RNP Chapter 430 Vega
Chapter 430 Vega
Lin Yan stepped out of the space, and the stars were already twinkling outside the window.
On the kang (heated brick bed) in the main room, Xiao Qi stretched out its fluffy white fur, like a large cushion, lying horizontally in the center of the carpet.
Chenchen and Xixi stood on either side of it, close together, their little heads almost buried in its warm fur.
Both of them changed into fluffy pajamas, their little faces flushed from the warmth of the heater.
Wang Yuling sat on a low stool to the side, holding a color-illustrated version of "Journey to the West" in her hand. She was reading the "Havoc in Heaven" section in a soft and vivid voice.
The two children listened intently, Xi Xi's eyes wide open, following the tension and excitement of the plot.
Chenchen's slightly pursed lips and focused gaze revealed that he was also captivated by the story.
Lin Yan simply leaned against the door frame, watching quietly.
The next afternoon, at the kindergarten gate.
The school was still noisy when Lin Yan saw the two familiar little figures, and at the same time he saw a family of three standing in front of them, looking a little embarrassed—the chubby Niu Niu, and his apologetic parents.
Niu Niu's father is a kind-looking middle-aged man, while his mother appears very capable.
Niu Niu herself had slightly swollen eyes, as if she had been crying. She was pulling her head down, occasionally glancing up at Chenchen and Xixi before quickly looking down again.
"Mr. Lin, I'm so sorry!"
Niu Niu's father stepped forward, his tone full of apology.
"A few days ago, our child came home and told us about what happened at school. We were very angry and ashamed. We've already given him a stern talking-to, and he realized he said the wrong thing and hurt his classmates. Today, we brought him here specifically to apologize to Chenchen and Xixi."
Niu Niu's mother also squatted down, put her hand on her son's shoulder, and said gently but earnestly:
"Niu Niu, what did you promise your parents yesterday? You were to sincerely apologize to your classmate."
Niu Niu sniffed and took a small step forward.
"Lin Yansong, Lin Lusheng... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I was wrong."
After he finished speaking, he raised his head, his eyes filled with fear and genuine regret.
It seems he has already "experienced" a complete childhood education at home.
Chenchen and Xixi's reactions were somewhat unexpected.
The two little ones glanced at each other, showing neither the expected grievance nor excitement.
Xi Xi spoke first, waving her little hand and mimicking an adult's tone:
"It's okay, Niu Niu. It's good that you know you were wrong."
Their generosity is astonishing.
Chenchen nodded and added:
"Don't say that again."
His tone was calm, with hardly any emotional fluctuation.
Their "reasonable" attitude made Niu Niu's parents feel even more guilty, and they said many more things before taking their child back home.
Lin Yan saw all of this clearly.
He led the two children by the hand and walked towards the car.
After getting in the car, Xixi leaned over, blinked her big eyes, and said in a tone as if sharing a major secret,
"Dad, Niu Niu apologized. But neither my brother nor I told him."
"Tell him what?" Lin Yan asked cooperatively, a smile in his eyes.
"We didn't tell him we have a mother!"
Xi Xi's eyes sparkled, and a sense of superiority, as if she had a secret, radiated from her little face.
"Our mom's name is Tan Xiaoqin, she lives at Tanzhe Temple, and she loves us dearly! But this is a secret between us and our dad, we won't tell them!"
Chenchen nodded vigorously beside him, her little face showing a look of deep agreement: "Yeah, we won't tell them. They won't know."
Lin Yan's heart felt as if it were being soaked in warm spring water.
He understood where the two children's strange state of "being the only one sober in a world of drunks" came from.
The trip to Tanzhe Temple not only gave them a specific place to rely on, but also completed an important psychological reconstruction.
They are not "lacking maternal love," but rather "possess" a unique and profound maternal love that is known only to them and their closest family members.
This became a solid, even somewhat proud, pillar of support within me.
Unintentional remarks from the outside world could no longer easily shake this understanding; instead, they gave them a sense of guarding a secret and inner fulfillment.
"Yes," Lin Yan smiled and patted the two children's heads, affirming their "strategy."
"This is a family matter, a secret between us and Mom. You did a good job."
Xi Xi shook her little head proudly, and Chen Chen smiled too.
As the leaves of the sycamore trees in the kindergarten turned from tender green to lush and dense, and the cicadas began to sing, Chenchen and Xixi's first semester quietly came to an end amidst laughter and playfulness.
The two little ones made friends.
Xi Xi became the little sun in the class, always surrounded by several little sisters who held hands to go to the bathroom and share stickers.
Chenchen's circle of friends is more "specialized," mainly consisting of a little boy who is equally obsessed with the construction area and can spend half a day with him fiddling with complicated blueprints, and a shy little girl who always helps him reinforce the "water conservancy project" by the sandpit.
Lin Yan and Wang Yuling both noticed that these two children, who grew up in love and abundance, had a very clear sense of boundaries when it came to the matter of "sharing".
