Striving for Science C73

After chatting with his grandparents for a long time, just as Shen Chang'an was about to go back to his room to sleep, Grandpa Yang called out to him.

"Chang'an, come here." Grandpa Yang leaned against the room door, beckoning Shen Chang'an with his hand, like a big bad wolf trying to lure a child into his house. Shen Chang'an pulled his coat tighter around himself, walked through the courtyard, and entered Grandpa Yang's room.

Grandpa Yang loved to grow flowers and trees. Although he didn't specialize in plants, he had a keen understanding of agriculture and often worked part-time as an agricultural expert.

In the corner of the room, next to the balcony, there was a row of flower pots neatly arranged. In the cold winter, these flowers were particularly vibrant. When he was a child, he liked to learn from Grandpa Yang how to water the flowers. Grandpa Yang would always complain that he wasn't watering the flowers, but giving them a bath.

A black and white photo of Grandpa Yang and his beloved from his younger days hung on the wall. His beloved had two long black braids and a small dimple in her smile, making her beautiful and approachable.

When he was a child, he didn't understand and asked Grandpa Yang where this beautiful sister had gone. Grandpa Yang said she had gone to the next life. He didn't understand back then, but later he did, and he never brought up this sad topic in front of his old man again.

In this world, there are countless people who are separated by death, but perhaps not many are like Grandpa Yang, who, after his beloved died, never fell in love with anyone else.

"This orchid is really well-grown. Dao Nian also has a few of these at his place, and the flowers that bloom are particularly beautiful." Shen Chang'an looked around the flower pot. "But the flowers I grow at Dao Nian's place aren't as vibrant as this one. Grandpa Yang, tell me, what's the secret to growing this flower?"

The words "at Dao Nian's place" made Grandpa Yang swallow the words he was about to say. He stared at Shen Chang'an for a few seconds. "Don't you dislike growing flowers?"

"Dao Nian likes them." Shen Chang'an tugged at Grandpa Yang's sleeve in a flattering way. "Don't keep it a secret, old man. Teach me."

"You're a young man in your twenties, why are you acting so childish?" Grandpa Yang pulled at his sleeve, but it wouldn't budge. He said in a bad mood, "You didn't learn when you were a child, and now you want to learn? It's too late!"

Shen Chang'an continued to flatter and act cute, finally getting the orchid-growing techniques recorded. He put the paper filled with notes into his pocket. "Grandpa Yang, you called me over, was there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Nothing." Grandpa Yang remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I just wanted to see you." He was always worried that Shen Chang'an staying with the Lord would bring trouble to him. But now that they were living together, Shen Chang'an was close to the Lord, and the Lord seemed to treat Shen Chang'an well. If he interfered and ruined this relationship, it would be bad for Chang'an.

Although the Heavenly Dao Lord didn't have much emotion, he wouldn't harm living beings because of his personal preferences. Moreover, perhaps Chang'an was... different to him.

After thinking of so many reasons, the poplar tree yao knew very well that he only understood after hearing the phrase "at Dao Nian's place." He suddenly realized that Shen Chang'an considered the place where he lived with Dao Nian as his home.

Home holds a very important place in the hearts of many humans. Many people are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their homes.

This child Chang'an...

Shen Chang'an was deeply moved when he heard this. "Grandpa Yang, I'll come to see you again during the Spring Festival holiday. Don't worry about me."

"Spring Festival holiday, huh..." Grandpa Yang stroked his chin and thought for a long time. "We'll be busy during the Spring Festival. The country has organized a travel program for us, and we'll be going to the Spring Festival Gala to watch the performance on New Year's Eve. If you come, we won't have time to play with you."

"Then I'll come to see you after the Spring Festival." Shen Chang'an remembered that during the New Year, his grandparents were also very busy. Many times, he wasn't suitable to go with them, and he didn't want to bother his father's former comrades-in-arms, so he would eat with the staff in the courtyard.

These staff members came from all over the country, and their cooking styles were different. Shen Chang'an followed them and tasted the flavors of various regions across the country. It wasn't until he learned to cook that he gradually ended his freeloading days.

"It's getting late, go back to sleep." Grandpa Yang glanced at the time on the wall. "The weather forecast says it might snow tomorrow. Put on more clothes when you get up tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Shen Chang'an nodded, walked out of Grandpa Yang's room, and looked up at the night sky above the courtyard, where the bright moon hung. The weather forecast was wrong again?

