Chapter 20: Deception (Please Bookmark)_1

Yang Dong stumbled into the house, and Lian Jiangyu followed right in without being noticed.

She sat blankly at her desk, as if she had lost her soul.

Jiang Yu hurriedly dialed Shi Qiang's number, "Da Shi, is there a psychologist among those protecting Yang Dong?"

"Is Yang Dong really going to commit suicide?" Shi Qiang answered with a question not pertinent to the issue at hand.

Jiang Yu glanced out of the window, "Are you outside?"

"No, my colleagues reported in the past couple of days that Yang Dong has received one piece of despairing news after another. You suddenly asking this makes me guess that she does have suicidal tendencies."

With a sigh, Shi Qiang said, "You cultural people are too psychologically fragile! It's just a few experimental results, why the drive to live or die over it?"

Jiang Yu took another look at Yang Dong in the room, still in a daze, and then told Shi Qiang, "Da Shi, what would you think if one day you suddenly discovered that all the criminals you've caught were wronged?"

"I wouldn't waste any time releasing them, what's there to think about!"

"I..." Jiang Yu chuckled, "I shouldn't have debated this with you. Just get someone in to talk Yang Dong out of it."

Shi Qiang was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Brother, Yang Dong's mood must be very unstable right now. Bringing strangers to her door, she would only die faster.

"Besides, we've got intel that Ye Wenjie will be returning to the country soon, she might come home at any moment. If she sees the police there, it could spook her!"

Jiang Yu said with some urgency, "I'll just say I called the police."

"If someone wants to kill themself, they should dial 119."

Jiang Yu said impatiently, "Then I'll dial 119 right now."

"Brother, don't rush!" Shi Qiang quickly advised, "If someone is about to jump off a building, firefighters have plenty of ways to deal with it.

"For someone like Yang Dong who just has suicidal tendencies, all they can do is suggest seeing a psychologist, or tell the family to watch her closely."

As Jiang Yu paced back and forth, he asked, "So what should I do?"

"Isn't that why you are there! She's more familiar with you, and more likely to take in what you say," the sound of Shi Qiang lighting a cigarette came through, as if he had lit up, "The most appropriate response is, I'll help you analyze her psychological state, and you persuade her to give up on suicide."

Jiang Yu took another look at Yang Dong, who continued to stare blankly.

After thinking for a moment and seeing some sense in Da Shi's words, Jiang Yu asked, "So what should I do now?"

"Talk to her!" Shi Qiang instructed, "But don't try to persuade her directly; any attempt at persuasion will only have the opposite effect at this time.

"Just make casual conversation. As long as she's willing to vent the frustrations in her heart, there's still hope.

"Then you can address what she says and try to counsel her.

"Remember not to let her feel like you're persuading her. Make your advice sound smooth and ingenious, not too blunt.

"If you don't know what to say, then tell a story. As you go along, you'll find your way."

Jiang Yu took the advice to heart, hung up the phone, and went to Yang Dong's room.

Yang Dong's room had a strong forest scent, its walls covered with strips of brown bark, three stools were simple tree stumps, and the desk was made out of three larger stumps put together.

Jiang Yu sat on a tree stump-shaped stool and asked softly, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Yang Dong didn't respond.

Jiang Yu continued, "Shall I order some takeout? What would you like to eat?"

"Not hungry," Yang Dong said, her eyes void of focus.

This simple response was very encouraging to Jiang Yu; having the desire to communicate was a good sign.

He hurriedly searched for another topic, "When you gave me a gift last time, Teacher Ding Yi must have been jealous. Should you explain it to him when you have the chance?"

Yang Dong's expression was untouched as she said, "I know, no need to explain."

Then, it seemed she remembered something very important, her eyes lighting up as she grabbed Jiang Yu's hand and asked, "Ding Yi said you are a person with Eastern wisdom. Can you use your knowledge to answer my current question?

"The operation of the most basic physical units turns out to be random."

"So how was the universe formed? Why do we exist? Do we represent order or disorder?

"Are all definitions and theories merely our wishful thinking? Is our previous understanding of the universe all wrong? How should we study the universe?

"I... I was prepared to dedicate my life to a career that turned out to be nothing but a delusional dream.

"Physics never existed, and it will never exist!

"What... what should I do?"

As she spoke, Yang Dong cried like a child who couldn't find her mother, taking the tissue Jiang Yu handed her and weeping bitterly.

After crying for a while, she looked at Jiang Yu with red eyes, seemingly waiting for him to give her an answer.

Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, for as Da Shi said, as long as Yang Dong was still willing to talk, there was hope for her.

But how to answer Yang Dong's questions? Jiang Yu organized his thoughts, then answered in a way that did not address the questions directly:

"Let me tell you a story. This is a real case that I even used for a major assignment a few days ago.

"In the 1960s, our country was determined to develop nuclear weapons, even if it meant going without pants to create the atomic bomb.

"However, the great martial arts novelist Master Jin expressed a different opinion, believing that doing so was an overemphasis on military power and a lack of respect for the welfare of the people."

Yang Dong didn't know why Jiang Yu wanted to tell such a story, but she listened intently as if the story contained the answer she was looking for.

Jiang Yu continued, "Later, facts proved that the atomic bomb allowed us to survive between two superpowers without losing sovereignty.

"Moreover, the successful detonation of atomic and hydrogen bombs not only allowed us to master nuclear fission and fusion technology but also brought countless by-products in fields such as agriculture, medicine, and new materials.

"Because the application field of the atom is so vast, it has come to be known as the Atomic Age.

"But was Master Jin wrong? His intentions were good, at least. It's just that his achievements in the cultural industry blinded him.

"This led him to make unprofessional comments on physical technology and strategic planning while wearing the hat of a cultural scholar."

Yang Dong seemed to understand what Jiang Yu meant.

Jiang Yu continued to explain, "We all like to deceive ourselves, especially when we achieve some success in a certain field, then we are more likely to deceive ourselves.

"Your situation is like that, you've deceived yourself!"

Yang Dong appeared enlightened.

Jiang Yu sighed and continued, "You asked if there is a way to solve the problem? Sorry, I don't have one.

"Physics is an extension of Western culture. The Eastern culture's view of technology is beautiful, but it does not apply in the modern world.

"I can tell you, physics does exist. It's only that you have been temporarily blinded, leading you to mistakenly believe that physics does not exist."

Yang Dong's eyes finally lost their deathly stillness: "I understand now."

Jiang Yu smiled and nodded, seeing Yang Dong's demeanor, she seemed to have temporarily given up on suicide.

Regardless of whether Yang Dong committed suicide, the original event in the book would unfold from this.

Wait a second! Jiang Yu suddenly realized, if Yang Dong didn't die, there would be no tombstone, and the big shot, Logic, wouldn't go to sweep the grave, nor would he meet Ye Wenjie at the tombstone and have the chance to hear her views on "cosmic sociology."

Jiang Yu's heart skipped a beat, had he caused a major disaster?