PCJ – Chapter 604 The Mad Scientist

Zhang Jiaohua gave Mei Qing a very unique impression. Although young, he had an air of depth that was hard to see through. Anyone who declared they could graduate college in just one year was either a lunatic or a genius among geniuses. And it would be one thing if this were an ordinary university—but this one was far from simple.

“Senior Sister Mei, why don’t you have your student prepare these things for you?” asked Ma Nanli, a second-year master’s student under Professor Huang Zhongfang. He had only recently joined the lab and had just started his own experiments. When he first entered the lab, like Zhang Jiaohua, he spent many days washing bottles and handling miscellaneous tasks. Only once he became proficient in basic lab skills did he begin his own research.

“My experiment ran into some issues and needs adjustments. I’m taking a short break. How’s your progress going, Ma?” Mei Qing smiled.

Talking about his own experiment immediately lifted Ma Nanli’s spirits. “Senior Sister Mei, thanks to your guidance, I avoided a lot of detours. Today’s experiment went very smoothly. At this rate, I should have results soon—enough for a paper in a standard journal, at least.”

“Don’t rush to submit it. You’ll have to pass Professor Huang’s review first. Our lab has standards for impact factor. If it’s too low, it’s meaningless. Try digging deeper—craft it into a complete story. You might get a good paper out of it. That would be really beneficial for your future.” Mei Qing advised.

“Of course, I’m in no hurry. I plan to dive deeper and thoroughly build out the material system,” Ma Nanli replied, excited by Mei Qing’s interest in his project.

“Good. You go ahead. I’ve gathered all the reagents I need. Let’s see if that guy needs anything else,” Mei Qing said, carrying a tray of chemicals to the lab bench.

Ma Nanli thought, Who is Senior Sister Mei gathering reagents for? Could Professor Huang himself be working in the lab?

He had been in the lab since his first year of grad school and had never seen Professor Huang do hands-on experiments. Rumor had it that Huang had once been a lab prodigy, but as his responsibilities grew, his lab appearances dwindled. Now, he rarely did experiments himself. It was just how things were—without networking and external connections, getting funding was almost impossible. Maintaining such a large team required continuous research projects.

Curious, Ma Nanli paused his own work and followed Mei Qing to her side of the lab.

She placed the basket of reagents in front of Zhang Jiaohua. “These are all the chemicals we have in the lab. I’ll place an order for the rest—they should arrive soon.”

Zhang Jiaohua glanced at the reagents and nodded. He set them aside and began preparing his mixtures.

Ma Nanli was shocked. Mei Qing never let others prepare even basic reagents for her, worried that any errors might ruin the experiment and be hard to trace. But now, Zhang Jiaohua was doing it all himself. That meant these reagents weren’t for Mei Qing—they were for Zhang Jiaohua’s own project.

He’s doing his own experiments already? But he just joined the lab! Would Professor Huang even approve of this?

“Senior Sister Mei,” Ma Nanli called out.

“Hmm?” Mei Qing was about to help prepare a culture medium Zhang had requested.

“Why is Zhang Jiaohua doing his own project already? Does Professor Huang know?”

“Of course. He approved it,” Mei Qing nodded.

“…What?” Ma Nanli’s face was full of disbelief.

“Oh right, you should let Zhang Jiaohua take a look at your experiment plan. He’s read a ton of material and has an eidetic memory. He might catch issues that could save you a lot of time.” Mei Qing’s tone was sincere—she was completely immersed in her love for research.

“Have him review my plan?” Ma Nanli could hardly believe his ears. Zhang was just a freshman! And he himself was a second-year graduate student. Was this appropriate?

But Mei Qing didn’t notice Ma’s reaction. “Thanks to Zhang Jiaohua, I avoided a major setback in my project.”

Wait a second, Ma Nanli thought. Earlier she said her project had issues. Could it be… Zhang Jiaohua spotted them? Mei Qing was known for solving problems others couldn’t. If even she was thankful to this freshman, then maybe… he really was something else.

Zhang Jiaohua, like a programmed robot, repeated every step with precision, mixing chemicals to match exact standards. He worked fast too. After standing at the bench for nearly two hours, the entire counter was filled with neatly prepared reagents.

Mei Qing and Ma Nanli watched the entire time. While Zhang remained focused and tireless, the two spectators already felt sore from standing.

Mei Qing finally grabbed a stool and sat down, followed by Ma Nanli.

“Is this guy really from your class?” Ma Nanli couldn’t help but ask.

“Without a doubt,” Mei Qing smiled faintly. Having such a monstrous student was a huge pressure. Zhang Jiaohua constantly amazed her, leaving her feeling both proud and overwhelmed.

“I give up. I better stop watching—this is too demoralizing. Once he’s free, I’ll show him my project for review,” Ma Nanli said, realizing that comparisons only led to self-inflicted pain.

