#yifan reaction

[tinrange]

Its actively disheartening to have seen so many reactions to Wen Yifan in the first frost be 'shes constantly being saved' or declarations that Sang Yan is healing her.

Sang Yan as a character is aware that he cannot heal her, he hasnt even been able to fully Access her at this point — including the times they were in highschool. TFF has been making a point to show that he's always been good to her, but goodness and kindness can't "heal" a person, especially one who genuinely feels as though they can't recieve it.

And that loops right back into that very aggravating first point, that Yifan is always being saved and has no agency. In every way that matters, Yifan has saved herself. Shes managed to extricate herself from her familys grasp, even through abuse and grief she managed to keep her scores high, she managed to make it to university and build a career from the ground up, she's even managed to stand up against these family members that have traumatized and retraumatized her repeatedly.

Whsn she doesnt ask Sang Yan for help and he has to rush in and help her its not just a dashing romantic moment, its also her doing what she does best. Saving herself alone. The main crux of Wen Yifans arc isnt whether she can to be saved and fixed, its that constantly saving herself is what's been beating her down and her reception of new love is being hindered by it.

The drama makes it a point to show that she is consistently being harmed in places Sang Yan cant even access, like her workplace and her home, and that she has been taking every Correct Step advised and it still hasnt helped her. She's a victim of familial abuse, literal incest (presumedly), and several forms of harassment from a number of places. Her being on survival mode is whats forcing her hand in being unable to connect with people, and as a woman theres many ways in which that Cannot change without societal reform.

Very depressing to see a character whos arc and hurt is being dealt with so delicately recieve responses in this way.. Sang Yan wanting to support her and be there for her is something of a wish fulfillment fantasy but its also a plead for rest. Yifan is so busy saving herself that its chipping away at her soul. She is constantly on guard, she can't even shower without waiting for that hand to creep around the curtain. Romance is not a vehicle to "return" people to what they were, instead the show is pleading for her to truly try trusting all the people in her circle so that she can finally find new joy and create new happiness.

[dramashutup]

Yknow as much as i dislike how the drama diverted from the novel, it's mainly because...well, it's a skill issue on my part lmao. I really can't watch any stories that separate the couple after they've gotten together.

The novel certainly dealt with it all differently, and I much prefer that because I feel too much of their second hand pain so I really rather wait it out for the happier time

But when you think about why Wen Yifan did what she did. It is understandable.

I suppose we can look at it as, the two ways things could've gone. In the novel, The Bastard didn't try to frame Sang Yan's restaurant.

He only went after Yifan and Sang Yan in a way that doesn't really affect Sang Yan, by not paying when he's ordered so much drinks, harassing Yifan etc.

She really doesn't want anything to hurt Sang Yan in any way. She didn't really care about her own wellbeing. She wanted SY to stay safe.

Remember she said he should stay happy and he deserves all the good things? I'm paraphrasing, you get it lol. For Yifan, who's traumatized and never been prioritized by her family, she is like a stain in SY life if his life becomes endangered.

Yes, harassing Yifan is monstrous but I think she much rather go through that alone than have something actually affect Sang Yan. It's when something like this happens that she gets so scared for Sang Yan and feels inferior.

Idk how to tell you the inferior feeling of not wanting to 'infect' the people that you love with the horrible people that you know. Iykyk.

Even from the beginning, without knowing what happened to her, Yifan's first knee jerk reaction was always to not be a 'bother' to other people-- if she could do everything on her own, she would. She's too independent because she wasn't prioritized by her own mother, and she had to fend for herself from a young age.

When she was asking if it's okay for her to stay in the apartment, her first question was about what SY felt about it, if it doesn't bother him.

Yes she was healing and extending her hand, to make an effort, to make SY knows that he is also loved by her,, but she's not completely healed, isn't she? She's trying, yes. But these things take time. It's not easy to get over a lifetime of trauma.

I cannot for the life of me understand why some people basically say she's being ungrateful to SY smh. SY never asked for a payback. He simply loves her.

Oh also, since I'm already deepdiving into it, my theory with her always looking at the clock? Because subconsciously when you're a trauma survivor, you're anxious about the happiness finally running out, being happy feels like a miracle-- do I really deserve being loved and cared for by all these people, she said.

I don't remember if she said this in the drama or only in the novel, but she said something along the lines of, what if SY finally sees that she's nothing after they get together.

It's an accumulation of insecurity, not healed yet trauma, self preservation and survival instinct

Some stories like to portray that love heals all, probably true. But realistically, any kind of healing takes time. And sometimes patients are known to go back into their shells.

[mistmarigold]

Currently trying to figure out how exactly should I put my feelings for Yifan (and Sang Yan, by default) in words…. She’s so, so endearing to me and I just want her to be her best, happy, and flirty self (it’s okay if she has literally never done it before in her entire life, she’ll figure it out soon enough and continue giving Sang Yan a brain freeze).

I’ve already talked about her sense of safety with Sang Yan here so not to repeat that but I’m genuinely so emotional over her growth especially in both her comfort level as well as her own sense of self. She might not be 100% there yet but she’s at least starting somewhere. Flirting with Sang Yan especially with that response - she went from 0 to 100 real quick I’m proud of her - like girlie fr said okay I’m gonna try and it’s so, so huge for her. When she’s talking to her friend about loving ourselves, I genuinely think it turned on a switch or something. She’d have never gotten to that conclusion if she was just considering herself but now that the context was her friend and her mom, the perspective shifted. I doubt it did much but perhaps it gave her a push to at least consider herself and her feelings.

Even in this episode alone she was proclaiming that if Sang Yan wants the stars from the sky, he should have them and feeling unworthy of him. But by the end, she actually took a step forward and flirted with a man (big deal) and it’s none other than Sang Yan (though tbf I don’t think she’d have ever gotten to this level if it was anyone else but him). Even with the porridge bit and having food with him like this is such a huge step forward - she’s trying so hard and a part of me thinks she doesn’t realise it because being with him comes so much easier to her than trying to stay away from him. It’s like the latter goes against her entire system so sooner or later, she’d just end up finding her way back to him.

Also, Sang Yan saying “for now” when his mom asked Yifan being his girlfriend I’m just like that man is fr so sure of the potential between them. And it’s incredibly interesting to me because he has no idea why she did what she did all those years ago. She never apologised for it even after they met again. She hasn’t even given him much inkling about her feelings for him - apart from sleepwalking and treat him as free real estate - and yet, he’s standing there telling his mom that there’s potential and hope. I’m marvelling at his heart fr because who does that, really? Despite knowing nothing and being extremely hurt by her words/actions for literal years - so much so that he still carries that hurt and vulnerability - he is still standing there, waiting for one sign from her to pick up right where they left off. His reaction at the end, grabbing her hand and moving seats, pestering her about taking ‘advantage’ of him, never leaving a single chance to talk about them as a unit - he literally doesn’t care that she hurt him back then. All he wants is her and that’s enough, nothing else matters.

His yearning knows no bounds or reason, even if he tries to keep his distance, it still doesn’t work. Wen Yifan and Sang Yan just gravitate towards each other, irrespective of everything in their lives.

(PS. their flirty dynamics are so delicious to me especially with how both their characters are. I can’t wait to see him lose his marbles at Yifan taking the initiative - he’ll be ready to follow yes but still the chemistry is unmatched.)

[da-man-si]

HE BOUGHT CHICKEN SOUP FOR HER! I AM IN TEARS!!!

Eight years ago, he had heard the aunt saying all that trash about how Yifan doesn't deserve the soup when he went to return the book to her and now he bought the soup for her after their reunion. And he tells her that it is specially for her! Her reaction!! She deserves to have everything y'all.

Also, Sangyan you sweet amazing man. I love him.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Newly designed nanocrystals can kill bacteria under visible light

Newly developed halide perovskite nanocrystals (HPNCs) show potential as antimicrobial agents that are stable, effective and easy to produce. After almost three years, Rice University scientist Yifan Zhu and colleagues have developed a new HPNC that is effective at killing bacteria in a biofluid under visible light without experiencing light- and moisture-driven degradation common in HPNCs. A new method using two layers of silicon dioxide that Zhu and colleagues developed over years of work was used in experiments with lead-based and bismuth-based HPNCs to test their antimicrobial efficacy and stability in water. The study is published in Nano Letters. HPNCs have unique optical and electrical properties that make them promising candidates for solar power applications, bioimaging and photocatalysis, the acceleration of chemical reactions caused by light in the presence of a catalyst. One such reaction is the production of reactive oxygen species that can inactivate biological contaminants in fluids. However, perovskites are highly prone to degradation in water and biological fluids, limiting their potential in biomedical applications.

Read more.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Microlightning in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth

Life may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean but from many smaller “microlightning” exchanges among water droplets from crashing waterfalls or breaking waves.

New research from Stanford University shows that water sprayed into a mixture of gases thought to be present in Earth’s early atmosphere can lead to the formation of organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds, including uracil, one of the components of DNA and RNA.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, adds evidence – and a new angle – to the much-disputed Miller-Urey hypothesis, which argues that life on the planet started from a lightning strike. That theory is based on a 1952 experiment showing that organic compounds could form with application of electricity to a mixture of water and inorganic gases.

In the current study, the researchers found that water spray, which produces small electrical charges, could do that work all by itself, no added electricity necessary.

“Microelectric discharges between oppositely charged water microdroplets make all the organic molecules observed previously in the Miller-Urey experiment, and we propose that this is a new mechanism for the prebiotic synthesis of molecules that constitute the building blocks of life,” said senior author Richard Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science and professor of chemistry in Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences.

Microlightning’s power and potential

For a couple billion years after its formation, Earth is believed to have had a swirl of chemicals but almost no organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds, which are essential for proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, chlorophyll, and other compounds that make up living things today.

How these biological components came about has long puzzled scientists, and the Miller-Urey experiment provided one possible explanation: that lightning striking into the ocean and interacting with early planet gases like methane, ammonia, and hydrogen could create these organic molecules. Critics of that theory have pointed out that lightning is too infrequent and the ocean too large and dispersed for this to be a realistic cause.

Zare, along with postdoctoral scholars Yifan Meng and Yu Xia, and graduate student Jinheng Xu, propose another possibility with this research. The team first investigated how droplets of water developed different charges when divided by a spray or splash. They found that larger droplets often carried positive charges, while smaller ones were negative. When the oppositely charged droplets came close to each other, sparks jumped between them. Zare calls this “microlightning,” since the process is related to the way energy is built up and discharged as lightning in clouds. The researchers used high-speed cameras to document the flashes of light, which are hard to detect with the human eye.

Even though the tiny flashes of microlightning may be hard to see, they still carry a lot of energy. The researchers demonstrated that power by sending sprays of room temperature water into a gas mixture containing nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia gases, which are all thought to be present on early Earth. This resulted in the formation of organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds including hydrogen cyanide, the amino acid glycine, and uracil.

The researchers argue that these findings indicate that it was not necessarily lightning strikes, but the tiny sparks made by crashing waves or waterfalls that jump-started life on this planet.

“On early Earth, there were water sprays all over the place – into crevices or against rocks, and they can accumulate and create this chemical reaction,” Zare said. “I think this overcomes many of the problems people have with the Miller-Urey hypothesis.”

Zare’s research team focuses on investigating the potential power of small bits of water, including how water vapor may help produce ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer, and how water droplets spontaneously produce hydrogen peroxide.

“We usually think of water as so benign, but when it’s divided in the form of little droplets, water is highly reactive,” he said.

