102: The quantum superposition of escalating emotions and jealousy

After the crisis, the "Zhulong" base gradually returned to a surface calm, like the sea after a violent storm. Damaged equipment was replaced, ruptured structures were repaired, and daily scientific research and rehabilitation training got back on track. However, beneath this appearance of normalcy, an invisible and profound change had occurred, like an undercurrent lurking beneath the water, quietly altering the inner course of everyone's hearts.

After the thrilling "variable awakening," Excellence's physical and mental state entered a relatively stable recovery period. He was no longer as chaotic and confused as before, nor did he have sudden flashes of startling inspiration; his thinking became more coherent and clear than before, and the fragments of his memory seemed to be pieced together more orderly by an invisible hand. Although still far from his peak state before the injury, the worrying, near-collapse fragility had greatly diminished. He was still the same Excellence who loved "hand-crafted" projects and had wild, imaginative thoughts, but his whimsical ideas were occasionally interspersed with piercing insights that even professional researchers needed to ponder carefully to understand, as if his brain, modified by the "pandora" fragments, was still unconsciously performing some kind of deep information integration.

This change was most directly reflected in Su Mu and Evelyn, who spent every day with him. Their daily interactions with Excellence, on top of the original foundation, quietly added an indescribable sense of subtlety. That fleeting "miracle" was like an indelible mark, deeply branded in their hearts. Although Excellence himself had no memory of it and had returned to "normal" (relatively normal for him), when the two women looked at him, their gazes, in addition to the original care, involuntarily contained a hint of intangible awe, as well as a more complex emotional projection.

For Su Mu, the experience of Excellence being pulled back from the brink of destruction gave her a sense of almost pious rejoicing at "regaining what was lost." Every time she saw Excellence sitting peacefully at his workbench tinkering with his little inventions, or sleeping quietly, she would think of that dangerous night, and a strong desire to protect him and an increasingly clear love would well up in her heart. This love had long surpassed the initial friendship of classmates and class monitor; after experiencing life-and-death tests and long-term guardianship, it had settled into something deeper, carrying a maternal delicacy and an unquestionable firmness.

Her care became even more meticulous, permeating every detail. She would act like a careful recorder, silently noting down a casual comment Excellence made while eating, "This braised pork would be better if it were a little sweeter," and then the next time the cafeteria made this dish, she would always find a way to have the chef set aside a small portion that suited his taste. When Excellence was lost in long contemplation over dizzyingly complex formulas or circuit diagrams, she wouldn't disturb him, but would quietly sit on the sofa not far away, knitting a sweater or reading a book. When he occasionally looked up with slightly weary eyes, she would timely hand him a cup of hot milk at just the right temperature and softly say, "Take a break." Even when Excellence, once again, made a mess of the room while "hand-crafted" his "cross-species consciousness communication bridge" or "edible logic circuit," with parts, glue, and unknown liquids spread all over the floor, Su Mu would, while pretending to be angry and nagging, "Excellence! You've turned the room into a scrap yard again!", skillfully pick up a broom and rag and start cleaning up, her eyes flashing not with blame, but with a smile full of indulgence and pampering, as if watching a smart and mischievous child conducting his great "exploration."

Excellence's reliance on Su Mu also increased day by day in this day-to-day companionship, becoming as natural as breathing. Su Mu's scent, voice, and even the rhythm of her walking became the most stable and reassuring navigation beacon in his ocean of chaotic consciousness. When he got stuck on a problem and scratched his head in frustration, he would subconsciously call out, "Class Monitor! Why does this variable iteration never converge?" as if as long as Su Mu was by his side, even the most difficult problems had a direction for a solution. When the cafeteria made snacks he liked, he would run to Su Mu like he was offering a treasure, holding a piece, his eyes sparkling, asking her to taste it and share the simplest joy. At night, he would occasionally still have nightmares, waking up in a cold sweat with his heart pounding like a drum, but as soon as he felt Su Mu rushing over, holding his hand, and softly soothing him, that inexplicable fear would gradually subside, allowing him to fall asleep peacefully again. This reliance was pure, without any impurities, occurring naturally, as if Su Mu had long become the indispensable origin in his life's coordinate system that defined all directions and distances.

