Unattainable

Illuminated by bright white xenon lamps, the room is as bright as it is in the daytime but with only black, white, blue, and gray tones, its atmosphere is serious and cold. It’s a laboratory. The room is far from small. In the middle is a large table to perform experiments on and there are desks lined up along the room’s four walls. There is no movement except for the whirring computer on the center table. Right now, the hour and minute hands of the silver wall clock happen to form a “1” — six o’clock in the morning, definitely outside of work hours. 

Suddenly, the computer on the experiment bench made a “beep” sound. It wasn’t loud but in the empty room, it was a lot like a stone falling into a body of calm water, causing a lot of movement. With this tiny sound, the person resting against the table at the far end of the room raised her head. The black ponytail on her head was loose and a strand slipped out of the hair tie. There were two red pressure marks on her right cheek and the dark circles under her eyes were almost catching up to a panda’s but these do not affect the beauty of her face. She opened her mouth and yawned, reaching out to grab her glasses and put them on. Her haggard face suddenly became refreshed, as if the glasses were a mask.

She quickly got up and walked towards the big computer behind her. The screen was covered with densely packed English and numbers. She looked down at the screen and after a while, she burst into a beautiful smile. Finally, the results of the experiment came out! After two days and two nights of fierce battle, she finally saw the fruits of her hard work. She hurriedly recorded the data and subconsciously re-entered the data for verification. However, thinking that she only slept for less than five hours in the past forty-eight hours and this verification would take at least ten hours, she decided to let herself rest some more.

She took off her lab coat, packed up her things, and prepared to leave. Suddenly remembering something, she wrote a note and put it on Zhao Yizhuo’s desk next to her, arranging the work of several other people in the lab. Finally, she turned off the lights and left.

The auntie who was cleaning in the corridor was bent over mopping the floor when she heard the sound of the door closing and raised her head to say hello: “Teacher Ke, you finished late again?”

“Yes. Auntie Zhang, you’re working so hard so early. I’ll go back first.” Ke Yan has just returned to China for two months. Because of her previous scientific research experience in the United States, she was appointed as the deputy head of the Liquid Argon Detector research group as soon as she came back. Although called the deputy head, the tasks assigned to her are the same as that of a team head. This is because the team leader, Professor Liu Yi’an, went to the United States for half a year of exchange study, and now Ke Yan has to handle all the affairs of the team.

Twenty-nine years old is indeed too young to be a leader of a cutting-edge scientific research project, but there was no other way. At present, the domestic liquid argon and dark matter detection technology is almost nonexistent. She is the only one who has been exposed to these. Only she knows the amount of pressure she feels being the leader. She has to achieve something.

Auntie Zhang watched her leave and said, “Teacher Ke, pay attention to your body, don’t wear it out.”

“Thank you, Auntie Zhang, I’ll go back to rest now.” Ke Yan waved her hand and covered the yawn that followed.

When she got out of the laboratory building, she found that dawn was breaking and the city was about to wake up. She drove home along an open road and thankfully it wasn’t that far, or she would have dozed off while driving.

The couple selling pancakes and fruits at the gate of the community had already set up their stall. Ke Yan stopped the car and bought a set of pancakes and fruits. Pushing open the door stirred up the dust in the small one-bedroom apartment. She kicked off her shoes, stepped on the cold floor, and entered the house. Putting her breakfast on the coffee table, she threw her bag, keys, and herself onto the sofa. She glanced at the dying bouquet on the coffee table but didn’t have the urge to change the water because she didn’t even have the strength to raise her fingers.

Lying down for a few minutes, just as she was about to fall asleep, she struggled desperately to sit up, rubbed her face, and forced herself to finish her breakfast. She was afraid that if she fell asleep now, she wouldn’t be able to eat for the rest of the day. Finally, without even taking a shower or taking her clothes off, she fell onto her bed and slept.

At six o’clock in the evening, Ke Yan finally recovered her strength and was woken up by the buzzing sound of her mobile phone. She opened her eyes and found the mobile phone on the bedside table. It was her mother. Ms. Zhou Lanying was complaining, her voice ringing in Ke Yan’s ear: “Why are you only answering your phone now? It’s harder to contact you when you’re back in the country rather than when you’re abroad. I’ve been calling you for an entire day, you can’t even take the time to call me back? Are you so busy on weekends?” The voice was strict-sounding and wasn’t quiet at all.

Ke Yan yawned and perked up a bit: “What’s the matter, Mom? I was sleeping, I didn’t hear it.”

“Sleeping during the day? Did you stay up late to work overtime again?” Zhou Lanying knew her daughter very well. She would never have slept during the day unless she had no way of staying awake.