[audriel]

let's start thinkin' bout it

chapter 3: breaking ground

Change never comes easily. But it always starts from the first step.

disclaimer: my only knowledge about games are from the novel. so forgive me if the details are lacking.

Fang Rui breathes out a relieved sigh. Finally, the adjustment to Wind Howl’s strategy and his personal playstyle bear fruit. After several dismal showings which threatened Wind Howl’s bid for the playoffs, they are back on track with the bright, glowing score of 10-0 for the team and against not just another team, but a playoff regular, Misty Rain. 

Once they had returned from the All Stars, Fang Rui brought forth some suggestions for the team from a Master Tactician–who was actually his little captain, but Lin Jingyan interpreted as Yu Wenzhou, whom Lin Jingyan knows Fang Rui remains close to. For Blue Rain which current position is near untouchable in the regular season’s rankings, Wind Howl that is struggling even to place 8th is not much of a concern for the team. If anything, Blue Rain might gain help in taking out troublesome opponents such as Xiao Shiqin’s Thunderclap, which pretty much sold Lin Jingyan on the cover-up. 

Fang Rui has no guilt in letting Lin Jingyan believe it came from the Blue Rain captain. Yu Wenzhou has only himself to blame for being so black-hearted. Admittedly, he was relieved, his old captain has always been the most difficult to fool, having known him the longest. Lin Jingyan might have his suspicions, but his trust in Fang Rui made him dismiss them. He owed both Qiao Yifan and Yu Wenzhou, even though the latter doesn’t know it. He trusts Lin Jingyan completely, but he and Qiao Yifan want to keep the changes minimal, being all too aware of the butterfly effect. Still, letting Lin Jingyan in the know is still in the cards. It’s the same for Ye Xiu.

Fortunately, Qiao Yifan won’t be in contact with Ye Xiu anytime soon, due to One Inch Ash still being power-leveled. So Qiao Yifan’s change in skill and personality can be explained by the time he has been away, which is where Fang Rui comes in. Just like Fang Rui used Yu Wenzhou to cover up his more tactically-advanced suggestions, Qiao Yifan will use Fang Rui to cover up his growth, with the sole difference that it’s not actually a lie. 

While he was waiting for Qiao Yifan during his talk with Wang Jiexi, Fang Rui put in an order for Glory account cards–24 Heavenly Domain characters of each class with Orange and Purple equipments on them–to be delivered the next morning. His inner Happy vice captain and team member actually balked at the amount of money spent, which was no different than Qiao Yifan’s reaction when he received the cards.

For a championship team, Happy wasn’t as wealthy as other top teams. At least, not as rich as the public expected from such a high-profile team. They didn’t take many appearances or endorsement offers. Learning from Ye Xiu and Excellent Era (and their Season 11’s mistakes), with the support of Chen Guo, Happy was really selective in doing business activities, particularly those that required the participation of their players. They demanded from the sponsors or any interested parties that any business activities would not disrupt practice or affect the players’ condition. This requirement actually made them quite unpopular in the industry in the beginning. 

That was also why they still operated like a grassroots team, because all the money they got was used to kick start Happy’s training camp and to further develop their characters and supporting departments, and that was after making sure all their players received salaries worthy of their achievements, leaving just enough for operational expenses. That didn’t change much even after they won their second championship title, even after Happy’s training camp came to be as renowned as Blue Rain’s, finally providing the club with a steady revenue and extra funds to splurge should they want it. However, by then, it was too deeply ingrained for them to solve every problem coming their way using their wits (and wiles) first, money last. To her chagrin, Chen Guo was no exception.

Fortunately Fang Rui has been retired for a while so he can quickly suppress the instinct and continue with his purchase. It helps that he has a hefty amount in his bank account. He recalled that in order to familiarize himself better with all 24 classes in Glory as Happy’s commander, Qiao Yifan had his own stack of Glory account cards that he bought by himself. His little captain is the closest to Ye Xiu in being Glory Textbook and master of all classes. Having only recently retired, Qiao Yifan is his best choice as a sparring partner to whip him back into shape.

And Qiao Yifan proved him right.

Fang Rui felt like he was thrown back in time when he went through a rotating battle session against Happy’s entire roster on his first day visiting the team. Qiao Yifan’s playstyle for the other classes than his own closely resembles their teammates. Fang Rui knows it was intentional on his junior’s part, because Qiao Yifan by nature and design is not particularly aggressive. Being Happy’s commander and a Phantom Demon, Qiao Yifan prefers to keep his distance to maintain overall view of the field. It doesn’t mean he can’t, he can be aggressive when it’s needed, but it does mean that he’s performing better in classes that suited him. However, it’s more than enough to prepare Fang Rui when team practice resumed after the All Stars. Qiao Yifan’s help is not just for giving Wind Howl a strategy better suited with Lin Jingyan’s and Fang Rui’s state, but also getting Fang Rui into shape or as close to it. 

Considering his job, he still kept up with Glory, both online and professional games. His alt accounts were all in Guild Happy. At times, he was even involved in Boss hunting and stealing. He was not the only one, he often encountered familiar faces when he arrived on scene. When he had time he would watch the official matches, whether live or recorded. His mind could still keep up with the changes in tactics and strategy, with the new skills that come with the changes in the level cap. He was only limited by his own physical condition, of which now is completely removed by returning to his younger body.

If Fang Rui has to describe his current situation, it is like riding a wild, powerful stallion with him barely holding on to the reins. The solution that he comes up with is to tighten the reins, or in this case is to limit the skills he used, so he can reduce the number and complexity of the inputs, thus reducing operational mistakes for trying to summon nonexistent skills. It can be said that he was handicapping himself, but he’d rather borrow his good friend Yu Wenzhou’s words that he’s solidifying his foundation by returning to the basics. 

Or in other words, like his former captain and team leader’s style: crude.

Well, not that crude, dirty playstyle won’t be complete without the seemingly unnecessary psychological tricks after all. However, by simply being around Ye Xiu, Team Happy have the constant reminder of the importance of solid foundation and the advantage of skill diversity. That’s why their character’s skill points have a unique distribution of not only the subclass’ but also the class’ low-leveled skills together with the higher-leveled ones depending on their playstyle, and at times, depending on their need. It also helps that skill points are what Happy has in abundance. From the eleventh season onward, Wu Yuce wasn’t the only pro player changing his character’s skill point distribution for matches, though admittedly his fellow Fifth Year debutant was still the most frequent. 

Fang Rui ends up significantly changing the skill points on Doubtful Demon that it resembles more of Three Burrows, the last Thief account he used on the professional stage. He is still a Trap Thief, but in the adjusted system, in order to reduce the burden on Lin Jingyan, Fang Rui’s Thief is more proactive, leading the rhythm of Wind Howl. Lin Jingyan is also no longer guarding the ring, instead it is Zhao Yuzhe with Fang Rui starting. Lin Jingyan is put in the individual competition, but not always the first. His old partner is not Ye Xiu after all. 

In that strategy, Lin Jingyan is entrusted to win one point, while he and Zhao Yuzhe are entrusted for the two points in the group arena. The purpose is to give more resting time for Lin Jingyan, to get Fang Rui used to the competitive scene quicker in the guise of a new playstyle, and to give more responsibility to Zhao Yuzhe. Fang Rui remembered how the rookie–it’s weird to treat Zhao Yuzhe as a kid again–puffed up his chest in pride when he was told of the new arrangement, only to receive a harsh wake up call by finding out how much responsibility being the group anchor is. Fang Rui wanted to hit himself, his old self in particular, for not having thought of this in the previous timeline. Once again there’s respect, begrudging as it is, towards the captain and vice captain, and that’s not limited to their rookie, but also the rest of the team.

Lin Jingyan in the later half of his career has never been a particularly flashy or a powerful player, but he is a calm and reliable player and a solid, steady presence of a captain. With the wisdom that comes with age and experience, he doesn’t waver easily and can find ways to fight back regardless of the odds. This adjusted tactic allows Lin Jingyan to shine by playing to his strength. This lack of trust and respect in their captain and ace player can be said to be the main reason behind Wind Howl’s declining performance in the past, his own awful performance didn’t help. He still gets secondhand embarrassment whenever he recalls that period. He got overzealous then, doing too much and too little at the same time. He’s learned a lot since then. He considered himself a better vice captain to his captains after Lin Jingyan (and the best if he can say so), and now that he can be one for Lin Jingyan himself…. Fang Rui exchanges smiles with Lin Jingyan as they lead their high-spirited team back to their hotel. He won’t waste this chance.

Fang Rui checks his phone as he enters his hotel room after parting with Lin Jingyan. The text he received makes him frown and go directly to the computer to check for a certain team’s match. At the same time, he logs into Glory with his alt. It has become a habit to meet up in the arena even though they are only giving updates on each other’s situation. Especially considering how busy he is as Wind Howl’s vice captain and core player, Qiao Yifan is in a better position to keep track of Happy and the professional alliance. Tiny Herb is a championship team and Wang Jiexi is a prominent figure in the Alliance, after all. From last he heard, Wang Jiexi started to communicate and interact more with the substitutes, giving the others no less attention than Gao Yingjie. Only Qiao Yifan and the only female member of Tiny Herb, Liu Fei, seemed to have adapted to the change well, though. This change can also help to explain Qiao Yifan’s growth.

“I’m watching the VOD right now.” Fang Rui says as a greeting. When his Thief account arrives in the room, a Level 70 Phantom Demon is already there. Qiao Yifan merely hums in response.

“... what the fuck ?” Fang Rui curses with a feeling, he cannot believe what he is seeing. He vaguely recalled watching the Excellent Era vs Thunderclap match, wanting to know how it could cause such a huge uproar among the pro players and the public alike. It was not just a crushing defeat, but it was also such an ugly match. It was like none of the players were trying . It was a huge disgrace to the dynasty they have created and the greatest disrespect to the game that Fang Rui didn’t bother to watch the whole match in full, let alone the press conference.

But now… having insider’s knowledge of what was actually going on with Ye Xiu and Excellent Era, Fang Rui can see more beyond the mess.

“Is it because of Lord Grim’s debacle?” Fang Rui frowns. That is the only explanation he can think of. It was quite a media circus, too. It was entertaining then, and it is no less entertaining now.

“I don’t think so.” Qiao Yifan answers. “At least, not directly.”

Fang Rui and Qiao Yifan were quick to log in to the online game before Huang Shaotian even managed to get a match with Ye Xiu. Since they have been practicing together before, they were not far away from each other. They stayed together when they entered the room and stood a good distance away from other spectating pro players so their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

They had laughed at how Huang Shaotian was used as free labor by Ye Xiu. It didn’t happen only once or twice in the past–in the other timeline. He wasn’t the only victim to Ye Xiu’s shameless ploy, but he was the most frequent. Lu Hanwen, his successor, suffered the same fate in Qiao Yifan’s hands. To be fair, he was not the only one. Qiao Yifan was too gentle and reliable, it was easy to drop their guard against him. Fang Rui, Wei Chen and Ye Xiu all shed tears of pride when they found out, with seething Chen Guo being held back by Su Mucheng and Tang Rou in the background. 

However, they soon fell into a nostalgic silence as they witnessed the legendary account and sole unspecialized character in Glory history. As Ye Xiu and Yu Wenzhou had predicted, the unspecialized class grew weaker as other classes gained more skill. By the time the level cap reached Level 85, Lord Grim completely retired from the professional stage. However, Lord Grim could still be found in the online game, maintaining the tradition from their grassroots' days. It has been the last test and a rite of passage for potential recruits to successfully wield the account before they were promoted to the team. All and any members of Happy were capable of using Lord Grim, so they could accurately judge that Ye Xiu were still holding back. Lord Grim was still Level 52 and Myriad Manifestation Umbrella was at its Level 45 form. Since they were already familiar, they took the time to pay attention to the spectators. Qiao Yifan was the one to spot the four Excellent Era characters: One Autumn Leaf, Total Darkness, Emotionless Magic, and Qi Breaker.

