The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 7: Going Home

“Qin Yuanqing, I get carsick. Could we switch seats?” a very soft voice asked. Qin Yuanqing looked over and saw it was Song Dandan—the top student from middle school who consistently ranked in the top three on exams and often took first place. They’d known each other since seventh grade, when they’d participated in an English competition together; Song Dandan had been their class president back then. However, things were different in high school. Song Dandan’s grades had slipped to the middle of the pack, and she eventually chose the liberal arts track. After all, for a girl not particularly strong in logic, the science subjects—physics and chemistry—were practically brain-killers; they could cause massive hair loss every day and might even lead to premature baldness. “No problem!” Since the other person had already offered, Qin Yuanqing felt it would be rude to refuse, so she got out of the passenger seat. “Thank you, Qin Yuanqing,” Song Dandan said softly as she got out of the car, moved to the passenger seat, and thanked Qin Yuanqing. “No problem, it’s no big deal!” Qin Yuanqing smiled, then got into the back seat. As luck would have it, Qin Yuanqing found himself sitting right next to Dai Yuqing, who, being quite slender, was seated in the middle. The private driver was an old acquaintance; after making sure everyone was settled, he started the car right away. All three girls were eating bread and drinking milk in the car, but each of them ate very politely, taking small bites—which felt a bit unusual to Qin Yuanqing, who was used to seeing people eat and drink heartily. Once the three girls had finished eating, they began discussing the exam. Song Dandan and Dai Yuqing talked about the humanities subjects, while Qin Yuanqing joined in sporadically. He realized that the other two girls’ scores weren’t particularly good—especially in math, which was downright disastrous. They barely managed to score 90 points; on slightly more difficult math problems, scoring in the 70s or 80s was actually the norm. After all, the math exam—whether for the humanities or the sciences—is worth 150 points. It’s worth noting that math questions for the humanities track are considerably easier than those for the science track. That said, there were some bright spots: both girls did well in politics, consistently scoring in the 90s out of 100. Speaking of politics, it was Qin Yuanqing’s eternal source of pain. He actually leaned toward the liberal arts, but when it came time to choose between the two tracks, he scored only 45 on the politics exam. On top of that, since his politics teacher was also his homeroom teacher, she gave him a thorough dressing-down. Finally, in despair, Qin Yuanqing gave up on the liberal arts and chose the sciences. Qin Yuanqing could only admire those who scored high on politics. In fact, he was very interested in current events and was also very good at history, but for some reason, every time he took a politics exam, he felt he’d answered very well, only to face a tragic outcome after the teacher graded the papers. Perhaps it just goes to show that angry young people aren’t cut out for studying politics. After discussing the exams, the car finally got onto the highway, and the group’s conversation turned to the Beijing Olympics—the breathtaking opening ceremony, as well as the Huaxia athletes bringing glory to the nation by topping the gold medal tally and achieving the best results in history. Sports stars like Yao Ming, Guo Jingjing, and Zhang Yining became the talk of the town. Yao Ming, the “Huaxia Giant” and “Moving Great Wall of Huaxia”; Guo Jingjing, the “Diving Queen”; and Zhang Yining, the “Great Demon”—each had nicknames that resonated throughout Huaxia. Qin Yuanqing’s favorite was Zhang Yining. Having won the women’s singles and doubles titles at the Beijing Olympics—in addition to her victories at the 2004 Athens Olympics—Zhang Yining became the first athlete in Huaxia history to achieve a double Grand Slam, earning her the nickname “The Great Demon”! Even more than a decade later, at the Tokyo Olympics, Zhang Yining’s name was still frequently mentioned. However, he never imagined that his three daughters’ favorite sports star wasn’t Yao Ming, but rather “The Flying Man” Liu Xiang. Unfortunately, at the Beijing Olympics, an injured Liu Xiang was forced to withdraw midway through the competition. Even now, there remains significant controversy, with many people still criticizing him. But we must remember that over the years, the “Flying Man” has brought countless international honors to Huaxia. It was he who tied the world record and showed the world that people of Asian descent can fly. He has given confidence to countless Huaxian people and has reshaped the world’s perception of Huaxia. A hero who brings glory to the nation deserves recognition and praise. It’s a pity that even now—though Huaxia has become the world’s third-largest economy and is set to surpass Japan to become the second-largest either this year or next—a long-standing lack of self-confidence, compounded by the constant propaganda spread by so-called “public intellectuals” across the media, has left the Huaxia people still lacking in self-assurance. Unlike at the Tokyo Olympics, where—whether it was Sun Yiwen’s injury-forced withdrawal, Lu Yufei’s mistake that led to a fall, the table tennis team’s defeat that allowed Japan to claim the gold, or Huaxia athletes apologizing to their compatriots through tears—the news media and ordinary people alike felt nothing but heartache for their own athletes. Celebrate victories, offer encouragement after defeats, and keep fighting! That kind of magnanimity is something today’s Huaxia simply cannot match! If this were to happen today, they would have long since been drowned in a sea of criticism! Before they knew it, the car had exited the highway and soon arrived at Dai Village. All three young women were from Dai Village, so the