His phone rang, and he ran back to his room in a flash, then nervously took out his phone and answered it. "Ranran?"

"I knew you wouldn't be asleep at this time." Cai Ran seemed to be in a good mood. Hearing Shen Chang'an's clear voice, she continued, "I have good news for you. That bastard Cao Jin has fallen."

Shen Chang'an: Not only did he know, he witnessed it firsthand.

“I heard the police found a lot of drugs in his private apartment, and he was caught harboring others to use drugs. That's enough to keep him in jail until he cries.” Cai Ran's tongue was particularly sharp. After she finished scolding Cao Jin from head to toe on the phone, she softened her tone and said, “By the way, I heard there's trouble with his company. His father and uncle had a huge fight, and his uncle resigned and took his wife and children abroad. Now with this news about Cao Jin, his family will definitely be affected.”

“Oh, right, someone online exposed all the bad things Cao Jin did in the past. Now he's being cursed by the whole internet. As one of his sworn enemies, you're also one of the victims. I'll send you the link later, you can take a look yourself.”

Cai Ran hung up the phone and sent the link to Shen Chang'an.

Shen Chang'an clicked on it and took a look. The person who posted the exposé seemed to be familiar with Cao Jin, and it detailed many of his evil deeds.

OP: Cao Jin was in college, he had his eyes on a goddess with high looks and intelligence. The goddess didn't like him, so he went to her dorm building every day to send flowers and gifts, following her and harassing her. The goddess, being the kind of person she was, naturally wouldn't look at such trash, so she ruthlessly rejected him. But Cao Jin not only hated the goddess, he also hated her friend. The goddess's friend was a male god, handsome, good at studies, good at sports, and a local from the capital.

OP: Cao Jin suspected that the male god had seduced the goddess, so he went after the male god every day. But intelligence is something that's innate. Every time Cao Jin tried to cause trouble for the male god, he ended up humiliating himself. After repeated incidents, the other students saw Cao Jin as a joke, while the male god and goddess had already represented the school in various competitions, winning countless honors for the school.

OP: Do you think that's the end? Wrong! When a person becomes shameless, there's no bottom line. The male god was good in every way, but he had a tragic past, his parents had both passed away. Cao Jin, this scum, couldn't do anything to the male god, so he started to curse his parents. The male god couldn't hold back and fought with him. Cao Jin, a scum with a fighting power of negative five, was beaten by the male god until he cried for his father and mother, tears streaming down his face, a big, cowardly '怂' (coward) from head to toe.

OP: Although everyone felt relieved to see this, it also brought trouble for the male god. Cao Jin's parents were powerful and influential, they went to the school and said they wanted to severely punish the male god, and said that if they didn't give Cao Jin an explanation, they would call reporters to make a big deal out of it. Seeing this, are you all feeling tense?

OP: Don't rush, netizens, I'll tell you the follow-up right away. Although Cao Jin's parents went to our school to make a fuss several times, our school is a prestigious school, the school leaders are not afraid of power, they are brave enough to fight against evil forces. After investigating the matter, they downgraded the male god's special scholarship from first-class to third-class, after all, fighting is indeed wrong. But Cao Jin, for harassing female classmates and skipping classes many times, was given a major demerit. I heard he didn't even get his diploma, how satisfying is this ending?

OP: Those of you upstairs who want the male god's contact information, who want to give birth to monkeys for the male god, all of you stop dreaming. If I had the male god's contact information, would I give it to you cheaply? Wake up, stop dreaming! The previous paragraph wasn't flattering the school leaders, it was just expressing my true feelings, understand?

OP: I really don't know where the male god went. There are rumors that he was retaliated against by the Cao family and went to other cities. There are also rumors that the male god was recruited by the country because he was too outstanding and went to perform high-level tasks. Anyway, I hope the male god is doing well and living a happy life.

OP: And those who are asking about the relationship between the male god and the goddess, stop thinking about it. They are purely male and female academic gods' friendship. If you can't understand this kind of relationship, don't be surprised. After all, the netizens who have been following this post are not people from the academic god world.

