"Is that person called Lin Xian?"

Liu Feng swallowed the food in his mouth, drank half a bowl of porridge in one go, and recalled the name Lin Xian:

"Judging from his accent, he doesn't seem to be from around here. He must have come from some southern province."

"Yes, he sounds like he's from the Su-Hang area."

Li Qiqi nodded:

"I had a roommate in college who was from Su-Hang. Her accent is a bit like Lin Xian's. Hey, why do you think Lin Xian came all the way to Shanxi? Could he be here specifically to find you?"

"That's definitely not the case."

Liu Feng lowered his head and smiled:

"I'm not some famous scientist, and the research I've done over the years has ultimately proven to be wrong... So I appreciate Lin Xian's kindness, but I can't accept rewards for no merit. I can't use research that's already been proven wrong to deceive people out of their funding, right?"

"Besides, Teacher Qi Yan was right back then. Even if 'An Introduction to the Cosmological Constant' was proven to be correct... what would be the point? It's a theory that can't be applied to reality at all, and it doesn't even have any practical use on a cosmic scale."

"Teacher Qi even joked at the time, saying that my research was too far ahead of its time, and it wouldn't be too late to study the cosmological constant when humans could run out of the galaxy one day."

"Actually, I still want you to continue researching the cosmological constant." Li Qiqi looked at Liu Feng, who was gobbling down his food, and said softly:

"I think such a beautiful derivation can't be wrong. Maybe if you persist in researching it a little more, you can prove it's correct."

Liu Feng sighed and shook his head:

"Mathematical research isn't a marathon. There's no such thing as persisting and being correct..."

"Mathematics is so absolute. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. As long as there's any way to prove that this derivation is wrong, then it's undoubtedly wrong."

"Okay, let's not talk about this."

Liu Feng put down his chopsticks, turned around, took Li Qiqi's hand, and said with a smile:

"Today, I saw the latest astronomical observatory forecast, saying that there will be a Geminid meteor shower on December 14th this year, with as many as 150 meteors per hour! Most importantly, the moon's illumination that night will be very low, and there won't be bright moonlight interfering with the observation."

"Although... this meteor shower is still very different from the meteor shower you imagined, it's still the biggest and most spectacular meteor shower in recent years. Take good care of your body, and we'll go to a higher altitude to see the meteors when the time comes!"

Li Qiqi smiled helplessly.

"December 14th... that's the end of the year. The doctors all said I won't live..."

"Don't listen to the doctors." Liu Feng interrupted her, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with his thumb:

"You can hold on. This meteor shower might be coming for you. Don't give up, Qiqi."

"Okay."

Li Qiqi responded softly, holding Liu Feng's hand tightly.

...

The next day, morning.

Liu Feng put on a neat and clean set of casual clothes, slung a satchel over his shoulder, and rode his motorcycle out, ready to go to his tutoring job.

"Hi, good morning."

He looked up and saw Lin Xian leaning against the low wall at the entrance of the courtyard, greeting him.

"Lin Xian."

Liu Feng looked at the tall boy in front of him, shuffled his feet, and moved the motorcycle under his crotch over:

"Do you live near here?"

"No."

Lin Xian shook his head:

"I came here specifically to find you."

"Are you planning to visit me three times like Zhuge Liang?"

"Don't say that." Lin Xian was amused:

"What if I only need to come twice?"

"I'm very grateful that you think so highly of me, but... let me be honest with you." Liu Feng looked up at Lin Xian:

"The 'Introduction to the Cosmological Constant' is wrong. It's a fundamental error, just like 1+1 can't equal 3. There's no way to prove it's correct... not even one."

"I know you want to help me with funding, and I really hope to be able to work in mathematical research. But... given the current situation, I'm sorry, but I can't accept your funding in good conscience."

"And although it's a bit tiring, Qiqi... actually doesn't need much money now. The doctors have told her to go home for treatment. You should understand the situation. We've experienced enough changes over the years. For me, for both of us now... nothing is better than being content with the status quo."

"You're wrong, Liu Feng." Lin Xian looked at Liu Feng, very seriously:

"1+1 can equal 3 in many cases."

"Are you kidding me?" Liu Feng's expression was complicated.

"Not only can it equal 3, but 1+1 can actually equal any number." Lin Xian said with a smile:

"If you add one kilogram of water to one *jin* (approximately 0.5 kg) of water, how many *jin* of water do you have?"