Only three out of the four spectators performed incredibly badly, alongside their Striker and Cleric.

Wait, five people?

“The only likely explanation is that they had a five-men team to chase after Lord Grim in the online game, and they were beaten so badly that it affected their competitive state.” Qiao Yifan comes to the same conclusion. 

“Seriously?” Fang Rui responds incredulously. The Level 75 update isn’t here yet. There should be no reason for pro players to get involved in guild matters. These are no rookies, they should be able to adjust their state quickly.

“...they’re really afraid of Old Ye, aren’t they?” Fang Rui sighs, leaning back on his seat.

“And they don’t even know it.” Qiao Yifan smiles helplessly.

“It explains a lot honestly. No wonder they crash and burn so badly after this.”

Fang Rui and Qiao Yifan go silent. They cannot imagine Ye Xiu’s feelings right now.

“There’s nothing we can do for Excellent Era.” Fang Rui speaks their thoughts out loud.

“Qiu Fei will do well.” Qiao Yifan puts up the reminder that Excellent Era will regain their former glory.

“Just make sure Big Eye won’t steal him away for Tiny Herb.” Fang Rui adds, Qiao Yifan laughs. It has been a bit of an inside joke on how Wang Jiexi kept trying and failing to poach Ye Xiu’s Battle Mage disciples, while Ye Xiu successfully poached from his own team (and in addition to Blue Rain and a special mention for Tyranny’s guild).

“Oh, West Riding Wind just told me there’s a BOSS sighting.” Qiao Yifan reads the message he just received aloud.

“Ooh nice. Give me the coordinates. I’ll join you.”

There’s only so much they can do by sparring against each other. They are too familiar with each other. They need variety, or to be exact, chaos . Which can be easily found in the online game, either BOSS fight or dungeon raid.

Fang Rui as a Thief is too recognizable, so whenever he helps out the guild, he uses a Brawler account instead. Being of the same Fighter class, it’s a good exercise for his Qi Master. Both his Thief and Brawler alt belong to Howling Heights. His Qi Master is purposefully kept unaffiliated for matters unrelated to guild. Meanwhile, Qiao Yifan has joined Wind Howl’s guild as a Spellblade and left his Ghostblade unaffiliated for the same reason. Initially he wanted to use Warlock, but Fang Rui quickly shut him down. His Warlock is an unholy combination of Yu Wenzhou and Wei Chen. 

It will be a matter of time until Blue Brook takes notice of him and brings him to Blue Rain captain’s attention. Fang Rui knows better than anyone else how persistent Yu Wenzhou can be, and in some ways, he’s more annoying than Huang Shaotian. Qiao Yifan has looked at him in confusion since it sounded like from experience. His tired expression kept his little captain from pursuing the line of questioning. He would have told him though if Qiao Yifan asked, especially if he asked him back in their original timeline. Their (future) Yu Wenzhou has been eyeing Happy’s captain and national team’s vice captain as his successor as the Alliance’s Chairman. He has actually mapped (seriously, mapped !) Qiao Yifan’s professional career from captaincy to retirement, from pro player to Alliance employee, and eventually Chairman. Having known and worked with Yu Wenzhou well, he and Ye Xiu saw this coming and acted accordingly so Qiao Yifan won’t be overwhelmed and remain oblivious. They also made it clear that it should be Qiao Yifan’s choice , should he choose to work for the Alliance. Knowing Qiao Yifan, their junior would have preferred to remain in Hangzhou and work for Happy. Fang Rui immediately shakes off the thought when familiar figures come into sight.

West Riding Wind and the rest of the guild elites quickly surround them when they arrive, their excitement palpable. “There you are, Never-Setting Sun and Frosty Blade!”

“Congrats for the win!” “That was an exciting match!” “God Fang, you were awesome!” The guild elites congratulate Fang Rui for Wind Howl’s win with hushed whispers, careful not to be overheard by others, even their own guild, particularly their own guild. 

Wind Howl’s performance has been worrisome after Lin Jingyan’s defeat in the Rookie Challenge, but last match brought the much needed assurance and excitement. Fresh from their latest victory, the guild is in high spirits. Unfortunately, they were not the first to see the BOSS, Tyrannical Ambition was. By the time Howling Heights managed to gather enough people, Herb Garden and Blue Brook had joined in. Usually they wouldn’t force it, but the BOSS was of a Fighter class, so the drops would definitely be useful for the team, so they asked for Qiao Yifan’s help. They were pleasantly surprised that Fang Rui came along. 

All they know of Qiao Yifan is that he is a promising youth that shows tactical talent that Fang Rui discovered. The guild people connected the dots themselves that Qiao Yifan was not from their training camp, so they have been very welcoming, trying to make Team Wind Howl appealing to the talented player, more so when they saw his abilities themselves. The Guild has never reaped so many materials until Little Frosty Blade leads them. He is such a nice and polite boy, too. The Guild leaders sing so much praises to Fang Rui should Qiao Yifan hear them he would definitely resemble a tomato.

“Is it really okay for you to join the BOSS fight? You’ve just had a match tonight.” West Riding Wind asks concernedly. Fang Rui smiles, West Riding Wind is a good man. He is originally from Wind Howl’s training camp, so he’s better informed than an ordinary player how important rest is for pro players.

“I haven’t quite wound down from tonight’s match. I’m good to go.” Cheers come from all around. “Let’s go and steal a BOSS, everyone.” Fang Rui and Qiao Yifan exchange a look, knowing they have identical grins on their faces despite the characters’ emotionless face.

“Little Frosty Blade, take the command.”

“Yes, Senior.”

Stealing BOSSes, Happy’s forever favorite pastime.

xxx

Fang Rui closes the door behind him as he leaves the R&D department. He spent longer time than expected, catching up with Old Xu until they passed dinnertime. He drops by from time to time to visit the few of the old faces that still remain in the club alongside his routine checks on supporting departments, but he has long learned not to disturb the researchers so he makes sure he doesn’t show up unannounced and take more of their time than necessary. He decides to pack up his dinner from the cafeteria and brings it back to his room.

Lately he can be always found in the online game, since they will be reaching an important milestone. Qiao Yifan has taken One Inch Ash back from the power leveler and currently is undergoing the Heavenly Domain challenge. Then there’s the bounty for Lord Grim and Deception.

This should be the events happening right before Wei Chen’s ambush of Lord Grim.

Fang Rui’s presence isn’t really necessary considering the current Qiao Yifan was not the inexperienced rookie in the past. Qiao Yifan will be more than enough to support Ye Xiu and Chen Guo against Wei Chen and his band of brothers. However, there’s a huge amount of luck (or fate) involved in getting Wei Chen to join Happy. Death’s Hand was the sole reason Ye Xiu got a hold of the elusive former Blue Rain captain. There’s no certainty that the Warlock’s Scepter will drop again with Windward Formation’s death. Should it not happen, Wei Chen will be less likely to hear Ye Xiu out.

He will be needed for the worst case scenario, since he still keeps in touch with the man who has recruited him from the Challenger’s League, which also happens to be Wei Chen’s vice captain (and weakness): Fang Shijing. 

Well, that’s the main reason, but Fang Rui will never miss the chance to bully the older man… and to meet the original members of Team Happy. 

Despite Ye Xiu not having appointed anyone as vice captain, Fang Rui and Wei Chen with their experience as former team leaders had been Happy captain’s main helpers when it came to the management of the team and the club. In the wake of Ye Xiu’s retirement, as the remaining pioneering generation, Wei Chen was indispensable. Captain Su Mucheng, Vice Captain Fang Rui and Boss Chen Guo of the new championship team would have been lost and overwhelmed without his guidance.

Happy’s girls were not and have never been just a pretty vase. Happy’s guys knew this better than anyone else, but unfortunately, the world didn’t necessarily think the same. Striking the balance between protecting and supporting them was quite a challenge. They wanted to help them but at the same time didn't want to undermine them. The juniors were still too young and inexperienced, so the task often fell on the two of them, with Wu Chen sometimes being roped in. He and Wei Chen have built a revolutionary friendship from the experience. They will be strangers this time, so he hopes he can get to know the legendary Blue Rain captain earlier.

A system prompt pops up, catching his attention.

System notification: Friend Deception is online.

With pro players’ hand speed, Fang Rui sends him a message for him to set his status as invisible and to check the public announcement, which the other responds with a confused emoji, but nonetheless the scrap-picker changed his status, to his pleasant surprise.

“500 yuan?!” Mo Fan expressed his shock so clearly, even only in text.

“What item did you pick that the guilds put up for such a reward for you? I don’t think I’ve seen that kind of announcement before.” 

There are several curses and multiple annoyed emojis, making Fang Rui chuckle. Mo Fan might be cold and detached in real life, but he’s expressive online. It took the team by surprise when he participated actively in Happy group chat, and to roast Old Wei at that. Later on the professional stage, he was not only renowned as God killer, but also the God with killer one-liners, which the team often brought up to tease him about, to the younger man’s embarrassment. By the end of Season 11, they all learned that he was actually capable of speaking in long, complete sentences, and that the length he spoke corresponded to the level of comfort and closeness he felt with others. Fang Rui has been the first to be granted that special privilege in Team Happy. 

That’s why Fang Rui was the one assigned the task of befriending Mo Fan. After Happy’s senior members retired, the younger ones were becoming much closer and more tight knit. However, it didn’t change the fact that Mo Fan still was most comfortable around Su Mucheng and Fang Rui. What Qiao Yifan didn’t know–and it was not his secret to tell–was that the main reason why Mo Fan opened up so easily to him was because he had made Ye Xiu apologize to Mo Fan when he found out the circumstances of how Mo Fan joined the team. 

From the initial retelling, it did sound like such a hilarious tale, especially when Tyranny–Zhang Xinjie and Lin Jingyan!!–got involved. When he heard the throwaway line from Wei Chen, “We thought he’d come for real-life PK,” he thought the older man had exaggerated as he was wont. 

Fang Rui has always been good at respecting boundaries once he has them figured out, and to his knowledge, so is Ye Xiu. If anything, that man excels at maintaining proper distance. What people know about him is only what he lets others know, which is close to none . Team Happy knows more than other pro players and definitely much more than the general public, but most of the knowledge they have is from Chen Guo who happened to be at the right place and time when Ye Xiu was willing to share more about himself. Even Ye Xiu’s retirement was a surprise to all of them. Except for Su Mucheng… and for him, because they saw the signs.

However, once he got closer to Mo Fan and got to know him better… he understood where he was coming from, why he became a scrap-picker and what Glory meant for him. Glory was not only his escape, it’s his safe haven .

And Ye Xiu took that away from him.

Fang Rui had no doubt that Ye Xiu had no malicious intentions, and Mo Fan as Deception was difficult to communicate with. But to make him unable to enjoy playing Glory because every time he logged in he was pursued and killed…. It was not fair to him. It was downright cruel .

Being pressed for time was not enough of an excuse. Sun Zheping joined their team before the offline matches (although to be fair, he was a former pro player, he needed little adjustment). Providing guidance and training should also be still possible while building rapport in online games. Due to the lack of rapport, Mo Fan ended up mostly self-taught in Happy. He never truly (and was willing to) received proper guidance from Ye Xiu. Su Mucheng and Fang Rui did their best, but they couldn’t really compare to the Glory Textbook. 

