Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 315 - 314 An Ordinary Middle-Aged Man’s Ideal

After checking the answers over ice cream, Li Zheng and Gu Jianfeng didn’t talk about math anymore. Logically, Li Zheng should have had many questions, but each time, it was Gu Jianfeng who asked them.

Gu Jianfeng’s memory of the past seemed to be stuck on the afternoon of discussing answers after a physics competition, like a time traveler eager to find out what had happened this year.

Li Zheng went from talking about Jie Qifen to Academic Power, then to Wenhai’s beaches and Yellow 2’s broken lance, and finally, he entered Institute No. 1...

Not just studies, but even life itself seemed to speed up by more than a dozen times.

Gu Jianfeng, as an observer of this experience, always wanted to participate, asking question after question.

"So what exactly was Jie Qifen researching before?"

"What? You actually beat Lin Yujing in the physics competition? I don’t believe it!"

"Launched a rocket? When was that?"

"Isn’t it stressful working with your future mom? ... Don’t hit me... Not on the head!"

"Pfft! A salary of 8000? If I had that much money, I would... I would... I’d go get a haircut, haha!"

"Yang Zhenhua is really good at math, you should ask him for guidance."

"Hmm... Maybe Du Songtao really is into you... Can you recall what it felt like to be touched? ... Why are you hitting me again!"

Li Zheng cursed and hit him while answering each question, and neither the atmosphere nor the emotions were like those between classmates. If he had a bit more facial hair, he would definitely be mistaken for a dad.

Their conversation ran overtime until two in the afternoon when Li Zheng finished talking about the biology master he encountered last night, finally bringing this carousel of conversation to a close.

Just like when a beloved story suddenly ends, Gu Jianfeng suddenly fell silent.

After a moment of hesitation, he smiled again.

"You’ve done so many things this year..." Gu Jianfeng grinned at Li Zheng, "I wish I had even one-tenth of the excitement you had."

"Heh, that’s what you get for not going to the national physics competition!" Li Zheng licked his ice cream spoon, "You might have had fun, and we could have gone to Wenhai to see the launch together."

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"No, no, no, that wouldn’t have happened, Lin Yujing wouldn’t have invited me..."

"I’d invite you."

"Your word doesn’t count, it has to be Lin Yujing inviting... Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to go..."

"!!" Li Zheng glared and cursed, "Clarify what you mean by my word not counting?"

"Ha, ha, ha." Gu Jianfeng immediately turned toward the counter, "Ah, suddenly I’m hungry again, what else do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it."

Li Zheng meanwhile took out his phone, glanced at the time and said with a pained expression, "No, I really have to hurry over, Lin Yujing has reminded me several times already."

"Then let’s go." Gu Jianfeng hurriedly grabbed his pencil case and stood up, "Sorry for taking up so much of your time."

"No, no, it’s quite relaxing being with you." Li Zheng packed his things with a smile, "I don’t know why, but I even get to experience what it’s like to be a parent."

"Go on, you’re only two years older than me." Gu Jianfeng turned his back in mock anger, but his tone quickly softened, "Then... you better remember the recent events clearly, we’ll talk again when we meet at the training camp."

"Training camp, eh..." Li Zheng murmured as he stood up, "Is this training camp for selecting the provincial team, or just regular training?"

"It should just be training. The provincial team’s roster will be based on this exam’s results."

"Oh, oh, oh..." Li Zheng gave a mischievous smile and slung his arm around Gu Jianfeng as they walked out, "Well, see you at the training camp~~~~"

"Mmh!!"

...

Even after boarding the subway, Li Zheng still felt a bit surreal.

The two-plus hours of idle chat felt like stealing a moment from a busy life, a mysteriously delightful and thrilling experience.

Indeed, it’s easier to find common ground with peers.

People at the institute may be academically capable, but they’re invariably too reserved. Apart from work, it’s hard to connect with them on anything else, which is probably a generation gap.

Occasionally, he would meet people like Du Songtao – strong, brilliant, and unrestrained – but Li Zheng could sense the gap in academic power and perspective between them. No matter how casual the conversation, it invariably contained a hint of mentorship.

You could say that during his internship, Li Zheng had absorbed a lot of knowledge and improved his skills, but he had never sparked true passion or inspiration.

