Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 10：Eat Watermelon

Chu Ruoxi felt a touch of embarrassment under Jiang Fan's gaze, her cheeks flushing faintly with a pink hue.
Li Guiqin, standing nearby, immediately recognized her son's thoughts and couldn't help but cast a playful, exasperated glance at him.
"Such a silly boy," she thought. "Any girl would feel shy under such a stare. To spare Ruoxi from further discomfort..."
She turned to Jiang Fan and said, "Xiao Fan, go fetch some fruit for Ruoxi."
Jiang Fan snapped back to reality and hurried off to get the fruit. In no time, he returned with half of a watermelon cradled in his arms.
He placed it on the coffee table and, with a shy smile, said to the still-flustered Chu Ruoxi, "Chu... Chu Ruoxi, have some watermelon."
Li Guiqin, who had been talking to Ruoxi, saw the whole watermelon sitting on the table and felt a vein throb on her forehead.
"My silly son," she thought, "How is she supposed to eat the watermelon without it being cut?" She couldn't help but think of how he resembled his father in this regard.
However, she didn't want to embarrass Jiang Fan in front of Ruoxi, so she held her tongue.
"Ruoxi has been here a couple of times recently," she mused, "maybe she's interested in Xiao Fan. If they end up together, that would be wonderful. Ruoxi looks like an angel, and Xiao Fan is handsome, too. Their future children would surely be beautiful..."
At this thought, Li Guiqin couldn't help but smile broadly.
Jiang Fan, puzzled, looked at his mother. "Mom, what's going on?"
Li Guiqin quickly wiped the smile off her face and chuckled. "Oh, nothing, nothing! You two continue chatting; I'll go cut the watermelon."
"No need, Auntie, I don't want any," Chu Ruoxi quickly replied.
"Nonsense, it's summer, you should have some watermelon to stay refreshed!" Li Guiqin insisted, then headed to the kitchen to grab a knife.
It was only then that Jiang Fan remembered he'd forgotten to cut the watermelon before offering it. He felt a bit embarrassed and gave Ruoxi an awkward smile.
Ruoxi, noticing Jiang Fan's shy grin, couldn't help but smile too. In her heart, she thought, I'd only ever seen Jiang Fan focused on his studies before; I never knew he could be so cute.
With Jiang Fan silent, the conversation stalled. But seeing that he wasn't as sad as she had anticipated, Ruoxi set aside the motivational stories she had prepared and decided to bring up another topic.
"Jiang Fan, are you especially good at video games?"
"Well, I used to play with my dad when I was younger, but I haven't played in over ten years. Today, I'm just playing to relax a little," Jiang Fan answered honestly.
Ruoxi, still surprised by Jiang Fan's cheerful demeanor, thought back to her previous impression of him as a quiet, studious boy who rarely spoke to others. Today, however, he was quite likable.
Just then, Li Guiqin returned with a knife and swiftly cut the watermelon.
Jiang Fan quickly took a slice and handed it to Ruoxi.
"Chu Ruoxi, here, have some watermelon."
"Thank you!"
Ruoxi accepted the slice, taking small, delicate bites.
Li Guiqin, with her lively personality, and Ruoxi dove into a lively conversation about TV shows, fashion, and food, as if Ruoxi were her own daughter.
Jiang Fan could only chime in occasionally.
Meanwhile, Jiang Jingguo, who had been watching from the sidelines, felt frustrated. Why didn't his wife notice that this was the perfect opportunity for their son to bond with Ruoxi?
He cleared his throat pointedly, hoping to catch Li Guiqin's attention, but she seemed too absorbed in her conversation to notice.
Finally, he could no longer sit idle and turned to her.
"Uh, Guiqin, didn't you mention you wanted to go buy clothes today? It's not too hot, so we should go now."
Li Guiqin blinked, confused. "When did I say that?"
Jiang Jingguo raised an eyebrow, giving her a knowing look. "You said it yesterday! Have you forgotten?"
Realizing her husband's hint, Li Guiqin smacked her thigh in realization.
"Ah, you're right! I completely forgot. Well, Chu Ruoxi, you stay here with Xiao Fan and chat. I'm going shopping with your uncle. We'll probably be back by evening..."
She emphasized the word "evening," making it clear she wanted to leave the two alone.
"That's fine, Auntie, you go ahead. I'll talk with Jiang Fan for a bit, then leave," Ruoxi said.
Li Guiqin smiled warmly. "You've come all this way, stay a little longer. Have lunch with Xiao Fan before you go."
After speaking, she pulled her son aside and handed him a thousand yuan.
"Mom, this..."
"Xiao Fan, take your classmate out for a nice meal," she said.
Jiang Fan nodded, his face still flushed from the awkwardness.
Jiang Jingguo gave his son a playful pat on the back, raising an eyebrow as if to say, You know what to do.
He left with Li Guiqin, but Jiang Fan was clueless.
In his previous life, he had been so engrossed in his research that he never dated or even made any female friends.
Now, faced with the enchanting presence of his classmate, he wasn't sure how to act. His palms were sweating nervously.
They exchanged a few more casual words, but then Chu Ruoxi asked the real reason she had come.
"Jiang Fan, what are your plans next?"
Jiang Fan, of course, wanted to go to Longke University. It was the best institution for science and technology in Dragon Country, and getting in would open doors for his future research.
But he hadn't heard back from them yet, and the email he sent was still unanswered after a full day.
He had carefully prepared the documents, making sure to include only the more basic concepts of controlled nuclear fusion, so the recipients wouldn't be overwhelmed.
"I'm not sure yet. I expect I'll hear something in the next few days," Jiang Fan said.
"What kind of news?" Ruoxi asked, puzzled.
"The admission results from Longke University," he replied.
"Longke University? You applied there?"
Ruoxi's eyes widened in surprise, and she stood up in shock. Jiang Fan had scored 300 in the exam, but he still applied to Longke University? Wasn't that setting himself up for failure?
Longke's admission scores were consistently above 630, and some of its more competitive programs required as high as 670...
...
In the control room of the Supercomputer at Huaqing in Kyoto,
Zhou Huaide, the chief engineer responsible for the country's controlled nuclear fusion project, gazed with excitement at the four words displayed on the screen:
Program correct.
Everyone in the room understood the monumental significance behind those four words.
Zhou Huaide turned to the team and announced,
"No one is to leave this room. Hand over all mobile devices immediately. Anyone who disobeys will be charged with treason."
The experts and professors around him all nodded in agreement. This was controlled nuclear fusion—an energy project capable of revolutionizing global technology.
Zhou Huaide then reported the situation to the government, and Dragon Country's leaders dispatched 5,000 special police and 10 helicopters at his command.
After everyone had signed confidentiality agreements, a few were isolated for further security.
This was a matter of national importance, and Zhou Huaide had to be meticulous.
"Minister Zhou, here's the submission for the controlled nuclear fusion project."
Zhou Huaide opened a thick stack of documents and skimmed through it.
"Jiang Fan, male, 18 years old..."