Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

"An Ning..." Several people in police uniforms, flanked by the principal and the head of the mathematics department, blocked her path.

In an instant, all movement ceased. The sound was swallowed whole, disappearing without a trace, as everyone turned to look at the newcomers.

"An Ning, thank you for cooperating with the investigation. We felt we had an obligation to inform you that Lin Wanwan’s case is unrelated to you."

"Our investigation shows that Lin Wanwan died between ten and eleven o’clock. You weren’t at the scene. As for the cause of death, we’re still investigating."

An Ning listened and replied politely, "Thank you, Officer."

"You’re welcome. It’s our duty."

The officers were so polite they might as well have been addressing their own ancestors. And with good reason. After the incident began, several high-ranking officials had personally come to oversee the investigation’s progress.

An Ning’s name had been mentioned several times. At first, the police thought it was just another case of someone pulling rank, but the officials not only supervised personally but also sent advanced technology and extra manpower, giving their underfunded department a sudden, major upgrade.

With sophisticated equipment they’d never even known existed and the eager cooperation of experts, they had completely cleared An Ning of suspicion in just a few hours.

An Ning didn’t say much. Sending Yu Zheng out had been a signal to the world; this outcome was only what she’d expected.

She said goodbye to everyone as usual, then called her classmates to head back to the classroom with her.

From a distance, the sight of a single girl leading a procession of more than twenty boys looked quite imposing, almost as if she were a queen holding court.

The police had come and gone quickly. An Ning was no longer a murder suspect.

However, one suspicion still lingered: that she had driven Lin Wanwan to suicide.

But that theory didn’t really hold water. After all, these were all mature young adults. ’They’d all passed grueling exams to get into Beijing University; surely their mental fortitude wasn’t that fragile?’

Besides, what had happened yesterday was no different from how Lin Wanwan usually acted.

Lin Wanwan often used her beauty, her all-around dancing talent, and her popularity to look down on others. She had said far worse things in the past, and no one had ever committed suicide over it.

The speculation continued, and by the afternoon, another version of the story was circulating on campus.

Apparently, Lin Wanwan had a secret lover.

No one knew who this person was.

But the pain of love could certainly drive a person to madness.

The rumor spread like wildfire, spawning several different versions in a single afternoon.

The students’ gossiping prompted the principal to call an emergency meeting.

The next day, before the students even knew what was happening, a mountain of homework descended upon every single one of them.

In the principal’s words, "We are the top university in the country, yet we’ve allowed gossip to overrun our campus."

"Idle!"

"They have far too much free time!"

"Just look at the math department! Why aren’t they gossiping? And look at the medical department! Why aren’t they gossiping?"

Sure enough, the tactic was extremely effective. Everyone’s time for gossiping was completely squeezed out, and the library became the most popular spot on campus.

An Ning remained completely unfazed by the outside world. She had originally planned to take her baby and Anna back to her old home in Shili Gou after New Year’s Day to formally take a master.

But after what happened with Lin Wanwan, she decided to wait for the case to be resolved before returning.

Anna, of course, had no objections. In fact, going back during the winter break would be even better. And so, the two of them finalized their plan to go back together once the university’s winter break began.

On the third day, An Ning went to class with a fresh set of notes.

An Ning no longer sat in the back of the room. She now sat right in the middle, tutoring four of her classmates at once.

When the bell rang for class to start, she would return to her seat in the back.

Every now and then during a lecture, she would even step in as the teacher and explain a concept for a while, as the professor sat back in his chair, listening with a delighted expression.

An Ning was quite happy with this new routine of tutoring and lecturing.

On the fourth day, the principal came by while An Ning was tutoring her classmates.

An Ning followed the principal out into the hallway, where they stood in silence.

"An Ning, oh An Ning... can’t you be the first to ask?"

"Ask what? I don’t even know why you’ve come to see me."

An Ning’s flawless logic left the principal not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You... you never let yourself get the short end of the stick, do you?"

"I don’t like getting the short end of the stick."

An Ning’s blunt reply made the principal wave his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, I get it."

"I came to tell you that there’s a conclusion in Lin Wanwan’s case."

"It was suicide."

"The police found a diary. It was filled with Lin Wanwan’s... well, let’s call it affection for a certain young man. It even bordered on obsession."

"Based on their analysis, the reason for her suicide is heavily linked to this mysterious young man."

"As for the person you mentioned, they did investigate him. But he was asleep in his dorm that night—he has an alibi from everyone there. When asked about Lin Wanwan, he said he only knew her and that there was no other relationship between them. The police couldn’t find any evidence connecting him to the case."

An Ning listened, then quickly asked, "Not even in the diary?"

The principal shook his head.

"His name never appeared. There was only ’he’."

An Ning understood. She thanked the principal.

"Thank you for coming to tell me this."

"An Ning, who was the person you mentioned?"

The principal was only relaying the message; he didn’t know who An Ning had identified as Lin Wanwan’s boyfriend.

"Does it still matter now?"

An Ning didn’t say. She had a feeling that if she mentioned Tao Quan’s name, no one would believe her anyway.

’A man that perfect, someone everyone placed on a pedestal... how could his followers ever tolerate him having a flaw?’

The principal wanted to say that it did matter, but An Ning had already thanked him, turned, and walked back into the classroom to continue tutoring her classmates.

For some reason, the principal felt a little uneasy. He had a nagging feeling that this wasn’t really the end of the matter.

After the principal’s visit, the official cause of Lin Wanwan’s death was made public.

Mysterious boyfriend, obsessive love, suicide.

So Lin Wanwan had actually committed suicide. What kind of love could have driven her to disregard her own life?

No one knew, and for the time being, no one had time to find out, because final exams at Beijing University had arrived.

Along with the final exams came "friendly" one-on-one meetings with each class’s academic advisor.

Lin Wanwan’s death was bound to have an impact on the university. Regardless of whether it was a suicide or a homicide, the fact that it happened on campus meant the school bore an unshirkable responsibility.

Psychological counseling had to be scheduled.

Between the counseling sessions and final exams, everyone was completely swamped.

Time flew by, and soon, it was time for final exams.

The two-week exam period began. When An Ning took the mathematics department’s exams, she felt no pressure or burden whatsoever.

In fact, if she hadn’t vehemently objected, her professors would have roped her into writing the exam questions.

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