Mo Fan did end up settling well in Happy and thriving in the Pro League. He was much better suited for the pro scenes than online games. He was a good friend, a reliable teammate and an important member of Happy. Due to his independent nature, he often provided a different perspective and clearer insight of things. Fang Rui enjoyed their late night chats when they shared a room together.

But it could have been better.

So that’s what he is doing this time around: building rapport and providing guidance to Mo Fan.

“It’s that Lord Grim.” What follows is the longest conversation he has with Mo Fan, and not to mention the most gossip he has ever heard to the point he even brings out the snacks and munches on them while giving appropriate responses. It’s nice being part of history that he used to be unaware of, that even Qiao Yifan is not privy to. More so to being told by the person involved directly and willingly.

Mo Fan has come so far… inwardly Fang Rui sheds tears of pride.

“Who is he?” Surprisingly, Mo Fan asks at the end of his rant. Fang Rui’s eyebrows fly up in surprise. It’s always a significant occurrence whenever Mo Fan takes initiative.

“Who? Lord Grim?” Fang Rui really needs to restrain himself before he responds. Pro player’s hand speed can be quite a curse. Otherwise, he’d come on too eager.

“Who is he that the guilds make such a ruckus over him?” 

“No one really knows. At least no one is saying anything with concrete proof.” Fang Rui sends out a shrugging emoji. “There’s even rumors that he’s Ye Qiu.”

“Who?”

Fang Rui just sends out a speechless emoji, while his stomach hurts trying to hold back laughter. For Mo Fan who has little interest in people, unless they are his teammates and opponents, this is his most common expression. Even for fellow pro players, he remembers their accounts more than the person behind them.

“You don’t even know Ye Qiu?? I know not everyone follows the Pro League, but I thought everyone should know Ye Qiu at the least.”

“Why is that?”

“You know Excellent Dynasty, right? Their professional team and club, Excellent Era created a dynasty by winning three consecutive championships, and it’s all thanks to its captain and core, Ye Qiu and his Battle Mage character, One Autumn Leaf. That’s why there are so many Battle Mage players and why its guild, Excellent Dynasty, is considered among the big guilds in online games.”

“Oh. So that’s why.” Only now, Mo Fan connects the dots. He has wondered, but since it has no relevance to him, he put them aside for more pressing concerns, such as scrap picking and killing. He doesn’t really care about the top guilds. They are not really that special in his eyes. He can defeat their experts just fine. He did notice that there were certain guilds, like Excellent Dynasty, that were more inclined to throw out the name of their guilds as if it was worth something. If any of those guilds can hear Mo Fan’s thoughts, they’re likely crying tears of frustration and anger.

“There are other championship teams and players, but none that have pulled off similar achievements. He’s pretty much a legendary figure in Glory.”

“So this guy, this Ye Qiu, is supposed to be Lord Grim?”

“As I mentioned before, no one is sure who he is, but everyone agrees he’s definitely a pro-level player, even some say he’s god-level. Considering Ye Qiu has just retired and is no longer competing in the Pro League, it does sound plausible.”

“What’s the difference?” Mo Fan notices the differentiation. He has heard other players addressing those pros as gods in conversation. He dismissed them as typical meandering of weak players to the strong or fans to their idols.

Fang Rui mulls over his answer. He knows this is a momentous occasion. The continuous questions are a really, really good sign from the usually aloof Mo Fan. If he does this right, Mo Fan will grow an interest in the Pro League by himself.

“How to say it… Do you consider yourself an expert?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m better than others.” Fang Rui quirks a fond smile at the matter-of-fact answer. Mo Fan is indeed an expert among ordinary players in the online game.

“Then that’s what pro players are: the expert of the experts.” Fang Rui pauses. “And Gods… are those who stand out among the pro players.”

There is no response for a long time.

Fang Rui finds himself completely calm, not the slightest bit nervous at the silence. He only has limited interactions with this Mo Fan. He has been careful not to overwhelm his old roommate, quietly following his lead. It was already a miracle that he was willing to add him as a friend. Their initial exchanges were curt and businesslike. Once their business was over, whether it was scrap-picking or playing dungeons, Mo Fan did not stay around to chat. However, after quite some time in their cooperation together, Mo Fan finally couldn’t restrain his curiosity and started asking questions about his actions, mostly about skills utilisation and game strategy. It is not uncommon for Mo Fan to go silent or to go offline afterwards.

Fang Rui recognizes this habit of Mo Fan very well. He had the same habit back in Happy. Once he was more comfortable around the team, it was clear that he did not refuse guidance, but he did prefer to do things at his own pace. He would come up to the teammate who would most likely help him, then afterwards he preferred to be left alone to mull things over. Usually he went over the recordings over and over again, doing his own research and then practicing on his own. He would balk at any offer of help in the process even though it would make everything faster and easier for him. He accepted hints reluctantly, and even then it could go both ways, they never really knew for sure. Though it was almost a guarantee if it came from Wei Chen (and Ye Xiu, when he was particularly moody), Mo Fan would always do the opposite.

Fang Rui takes this silence as a good sign. He guesses that Mo Fan is currently doing his own research about Lord Grim and Ye Qiu. Since he doesn’t go offline, Fang Rui decides to hang around in case Mo Fan comes back with questions and busy himself with the preparation for the next Wind Howl match. 

Fang Rui is so engrossed in watching and taking notes of their next opponent that it takes him a while to notice the new message in his chat box. There’s only a single line, but the content is enough to surprise him.

“Are you a pro player?”

“You think I’m an expert among experts? I’m flattered.” Fang Rui doesn’t miss a beat.

“Free field. Room 23948. Password 1030.”

“How bold of you.” Fang Rui gives a token protest, while smoothly switching to the arena and entering the room number and password. He has actually been waiting for this moment.

Plan “Drag Mo Fan into Pro Scene” has officially kicked off.

xxx

Qiao Yifan blinks at the message in his phone. He has just woken up and washed his face, so he hasn’t had the time to check his phone. He’s so excited at the news that he instinctively presses the call button instead.

“Well, good morn’ to you.” A familiar drawl comes from the phone. Qiao Yifan has a brief moment of embarrassment before his previous excitement quickly covers it up.

“Is it true?”

“Yup.” Fang Rui pops the p. “Our Mo Fan finally shows interest in the big leagues.”

“He figured out that you were a pro player?” Qiao Yifan is amazed. He knows how careful Fang Rui is in dealing with Mo Fan. Whenever he plays online together with Mo Fan, Fang Rui tends to play support, and support’s value tends to be harder to notice. For Mo Fan who is unfamiliar with teamwork, being able to notice not only the value of Fang Rui’s support but also his level is quite an achievement.

“It seems he gained a lot from his time with Lord Grim.”

“Senior is an excellent teacher.” For Qiao Yifan, this is an irrefutable truth.

“So long the student is willing.”

“That’s… unfortunately true.” Qiao Yifan cannot help but feel rather sad at the acknowledgement. Excellent Era finally encountered their deposed and supposedly obsolete captain in the online game, expecting to win against him and a bunch of nobodies he was leading, only to be trounced badly. It should be clear evidence that so long they are willing to listen to Ye Xiu, victory should be a matter of course. They are Excellent Era’s pro players, they should be better than aspiring pro players like Heavenly Justice, who received a mere fraction of Ye Xiu’s direct and constant guidance. And yet… they were busy blaming others but themselves.

“Considering our luck, what are the chances we’ll be meeting Old Wei tonight?” Fang Rui disrupts the melancholy mood before it could linger.

“I’d say, a very good one. Senior Wei is quick at catching opportunities.” Fang Rui’s amused cackle at the other end of the phone makes him chuckle, lifting his mood.

“See you tonight then Brother Rui.”

“See ya.”

Qiao Yifan shakes his head. He might be the one calling, but he ended up being checked up on by his senior. To be honest, his current situation is a significant improvement from his previous life in Tiny Herb. Being allowed to play as Phantom Demon instead of Assassin makes him feel much more at ease and comfortable. He also receives guidance from Wang Jiexi himself. The Tiny Herb captain is not too familiar with the class as Ghostblade doesn’t play a prominent role in the team, but playoff regular Team Void has Ghostblade duo as their core players. They are opponents that Tiny Herb and its captain have studied intensively. Being the Magician, he provides an unique, refreshing insight even for Qiao Yifan who has been hailed as the number one Ghostblade in the future-past. In addition, Wang Jiexi involves him more in individual and team practice. Now, he has more than Gao Yingjie to practice with. 

Then when the official training is done, Qiao Yifan usually goes back to his room to refresh his knowledge of the current teams’ and Alliance’s situation, and to practice more with his alternate accounts online, whether by himself or with Fang Rui. Sometimes he also takes advantage of the free time to either practice or play with Gao Yingjie and fellow Eighth Year rookies. This time around, Tiny Herb’s Qiao Yifan is living a busy, yet rich and fulfilling life. Fang Rui needs not worry about him at all.

It is not to say there’s no awkwardness at all in the team. How can there not be?

The water dispenser player suddenly shows them up, completely overturning their previous perception of him and themselves. The subtle hierarchy they have established is now broken. Before, it’s never a question of who is the worst player among them, who might be kicked out of the team. Now, it could be any of them.

The newfound interest and attention of Wang Jiexi don’t help matters. Instead of cherishing the opportunity to receive guidance from the great god and captain of Tiny Herb, they are too focused on not making any mistakes, on not doing worse than other reserve players. This strategy often backfires on them, making them commit more mistakes than they should have.

Qiao Yifan doesn’t fail to notice how it makes the atmosphere around the reserve players tense and suffocating, but he’s helpless about it. It’s not like he doesn’t want to help, it’s simply he can’t. It’s not only because he’s the main cause, but also because it’s a matter of mindset. It’s not something that can be easily changed.

All he can do is to make sure that Gao Yingjie is not affected by their attitude and focus on helping to build his best friend’s confidence instead.

“Good morning, Yifan!” Gao Yingjie greets him as he opens the door of his room, the other boy is just exiting his own room across from his. 

“Good morning, Yingjie.” Qiao Yifan smiles as they fall in step with each other.

Qiao Yifan finally gained the courage to talk with Gao Yingjie about his situation, determined to come clean before they returned to Tiny Herb. His best friend deserves to know the whole truth from him, and not the incomplete one from Wang Jiexi. 

The conversation had gone easier than he expected. 

His best friend was sad and disappointed, that had been his greatest fear and worry. However, his sadness and disappointment was more directed to himself than Qiao Yifan.

“I’m sorry Yifan.” Gao Yingjie’s expression was as if he was close to tears.

“Yingjie?” Qiao Yifan was confused.

“I know your circumstances better than anyone else. However, I have been too afraid to do anything.” 

“No Yingjie.” Qiao Yifan shook his head vehemently. “We’re just rookies. We’re just doing the best we can.”

“But-but I could’ve just talked with the captain-”

“And then tell him what?” Qiao Yifan gently spoke to his distressed friend. “I was the worst performer in the team. I did not show any improvement for half a season. Even if you spoke well for me, I really had nothing to show. I had been so desperate that I was willing to try out a new class. It was a huge gamble for me. I really didn’t know how it would turn out. 

“I did not tell you not because I did not trust you. It was myself I did not trust.” Qiao Yifan looked straight at Gao Yingjie, not hiding all of the doubt and uncertainty he had been feeling in those dark times. “I wanted… I wanted to prove to myself, and to everyone else that I deserved to be a pro player. And it was something I needed to do myself.”

“Yifan…” Gao Yingjie’s wide eyes were filled with tears. Not wanting to see his friend cry, Qiao Yifan tried to lighten things up.

