Feng Pojun pushed up his glasses, murmuring softly to himself.

After a long moment, the young man with the buzz cut finally spoke up. "Young Master, do you need me to take care of him?"

Feng Pojun pondered for a moment before finally shaking his head. "No matter what, he protected Yuanyuan at the Rolling Stone Bar. The consequences would have been unthinkable otherwise. For that alone, his life can be spared."

He continued, "Yuanyuan will be heading to the Imperial Capital to study soon. As long as Xia Liang knows his place, I can pretend I never saw any of this."

The buzz-cut youth said no more, though he felt a profound sense of helplessness. As one of the most powerful figures in the Dragon Country, what kind of woman couldn't the Young Master have? But he was obsessed, as if possessed, wanting no one but Tian Yuanyuan. Even a fool could see she had taken a fancy to that rideshare driver, yet he stubbornly pretended nothing had happened. How does that song go again? If you don't water your own lawn, someone else will.

...

For the average working person, this morning was no different from any other. For the entertainment industry, however, it was a magnitude ten earthquake.

The source was a blurry, shaky video. It was only a few seconds long, but one could still make out a young man holding a young woman's hand, shielding her behind him.

Tian Yuanyuan! Xia Liang! What defines a top-tier celebrity? It's when she so much as farts, and the entire world speculates whether it smelled like jasmine or roses. So it was an even bigger deal when, after her concert, she was seen acting intimately with a man in a bar—a man who happened to be the equally popular Black Flash.

In a short time, all the major websites were flooded. Online onlookers eagerly speculated about the nature of their relationship. Everyone awaited an official statement, but by noon, Tian Yuanyuan's PR department acted as if they were on a collective vacation. There wasn't even a peep.

This silence only fueled wilder speculation, and all sorts of so-called insider information spread like wildfire online. There were claims that the two were distant cousins, childhood sweethearts, or that they'd attended the same elementary school. It was a veritable carnival for the entertainment world.

Countless paparazzi swarmed Qingyun City, beginning a city-wide, systematic search.

As one of the people at the center of it all, Xia Liang felt quite helpless. By a certain reservoir, Tian Yuanyuan was sitting in the driver's seat of the Black Knight, mimicking the roar of the engine with her mouth.

"You don't have the guts to actually take it for a spin, so you just sit here daydreaming. Is that any fun?"

Tian Yuanyuan pouted. "I can't even ride a bicycle, and you want me to drive a motorcycle? You're so heartless! What if I fall? Won't you feel bad?"

"Of course I'd feel bad," Xia Liang nodded emphatically. "I don't even know where I'd get the paint touched up if it got scratched."

Her heart warmed at his first sentence, but what was that last part about? Tian Yuanyuan felt wronged. "So you only care about the Black Knight, not me? We're a couple now, you know."

"That's not true, I was the one being pursued—hey! Why are you crying? I was just teasing you."

Seeing her tears stream down like beads on a string, Xia Liang chuckled and reached out to stroke her head. "I never realized you had the potential to be an award-winning actress. Tears don't just fall on command like that. Maybe you should try acting?"

Tian Yuanyuan's small fists pounded on Xia Liang's chest as she said fiercely, "I'm going to call Sister K right now and tell her to accept any acting job she can find. Especially ones with kissing scenes and bed scenes—I'll take them all!"

"Damn!" Xia Liang was aghast. "How can you say something so outrageous so casually? While you're at it, put in a good word for me. Ask if I can be the male lead. I was an excellent tree back in my kindergarten play."

Tian Yuanyuan burst into laughter through her tears. She had wanted to put on a stern face to scare him, but his words completely disarmed her. After she had finished both crying and laughing, she leaned forward and hugged the man she had known for less than a day but was already incredibly fond of.

"I'm going to Shangjing soon."

"Then go and study hard. Try to earn a few more little red flowers," Xia Liang said, smiling as he stroked her silky hair.

"Long-distance relationships… I hear they're really tough."

"Just come back whenever you have time."

At that moment, Xia Liang suddenly recalled the young man he saw chasing the high-speed train. A certain phrase stuck in his mind: the boyfriend calls, and the girlfriend starts messing around.

