Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

In the classroom, An Ning, seated in the back near the door, lowered her head with a warm smile.

’These idiots...’

They had clearly heard the news. They knew the other students would ostracize her, so they had put on this show of solidarity first thing in the morning.

”An Ning?”

An Ning looked up from her desk to see all the boys from her class standing before her.

The class president and student representatives stood at the front, with the rest of the boys forming a semicircle facing her.

”Can I help you?”

An Ning’s voice was low and cool. ’She wanted to see just how many people a baseless rumor could expose.’

”An Ning, on behalf of the entire class, I want to tell you that we believe in you.”

”Yeah, we believe you. You would never do something like that.”

”That’s right! You’re our god, An Ning. Those people out there have no idea what kind of person you are.”

”Exactly! You’re the god of our math department. Don’t pay any mind to that mindless crowd.”

The group of boys in front of her—classmates An Ning had never really paid much attention to—spoke up one by one to comfort her, standing firmly on her side.

At that moment, An Ning suddenly felt her sense of belonging to the class was far weaker than that of the boys before her.

”Thank you. But how do you know it wasn’t me?”

Her question hung in the air for a few seconds. Then, the unexpected happened.

The class president and student representatives quickly and deftly shut the door and windows, moving with the cautious stealth of thieves.

”An Ning, don’t say a word. Don’t tell us anything.”

”Yeah, we should think about what loose ends weren’t tied up properly.”

”If only we could get a look at the scene.”

”I know a guy who has a key to the performance hall.”

”Are they reliable?”

Right there in front of An Ning, the group of boys began discussing... the cleanup job.

”Wait a minute. The more you guys talk, the more it sounds like you’re trying to become my accomplices.”

”Don’t worry, it really wasn’t me. You haven’t misplaced your trust.”

An Ning stopped joking. It was the first time she realized she held such high status in her own class.

The windows of the math department classroom were opened again, and the door was left ajar. Everyone went back to preparing for class as if nothing had happened.

When class let out, anyone who happened to pass by and peek inside would likely not see An Ning, but they would certainly be met with the bared teeth and threatening glares of the boys in her class.

An Ning, sitting in her corner at the back, was undisturbed by the outside world. She was actually starting to enjoy her classmates’ protection.

Their protectiveness was different from that of Luo Li, An Guoping, and the others.

She had only met these classmates a few times and had barely spent any time with them. All she had done was write up a few sets of notes for the class, yet they were defending her through and through.

RRRRING—

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Before the professor could even step down from the lectern, a girl burst in from the hallway.

”Where’s An Ning! An Ning, get out here! You murderer, get out here!”

”An Ning—!”

”What are you shouting about? An Ning is not a murderer.”

”Yeah, the police are still investigating. What makes you so sure?”

Reacting in a flash, the group of boys formed a wall in front of An Ning, shielding her behind them.

The girl who had burst in finally spotted An Ning behind the crowd, her face still streaked with wet tears.

”It was you! It was you! You must have said something, or used some kind of black magic! Otherwise, why would Lin Wanwan be dead!”

”Come out here! Why are you afraid to—?”

An Ning emerged, moving at an inhuman speed to stand directly in front of the girl who was accusing her.

”I’m out. Go on.”

The sheer force of An Ning’s presence was so overwhelming that the girl found it hard to breathe.

”You—you—it was you. It must have been you.”

An Ning watched the girl and asked a probing question. ”You seem to really want it to be me. Why is that? Do you perhaps know something we don’t? Or have you already transcended your mortal form to become an omniscient immortal?”

”Or maybe you think you can bypass the police and solve the case all on your own?”

”Or is it that your word is law, and it’s simply whomever you say it is?”

The three questions left the girl speechless.

”You’re just twisting my words!”

”Heh heh... Twisting your words? What exactly have I twisted? I’m all ears. Please, do tell.”

An Ning took a step forward. The girl took a step back.

Another step forward, another step back.

The girl braced herself with a hand on a desk, seeming to find a source of strength. She shrieked, ”Wanwan was my best friend! I won’t let you get away with this!”

”AH—!”

The desk the girl was leaning on was suddenly yanked away. The boy who pulled it said with an apologetic look, ”You were on my homework. It’s important.”

The deadpan explanation made An Ning laugh to herself. ’So they’re all this interesting.’

”You, who claim to be Lin Wanwan’s best friend... if you really were her friend, why didn’t you stand up for her last night? If you’re really her friend, shouldn’t you be trying to get to the bottom of this for her sake?”

”Why does it seem to me that you’re just trying to attract everyone’s attention and show off how you speak up for what’s right?”

”In other words, what are you trying to gain from this?”

Under An Ning’s relentless questioning, the girl kept backing away.

”I’m not! I’m not! You’re talking nonsense!”

Shouting ”I’m not,” the girl retreated all the way to the classroom door, where a few other students—likely Lin Wanwan’s classmates as well—were waiting.

They caught the girl who had come to accuse An Ning, their expressions complex as they looked at her.

Last night, An Ning had been the school’s hero.

Today, she was the prime suspect.

”Please leave our classroom. We came to Beijing University to study.”

As soon as An Ning finished speaking, the boy sitting by the door cooperatively shut it and turned to the professor on the dais. ”Professor, shall we continue class?”

”Alright, class, let’s continue with...”

The professor on the dais suddenly remembered that class was supposed to be over. He only paused for a second, however, before he smiled in satisfaction and resumed his lecture.

Students were easily swayed, but the professors were not.

Most of the professors had seen far too much in their time. They chose to believe in An Ning.

The math lecture continued. Outside, the girl and her classmates departed, their feelings a complicated mix.

For the rest of the day, An Ning attended her classes quietly. At noon, she had lunch with An Guoping and the others.

It was a lunch An Ning would likely never forget.

She sat with Jiang Xia, An Guoping, Yang Jianguo, Yin Xuemei, and Luo Li. Li Chengze and Anna rushed over from their own classes, even coming all the way from the faculty dining hall to the student cafeteria just to sit beside An Ning’s group.

Meanwhile, all the boys from the math department sat at the tables surrounding them.

They formed what felt like an impenetrable fortress, warding off the unspoken condemnation from the outside.

After lunch, An Ning walked out of the cafeteria, ready to say goodbye to those who had come all this way just to eat with her.

”An Ning—”

The police had arrived.