“Alright, go ahead.”
Huo Fanjin pressed her lips together.
Jiang Fuyue blinked. “What, is Miss Huo feeling shy? Don’t tell me you’re planning to confess to me?”
“Huh?! I’m straight! Straight!”
With that interruption, the bit of nervousness Huo Fanjin had instantly vanished.
“It’s like this…”
She briefly told Jiang Fuyue about giving up studying abroad. “…I think I should take advantage of this time to do something, but every day, aside from going to and from classes on time, I really have no clue what exactly I can do. So… Sister Yue, could you maybe point me in a direction?”
With Huo Fanjin’s abilities, being confined to classroom content would be a waste of talent. Her current state was,
Very idle, wanting to do something, yet not knowing where to start.
She hadn’t stopped agonizing over it these days; she was almost pulling her hair out.
Jiang Fuyue smiled and teased, “So you’ve come to me for guidance on your life path?”
It was meant as a joke, but after hearing it, Huo Fanjin suddenly grew serious, her bright almond eyes burning as she looked at Jiang Fuyue,
“Yes. I want to prove to everyone that even if I stay in the country and don’t go abroad to get ‘gilded,’ I can still become better, go farther, and stand higher!”
Jiang Fuyue was startled. For a moment, she was struck by the light bursting from Huo Fanjin’s eyes, but she still said, “This road isn’t easy. Rather than giving up halfway, you might as well continue being your Huo family’s eldest miss, living comfortably, never worrying about food or clothing…”
“And after graduation, find someone of equal status to marry, go from a rich young lady to a wealthy madam, have an heir a few years later, then decades down the line outlive your husband, become the empress dowager, live out your old age in peace, and die a natural death, is that it?” Huo Fanjin picked up the thread and rattled off the rest like pouring beans.
Jiang Fuyue: “Ahem…”
Huo Fanjin lifted her chin slightly, a mix of pride and resilience showing in her eyes. “If I wanted that kind of life, I would’ve gone abroad to get gilded back in freshman year. Would I really have waited until now?”
Actually, before meeting Jiang Fuyue, Huo Fanjin’s life plan was pretty much the same as most girls in her circle.
If she was capable enough, she’d take over the company, inherit the family business, and become a decisive, formidable businesswoman.
If she really didn’t have that kind of talent, then she’d marry a man with a strong family background and solid abilities, an alliance of the strong, resource integration, another form of success.
Raised in a wealthy family and surrounded by people from this circle since childhood, this way of thinking had almost become a consensus.
She didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Living in this world, one ought to be realistic.
But after meeting Jiang Fuyue, she realized that the paths a girl could take were far more than just those two.
She also wanted to shine, to leave something behind for this world.
She hoped that decades later, when people mentioned the three words “Huo Fanjin,” what came to mind wouldn’t be “socialite heiress” or “wealthy madam,” but rather what she had done for a certain field, for this country, for the world, and for future generations.
“…Others may not understand, but I know Sister Yue, you definitely understand that feeling!”
That feeling of having a spark hidden in your heart, wanting it to burn and become a light that illuminates the world!
Huo Fanjin murmured, “So what should I do? What can I do?”
It was both a question to herself and to Jiang Fuyue.
Suddenly…
“What do you like?”
Huo Fanjin didn’t hesitate, blurting out, “Physics! I like physics!”
The two of them had first met during the IPhO national team training camp.
Jiang Fuyue had thought it was merely a shortcut for bonus points and guaranteed admission to a top school. She hadn’t expected it to be genuine passion…
“You don’t believe me, do you?” She gave a bitter smile. “Actually, my parents don’t believe it either. The reason they agreed to hire teachers for me was because it could guarantee admission to the top universities, and even if I applied to study abroad later, it would still be a shining point on my résumé…”
But only Huo Fanjin herself knew, she really liked physics. She had liked it since she was little.
Whenever she was unhappy, doing a couple of physics problems would quickly calm her down.
She didn’t like learning piano, but as long as the physics class was scheduled after piano lessons, she would be very happy.
“I might not be the most gifted, but what does liking something have to do with talent anyway?”
Liking something is just liking it!
That feeling of excitement the moment you see it, of joy the instant you hear it, is far more important than whether you can solve this problem or complete that experiment.
“But my parents don’t believe it,” Huo Fanjin sighed softly, the light in her eyes quickly dimming. “They agreed to let me stay in the country, but they don’t support me transferring to the physics department. My dad is even planning to have me take over the company after graduation…”
Originally, she had wanted to use family connections to intern at a tech company researching remote sensing technology. Unexpectedly, not only did her own father shut it down with a single sentence, he even called several tech company bosses in the capital, telling them not to take her.
