Yu Jianguo held a cup of hot tea in his hand, standing at the window of the guardhouse, looking at the scenery outside.
The sky was overcast, and a light rain was falling.
Inside the building, however, it was warm and cozy.
The intelligent temperature control system controls the temperature and humidity inside the building, and even maintains a permanently constant concentration of oxygen and negative ions.
But Yu Jianguo still habitually brewed a cup of hot tea, rubbing his hands on the teacup to feel the warmth emanating from it.
In this season, without a cup of hot tea like this, he feels like he's not living a real life, like he's dreaming.
There is no warmth in dreams.
This "gatehouse" isn't actually a gatehouse. It's not located at the very outer edge of the building; there's a courtyard, a wall, a large iron gate, and an automatic turnstile for the library.
This used to be the building's security monitoring room, equipped with a wall of surveillance cameras and a public Tushu system that could broadcast messages to every floor. But now, those functions are no longer needed. The old-fashioned monitoring system has been replaced with a more advanced system, which includes cameras and various sensors. Even a fly flying in will trigger an alarm. Of course, the alarm is no longer as loud as before; instead, the security system reacts, and the fly is precisely targeted by a laser, turning into a wisp of smoke before being completely eliminated by the air purification system.
This is the only room in the entire building that hasn't undergone high-tech upgrades. Professor Mei said that it's important to retain some traces of the era, as well as some human touch.
Yu Jianguo was extremely grateful to Professor Mei, not only because he had taken him in, but also because he treated him as a human being, not just a low-level employee. On the other hand, Yu Jianguo knew very well that Zhao Pengcheng's release from prison was due not only to Qingmu, but also to this professor's efforts.
He treated Zhao Pengcheng like a son.
Although he didn't know where Zhao Pengcheng was or what he was doing, and he didn't dare to ask, Yu Jianguo was content as long as he knew that Zhao Pengcheng was doing well.
Mei Yiqiu would occasionally hint at it to him unintentionally, nodding and smiling at him as she passed by, then muttering to herself, "He's doing very well."
Yu Jianguo knew that the professor was referring to Zhao Pengcheng, and he also knew that this name should not be mentioned again, so he just chuckled foolishly.
On another rainy day, the professor came in from outside. Yu Jianguo took the black umbrella from his hand and heard the professor say, "He has a girlfriend, a foreign girl."
Yu Jianguo froze, forgetting that he shouldn't have answered at this moment, and asked dumbly, "Is his illness cured?"
The professor didn't answer, dusted himself off, and left.
As dusk fell, the professor came out of the building, walked specifically to the window of the gatehouse, and said, "The problem is definitely cured."
Yu Jianguo smiled knowingly and said nothing more.
That night, he drank a lot of alcohol, laughing foolishly as he drank. The next day, he slept until late morning. It was the first time he had been late for work since joining the Mei Laboratory.
When he left work, everyone came over to ask him with concern, "What's wrong today? Are you feeling unwell? If you're tired, take a few days off. "Bian Ziyuan, in particular, practically dragged him to the hospital for a checkup.
Yu Jianguo felt the warmth of humanity, which made him realize how wonderful it is to be alive.
He was once utterly despondent. If he hadn't known that Zhao Pengcheng was still alive, and if he hadn't wanted to see him one last time and hoped that the Old Zhao family would have a descendant, he wouldn't have wanted to leave prison. He would have preferred to live a numb life there and then die.
Mei Yiqiu said to him, "Everyone has value in life, as long as you are willing to realize it."
But I'm old.
I'm older than you.
Is it too late?
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago; the second best time is now.
Yu Jianguo gradually regained his confidence in living and the value of life. He also began to understand what a great project was taking place in this building and what a great cause the professor had been engaged in throughout his life.
He was grateful to the professor and was willing to serve him wholeheartedly, even for the rest of his life.
The sky remained overcast, and the sun had not been seen for many days. Yu Jianguo had a bad feeling. The professor had also not shown up for many days; he was said to be very ill.
