Chapter 2409: with translation of chapter title

Returning home, Gao Shaojie saw his lover sitting on the sofa, staring at the medicine box on the coffee table.

"You didn't give it to the child, did you?" Gao Shaojie asked anxiously again.

"No." Gao Shaojie's lover looked at him, surprised and somewhat flustered, feeling a little afraid.

Old Gao is usually meticulous, revealing a refined elegance from his bones.

Today he looks flustered; what's wrong?

"It's good that he didn't take it." Gao Shaojie forced a smile, sat beside his lover, and told him the news he had just received.

Since some details were lacking, Gao Shaojie also searched the data network.

After Gao Shaojie finished speaking, his lover had not yet recovered from his astonishment.

"Let me look at your chat with the agent." Gao Shaojie prepared to confirm a little more.

He knows his lover's temper; if they can't agree, he fears a grudge will remain in his heart.

Moreover, he wanted to confirm the drug's source, the instructions, etc., and would look again later; Gao Shaojie already had a plan in mind.

Opening the chat log, a few lines of text came into view.

"Is this medicine effective? Can it improve the child's learning efficiency?" his lover asked.

"Dear, this medicine is imported from the United States; it basically works for everyone." the agent replied.

"Any side effects?"

"This drug is marketed in the United States; otherwise we couldn't buy it, right? In the U. S., almost all children take it— Ivy League, you know what that is?"

"They are historic U. S. universities, with world rankings far above our Tsinghua and Peking. At least half the students there take smart drugs; if there were a problem, it would have surfaced in the U. S., so rest easy."

The agent muttered to himself.

Afterward, the other side added another sentence.

"One pill refreshes the mind; two pills ace the college entrance exam."

Without saying anything else, just that slogan is enough to make most students' parents surrender.

So it really was purchased from the United States via an agent? Gao Shaojie thought, then began to ponder the instructions.

If it were genuine, it would indeed be fortunate that he hadn't taken it. Gao Shaojie exclaimed his luck and continued reading.

"What about the price?"

Gao Shaojie's lover began asking about the price; she had already been persuaded by the agent's few words.

"Look at you, how easily you're deceived." Gao Shaojie said gently while opening the medicine box; when he saw the pills inside were not missing, he felt relieved.

"Several kids in the group have taken it; this drug is sold out, and I only have these two boxes left." the agent replied.

Next came the buying spree, as expected.

"Let's check the drug's ingredients." Gao Shaojie said.

Then he opened the instructions and saw the name "Adderall" clearly written.

"Adderall..." Gao Shaojie's mind conjured methamphetamine—damn! Sitting at home, he actually encountered this stuff.

"This is Adderall; its ingredient is amphetamine. You might not understand, but with simple processing it can become methamphetamine, that legendary ice..."

Gao Shaojie explained it bit by bit to his lover.

The instructions contained many obscure words, so he also needed to consult a dictionary.

To clarify and convince his lover, Gao Shaojie hauled out a large dictionary, using the method typical for someone his age to translate the instructions.

The process of reading the instructions was shocking; only these four words could describe it.

After finishing, Gao Shaojie's lover touched his chest, his heart pounding wildly, greatly frightened.

"Old Gao, you say if this kind of thing, I haven't heard of any child having an accident from it." his lover said.

Gao Shaojie took out his phone again and began searching online for related information.

Until he found an article in the New Di Du Report: in the detox center, a considerable number of children had taken methylphenidate-class drugs—namely Ritalin and Concerta.

The children were forced to take smart drugs; without them they had no energy, and eventually they ended up on the path of no return.

Gao Shaojie had mentioned this drug before; seeing this, his lover was stunned.

"Old Gao, what should we do?" she said anxiously.

As they were speaking, Gao Shaojie's phone rang.

He pulled it out and saw it was Zheng Lao Ban.

"Zheng Lao Ban."

"Uh... yes, yes, my son knows you, admires you greatly, and also said he wants to win a Nobel Prize someday."

"Hmm, then let's do it later."

"What? Vitamin C? Any vitamin will do? Okay, then please trouble yourself."

Having said that, Gao Shaojie hung up.

"Old Gao, what did Zheng Lao Ban say?" his lover asked anxiously.

"Zheng Lao Ban said, pass off vitamins as smart drugs, and he wants to video chat with the child."

"..."

After a few hours, Gao Shaojie and his son connected via video, revealing Zheng Lao Ban's honest, harmless face.

"Gao Ying, I am Zheng Ren."

"Hello, Uncle Zheng."

"Your father asked me if I had any smart drugs; coincidentally I was in the United States then. You know, I am a tenured professor at a world‑top medical school, and I went there to lecture."

Gao Shaojie watched Zheng Lao Ban in the video speak solemnly nonsense, feeling absurd.

This method is commonly used clinically, yet using it on his own son felt strange no matter how he thought about it.

Massachusetts General Hospital has researched a new smart drug; take it orally in the evening before sleep, and the next morning you'll be full of energy, able to remember everything you've read. Your thinking will be sharp, and no problem will stump you.

Zheng Ren's eyes carried a hint of determination as he spoke steadily.

"Mmm!" Gao Shaojie's son Gao Ying nodded vigorously, his eyes sparkling.

"This is a secret, no one in the country has taken it yet." Zheng Ren continued mysteriously, "You must never tell anyone; if taking the smart pill makes your exam scores too good, it could raise suspicion and get you disqualified, that would be bad."

"Thank you, Uncle Zheng."

"You're welcome, remember, this is the latest smart pill. After taking it, your thinking becomes quick, your energy abundant, nothing can stump you!" Zheng Ren kept repeating this line.

Seeing his son's state, Gao Shaojie smiled wryly.

After the video call with Zheng Lao Ban ended, Gao Shaojie's son grabbed him and fired off questions; finally Gao Shaojie managed to brush him off.

Before bed, he gave his son a vitamin; Gao Shaojie was so worried he didn't sleep well one Evening, as if his son had taken something like Ritalin.

But the next day, seeing his son full of confidence, Gao Shaojie felt reassured.

Days passed, the tension-intense college entrance exam ended.

When estimating scores, Gao Shaojie was surprised to discover that the score his son could get was actually 40 points higher than the last mock, reaching 660!

He was speechless, looking at his son, and finally felt this was a particularly good result.

Going to Di Du, I must definitely thank Zheng Lao Ban properly.