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After concluding his trip in Memphis, Suning returned to Massachusetts.

Instead of immediately returning to his apartment at Raytheon, he first went to the familiar city of Cambridge, where the Gothic-style campus buildings of MIT once again came into view.

Compared to the heavy feeling of uncertainty he felt when he left two years ago, his mood was now more complex but also more grounded.

I made an appointment by phone in advance and learned that Professor Wheeler would be in his office in the afternoon.

Walking along the corridor, listening to the voices of students discussing academic issues, and smelling the faint aroma of old books mixed with coffee in the air...

Suning felt a sense of temporal displacement, as if the smoke and mud of Vietnam were just a distant nightmare.

He gently knocked on the oak door that bore the nameplate "Professor Eliot Wheeler".

"Please come in." The professor's familiar and gentle voice came from inside.

Suning pushed open the door and entered.

Professor Wheeler's office remained unchanged, with books and papers piled up everywhere and complex formulas written on the blackboard.

The professor was engrossed in reading a journal when he heard the noise and looked up.

When he saw that the person who came was Su Ning, a smile of surprise and relief immediately appeared on his face.

"Gan!" He immediately stood up, walked around the desk and carefully looked Su Ning over. "God, it's so good to see you standing here safe and sound!"

He patted Su Ning's shoulder firmly, his eyes filled with the concern of an elder, "You look... a lot more mature."

“Professor,” Su Ning said with a slight bow, “I’m sorry to be visiting you so late. I just returned from visiting my mother in Alabama.”

“Sit down, son.” Professor Wheeler warmly invited him to sit on the sofa, then pulled up a chair and sat opposite him. “Tell me how you are doing. I received your letter and learned that you have left the army and joined Raytheon. That’s great news, although the process… doesn’t seem to have been through my futile efforts.”

The professor's tone carried a hint of self-deprecation and regret.

"Professor, please don't say that." Su Ning sat up straight, her expression very serious. "I came here today to express my sincerest gratitude to you for this."

Professor Wheeler looked at him with some confusion.

“I know that you used your valuable connections and reputation to try your best to help me. Although we ultimately failed due to the rigidity of the bureaucratic system and the resistance of political reality, I will always remember this kindness.”

“During those darkest days in Vietnam, knowing that people like you were still working tirelessly for me back home was a source of spiritual support far more important than you can imagine. It made me feel that I had not been completely abandoned by that rational and civilized world, that the knowledge and ideals I fought for and cherished still existed, and that someone understood me. This gave me the courage to persevere.”

Professor Wheeler was moved.

He didn't expect Suning to interpret his "failure" from this perspective.

I originally thought the student council would be disappointed.

“Gan…” The professor’s voice choked with emotion. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I am so glad that you think this way. I have always believed that it is a loss to the whole society to waste a mind like yours in jungle warfare. I am happy to see that you can finally get out of that environment, no matter how.”

"Therefore, please do not feel any self-blame. Your efforts and intentions are just as important to me as the final result, or even more precious. Because it represents the intellectual community's commitment to individual value, which is a kind of power in itself."

Professor Wheeler put his glasses back on, his eyes filled with admiration. "Sue, you not only possess exceptional intelligence, but also a rare clarity and gratitude. Having experienced the baptism of the battlefield, you seem to have become even more composed."

The two then chatted for a long time.

Suning didn't describe the bloody details of the battlefield in detail, but instead shared some of the technical challenges he encountered at Raytheon, as well as his thoughts on applying principles of physics to solve practical problems.

Professor Wheeler listened with great interest, occasionally offering his own insights, as if he had returned to the time when he was guiding Su Ning's thesis.

“Remember, Gan,” Professor Wheeler said solemnly as they parted, “no matter what field you go in, never give up your love for physics and your thinking. The world needs rational minds. The doors of MIT are always open to you, and you are welcome to come back anytime if you wish to pursue further studies.”

“I will seriously consider it, Professor. Thank you very much.”

As I walked out of the physics building, the Charles River shimmered softly in the evening light.

Suning took a deep breath.

Visiting Elvis Presley was to settle a real debt of gratitude; while visiting Professor Wheeler was to comfort the spiritual kindness he had shown.

Both of these are crucial to him.

Now that both expressions of gratitude have been conveyed in person, he can devote himself to his new "battlefield" at Raytheon without any worries, and create a future that is truly his own, full of challenges but also full of hope.

……

In Washington, D.C., a solemn ceremony was held in the East Room of the White House to honor heroes.

Forrest Gump was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor, for his numerous rescues of comrades, including Lieutenant Dane, on the front lines in Vietnam, risking his own life.

