a couple having sex outdoors and was thrown off a cliff, the bodybuilder, the man who tried to commit suicide, the conflict on the golf course, and the matter of the ox bezoar.

Beside them, Qi Xin listened with relish, her eyes sparkling.

"Brother Zhiming, you have the life of a novel’s protagonist! Wherever you go, there’s an endless stream of exciting events, and you always get to show off your skills."

Yu Zhiming said cheerfully, "I’m not looking for that kind of protagonist life. I just wanted a quiet vacation."

Qi Yue chuckled. "This must be what people mean when they say, ’With great power comes great responsibility.’"

He took the opportunity to lecture Qi Xin. "Xiaoxin, if you had been at Lake and Mountain Lodge at the time, you wouldn’t have been able to get involved in any of the things Zhiming just described."

"To you, they would just be little bits of gossip you’d hear and then forget."

"The world is full of exciting things, but your life is uneventful. That’s because you lack the ability to participate."

Qi Xin pouted. "Dad, can you please not use this as an excuse to lecture me?"

"I am studying hard, you know."

Qi Yue dotingly reached out to pat Qi Xin’s head, but she dodged away with a look of disdain and turned her bright eyes to Yu Zhiming.

"Brother Zhiming, was that ox bezoar real or fake? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

Yu Zhiming shook his head. "I didn’t see it, but thinking back on it now, it was most likely fake."

"The chances of finding a natural ox bezoar are about the same as winning the lottery. How could someone just stumble upon a cow with one at a random farmhouse?"

"It was probably a setup."

Qi Yue nodded lightly. "I think so too. The person who bought the ox bezoar could afford to spend millions on his mother’s birthday celebration. Even if he got scammed out of a million, it wouldn’t hurt him too much."

"That con artist has some class. Much better than the crooks who swindle ordinary people out of their hard-earned money."

Qi Xin asked, a hint of confusion in her voice, "Dad, you sound like you almost admire this con artist."

Qi Yue chuckled. "I do, in a way."

"When I was young, I used to watch a lot of movies about master thieves and con men, films about them using their wits to set up elaborate schemes and steal ill-gotten gains from the rich."

"Young people these days just watch superhero movies that don’t have much plot or require any thought..."

Just then, the restaurant owner began to serve the food—a few simple, seasonal, home-style dishes.

Yu Zhiming tried them and found the taste to be surprisingly good.

As they ate and talked, Yu Zhiming brought up the matter of his niece, Zeng Yan, wanting to transfer universities and change her major.

Qi Yue mulled it over for a moment, then shook his head. "Zhiming, that’s extremely difficult to pull off. You’re certainly ambitious."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "I know it’s a long shot, and I’m not counting on it to succeed. I just figured I’d ask around and give it a try. What if we somehow manage to make it happen?"

Qi Yue gave a slight nod. "I’ll also contact a few of my connections who have some status and influence, and see if they have any ideas."

"Thank you, Teacher. I appreciate you going to all this trouble for me." Yu Zhiming’s expression was sincere.

Qi Yue waved his hand. "There’s no need for that between us. However, on this matter, the influence my connections can wield is probably limited."

"Besides asking Dean Li for help as much as you can, you should also ask Academician Tan, Academician Zhang, and the Gu Family."

"They might have some avenues to pursue."

Yu Zhiming nodded in acknowledgment.

Just then, Qi Xin blinked and asked, "Brother Zhiming, Dad says your skills in auscultation and percussion are unparalleled, mainly because your hearing is incredibly sharp."

"Is that true?"

Yu Zhiming nodded. "My hearing is quite a bit sharper than an average person’s."

"How sharp?" Qi Xin pressed.

"Well..."

Yu Zhiming said thoughtfully, "It’s hard to describe precisely. Compared to an ordinary person, I can hear very faint sounds, and I can also distinguish a lot of different things from those faint sounds."

Qi Xin’s eyes darted around. She pointed to the adjacent private room and said, "Brother Zhiming, listen. It sounds like guests have arrived in the room next door."

"What can you make out?"

Yu Zhiming shifted his chair back a little and pressed his right hand against the wall.