Zhang continued working intensely for several more hours. At some point, the lab lights had turned on—it was dark outside. He had completely lost track of time.

Mei Qing stayed too. She was a lab addict herself, often working through meals. Sometimes she’d just eat instant noodles to stay in the lab longer. Pulling all-nighters wasn’t unusual for her. But Zhang’s relentless pace was still beyond anything she’d ever seen.

When Zhang finally finished all his reagent prep, he noticed the lab lights had all turned on and it was completely dark outside.

“Professor Mei, you haven’t left yet?” he asked, surprised that it was already past 8 p.m.

“Zhang Jiaohua, some reagents don’t need to be prepared all at once, especially if your experiments are staged. If they sit too long, their quality may degrade. You should prepare them during downtime in your experiments to be more efficient. Also, working for such long stretches raises the risk of mistakes,” Mei Qing advised bluntly.

Zhang nodded. “I was just excited—it’s my first day working on my own project.”

Mei Qing smiled. She had been the same way once.

“You’re probably too late for the dining hall. I know a place with good food. Come on, I’ll take you. You might be eating there often,” Mei Qing said.

Zhang nodded, washed up, took off his lab coat, and followed her out of the building.

The campus was calm and quiet, a contrast to the noisy city outside. Mei Qing led him to a small alley outside the university.

“This place doesn’t look like much, but it’s well known among us. Especially for those of us who miss dinner hours,” she said.

They found a table and sat down. “Waiter!”

“Do you like spicy food? I remember you’re from the south,” she asked.

“Spicy or not, I’m used to it,” Zhang replied casually.

“Alright, I’ll order then.” Mei Qing chose four dishes.

The restaurant wasn’t crowded. Soon the dishes arrived.

“Want something to drink?” Mei Qing asked.

“Whatever you’re having,” Zhang replied.

“Two beers, please,” Mei Qing said.

Zhang glanced at her.

Mei Qing laughed, “After long lab sessions, a little drink helps unwind. Go home, sleep it off—you’ll forget the exhaustion.”

“I’ll give it a try,” Zhang nodded.

Just then, a group of people emerged from a nearby private room. One of them saw their table and stopped.

“Huh? Isn’t that Mei Qing?” said the speaker, Sun Huachuan—a fellow PhD student from the same year as Mei Qing, though under a different advisor. The two men with him were Fu Rong and Zhu Wenwu. There were also two women: one was Sun’s girlfriend, a junior master’s student from his lab; the other, Fu Rong’s girlfriend, was an undergrad he met at an English corner.

Fu Rong whispered to Zhu Wenwu, “That guy looks handsome—and young.”

Zhu Wenwu frowned. “Might be a relative.”

“Let’s go say hi,” Sun Huachuan took the lead.

“Mei Qing! Eating here too?” Sun Huachuan greeted, eyes on Zhang.

“Yeah, you guys too? What a coincidence.” Mei Qing stood and smiled politely.

“Who’s this?” Sun Huachuan asked.

“This is a junior from our lab—just joined.”

“Professor Huang’s grad student?” Zhu Wenwu asked.

“No, a freshman. Today was his first lab day. Missed dinner, so I brought him here to eat and get familiar with the place,” Mei Qing explained.

“Impressive—already doing lab work in your first year? Helping Mei with experiments?” Sun Huachuan asked.

“No, he’s doing his own project,” Mei Qing replied.

“Oh, that’s amazing. I’m Sun Huachuan. Let’s talk more sometime,” Sun Huachuan said, realizing Zhang Jiaohua had serious backing if he was approved by Professor Huang Zhongfang.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Zhang Jiaohua. I hope to learn from all of you,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“In the lab, we’re all just brothers. No need to be formal. I’m Fu Rong—our lab’s upstairs from yours. Come by anytime,” Fu Rong smiled.

Zhu Wenwu was still surprised. “He’s really a freshman?”

“Of course. I’m his class advisor,” Mei Qing nodded.

“I was still playing around in freshman year, and he’s already doing research. Comparing is painful,” Zhu Wenwu said with a bitter laugh.

“Exactly. We spent our first semester visiting every tourist site in the city,” Fu Rong added.

Huang Yafang laughed, “No way—I need to up my game starting tomorrow. This junior is putting real pressure on us!”

Huang Runfang added shyly, “I’m a senior and haven’t even started real experiments. And he’s doing research in the graduate lab already.”

“Want to join us?” Mei Qing offered.

“No thanks, we’ve already eaten. Let’s get together another time. Oh, and your meal tonight’s on us,” Zhu Wnewu said.

“No need, I’ve got it covered,” Mei Qing quickly declined. She knew their treat would ultimately be billed to the lab’s project funds—and she didn’t want that. Her family background was decent, and she could afford her own meals.

“Alright, see you around,” Sun Huachuan and the others said, and left.