“I must admit I got a bit arrogant since I received God Ye’s direct guidance. I foolishly thought that was enough.”

Unfortunately it didn’t seem to work as Gao Yingjie still burst into tears, sending him into a panic. Qiao Yifan could only sit next to his friend and comfort him helplessly, promising him that he would not hide things from him anymore. 

Qiao Yifan still doesn’t quite understand what drove his friend to tears, but just like Gao Yingjie who has waited patiently until he was ready to talk, Qiao Yifan will do the same for him.

“Yifan, did you read the group chat?” Gao Yingjie starts after they’ve sat down with their breakfast.

“Do you mean Jade group chat?” Qiao Yifan watches in amusement as Gao Yingjie flails in embarrassment whenever the name is brought up, which is why he did it. Inspired by Fang Rui who wormed his way into Tiny Herb’s seating section during the All Stars, Qiao Yifan spent the rest of the event making friends, taking Gao Yingjie along with him. Soon he was reacquainted with Dai Yanqi from Thunderclap, Yu Nian from Samsara, Li Yuan from Blue Rain, and He Weitang from Royal Style, the ones among the Eight Year debutants he was the closest to and later became the core members of the New Generation. 

Among the newly debuted pro players, their similar background and temperament made them click with each other quickly. None of them were particularly arrogant or ambitious. It was not like they didn’t want to make a name for themselves, but they understood Glory isn’t that simple. They understood how heavy the weight of expectations was. They were also aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately they understood that everyone had their own challenges, and there was no use of being envious of others.

They were such good kids. Qiao Yifan was honored to have known them. 

However, it took him until Season 10 to get to know them, and even then it was Dai Yanqi and Li Yuan who reached out first. They took all of Happy's rookies, the odd bunch that they were, under their wings. Before they knew it, they had smoothly integrated with the younger pro players of the Alliance.

It was Dai Yanqi who created the chat group, but it was He Weitang who gave the name of Jade Generation then. It is the same now. Despite the pretentious name, they consist of the most down-to-earth personalities, but also the same people who need frequent reminder to boost their confidence and to know they have people in their corner, who understood all the difficulties being the youngest generation in the current pro scenes and whom they could go to for help, whenever they needed it.

Their generation is in the unique position of nothing they have achieved will be truly original, that they will always be compared with their predecessors and they will always have the shadows of them hanging over them, found within themselves. Even if they do not have any predecessors to compare with, there is the unspoken expectation that they can’t only be ordinary, they need to be outstanding, to be godly . This becomes much harder, and near impossible with the longer career span of pro players, with the difference of experience as a chasm that is difficult to overcome.

But at the same time, for the new generation of Glory fans ushered in by the World Invitationals and Olympics, they have also become the only pro players these fans know. They have become what the Golden Generation was in the early years of the Alliance. They are hauled as Gods, the best of the best, while wondering whether those who bestow that title upon them are making fair comparison with their admired and respected predecessors. Just like less and less people remember Ye Xiu’s One Autumn Leaf, and more and more people remember Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf, that it seems that One Autumn Leaf has always been Sun Xiang.

The Yangtze River forges ahead waves upon waves, the new generation will invariably surpass the old, as it should be. It is an inevitability. It is something their predecessors have learned to accept, to embrace, and it is something they should also learn.

However, the younger generation seems more sensitive in this regard. While their mind understands, their heart remains unwilling. Qiao Yifan is no exception. 

The Jade Generation chat group has been a source of comfort and strength for many of its members.

And to see this remains unchanged brings him great relief, that his return to the past does not irrevocably damage the good things they had.

With their earlier involvement with the Jade Generation, he can see the changes in Gao Yingjie. Getting to know more pro players of his age and of different teams really does him good. Gao Yingjie is getting out of his shell. It is not immediately obvious, but as his best friend, Qiao Yifan can see it clearly. 

So can Wang Jiexi. 

Somehow the man also managed to unerringly pinpoint Qiao Yifan as the cause. He nearly had a heart attack when Wang Jiexi randomly popped out and complimented him for getting Gao Yingjie to join the chat group. Honestly, Qiao Yifan much preferred Ye Xiu to Wang Jiexi as his captain. He can still make heads or tails of Ye Xiu’s thoughts than Wang Jiexi’s. He can understand his current captain just fine during games, but outside them? 

Inner Qiao Yifan is waving a white flag, but Tactician Qiao Yifan is admittedly tempted to dig into the Magician’s brain and compare notes with Fang Shiqian, the God of Healing who has won Tiny Herb’s two championships with Wang Jiexi. He’ll just settle watching and observing Wang Jiexi in his remaining time in Tiny Herb.

“Do you think the pea cakes are ready?” Gao Yingjie asks him excitedly. Qiao Yifan has tried (been dragged to) other teams’ cafeteria, so he can say with confidence that while Tiny Herb cafeteria cannot really compete with a certain team’s cafeteria, their desserts are to die for. It doesn’t matter whether you have a sweet tooth or not, just like himself. It helps that they are the youngest (and cutest) members of the team, so the lovely aunties often let them know ahead of the others if there are freshly made desserts, even going as far as packing them separately for them. 

“Aunt Li did say it should be ready by the time we finished.”

“I’ll go check. If they’re done, I’ll also take your share for you.” Gao Yingjie offers, already standing up before Qiao Yifan can make the offer himself. 

“Okay.” Qiao Yifan can only chuckle in amusement at his best friend’s sweet tooth. Nothing can stand between Gao Yingjie and sweet desserts, not even Wang Jiexi.

Qiao Yifan is about to finish his glass of milk when a snide voice speaks up behind him.

“You’re such a big hotshot now that you can order around Gao Yingjie, huh?”

Qiao Yifan doesn’t blink. His expression remains unchanged even as his seniors come up to his table, looming over him, trying to intimidate him. He is far too old and experienced to be easily provoked with such a pitiful attempt to assert dominance. He is also no longer that Qiao Yifan who is uncertain of his place in his team and questioning his own worth, so all he can feel is sadness for them that they need to resort to such tactics.

He is not surprised to see that Xiao Yun is the one who made the remark with a sneer on his face, but is surprised to see that Zhou Zebai next to him doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment. He actually looks… uncomfortable? 

Due to the new arrangement, he and the senior Ghostblade player cannot help but spend a lot of time together. Zhou Yebai couldn’t hide his discomfort and dislike at first, but once they start interacting more and discussing about Ghostblade tactics and strategy, Qiao Yifan can say that their relationship is not that bad. It’s still a work in progress, and it can be said that the main reason for that is the one senior who cannot hide his hostility, who also happens to be the person Zhou Yebai is closest to in the team.

“Good morning Senior.” Qiao Yifan greets them politely with a smile. “Have you had breakfast?”

Xiao Yun narrows his eyes at his calm response.

“Quit with all that nice guy act. You might be fooling the captain, but you’re not fooling me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean, Senior.” The helpless look on his face is not faked. Qiao Yifan really doesn’t understand the conclusions Xiao Yun comes to.

“Hah? Still pretending to be a pig, aren’t you? You managed to make yourself so pitiful that the Captain and Gao Yingjie now all bent over backwards for you.”

Qiao Yifan is rendered speechless. It’s not only the incredible mental gymnastics required to come up with that, but also the blatant display of hostility, suggesting that anything he does will only further add fuel to the fire.

“That’s what friends do. But I suppose you won’t understand that, Senior.” 

It’s only due to years of experience being captain that Qiao Yifan can maintain his composure. Otherwise, he’ll be making the same expressions as Xiao Yun and Zhao Yebai who are gaping in shock, in complete disbelief that the words are coming from their supposedly shy and quiet junior.

Gao Yingjie has returned to their table without their notice. Qiao Yifan doesn’t know how much he has heard, but from the flat and stony expression… he has heard enough. Qiao Yifan does not expect to witness this rare sight so early, when Gao Yingjie is still so young and immature.

“Senior Xiao, you can say anything about me, but can you really say that about the captain?”

Never had Qiao Yifan seen someone turn so pale so quickly the way Xiao Yun does. Zhou Yebai is no less pale next to him but he has better presence of mind to pull frozen Xiao Yun away before he can open his mouth and make things worse, especially now that more people have arrived in the cafeteria for breakfast.

Gao Yingjie’s expression remains unchanged, his body is taut with tension, his hands are clenched on his sides, his gaze not leaving the two older members of Tiny Herb until they completely leave the vicinity.

Right before his eyes, Gao Yingjie deflates like all the wind is taken out of his sails, dropping so heavily on the table that Qiao Yifan is worried that his friend has hit something. Gao Yingjie buries his face on his arms so that only his curly hair can be seen.

“Yingjie?? Are you alright??” Qiao Yifan’s hands hover over his friend’s slumped figure, unsure how to comfort him. Suddenly Gao Yingjie’s reddened face suddenly popped up, taking Qiao Yifan by surprise.

“How can you just listen to all of that Yifan? How can you not be angry? I thought… I thought things were getting better.”

Qiao Yifan stares at Gao Yingjie’s misty eyes and trembling lips, reminded of his friend’s expression when burst into tears. Gao Yingjie had the same expression back then, it was sadness mixed with anger at the injustice, at his own helplessness…. Even now and then, the only times Gao Yingjie will and can only be driven to anger only when someone else he cares about is wronged. This is where the two best friends are the most similar.

Qiao Yifan’s heart is filled with pride and affection.

“They are, Yingjie. They are.” Qiao Yifan makes sure to look Gao Yingjie in the eye when he says this. “I might not be able to stand on stage with you, but I can be part of the team’s practice, to help you prepare for competition, so when you go out there, standing on the stage, it’s like I’m there too with you.

“I’m no longer afraid. But unlike me, they are. So that’s why they act like that. And I’ve been in their position. So who am I to be angry at them?”

“You should be angry.” Gao Yingjie frowns, but with his baby face it only looks vaguely threatening.

“Well, I think you’re angry enough for both of us.” Qiao Yifan is relieved to see his friend is no longer looking so sad and angry.

“That’s not how it works.” Gao Yingjie pouts. Qiao Yifan has to resist pinching his cheeks. Now he understands very well why Fang Rui did that to him. He still has his own chubby cheeks.

“Really? You were pretty cool, you know.” Qiao Yifan teases Gao Yingjie.

“ I can’t believe I just said that... ” A whine can be heard as the future captain of Tiny Herb buries his head again, this time out of embarrassment at the realization of what he has done.

Qiao Yifan can’t help it, he laughs.

Notes:

Thanks for reading Chinese fics via MTL I picked up some Chinese proverbs: Yangtze River back wave pushes front wave, front wave dies on the beach. - the new is constantly replacing the old; each new generation excels the previous; (of things) to be constantly evolving Play a pig eat a tiger - play dumb to deceive/take advantage (i think it’s included in the novel though, so it should be a familiar proverb)

[academyofbrokenhearts]

I still have the last episode to watch, but for what it's worth, the story is pretty much wrapped up already, so here are my final thoughts.

There are cases of C dramas based on novels where the narrative as told in the drama has improved the novel in various ways. As much as I dig the insanity in Love of the Divine Tree the novel, for example, I very much prefer the drama and the themes in it. Similarly, all the changes Blossom and The Blossoming Love did to the original material in the novel were for the better and really helped to shape up the TV story (I will always, always love the feminist undertones of Blossom or the philosophical questions raised in The Blossoming Love).