Mrs. Gan and Suning were both invited to attend. The mother wore her best dark blue suit, while Suning wore a sharp dark suit.

Mrs. Gan looked at Forrest Gump on the stage, dressed in military uniform, looking somewhat lost but still standing tall. She was so excited that she kept wiping her eyes with a handkerchief and whispered to Su Ning beside her, "Su, look, that's my Forrest Gump... They say he's a hero..."

Su Ning looked at her younger brother, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew that Forrest Gump's "heroism" stemmed from his simple nature and unwavering commitment, rather than from his understanding of war.

This honor is less a celebration of war and more an affirmation of the kindness and courage inherent in humanity.

The ceremony was presided over by President Lyndon Johnson.

He delivered a lengthy and politically charged speech, praising Forrest Gump and others for their "fearlessness and loyalty to the country."

When it was Forrest Gump's turn, the president hung the heavy medal around his neck and patted him on the shoulder.

Perhaps to ease the tension, or perhaps just casually, he made a joke in the slightly rough tone typical of Texans, "Kid, I heard you got shot in the butt while saving your comrade? Let me see how that famous wound is doing?"

This was originally a politician's usual sarcastic remark, which he didn't expect to get a response to.

However, Aganna's black-and-white, linear thinking led him to view every word the president uttered as an order that had to be carried out.

“Yes, Mr. President!” Forrest Gump answered loudly.

Then, amidst a hall full of guests, high-ranking military officials, and flashing camera lights from reporters, he unhesitatingly and deftly unbuckled his belt and removed his military trousers and underwear.
His healed but still noticeably scarred buttocks were conspicuously exposed in the solemn East Room of the White House!
"Oh, my God!" Mrs. Gan gasped, her face instantly changing from a proud flush to a deathly pale expression of shame and indignation.

She almost fainted, but luckily Su Ning caught her in time.

The scene was in an uproar!
A cacophony of gasps of astonishment, suppressed laughter, and the frantic clicking of cameras by reporters filled the air.

President Johnson was clearly not expected to do this, his expression froze instantly, and he then awkwardly gestured for his aide to come forward.

"Fores Gan! Put your pants on!" an army general ordered in a low voice, almost roaring.

Forrest Gump then pulled up his pants, fastened his belt, and looked at the president with an innocent expression, as if waiting for further instructions.

The ceremony ended hastily in an extremely strange and awkward atmosphere.

Back at the hotel, Mrs. Gan was trembling with anger, and tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time it was purely out of anger and shame.

"That silly boy! How could he... how could he take his pants off in front of everyone, in front of the president! He's completely disgraced our family! How can we ever face anyone again!" She collapsed onto the sofa in the room, feeling all her pride crumble in that moment.

“Mom, Forrest Gump is just… too honest. He thinks the president’s words are orders,” Suning tried to reassure him.

But he knew that this scene would be too shocking for his mother, who valued dignity and respect above all else.

Mrs. Gan refused to go out again, and even less did she want to face the reporters who might be waiting outside the hotel.

She decided to end her trip early and return to Alabama the next morning. That evening, Suning had originally planned to just have a simple meal with Agan, but he thought of Jenny.

Jenny was there because she was performing with Elvis's team near Washington, D.C.

So I immediately contacted her and invited her to dinner.

At this point, Su Ning realized that he had to give Agan a stable and safe arrangement to prevent his younger brother, who had just become a national hero but was still ignorant and naive, from being coerced by other forces in Washington, the center of a political vortex.

In a quiet restaurant, Forrest Gump saw Jenny and immediately forgot the unpleasantness at the White House, waving happily, "Jenny! Look, the president gave me a medal!"

He proudly showed the medal to Jenny.

Jenny was dressed in a well-fitting dress, and her demeanor was much more composed than before.

She's no longer the rebellious girl she used to be, and her understanding of freedom is no longer so extreme.

She looked at Forrest Gump's innocent smile, then at the heavy medal, her eyes filled with complex emotions—a mixture of relief and a barely perceptible pity.

Jenny smiled and said, "I'm so happy for you, Fores. You're really brave."

During the event, Agan excitedly recounted the process of receiving the medal.

Of course, this also includes his understanding of the part where "the president wanted to see his wounds."

Jenny couldn't help but chuckle, while Suning shook his head helplessly.

“Later, a few people dressed in strange clothes and with long hair stopped me,” Forrest Gump continued while cutting his steak. “They said the war was wrong, that I was a ‘victim of the system,’ and that they wanted to take me to some kind of ‘party’ to ‘awaken the people.’”

Suning's eyes sharpened instantly.

He knew it was likely a radical anti-war organization or a group like the Black Panther Party, who needed a "hero" like Forrest Gump as a propaganda figure.