driver dropped them off at their homes first, and only then took Qin Yuanqing to Qinjia Village. After getting out of the car, Qin Yuanqing looked at the single-story house, and a glimmer of moisture appeared in his eyes. This was his home—his hometown! Tomorrow was National Day, but the Sun was still beating down fiercely. His parents were napping on lounge chairs, cooled by an electric fan. His family hadn’t installed air conditioning yet, so the heat seeped through the floorboards into the room, making it sweltering. Just thinking about it filled Qin Yuanqing with guilt and regret. His father had once been the most carefree man in the village—he had food and clothes without having to work, and could even play mahjong at night. But because of a single sentence he’d uttered—“Dad, I want to go to college. Are you willing to support me?” —his father had completely changed. He started getting up earlier than the roosters and going to bed later than the dogs, renting over ten mu of land in one go and toiling alongside his mother in the fields, all just to pay for his education. But because of her own selfishness—she became hopelessly addicted to novels—her scores plummeted on the college entrance exam, and she didn’t even reach the cutoff for first-tier universities. When she stubbornly refused to continue her studies, her dad still had to plead with her earnestly. In the end, when I went off to college, all the pressure fell on my parents. Although tuition was only 3,600 yuan, when you added up the cost of housing and living expenses, the annual total was no small sum. Especially in recent years, times have been tough—the weather hasn’t been favorable, and agricultural prices have been low. My parents’ annual earnings from their hard work don’t even reach 50,000 yuan, yet they’ve never once hesitated to spend on me. No matter how poor we are, we must not skimp on education; no matter how hard life gets, we must not let our children suffer! My parents lived by this motto, so whenever he writes about the greatness of a mother’s love, Qin Yuanqing never forgets that a father’s love is equally great. His mother passed away from lung cancer 15 years ago, a loss that has left Qin Yuanqing with a constant sense of guilt. After her death, Qin Yuanqing felt as though something was missing from his home, and he has rarely returned since. He didn’t understand this at first, but later, after watching a video of a Fudan University professor lecturing on philosophy and mentioning the concept of “dependent origination and emptiness,” Qin Yuanqing finally realized that a home is only a home when parents are there; once they’re gone, the home falls apart. Qin Yuanqing also felt guilty toward his father. Even after turning 60, his father still placed a heavy burden on him—whether it was renovating the house or covering gift expenses—forcing him to shoulder these responsibilities instead of allowing him to enjoy his twilight years like others. Qin Yuanqing stood at the doorway without opening the door, quietly gazing at his parents. He was reminded of a song called “Mom in the Candlelight” and the Chopsticks Brothers’ “Father”! It’s true—our parents don’t owe us anything, yet we keep taking from them, constantly taking. Meanwhile, our parents give without expecting anything in return. He complained about his low salary and the pressures of life, wondering why he couldn’t live as carefree and easygoing as people in Europe and America. But he had to realize that his parents’ generation had it even harder and more exhausting; back then, they faced even greater despair. After all, the gap in per capita income between Huaxia and the United States at that time was unimaginably vast. His parents had the strength and the desire to earn money, but there were simply no opportunities for them to do so. Qin Yuanqing felt a deep pang of sorrow in his heart. He clenched his fists and silently vowed to study hard so he wouldn’t disappoint his parents again. He also hoped that when the college entrance exams were over, their home would be filled with guests, and his parents would be so happy they’d set off fireworks. Qin Yuanqing wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. Since he’d been given a second chance at life, how could he settle for mediocrity? How could he ever be content with mediocrity? A true man should live a life of grandeur and glory. Not to mention, he had a “golden finger”—the world’s one-of-a-kind “Black Technology Scholar System”! As long as he worked tirelessly, even if he didn’t become a scientist, he could still become a great entrepreneur! “Dad, Mom!” Qin Yuanqing called out affectionately when he saw his parents had woken up. “Qin Yuanqing, you’re back!” his parents exclaimed, filled with surprise and joy at the sight of him. Just a few days ago, they’d spoken with Qin Yuanqing on the phone, and he’d said he wouldn’t be coming home since the National Day holiday was only three days long. That’s right—this year for National Day, freshmen and sophomores had a seven-day break, but seniors were an exception: they only had three days off and had to return to school on October 4. “Have you eaten yet? If not, Mom will cook you a meal.” Mom took Qin Yuanqing’s hand, her face beaming with joy. “Mom, I’ve already eaten. I had a meal in Chengguan before coming back,” Qin Yuanqing hurriedly replied. “How’s your studying going these days? Is life tough? You’re all alone in Chengguan—you have to take good care of yourself…” Mom asked him all sorts of questions, but Qin Yuanqing didn’t find her nagging at all; on the contrary, he felt nothing but contentment. Those who complain about their mothers being nagging will never realize that this, too, is a kind of happiness! Once they’ve lost it, no amount of money in the world can bring that happiness back. It was precisely because of this realization that Qin Yuanqing chose “This, Too, Is a Kind of Happiness” as the title for his college entrance exam essay, weaving his own reflections into the piece.