96: Chapter 96 Zhao Yang: Bai Xiaohe, go back to Mars

The Bai family villa was decked out in festive decorations, with a constant stream of visitors calling throughout New Year's Eve.

However, as soon as dusk fell, everyone tactfully took their leave—everyone knew that it was the custom for the Bai Erru family to enjoy their New Year's Eve dinner quietly, just the three of them.

But on this New Year's Eve in 2001, there were four sets of tableware on the table.

Zhao Yang had brought some fruit, all out-of-season. While not cheap, it was nothing extraordinary to the Bai family; it was merely a gesture of goodwill, and they wouldn't mind either way. What they truly valued was Zhao Yang himself.

Although he was an outsider, he blended in quite naturally.

During the meal, aside from chatting with Bai Erru about art, he and Bai Xiaohe discussed several cutting-edge topics in chemistry, talking even more with her than with Bai Erru.

Bai Xiaohe was truly a research fanatic; upon discovering that Zhao Yang had such deep expertise in chemistry, her eyes grew brighter with every word, and she couldn't stop talking.

After the meal, it took quite some effort for Bai Erru and Zhao Yang to talk her out of her urge to rush straight to the laboratory. Yang Jingqiu took her sullen daughter into the inner room, while Zhao Yang followed Bai Erru into the study.

After chatting for a while about the progress of the pharmaceutical company, Bai Erru's topic began to drift toward Bai Xiaohe. Eight out of ten sentences were about his daughter.

Zhao Yang quickly understood—Bai Erru's desire to marry off his daughter was obvious to everyone.

He gave a wry smile to himself.

While Bai Xiaohe might not be drop-dead gorgeous, she was definitely a beauty, and her delicate, orchid-like temperament made her a quintessential "white moonlight" wherever she went. If you factored in her family background, she could even be considered a cut above Huang Yimei.

Yet, for now, his feelings for Bai Xiaohe remained at the level of simple appreciation. He didn't really feel the urge to step in and drag her out of that doomed relationship—at least, not yet.

However, he also understood Bai Erru's well-intentioned concern. With graduation season approaching at the start of the new semester, Bai Erru was worried that his daughter would be unable to recover from her heartache. Truly, the hearts of parents everywhere are the same.

"Uncle Bai," Zhao Yang said, carefully choosing his words. "Xiaohe is a very independent person, and what she values most is her research. So, you don't need to worry too much about that boy crushing her spirit."

Bai Erru sighed. "I really don't understand it. Knowing there's no future, why not just end it? That boy is really something else; since they're destined to break up, why won't he just let Xiaohe go sooner?"

"People are inherently selfish," Zhao Yang mused. "How about this, Uncle Bai: you urge Xiaohe to focus on the progress at the pharmaceutical plant and have her spend as much time as possible doing research in the new lab. As for the school, I'll ask my mentor for help—he's the Vice Dean of the School of Information Technology now. If he speaks to the Chemistry Department, they should give him some Face and let that boy get his degree early so he can graduate sooner. Once he's gone, the matter will naturally resolve itself."

Bai Erru's eyes lit up, and he laughed. "You're a clever one! We'll do it your way! But... I'm afraid Xiaohe will still be sad for a while. She doesn't have many friends, so you'll have to comfort her."

Zhao Yang didn't decline. "Sure."

He secretly found it amusing—did Bai Xiaohe really need comforting? Just let her hug her test tubes and beakers and pour her heart out; at most, he would just stand by and help her measure reagent concentrations.

Just as he was speaking, his phone rang. It was Meimei calling.

"Brother Yang, Happy New Year's Eve!"

Zhao Yang raised an eyebrow. "Something up? Spit it out."

"Hehe, Brother Yang, here's the thing. There's a hitch in the preparations for the Imperial Capital Music Gala. An actor in one of the segments got injured abroad, and the TV station is discussing whether to cut the segment or replace the act at the last minute. I want to take this opportunity to secure that spot and get more exposure for our Tomorrow Culture."

"Of course we should take it. We have plenty of songs; we can just plug in two or three."

"But... Brother Yang, it's not that simple, otherwise I wouldn't be disturbing you. That segment is for serious music, so we can only use our Guofeng pieces to fill it. But our best Guofeng songs are already being used in our own segment, and Brother Zeng and Sister Ling feel that the remaining ones are a bit thin. They wanted to ask for your advice on what to do."

Zhao Yang paused. "You're still working on New Year's Eve?"

"We're on stage on the third day of the Lunar New Year at the Imperial Capital Grand Concert Hall. If we don't practice, we won't feel ready."

Zhao Yang checked the time. "I'll head over in a bit. See you at 798; we'll discuss it together."

After hanging up, Zhao Yang stood up. Meimei's call had come at the perfect time; he had actually been wanting to take his leave for a while, but Bai Erru had been in such high spirits that he hadn't found a suitable opportunity to bring it up.

Returning to the study, Zhao Yang smiled. "Uncle Bai, I'm really sorry, but something urgent has come up with a friend, and I need to head over there."

Bai Erru was taken aback. "Oh? Do you need any help?"

"No, no, it's just something related to the gala planning," Zhao Yang explained. "They're in quite a rush, or I wouldn't be heading out at a time like this."

"Where is it? Do you need me to send a car for you?"

"It's over at 798, not far."

"That works out perfectly." Bai Erru's eyes darted around. He stood up, walked to the living room, and called out, "Xiaohe! Xiaohe! Take Xiao Zhao to 798!"

"Uncle Bai, you really don't have to..." Zhao Yang hurriedly declined.

Bai Erru waved his hand, brooking no argument. "That won't do. You had a few drinks earlier; you can't drive. Leave your car here and let Xiaohe take you in hers."

"Right, I'll take you!" Bai Xiaohe had already excitedly found her car keys. "Perfect, I still haven't fully understood that molecular formula for super-diamond you mentioned earlier."

Zhao Yang rolled his eyes internally.

Bai Erru was worrying for nothing. A girl like this should just marry a beaker—who needs men, who needs marriage?

Bai Xiaohe's car was a silver Volvo—very low-key, but worth a fortune in this day and age. The interior was spotless, as clean as a sterile laboratory. Just as Zhao Yang was about to open the back door, Bai Xiaohe already opened the passenger seat door. "Sit in the front; it'll be easier for us to discuss."

Zhao Yang rubbed his forehead. "Shouldn't you be focusing on driving?"

"I can always talk when we're waiting at traffic lights." She gestured for him to get in, her eyes sparkling behind her lenses. "Get in."

Zhao Yang sighed helplessly and sat in the passenger seat. Throughout the ride, Bai Xiaohe didn't stop talking—molecular formulas, chain reactions, catalyst compositions. By the time they reached 798, Zhao Yang had the distinct illusion that the car was filled with the smell of sulfuric acid, and that the large eyes hidden behind Bai Xiaohe's lenses were flashing with the intense light of a violent oxidation reaction.

Zhao Yang shook his head, trying to banish these absurd thoughts. He got out of the car, only to find that Bai Xiaohe had also locked her door and showed absolutely no intention of leaving.

"Aren't you going to hurry home?"

"No need. My dad told me not to rush back. Besides, we haven't finished discussing our problem—I'll wait for you to finish your work and then we can continue." Bai Xiaohe looked completely matter-of-fact, following closely behind Zhao Yang like she was monitoring a set of crucial experimental data, terrified that it might vanish in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Yang was speechless.

Who is "us"?

Which planet are you from? Speak! What is your mission on Earth?