They were both very generous.
The macarons Albert brought back from Paris or Brussels, packaged in exquisite tin boxes, were rainbow-colored and had a sweet, crumbly texture that children had never experienced before.
Xi Xi often takes it to kindergarten and gives one to each of her best friends. Seeing their wide, surprised eyes makes her feel as happy as if she has shared all the sweetness in the world.
Lin Yi regularly feeds them top-quality chocolates, and Li Wenbin collects English toffee... These snacks, which are considered "dreamlike" for children from ordinary families at the time, often appear in the side pockets of their school bags, becoming the sweetest bond of friendship.
Once, when Xixi was sharing macarons with her best friend Niu Niu, she asked with expectant eyes:
"Xixi, your house has so much delicious food! Can I come over to play? I also want to see the little Qi you mentioned who can do somersaults!"
Xi Xi paused for a moment as she held the powdered sugar in her hand, then raised her little face:
"No, Niu Niu. Xiao Qi is shy and only likes me and her brother. I can bring you more treats tomorrow!"
Similarly, when Chenchen's "engineering partner" Zhuangzhuang expressed a desire to see his model boat, which "is said to be remotely controlled and can be driven in the bathtub," Chenchen simply pushed up his non-existent glasses (imitating Uncle Zheng Jiaming) and solemnly explained:
"My workspace is too messy, and Dad says outsiders aren't allowed in. The boat... I'll bring it to you tomorrow."
They are not stingy or withdrawn; on the contrary, they are very popular in kindergarten.
But they seem to have designated their "home" as an absolutely private "sacred place" that outsiders are not allowed to enter.
Sharing food and toys is no problem, but the physical space and inner atmosphere of "home" are their core territory that they are unwilling to share with outsiders.
Early July, Singapore, LM Group headquarters.
A press conference, broadcast via satellite television, shocked the world.
The press conference had only one theme: Vega.
When the spotlight shone on the sleek, lightweight silver device in the center of the booth—far smaller and lighter than the then-popular "big brother" mobile phones—the entire venue fell silent, then erupted in incredulous gasps and thunderous applause.
The world's first commercially available 2G mobile phone—Vega—has emerged.
The technical briefing at the press conference was concise yet carried immense weight:
It supports the GSM standard, providing clear and stable call quality with wider coverage.
Revolutionary SMS functionality: For the first time, it enables point-to-point text messaging between mobile phones. The briefing proclaims that this is not merely a technological breakthrough, but a revolution in social interaction, propelling humanity into a new era of "text-based social interaction."
Technical specifications: It can store 99 contact numbers, has a theoretical talk time of up to 90 minutes, and weighs only about 450 grams. This is a generational leap forward compared to the "big brother" mobile phones of the 1G era, which required ten hours of charging, only half an hour of talk time, and were as heavy as bricks.
What shocked the industry most was its strategic choices.
The briefing reviewed the fierce competition in the mobile communications market in the late 80s: Motorola of the United States once dominated the market with its first-mover advantage in the "Big Brother" mobile phone, while companies such as Ericsson in Europe were actively vying for the next generation standard.
Surprisingly, the telecommunications company under the Lin Group chose to "lie low" at the time, and did not engage in fierce head-on battles with giants such as Motorola and Ericsson in the "mobile phone" market.
The mystery has now been solved.
The Lin family did not back down, but instead bet all their resources and top talent on in-depth research and development and full-industry chain layout of next-generation (2G) digital communication technology, especially the GSM standard system.
They skipped the battle of analog signals and directly overtook the competition at the starting line of digital communication, achieving a crucial "leapfrog development".
While Motorola was still basking in the glory of the 1G era, and companies like Ericsson were vying for 2G standards and market dominance, Lin's had quietly built a complete closed loop from core protocols, baseband chips, and radio frequency modules to the final mobile phone.
The name "Vega" is also quite meaningful—Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, symbolizing connection and communication.
At the end of the press conference, Su Ping, President of the Communications Business Unit of LM Group, calmly and confidently announced to the global cameras:
"We haven't missed the boat; we've simply chosen to create the next one. Vega is more than just a phone; it's the first door to the future of networking. Text messaging is just the beginning."
The news caused a global sensation.
In the financial market, technology and telecommunications stocks related to LM surged, while the stock prices of traditional telecommunications giants plummeted, resulting in significant volatility.
Tech media front pages were filled with teardown images and exclamation marks of "Vega," and social commentators began to discuss "how text messaging will change interpersonal communication."
The Wall Street Journal's headline is quite representative: "The East is quietly gaining momentum, redefining mobile communications: the first 'killer app' of the GSM era."
Ordinary people watched in disbelief as the small "Vega" demonstrated its messaging capabilities on television news.
For business people accustomed to expensive and bulky mobile phones, and for ordinary people yearning for more convenient ways to communicate, the emergence of "Vega" is nothing short of a lightning bolt that cleaves through the old era.