Striving for Science C41 pt1

"Peace of mind" was just a simple phrase, but to truly achieve it was incredibly difficult.

In the long course of time, Liu Mao had witnessed many of humanity's joys and sorrows. Back then, he lived in the snow-capped mountains, and when bored, he liked to observe human life. After seeing too much ugliness, he found it hard to have much affection for humans as a species.

Shen Chang'an was a bit different. He possessed many things that humans called "virtues," upright but not rigid, and even had some endearing little flaws. Being with someone like him easily made one feel comfortable, and even look forward to the day ahead.

He looked at Shen Chang'an in the rearview mirror. Shen Chang'an was burying his head, wrapping his jacket tighter, and even tying a knot with the sleeves on the outside.

The master was right, he's still just a little cub.

When they arrived at Dao Nian's house, Shen Chang'an got out of the car and immediately smelled the enticing aroma of cumin. He sniffed, his gaze landing on the grill in the corner, and the few people sitting beside it.

"It smells so good." Shen Chang'an ran to the empty stool next to Dao Nian and sat down, looking eagerly at Uncle Zhao. "Uncle Zhao, what are you grilling? It smells amazing."

"This kind of meat is getting harder and harder to find. I happened to come across some when I went out today, so I brought it back." Uncle Zhao took a few skewers of grilled meat from the grill and handed them to Shen Chang'an. "Try it, does it suit your taste?"

Shen Chang'an took the grilled meat and casually gave two skewers to Dao Nian.

Dao Nian looked at the greasy skewers in his hand, then glanced expressionlessly at the jacket Shen Chang'an was clutching in his arms: "Put your clothes on."

"If you hadn't reminded me, I almost would have forgotten." Shen Chang'an finished the grilled meat in a few bites, hissing from the heat, and pulled out the still-warm roasted chestnuts from his jacket. "I brought you roasted chestnuts."

Dao Nian stared at the two bags of chestnuts without saying a word.

"Alright, alright, I know your hands must be hurting again." After being friends for a few months, Shen Chang'an had already seen through Dao Nian's personality of absolutely not lifting a finger if he could get away with it. He gave one bag of chestnuts to the others, and slowly peeled the remaining bag for himself and Dao Nian.

He didn't like to drink alcohol, so Uncle Zhao poured him a homemade drink. He said with emotion, "Drinks, barbecue, and good friends, this kind of life is so good that even a god wouldn't trade it."

Uncle Zhao was amused by his words, "You haven't even seen a god, so how do you know they wouldn't trade?"

"Uncle Zhao, I'm praising how delicious your grilled meat is, why are you shooting yourself in the foot?" Shen Chang'an originally wanted to put on the jacket that had been warming the roasted chestnuts, but Dao Nian disliked such sloppy behavior, and had Liu Mao find him a clean jacket to wear.

Putting the last peeled chestnut into Dao Nian's palm, Shen Chang'an looked at the bright red charcoal fire under the grill and suddenly said, "Since the atmosphere is so good today, I'll tell everyone a horror story."

Hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment. Uncle Zhao was the first to react, laughing and saying, "Okay, tell one."

Shen Chang'an turned his head to look at Dao Nian, "Are you scared? If you are, I won't tell it."

"It's fine." Dao Nian seemed not to notice the subtle glances from the others. "I don't believe in ghosts and gods, so I'm not afraid."

"Oh." Shen Chang'an took a sip of his drink. "Then I'll tell you a story about an online romance."

Shen Chang'an had great eloquence. He managed to make a very ordinary story sound dramatic and suspenseful. By the end, even Liu Mao couldn't help but ask, "Was the male protagonist's online girlfriend actually a ghost?"

"What do you guys think?"

Everyone shook their heads, "Tell us, tell us quickly."

"That night, he got up especially early, put on the new clothes his parents had sent, and arranged to meet the girl in the park. But just as he was about to cross the street, a large truck came crashing towards him."

"His girlfriend, who was already waiting at the park entrance, saw this scene and screamed in fright. But there was no blood under the wheels, nor was there a body. The girlfriend turned her head and saw him standing behind her, smiling and asking…"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"So the real ghost wasn't the girlfriend, but the male protagonist from the story's perspective?" Liu Mao suddenly understood. "This story is well-written, making everyone subconsciously ignore all the protagonist's oddities, and placing all suspicion on the girlfriend."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

"Don't you guys think this story is very scary, especially the last sentence from the male protagonist, doesn't it give people endless terrifying possibilities?"

"Clap, clap, clap." Dao Nian clapped three times expressionlessly. "Very scary, very frightening."

"Ah, right!" Liu Mao clapped along, "That's too scary, I'm going to sleep with the lights on tonight."

