Chapter 128 Study
As soon as Zhou Yuan arrived, she took on all the chores such as cooking, washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, but when Rong Yuan wanted to teach her how to do an experiment, she was too scared to start.
"I... I can't do it... I don't know how..." Zhou Yuan said with a trembling voice, rubbing her sweaty palms behind her back again and again, not daring to take the test tube that Rong Yuan handed to her.
"I didn't invite you here to be a part-time worker." Rong Yuan's face turned cold and he said unhappily, "You can learn if you don't know how. If you don't even want to learn, then you'd better leave."
He took back the test tube, turned around, poured a dozen milliliters of the reagent from the beaker into the beaker, and ignored Zhou Yuan.
"Learn, learn, learn. I'll learn, I'll learn!" Zhou Yuan said hurriedly, looking at Rong Yuan pitifully. Not to mention the salary, just to be able to stay so close to Rong Yuan, learning to do experiments was nothing, she would not leave even if she was beaten to death.
Rong Yuan glanced at the excited Zhou Yuan suspiciously. Seeing her panic-stricken face and cold sweat, he said, "Just give it a try. I don't have much time for you. If you can't keep up with the learning speed, you don't have to stay."
"Thank you, thank you. I... I will try my best." Zhou Yuan nodded repeatedly. She took the test tube and stared at the light blue liquid inside as if she was looking at a flood or a beast. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Rong Yuan frowned as he saw her holding the test tube in a very stiff position. They had been exposed to chemistry experiments since junior high school. Of course, in Tangguo's grading system that mainly relies on theoretical scores, experiments were not taken seriously, but they were not as serious as Zhou Yuan's first experience.
Rong Yuan had no idea that Zhou Yuan's behavior was entirely due to the fact that he was standing right next to him.
After her body movements were no longer so stiff, Rong Yuan began to instruct Zhou Yuan step by step on how to complete the experiment, what conditions to change during repeated experiments, how to keep good records of the experiment, etc. As he spoke, Zhou Yuan lowered her head as she operated under his guidance, and Rong Yuan's face became darker and darker.
He began to wonder if Jin Yang's previous praise of Zhou Yuan was a bit exaggerated.
Jin Yang said that although Zhou Yuan has not focused on her studies during this period, she is a smart girl, and she is serious, careful, generous and hardworking, and will definitely become a good assistant.
What Rong Yuan saw was that the girl was not only clumsy, but also confused, with poor concentration and often lost focus for unknown reasons. Moreover, she did not recognize many reagents and drugs that seemed to him to be common sense, and her experimental operation techniques were not standardized, and she often made small mistakes.
In fact, there are very few high school students who can perform experiments as standardly as Rong Yuan, just like in the textbook. For most students, the most important thing in the experiment is to cultivate interest and observe phenomena, and treat it as a game rather than a rigorous science. Like Zhou Yuan, they only half understand many precautions, such as the heating method of the beaker or evaporating dish, the accuracy of the burette, when the liquid level in the volumetric flask reaches the scale line, how to clean the test tube, etc.
This resulted in Rong Yuan having to correct her four or five times for a simple experimental procedure. Zhou Yuan would not be able to answer most of the questions he asked. Even when she occasionally got something right, she only knew the result but not the reason.
Half an hour passed, and Zhou Yuan made a mistake for the third time when heating the test tube. Rong Yuan was already impatient. He was not a very patient person. If it wasn't for Jin Yang's request, he would have kicked Zhou Yuan out at the beginning. He stared at Zhou Yuan in silence. Zhou Yuan's fat body almost shrank into a ball under his sight, and tears were about to fall.
"You should learn the basics first."
Finally, Rong Yuan left Zhou Yuan and went out alone.
The room was so quiet that one could almost hear the sound of dust falling to the ground. The orange flame of the alcohol lamp licked the bottom of the beaker. Zhou Yuan lowered his head, bit his lip, and tears fell down his face.
…
"You called me on the first day. It seems Zhou Yuan is giving you a headache?"
During the lunch break, Jin Yang had lunch in the school cafeteria and received a call from Rong Yuan. He avoided the teacher's activity area and spoke while leaning against the railing in the corridor.
Hearing the subtle smile in his voice, Rong Yuan said with a dark face: "Did you know it would be like this?"
"Haha, Xiaoyuan, your expectations are too high." Jin Yang refused to admit it and said with a smile, "You have to accept this. Not everyone can memorize the whole book like you. Zhou Yuan's level is just that , and it is inevitable to make mistakes. This is just the beginning, you have to give her some time."
Rong Yuan exhaled deeply and said, "Well, I can tolerate her temporary stupidity, but I don't know how long I can tolerate it."
This answer already made Jin Yang very satisfied. Rong Yuan has never had any patience for "stupid mortals". In his eyes, people who cannot meet his requirements are equivalent to non-existence. He is extremely "arrogant".
"About half a month," Jin Yang said. "After half a month, if you still think Zhou Yuan is not suitable, I will introduce her to a new job."
"You have confidence in her." Rong Yuan said. He knew that Jin Yang meant that Zhou Yuan would definitely get his approval within half a month.