But The First Frost is truly a case where they would have been better off just following the original material of the novel, with no major changes. Even now, I can't wrap my head around how the Hong Kong arc could have been introduced and solved in a satisfactory manner with the amount of episodes we were given. I would have frankly preferred them to introduce more filling material and more flashbacks rather than going with such a major departure from the original plot, and then not bothering to do anything significant about it. Because they didn't. They just had the characters constantly parroting at the audience what a crucial thing for Wen Yifan's development it was, but all those reactions completely defy any kind of realism and go straight to the delulu land where Wen Yifan is The Main Character and everyone around her is set on worshiping her and all the bad choices she made. This didn't only extend to the Hong Kong shenanigans, but also to the first time she rejected Sang Yan back in Beiyu, with Sang Zhi saying in the penultimate episode that it was a good thing because it humbled her brother!!!! Like... why would she even say that to the person who hurt her brother so terribly back then?

Anyway. Will I rewatch? Probably, at some point, because the drama was splendid when it got things right, and also, as you said, the make-outs were GLORIOUS. Will it go down in history as one of my all time favourites? Not really, no.

Points to them for keeping this particular scene and implying a hell of a lot with that cutaway from the kiss and the closed bathroom door ahahah

The moment he was all NO YOU ARE NOT CHANGING OUT OF YOUR TUTU i went hehehehehhe

The narrative may have lost my attention by the end, but the make-outs remained epic (and jaw dropping for a cdrama tbh.) And woo-hoo, at least SY got to fulfill his clearly long standing fantasy of banging her in a ballerina outfit.

Bonus - secret make outs in parental home. Heh.

I adored every moment of this drama for about 3/4 of it. After that it didn't work for me but I am not sorry I watched it because the first 3/4 were exquisite, because I got to discover the novel, and because the performances were out of this world.

[jcmarchi]

For clean ammonia, MIT engineers propose going underground

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/for-clean-ammonia-mit-engineers-propose-going-underground/

For clean ammonia, MIT engineers propose going underground

Ammonia is the most widely produced chemical in the world today, used primarily as a source for nitrogen fertilizer. Its production is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions — the highest in the whole chemical industry.

Now, a team of researchers at MIT has developed an innovative way of making ammonia without the usual fossil-fuel-powered chemical plants that require high heat and pressure. Instead, they have found a way to use the Earth itself as a geochemical reactor, producing ammonia underground. The processes uses Earth’s naturally occurring heat and pressure, provided free of charge and free of emissions, as well as the reactivity of minerals already present in the ground.

The trick the team devised is to inject water underground, into an area of iron-rich subsurface rock. The water carries with it a source of nitrogen and particles of a metal catalyst, allowing the water to react with the iron to generate clean hydrogen, which in turn reacts with the nitrogen to make ammonia. A second well is then used to pump that ammonia up to the surface.

The process, which has been demonstrated in the lab but not yet in a natural setting, is described today in the journal Joule. The paper’s co-authors are MIT professors of materials science and engineering Iwnetim Abate and Ju Li, graduate student Yifan Gao, and five others at MIT.

“When I first produced ammonia from rock in the lab, I was so excited,” Gao recalls. “I realized this represented an entirely new and never-reported approach to ammonia synthesis.’”

The standard method for making ammonia is called the Haber-Bosch process, which was developed in Germany in the early 20th century to replace natural sources of nitrogen fertilizer such as mined deposits of bat guano, which were becoming depleted. But the Haber-Bosch process is very energy intensive: It requires temperatures of 400 degrees Celsius and pressures of 200 atmospheres, and this means it needs huge installations in order to be efficient. Some areas of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, have few or no such plants in operation.  As a result, the shortage or extremely high cost of fertilizer in these regions has limited their agricultural production.

The Haber-Bosch process “is good. It works,” Abate says. “Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to feed 2 out of the total 8 billion people in the world right now, he says, referring to the portion of the world’s population whose food is grown with ammonia-based fertilizers. But because of the emissions and energy demands, a better process is needed, he says.

Burning fuel to generate heat is responsible for about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted from plants using the Haber-Bosch process. Making hydrogen accounts for the remaining 80 percent.  But ammonia, the molecule NH3, is made up only of nitrogen and hydrogen. There’s no carbon in the formula, so where do the carbon emissions come from? The standard way of producing the needed hydrogen is by processing methane gas with steam, breaking down the gas into pure hydrogen, which gets used, and carbon dioxide gas that gets released into the air.

Other processes exist for making low- or no-emissions hydrogen, such as by using solar or wind-generated electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, but that process can be expensive. That’s why Abate and his team worked on developing a system to produce what they call geological hydrogen. Some places in the world, including some in Africa, have been found to naturally generate hydrogen underground through chemical reactions between water and iron-rich rocks. These pockets of naturally occurring hydrogen can be mined, just like natural methane reservoirs, but the extent and locations of such deposits are still relatively unexplored.

Abate realized this process could be created or enhanced by pumping water, laced with copper and nickel catalyst particles to speed up the process, into the ground in places where such iron-rich rocks were already present. “We can use the Earth as a factory to produce clean flows of hydrogen,” he says.

He recalls thinking about the problem of the emissions from hydrogen production for ammonia: “The ‘aha!’ moment for me was thinking, how about we link this process of geological hydrogen production with the process of making Haber-Bosch ammonia?”

That would solve the biggest problem of the underground hydrogen production process, which is how to capture and store the gas once it’s produced. Hydrogen is a very tiny molecule — the smallest of them all — and hard to contain. But by implementing the entire Haber-Bosch process underground, the only material that would need to be sent to the surface would be the ammonia itself, which is easy to capture, store, and transport.

The only extra ingredient needed to complete the process was the addition of a source of nitrogen, such as nitrate or nitrogen gas, into the water-catalyst mixture being injected into the ground. Then, as the hydrogen gets released from water molecules after interacting with the iron-rich rocks, it can immediately bond with the nitrogen atoms also carried in the water, with the deep underground environment providing the high temperatures and pressures required by the Haber-Bosch process. A second well near the injection well then pumps the ammonia out and into tanks on the surface.

“We call this geological ammonia,” Abate says, “because we are using subsurface temperature, pressure, chemistry, and geologically existing rocks to produce ammonia directly.”

Whereas transporting hydrogen requires expensive equipment to cool and liquefy it, and virtually no pipelines exist for its transport (except near oil refinery sites), transporting ammonia is easier and cheaper. It’s about one-sixth the cost of transporting hydrogen, and there are already more than 5,000 miles of ammonia pipelines and 10,000 terminals in place in the U.S. alone. What’s more, Abate explains, ammonia, unlike hydrogen, already has a substantial commercial market in place, with production volume projected to grow by two to three times by 2050, as it is used not only for fertilizer but also as feedstock for a wide variety of chemical processes.

For example, ammonia can be burned directly in gas turbines, engines, and industrial furnaces, providing a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels. It is being explored for maritime shipping and aviation as an alternative fuel, and as a possible space propellant.

Another upside to geological ammonia is that untreated wastewater, including agricultural runoff, which tends to be rich in nitrogen already, could serve as the water source and be treated in the process. “We can tackle the problem of treating wastewater, while also making something of value out of this waste,” Abate says.

Gao adds that this process “involves no direct carbon emissions, presenting a potential pathway to reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 1 percent.” To arrive at this point, he says, the team “overcame numerous challenges and learned from many failed attempts. For example, we tested a wide range of conditions and catalysts before identifying the most effective one.”

The project was seed-funded under a flagship project of MIT’s Climate Grand Challenges program, the Center for the Electrification and Decarbonization of Industry. Professor Yet-Ming Chiang, co-director of the center, says “I don’t think there’s been any previous example of deliberately using the Earth as a chemical reactor. That’s one of the key novel points of this approach.”  Chiang emphasizes that even though it is a geological process, it happens very fast, not on geological timescales. “The reaction is fundamentally over in a matter of hours,” he says. “The reaction is so fast that this answers one of the key questions: Do you have to wait for geological times? And the answer is absolutely no.”

Professor Elsa Olivetti, a mission director of the newly established Climate Project at MIT, says, “The creative thinking by this team is invaluable to MIT’s ability to have impact at scale. Coupling these exciting results with, for example, advanced understanding of the geology surrounding hydrogen accumulations represent the whole-of-Institute efforts the Climate Project aims to support.”

“This is a significant breakthrough for the future of sustainable development,” says Geoffrey Ellis, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, who was not associated with this work. He adds, “While there is clearly more work that needs to be done to validate this at the pilot stage and to get this to the commercial scale, the concept that has been demonstrated is truly transformative.  The approach of engineering a system to optimize the natural process of nitrate reduction by Fe2+ is ingenious and will likely lead to further innovations along these lines.”

The initial work on the process has been done in the laboratory, so the next step will be to prove the process using a real underground site. “We think that kind of experiment can be done within the next one to two years,” Abate says. This could open doors to using a similar approach for other chemical production processes, he adds.

The team has applied for a patent and aims to work towards bringing the process to market.

“Moving forward,” Gao says, “our focus will be on optimizing the process conditions and scaling up tests, with the goal of enabling practical applications for geological ammonia in the near future.”

The research team also included Ming Lei, Bachu Sravan Kumar, Hugh Smith, Seok Hee Han, and Lokesh Sangabattula, all at MIT. Additional funding was provided by the National Science Foundation and was carried out, in part, through the use of MIT.nano facilities.

[drmikewatts]

IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence, Volume 8, Number 5, October 2024

1)Guest Editorial Special Issue on Resource Sustainable Computational and Artificial Intelligence

Author(s): Joey Tianyi Zhou, Ivor W. Tsang, Yew Soon Ong

Pages: 3196 - 3198

2)Coordinated Cyber Security Enhancement for Grid-Transportation Systems With Social Engagement

Author(s): Pengfei Zhao, Shuangqi Li, Paul Jen-Hwa Hu, Zhidong Cao, Chenghong Gu, Da Xie, Daniel Dajun Zeng

Pages: 3199 - 3213

3)A Lightweight Recurrent Learning Network for Sustainable Compressed Sensing

Author(s): Yu Zhou, Yu Chen, Xiao Zhang, Pan Lai, Lei Huang, Jianmin Jiang

Pages: 3214 - 3227

4)Reservoir Network With Structural Plasticity for Human Activity Recognition

Author(s): Abdullah M. Zyarah, Alaa M. Abdul-Hadi, Dhireesha Kudithipudi

Pages: 3228 - 3238

5)GLR-SEI: Green and Low Resource Specific Emitter Identification Based on Complex Networks and Fisher Pruning

Author(s): Yun Lin, Haoran Zha, Ya Tu, Sicheng Zhang, Wenjun Yan, Congan Xu

Pages: 3239 - 3250

6)An Intelligent Fuzzy System Based on the Optimization of Ecological Agriculture Areas

Author(s): Xiaozeng Xu, Meng Li

Pages: 3251 - 3262

7)Surrogate-Assisted Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization of Medium-Scale Problems by Random Grouping and Sparse Gaussian Modeling

Author(s): Haofeng Wu, Yaochu Jin, Kailai Gao, Jinliang Ding, Ran Cheng

Pages: 3263 - 3278

8)Convolutional Fuzzy Neural Networks With Random Weights for Image Classification

Author(s): Yifan Wang, Hisao Ishibuchi, Witold Pedrycz, Jihua Zhu, Xiangyong Cao, Jun Wang

Pages: 3279 - 3293

9)Adaptive Strategies and its Application in the Mittag-Leffler Synchronization of Delayed Fractional-Order Complex-Valued Reaction-Diffusion Neural Networks

Author(s): G. Narayanan, M. Syed Ali, Rajagopal Karthikeyan, Grienggrai Rajchakit, Sumaya Sanober, Pankaj Kumar