By contrast, Evelyn Li buried the throbbing in her heart—born from Excellence's unique temperament and that "miracle"—deeper and more cautiously. She knew better than anyone the sensitivity of her identity and the entanglements of her past; that hazy affection, in her view, was inappropriate and even shouldn't exist. She positioned herself more firmly in the roles of "technical consultant" and "older sister," trying to build an emotional dam with rationality and professionalism.

She used her profound professional knowledge to formulate a more scientific and progressive training plan for Excellence's cognitive rehabilitation, which would neither overstimulate him nor effectively promote the repair of neural functions. When Excellence came to her with those wild, even somewhat absurd technical questions (such as "Can you use brainwaves to program a robot vacuum?" or "How do you prove that cats in two parallel universes can share a tail?"), she would always put down her work, listen with extreme patience, and then try to use the simplest and most understandable language to guide him to think about the logic behind them, or point out where his assumptions didn't hold up, protecting his thirst for knowledge while subtly standardizing his thinking path. The gifts she sent were also mostly carefully selected books that were both interesting and inspiring—such as a star map with augmented reality functions, intricately structured mechanical transmission models, or popular science books introducing cutting-edge technological trends—thoughtful and practical, yet always maintaining a just-right, friend-or-mentor-like sense of distance.

However, emotions are ultimately difficult to completely imprison with rationality. When Evelyn looked at Excellence, a fleeting, imperceptible tenderness would occasionally flash uncontrollably in her eyes, along with a deeper, complex emotion mixed with appreciation, pity, guilt, and a hint of indescribable attraction. This subtle change might escape others, but it was hard to escape the eyes of Su Mu, who was in frequent contact with her in daily life and was delicate and sensitive in thought.

One afternoon, the sun was just right, casting warm light spots on the floor through the large windows of the rehabilitation room. Evelyn brought an extremely exquisite limited-edition star map puzzle. This puzzle not only restored the precise distribution of constellations but was also equipped with augmented reality equipment; after being assembled and scanned with a tablet computer, it could present a three-dimensional, mythical animated starry sky scene on the screen.

Evelyn and Excellence sat cross-legged on the carpet, their heads almost touching, focusing on studying the puzzle pieces of various shapes. While assembling it, Evelyn whispered and explained the Greek mythological stories behind each constellation, as well as relevant astronomical knowledge—the legend of Andromeda, the direction of the Big Dipper, the composition of the Summer Triangle... Her voice was soft and clear, her knowledge profound, and her storytelling was captivating.

Excellence was mesmerized, his eyes unblinking, completely immersed in that wonderful world made of stories and stars, occasionally letting out exclamations of "Wow!" or "So that's how it is!" The sunlight spilled over the two of them, outlining a warm, harmonious, and even somewhat beautiful picture, like a carefully composed oil painting of life.

Just then, Su Mu walked in with a plate of washed, crystal-clear green grapes and sliced honeydew melon. Seeing the scene before her, her footsteps paused almost imperceptibly. The picture was beautiful, but for some reason, it felt like a tiny needle, gently pricking her heart, stirring up a wave of slight sourness. She tried to keep a natural expression on her face, placed the fruit plate on a small table nearby, and said in as relaxed a tone as possible, "You're quite engrossed in the puzzle. Drink some water, eat some fruit, and take a rest."

Excellence looked up, saw Su Mu, and immediately revealed a guileless, brilliant smile, pointing at the nearly completed puzzle like he was showing off a treasure: "Class Monitor! Look! We're almost done! Big Sister Evelyn knows so many stories about the stars, she's amazing!"

Evelyn also smiled and stood up, politely and gently inviting Su Mu: "Su Mu, you're here. That's perfect, let's assemble it together; this last part is a bit complicated."

Su Mu looked at Excellence's purely happy smile, then at Evelyn's appropriate and generous demeanor, and the inexplicable sourness in her heart became even clearer. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, revealing a slightly stiff smile, and waved her hand: "No, you guys play. I... I suddenly remembered I still have some data to finish organizing, I'll go get busy first." After speaking, she turned and left the rehabilitation room, almost in a hurry.

Walking into the quiet corridor, Su Mu let out a long sigh, leaning against the cold wall, a sense of annoyance with herself surging in her heart. "Su Mu, oh Su Mu, what were you doing just now?" she muttered to herself, "Like a little girl jealous for no reason... Evelyn was just playing puzzles with him and telling him knowledge, she didn't do anything excessive..." But rational analysis could not immediately dispel the real sense of discomfort in her heart. It was an instinctive reaction of her territory being potentially threatened, a hidden worry of being compared unfavorably, and of losing an important position.

