Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything. He sat beside her while pulling her into his arms and allowing her to cry in his embrace.
His arms were as warm and solid as ever, like the sunshine. Like she had just stepped out into a scorching sunny day, the excitement was enough to warm snow and ice.
Gu Nianzhi felt very safe, so she cried her heart out in his embrace…
Huo Shaoheng didn’t stop her from crying, nor did he begin to look through the contents of the box.
He merely patted Gu Nianzhi’s back as he looked at the box. His brows were furrowed and his eyes seemed to be enshrouded in mist, so all the intense turmoil inside was hidden in the fog, making his emotions completely unreadable.
Gu Nianzhi cried for some time and finally felt a bit better.
Tears were a great way to reduce stress since holding back crying could easily cause depression.
After she finished crying, she began by opening the letter the Japanese people had given her along with the box.
They had written a very sincere apology and explained that they used Gu Xiangwen’s research results without knowing the entire truth. They claimed to feel extremely guilty and hoped that Gu Nianzhi could forgive them.
Generally speaking, technical transcripts donated to charitable organizations were theoretically property belonging to the charity.
The charity could utilize these transcripts within a reasonable scope, which allowed gifting to scientists for research.
The ignorant are not guilty, so the Japanese scientists wouldn’t have made any serious mistakes if they really didn’t know where the information came from.
However, Gu Nianzhi was feeling very displeased. With a pout, she threw the apology letter from the Japanese on the coffee table and spat, “…Thieves, they are thieves who stole things from others and are now pretending to be innocent.”
She refused to believe that the Japanese restaurants didn’t know where this information came from.
They were all thousand-year-old sly foxes, why were they pretending to be saints?!
Who would donate their family’s confidential technology? Not only did the Japanese scientists believe it, but they also enjoyed the fruits of someone else’s hard work without any qualms. They were both stupid and evil.
Gu Nianzhi cried too hard, so she continued to sob even though she stopped now. After reading the letter, she managed to choke out, “…Huo Shao, why don’t you check to see what’s in the box?”
Huo Shaoheng grabbed a tissue to wipe her tears away and shook his head. “This belongs to you. How can I look at it before you even do?”
At the very least, Gu Nianzhi had to give him permission before he could look.
His answer made Gu Nianzhi want to cry again.
She grabbed Huo Shaoheng’s shirt hem and looked at him tearfully. “…But Little Japan already saw everything in the box!”
Not only did they see everything, but they must have researched it thoroughly as well.
After all, Gu Xiangwen’s accident occurred seven years ago, and that meant the Japanese scientists had possessed the transcripts and letters for at least four or five years already.
“…Not only did they look at it, but they must have entered it into permanent computer records!” Gu Nianzhi kicked the coffee table angrily. “And now they’re pretending to return it to me and think I will be showing them tears of gratitude? What garbage–!”
“How can they not spit out everything they stole from me?” Gu Nianzhi grabbed at the air. “I want to dig their brains out!” she said.
Any Japanese person who stole her father’s research should deserve a fate worse than death!
Huo Shaoheng watched her tremble hard, so he put her on his lap and tightly encircled her torso with both arms. He tried to console her. “You don’t need to be so upset either. From what I can tell, the Japanese scientists were unable to produce any actual research results even though they had your father’s transcripts and letters.”
Gu Nianzhi immediately quieted down. “…Really? No way. My father… My father… He was so amazing; he was basically considered a top genius! How could they not produce any actual results?”
“That’s the truth.” Huo Shaoheng replied calmly, “If the Japanese actually produced results, then they would’ve bragged about it a long time ago. The truth is, Japan hasn’t made any serious scientific breakthroughs over the last ten years.”
The recent breakthrough in quantum communication satellites was yet again a result of research that was actually stolen from the Huaxia Empire.
However, they didn’t succeed on either occasion, so it was enough to show that even if those who lacked intelligence were able to steal highly developed technology, they wouldn’t be able to use it anyway…
Gu Nianzhi carefully considered it and realized that it actually seemed to be the case.
Her mood improved somewhat, and she blew her nose with a tissue before whispering, “But I don’t want my father’s research to be used to arm the Japanese…”
History had long proven that Japan would not hesitate to launch an invasive attack over the Huaxia Empire as soon as they had a technological advantage.
So, they couldn’t relax their guard for even one moment.
Huo Shaoheng patted her shoulder as he said, “That won’t happen. We have our independent research advantages and an expansive talent pool. As for Japan, their number of talented people has dwindled, and the new generation of youth are not eager to move ahead. They’ve become Heisei recluses that don’t contribute anything except for playing videos and watching anime.”
A faint smile appeared on Gu Nianzhi’s face as she replied obediently, “Ok, I believe you.”
She was so obedient and easily appeased, yet she had her own ideas without being too stubborn and egocentric to listen to other people’s opinions.
Gu Nianzhi’s actions instantly softened Huo Shaoheng’s hardened heart.
If they weren’t under the surveillance in the office, he would hug her and kiss her passionately.
Unfortunately, he could only kiss her cheek now.
“You can check to see if there are any clues in the box.” Huo Shaoheng reluctantly let go of her, then got up to get very well-fitting latex gloves for Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi took off her baggy plastic gloves and exchanged them for a creamy white pair of latex gloves that were so thin and naturally fitting they felt like a second layer of skin. She began to look through the box.
The contents inside were organized neatly, and from first glance, it appeared to be divided into handwritten transcripts and letters.
The handwritten notes were rather messy and consisted of formulas and diagrams she couldn’t understand. However, they were neatly bound and numbered in order.
The letters were divided into two main categories. The first category was stored in a large brown envelope, and the other type was placed in a regular envelope with stamps on them.
The letters in the brown envelope were all copies of ones Gu Xiangwen had written to Ishihara Baisan.
The letters in the regular envelope were ones Ishihara Baisan wrote for Gu Xiangwen. These are all originals with stamps on them.
Gu Nianzhi predicted that Gu Xiangwen probably had a habit of keeping everything on file. He made copies of letters he sent to other people.
This was probably one of the strange habits that scientists had.
From the dates written on the letters, this should’ve been from before they went to college in the United States.
In other words, these two men knew each other before they went to college.
Gu Xiangwen randomly took out two of Gu Xiangwen’s letters from the brown envelope.
The contents of the letters consisted of academic discussions about magnetic fields.
They were written in English, and even though Gu Nianzhi knew every word, she had no idea what it meant when all the terms were linked together.
Various physical terms emerged one after another, yet she didn’t know what to make of it.
However, the English handwriting seemed to look very familiar…
Gu Nianzhi’s interest was piqued, so she took out all the letters inside and opened them one by one.
All the letters were in English. Not a single one was in Chinese.
The handwriting flowed beautifully.
“…Huo Shao, don’t you think this handwriting looks a bit familiar?” Gu Nianzhi felt very curious as she placed one of Gu Xiangwen’s letters in Huo Shaoheng’s hands.
Huo Shaoheng also wore opaque latex gloves.
He accepted it and took a look, his eyes focusing. “Nianzhi, you remember the note Reinitz gave you last time?”
Gu Nianzhi cried out, slapping her head. “I remember now! This handwriting looks just like the one on Reinitz’s note.”
…