Even Lin Yujing seemed to be trapped by an engineering framework, like a feline creature that had been caged for too long and couldn’t be bothered to jump around anymore.

Yellow 2 was brilliant, but the campus was ultimately his own destination.

After their mutual teasing with Gu Jianfeng, Li Zheng couldn’t wait to have his own collisions with those geniuses.

Only 10 months until university.

Regardless of success or failure, he would finish it.

...

If Institute No. 1 was the headquarters, then The Sixth Institute and Institute No. 17 were the assault camps.

The full name of Institute No. 17 is the China Aerospace Propulsion Research Institute, which has developed all of China’s liquid aerospace engines since the founding of the People’s Republic, and the designation YF-87 is enough to underscore its achievements.

Including the large kerosene engine that 927 planned to adopt, it was also a masterpiece of Institute No. 17 from a few years back.

It’s worth mentioning that Zhao Zhenhua was the former former director of Institute No. 17.

It was precisely because of his past glorious achievements that he had the authority, the ability, and the courage to support Yellow 2.

At present, regarding this defeat, most people both inside and outside the system held no grudge against Institute No. 17.

One reason was that the institute’s achievements over half a century were on display; they had already done enough and acted swiftly.

Secondly, facing the defeat of Yellow 2, they never shirked their responsibilities, always working tirelessly like ants, stretching themselves thin to overcome challenges.

The team’s collapse this time was not due to a lack of willpower, but rather, it was all too excessive, far exceeding the capacity of their bodies to endure.

Thirdly, Yellow 2 faced criticism from the outset; a large hydrogen-oxygen engine was indeed the ultimate aerospace choice, but likewise, it was the most extravagant, most complex, and most difficult choice.

Some believed that Institute No. 17 had outperformed their capability, but after all, the national strength and technological level were just so, and such a result was actually normal.

Throughout history, there have been invincible generals, but an invincible army has never existed.

Institute No. 17 had done all that they could.

The defeat today was only because they had been forced to attack a fortress that was destined to be impregnable at this time.

They desperately waved the sword of technology, climbed the ladder of materials, and stacked corpses to mount charge after charge.

But in the end, they fell one step short.

This group of people had no intention of blaming the remaining stragglers.

They only wanted to ask, who had given the orders.

But in the end, this was just the perspective of outsiders.

The moment Li Zheng stepped through the gates of Institute No. 17, his entire being was invigorated.

His colleagues rushed about, as tense as drawn swords, their spirits even more vigorous than those at the first institute.

Not a single person showed hesitation or despair; it was as if they were still in the research and development phase, and nothing had happened.

Perhaps this is the spirit of the soldiers from the Assault Camp.

They never indulge in self-pity nor question their orders.

At this moment, now.

Institute No. 17, had yet to cease its pace.

Amid this iron-blooded atmosphere, Li Zheng was instantly energized.

In the negotiation room on the fourth floor, Li Zheng found Lin Yujing...

She was napping...

This was quite out of sync with the atmosphere, as if in the midst of a fierce battle, a plump orange cat had suddenly sauntered by leisurely and decided to lie down to bask in the Sun.

"Mmm." Li Zheng nudged her.

"Mmm." She brushed Li Zheng’s hand away.

Li Zheng shook his head and took out a clump of deep-sea cod burgers from his backpack!

Lin Yujing sniffed, barely raising her head, and rubbed her eyes as she looked at Li Zheng.

"You’re here so late... you must have flunked your exam again today..."

"I encountered Gu Jianfeng, and I matched an answer." Li Zheng said, shaking the cod burger, "Do you want to eat? If not, I’ll take it home to feed Old Li."

"Better feed me than..." Lin Yujing let out a yawn, grabbed the cod burger, and began to peel it at a leisurely pace.

Li Zheng, somewhat irritated, said, "What about you, did you come here just to sleep?"

"I can’t help it," Lin Yujing pointed towards the door with her lips, "The chief engineer of the project is in the hospital, the deputy chief engineer took a half-day off and isn’t here; I have to wait for him to return..."

"Half a day? He should be back by now."

"Nobody has notified me anyway."

"Won’t you go out and ask?"