The wall was made of a single layer of bricks, so for Yu Zhiming, the soundproofing was practically nonexistent.

He listened for a minute or two, then pulled his hand back.

"There are three women and one man inside, all young people. They’ve ordered six dishes and a soup."

Qi Xin’s eyes widened in amazement. "Brother Zhiming, you can even tell how many dishes they ordered just by listening?"

Qi Yue chuckled. "Xiaoxin, Zhiming is just giving you the simple version. In reality, he can pick out a great many more details. He just doesn’t see the need to tell you."

Hearing this, Qi Xin grew even more excited, insisting in a wheedling tone that Yu Zhiming show her what he could really do.

Yu Zhiming was also happy to show off a little, so he had Qi Xin go ask the restaurant owner for a pen and paper.

Yu Zhiming took the pen and, over the next ten minutes or so, drew a simple sketch on the paper.

The sketch depicted the relative heights and builds of the four people at the table, as well as their hairstyles. One of the women was even wearing glasses.

Full of skepticism, Qi Xin grabbed the sketch and rushed out of the room to verify it.

A minute or two later, Qi Xin returned, her face a mask of disbelief.

"Brother Zhiming, every detail was correct! That’s incredible. How did you do it?"

Yu Zhiming said, a hint of smugness in his voice, "I can’t really explain how. I guess you could call it a gift."

Qi Xin said with an envious look, "Brother Zhiming, I wish I had a gift like that."

Qi Yue said in a serious tone, "Xiaoxin, there are two sides to everything. This gift has brought Zhiming benefits, but it has also caused him a lot of trouble."

"For example, he has to endure being constantly bombarded by all sorts of noise, especially when he’s trying to rest at night."

"Did you know that Zhiming’s bedroom is a specially constructed, soundproofed room?"

Yu Zhiming met Qi Xin’s gaze and said, "I’ve been adapting to it since I was a child, and only now have I barely managed to get the negative effects of this sharp hearing under control."

"If an adult were to suddenly gain hearing like mine, they would most likely go insane."

Qi Xin gave a noncommittal "Oh," only half-understanding...

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Qi Yue started talking to Yu Zhiming about work.

"These past few days, even though you were on vacation, more people than ever have been finding me through various channels."

Qi Yue said with a complicated expression, "To be precise, those people were trying to get in touch with you through me."

"Sigh... some of these favors are hard to refuse. Zhiming, you’re going to be very busy for the next half-month or so."

Yu Zhiming smiled. "Teacher, I’m not afraid of being busy. At my age, this is exactly when I should be busy and learning more."

After a pause, he changed the subject again. "Teacher, what about the Waking Device project?"

Qi Yue replied, "Oh, about that. I managed to squeeze in some work these past few days and went through all the monitoring data. I’ve found a few brainwave amplitudes and frequencies that could be defined as key data points."

This news delighted Yu Zhiming, as it meant the R&D project had made a substantial breakthrough.

"So, next..."

Qi Yue continued, "We can have Boss Hua’s side build a few test units."

"We’ll also resume the experiments. We can continue collecting more monitoring data from volunteers while we prepare to begin the next phase of verification testing."

Qi Xin couldn’t help but interject again, "Brother Zhiming, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Oh? What is it?" Yu Zhiming replied gently.

Qi Xin glanced at Qi Yue, then said cautiously, "Um, Brother Zhiming, I have a classmate who went to visit a laboratory with her family."

"She wasn’t paying attention and accidentally dropped a coin into a very delicate instrument."

"The instrument is reporting an error and can’t be used!"

"I heard that instrument is extremely precise, and no one in the country can fix it. They have to hire someone from abroad, and it’s going to cost a lot of money."

Qi Yue’s expression darkened. "Xiaoxin, that ’classmate’ you’re talking about... it wouldn’t be you, would it?"

"That explains it. I was wondering why you suddenly came to see me. You came here to hide from the fallout, didn’t you?"

Qi Xin gave a guilty smile and looked at Yu Zhiming expectantly.

"Brother Zhiming, with your skills, you should be able to get that coin out, right?"