"Dad, you're here."
Lin Beichen felt a warmth in his heart and a sting in his nose.
A child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer here!
In his past life, he regretted not cherishing the time he had with his parents, and now seeing such a scene deeply moved him.
"What, you didn't want me to come?"
Lin Xiangdong quickly walked over to Lin Beichen, glanced him up and down to make sure he was okay, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, his sight finally took in the surroundings, and he noticed the ancient tree that was still burning.
"What's going on here?"
Lin Xiangdong looked perplexed, but his hands were not idle. He had already opened an umbrella over Lin Beichen as he spoke.
Lin Beichen didn't take the umbrella, instead pushing it towards his father before taking the other umbrella from his hand and opening it. Only then did he say, "A bolt of lightning just struck."
Lin Xiangdong: ??????
He was initially touched by Lin Beichen's action, thinking his son had really grown up and matured, but now he was completely baffled.
Struck by lightning??
A bolt of lightning that hit so close to his son?
Lin Xiangdong instinctively looked up at the sky.
By now, the sky was clearing up; a gentle breeze was blowing, and a light drizzle was falling.
But even so...
He didn't want to stay on this mountaintop for a second longer.
Who knows if another bolt might come down again soon!
Er... well, only the heavens know!
Lin Xiangdong patted Lin Beichen on the shoulder and said, "Alright, son, let's hurry home."
"Mm."
The thunderstorm was almost over, so there wasn't much point for Lin Beichen to stay. Besides, he knew he couldn't stick around even if he wanted to, so he might as well accept it rather than resist!
He walked side by side with his father.
The two umbrellas got closer and closer as their two figures gradually disappeared from the mountaintop, leaving only the crackling of the burning ancient tree and the fading sound of their conversation wafting up from below.
"Son, how could you run off without a word early in the morning? Do you know how worried your mom and I were!"
"I know, I know, I realize my mistake, there won't be a next time... no, there won't be any next time!"
"Good that you understand. When we get home, make sure to tell your mom the same thing. Oh, by the way, son, show me the page with your high school exam scores. It's not that your dad doesn't believe you got full marks in all subjects, I just want to see what the full marks page looks like. Yes, that page, just hold the umbrella for me while I take a picture to show Uncle Li. He's always subtly bragging about his son after having a few drinks!"
"..."
"Son, tell me, how did you do it? At the third mock exam, your score was so bad I was embarrassed to attend the parent-teacher conference. Then, in just over a month, you became the first person in high school exam history to get full marks in every subject?"
"..."
"Son, why did you suddenly start researching Thunder? Why are you so obsessed with Thunder? Do you want to become a scientist? That's got to be it, right? No question about it!"
"..."
"..."
Lin Xiangdong, who left home with the fantastic news, had too many questions along the way and kept asking non-stop on the way home.
Lin Beichen initially answered him, but as the questions piled up and became increasingly difficult to answer, he decided that silence is golden.
By the time they got home, it was almost noon.
Lin's mom, who had already finished giving her interview, wasn't as talkative as Lin's dad. She fussed over the father and son briefly, and after Lin's dad finished his interview, she led Lin's dad back into the house after handing their son over to a provincial TV reporter.
"Did you say anything to him when you brought him back?"
"What did you talk about on the way back?"
"What was he doing on the mountaintop?"
"..."
Zheng Xia's questioning could be faintly heard from inside the house.
Lin Qian and Lin Beichen sat across from each other and couldn't help but smile at each other.
Lin Qian asked, "Are you ready?"
She had given Lin Beichen the interview questions in advance to prepare.
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Then let's begin."
Lin Qian nodded at the cameraman, and as soon as he signaled "OK," the interview officially began.
It was clear how much importance they attached to the high school exam's first-ever full-mark candidate, as the questions were thorough and covered every aspect.
Question after question, the time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the interview was nearing its end.
Lin Qian began asking the most critical questions.
"Lin, as the first-ever full-mark candidate, you can choose any top university in the country. Do you have a preferred university in mind?"
Lin Beichen shook his head and said, "I haven't considered my choices yet."
"In that case, we'll eagerly await your final decision and see which school our top scorer chooses."
Lin Qian smiled professionally and then continued to question, "Lin, during the third mock exam, your scores were less than ideal, placing you at the bottom of your grade. How did you become the top scorer in such a short time? Do you have any study techniques?"
"What I'm about to say might sound far-fetched to those watching this interview... haha, but I honestly attribute it to innate talent."
When his father had asked him this question on the way back, Lin Beichen had thought about how to explain it to others, as the truth sounded quite incredible.
After much thought...
He decided honesty was the best policy!
One lie would require countless more to sustain.
Too exhausting!
He didn't have the time or energy to keep up the facade.
In the end, the high school exam was just an experiment to test his talent. He didn't care about the scores and had lost interest in studying.
Now, all he wanted was to create his own Cultivation Method!
Lin Qian: ????
What kind of answer was that?
This was completely different from what she had anticipated!
"Lin, do you want to reconsider your answer? We can edit it for you later."
Lin Qian offered politely, but Lin Beichen insisted on his statement. With no other option, she had to continue.
Shortly after, the interview ended.
Lin's dad and mom invited Lin Qian and her team to stay for lunch.
"No, no, we need to rush back to edit the footage. The interview will air along with the other reports by evening."
Lin Qian and her crew quickly packed up their equipment, bid farewell, and left in a hurry.
Washing up and having a meal.
At the dining table, Zheng Xia "showed her true colors," asking even more questions than Lin Xiangdong!
Lin Beichen finally couldn't take it and told them all the answers were in the interview—they should wait to watch it.
After saying that, he quickly scooped a couple of mouthfuls of food and retreated to his bedroom as if escaping.
Not only to avoid more questions from his mom and dad but also because he wanted to grapple with the questions troubling him, requiring a quiet and solitary space for reflection.
"Does chaos truly exist within the human body?"
"Why did the force generating Thunder become chaotic at that moment?"
"..."
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