"Mmm... the people here are too scary... I don’t dare to speak..." Lin Yujing quietly removed the bread part of the burger and shivered as she began to eat only the codfish filet.

Li Zheng narrowed his eyes: "Are you scared now that you’re away from Mom?"

"..." Lin Yujing wrestled with herself for a long time, then actually nodded, taking a big bite, "Yes... is that not okay!"

"...Alright, your honesty makes me lose the desire to be sarcastic." Li Zheng then headed out the door, stopping at the nearest workstation, "Excuse me, Teacher, has Chief Engineer Zhu arrived?"

The man with white hair and a crew cut immediately stood up and pointed to an office: "403, try knocking on the door."

"Thanks a lot."

"No problem." The buzz-cut man took his seat again and buried his head between screens, seeming like he never even glanced at Li Zheng throughout.

This atmosphere was quite spirited.

Following his guidance, Li Zheng went to knock on the door of Office 403.

No one answered.

Just as he turned to leave, a loud voice came from beside him.

"Are you Li Zheng?"

The newcomer was a tall, slim man with a parted hairstyle and glasses, carrying a smile characteristic of an intellectual. Had it not been for his half-white hair, his demeanor would have been somewhat similar to Jie Qifen.

Zhu Mingyue, the second person in charge of the YF-87 project.

Li Zheng had seen him before in a meeting and promptly nodded in greeting.

"Chief Engineer Zhu."

"Sorry for the delay, I didn’t expect so many people, and it made you wait," Zhu Mingyue spoke while taking out keys to open the door, looking around as he asked, "I remember Secretary Zhao telling me there were two people."

"Lin Yujing is still waiting in the negotiation room, I’ll go call her."

"Okay." Zhu Mingyue opened the door and heartily clapped Li Zheng on the back, "Relax, we’re all family here."

"Right."

Li Zheng turned around and went back to the negotiation room, watched as Lin Yujing gulped down the last bites of her codfish steak, and quickly returned to the front of Office 403.

However, a queue had already formed there, with three people waiting to see Zhu Mingyue.

The third in line was a buzz-cut brother who hadn’t had a haircut in ages, still holding a laptop, who glanced at the two after taking his stance and continued to type with one hand: "A lot has piled up, it’s going to take at least forty minutes."

"No problem, we’ll wait..." Li Zheng looked around at the eager colleagues filling the room and reluctantly got in line.

Lin Yujing wiped her mouth, mumbling, "You should’ve just called...hic...called me."

"It’s because you ate your fish too slowly..."

"I hic, I’m hiccupping because I ate...hic."

"Forget it, go find some water to drink, I’ll hold our spot..."

"Uhm..." Lin Yujing looked around and then shrank back, "Hic."

The buzz-cut brother in front of them couldn’t help but laugh, motioning with his mouth towards a direction: "Walk to the end and turn right, the drink bar is there, water, tea, and coffee are self-service."

"Thanks..." Li Zheng nodded at Lin Yujing.

But Lin Yujing still didn’t move, "I...I’ll just stay in line...hic..."

"Ah." Li Zheng sighed, holding his head.

Maybe he should just take her back to her mom’s...

By the time Li Zheng came back with two bags of tea, Lin Yujing was already facing the wall with her face covered, nearly dead.

People around saw Li Zheng returning and couldn’t help but cover their faces and chuckle softly.

"Hic!"

The hiccupping sounded even louder, filling the entire office area.

When Li Zheng handed the hot tea to Lin Yujing, tears began to swirl in her eyes.

"You know I’m hic...hiccupping and you bring me such hot...hic...water..."

"Make do and drink it."

"It’s over, I’m so embarrassed on my first day...hic."

Just then, an older female colleague hurried over and handed Lin Yujing a bottle of mineral water, "I can’t stand listening to it anymore, just drink this."

"Thanks…hic!"

Lin Yujing buried her head and took several gulps. She bent her back and finally managed to breathe smoothly.

"Look at you men…" The female colleague shook her head at Li Zheng with his cup of tea, "So considerate…"

The big brother in front turned around with a laugh, "You’re casting a wide net with that comment, Sister Zhao."

"I’m aiming at you, enjoying the show, huh? Not once offering to get her a bottle."

The big brother laughed, "I daren’t move. Otherwise, I’ll have to wait another hour."