In a fit of anger, Huo Fanjin hadn’t gone home for two straight weeks.
Jiang Fuyue pondered for a moment. “How about this, I’ll write a recommendation letter to the Institute of Biophysics. You should be able to learn quite a lot by interning there.”
As for whether she could stay in the end, that would depend on Huo Fanjin’s own abilities.
“The Institute of Biophysics?! Really?!”
“I don’t know yet if it’ll work.” Jiang Fuyue had a fair amount of confidence, but she didn’t dare guarantee anything.
“It’s fine! Whether it works or not, I’m already satisfied! Sister Yue, you’re amazing, I love you to death! Boo-hoo! Are you a fairy?!”
As she spoke, she lunged forward and hugged Jiang Fuyue tightly.
In Huo Fanjin’s heart arose an indescribable feeling, like… a lonely boat drifting with the current suddenly spotting a bright lighthouse in the distance, finally finding its direction.
Jiang Fuyue was caught off guard by the tackle, her whole body stiffening, yet her eyes held a helpless smile.
…
Since she had agreed to help Huo Fanjin, Jiang Fuyue naturally did her best.
That very night, she had Huo Fanjin send over her résumé. After skimming through it, she pointed out what needed revising.
It wasn’t anything major, just removing some unnecessary items and highlighting the key points.
For example, there was no need to include something like Piano Level Ten, while the IPhO silver medal should be placed right at the top so it caught the eye immediately.
After the revisions, it looked much cleaner, and the focus was clear at a glance.
Based on this résumé, Jiang Fuyue spent five minutes writing a recommendation letter of about two hundred words.
The next morning, she first called the person in charge of the Institute of Biophysics. The other party was extremely polite in their speech.
She didn’t beat around the bush and stated her purpose directly.
After listening, the other party seemed somewhat hesitant and didn’t agree right away, only saying, “Our institute does indeed need to recruit interns, but we have a fixed selection process…”
In other words, pulling strings wouldn’t do.
But since Jiang Fuyue had personally called, they were still willing to give this rising star of the academic world some face, asking her to send Huo Fanjin’s résumé along with the recommendation letter. If Huo Fanjin really was as outstanding as she said, the institute would give her priority.
This outcome was more or less what Jiang Fuyue had expected. She sincerely thanked them and ended the call.
Then she sent a message to inform Huo Fanjin.
Upon hearing that she’d have to go through the standard process and might even need to attend an interview later, Huo Fanjin wasn’t disappointed at all. On the contrary, she felt a bit eager to try,
“If it really went through the back door, I’d feel bad instead! This is great, just give me a chance. Whether it works depends entirely on my own ability.”
Jiang Fuyue rather appreciated this mindset.
By the time she finished sending the email and handling the remaining matters, it was almost noon.
Little Mang came barking and scratching at the door, calling her to eat.
Jiang Fuyue opened the door, and the dog leapt in, throwing itself into her arms.
Rubbing, pawing, whining noisily, tail wagging nonstop.
“Alright, alright… why are you so excited every time?”
“Woof woof, ” I’m happy~
One person and one dog went downstairs. Standing on the steps, they heard the old man talking with someone else.
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow, a visitor?
At that moment, the people in the living room also heard the footsteps and looked up toward Jiang Fuyue.
“Yueyue…” Han Qishan smiled and beckoned to her. “Come.”
Jiang Fuyue walked over, Little Mang following closely behind.
“Grandpa.”
“Let me introduce you. This is your Uncle Tang. He works at the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television.”
Jiang Fuyue looked at the man about the same age as Han Shen, shirt and slacks, an elegant smile. At first glance he looked quite plain, but the limited-edition Piaget watch on his wrist subtly declared his status.
She went along smoothly. “Hello, Uncle Tang.”
“So this is Yueyue? Hello.” Indeed, an extraordinary bearing.
Tang Youtian had come this time under the pretense of visiting the old man, but in truth, he had come specifically to see Jiang Fuyue.
He didn’t hide it either. Upon seeing Han Qishan, he honestly stated his purpose, which made it rather hard for the old man to refuse.
First, the relationship between the two families was genuinely good. Second, Tang Youtian’s attitude wasn’t off-putting.
And finally, and most importantly, some matters really couldn’t be delayed any longer.
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