Really Shy

"I admit it's all the moon's fault, the moonlight was so beautiful and you were so gentle..."

Li Mo hummed a little tune from Earth as he worked.

"Oh, I'm so high, I feel like my life has reached its climax; oh, I'm so high, I feel like my life has reached its peak..."

Anna watched him with concern, as though she were looking at a fool.

Ever since the young master had fainted and woken up again, he had kept doing things she couldn't understand.

But then Anna recalled the sight of Professor Blythe crawling on the floor today.

Could this... be something all geniuses have in common?

Do they have so much profound knowledge in their heads that they always behave differently from ordinary people, even seeming a little mad?

With that thought, Anna stood quietly beside the workbench, handing Li Mo tools from time to time.

Time passed.

The sky gradually darkened, and night fell.

Two bright moons rose over the horizon.

One was a luminous white, the other scarlet.

The light of the two moons spilled into the room, their colors distinct, like an old man's white hair streaked with red.

Finally.

Li Mo clapped his hands.

The work was done!

"Look!"

Li Mo eagerly showed Anna what he had made.

Anna leaned in for a closer look. A pile of gears, a few magnets, a messy tangle of copper wire... She had no idea what she was looking at.

Li Mo explained, "Anna, there's something I need to tell you first. Given our limited resources, I can't remove the air from the glass enclosure to create a vacuum. So when this machine starts, the carbonized cotton filament will burn through immediately. In other words, the bulb will only light up for an instant."

Anna nodded, only half understanding.

Li Mo said, "But that's all right. It doesn't matter how long it stays lit. This is just a test prototype..."

The most important purpose of making it was to test whether the theory behind the generator would work in this world.

As the saying went, practice was the source of true knowledge.

He had to make sure Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction still applied before he could put it to use on a large scale at the spinning mill or show it to anyone else.

"And now, it's time to witness a miracle..."

With that, Li Mo grabbed the hand crank on the side of the machine and prepared to turn it!

Hyah!

He failed to turn it!

As the rotor cut through the magnetic field lines, it generated electromagnetic resistance.

The crank had only turned halfway before his arm began to ache...

Li Mo muttered, "Damn," feeling that his body was now nothing but skin and bones.

He really had to start working out!

He said, "Anna, you turn it."

Anna said, "All right, young master."

Li Mo said, "It might be a little stiff, so be careful. Don't strain yourself..."

Anna said, "Huh?" As she turned it with ease, she looked back and asked, "What did you say, young master?"

Li Mo said, "Never mind. I said shake me a nice cup of tea..."

On the table.

The gear assembly began to spin at high speed.

The large gear drove the smaller one, and the rotor coil inside the stator's magnetic field began spinning wildly.

The copper wire in the closed circuit rapidly cut through the magnetic field lines.

An electric current was generated at that moment.

Invisible electrons surged forward along the wire.

Passing through the copper segments and brushes of the commutator, it became a steady direct current, rushing into the carbonized cotton filament inside the glass enclosure.

At that very instant-

White light burst from inside the glass enclosure!

It was a kind of light Anna had never seen before.

The bright white light illuminated the entire room in an instant!

"Ah!"

Anna cried out and instinctively stumbled back several steps, clearly startled.

The light lasted less than a second. Just as Li Mo had said, the carbonized cotton filament burned through in an instant, and the room plunged back into darkness.

Li Mo clenched his right fist and exclaimed, "Nice!"

It worked!

This meant that the law of electromagnetic induction held true in this world and that electricity could be generated.

Great!

Electricity was the foundation of all modern industry and civilization.

With electricity, there were so, so many things he could do.

He could advance generators, electric lights and radio, and take the entire world's industrial revolution a giant step forward...

Several steps away, Anna took a good few seconds to recover.

She said in shock, "Young master, what is that? Is it the effect of some new ritual?"

At that, she walked over to Li Mo in delight. "Young master, has your occult perception returned?"

"No, no, no," Li Mo said. "This has nothing to do with the occult. This is science."

Anna said, "Science?"

Li Mo said, "That's right. This is a device that cuts through magnetic field lines. Through mechanical motion, it changes the magnetic flux within a closed coil, generating an induced electromotive force in the conductor. The current passes through the carbonized cotton filament and is converted into heat and light energy. That's why it glows."

Anna only half understood and was a little bewildered.

Li Mo summed up, looking somewhat excited. "In short, this thing is called electricity, and this thing will completely change the world!"

Outside the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, the red and white moons hung high in the night sky.

From where Anna stood, she could see Li Mo standing in front of the window with his arms spread, looking quite absorbed.

From her angle, Li Mo's outstretched arms made it look as though he were holding the two moons in the night sky in his palms.

Anna couldn't help watching him, entranced.

The young master had been like this at his most glorious, too: spirited and full of vitality.

The corners of her mouth rose slightly, and she couldn't help smiling.

To think that such an impressive boy still often showed a childish side.

For instance, he would pester her for sandwiches and call her big sister from time to time.

It was rather cute.

Anna knew her feelings for Li Mo ran deep, but they really were like the feelings she had for a younger brother.

Although she was only two years older than Li Mo, Anna was much more mature. She had looked after him ever since they were little, and it had become a habit.

"You're amazing, young master."

Anna said gently, "About that bet just now, young master, what do you want me to agree to? Shall I make you a sandwich?"

Li Mo raised an eyebrow. "No, there's no rush about the sandwich. Listen up. I want you to... take off all your clothes and sleep with me!"

The smile gradually disappeared from Anna's face.

A few seconds later, she smiled again. "What are you trying to do?"

Li Mo snorted. "That's what you get for always treating me like a child! Now you know what it means to be shy? Remember this from now on: men and women need to keep their distance! You can't just take your clothes off whenever-"

Before he had finished.

Anna's expression remained unchanged as she began taking off her clothes.

Li Mo's eyes went wide. "??"

He hurriedly stopped her. "What are you doing!!!"

Anna took off her dress and laid it on a chair, then answered softly, "A bet's a bet, young master."

She was now wearing only her underclothes. Her skin was fair, and her chest was full. Li Mo didn't dare look again.

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't, don't! Stop taking your clothes off!"

He was out of options.

Does Anna really not know how beautiful she is? If she really strips naked and sleeps next to me tonight, will I be able to sleep at all?

Why is Anna so bad?!

How can she not feel the least bit embarrassed when faced with a request like that?

Li Mo conceded defeat.

He hurriedly said, "Forget it, forget it. I was joking. I'll think of another request later. Anyway, I worked up a bit of a sweat working on the machine, so I'm going to take a bath first! Whatever you do, don't take your clothes off. Don't!"

With that, Li Mo fled.

After he left,

Anna quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

She admitted she had been taking a gamble just now.

Fortunately, she had grown up with the young master and knew his personality well enough.

She had bet right.

Anna walked over to the bed and sat down.

Remembering how flustered and helpless Li Mo had looked, she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from rising again.

On second thought, although the young master was still like a child, teasing him now was much more interesting than before.

Then maybe...

Anna gave a secret little laugh as an idea came to her.

You're so easily embarrassed, hmm? Young master?