Chapter Thirty-Eight: An Unexpected Delight

By the time they finished packing, dusk had already settled, but without hesitation, the group set out under the cover of night to return to the Second Institute.

Upon entering the institute, the director originally intended to send the two colleagues borrowed from the First Institute directly to the guesthouse. However, by some twist of fate, he had the driver take a detour through the office area. Noticing that a single office upstairs was still lit, he immediately instructed the driver to stop and invited the two to get out.

“All right, we’ll drop our comrade off here. Here’s a supper voucher for the cafeteria—after such a long day, you must be hungry. Go get something to eat.”

The driver, a young man retired from the military, had a hearty appetite. After a night of driving, he was indeed quite hungry. He accepted the ticket with a smile, unloaded their belongings, then drove off toward the Second Institute’s cafeteria.

Yang Yue was quick-witted and more informed than most. Seeing the lights still burning above, she immediately understood. A knowing smile played on her lips; she’d never seen Yang Hui at work before, and now, she would. Moreover, she could give him a pleasant surprise.

Xiao Bo had learned a bit about the project on the way, but still couldn’t quite grasp what Director Bai was planning. He could only follow as Director Bai led the way upstairs.

“Forgive the late hour, but you’re young, so it shouldn’t matter. Later, I’ll treat everyone to supper in the cafeteria.”

He asked them to leave their things at the foot of the stairs, then led the way to the third floor. It was late, but since Yang Hui and his team were still working overtime, it was a good chance to introduce the newcomers, as there would be other matters to attend to the next day.

Yang Yue, full of anticipation, hurried after him, barely bothering to set down her bag, which toppled onto the floor. Fortunately, it was packed in a sack. Xiao Bo quickly picked it up, sensing it was a quilt; thinking the floor damp, he placed it atop his own luggage with a smile, then followed them upstairs.

“You probably don’t know the details yet. I’ll explain soon. First, let’s visit the propulsion system project team upstairs, and I’ll introduce you…”

As they reached the third floor, Yang Yue darted ahead before Director Bai could finish, spotting the only office with a light on and striding toward it. Director Bai, knowing she was Director Yang’s granddaughter and that it was after hours, had no reason to be annoyed.

Behind them, Xiao Bo sensed something—an air of danger.

The door to the office was ajar. Inside, several young researchers were absorbed in their work. Scanning the room, Yang Yue instantly spotted a familiar figure: Yang Hui, his back to her. Quietly, she stepped behind him to see what he was doing. Though Yang Hui hadn’t noticed her, Yang Yue didn’t interrupt his intense concentration; instead, she paused to watch him.

Yang Hui was busy calculating a differential equation when he sensed a feminine presence that didn’t belong in the office. After spending so much time together on the train from the capital, he recognized the scent immediately. Almost instinctively, he called out, “Yang Yue.” Though he couldn’t fathom why she was here, it didn’t matter—he was certain it was her.

He looked up, and sure enough, it was Yang Yue. Their eyes met.

“What brings you here? It’s been dark for ages.”

“I came to help you. Isn’t your model aircraft still missing its airframe?” she replied, crossing her arms, a slight smile curling her lips.

Their conversation naturally drew the attention of everyone else in the office. Looking up, they were astounded—a beautiful woman had come to see Yang Hui.

“Perfect timing. The whole project team is here. I have some matters to discuss.” Leading Xiao Bo inside, Director Bai was pleased to see the entire team present. With such dedication, success seemed within reach.

With the director present, there was no chance to gossip about Yang Hui and the mysterious woman. Still, the office buzzed with curiosity; who says scientists lack social skills? In truth, they were just math-and-science types. The stereotype of awkward engineers wasn’t unfounded, and the team was already showing signs of it. None of them had much experience with romance, so their curiosity was keen.

“Let me introduce—this is Xiao Bo, and the woman beside Yang Hui is Yang Yue. Both are borrowed from the First Institute and will be working with us on the model aircraft project.”

Director Bai introduced Xiao Bo, then gestured to Yang Yue beside Yang Hui. He moved quickly, cutting straight to the point.

Now the project team understood the newcomers’ purpose, though some were confused. Was the First Institute so flush with personnel that they sent two people to check on progress here?

“To clarify, the First Institute’s tasks are quite heavy, so they have no one to spare for airframe development. Instead, these two willing colleagues have been loaned to us. In other words, we’ll have to rely on ourselves for airframe design, with their support.”

Eyes widened, glances exchanged—the entire propulsion system team was stunned. Was this a joke? Asking an engine research institute to design airframes was quite a leap—were they changing fields altogether?

Yang Hui was equally astonished, looking at Yang Yue beside him, wondering if he’d misunderstood.

He whispered, “Is this real? The First Institute has no one for this?”

“What do you think? If not for you, I wouldn’t have bothered with this at all.”

Seeing Yang Hui’s disbelief, Yang Yue hurried to clarify—she didn’t want him thinking she’d come running just for him; that had to be made clear.

Now understanding the situation, Yang Hui found it troublesome. With only two from the First Institute, plus himself with some aerodynamics expertise, they had just three people familiar with airframe design. Creating a design in two months would be a real challenge.

Two from the First Institute—wait, two? At least one must be a volunteer for the glorious model aircraft cause. “Yue Yue, was Xiao Bo a volunteer?”

Yang Hui’s question amused her. Did he really think someone would volunteer for this toy project?

“Come on, do you really think your adult toy project could attract volunteers? Let me tell you, Xiao Bo came for love.”

As a woman, she couldn’t resist boasting that a man had followed her for her sake, even though she didn’t much like Xiao Bo. She enjoyed teasing Yang Hui.

Yet Yang Hui, lacking social intuition, failed to catch her implication. He actually thought Xiao Bo had come for a female colleague, and racked his brain for any single women of the same age in the institute—after much thought, he was certain there were none.

“I don’t think there are any single female colleagues here,” he muttered quietly.

Though he spoke softly, Yang Yue heard him and was exasperated—he really was clueless.

Ignoring his muttering, Xiao Bo, seeing Yang Hui and Yang Yue together, was so frustrated he was nearly in tears. Wasn’t this unfair? He’d come just to see the one he liked, only to find her whispering with another man. He was so angry he could almost see sparks.

“All right, introductions are done. To welcome our colleagues from the First Institute, let’s go to the cafeteria for supper. Consider it a small gesture. Everyone, tidy up and let’s go—work’s over.”

The generous director agreed to spend institute funds on a meal for everyone. Even if it was just supper, it was a rare and happy luxury.

No more overtime—a quick tidy-up, and everyone cheerfully closed the office and headed out, stealing glances at Yang Hui and Yang Yue as they went. It was a pleasing sight. Only Xiao Bo was annoyed, but for now, he had no excuse to break them apart.

Finally, they reached the first floor and saw a pile of luggage. Xiao Bo’s mind raced—at last, he had an idea. He quickly overtook the others and reached the luggage pile, pulling out their bags.

“Here, Yang Yue, this is your luggage. Come help carry it.”

That should separate them, he thought.

Seeing Xiao Bo call Yang Yue to fetch her luggage, Yang Hui couldn’t let her go alone. He immediately went to help, and Yang Yue, as expected, let Yang Hui carry the heavier bag. Watching this, Xiao Bo was filled with regret—was he just helping Yang Hui impress her?