âJiang Chen, do you prefer a younger brother or a younger sister?â
He Qianjian turned his head to look at Jiang Chen, and when his eyes swept over He Qianmin and He Qianyu, there was some deeper meaning in his eyes, but there was nothing wrong with his tone.
Jiang Chen raised his eyes. He saw He Qianyuâs expectant expression from the corner of his eye, and said calmly, âOur family doesnât practice gender preferences. As long as itâs my younger brother or my younger sister, I will naturally like them.â
He Qianjian didnât know if Jiang Chen really didnât understand the meaning of his words or if he was just deflecting the question. The trap he threw was not stepped on and he was a bit displeased. In the tone of a friend, he asked with a smile: âThat being said, biases always exist, and as long as you are human, you will have an emotional bias, so it doesnât matter if you say it.â
He Qianminâs face turned cold, and he wanted to explode, but recalling that this was the Jiang family, and He Qianjianâs identity was really special, he could just pull a sullen face in the end.
âBrother Qian Jian.â He Qianyu propped her hands on both sides of the sofa and leaned forward. She looked at He Qianjian, with a puzzled expression: âDo all people have emotional biases?â
He Qianjian said: âOf course.â
He Qianyuâs tone was very innocent: âThen do you like father or mother more?â
He Qianjian choked and opened his mouth, but he didnât know how to answer.
He Yanya glanced at He Qianjian, frowned, and looked down at her watch: âItâs getting late, we should go back.â
Yang Si nodded, and didnât keep them. She got up and said, âThen Iâll see you off.â
After He Yanya and the others left, only then did Yang Si shake her head slightly, but didnât say anything. It was almost midnight at this time, and there were fireworks blooming outside the window in the dark night. With the sound of the Spring Festival Gala program playing on the TV, the atmosphere of the New Year celebrations was very strong.
The whole family went to the balcony on the second floor. Yang Si looked at the fireworks in the night sky and the children playing downstairs. She supported her belly and said, âThe new year is about to begin.â
Jiang Zhuo put on a coat for her, and said with a smile, âYes, this year has passed, and our family will become better and better.â
Jiang Chen raised his eyes, staring fixedly at the simple but still gorgeous fireworks in the sky, his phone buzzing and vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was messages from the small chat group and other friends on the list. Without exception, they were all âHappy New Yearsâ.
Glancing at the time, he realized that they had missed the most exciting countdown to the New Year during the time spent watching the fireworks. Jiang Chen turned his head to look at his parents: âDad, Mom, Happy New Year.â
Yang Si and Jiang Zhuo were also taken aback for a moment, and then they both laughed in response: âHappy New Year, son.â
Although Wugu Village was not as cold as the urban area of Yan City, the cold wind was still chilly at night, and Yang Si was still an elder pregnant woman. Both Jiang Chen and Jiang Zhuo were worried about her health. After standing on the balcony for a while, they all went back to the living room where they chatted for a while. Soon feeling sleepy, they naturally retired to their respective rooms.
Lying on the bed, Jiang Chen was chatting with Shen Xu and Huo Bo. The sound of fireworks exploding outside the window had gradually lessened, and the sound of children laughing and playing had also quieted down. He walked to the computer, but after turning on the computer, he suddenly didnât know what to do.
He had promised his parents that he would take a good rest on New Yearâs Eve and New Yearâs Day and not work, but turning on the computer before going to bed had become an instinct, and work was one of the things he must do before going to sleep.
âChangjiang.â Jiang Chen said softly, âHappy New Year.â
Changjiang quickly responded, still with a cold electronic voice, but donât know if it was due to psychological reasons, it seemed to be a little warmer this time: âHappy New Year, Dylan.â
In a daze, Jiang Chen seemed to have returned to the heavily guarded but cold apartment in his previous life. At that time, countries no longer existed. Human beings of all nationalities and skin colors and even other races from other planets lived together, celebrating holidays from various countries.
Whenever the New Year came, only Changjiang accompanied him. He was used to working during the New Year, but he would also say Happy New Year to it on this day every year. It was like a routine, but also like a kind of nostalgia. It was not until today that he finally realized that he had returned to his family and close ones who could wish each other a happy new year. This feeling was indeed really different.
Jiang Chen smiled, opened a webpage randomly, and saw the local news reporting that someone was poisoned during the New Yearâs Eve dinner, and when the whole family was admitted to the hospital, he picked up his phone for some reason and opened the chat app.
The chat app was just opened, when a caller ID showed up that happened to be exactly the person he was looking for.
Jiang Chen paused, and suddenly there was a smile in his eyes that he didnât even notice, and he answered the phone: âHappy New Year.â
Shi Fengyue chuckled, his voice seeming to be able to cause the vibration on the other end of the line through the electric current. Jiang Chen switched hands and stood up: âWhat are you laughing at?â
âLaughing that you answered the phone so quickly, were you just waiting for me to say Happy New Year to you?â His voice was low and deep, as if it had been deliberately lowered, and there was a hint of huskiness in his laughter, as if he was currently completely relaxing in lazy idleness on the sofa hugging a pillow.
âI was indeed about to send you a message.â Hearing his voice, Jiang Chen paused, and asked, âYou just woke up? Didnât count down until the new year?â
âNo.â Shi Fengyue said: âThere were two surgeries in the afternoon, and I got home in the evening. I went to bed after eating with my grandfather and uncle.â
During the Chinese New Year holidays, most professions could take a break, but there were also many professions that could not take a holiday, and doctors were one of them.