"And then?" Su Ning immediately pressed.

“I said no,” Forrest Gump answered honestly. “My brother said he’s taking Jenny and me out to dinner tonight. I can’t be late and keep Jenny waiting.”

Upon hearing this, Jenny looked at Su Ning with gratitude in her eyes.

She whispered to Forrest, "Your brother is right, Forrest. Those parties... might not be safe. You'd better stay away from them."

Suning secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had no intention of judging the anti-war movement itself, but he absolutely did not want the simple-minded Forrest Gump to get involved and become a political pawn for either side.

This family dinner, by a twist of fate, protected Forrest Gump from being thrust into another, more complex and dangerous public stage.

As Su Ning watched Forrest Gump struggling to use his knife and fork and occasionally chatting and laughing with Jenny, his resolve strengthened: he had to plan the simplest and safest path for his brother.

Neither the honor of war nor the waves of politics should disturb Forrest Gump's peaceful world anymore.

That night, a warm family gathering in an ordinary restaurant in Washington quietly changed what might have been another chapter in history.

Forrest Gump's heroic story will end with that medal and that embarrassing moment of pulling down his pants, without adding any more complicated footnotes.

……

Forrest Gump appeared somewhat tired due to the excitement of the day and the fatigue of the journey.

Su Ning then took him back to the hotel arranged by the military and told him to get some rest.

After settling my younger brother in, it was already late at night, and the lights of Washington, D.C. shone brightly in the autumn night.

Suning and Jenny walked side by side on the street near the hotel, the cool evening breeze brushing against their faces, temporarily dispelling the hustle and bustle and awkwardness of the day.

A complex and subtle atmosphere permeated the two of them, a mixture of the warmth of a long-awaited reunion and the estrangement and scrutiny that arose from their respective experiences.

"Thank you for inviting me tonight, Sue. It's so nice to see Forrest Gump still the same. And I see you... you've changed a lot."

“We’ve both changed. You’re no longer the girl in Greenfield who wanted to escape everything, and I’m no longer the MIT student who only knew how to bury myself in books.”

Soon they arrived at the entrance of Jenny's hotel, a more upscale mid-range hotel than the military hotel where Forrest Gump stayed.

Jenny stopped and hesitated for a moment before inviting, "It's still early, would you like to... come upstairs and sit for a while? We can have a drink and chat some more."

"Okay." He nodded.

Jenny's room was neat and cozy, with a uniquely feminine feel.

She opened a bottle of red wine provided by the hotel and poured two glasses.

The two sat on a small sofa by the window, overlooking the city's night view.

“Seeing Forrest Gump like this today, I’m truly grateful to you, Sue. If it weren’t for your insistence and even your contact with Mr. Presley, I might still be somewhere in the dark, and Forrest Gump… might not be receiving an award today, but rather…” Jenny didn’t finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

“That was your own choice, Jenny. You chose to seize the opportunity and change yourself. I only offered a possibility; it was you who stepped out of that situation.”

Jenny was slightly taken aback by Suning's words, but then a relieved smile appeared on her face.

"You're still the same, Sue. Always so calm, so... incisive. And what about you? Is working at Thor really right for you? Isn't that just another... battlefield?"

"It's another battlefield, only with different rules. There are no bullets, but there is calculation; there is no smoke of gunpowder, but there is competition. But at least, this is a place where you can fight with reason and knowledge, rather than relying on instinct and luck to survive."

They talked for a long time, about their experiences after parting ways, and about their confusion and expectations for the future.

The alcohol and the darkness of night made the conversation more relaxed and in-depth.

They reminisced about their childhood, those simple days under the oak trees in Greentown, as if they were as distant as the last century.

As night deepened, the traffic outside the window thinned out.

Jenny's face was flushed with a slight intoxication, and her eyes were somewhat unfocused.

Looking at Su Ning, the mind that once filled her with awe and yet drew her closer, she now possessed an added air of worldly wisdom and an indescribable allure.

"Su, you can stay tonight."

Suning remained silent for a few seconds; it wasn't hesitation, but rather a careful weighing of options.

Finally, he put down his glass, stood up, and walked over to Jenny.

He reached out and gently brushed away a stray strand of blonde hair from her forehead, his gesture carrying an unusual tenderness.

“Jenny, we both need some time to get to know each other again, and to get to know ourselves again.”

"So how do you want to get to know me again?"

"What do you say?"

Then Jenny took the initiative to give him a passionate kiss, and then Suning hugged Jenny...

Years of separation drove Jenny even more mad. Although she knew in her heart that Suning didn't love her, she was already content with having this moment.

...(End of chapter)