Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning closed the newspaper. She ate her xiaolongbao and drank soy milk, calculating Jiang Xia’s next move.

The door was thrown open with a CLANG. Luo Li stumbled in, drenched in sweat. Gasping for breath, she leaned against the doorframe, waving a newspaper in one hand.

”The... the pa... look...”

”I’ve already seen the paper.”

An Ning held up the newspaper by her side for Luo Li to see. Luo Li nodded, still panting heavily. She clung to the doorframe, then shuffled along the bed’s railing, steadying herself with each step. It was such a struggle that An Ning couldn’t watch anymore.

”Don’t!”

”I can do it myself!”

Luo Li waved off An Ning’s help, determined to be self-reliant. She finally landed safely on her bottom and started trying to catch her breath.

”Did you get a side stitch?”

An Ning walked over and pressed a finger into the side of Luo Li’s waist.

”Hey, hey, hey... huh? It’s gone?”

Luo Li, who had been suffering from the side stitch, gave An Ning a confused look and curiously grabbed her finger.

”How did you do that? Is there an acupressure point there? How much pressure did you use? Is there a special technique?”

The barrage of three questions made An Ning calmly pull her finger back. She returned to her seat and sat sideways, saying, ”A family secret. I can’t share it.”

Across from her, Luo Li had finally recovered. ”I get it, I get it,” she said, her energy returning. ”If anyone in my family is doing research, the level of secrecy is top-notch.”

”Right, about that neighbor of yours, Jiang Xia. Is it all over just like that?”

”That impostor Jiang Xia... he’s from the Xiao Family. No, that’s not quite right. His real name is Jiang Xia, and his mom is from the Xiao Family.”

Luo Li chattered on, telling her everything she knew, while An Ning listened quietly.

”Are you listening to me? I’m telling you, the Xiao Family is a force to be reckoned with.”

Luo Li’s expression was grave, and her tone was serious as she looked at An Ning.

An Ning smiled faintly. ”I heard you. I know about the Xiao Family.”

Luo Li nodded and didn’t press the matter further.

After they finished breakfast in the dorm, they each grabbed their textbooks and headed to class.

When An Ning arrived at the classroom, all eyes turned to her.

Zhou Xiaoshan raised a hand high in the air, waving and shouting, ”Master, over here!”

An Ning nodded at Zhou Xiaoshan and walked toward the seat he had saved. ’But... did he have to pick one so close to the front?’

In the classroom, right in the center of the front row, Zhou Xiaoshan cleared the books off a desk, his eyes filled with the hopeful expectation of praise.

”Master!”

”You were quick.”

An Ning didn’t like sitting in the front row, but seeing how hard Zhou Xiaoshan had tried, she sat down anyway.

Three minutes after An Ning sat down, the teacher came in to start the class.

Roll call, then the lecture began. No nonsense.

As An Ning listened, her mind started to wander. She wanted to pay attention, but for her, it was like a student cramming for college entrance exams being forced to sit through a first-grade lesson. It was just plain boring.

Today’s lecturer was a new teacher who had just returned from studying abroad. Although she had heard An Ning’s name, she didn’t believe she was really all that impressive.

’Being able to solve one or two problems doesn’t mean she’s a genius at everything.’

Sitting in the front row, right under the teacher’s nose, An Ning was immediately noticed the moment her mind started to drift.

THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.

White chalk dust filled the air around An Ning’s eyes. The acrid smell made her frown and squint. ’As I thought,’ she mused, ’I really shouldn’t have sat in the front row.’

”This student seems very confident. Why don’t you come up and solve this problem?”

An Ning caught the condescending tone in her voice.

She waved a hand in front of her face twice to clear the chalk dust.

”Alright.”

When An Ning stood up, she was slightly taller than the teacher on the lecture platform. Her presence completely overshadowed the teacher’s, and for a moment, it was unclear who was in charge.

The SCRITCH, SCRITCH, SCRITCH of chalk on the board was steady, without the slightest pause.

The teacher, standing by the side of the platform, crushed the piece of chalk in her hand. Her eyes held none of the relief or happiness a teacher would feel seeing a student succeed—only pure loathing.

”Professor, I’m done.”

An Ning put down the chalk, rubbing her fingers together lightly, and prepared to step down from the platform.

”The answer is as standard as a textbook... A student should still focus on learning in a down-to-earth manner.”

The teacher continued, her words laced with insinuation, ”A student should act like a student—study honestly and not get caught up in clever little tricks.”

The targeted words and loathsome body language made An Ning, who had not yet sat down, stop and turn around.

’Such unprovoked animosity,’ An Ning thought. ’If it isn’t jealousy that I’m better than her, then someone must have put her up to this.’

”Professor, you’re right. A student should study hard. That’s why I have a question, and I’d like to ask for your help in answering it.”

An Ning, looking like a perfectly obedient student, stood in a confrontational stance with the teacher on the platform.

”So you do have some self-awareness. Go on, let’s hear it.”

The corners of An Ning’s mouth turned up slightly. She walked briskly back onto the platform, took a piece of red chalk from the box, and returned to where she had solved the problem, stopping in front of the material the teacher had been lecturing on.

She raised the red chalk high and drew a circle on the blackboard, the pressure neither too heavy nor too light.

”Professor, you made a mistake here. I think that as a teacher, one should prepare their lessons properly and not let their mind be too cluttered. Wouldn’t you agree, Professor?”

The picture of innocence, An Ning very politely put down the chalk, walked off the platform, grabbed her books from the front row desk, and headed toward the back of the room.

”An Ning! What do you think you’re doing?”

”Are you publicly insulting a teacher in class? Do you have any idea what your actions...”

The short female teacher on the platform’s voice died in her throat, because An Ning hadn’t left the classroom. She had simply taken a seat in the last row, by the door.

Once seated, An Ning wore that same faint smile again, her calm demeanor a stark contrast to the teacher’s.

”Professor, the chalk dust is a bit much. I’ll sit here and listen to your lecture.”

”Please, continue with confidence. If you make any more mistakes, as a diligent student, I will be sure to remind you of the standard answer.”

The students in the classroom felt as if invisible knives were flying through the air—SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—slashing back and forth, so sharp you could almost see the blood drip.

”You—”

The teacher on the platform never expected An Ning to be so sharp-tongued. She had assumed she was just a somewhat clever student, and as a teacher, she thought she could easily handle her.

’So why didn’t things go as planned?’

”Professor, shouldn’t you correct your mistake? After all, so many students are waiting for you to spread your wisdom.”

The teacher was furious at An Ning’s words, but felt her anger was trapped with no outlet.

”Professor, we still don’t get it!”

Zhou Xiaoshan raised his hand and shouted, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

If you hadn’t seen him saving the seat earlier, or heard him call her ”Master,” you might have actually believed he wanted to learn.

The teacher on the platform was completely cornered by An Ning and Zhou Xiaoshan playing off each other. Half-dead with anger, she swallowed her fury and began to explain the problem.

But her temper seemed to have taken over her brain, leaving little room for intellect. The angrier she got, the more mistakes she made.

And every time she made a mistake, An Ning corrected her.

Before long, An Ning wasn’t the only one correcting her.