Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning’s question made Li Chengze grin foolishly without saying a word.

He was too embarrassed to speak.

"Li Chengze, talk."

Li Chengze looked at An Ning with a pained expression, whimpering, "Teacher, the truth is too embarrassing."

An Ning was amused by his behavior.

She ventured a guess, "Don’t tell me you didn’t go back all night?"

Li Chengze pouted, his head feeling as if it weighed a thousand pounds as he gave a reluctant nod.

"Yes."

The one-word answer left An Ning speechless and stunned.

"Li Chengze, oh, Li Chengze, and here I thought you were so smart. You stood outside all night? Didn’t you think to ask someone for directions?"

"I wanted to, but last night I ran into that trio in suits. How could I possibly ask them?"

The more Li Chengze spoke, the less confident he sounded, his head sinking lower and lower.

’The suit trio?’

An Ning didn’t know whether to marvel at how quickly karma worked or how coincidental fate could be.

"Then why didn’t you just try each road? You would’ve eventually found the right one, right? What were you doing out here all night?"

Li Chengze, probably figuring he had nothing left to lose, blurted out, "Teacher, you don’t understand the plight of someone who’s terrible with directions."

"To me, these three roads are no different from a million roads."

"After I walk down one and come back, it becomes a completely new road to me."

This time, it was An Ning’s turn to be flabbergasted.

She had never encountered someone who could get so hopelessly lost.

"Then what’s that little notebook for?"

An Ning pointed at the notebook in Li Chengze’s hand. It was covered in intricate drawings that looked more like a maze.

"This... Every time I try a path, I add something to it so it’s easier for me to tell them apart."

There was nothing wrong with Li Chengze’s logic.

An Ning recalled something and asked, "So that time you got lost in the snow, you weren’t actually chasing a sheep?"

"No, no, no, that time I really did get lost chasing a sheep. It’s just that I was trying to ask the sheep for directions, but it didn’t want to listen to me, so it ran away."

Li Chengze looked a bit sheepish as he spoke, especially since he had eaten the mutton.

As for An Ning, she felt a pang of sympathy for a sheep for the very first time.

’Just how much must he have talked to make a sheep not want to listen and flee for its life? Maybe the sheep falling into that hole wasn’t an accident after all.’

But that was likely a mystery that would never be solved.

An Ning really didn’t know what to say. She could only offer, "Follow me. I’ll take you back to your dorm to wash up first."

"Thank you, Teacher."

Li Chengze followed An Ning, trying his best to explain himself. "Teacher, don’t mind that I get lost. I don’t get lost when I’m drawing blueprints. I’m very clear on those."

"I know."

An Ning walked in front, and Li Chengze obediently followed behind.

"Wait a minute, doesn’t your family know about this problem of yours?"

’If I were his family and knew about this,’ An Ning thought, ’I’d never feel safe letting him go out alone.’

"They know and they don’t. They know I tend to get lost, but they don’t know I can get *this* lost."

"It’s mainly because this place is too new. Around my own neighborhood, I’m fine."

An Ning understood.

"So you only get lost when you’re away from home?"

"Heh heh, something like that."

The two of them, one in front of the other, arrived at the entrance of the men’s dormitory.

An Ning asked worriedly, "You’ll be okay inside?"

"Don’t worry, there are room numbers inside the building."

An Ning watched as a very confident Li Chengze walked into the building.

’Why do I not feel reassured at all?’

An Ning sighed. ’He’s the apprentice I chose, what can I do?’

’It’s not a completely unsolvable problem. A positioning system or a full-view navigation device could fix it.’

An Ning’s thoughts began to wander. She knew the technology, but none of the necessary infrastructure existed.

’Am I going to have to venture into another field of technology?’

So far, she had only revealed her talents in mechanics.

An Ning was lost in thought as she waited for Li Chengze.

Many people were coming and going in front of the men’s dormitory, and every one of them saw An Ning.

The man in the wool coat, one of the suit trio, happened to be coming out and spotted An Ning immediately.

"Brother Jun, what do we do?"

"Why is she here?"

"Is she here to corner us?"

"Brother Jun, I’ve got nothing left! My brain is empty!"

"Me too, I really can’t praise her anymore."

The two underlings felt their throats and heads start to ache just at the sight of An Ning.

Brother Jun, who was usually so arrogant, felt his legs trying to run away against his will.

"SHHH— let’s take the side door."

Brother Jun gestured, and the three of them bent over like thieves, turning to leave on tiptoe.

"Good morning. My teacher is outside too, let’s go together."

Li Chengze had come downstairs.

The three men instantly straightened up, agreeing with smiles that didn’t reach their eyes.

"Really?"

"That’s great!"

"Wait, I forgot my meal ticket. I’ll go back and get it."

Li Chengze cleverly blocked the wool-coated man’s path. "It’s fine, I’ll lend you one. Just remember to pay me back."

"My teacher is waiting outside, you know. Aren’t you all her biggest admirers?"

This Brother Jun never would have imagined he’d be trapped in this role of an ardent admirer, with no way to back down.

"Heh heh heh, you’re right. Let’s go."

The three men in suits followed Li Chengze.

Walking ahead, Li Chengze’s eyes were filled with smug satisfaction.

An Ning witnessed the whole thing and only wanted to say one thing: ’Nice one!’

"Good morning, Teacher."

"Morning."

An Ning, with the air of a master, looked at the three men behind him and said, "I didn’t realize you admired me so much that you wouldn’t even pass up the chance to have breakfast with me." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Alright, alright. I really don’t know what to do with you. If you want to praise me, go ahead. Don’t hold back."

Those two sentences nearly brought the three men behind him to tears.

’Not this again!’

’Hasn’t she heard enough?’

’We’ve said more than enough!’

Seeing their expressions, An Ning felt even more delighted.

She added fuel to the fire, saying, "Go on, don’t be shy."

"I’m very magnanimous."

After speaking, An Ning clasped her hands behind her back and walked ahead with an air of great importance.

The three men behind her began their day like students forced to do their most dreaded morning reading.

The tour continued that morning.

When the three men appeared in the workshop, their eyes were sunken and bruised. Li Chengze, who also hadn’t slept all night, looked terrible as well.

This made Director Hu seriously wonder if something bad had happened in the men’s dormitory.

When he asked, Li Chengze explained that he had just stayed up a little late reading the night before.

He made no mention of getting lost.

The other three could only explain that they were too excited and hadn’t slept well.

In reality, the moment the three of them closed their eyes, their minds were filled with floating idioms.

A single night’s sleep felt like returning to an exam hall more than a decade after graduation. It was exhausting!

"Oh, so that’s how it is..."

Director Hu naturally didn’t believe them, but he didn’t call them out on it.

"Comrade An Ning, after this morning’s tour, would you be able to produce a blueprint? We need to hold a meeting the day after tomorrow."

"Those people will be arriving this afternoon."