At night, it was time for the routine reading of stories to Excellence. Su Mu held his favorite collection of science fiction short stories, but she was somewhat distracted, reading several words wrong, and her tone lacked its usual vividness.

The sensitive Excellence immediately noticed her abnormality. He tilted his head, looked carefully at Su Mu's face, and asked with a hint of worry: "Class Monitor, are you unhappy today? Is it... is it because I was too busy playing puzzles with Big Sister Evelyn during the day and didn't accompany you, and you're angry?"

Su Mu was stunned. Looking at Excellence's clear, bottomless eyes, which were filled with concern and a hint of unease, the softest part of her heart was touched. She put down the book, reached out to gently rub his soft hair, and her voice softened: "No, silly Excellence, don't think nonsense. How could I be angry at you? It's just... I just feel that Big Sister Evelyn knows so much, she knows astronomy and geography, and she explains things so well that I can't even get a word in. I feel like a... useless idiot." She rarely revealed a hint of insecurity.

Excellence blinked his eyes, seemingly trying to understand Su Mu's words, and then he suddenly blurted out, his tone incomparably serious and affirmative: "But Class Monitor, you know how to make me happy!"

Su Mu was stunned again.

Excellence continued to explain, using his slightly clumsy but exceptionally sincere tone: "Big Sister Evelyn's stories are like... like the stars in the sky, shining brightly, very beautiful, but... but they seem to be very far away and untouchable. Class Monitor's stories, and the meals Class Monitor makes, and Class Monitor talking with me... are like... like the candy in my hand, sweet and warm, they are real!"

This simple, even somewhat childish metaphor was like a warm breeze, instantly blowing away all the haze and sourness in Su Mu's heart. She couldn't help but "pfft" and laugh out, though her eye sockets felt slightly hot. This "fool," he might not understand complex emotional games, but he used the most direct way to accurately express his most real feelings. In his heart, Evelyn's knowledge was the distant stars, worth looking up to; while her companionship was the sweetness that was within reach and warmed his life. This made Su Mu feel more at ease and satisfied than any flowery praise.

On the other side, Evelyn returned to her room alone, closed the door, and cut off the outside world. She walked to the window, looking at the twinkling stars in the deep night sky outside, but her heart was not as tranquil as the starry sky. She had clearly seen the fleeting loneliness and imperceptible stiffness when Su Mu left during the day. As a woman herself, she naturally understood what that might mean behind it.

She sighed softly, a faint sense of loss lingering in her heart. She clearly knew the unspeakable affection she had for Excellence in her heart, the sentiment attracted by his unique temperament where brokenness and purity, fragility and strength coexisted. But she also more clearly realized her position—a former member of The Foundation burdened with original sin, a person here to atone, a... person destined to be unable to stand by his side without burden like Su Mu.

"Let it be like this," she whispered to her own blurred reflection on the window glass, as if strengthening some kind of determination, "Being able to watch him from afar, watching him be safe, happy, and getting better day by day, and being able to help him with my professional knowledge, is already an extravagance. Other things... shouldn't be thought about, and cannot be thought about."

She tried hard to suppress the faint bit of sourness and regret in the bottom of her heart, using reason to tell herself that the current state of the relationship was the best and also the safest. However, emotions are like tides, which can be temporarily blocked by dams, but it is difficult to completely eliminate the surging water flow. That deeply buried throbbing became a secret, sweet and bitter, that would occasionally quietly float into her heart when she was alone.

This subtle emotional triangle, between Su Mu's increasingly obvious love and reliance, and Evelyn's deeply buried affection and restraint, was like that peculiar "superposition state" in quantum mechanics, both existing and seemingly non-existent, both clearly perceptible and vaguely indiscernible. It did not evolve into intense conflict or melodramatic plots, but turned into some tacit details in daily interaction, an exchange of glances, a subtle change in tone. It flowed quietly beneath the calm daily life, becoming a complex and real emotional bond connecting three young people whose fates were intertwined, and it was also a secret they all guarded together, one that no one spoke of but everyone knew.