Pages: 3294 - 3307

10)Augmented Intelligence Based COVID-19 Diagnostics and Deep Feature Categorization Based on Federated Learning

Author(s): Syed Thouheed Ahmed, Vinoth Kumar Venkatesan, Mahesh T R, Roopashree S, Muthukumaran Venkatesan

Pages: 3308 - 3315

11)Jointly Optimized Classifiers for Few-Shot Class-Incremental Learning

Author(s): Sichao Fu, Qinmu Peng, Xiaorui Wang, Yang He, Wenhao Qiu, Bin Zou, Duanquan Xu, Xiao-Yuan Jing, Xinge You

Pages: 3316 - 3326

12)State-Observer-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Event-Triggered Formation Control for Nonlinear Multiagent System

Author(s): Shuai Sui, Dongyu Shen, Shaocheng Tong, C. L. Philip Chen

Pages: 3327 - 3338

13)A Novel Projection Neural Network for Sparse Optimization With L1-Minimization Problem

Author(s): Hongsong Wen, Xing He, Tingwen Huang

Pages: 3339 - 3351

14)Hierarchical Relational Inference for Few-Shot Learning in 3D Left Atrial Segmentation

Author(s): Xuejiao Li, Jun Chen, Heye Zhang, Yongwon Cho, Sung Ho Hwang, Zhifan Gao, Guang Yang

Pages: 3352 - 3367

15)Data-Driven Container Marking Detection and Recognition System With an Open Large-Scale Scene Text Dataset

Author(s): Ying Xu, Zhangzhao Liang, Yanyang Liang, Xinru Li, Wenfeng Pan, Jie You, Zhihao Long, Yikui Zhai, Angelo Genovese, Vincenzo Piuri, Fabio Scotti

Pages: 3368 - 3381

16)Physics-Informed Graph Capsule Generative Autoencoder for Probabilistic AC Optimal Power Flow

Author(s): Mohsen Saffari, Mahdi Khodayar, Mohammad E. Khodayar

Pages: 3382 - 3395

17)Effective Single-Step Adversarial Training With Energy-Based Models

Author(s): Keke Tang, Tianrui Lou, Weilong Peng, Nenglun Chen, Yawen Shi, Wenping Wang

Pages: 3396 - 3407

18)MA-MFCNet: Mixed Attention-Based Multi-Scale Feature Calibration Network for Image Dehazing

Author(s): Luqiao Li, Zhihua Chen, Lei Dai, Ran Li, Bin Sheng

Pages: 3408 - 3421

19)Graph Contrastive Learning for Tracking Dynamic Communities in Temporal Networks

Author(s): Yun Ai, Xianghua Xie, Xiaoke Ma

Pages: 3422 - 3435

20)PV-SSD: A Multi-Modal Point Cloud 3D Object Detector Based on Projection Features and Voxel Features

Author(s): Yongxin Shao, Aihong Tan, Zhetao Sun, Enhui Zheng, Tianhong Yan, Peng Liao

Pages: 3436 - 3449

21)Generalized Population-Based Training for Hyperparameter Optimization in Reinforcement Learning

Author(s): Hui Bai, Ran Cheng

Pages: 3450 - 3462

22)Multi-modal Authentication Model for Occluded Faces in a Challenging Environment

Author(s): Dahye Jeong, Eunbeen Choi, Hyeongjin Ahn, Ester Martinez-Martin, Eunil Park, Angel P. del Pobil

Pages: 3463 - 3473

23)A Multitasking-Based Constrained Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm With Forward and Backward Stages

Author(s): Xiaoyu Zhong, Xiangjuan Yao, Kangjia Qiao, Dunwei Gong

Pages: 3474 - 3488

24)A Bi-Search Evolutionary Algorithm for High-Dimensional Bi-Objective Feature Selection

Author(s): Hang Xu, Bing Xue, Mengjie Zhang

Pages: 3489 - 3502

25)Intensive Class Imbalance Learning in Drifting Data Streams

Author(s): Muhammad Usman, Huanhuan Chen

Pages: 3503 - 3517

26)Flow-Shop Scheduling Problem With Batch Processing Machines via Deep Reinforcement Learning for Industrial Internet of Things

Author(s): Zihui Luo, Chengling Jiang, Liang Liu, Xiaolong Zheng, Huadong Ma

Pages: 3518 - 3533

27)Sparse Graph Tensor Learning for Multi-View Spectral Clustering

Author(s): Man-Sheng Chen, Zhi-Yuan Li, Jia-Qi Lin, Chang-Dong Wang, Dong Huang

Pages: 3534 - 3543

28)Alternating-Direction-Method of Multipliers-Based Adaptive Nonnegative Latent Factor Analysis

Author(s): Yurong Zhong, Kechen Liu, Shangce Gao, Xin Luo

Pages: 3544 - 3558

29)Efficient Online Planning and Robust Optimal Control for Nonholonomic Mobile Robot in Unstructured Environments

Author(s): Yingbai Hu, Wei Zhou, Yueyue Liu, Minghao Zeng, Weiping Ding, Shu Li, Guoxin Li, Zheng Li, Alois Knoll

Pages: 3559 - 3575

30)Energy-Efficient and Interpretable Multisensor Human Activity Recognition via Deep Fused Lasso Net

Author(s): Yu Zhou, Jingtao Xie, Xiao Zhang, Wenhui Wu, Sam Kwong

Pages: 3576 - 3588

31)A Novel Dual-Stage Evolutionary Algorithm for Finding Robust Solutions

Author(s): Wei Du, Wenxuan Fang, Chen Liang, Yang Tang, Yaochu Jin

Pages: 3589 - 3602

32)Efficient Processing of Spiking Neural Networks via Task Specialization

Author(s): Muath Abu Lebdeh, Kasim Sinan Yildirim, Davide Brunelli

Pages: 3603 - 3613

33)Multi-Relation Augmentation for Graph Neural Networks

Author(s): Shunxin Xiao, Huibin Lin, Jianwen Wang, Xiaolong Qin, Shiping Wang

Pages: 3614 - 3627

34)Robust Evolving Fuzzy Classifier Integrating Noise Smoothing and Soft Dimension Reduction

Author(s): Edwin Lughofer, Igor Škrjanc

Pages: 3628 - 3642

35)Co-Occurrence Relationship Driven Hierarchical Attention Network for Brain CT Report Generation

Author(s): Xiaodan Zhang, Shixin Dou, Junzhong Ji, Ying Liu, Zheng Wang

Pages: 3643 - 3653

36)Adversarial Examples Detection With Bayesian Neural Network

Author(s): Yao Li, Tongyi Tang, Cho-Jui Hsieh, Thomas C. M. Lee

Pages: 3654 - 3664

37)From Concept to Instance: Hierarchical Reinforced Knowledge Graph Reasoning

Author(s): Cheng Yan, Feng Zhao, Yudong Zhang

Pages: 3665 - 3677

38)FedSG: A Personalized Subgraph Federated Learning Framework on Multiple Non-IID Graphs

Author(s): Yingcheng Wang, Songtao Guo, Dewen Qiao, Guiyan Liu, Mingyan Li

Pages: 3678 - 3690

39)PATReId: Pose Apprise Transformer Network for Vehicle Re-Identification

Author(s): Rishi Kishore, Nazia Aslam, Maheshkumar H. Kolekar

Pages: 3691 - 3702

40)Predicting Citywide Crowd Flows in Critical Areas Based on Dynamic Spatio-Temporal Network

Author(s): Heli Sun, Ruirui Xue, Tingting Hu, Tengfei Pan, Liang He, Yuan Rao, Zhi Wang, Yingxue Wang, Yuan Chen, Hui He

Pages: 3703 - 3715

41)MFLink: User Identity Linkage Across Online Social Networks via Multimodal Fusion and Adversarial Learning

Author(s): Shudong Li, Danna Lu, Qing Li, Xiaobo Wu, Shumei Li, Zhen Wang

Pages: 3716 - 3725

[exobtsimagination]

EXO (OT12) reaction to their s/o wanting them to cosplay as anime characters with them

THIS SCENARIO WAS WRITTEN BY POSSIBLE ADMIN Al PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

Xiumin: He would be a little bit surprised. He didn't know you liked that kind of thing. He wouldn't mind though.

Kris: He would be a little excited but would try to hide it.  He would totally do it with you.

luhan: He wouldn't mind it. As long as he got to be someone manly.

suho: He would be cool with it. He would probably help you find a few pieces of clothes to do it with.

lay: he would think it was cool. He would dress up as pretty much anything you want him to.

baekhyun: He would be fine with it. He'd want to style it though.

Chen: He would think it was fun. If you went to a shop with him he would annoy you with different peices though.

Chanyeol: He would be excited about it. He would help you get the costumes.

Tao: He wouldn't mind doing it. If it makes you happy then he would.

D.o : As you as you like it, he wouldn't care. He just doesn't want anything cute.

Kai: He would like it. He would try to get you in something cute though.

Sehun: He wouldn't care. He would probably just complain about the costume. In a joking way of course.

[academyofbrokenhearts]

This only shows that in spite of what the writers and the narrative itself liked to pretend, it was never about Wen Yifan protecting others - it was about Wen Yifan protecting herself.

She ended up doing another Yihe, except worse. The countless flashbacks to her past make it completely clear that she was in a dark place when she cut off Sang Yan - we see the longing in her eyes when she briefly sees him during the graduation, and how she convinces herself that he would never come, because she pushed him away.

In contrast, we do not see any of this longing during her time in Hong Kong. She's never shown thinking of him or worrying about him. Granted, she's not happy, but she doesn't give off distressed vibes either. She simply exists, and when she does remember the past, it's always about that night and what she suffered. Not a thought for her friends, not a thought for that poor cat she abandoned, not a thought for Sang Yan, whom she had previously sworn not to hurt ever again.

Even her reaction to Zhong Siqiao and Su Haoan finally tracking her down is essentially "oh, hi guys, how did you find me? :)" as if she had been away for a week as opposed to half a year. It's completely underwhelming, and frankly, I get the feeling that Zhang Ruonan literally had no idea how to incorporate this bizarre storyline into the character. We saw that she can act - she can be very emotional both before and after the Yihe arc, and yet in Hong Kong she's just :) :) :)

And don't even get me started on the fact that she has no qualms with Sang Yan flying to her. The least she could have done was to move her arse back to Nanwu.

Wen Yifan pushing Sang Yan away during their teenage years because she was in a very dark headspace, having just escaped sexual assault, with no one at her side, and feeling tremendously guilty for changing her university application and forgetting to inform him

vs

Wen Yifan escaping to Hong Kong because her uncle called health and safety on Sang Yan and was harassing her and she couldn't cope with that and left immediately after informing her family that she was going to FIGHT them

[exxxoblr]

all we do

wu yifan x reader

wc - 1.6k // rated M for sexual themes. 

author - admin C

companion playlist here

request things here

Taking a sip of your drink, your eyes scanned the bar carefully as you felt the comforting burn of vodka slide down your throat. Your nails tapped the surface of the counter slowly as you finished your drink, setting a few bills down before turning to lean against the bar, facing the VIP section of the club. Hazy smoke swirled about, filling your lungs with sweetened air as you lazily made your way to the edge of the dance floor.

Reuniting with your friends, you clasped your hands with one of them, moving your hips to the beat and losing yourself. The song was hypnotic as you felt a drop of sweat run down your neck. You couldn’t help your eyes from wandering back to the VIP section, the smoke heaviest there. Beautiful girls and men alike strut in and out of the small rooms within the roped-off area, undoubtably where celebrities would be.

