Chapter 10 Unsolved "Surprise

If, two weeks earlier, Qi Yi had drawn this "horizon," he might not have come to Melbourne to solve an unsolvable equation.

However, Qi Yi was glad he hadn't done that.

Today, being there in person, the unsolvable equation was, for Qi Yi, the best solution.

Applied mathematics isn't just mathematics; it's also life.

And Qi Yi wasn't a nerd; he wasn't someone who could only solve equations and do nothing else.

The horizon towering into the clouds could only have one explanation: Yan Yan's residence was a high-rise building that loomed over all the skyscrapers in the photo — and it was a residential building.

As long as Qi Yi combined the "views" of the Southbank buildings he had just noted down with the names of the buildings on the map, he could directly find out which building Yan Yan lived in.

There were many high-rise buildings in Southbank, Melbourne, but the one that stood out high above the rest and was residential had to be the Yulika Building. (note 1)

The originally complex equation, the unknowns that needed to be solved one by one, suddenly solved itself.

Qi Yi, who had prepared to spend several days calculating, was hit by a big surprise as soon as he arrived in Melbourne.

Qi Yi was a bit stunned by the surprise.

Before coming, Qi Yi had planned to solve equations while using breaks in solving to think things through.

If he really could find the building where Yan Yan lived, should he go up and talk to Yan Yan?

If so, what should he say, and where should he start?

He and Yan Yan hadn't spoken a word to each other in five years.

Although he had already come to Melbourne, Qi Yi still hadn't figured out exactly what he wanted to do here.

Could the feelings between him and Yan Yan, which had belonged to the past for five years, become present and future tense again?

The more time Qi Yi spent thinking about this question, the less clear it became.

Qi Yi least wanted to face his own vacillation; solving problems was much more relaxing than going back and forth over the same issue like this.

So, with or without an equation, he had to calculate.

Now that he knew Yan Yan had taken the photo in the Yulika Building, he might as well calculate on which floor and in which direction Yan Yan had been.

To calculate the specific floor, the single photo Qi Yi currently had in hand was definitely not enough.

Qi Yi decided to take a look at the Yulika Building in person.

Although he knew it wouldn't be of much use for him to go there.

Because to calculate the specific floor, he needed at least two more photos — one from the ground and one from a floor above where Yan Yan had taken the photo.

He also needed to obtain the actual height difference between the two floors to calculate the height where Yan Yan was.

But how could Qi Yi possibly reach the "floor above" of the tightly secured Yulika Building?

After all, even if he calculated it, he still wouldn't know which specific apartment Yan Yan was in without a room number.

Qi Yi was not unaware of such simple logic, but he didn't want to think too much about it.

Anyway, in this unfamiliar city, since Qi Yi didn't know what else to do next, he might as well just go and see.

Without any plan, Qi Yi arrived at the Yulika Building and unexpectedly received a small surprise.

The entrance to the Yulika Building, though indeed as strict as he expected, was accessible.

As the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, the Yulika Building had an observation deck called the Skydeck on its top floor, accessible by purchasing a ticket.

The observation deck was on the 88th floor.

Although the observation elevator was separate from the residential elevators.

The observation elevator only stopped at floors 85 to 88; there were no floor buttons from the third to the eighty-fourth floor.

But the observation deck on the 88th floor provided a 360-degree view of the outside scenery.

This was enough for Qi Yi to find the angle of Yan Yan's photo, as well as the building's floor data.

With this data, Qi Yi could directly calculate on which floor and in which position Yan Yan had taken the photo.

Qi Yi had recalculated several times at Skydeck, considering the potential errors in interpreting the distant view in the pictures.

The floor where Yan Yan took the photo should be on either the 71st or 72nd floor, with the 71st more likely.

The number of apartments on a single floor is quite limited.

If Qi Yi were to hysterically try to find Yan Yan, he could simply press each doorbell at the access control.

That would take just a few minutes.

But Qi Yi wasn't that hysterical.

Though he was physically present, his mind was still unclear about why he had come, or even if he should forgive Yan Yan.

Why should Yan Yan decide to break up alone?

Why did he not even get a chance to explain?

Why did she say she wanted to start a new life three years ago?

Why?

Qi Yi didn't quite understand what his truest thoughts were at the bottom of his heart.

Did he actually want to see Yan Yan?

Would he be scared if he saw her?

Would he have to face people he didn't want to?

Having received two surprises—one big, one small—upon arriving in Melbourne that day, Qi Yi wondered if he had used up his surprise quota. Could it be that only shocks awaited him next?

After coming down from Skydeck, Qi Yi realized that Melbourne was unfamiliar territory, and he didn't even know where to go for a meal.

His initial plan had been to stay busy calculating for a few days after arriving in Melbourne.

But this complicated equation had yielded an answer before he had really started working on it.

Was he supposed to spend the next few days loitering by the entrance of Yulika Building, watching the clouds drift and the sun rise and set?

Even if he was willing to wait, would Yan Yan come out through that entrance?

What if Yan Yan stayed home all day or used the garage directly?

Now that he had figured out Yan Yan lived on the 71st floor of Yulika Tower, then what? What does it change?

To glance secretly and unnoticed?

Qi Yi couldn't understand how he could be this naive.

Since he wasn't ready to face Yan Yan at this moment, what was he doing in Melbourne?

Qi Yi also couldn't figure out where he had stored his intelligence. Was it about to mold from disuse?

Before boarding the plane, Qi Yi had told himself that he was going to Melbourne to solve equations and then incidentally check out where Yan Yan was living.

Now, there was no need to solve any equations, and he had incidentally seen her living area.

His trip to Melbourne might as well end earlier than planned.

.........

note 1:

With an actual livable height of 297.28 meters, the 88-story Yulika Building, completed in 2006, was once the tallest residential building in the world.

However, its record was quickly surpassed by towers in Northern Hemisphere like Dubai's Ocean Heights and Hamdan Tower, The Marina Torch, and others.

Moreover, Yulika Building's status as the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere would also be overtaken in 2019 by the Australia 108 building, which began construction in 2015 in Southbank, Melbourne.

The year Qi Yi went to Melbourne to find Yan Yan, also the year MSN discontinued its Space service, was 2011. At that time in Southbank, the Yulika Building was indisputably the tallest building.

Another method of measurement claims that Queensland Number One in Gold Coast, Australia, is currently the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere.

Although Queensland Number One is indeed taller than Yulika Tower, its roof is designed like an antenna, which makes its data somewhat inflated, and its actual livable height is below that of Yulika Building.

This discrepancy arises from the different methods of calculating the height of residential buildings.