Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!-Chapter 174: Is This Really a Color TV?

School infirmary.

Gu Lan looked at her hand, bandaged like a pig’s trotter, and cursed Jiang Zhou a hundred times in her heart.

That Rubbish King is a disaster from head to toe.

At the door.

Jiang Zhou stood like a stone statue, unmoving.

His gaze was fixed only on the bandage on Gu Lan’s hand.

On the bandage, the red stain was still slowly expanding.

Glaring.

Gu Lan waved her hand at him.

"Hey, Rubbish King, why are you just standing there? Give me a hand."

Jiang Zhou didn’t move.

He cast one last look at her. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Turned around.

And ran out without looking back.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Gu Lan shouted after him.

Jiang Zhou did not answer.

With all his strength, he ran back to that chaotic warehouse.

He charged to the workbench.

Looking at the pile of scrap parts and shattered glass.

His hands trembled.

Picked up the soldering iron.

Grabbed the multimeter.

In his mind, the once chaotic and disordered data suddenly became crystal clear.

The problem that had troubled him for a full three months.

The bottleneck that had burned through all of Lin Wan Yi’s money.

At this moment, suddenly had an answer.

He disassembled, reassembled, and welded.

His movements were astonishingly fast, as precise as a machine.

...

Three days later.

The warehouse was filled with a mix of rosin and metal smells.

Jiang Zhou’s eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was a mess, like a bird’s nest.

He finally, carefully installed the last part in place.

An oddly-shaped machine, assembled from countless wires and parts, appeared on the workbench.

This was his hard work.

His everything.

Gu Lan, her bandage still on, stood guard beside it.

Her heart was racing.

Lin Wan Yi stood next to her, her expression calm.

Gu Yanshen, with a cold face, stood at the door.

He had been tricked by Lin Wan Yi and Gu Lan into doing hard labor, just after moving a terribly heavy transformer.

He held no pleasant expression for the "Rubbish King" who caused his sister to get hurt.

"This thing?"

A sarcastic voice came from the warehouse door.

Chen Zhiyuan, along with a few students from the mathematics department, crossed his arms, his face ready for a show.

He had heard that Jiang Zhou was going to conduct the final test today and had come specifically to watch a joke.

"Jiang Zhou, is this the color TV you’ve bragged about for half a year?"

Chen Zhiyuan pointed at the machine, laughing dismissively.

"It looks like a pile of scrap metal to me. You’ve scammed all of Gu Lan’s scholarship money and even got her hurt, how can you stand here with any dignity?"

The people behind him chimed in to make trouble.

"Exactly, someone who collects junk wants to build a color TV? Dream on!"

"Gu Lan must be blind, hanging out with someone like this."

"I heard Lin Wan Yi gave him a lot of money too? It’s easy to deceive the capitalist’s daughter!"

Gu Lan’s face turned red with anger.

"Chen Zhiyuan, what nonsense are you spouting!"

"It’s my choice! It’s none of your business!"

Gu Yanshen hadn’t said a word.

He stepped forward, blocking Lin Wan Yi and Gu Lan.

His tall figure was like a wall.

In a leisurely manner, he unbuttoned the top disciplinary button on his military uniform.

A very small action.

He lifted his eyes and glanced at Chen Zhiyuan.

That look was devoid of warmth.

As if looking at a dead object.

Chen Zhiyuan’s mocking expression froze.

The chatter of those behind him stopped abruptly.

The warehouse door was suddenly terrifyingly quiet.

They felt like they were being watched by a wolf.

Cold sweat broke out on their backs.

No longer daring to take a step forward.

At this moment, hurried footsteps approached.

"Move aside! Everyone move aside!"

Director Liu from the physics department, along with several school leaders and teachers, hurried over, out of breath.

Professor Liu was the one who, last time in the warehouse, was so excited over seeing the prototype of the integrated circuit that he dropped his cup.

As soon as he entered, his eyes locked onto the prototype on the workbench.

In his gaze, there was suspicion, nervousness, and a hint of expectation that even he hadn’t realized.

The teachers behind him, however, had a completely different expression.

"Director Liu, you’re too indulgent with these students."

"An undergraduate student building a color TV? Isn’t that a fantasy?"

"The school’s resources shouldn’t be wasted like this!"

Seeing the leaders arrive, Chen Zhiyuan immediately felt like he found his cornerstone.

He quickly approached with eager steps.

"Director Liu! Teachers! You’re here just in time!"

He pointed at Jiang Zhou and loudly complained.

"It’s him! Jiang Zhou! He’s privately occupying the school warehouse, messing with these useless things, and there have been explosions multiple times, posing a huge safety risk!"

"Today he even wants to do a machine test. What if it explodes again and someone gets hurt?"

His words were righteous and stern, as if he was truly concerned for the school.

Professor Liu frowned.

He looked at Jiang Zhou.

"Jiang Zhou, how confident are you?"

All eyes in the warehouse focused on Jiang Zhou.

Mocking.

Expectant.

Suspicious.

Just curious.

Jiang Zhou heard none of it.

In his world, there was only the machine in front of him.

He didn’t answer Professor Liu.

He just turned around and gave Gu Lan a deep look.

Gu Lan’s heart skipped a beat.

She understood the emotion in his eyes.

She raised her uninjured hand, gestured to him, and mouthed ’Go for it’ energetically.

Jiang Zhou tugged at the corner of his mouth.

That probably counted as a smile.

He turned back.

His entire aura changed.

No longer the gloomy Rubbish King.

But a general about to inspect his troops.

He reached out his hand.

Placed it on the main power switch.

"He’s crazy! He really wants to start the machine!"

"Step back! Be careful not to get blown up!"

Chen Zhiyuan pulled the classmates beside him, retreating several steps with schadenfreude.

He was waiting to see.

Waiting to see that pile of scrap iron emit black smoke.

Waiting to see Jiang Zhou become the biggest joke in the school.

Jiang Zhou’s hand steadily closed the switch.

"Buzz——"

A deep hum of electricity sounded.

The indicator lights at the top of the machine lit up.

Everyone held their breath.

One second.

Two seconds.

Ten seconds.

On the workbench, the screen fixed with a wooden frame was completely dark.

Nothing at all.

"Ha!"

Chen Zhiyuan was the first to laugh.

"I told you! Just a pile of junk!"

"A waste of effort!"

"Let’s go, there’s nothing interesting."

Mocking voices surged from all corners like a tide.

A teacher behind Professor Liu shook his head.

"Nonsense."

Gu Lan’s heart sank to the bottom.

Her hand clenched tightly into a fist.

Just then.

"Sizz..."

The black screen flickered suddenly.

A streak of white light flashed across.

All sounds instantly disappeared.

The screen showed a dense flurry of snowflakes.

Vigorously jumping.

"There’s a reaction!" someone shouted.

Professor Liu’s eyes widened suddenly, staring intently at the screen.

After jumping for a few seconds, the snowflakes began to converge.

A blurry outline slowly emerged in the center of the screen.

It looked like a flower.

Then.

A dab of color appeared on the outline without warning.

Red.

As vivid as blood.

Even though the color was somewhat distorted, riddled with countless noise.

Even though the image was blurry, its edges were trembling.

But it was unmistakably a blooming red peony!

It’s in color!

Everyone forgot to breathe.

They stared at that small screen, at that stubborn and brilliant red.

As if witnessing the birth of a new world.

"Clang——!"

A crisp sound.

The enamel teacup that had been in Professor Liu’s hand slipped from his fingers.

Fell heavily on the concrete floor.

Shattered into pieces.