"Chang'an, you really have a talent for storytelling." Uncle Zhao placed the grilled mushrooms into Shen Chang'an's hand, "You've worked hard, eat more."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

This kind of encouragement, like you'd give a four-year-old in kindergarten, really wasn't sincere at all, okay? He resentfully ate a piece of mushroom, the heat making him stick his tongue out repeatedly.

A drink was offered to his lips, and he took a sip from Dao Nian's hand, then looked at Dao Nian with emotion. Usually, he was the one who picked food for Dao Nian and poured his drinks, but he actually got to drink a beverage handed to him by Dao Nian himself. This was simply a huge step forward in their brotherly bond.

In that instant, Shen Chang'an felt like an old father who had worked hard to raise his child, and finally received a reward from his child. He was so excited that he personally grilled a few dishes for Dao Nian, then looked at Dao Nian with loving eyes: "Although my cooking skills can't compare to Uncle Zhao's, they're still pretty good, try them."

Looking at Shen Chang'an's "tolerant, loving, and gratified" gaze, Dao Nian's mood was extremely complicated. Between the two of them, who was actually older?

"Do you want to eat some chives?" Shen Chang'an asked, "Although the flavor is strong, they taste really good grilled."

"No." After finishing it in two or three bites, Dao Nian wiped his mouth clean, "Go to bed early tonight."

Shen Chang'an glanced at the time, "You want to sleep? I'll take you upstairs."

Dao Nian looked at the others, "You guys continue."

Shen Chang'an said to Uncle Zhao, "Uncle Zhao, please grill a few more oysters for me, I'll come down to eat them later."

"Alrighty." Uncle Zhao happily agreed. After the master left, they could also eat more freely.

"It's so late, why did you suddenly think of calling me over for barbecue?" Shen Chang'an pushed Dao Nian into the elevator, "But I'm very happy, thank you."

"Do you like lively gatherings?" Dao Nian asked.

"Not really." Shen Chang'an thought for a moment, "Maybe it's the feeling of being with friends I care about." Over the years, he had always worried that criminals would come for revenge, which would implicate his friends, so he was very cautious in many things.

Now that the criminal gang had been completely wiped out, and the atmosphere here with Dao Nian was so good, he finally understood how comfortable it was to relax and not worry about implicating others.

Pushing Dao Nian into the room, Shen Chang'an walked to the window and discovered that from Dao Nian's room, he could clearly see all the scenery in the garden. He looked at the crowd below, laughing and playing, then turned to look at Dao Nian, who was sitting quietly in his wheelchair. He suddenly felt a little reluctant to join in the fun, leaving Dao Nian alone in this empty little room.

Dao Nian noticed Shen Chang'an's gaze and turned his head to look at him in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Shen Chang'an shook his head, "Are you going to sleep now?"

Dao Nian was even more confused, "Is there something you need my help with, or did you suffer some grievance at work?"

Shen Chang'an was stunned. How did Dao Nian's thoughts wander to that? With his martial arts skills, who could possibly make him suffer a grievance?

"Aren't you going down?" Dao Nian propelled his wheelchair, picked up a book from the bedside table, and placed it on his lap, "Your oysters will be grilled soon."

"It's okay, let them eat first, I'll sit with you for a while." Shen Chang'an looked around the room. There wasn't even a sofa, so he could only stare at the bed.

"Sit." Dao Nian pointed to the bed, "Do you have something to say?"

"No, I just want to sit with you for a bit." Shen Chang'an looked at the empty cabinet, "Are you allergic to pollen?"

Dao Nian silently shook his head.

"I saw the flowers downstairs are blooming beautifully. Tomorrow morning, I'll find a vase and cut a few branches to put in your room." Shen Chang'an looked around the room, "Do you have any flowers you dislike?"

"No."

"Then I'll decide what flowers to cut."

Dao Nian nodded noncommittally.

"Did you encounter anyone else tonight?" Dao Nian asked suddenly, flipping a page of his book.

"What?" Shen Chang'an was taken aback. Seeing that Dao Nian didn't seem particularly interested in the answer, he said, "I had dinner at Uncle Zhang's downstairs tonight. After receiving a call from Brother Liu, I rushed over here. On the way, I met an elderly woman with mobility issues and helped her across the road."

"An old woman?" Dao Nian raised an eyebrow, then flipped another page of his book. "You can go downstairs, I don't need you to keep me company here."

He had long been accustomed to the loneliness of endless years; this kind of night was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

"Then I'll go downstairs?" Seeing that Dao Nian really didn't seem to need his company, Shen Chang'an got up and said, "If you need anything, just call me by the window, and I'll come up right away."

Dao Nian glanced at the closed curtains, blinked, and indicated that he understood.

Listening to Shen Chang'an's cheerful footsteps as he went downstairs, Dao Nian continued to look down at his book. The room finally became quiet. But after less than five seconds, he put down the book, propelled his wheelchair to the bedside, reached out to touch the edge of the curtain, and then pulled his hand back.