Yu Jianguo visited the professor on the day he was hospitalized. However, the ward was crowded with people, including Mei Ziqing, several lab directors, and leaders from the city and hospital. Yu Jianguo could only stand at the back of the crowd, tiptoeing to catch a glimpse of him from afar, and silently offer a few words of blessing. He saw the professor seem to smile at him. Only he could understand this smile, because every time the professor passed by him and revealed news about Zhao Pengcheng, he would show this mysterious yet kind smile.
Could it be news about Pengcheng again? What could it be? Could he be getting married? He wondered, looking at the large bouquet of roses someone had brought to the room.
The tea in the cup has gone cold, and the rain is still falling.
Several automated cleaning robots moved through the rain like loyal guards, not missing a single fallen leaf in the yard. They were truly intelligent. When the weather was sunny, Yu Jianguo would sweep the yard. Whenever he picked up a broom, he would say to the robots, "Let me do it, you guys take a break." The robots, of course, weren't tired, but they obediently stood in the corner of the yard, watching Yu Jianguo sweep. As soon as he left, they immediately got busy again.
He touched the now-cooled teacup, preparing to pour some water. Suddenly, a voice came from the walkie-talkie. " Yu Jianguo, someone's looking for you outside."
Old Yu was taken aback. Apart from the lab staff, he didn't know anyone. He curiously looked through the window and saw a small floral umbrella appear at the gate of the courtyard.
A woman stood under the umbrella. Although she was far away and he couldn't see her clearly, Old Yu certain he didn't know her.
Old Yu opened a black umbrella, walked out, quickly crossed the courtyard, and arrived at the gate.
She was a very young girl, very sweet-looking, and looked somewhat familiar upon closer inspection. But Old Yu was still certain he didn't recognize her; the familiarity was perhaps just because he'd seen her somewhere before.
"Were you looking for me?" Old Yu asked.
"I'm looking for someone surnamed Yu," the girl said.
"My surname is Yu, and my name is Yu Jianguo. But I don't think I know you," Old Yu said.
The girl pointed to the smart gatepost next to her that looked like a mailbox and said, "He said you're the only person in your company with the surname Yu?"
A line of text flashed on the screen on the mailbox face, accompanied by a buzzing mechanical voice. "Yes, there is only one person with the surname Yu on the entire list of laboratory personnel, including those with homophones and near-homophones such as Yu, Yu, Yu, Yu, Yu, Yu, Yu, Yu, etc."
Yu Jianguo nodded and said, "It's right, I'm all alone. Miss, did you need something from me?"
The girl said, "I just wanted to give you a message."
Old Yu asked, "What message?"
The girl raised her face and recited as if reciting a text. "No matter what happens to me, I must persevere. Destruction is salvation, death is rebirth."
Old Yu frowned and asked, "Who sent you to deliver the message?"
The girl thought for a moment and said, "Did you understand? If not, I'm probably overthinking it. Never mind, maybe I really am overthinking it; the old man probably just wants to eat fish."
Yu Jianguo carefully examined the girl's face, comparing her to everyone he had ever seen. After comparing countless images in his mind, he finally identified a vague person—someone he had glimpsed at the professor's hospital room door that day.
"Are you... a nurse?" he asked, a little uneasy and hesitant.
"Ha, it seems you really understood, which means I wasn't overthinking it. I'm so clever!"
The nurse laughed happily, seemingly pleased with her own cleverness, unaware that her mind was being influenced and guided by some imperceptible force, leading her to make such strange associations and act inexplicably.
"My mission is complete. I'll be going now. Goodbye, Mr. Yu." She waved and left as lightly as a butterfly.
Yu Jianguo really wanted to ask Professor Mei about her condition, but after glancing at the intelligent-looking "mailbox" next to him, he held back.
"Keep this confidential," he said to the smart gate post after the nurse left.
The mailbox screen lit up and said, "OK, no problem. Your conversation did not involve the lab or any third parties; it's your private matter. Protecting employee privacy is an inviolable clause in the system rules."
Yu Jianguo nodded, walked to a distant street corner to ensure he was far from the coverage area of the laboratory's intelligent system network, and took out his phone to dial the number of Yao Jingjing, the general manager of the security company:
" President Yao, I need help."