Holy shit! The implications were terrifying. Tian Yuanyuan came up with a brilliant idea.

"Why don't you come to the Imperial Capital, too? You have to drive for Didi anyway, and you can do that anywhere."

However, Xia Liang shook his head. When Tian Yuanyuan eventually left for the capital, Xia Liang did not go with her.

One night, after his usual video call with Tian Yuanyuan, Xia Liang was getting ready to take a bath and go to bed when his phone suddenly rang.

"Brother Lu, why are you calling so late?"

"Right now? It's almost midnight. Can't we discuss this over the phone? Or I can come to the compound tomorrow morning after my Didi runs."

"Alright, alright, calm down. I'm getting up now."

After hanging up, Xia Liang cursed under his breath as he got dressed and headed out, thankful the call hadn't come during one of his "battles." Although Lu Chuang was a decisive man, he always valued propriety. For him to summon Xia Liang to the compound in the middle of the night with such an urgent tone meant that something major must have happened.

But what did this have to do with me? Could the Guo Family be making a move on the Lu Family? Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor. If they had a problem, they should have come straight for me. Lost in thought, Xia Liang drove the Black Knight to the compound.

At this hour, any stranger trying to approach would be dealt with swiftly by the sentries on duty, whose rifles were all loaded. Xia Liang, however, entered the compound without any trouble, guessing that the Lu Family had given prior instructions. The lights in the Lu Family's two-story house were burning brightly.

The door was opened by the Lu family matriarch. Her face was as kind as ever, yet her eyes were filled with deep worry.

The living room was quite crowded. Three generations of the Lu Family were seated on the sofas. The biggest surprise was that Xiao Qianxi was also there. Hadn't she returned to Shangjing?

"Brother Xia, you're here. Don't be a stranger, have a seat," Lu Chuang said, a cigarette between his fingers. The ashtray in front of him was overflowing with butts.

Xia Liang sat down tentatively on the edge of a sofa and remained silent. The atmosphere was incredibly strange; everyone wore faces as grim as if they were at a funeral.

Lu Chuang stubbed out his cigarette. "The situation is urgent, so I'll get straight to the point. Brother Xia, we need you to take a trip to New Gold Mountain."

"Gold Mountain? That's in America, right? Why would you want me to go abroad in the middle of the night? I have Didi runs to make." Xia Liang had not expected this at all.

"Sigh, since it has come to this, I won't hide it from you any longer," Lu Chuang said with a sigh. "My father is a researcher, and so is my daughter. Their fields are different, but the importance is the same. Chaoge, you explain."

Lu Chaoge nodded. "Mister Xia, I'm sure you've been curious about my research. Unfortunately, I don't work on atomic bombs. My field is controlled nuclear fusion."

Holy shit! Forgive my lack of culture, but "Holy shit!" was the only phrase that fit.

Upon hearing "controlled nuclear fusion," that was the only way Xia Liang could describe his shock. If this technology could be peacefully harnessed, Blue Star's energy resources would become inexhaustible. All societal problems stemming from energy shortages would be completely solved, and the standard of living would improve dramatically. Things like seawater desalination and interstellar travel would become child's play. Whichever country mastered it first would become the undisputed strongest power on Blue Star.

Xia Liang blinked. "You guys have already achieved controlled nuclear fusion?"

Lu Chaoge shook her head helplessly. "Not yet. There's still a long road ahead before we achieve the desired results."

Xia Liang immediately rolled his eyes. This technology was available in the System's store for just 500 Work Points.

However... Xia Liang had no intention of buying it. Damn, that was a whole five hundred Work Points. He'd have to complete more than ten tasks to earn that back. And most importantly, even if he bought it, how would he give it to them? Say he just found it? Was that even plausible? If he sent it to them anonymously, he wouldn't get any credit for it and would still be out 500 Work Points. A total loss.

Without Xia Liang, humanity would likely need several more decades to truly master controlled nuclear fusion.

"To overcome the various challenges, we first need an experimental foundation," Lu Chaoge explained. "Most countries use tokamak-style devices for their research. We recently had a breakthrough that allowed us to design the Third Generation Circulator Model M, which can increase the plasma current from 3 mega-amperes to 7 mega-amperes."

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