Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 2：The Campus Belle Visits

Two days later, Sunday morning.

The sun shone brightly, and the weather was warm and pleasant!

A middle-aged woman, carrying a basket of vegetables, walked into an old residential area. The buildings here were all low-rise, five-story structures, still made of brick and tile. Moss and ivy had overgrown the walls.

As she passed a pavilion, she noticed that many people were sitting there, enjoying the cool breeze since it was a day off.

"Guo Qin's back from the market!" someone called out.

"Mm."

The woman nodded and forced a smile before heading into the stairwell of Building No. 3.

Beneath the pavilion, a curious voice asked, "Huh! The sun's come out from the west today. She's usually the one to joke around, but today, she's completely silent. What's going on?"

"You haven't heard? Her son's gone mad."

"Mad?"

Several curious onlookers gathered around to hear more.

"It was just a couple of days ago. Her son, Jiang Fan, ranked last in the entire school. He couldn't take it, so he snapped!"

"No way! Jiang Fan? Everyone knows him—he's been so smart, obedient, and a top student. We used to call him a child prodigy. How could he end up with the lowest score?"

"Well, you know what they say—'brilliant as a child, not necessarily so as an adult!'"

"Such a pity."

A middle-aged woman said with a face full of pity, though secretly, her heart rejoiced. "Ah, how the tables have turned."

At Jiang Fan's house.

Li Guiqin set the vegetable basket down and knocked on Jiang Fan's door. "Son, come out and eat something. Stop overthinking it. It's just one exam. If worse comes to worst, we won't have to send you to school anymore. Your father and I can take care of you for the rest of your life."

Jiang Fan had been lying in bed for two days. No matter how his parents spoke to him, he remained silent, refusing to eat.

Seeing that her son still wouldn't respond, Li Guiqin gave up for the moment. She sat in the living room, staring at the wall covered with awards, and couldn't help but wipe away a tear. Her son had always been her pride, clever and obedient, excelling in his studies.

But she couldn't understand why, after entering the third year of high school, he had changed so drastically. He no longer socialized with classmates, and when he did speak to them, it was only out of necessity. The time he saved was all spent buried in books.

He had been working a hundred times harder, but his grades had gone from top of the class to near the bottom, consistently around 300 points.

Seeing her son work so hard, Li Guiqin didn't want to pressure him any further, fearing it might add to his burden.

As she reminisced about the past, a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

At this hour, Jiang Fan's father should still be at work. Who could be at the door?

Li Guiqin wiped away her tears and stood up to answer the door.

When she opened it, a tall and graceful girl stood before her, her delicate features stunning Li Guiqin with surprise.

With eyes like autumn water, a perfect nose and lips, a slender waist, and long legs, she looked like a fairy.

"Hello, Auntie. I'm Chu Ruoxi, Jiang Fan's classmate. Is he home?"