***

Shen Chang'an read some of the poster's comments and suspected that the poster was a novelist. Some ordinary events, under her description, became the kind of face-slapping, satisfying stories that internet users love to eat melon about, attracting netizens to leave comments, turning the "male god" in the story into a perfect man.

Thinking that he was the "male god" in this story, Shen Chang'an felt that this whole thing was... quite embarrassing.

After putting down his phone and taking a shower, Shen Chang'an put on his bathrobe. Suddenly, he remembered the things he had said to Cao Jin at the police station and couldn't help but sit up from the bed.

If the words he spoke from the heart could come true...

Although this ability might not be something to be abused, he still had a dangerous and selfish thought.

After sitting cross-legged on the bed for a long time, Shen Chang'an gritted his teeth, reached out and grabbed the thick coat next to him, wrapped it around himself, and walked out the door.

The wind outside was biting, and the moonlight was exceptionally bright. He took out his phone, took a picture of the moon, and sent it to Dao Nian: "Look, the moon is so beautiful tonight."

Dao Nian, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, reading a book while hugging a rabbit plushie, opened his phone, saw the message Shen Chang'an sent, and remained silent for a long time.

I heard that when humans tell another person that the moon is beautiful, it has another meaning.

Was Chang'an... confessing to him?

Dao Nian typed and deleted in the chat box, struggling to find the right words for a long time. In the end, he could only reply with an "hmm".

Chang'an; Get some sleep, good night.

Dao Nian looked silently at the phone screen, his brows furrowed.

Was this happiness, or unhappiness?

Shen Chang'an grabbed his phone and walked into the empty courtyard, taking a deep breath.

"I hope…"

The courtyard was incredibly quiet, the trees and flowers bathed in the moonlight.

"I hope Dao Nian's legs can heal, and he can live a free, carefree, healthy, and happy life in the future."

As soon as he finished speaking, massive dark clouds blotted out the bright moon, a fierce wind whipped up, and all he could hear was the furious roar of the wind in his ears.

Shen Chang'an was blown back and forth by the wind. He looked up at the roof tiles being blown away behind him, feeling like he was a scumbag who had let this wind down. It was charging at him, wanting to settle the score.

"Cough, cough, cough, do you have to be like this?" Shen Chang'an watched as the sky grew darker and darker, as if these dark clouds were going to crush the entire city. He quickly zipped up his jacket.

He just wanted Dao Nian to have a good life, Dao Nian hadn't done anything wrong, why couldn't he have a better life? Why did the heavens and earth have to change color, and the sun and moon lose their light?

His Dao Nian was so good, he deserved this blessing!

The wind blew against his face in gusts, as if trying to make him retract his words.

Why?

Why?

Shen Chang'an's heart was ignited by this wind, he forgot his fear, and he forgot to back down.

"I hope Dao Nian can…"

Crash.

A large clump of leaves blew towards Shen Chang'an's face, the wind knocked him to the ground. His tongue hit his teeth, his mouth was full of blood, and every word he spoke was excruciatingly painful.

"To be able to live freely, healthily and happily!"

The wind roared even more fiercely, thunderclouds flashed in the sky, and the bright electric light illuminated the courtyard like daylight.

"Chang'an, what did you do?" Grandpa Yang rushed out of the room, his face full of terror. Shen Chang'an looked up at him, and saw the thunder in the sky, striking down towards him.

This thunder, it's flashing and bright, big and round.

And Grandpa Yang's hair, how did it turn green? Did he secretly try on a green wig in his room?

Who would have thought he had such a hobby?

In a daze, Shen Chang'an's mind was filled with these inexplicable thoughts. As the thunder was about to strike him, he closed his eyes and rolled desperately to the side.

***

"Master!" Shen Tu rushed out of the house, his expression filled with terror as he looked at the flashing lightning in the sky. "Is that the remaining consciousness of the Great Dao?"

All these years, the remnants of the Great Dao's consciousness have been slumbering in secret corners. Why is it so enraged today, even disregarding the risk of being discovered by the Master, and unleashing thunder upon the mortal realm?

Just who in the heavens… could have blown the remnants of the Great Dao's consciousness into such a state?

However, for them, it was a good thing.

Dao Nian opened his eyes, the dark cloud in the sky transformed into a golden light, flying towards the cloud.

After hiding for so many millennia, he still found it.