Tomorrow's Bricklaying Diary

On the second floor of T University’s School of Life Sciences, there was a legendary electrophoresis tank.

Its seal was worn out and its voltage unstable. The bands it produced looked different in everyone’s hands: crooked like earthworms, thick like an ECG, or leaking so badly that the entire gel ended up soaked.

The whole school called it the "Leaky Holy Grail." There was only one person in the entire school who could tame it.

Mingri, the senior-most student in Fang Lab, was ruthless and taciturn. When the group next door mocked him for being "a waste working on a worthless project," he spent two years, seven months, and twelve days using the Leaky Holy Grail to produce data worthy of a top journal.

Then he jumped into the lotus pond.

It wasn't because he'd lost hope. While he was confessing his feelings, the wind blew his lab notebook into the water. Standing in water up to his knees and holding up the soaked notebook, he called to the girl on the bank, "Xia Tian, I like you."

Xia Tian replied, "...Get out first, then we'll talk."

[Reading Guide]

1. Research power fantasy x goofy daily life x a straight-laced science guy pursuing his wife.

2. The heroine switched from economics and management to life sciences. She's a beautiful, wealthy top student with an unusual taste in partners: "I've met plenty of outstanding people, but he's the only one who can stand between me and a malfunctioning instrument."

3. An ensemble cast in the lab: Dou Ye, who changes water bottles with one hand; Xiong Ge, who analyzes data as delicately as embroidery; Xiao K, eloquent but constantly botching experiments; and Lao Fangtou, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.

4. A running storyline runs in parallel, from gasping like a dog after 800 meters to finishing a half marathon. Dean Shi's famous line: "At T University, the gap between people is greater than the gap between people and dogs. But you have to admit you're a dog before you can run faster than people."

5. A feel-good story for researchers: publishing in top journals, applying for patents, commercializing research, and helping your advisor become an academician. From "a waste working on a worthless project" to "Young Master Shen asking to collaborate."

[In a Nutshell]

A research power fantasy. The male lead uses a leaky old electrophoresis tank to produce work worthy of a top journal, finishes a half marathon, and marries the beautiful, wealthy junior student who switched from economics and management.

Theme: An inspiring life