"Because I saw how she got through this period. Zhou Yuan's resilience is beyond your imagination." Jin Yang said, "Where did you leave her alone? How is Zhou Yuan now?"
"Anyway, it's quite exciting."
Rong Yuan thought back to the time before. Zhou Yuan became more and more hesitant, as if she felt that everything she did would be wrong. She didn't even dare to look him in the eye. Rong Yuan was also irritated by her clumsiness. For a moment, he forgot Jin Yang's entrustment. Although he didn't say a single bad word, his tone was as cold as ice. Now thinking back to the girl's last expression, it was as if he was some kind of demon in front of him.
He said with a guilty conscience: "Isn't that too much?"
His voice was very low, but Jin Yang on the other end of the line still heard it. He smiled and said, "No. If you don't use a heavy hammer to hit the drum, she won't be able to see her own problems."
After a pause, Jin Yang said again: "Thank you, Xiaoyuan."
"no need."
"If it was my own business, I wouldn't have to thank you. But this time I wanted to help her, but I asked you to spend your time. I know you have no interest in these things, so I'm glad you're willing to help... Thank you."
Rong Yuan's expression softened, and after a moment of silence, he said again: "It's not necessary."
…
Zhou Yuan cried so hard, she was very sad, because she clearly felt that the person he liked looked down on her, not because of her appearance or dress like others did, nor because of her family, but because of her intelligence and her attitude towards work.
Zhou Yuan was used to being looked down upon. She had become so invulnerable to those contemptuous looks and rumors that she had become almost iron-skinned. But when that look came from Rong Yuan, it easily hurt her.
After crying for a long time, Zhou Yuan wiped her tears and picked up the test tube that Rong Yuan had left in anger, preparing to recall what Rong Yuan had just said. But before her hand touched the test tube, a picture suddenly flashed through her mind.
When Rong Yuan was teaching her the experimental steps or correcting her posture, some physical contact was inevitable. When she was sitting at the table using a glass rod to drain the fluid, the angle and position were wrong. Rong Yuan, who was standing behind her, leaned down impatiently, grabbed her hand and corrected it. His warm breath sprayed behind her ears, and his slightly cool fingers pressed on her hand. The two people's skin colors were one white and one black, with a sharp contrast.
Zhou Yuan subconsciously shuddered all over, and both volumetric flasks were knocked over, with the solution flowing everywhere. Fortunately, it was not a dangerous reagent and it only needed to be cleaned up. However, Rong Yuan's face was still extremely ugly at the time, as if he wanted to throw her out immediately.
Thinking back now, Zhou Yuan forgot Rong Yuan's anger at that time, but clearly remembered the feeling of skin touching skin at that moment. She snorted, covered her burning face and squatted down, unable to stand up for a long time.
…
After the disastrous first day, Rong Yuan ignored Zhou Yuan for two or three days. Zhou Yuan did not bother him again, but took out her junior high school textbooks and started learning the basics of experiments from the beginning. After she had memorized everything in the textbooks, she practiced the operation of several experimental instruments and practiced simple experiments in the textbooks.
Zhou Yuan didn’t actually have many books of her own. She had sold all her old books, and most of these books belonged to Rong Yuan. Rong Yuan had a lot of books, and Jin Yang helped him get them all when they moved. But in fact, Rong Yuan had basically memorized all these old books, so he didn’t take them out, and just packed them up in boxes and stuffed them under the bed. Before Zhou Yuan came this time, Jin Yang squeezed out a space in the small living room and put all the books there. Because the place was small, but the ceiling was high, so at a glance it felt like the books on the bookshelves almost reached the ceiling, and the top books could only be barely reached by standing on a stool. There was also some new books that Rong Yuan had bought that had no place to be placed, so they were piled up in a thick stack next to them.
Zhou Yuan only had about 10 to 20 textbooks and exercise books in total. Looking at this "mountain of books" in front of her, one can imagine how she felt. Rong Yuan had a good habit of reading. Many of his books looked brand new, but once they were opened, there were many notes and thoughts neatly written in the blank spaces. In some places, there were also questions that Rong Yuan had when reading. Later, when he got the answers, he would write down the answers. With his personality, he would find a lot of faults in many authors and write bitter sarcasm on them. Zhou Yuan always thought that Rong Yuan was taciturn. This was the first time she knew that he had such a side. Just looking at those notes, she sometimes couldn't help laughing, but more often, she admired Rong Yuan and felt inferior to him.
No one's success is achieved overnight. She and many other people thought Rong Yuan was very smart, very smart, as if he could easily achieve what others dared not even think of without doing anything. But now looking at these books in front of her, it was not difficult for her to imagine his efforts.
She saw with her own eyes that Rong Yuan didn't spend much time reading every day, usually only about an hour. But during this time, his reading efficiency and gains far exceeded those who spent one or two months reading a book. He didn't read for the sake of reading, but was really focused on absorbing knowledge and thinking attentively. She was beside him, and even slowed down her breathing, for fear of disturbing him.
Zhou Yuan really settled down, not for the sake of being respected by others, not for the job and the salary, but because she really wanted to learn something. She had never been so eager for knowledge and to enrich her brain like this before.
