Theodore also left, leaving only the husband and wife quietly drinking tea in the room.
After a moment of silence, Song He's watch suddenly vibrated. He raised his hand and tapped it twice, then smiled.
"What is it?" Xiang Xiaotong asked, emerging from her thoughts.
"A message from General Wang. He wouldn't accept the gold coins we gave him, and sent someone to return them to the Former University of Science and Technology." Song He said, "He said that if they were only worth their weight in gold, he could still pay to buy them. But since they sold for an astronomical price at auction, he couldn't accept them—and couldn't afford to buy them either."
"I never expected him to accept them in the first place. It was just a token of our goodwill." Xiang Xiaotong smiled. "What do you think of Danyed and Theodore?"
"Danyed is very honest. Theodore... I feel like he isn't." Song He said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Just a feeling. It might not be accurate." Song He propped up his chin and yawned. "I think he came to test us. He doesn't really want us to help them."
"So that's why you were so cautious in your response." Xiang Xiaotong suddenly understood. "You stayed somewhere between helping and not helping, conveying that we should mind our own business?"
"What do you think about large-scale editing of human genes?" Song He asked, looking seriously at his wife.
"It's hard to say." Xiang Xiaotong said. "In the short term, I'm inclined to prohibit this kind of research entirely. But in the long run, humanity taking the step of editing its own genes is almost inevitable. It's like Nuclear Weapon. Everyone knows Nuclear Weapon can destroy humanity, but countries with the capability still scramble to produce them.