“No, it’s just a temporary break. Is there something wrong, Mom?” Ke Yan softened her tone and didn’t confront her mother head-on.

Zhou Lanying said, “I can’t find you if I have nothing to do? Who told me to call at least twice a week, this week is almost over, and you haven’t called back a single time.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been too busy recently.” Ke Yan felt a little guilty. When she was in the United States, because of the time difference, she didn’t always have time to communicate with her parents which left her with deep regret. When she had the opportunity to return to China, she gritted her teeth and gave up the better research conditions abroad to come back, thinking that she could take better care of her parents, but the result did not seem to improve much.

Zhou Lanying sighed: “You have to pay attention to your body, don’t wear it out like your father.”

“I know. Mom, how is Dad these days?” Ke Yan said and sat up.

“It’s still the same, I just miss you. Would you like to have a video chat?” Zhou Lanying asked tentatively.

“Okay, wait for me for a while.” Ke Yan hung up the phone and saw a number of missed calls on the screen of her phone. She opened it and saw that they were all calls from her mother and her friend Luan Xuan. Putting down the phone, she quickly got up to take a shower and cleaned herself up, putting on light makeup to make herself look a little better. Twenty minutes later and with still wet hair, she started a WeChat video call with her family and chatted with her parents face to face.

Ke Yan’s father, Ke Mengxian, is a mechanical engineer and a typical workaholic. When he is busy, he works around the clock. Zhou Lanying often says that regarding this, both father and daughter are very similar. She also hates this trait of theirs the most because it was exactly what caused Ke Mengxian to collapse at his workplace. He had a cerebral hemorrhage and now he’s paralyzed and has lost the function of language. She has to take care of everything. She often says that her life is hard.

When Ke Yan video chats with her father, she speaks and he listens, expressing his feelings by either blinking his eyes or shaking his head. If he’s particularly excited, he can’t help but let out a yell to express his thoughts but in the end, no one can understand what he’s saying. Seeing her mother wipe the saliva from the corner of her father’s mouth with a tissue, Ke Yan couldn’t help but turn her face away, blinking away the tears in her eyes. Zhou Lanying said, “Okay, stop talking with your dad now. Talk with your mom for a while.”

Ke Yan greeted her father and was ready to accept her mother’s instruction. Her family was made up of a typical strict mother and a loving father. Since her father was busy with work, Ke Yan grew up under her mother’s strict discipline since she was a child. Naturally, she understood her mother’s disposition. With one movement and one look, Ke Yan knew how her mother was feeling.

Sure enough, Zhou Lanying said: “You must have not had dinner yet. Hang up the phone later and hurry to eat. Don’t order takeout, it’s all waste oil.”

 “Mn.”

Zhou Lanying added: “I met Bi Kai’s mother today. Bi Kai is going to get married next month. The other party is an American woman. His mother is still sighing with me. When you both went abroad, I thought you and him would get together. Well, who knew that…”

Ke Yan reluctantly interrupted her mother: “Mom, why are you talking about this again? Didn’t I tell you before? I’m just friends with him, no other relationship.”

“Then when can you get married? There should be a lot of like-minded people in your research institute. If there is someone appropriate, just pick him. Don’t be picky and get married now. You will be 30 next year and no one will want you anymore. ” Zhou Lanying seized the opportunity to remind her daughter. In her eyes, thirty is a terrible and cursed age.

“Got it. Mom, I have a phone call. I’ll talk to you next time, bye!” Ke Yan avoided her mother every time this topic was brought up. When she was in school, she was told that she couldn’t date. As soon as she reached the age of marriage, she was then desperately urged to marry. Many parents in China did this and the Ke family was no exception. In the eyes of parents, life seems to have to follow a program. There were things that had to be done and accomplished at a specific time.

However, Ke Yan is not an obedient girl. Over the years, many people have pursued her but she is slow to warm up, rarely feels moved, and has always felt that physics is more attractive than men. As a result, she has been single since birth.

Zhou Lanying hurriedly said, “Then remember to eat.”

“Got it.” Ke Yan answered and hung up.

Saying that there was a phone call was not an excuse. Luan Xuan called again and Ke Yan finally picked up. Luan Xuan was very dissatisfied: “Miss, you are really hard to contact. I called you eight times today, you finally picked up.”

“I’m sorry, Xuan Xuan, I worked overtime last night and slept during the day. My phone wasn’t turned on, so I didn’t hear it.” Ke Yan quickly apologized. Luan Xuan was the only high school friend she was still in contact with and she was rarely in City B. 

“If you come out to eat with me now, I will forgive you. Come over quickly, Hai Di Lao hot pot, I will share the address with you.” Luan Xuan’s tone became more happy.