The female colleague shook her head dismissively and walked back to her station to busy herself.

Li Zheng seized the moment to probe, "I thought...work on the engine was supposed to slow down..."

Upon hearing that, the big brother looked around and sized them up, "You two are..."

"Li Zheng."

Li Zheng took the opportunity to reach out his right hand and casually help with the introduction, "Lin Yujing, dispatched from department one of the first institute."

"Ohhhh! You guys are the ones," the older brother said with widened eyes, shaking hands, "the first to find the fault point."

Li Zheng scratched his head with a smile, "It’s mainly the work of Institute No. 11."

The older brother sighed, "The youngsters these days... truly remarkable. When I was your age, I didn’t even know the various structures of a rocket, and now you all can take on this kind of work..."

"Just luck, just luck," Li Zheng probed again, "I thought... the progress would slow down?"

"About that..." The older brother’s expression visibly tightened a bit, "It did slow down for a couple of days, but since yesterday, when Chief Engineer Zhu took over as acting director, it’s picked up again. The foundation is still there, we just clenched our teeth and took another step."

The older brother said this while casting a sharp glance around the office area and nodding repeatedly.

"The brothers and sisters here feel the same, we can’t just give in like that."

"Badass," Li Zheng instantly switched to an excited state, "We’ll work hard to make a substantial contribution as soon as possible."

The older brother, taken aback, had intended to say something demotivating.

But looking left and right, Li Zheng seemed to have ’this guy is extraordinary’ written all over his face.

Moreover, there was a prior contribution, and indeed, there was something to do with data analysis.

"No more talking, little brother... you’re the real badass..." The older brother eventually gave in a little, "Alright, come to the front, but remember to be quick..."

"Ah, how could I..." Li Zheng declined while simultaneously pulling Lin Yujing past him to the front, "It’s all important work."

"Actually, I haven’t finished writing the content of my report yet, just got in line early." The older brother smiled helplessly and picked up his notebook again, "No more chit-chat, I’ll get back to it."

After Li Zheng finished chatting with the older brother, Lin Yujing tugged at his shirt.

"How come your EQ has gone up again..."

"It’s okay, I just feel like I’m one of the crew," Li Zheng whispered back, "It depends on the person, though. I’m not on the same wavelength as that Candida from the training center before, fortunately, he’s from the Fourth Institute..."

"I feel you know him pretty well, though."

"Familiar, yes, but don’t you think he acts like a spy... Wandering everywhere, asking around; he might even use teaching as a cover to recruit people."

"Hmm!" Lin Yujing’s eyes lit up, "Spy! Recruits! Humanity’s war against the spore people!"

"Not that kind of spy..."

After a hard wait of 20 minutes, it was finally Li Zheng and Lin Yujing’s turn to go in.

Zhu Mingyue was busy with emails on the computer, but still got up to greet them: "Sorry about that, making you wait so long."

"No problem."

"No problem..."

After shaking hands, Zhu Mingyue sat back down: "Hang on, let me finish this reply, this one is urgent..."

"You reply."

"You reply..."

Li Zheng made a fierce face and turned to Lin Yujing while Zhu Mingyue was busy with emails: "Are you copying me?"

"It’s emulation," Lin Yujing pointed to her forehead solemnly, "Your EQ is my EQ."

"..."

"~~~"

Shortly after, Zhu Mingyue finished replying to the email, heaved a sigh of relief, leaned back in his chair, and relaxed. The man seemed very laid-back, very loose, very carefree.

It had to be said, such a mood seemed contradictory to the current task...

Li Zheng had a hunch as soon as they met: although excitement was good, Zhu Mingyue’s state was overly excited, which seemed quite bizarre.

Zhu Mingyue seemed to notice Li Zheng’s suspicion: "Can you tell I’m in a particularly good mood?"

"Yes."

"Yes..."

"Haha, I just knew it," Zhu Mingyue laughed as he got up and went to the water dispenser to fill a glass, speaking nonchalantly, "I got divorced."

"..."

"!"

"I took the morning off to handle the divorce," Zhu Mingyue came back to his desk, cupping his glass and sighing, "So this is how it feels... How come I only just got divorced..."

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing exchanged glances.

No matter how high your EQ is,

That is not an easy conversation to continue...