âWhy are you awake now?â
âI was woken up by the sound of fireworks in the community.â Shi Fengyue said with a smile hidden in his voice, âI closed the window and planned to continue sleeping, but recalling that I didnât say Happy New Year to you, I picked up the phone.â
Jiang Chen smiled: âI heard it now, you can continue to sleep.â
âI havenât said it yet, how could you hear it?â Shi Fengyue asked him with a smile.
Jiang Chen thought about it, just now Shi Fengyue said the words âHappy New Yearâ several times, but it seemed that he never said it to him formally.
âHappy New Year, Jiang Chen.â
Shi Fengyueâs voice was a little softer than before, and the less hoarse voice seemed to be a little more earnest, inexplicably giving people a serious feeling.
Jiang Chen paused, and curved his lips upwards: âThank you.â
âArenât you going to wish me a happy new year?â
âDidnât I say it before?â Jiang Chen could imagine Shi Fengyueâs raised eyebrows in dissatisfaction, and his smile became a little deeper, but he still said, âHappy New Year.â
After hanging up the phone, he suddenly felt that he could fall asleep without working. Jiang Chen didnât turn off the computer, just lay back on the bed, and fell asleep not long after.
After the third day of the new year, Jiang Chen would go back to work in the research institute. After meeting several times in the past half month, Yang Siâs impression of He Qianjian dropped again and again, to the point where she would deliberately avoid bumping into He Qianjian while walking outside. But apart from He Qianjian, Yang Si unexpectedly had a good impression of He Yanya, and even said to him: âI heard that Qian Minâs aunt is also in research, and I felt it when I saw her last time. She is an intellectual, calm, polite and doesnât talk much. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask Qian Minâs aunt.â
Jiang Chen laughed. He didnât tell Yang Si that he and He Yanya were in completely different fields of research, and their fields had absolutely no interaction, let alone have anything to discuss with each other. He just smiled and got into the car that came to pick him up from the research institute, and continued his unfinished words: âCall me if you feel uncomfortable, I will always have my phone on. Also, I told you the function of every switch in the house before, if you think you are about toâŠ..â
âAiya, how is this necessary?â Yang Si complained and interrupted him, but her eyes were full of smiles: âItâs still early before the due date, donât learn from your father, he now practically watches me without taking a step away 24 hours a day, even checking in on me a few times while I go to the toilet.â
When these words fell, Jiang Zhuoâs voice sounded: âHoney! Has our son gotten in the car yet? Have you come in yet?â
Yang Si shook her head helplessly at Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen also felt a little amused when he saw his father trotting out to check the situation. Even Qian Yi who came to pick him up couldnât help laughing.
When they arrived at the research institute, the atmosphere of the New Year was swept away. Everyone put aside the leisure of the holidays and devoted themselves to intense research experiments.
Jiang Chenâs project team was just set up last year, and the project deadline and progress were very good, so they took a few days off for the New Year. However, there were also many research institutes that donât rest at all during the New Year holidays, such as the navigation team.
They seemed to have encountered some difficulties. While eating in the cafeteria at noon, Jiang Chen heard Yu Yi from the same project team discussing this matter with someone: âIs there really no way to fix it?â
The man shook his head: âWe havenât found out which part is the problem. The new assistant researcher left the laboratory that day and didnât record the data. Our efforts for more than a year are all in vain. We can only start over again.â
âAre you just going to give up like this?â Yu Yi frowned, she seemed to have a good relationship with the woman next to her, or maybe she was aware of the seriousness of this matter, and her tone, which was always unruffled, was full of worry: âThe higher-ups will definitely chase after your responsibility.â
âIâm not afraid of being held accountable anymore now.â The woman lowered her head: âItâs just that this was our painstaking effort for more than a year, and it was ruined just like that. When our leader found out about it, he locked himself in the laboratory and still hasnât come outâŠ..â
Jiang Chen listened silently for a while, only to realize that during the New Year holidays, the navigation team had encountered a problem with some of the equipment, which led to the suspension of their project that was already in the final stage. The assistant researcher who was on duty when the problem happened was not present, so they donât even know what caused the problem, but the chip on the equipment was the core of this research. If the chip was destroyed, their project was basically ruined.
Not only Jiang Chen was listening to their conversation, but Zhang Lei at the same table was also listening. Seeing Yu Yi gently pat the womanâs back in comfort, he glanced at Jiang Chen who was eating with his eyes downcast, and suddenly chuckled: âHow can there be no solution? If I remember correctly, your project is based on the N1571 patent. The owner of the patent is Shi Fengyue and he was originally researching in this field. I heard he was Professor Xiangâs student, even if he canât save your chip, at least you should be able to find the cause of the equipment failure.â
The woman raised her head. She hadnât cried, but her face was very haggard: âBut Shi Fengyue is so difficult to invite over, the whole research institute knows, itâs not like we havenât thought of this method, but will he come?â
âIf you guys canât manage to invite him, it doesnât mean others canât manage to invite him.â Zhang Lei gestured in Jiang Chenâs direction, âHere, the leader of our project team, like Shi Fengyue, is a genius scientist that appears once in a century. The social circles of geniuses naturally overlap, and the two of them are friends, if he comes forward, he will definitely be able to invite Shi Fengyue.â
Jiang Chen raised his eyes. Zhang Lei smiled challengingly, and enunciated word by word: âAm I right, team leader?â