"If you add one line segment to another line segment, how many endpoints are there?"

"There are many, many similar situations. I'm not just trying to argue with you. I just want to say... the right or wrong of anything isn't so absolute. Perhaps something that's inherently wrong can become right if you look at it from a different angle."

"You don't understand mathematics. I don't want to waste my breath with you." Liu Feng turned his head and prepared to put on his helmet and leave.

*Pa.*

Lin Xian placed his hand on Liu Feng's shoulder:

"What if the cosmological constant isn't a mathematical problem?"

"Then what else could it be?" Liu Feng looked at Lin Xian in annoyance:

"Could it be a philosophical problem?"

"Maybe it's not impossible."

Lin Xian looked into Liu Feng's eyes:

"Have you calculated the answer to the cosmological constant?"

"No."

"What do you think the answer to the cosmological constant should be like?"

Liu Feng thought for a moment and said softly:

"According to Einstein, it should be a very small number, so small that it's almost non-existent, a decimal that doesn't fluctuate even on the scale of the entire universe of hundreds of billions of light-years."

"What do you think?" Lin Xian continued to stare at Liu Feng:

"Einstein eventually denied the existence of the cosmological constant, but that was seventy or eighty years ago. You're still insisting on researching the cosmological constant even though you know that Einstein has already denied it... doesn't that mean that you don't agree with Einstein's ideas and you have your own understanding of the cosmological constant?"

Liu Feng also stared at Lin Xian, quite surprised.

The other party had obviously come prepared.

He felt incredible:

"Lin Xian, is the cosmological constant very important to you? I'd like to ask you... everyone in the world thinks the cosmological constant is wrong, even you know that Einstein himself thought it was wrong... why are you so sure that the cosmological constant is correct?"

"Because I know the answer."

Lin Xian smiled:

"I know the answer to the cosmological constant."

"That's the funniest joke I've heard in years." Liu Feng turned his head away, not bothering to look at Lin Xian:

"If you really knew the answer, why would you come looking for me?"

Liu Feng was indeed very smart and immediately noticed the blind spot.

"For safety reasons, I can't tell you the details and the final answer yet. But please believe me, I wouldn't cross half of Longguo (China) just to make you happy."

"I know you're preoccupied with Li Qiqi right now, but if you really care about Li Qiqi, you should think more about what she wants to see, what she hopes to see most."

Lin Xian took two steps closer to Liu Feng, coming up to him:

"You two are like O. Henry's 'The Gift of the Magi,' putting your efforts in the wrong direction."

"What Qiqi wants most and hopes to see is you pull yourself together and get back to research."

"You know very well that tutoring and delivering food won't change anything."

"You can really stand there and talk without feeling the pain." Liu Feng chuckled, twisting the throttle and driving the motorcycle past Lin Xian:

"Then tell me, what else can I do? Can I cure Qiqi's illness, or can I bring her a meteor shower? Do you know how long the doctor said Qiqi has left to live?"

"It's not Qiqi who wants me to continue my research, it's you. If continuing my research could bring Qiqi a meteor shower, I'd do it for the rest of my life. But what has mathematics done for me right now? Besides saying sarcastic things, what can you do for me?"

Lin Xian sighed and looked at Liu Feng:

"Why does Qiqi want to see a meteor shower?"

"Because she's loved them since she was a child. It's her biggest dream in life."

"Is that all?"

"What else?" Liu Feng glared at Lin Xian.

Lin Xian didn't speak...

It seemed that Liu Feng didn't know that the purpose of Li Qiqi wanting to wait for a meteor shower... was just to make a small wish for Liu Feng before she died.

Unfortunately.

Judging from the handwriting on the small card from 600 years later...

Li Qiqi never got to see that meteor shower until she left this world.

"Okay, so it's just a meteor shower."

Lin Xian opened the delivery box on the back seat of Liu Feng's motorcycle and threw the heavy file bag filled with ten bundles of money into the delivery box.

"What are you doing?"

Liu Feng saw this and prepared to take the money out.

However.

Lin Xian pressed his arm directly on the delivery box, looked up at Liu Feng:

"Don't go tutoring or delivering food these days. I'm buying your time."

"Are you sick?"

"Just stay home and spend time with Qiqi these days, and then wait for my call."

"Wait for you to do what?"

Lin Xian smiled slightly, raised his index finger, and pointed to the warm sun in the sky:

"Wait for me to give Qiqi..."

"A real meteor shower!"