The capital was engulfed in a heavy snowfall.
Early in the morning, after Rong Yu finished washing up, the living room was empty. She pushed open the door to the adjacent bedroom and saw Ji Mohan still buried under the covers, sleeping. A pile of draft papers was scattered on the floor beside the bed.
Which meant this guy had been working on his research late into the night.
"Great-grandma, I'm getting up right now!"
Hearing the sound, Ji Mohan jolted upright, brushed his teeth with his hair a mess, and simultaneously pulled out his phone to order breakfast.
He actually didn't have the habit of eating breakfast.
But the old master had repeatedly instructed him to take good care of Great-grandma.
Ji Mohan ordered some local specialties of the capital.
Rong Yu sat in the living room waiting.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty minutes passed.
Almost an hour passed... the breakfast still hadn't arrived.
Ji Mohan wore a miserable expression: "Almost there, the delivery rider says two more minutes."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the rider's call came through, "The delivery is at the door. No one answered when I knocked, so I left it outside."
Ji Mohan got up to open the door.
Suddenly, he remembered.
This was his second brother's home. The breakfast... seemed... was probably delivered to his own bachelor apartment instead.
Going there and back would take at least forty or fifty minutes.
Ji Mohan shrunk his head, slowly turned around, and looked guiltily at Rong Yu who had been waiting on the sofa for an hour: "Great-grandma, I..."
Rong Yu stood up: "It's fine. We can buy something on the way to the Materials Institute."
Ji Mohan heaved a huge sigh of relief: "Yes, Great-grandma."
He quickly looked up online to see which breakfast shops along the way had good reputations.
The car pulled out of the garage and stopped by the roadside: "Great-grandma, this is an old Beijing breakfast shop highly recommended by netizens as the most authentic."
Rong Yu looked up at the signboard, which read: Old Beijing Douzhir.
Her eyelid twitched: "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." Ji Mohan, wanting to salvage his image, loudly asked the owner for douzhir. "Netizens say this shop's douzhir has the most traditional fermentation process. One sip, and you'll remember it for life... Pfft!"
He had just taken a sip when he couldn't help but spit it out.
Rong Yu, who had probably anticipated his reaction, blocked it with the scrap paper in her hand and called out, "Owner, zhajiangmian."
She smiled and looked at her dear great-grandson. "You've been in the capital for so many years now, and you still don't know what douzhir tastes like?"
Ji Mohan counted on his fingers: "I've probably only had breakfast about twice in the capital."
Rong Yu shook her head.
This child was exactly like her in her youth, completely devoted to research. Meals could be skipped, sleep could be forgone, bathroom breaks could be held if possible. Whether it would ruin one's health was unknown, because she had already died long ago...
She spoke up: "If you're busy, you should hire a housekeeper to clean and cook three meals for you."
"Forget it. When I get busy, I often don't go home for days on end. Hiring someone would just be a waste of money." Ji Mohan finished the zhajiangmian in two or three bites, picked up Rong Yu's bag for her, and said, "Great-grandma, let's go."
The car drove all the way to the CAS Materials Institute.
As it was still the Spring Festival period, most people at the institute were on holiday, but some were on duty.
Ji Mohan led Rong Yu inside.
Just as they entered the main gate, they ran into a tall girl wearing glasses.
Rong Yu recognized her; this seemed to be the girl who had talked with A'Mo for a long time at the restaurant that day.
Lu Jiaojiao had been staying at the Materials Institute these past few days. After being promoted to Senior Researcher, she had been assigned a research project.
Others only knew she had achieved a senior title at a young age, but they didn't know her abilities were limited, requiring her to spend a great deal of time making up for the shortfall.
Afraid of being questioned, she was determined to do this research well.
She hadn't expected it to be so difficult.
Last night, she had messaged Ji Mohan, hoping for help. She truly hadn't expected Ji Mohan to come back early for her on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
Lu Jiaojiao adjusted her glasses and said, "Mohan, you came at the right time. My work here has just started. You can work with me. You can be listed as the second author later, which will also be good for your promotion to Intermediate Researcher."
Rong Yu raised an eyebrow.
She hadn't spent much time with A'Mo and only knew he was a researcher, not his specific rank. From the sound of it, A'Mo was only a junior?
She had seen this kid's draft papers; the angles were novel, and his thinking and logic were sound. He should at least be at a senior level...
"I came to the institute for something else," Ji Mohan said apologetically. "And I have my own project to work on. Jiaojiao, why don't you find someone else?"
Lu Jiaojiao pursed her lips.
No one else would unconditionally give her the first author position.
Moreover, collaborating with others would put a lot of pressure on her.
Only Ji Mohan didn't care about such gains and losses.
She was about to speak when she noticed the girl standing beside Ji Mohan. This girl was too beautiful, with outstanding features and a unique aura. Standing next to Ji Mohan, she was like a bright pearl next to a lump of charcoal.
This girl...
Lu Jiaojiao suddenly remembered: "Is this Rong Yu, the celebrity who filmed the aerospace promotional video?"
Ji Mohan nodded: "We need to head in now. See you later."
He stepped aside to let Rong Yu go first.
"Wait a moment." Lu Jiaojiao reminded him coolly, "Mohan, this is a national first-class materials institute, not a red carpet for celebrities."
Ji Mohan frowned: "What red carpet? We're here on official business."
"Official business referring to filming a promotional video?" Lu Jiaojiao's voice remained flat. "The Aerospace Institute needs to cooperate with national publicity, but currently the Materials Institute does not. A celebrity coming to a key scientific research facility, besides causing trouble, I can't think of any other possibility."
Rong Yu looked up: "That's because your perspective is narrow."
Lu Jiaojiao's calm expression cracked: "You, a celebrity, telling me, a research scientist, that my perspective is narrow? I really don't know where you get such audacity..."
"Lu Jiaojiao!" Ji Mohan's voice rose slightly. "Watch your tone. Show some respect."
Lu Jiaojiao looked utterly incredulous.
Ji Mohan regarded her as his savior and had always been pleasant to her. No matter what unreasonable requests she made, Ji Mohan never spoke to her in such a tone.
Who was this female celebrity?
Could she be Ji Mohan's girlfriend?
If Ji Mohan had a girlfriend, would he still respect her, his savior?
Suppressing her emotions, Lu Jiaojiao said coldly, "The Materials Institute is not a place where just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can waltz in. Non-staff must have a pass. Otherwise, I will report this matter to the higher-ups. Mohan, don't challenge the institute's discipline."
Ji Mohan clenched his fist.
How had he never known Lu Jiaojiao could be so mean-spirited?
Yes, mean-spirited.
He rarely used such a word to describe a girl.
Rong Yu glanced at Ji Mohan before speaking unhurriedly, "The pass you mentioned, is it this one?"
She opened her phone. The screen clearly displayed an electronic pass stamped with two electronic seals: one from the Fourth Aerospace Institute and one from the CAS Materials Institute.
