Liu Yutong and the others happened to see the so - called Professor Xu shamelessly pestering someone to borrow money.
Xu Yi's face grew increasingly ugly, and her ears burned red. She lowered her head, with an urge to bury her whole face in the bowl.
Liu Yutong glanced at her and suddenly asked, "Are they your parents?"
Xu Yi suddenly looked up, asking in surprise, "How do you know?"
She had never mentioned who her parents were.
"Just a guess," Liu Yutong replied casually.
Of course, it wasn't a guess.
In her past life, she already knew about Xu Yi's parents.
At that time, Xu Yi had told her that her parents were both professors at Imperial University.
Her father, Xu Yangeng, was a doctoral supervisor in the School of Electrical Engineering, and her mother, Zhou Wanqing, was a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Both of them were outstanding in their respective fields, having brought up many excellent students and enjoying a fairly good reputation in the academic circle.
However, their research directions were a bit too advanced.
In that era, the concept of new - energy vehicles was still very vague in China. Most people thought that electric vehicles were just the slow sightseeing cars on the golf course, or at most, elderly - mobility scooters, which could never amount to anything, let alone be industrialized.
Their research was almost regarded as heresy and a waste of time in the academic circle at that time.
So every time they applied for research funds, the review experts rejected their applications, with reasons such as the direction being immature, lacking application prospects, and not being worthy of funding.
They were rejected once, twice, and even three times.
Xu Yangeng was not willing to give up. He and his wife, Zhou Wanqing, took their technical plans to outside enterprises and investment institutions.
The results were much the same.
Some would politely see them out, while others wouldn't even let them in.
Later, they made a decision that no one could understand.
They both resigned from their teaching positions at Imperial University.
When the news spread, many people were shocked.
Relatives and friends took turns to dissuade them, and even their parents were so angry that they pounded the table and scolded them for being ungrateful.
A professor at Imperial University was a position that many people would fight tooth and nail for. It was an iron - rice - bowl job with high pay and high social status. How could they resign?
They were crazy, absolutely crazy!
Xu Yangeng and Zhou Wanqing didn't give any explanations.
Later, they sold their house, emptied all their savings, and shamelessly borrowed money from relatives and friends. They managed to scrape together more than three million yuan and rented an abandoned factory building in the suburbs of the imperial city, which they transformed into a laboratory.
That year, Xu Yi was just in high school.
From that year on, her life completely changed.
She lost her home and moved in with her grandparents. Later, she also lived in her uncle's and aunt's houses.
Her parents threw themselves into the factory building in the suburbs, and she hardly saw them throughout the year.
Occasionally, when they came back, they were in a hurry and left soon.
If it weren't for the support from her grandparents and relatives, she might not even be able to afford her tuition. Her situation was that miserable.
Every time she saw her parents, all they talked about were things she couldn't understand at all.
Terms like battery energy density, motor efficiency curve, vehicle control system, and permanent - magnet synchronous motor...
She didn't understand and didn't want to listen.
She just wanted to ask them one question: Why did they abandon her?
Why couldn't they work steadily like other parents and accompany her?
But every time the words were on the tip of her tongue, seeing the almost pathological paranoia in her parents' eyes, she swallowed them back.
She knew the answer without asking, but she just didn't want to accept it.
What happened later also proved others' judgments.
After the laboratory was established, due to the lack of follow - up funds, the research progress was extremely slow.
Three million yuan was indeed a large sum of money in that era, but in the face of extremely money - burning scientific research, it was just a drop in the ocean.
Buying equipment cost money, buying materials cost money, conducting tests cost money, and repairing broken equipment also cost money. Everything cost money.
Money was spent like water, but no results were achieved.
In the first year, their savings were gone.
In the second year, the money from selling the house was also used up.
In the third year, the borrowed money was spent to the last cent.
Xu Yangeng and Zhou Wanqing started borrowing money everywhere.
Relatives, friends, classmates, former colleagues, and students they had taught... They didn't let anyone off.
At first, people were willing to lend them money.
After all, they were once professors at Imperial University. People thought they were just in a temporary financial difficulty and that they were capable of repaying the money.
But as time passed, people found something was wrong. The couple never repaid the money they borrowed, and they borrowed more and more frequently.
Most importantly, there was no sign of their so - called new - energy research.
So people started to avoid them.
They didn't answer the phone, didn't reply to text messages, and walked around them when they met.
