"Professor Zhu, I've brought Hua Hongxiao with me," Chen Wen announced sweetly as they entered Room 301.
"Thank you, thank you! Welcome!" Zhu Di emerged from his office, his face wearing a polite smile, "I apologize for the sudden call today, but we've decided to hire you as a research assistant. Are you still interested?"
Hongxiao nodded repeatedly, fearing that any hesitation might change the professor's mind.
"Chen Wen, please call everyone out," Professor Zhu instructed.
Wen acknowledged with a nod and turned towards another room. Hongxiao noticed the sign on the door: Laboratory 1.
Noticing his gaze, Zhu Di explained, "Room 301 actually contains several rooms. Right here at the entrance is the lounge and reception, which serves as a common exit for all other rooms. There's my office, and then Laboratory 1, 2, and 3—four rooms in total."
Hongxiao nodded, wondering about the size of those rooms.
Just then, the door to Laboratory 1 swung open, and several people emerged, chatting and laughing.
"Let me introduce everyone. You've met her before, but this is Chen Wen, my first master's student" Zhu Di began. Wen flashed a sweet smile at Hua Hongxiao, "Welcome, little research assistant!"
Though Hongxiao generally showed little interest in girls older than him, he felt a peculiar tingling this time.
"This is Ma Jun. She's a senior, but she's already been recommended for our graduate program starting next year," Professor Zhu continued.
"Hello. Welcome to our lab," the bespectacled girl greeted Hongxiao. Behind her glasses, her cutely curved eyebrows and dense lashes hinted at a subtle beauty. Her features might not stand out individually, but together they formed a harmonious and comforting whole, especially her softly upturned lips, which seemed to carry a natural smile.
Ma Jun... an ironically masculine name for such a gentle-looking girl, Hongxiao thought.
"And this is Zou Jing, a doctoral student from the Southwest Medical College here for a joint training program," Zhu Di pointed to a middle-aged man.
Jing, evidently older than the others, seemed just a few years younger than Professor Zhu. His demeanor was markedly more seasoned as he stepped forward eagerly to shake hands with Hongxiao. "Excellent. Welcome to Professor Zhu's family!"
"This is Hua Hongxiao, our newest and youngest research assistant," Zhu Di concluded grandly.
The previously introduced members nodded and gestured welcomingly again, with Wen playfully pretending to applaud but not actually clapping.
Hongxiao was unaccustomed to this repeated reception and uncomfortable being the center of attention. Unsure how to respond—had it been ancient times, a simple fist salute would suffice, but what now in modern times? Shake hands with everyone individually?
"Professor Zhu, when can Hongxiao join our experiments?" Wen asked.
"Let him first learn the theoretical basics and get accustomed to the lab environment," Zhu Di suggested with a smile.
"I have a feeling that with Hongxiao joining our team, we'll make significant breakthroughs!" Wen excitedly glanced between Professor Zhu and Hongxiao.
"Is she simply boosting the newbie's morale or genuinely seeing potential in me?" Hongxiao wondered.
"Last time you said the same when Ma Jun joined," Jing chuckled.
Wen, unable to hide her feelings, shot Jing a glare. "Did I? I don't remember. Besides, didn't our experiments progress after Jun joined? Right, Professor?"
Her sweet voice and coquettish demeanor softened her discontent, making it impossible to feel offended.
Professor Zhu opted not to engage in the playful banter, merely smiling noncommittally.
"I was mainly learning from you all at first. Progress is hard to define, but with new blood like Hongxiao joining, I also believe we'll see important advancements," Jun diplomatically mediated.
"Alright, why don't you all show Hongxiao around the labs later? For now, Hongxiao, please come to my office," Zhu Di decided it was time to move on.
As the others returned to Laboratory 1, Wen gave Hongxiao a silent "OK" gesture, and he began to appreciate this endearing senior in the lab.
Of course, his liking for her was different from the feelings he harbored for that girl with beautiful eyes. Remembering her, Hongxiao felt a pang of regret.
Professor Zhu's office was spacious, large enough to include a small sitting area. The desk was piled with books.
"You'll need to sign a confidentiality agreement to work in our lab. It's standard procedure in cutting-edge research to protect scientific secrets," Zhu Di explained, pushing a stack of papers towards Hongxiao.
Hongxiao skimmed the document. The terms were as Zhu Di described. He didn't read everything, just jumped to the signature line.
"How should I sign? Just my name?" Hongxiao had never signed anything before.
"Exactly. Just write your name, no need for it to be neat. Then date it," Zhu Di handed him a pen.
"Am I the only one recruited this time?" Hongxiao asked as he signed, still not giving up the hope to work with that girl yet.
"Yes. We planned to hire one or two assistants. Not many came for the interview initially, but suddenly many showed up on the last day. I decided to pause recruiting since I couldn't manage both my research work and those interviews."
Hongxiao chuckled silently, understanding that he played a big role in that chaos.
"Speaking of fate, you came on a day when our entire lab was off-campus until 2 PM. I rushed back fearing someone might show up for the interview, and just as I arrived, so did you. You were the only one that day, and definitely the best fit. I believe you'll love this job."
"Oh, I saw another girl leaving as I arrived. I thought she was here for the interview too," Hongxiao said, surprised.
"Is that so? It should have just been the two of us that afternoon," Zhu Di pondered, tilting his head.
Hongxiao wasn't sure if Professor Zhu was genuinely pondering or just being polite. He didn't want to start his first day by disagreeing on something trivial.
"Maybe I was mistaken," he concluded, relieved when Zhu Di seemed ready to move on to work matters.
Zhu Di pushed several hefty textbooks toward Hongxiao. "These will give you a solid foundation in neurobiology and physics, helping you better understand our work. Don't be intimidated—you can take your time with these, joining experiments and gradually grasping the material. Your seniors will guide you through the knowledge needed during the experiments. This method of learning little by little through practical work is the best way to learn in scientific research."
Hongxiao caressed the textured covers, recognizing all the characters on them. The shapes of the words felt familiar, yet he found he couldn't vocalize them in his mind.
He tried mouthing the words silently, but it was futile.
His mind seemed filled with disjointed images and sounds—a vision of that girl walking out of Room 301 and her clear gaze, and Zhu Di's words echoing, "Just the two of us. Just the two of us."
Could I have been mistaken? Could I have remembered wrong?
Professor Zhu noticed Hongxiao's distracted state. "Don't worry. I know you haven't independently tackled such dense academic texts before. How about you take the books home today and just browse through them? Come back tomorrow afternoon when you don't have class, and I'll explain the key theories and introduce you to the experimental procedures."
Mechanically, Hongxiao nodded.
Walking with the heavy books, he debated in his mind.
Perhaps the girl had just passed by Room 301, so indeed, only two people had been in the lab that day?
Yes, that must be it. If so, then she wasn't there for the interview, and there was no chance they'd be in the same lab.
But Room 301 was at the end of the corridor; surely no one just passes by...
Maybe I really was mistaken? Was there really no one else that day?
Yet hadn't I been replaying that scene in my mind these past few days, pondering whether I could work alongside her in the lab?
Could both that momentary impression and days of speculation be mere illusions?
Fine, never mind. It must have been just someone passing by.
Hongxiao consoled himself, trying to regain his composure.
Just as his mood began to improve, he arrived at his dormitory to the sounds of lively card games. He placed the massive textbooks on his desk. Mentor, unaffected by the chaotic card playing games, was prepping for a class.
"Foundations of Neurobiology? Modern Physics? Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks? You're studying some advanced topics, huh?" Mentor remarked, surprised at the sight of the textbooks.