How dare Ke Yan not agree: “Okay, I’ll come right away.” It happened that she was so hungry that she felt like her chest was connected to her back. It would be nice to have someone to accompany her for dinner.

Luan Xuan sent the address. Ke Yan found that the restaurant was around the area she lived in, not too far away. She was relieved. This time was the rush hour and there were people and cars everywhere so she could ride a public bicycle.

Ke Yan prepared her things and didn’t bother touching up her makeup. She wore an ivory-colored long thin knitted jacket and went out. In the early autumn of City B, the weather is slightly cooler in the morning and evening, so there was a need to wear extra clothes.

After staying abroad for more than ten years, Ke Yan found that China has developed rapidly in recent years. A mobile phone can solve almost all consumption problems. Even breakfast stalls had QR codes. You can go out without cash, which is extremely convenient. She scanned the QR code at the parking area at the gate of her community and brought a bicycle onto the road. It was the evening rush hour and the traffic jams on the road were so congested. Ke Yan rang the bell in a good mood as she watched the traffic beside her flow at the speed of a turtle, and then looked at the fast-turning wheels under her feet.

Her coat was unbuttoned, and it was knee-length. When the wind blew it, it swayed and fluttered. It was like a beautiful landscape, which made people who were sitting in the car, anxiously waiting for the road, clear their hearts with envy. However, this beautiful scene didn’t last long. The hem of Ke Yan’s clothes was too long and got caught in the rear wheel and almost dragged her off of the bicycle. She hurriedly got off of the bicycle and tried her best to save her clothes from the wheel, feeling annoyed. The hem of her clothes was covered with unpleasant oil stains. In order to avoid the oil from staining her trousers, she could only take off her jacket and hold it in her hands, which compromised her good mood.

Ke Yan didn’t notice that when her clothes were twisted just now, the passenger in the backseat of a black Maybach was staring at her. Not until she disappeared after riding the bike again did the other party’s eyes turn back.

Ke Yan rushed to Hai Di Lao and found that it wasn’t just Luan Xuan there. It was a class reunion. All the people present were her high school classmates from City B. There were as many as five or six people. As soon as Luan Xuan saw her, she quickly stood up with a smile, wrapped her arms around her waist and said to the crowd, “I said Ke Yan would come, did I lie to you? You all punish yourself!”

A male classmate booed: “The scientist is also late, she has to have a penalty drink too!”

Ke Yan was a little confused and greeted everyone with a smile. She went to the United States to study right after graduating from high school. Except for Luan Xuan, she had not seen everyone else for at least seven or eight years. The changes were so great that Ke Yan hardly remembered everyone by name. Luan Xuan pulled her into a seat: “Everyone is ready, hurry up and start, I’m starving to death!”

A male classmate with a receding hairline said: “Wait a minute, there is another person, he said he will be there in a few minutes.”

Luan Xuan asked curiously, “Who is coming? Who else in our class is in City B? Is it possible that Movie Emperor Zeng is also here?”

The male classmate snapped his fingers: “Bingo, I will reward you with a pot of hot pot soup. After we finish eating, you can clear out the soup!”

Luan Xuan’s face was full of surprise: “Why didn’t you tell me earlier that he was coming? I didn’t even dress up.”

The male classmate laughed at her: “You’re already married, what are you excited about?”

“Can’t I leave a good impression on my idol?” Luan Xuan was not at all embarrassed.

Everyone else at the table was discussing the upcoming person. Ke Yan sipped the tea slowly and listened to everyone chatting. The great actor Zeng was the most promising one in their class and now he is a household name. She didn’t expect him to come and attend a class reunion.

Not long after, the door was pushed open and a very strangely dressed man stood at the door. He was wearing a well-cut casual suit and he was slender and tall but he was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. He glanced around the room and his eyes stayed on Ke Yan for an extra second. He came in, closed the door, and took off his hat and sunglasses, revealing a very handsome face.

Opening his arms, he said with a big smile: “Dear classmates, long time no see, I miss you all!” After speaking, he gave the closest classmate a hug then hugged everyone else in turn, all while calling out each other’s names one by one.

He finally stopped in front of Ke Yan but didn’t open his arms to hug her. He just extended his hand towards her, his face full of surprise: “I didn’t expect you to be here. When did you return to China, Ke Yan?”

Ke Yan stood up and looked up at the man who was a head taller than her 1.64 meters. She felt that he looked even younger and more handsome than he did in front of the camera. She stretched out her hand and smiled generously: “It’s been a while since I came back. Long time no see, Zeng Xiaoqi .”