You went to the club that night with a specific goal: to hook up with someone. You had been single for a while after breaking it off with your long-term boyfriend, deciding it was about time for you to have some fun. Picking out the most sultry dress you owned, rimming your eyes with dark eyeliner and styling your hair to effortless perfection, you looked both mysterious and stunning. Several guys stopped to talk to you, but none of them met your high standards.

Even though you weren’t looking for anything serious, you needed someone who pulled you in, someone magnetic. You knew what you wanted, not accepting anything less. You also knew that the man you were looking for would probably be in that elusive VIP section. Inching your way closer to the ropes, you accepted another drink from your friend, sighing as it quenched your thirst. Feeling so deliciously free, dancing without inhibition, you closed your eyes. Grinning, your friends danced with you, playfully grabbing your hips and hyping you up, thrilled that you were out again and having a good time. Opening your eyes, your eyes caught on a booth beyond the ropes.

Two gorgeous girls sat on either side of a man scrolling through his phone in a bored manner. The one on his right fiddled with the collar of his jacket, the one on the left ran her fingers through his messily styled hair. Halting your movements to get a better look at him, you bit your lip as you appreciated his style, his pierced ears and disinterested expression. You were admiring the shape of his lips before your eyes flickered to his, already watching you. A shock of electricity went through you as he stared at you, eyes moving slowly down your body before coming back up to lock eyes with you once more. A smile grew on his face in a predatory way, standing. The girls beside him frowned briefly before getting up to move onto someone else as he walked away.

Watching him intently, he spoke in the bouncer’s ear, moving past him and towards the bar. Looking down in disappointment, you began to sway to the beat once again. You were confident you would find someone that night, but that man you locked eyes with was spellbinding; his intense gaze burned into your mind. You couldn’t help yourself as you looked back for him, nearly losing your footing when you saw him walking onto the dance floor.  

Realization dawning on you, you blinked a few times as he weaved through the crowd, heading in your direction. You tried to act natural, moving your hips in time with the music and closing your eyes once more. Feeling your friend elbow you in the ribs, your eyes snapped open, landing on the man in front of you. Height intimidating, he towered over you in a powerful way.

“Here,” was the first thing he said to you, offering you a drink. Raising an eyebrow at him, he flashed a breathtaking smile before taking a sip, proving that it wasn’t drugged. You accepted it, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

“Thanks,” you replied, bringing the glass to your lips and smirking as his eyes were glued to the action.

“Kris,” he offered his name, smiling a little when you did, not quite willing to give up your own name yet.

You began dancing again, not minding that your friends had gone elsewhere in the club. Knowing exactly what you were doing, you slid your hands down your body as you moved. Grinning as you felt your own hands being replaced by his broad palms, you sighed as he began to dance with you.

His breath fanned across your neck as you moved as one, hands gripping your hips possessively. You weren’t exactly sure how many songs you danced to with him, your hand reaching back to tangle in his hair, turning your face a little to see him.

“Want to sit down?” He murmured in your ear. Excitement sparking within you as you followed his eyesight to the VIP section, you nodded. Kris took your hand, leading you to the bouncer he had spoken to what seemed like hours ago. The bouncer let you both in without a second glance.

His hand strong in yours, you smiled politely at the handful of people that said hello to him like he was of great importance. Piecing things together, you realized Kris was probably someone of a high status, which would make sense as to why he was in the VIP section of the club. Never one to freak out over celebrities— they were people too— you were attracted to his magnetism. Everything about the man exuded confidence, something that drew you to him like a moth to a flame. He was exactly what you were looking for.

Kris led you to one of those rooms, opening the door and stepping aside for you to enter. Trying not to gape at the expensive looking room, your eyes slid from the low leather seating to the small mini bar stocked with high-end liquor. The club was dim, but this room was a shade darker as the light came from a moody blue chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“I never got your name,” you heard him speak up. Turning, you pressed your thighs together as he leaned against the door, arms crossed. Switching on your confidence, you walked towards him.

“I’m not sure that you’ve earned that privilege yet,” you answered, gazing up at his dark eyes as you slid a hand up his side. Something sparking in his eyes, he grabbed your wrist and flipped you, caging you between the door and himself. Smirking as you watched him flick the lock on the door, the silence in the room was filled with the faint sound of the music on the dance floor.

“Let’s see what I can do to earn it, then,” Kris shot back.

Roughly grabbing your jaw, he captured your lips. Letting out a noise of surprise, you kissed him back, already addicted to the taste of liquor on his lips. His other hand moved down your body, gripping your backside harshly as you bit down on his lower lip. You took no prisoners; doing everything in your power to fight for dominance.

You opened up for him, his tongue gliding over yours. A thread of dominance was left in you as you pulled him closer with a hand on his neck, the other shoving his jacket down his arms. He grinned against your lips, his hands disappearing from you as he pulled the jacket from his body. Any power struggle you had left in you melted away as he lifted you, your legs wrapping around him as he moved to sit on the low couch.

Stars collided as he marked your neck, the blue lighting casting a celestial glow on the two of you. Your fingers worked on the buttons of his shirt, letting it hang open as he kissed his way across your collarbones.

“Off,” he muttered, pulling at the material of your dress. He leaned back on the couch, watching you as you shrunk a little under his intensity. Swallowing your pride, you lifted the dress up and over your head, getting comfortable on his lap once more. Grazing your hand down his neck, you dove back in for another kiss.

His hands were cold on your feverish skin, sliding up the expanse of your back.

“Very pretty,” he commented, eyes fixed on your bra, the black lace hugging your body graciously. You hummed in response, kissing the corner of his mouth and guiding his hands to touch you. Chuckling, he kissed a particularly sensitive area of your throat, making you involuntarily roll your hips against him. Hissing, he pressed his forehead against yours, demanding eye contact as his hand moved to the hem of your panties.

You dropped your head to the crook of his neck as he had his way with you, entirely at the mercy of his fingers. Thankful for the loud music playing outside, you muffled the sounds you were making by biting his shoulder. You slightly jumped at the sound of fabric tearing, your ruined underwear laying on the floor. Too blissed out to care, you grew pliant in his arms as he moved you to lay under him.

The night carried on just like this. Under the blue cast of the light you were red-hot. Songs blurred together as you grew exhausted from effort. With one final push over the edge and he rolled off of you, sweat glistening on of his chest.

“(Y/N),” you offered, chest still heaving. And with a flash of that blinding grin, you started to wonder if just a hookup was really what you wanted; if you really wanted to give him up after you were already addicted to him.

note from admin C // thank you all for following the playlists, reading, and giving me feedback on these companion scenarios! this was the last one in the series! i am working on several things right now, so don’t worry, there will be plenty of content coming out this week and moving forward. again, thank you so much for reading and supporting my writing so far. feel free to request anything in our ask box! xx

[hallyureactarios]

EXO REACTS TO: You cuddling up to them in your sleep.

Luhan, Yifan & Jongin

Anonymous said: Could we get Kai, Luhan, and Kris's reactions to when you cuddle up to them in your sleep? thank you

LUHAN – 루한

Everyone knows the stereotypical ‘perfect morning’ music, right? That sweet calming flute, gently waking you up in the most harmonious and calming way possible. That’s how he feels right now. His mood is literally musical perfection. He’s peaceful. The sun trickling in through the curtains, slowly casting light against his face, his mind not yet catching up with the waking world, blissfully unaware of the little creature wrapped around his waist...? Until it nuzzles him and tickles his belly... Now. He’s a rational man. He knows that there is no such thing as monsters, ghouls or gremlins... And that is definitely not one snuggling around his middle. He lifts his arms up above his head, groaning and stretching off the sleep before looking down. Well... Three things have come to mind.

You are the most adorable koala of a partner he’s ever had.

He loved how you crawled into his bed and snuggled up to him when you finished on your laptop.

He can’t remember feeding you after midnight.

Even through the mass of messy bed hair and slightly smudged makeup, he could tell you were getting a well-deserved rest. Using his abs as a pillow couldn’t be comfortable but he couldn’t bear to move you. He reaches down and tentatively admires you, softly combing your hair with his fingers and chuckling at the puffy mess.

As if hearing him, you giggle a little in your sleep, smiling a little more brightly as he keeps lazily showing you affection.

YIFAN – 크리스

He wakes with a jolt, your little whimpers of distress rousing him from a deep sleep. He raises his brows in an attempt to open his eyes, his lids having other plans as they flutter blearily. He frowns as the bed sheets quiver, looking to the source where you lay, facing away from him, curled up on your side and trembling. Initially, he was going to wake you, his voice soft, not wanting to startle you as he says your name and rolls onto his side to get closer to you, but then you whimper again, roll to face him and get his torso in a choke hold... if torsi could choke... Either way, there was no escaping your tight grasp on him. He looks down at you, cupping your cheek and checking if you were okay. You’d stopped shaking, stopped whimpering and had a little smile on your face as you sigh deeply and snuggle up to him.

He purses his lips, glancing at the clock before looking down at you again. Should he wake you? You seemed fine now... Nah, you’re too adorable. He kisses your forehead and wraps his arms around you, holding you close after draping the covers over you both.

“You’re too cute for your own good, you know that?” He mumbles. You sigh softly and nuzzle his chest. Yep. You knew.

JONGIN – 카이

Life is made up of moments. The heated entanglement in the back seat of a taxi, kisses too desperate to be precise and anything but controlled. The moment your heart pounds so hard it echoes in your ears, almost drowning out his trepid voice as he confesses his love for the first time. The stillness of dawn breaking, lovers entwined after a night of passion, breaths panting against lips.

This was a moment. Not the most peaceful, but he found serenity in the recognition of yet another time he wouldn’t forget easily. You’d been traveling for hours across the country, so far out into nothingness that milestones had soon disappeared along with your patience and the sun. You’d begged them to stop at the next- if any- rest stop. Everyone needed it. He didn’t want to admit it, but his legs were dead from the hours of having you on his lap, refusing to let you be uncomfortable, squished in the backseat between him and Junmyeon.

Now? It’s more of the same, a tacky little booth to yourselves- he wanted you to have some semblance of silence from his bandmates- the uncomfortable cheap diner bench is scarcely noticed as you rest your head on his bundled up coat on his lap, legs bent in the vacant seat next to you. He couldn’t quite explain it, but looking down at you- lashes fluttering, pouted lips slightly parted, watching your gentle breaths, he felt like the strongest man on the planet.

He felt like your protector, your partner, he saw how safe you felt with him, letting your guard down in the middle of the diner, late at night, trusting him to watch over you.

When he hears your gentle mewling, he can’t help but let the smile threatening to tug at his lips take over, a dopey expression on his face as you shuffle onto your side and snuggle up to his body. He’s almost sure you just mumbled his name. He very softly brushes the hair from your face and chuckles, leaning down and pressing his plush lips against your hair, whispering.

“Right here, baby...” You mewl again and wrap your arms around him, smiling to yourself. He stays holding you like this until his members call to him from another booth. The moment ending, but he knew much more were lined up in the future.

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[elchicodenim]

THE MOMENT KRIS FOUND OUT HE'S HANDSOME

What did highschooler kris wu look like? Kris: At that time I was really tanned, a buzzcut, I didn't really have much style. Every day I wore shorts and a backpack. Other than being a little taller than everyone else, nothing special.”

When did you first realize you were handsome? Kris: I guess 9th grade, I was 15 years old at the time, We were playing basketball and a girl said to me, "did you know you're one of the hottest guys in our school?" I didn't know what to say. It was only then when I realized so it's like that.

cr. fanfanclan

[blueberry-ash]

The King’s Avatar | s01e23