Twenty minutes later.
Three aluminum lunch boxes were slammed heavily onto the bedside table.
Xiao Zhan stood beside the bed with a dark expression, a kettle of hot water still in his hand.
He glanced at the girl curled up on the bed, his brows knitted so tightly they could crush a fly.
“Eat.”
Concise and to the point—he couldn’t be bothered to waste another word.
The moment the lids were lifted, the rich, domineering aroma of meat filled the entire room.
Braised pork—layer upon layer of fatty belly, glistening with oil. A portion of twice-cooked pork, a dish of stir-fried greens, and three large steamed buns.
Out here on the Gobi, this was the kind of meal you only got during the New Year.
Su Yun had been pretending to be half-dead, but the instant she smelled the meat, her eyes snapped open.
Struggling upright, she grabbed her chopsticks. She didn’t even bother saying thanks before shoving a piece of braised pork into her mouth.
Soft, tender, savory—rich but not greasy.
Energy intake in progress… Quantum laboratory standby alert lifted. Current processing capacity restored: 2%.
The electronic voice in her head finally fell silent.
Xiao Zhan crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He had intended to mock her—say something like “starving ghost reincarnated”—but the words stopped at his lips.
Her table manners weren’t ugly. In fact, they were rather refined. Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s, yet she ate incredibly fast.
The three buns disappeared alongside the pork at a visible rate.
Just how many meals had she missed?
“Burp.”
Su Yun set down her chopsticks. The three lunch boxes in front of her were cleaner than if a dog had licked them.
She sighed in satisfaction, and at last, some color returned to her pale face.
“Wipe your mouth.” Xiao Zhan tossed her a handkerchief with visible disdain.
Su Yun caught it and wiped her lips calmly. “Thanks. Put this meal on my tab—I’ll pay you back with something big later.”
“Something big?” Xiao Zhan scoffed, about to mock whether her scribbled diagram could ever deliver on that promise—
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor, accompanied by an old man’s furious roar:
“Where is she?! Where’s the one who drew that diagram?! Where’s that genius?!”
Bang!
The ward door was violently shoved open.
Liu Jianguo burst in, his hair a mess like a bird’s nest, clutching the folder tightly to his chest. He had even lost one shoe on the way.
“Chief Engineer Liu?” Xiao Zhan straightened and saluted.
But Liu Jianguo didn’t spare him a glance.
He rushed to the bedside, his eyes blazing as he stared at Su Yun—more fervent than she had looked at the braised pork moments ago.
“Girl! Did you draw this diagram?!”
The old professor shook the greasy scrap of paper excitedly. “This formula… this phased array… how did you calculate it? Tell me quickly—what’s the parameter you didn’t finish writing at the end?!”
Su Yun leaned back slightly, getting sprayed with his excitement.
Her tear-prone physiology kicked in again; her eyes reddened faintly. “Sir… you’re scaring me.”
“Ah! Sorry, sorry!” Liu Jianguo finally realized and stepped back, rubbing his hands, smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum. “I’m just excited! Excited! Young comrade, what’s your name? And… how did your brain grow like this?”
“Su Yun.”
She leaned against the pillow. Even after eating, she still carried that fragile, sickly beauty in her bones. She pointed at the diagram. “Just doodling. That grumpy uncle almost threw it away earlier.”
“Uncle?” Xiao Zhan’s temple twitched. He was only twenty-six!
Liu Jianguo whipped around and glared fiercely at him. “Xiao Zhan! What do you, a brute, know?! If you had ruined something this precious, I’d stuff you into a wind tunnel and dry you into a corpse!”
Xiao Zhan: “…”
What did he even do?
At that moment, a sharp wailing voice pierced in from outside.
“Is there no justice left?! The soldiers are kidnapping people! That’s my daughter! Three hundred jin of grain! I can’t go on living!”
Zhang Cuihua still wasn’t done.
Xiao Zhan’s face darkened, and he turned to go deal with the shrew.
“Wait.”
Su Yun threw off the blanket. The misty softness in her eyes turned cold for a split second. She looked at Liu Jianguo. “Chief Engineer Liu, right? You want that parameter?”
Liu Jianguo nodded like a pecking chicken. “Yes! I dream about it!”
“The woman wailing outside is my stepmother.” Su Yun slipped on her shoes, swaying slightly—Xiao Zhan instinctively reached out to steady her.
Leaning lightly on his arm, she spoke calmly. “She wants to sell me to a widower in the neighboring village for three hundred jin of grain. Now she’s here to drag me back.”
“If you don’t help me solve this problem, I might get so frightened that I’ll never remember that parameter for the rest of my life.”
A threat.
A blatant threat.
But Liu Jianguo’s greatest weakness in life was being blocked by technical bottlenecks.
“What?!”
The old professor exploded instantly, his graying beard trembling. “Three hundred jin of grain? Selling my engineer? Selling the nation’s radar technology?!”
“Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!”
He turned and stormed out, even fiercer than Xiao Zhan. “Lead the way! I want to see who dares touch my people!”
…
Outside the Security Office
Zhang Cuihua was sitting on the ground, wailing and throwing a tantrum, her hair disheveled. The two burly men who had been frightened earlier by the pulse weapon crouched nearby, too scared to speak.
A circle of young soldiers had gathered to watch.
“Everyone, judge this for me!” Zhang Cuihua cried, slapping her thighs. “This unfilial girl! Just to climb the social ladder, she won’t even acknowledge her parents! Where’s the officer? Hand that wretched girl over!”
The crowd parted as three figures stepped forward.
Xiao Zhan led the way with a cold expression. Su Yun followed behind, and beside her was a furious old man.
“It’s you?” Liu Jianguo pointed at Zhang Cuihua, his hand trembling with anger.
The moment Zhang Cuihua saw them, she sprang up and pointed at Su Yun. “You dead girl, you still dare show your face! Come back with me!”
She reached out to grab her—
Bang!
Xiao Zhan kicked the ground in front of her, sending sand flying into her face.
“Try moving one more step.” His voice was low, but the murderous aura forged from battlefields froze Zhang Cuihua where she stood.
“Y-you… what are you trying to do? Is it illegal for me to discipline my own daughter?” she blustered weakly.
“Illegal? That’s not just illegal—that’s criminal!”
Liu Jianguo charged forward, jabbing a finger at her. “Do you know what’s inside her head? That’s a national strategic asset! Technology that protects our country! Three hundred jin of grain? Even if you sold your entire family, you wouldn’t be worth a single strand of her hair!”
“Guards!” Liu Jianguo roared.
“Yes, sir!” Several guards snapped to attention.
“Detain this suspect for attempting to sabotage national scientific work and trafficking key technical personnel! Hand her over to public security! Investigate thoroughly—thoroughly!”
Zhang Cuihua froze in shock.
She only wanted to sell her stepdaughter for food—how did she suddenly become a spy?
“N-no! Sir, you’ve got it wrong! I was just—”
“Take her away!” Xiao Zhan ordered coldly.
The guards moved immediately, pinning her down. The two burly men were so frightened their legs gave out—they dropped to their knees without even being forced.
When dealing with scum like this, fists were exhausting—authority was far more satisfying.
“Girl…”
Liu Jianguo turned back, his fury instantly replaced with a kind smile. “Now that the fly’s been swatted, about that parameter…”
“It’s in my head. It’s not going anywhere.”
Su Yun brushed back her wind-tousled hair, then turned to Xiao Zhan, who stood beside her like an iron tower. A faint smile curled at her lips.
Now, it was time to talk business.