Xu Yangeng and Zhou Wanqing became the "plague gods" that everyone avoided.
At the most difficult time, the rent of the laboratory was overdue for too long. The landlord came with some people and changed the lock.
All the equipment, materials, manuscripts, etc., were thrown onto the open space outside the factory building.
It rained heavily that day.
Xu Yangeng and Zhou Wanqing stood in the rain, desperately covering the equipment with plastic sheets. They were in a complete mess and looked very embarrassed.
Passers - by looked at them strangely, as if they were looking at two madmen.
Finally, a former classmate of Zhou Wanqing couldn't stand it anymore and lent them a sum of money, which allowed them to find a smaller and shabbier place and barely set up the laboratory again.
That former classmate was the vice - president of BS University and their last straw.
Later, with the vice - president's multiple mediations, the old president of BS University, out of consideration for old colleagues, agreed to invite them to teach at BS University, providing them with a place to stay and a living.
The condition was that they had to teach normally and couldn't put all their energy into researching new energy as before.
Xu Yangeng and Zhou Wanqing agreed.
But they never thought of stopping.
They taught during the day and continued their research at night and on weekends. As soon as they got their salaries, except for the most basic living expenses, the rest was all thrown into that seemingly bottomless pit.
It was still far from enough.
Then the professors, teachers, and even students at the school "suffered".
Anyway, as long as someone looked like they had money, they wouldn't let them go.
From tens of thousands to thousands, from thousands to hundreds, as long as they could borrow money, no matter how much, it was okay.
They were just that crazy.
...
Xu Yi lowered her head. Thinking of her experiences over the years, tears welled up in her eyes.
"They weren't like this before."
"Back in the imperial capital, they were very popular professors at the college. My classmates were extremely envious of me, saying that I had a pair of very amazing professor parents and that I must be extremely happy. At that time, there were always many of my parents' students visiting our home, and they were highly respected."
"Then, somehow, everything changed."
"They quit their jobs, sold the house, and moved into that shabby laboratory. Since high school, I've been living with my grandparents and even relatives. I rarely see them. Every time we meet, all they keep talking about are things I don't understand. When I say I don't want to listen, they tell me that everything will be okay once the research is successful."
"But things have never gotten better over the years."
"They've owed a huge amount of money. Relatives and friends avoid them like the plague. My mom used to be such an intellectual and elegant woman, but later, in order to borrow money, she endured all kinds of people's looks and said all kinds of humble words. My dad used to be such a proud man, but now, he chases after colleagues to borrow money and is treated like a con artist. He even asks for as little as a few hundred yuan and doesn't even let the canteen aunt off."
"I really don't know what they're after."
After Xu Yi finished sharing her experience, tears finally welled up and rolled down her cheeks.
She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and turned her head away.
After listening, Liu Yutong sighed inwardly. She looked again at Professor Xu, who was chasing after a young teacher not far away. Professor Zhou was approaching from the other side. The couple really had good teamwork.
"Teacher Chen, you just got the Youth Fund, right? Support scientific research. Consider it an investment."
"Yes, Teacher Chen. Just do a good deed and lend us a few thousand yuan. We'll pay you back double later."
"........."
The young teacher looked extremely embarrassed. He didn't know whether to leave or stay. Finally, unable to withstand their repeated requests, he sighed and counted out five hundred yuan from his wallet and handed it over.
Xu Yangeng took the money and skillfully took out the notebook for recording debts and noted down the information about this sum of money.
"Teacher Chen, thank you! Really thank you! Once my project is successful, I'll definitely pay you back!"
The young teacher quickly waved his hand and walked away with his tray without looking back.
Over there, Xu Yangeng was sharing today's "harvest" cheerfully with his wife, but there was more sadness in his expression.
Looking at this scene, Liu Yutong felt as if something had touched her heart.
They were regarded as a laughingstock by everyone, knew they'd probably be rejected, had to humble themselves for just a few hundred yuan, and were already so down and out. Yet, they still didn't give up.
Such persistent people were really rare.
It's a pity...
According to the development trajectory of the previous life, it seemed that they didn't get a good result.
Professor Xu had an accident and died, and Professor Zhou went crazy.
In the previous life, she accidentally heard this news from an alumnus later and was quite sigh with emotion at that time.
So, she didn't know whether they finally managed to develop that so - called new - energy battery that could change the world...
