Chapter 183 Blind Date, Agreed to Share
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The clattering of the keyboard momentarily ceased.
The scene seemed frozen in time.
The invigilator came down from the podium and approached Jiang Fuyue’s station. “Why did you submit your paper already? Is there a problem with the machine?” he asked, reaching out to inspect.
“No problem, I’m done,” Jiang Fuyue replied casually.
The remaining examinees exchanged quick glances—
Is she crazy?!
Does she think this is just a classroom assignment?
No need for a double-check?
Speed without quality is useless anyway.
Stay calm, she’s doing her thing, I’ll do mine, no need to panic when something happens!
Should I take out my phone and take a picture?
Get lost!
Taking a picture, sure. Let’s commemorate this genius who submitted her paper more than four hours early.
…
Lin Yuan, sitting diagonally in front, had a vague sense that Jiang Fuyue would be the one to submit her paper when the mechanical sound started.
Sure enough…
She couldn’t help but clench her fists.
But the next moment, she quickly released them and continued to lower her head to type on the keyboard.
A string of code flowed from her fingertips, and the girl’s originally nervous expression was gradually replaced by calmness.
Her features were serene, her profile open.
She thought, so what if Jiang Fuyue submitted her paper early?
This isn’t the NOI semifinals, it’s a real IOI rehearsal. Just the difficulty of the questions alone is incomparable to before.
Jiang Fuyue’s perfect score in the domestic selection doesn’t mean she’ll breeze through the international competition.
The heavens won’t always favor the same person; it’s time for her to taste failure.
With this thought, a glint of darkness flashed in Lin Yuan’s eyes, fleeting.
After Jiang Fuyue submitted her paper, she quietly left under the invigilator’s arrangement.
But the act of “leaving” itself wasn’t low-key, the more she avoided, the more deliberate it seemed.
Three and a half hours into the exam, Fan Ye also submitted his paper.
Huang Hui and Gao Zhaoming glanced at each other: Fine, let’s submit too.
Suddenly, the seats behind Lin Yuan were all vacant, the wind blew, unobstructed, a coolness at the back of her neck.
By then, Jiang Fuyue had already returned to Q University, sitting in the brightly lit library, in front of her was an open laptop, the page paused on an unfinished paper.
She held a pen in one hand, materials in the other, surrounded by scattered A4 papers covered with formulas, some with diagrams.
Jiang Fuyue was giving the final polish to her paper. Without surprise, tomorrow would be the final touches from Shen Qiannan’s side, and these remaining experimental blanks would be completely filled in.
She smiled satisfactorily at this.
…
It was a night of bright moonlight and profound silence.
In the study on the second floor of the Xie family mansion.
Xie Dingyuan finished organizing today’s experimental data, uploaded it to the encrypted cloud, then closed the analysis software and recording documents, and shut down the computer.
He took off his glasses, leaned back in his chair, and massaged his temples lightly, closing his eyes to rest.
Suddenly, a call came in.
He reached for his phone, swiped his finger lightly: “Hello…”
“Your tone doesn’t sound right, are you still working?” It was Shen Qiannan.
“Just finished. What’s up?”
“Can’t I call just to check on you?”
“At this hour? Are you sure?”
“…” Shen Qiannan was certainly not sure.
For this reason, he had been agonizing all night, and in the end, he still dialed Xie Dingyuan’s phone.
At that moment, he fervently hoped that the other party wouldn’t pick up, just like the previous times when it would have been best if they had turned off their phone.
Unfortunately, things don’t always go as desired.
Xie Dingyuan not only answered but did so very quickly.
“Ahem… You’ve been back in the capital for almost half a month now, and you haven’t even treated me to a meal at the school cafeteria. Is that fair?” Shen Qiannan said.
“I’m back in the capital, shouldn’t you be treating me?” Xie Dingyuan replied.
Shen Qiannan: “…”
Xie Dingyuan suddenly opened his eyes, the light reflecting in his dark pupils, emitting a faint glint: “What do you want to say?”
There was a moment of awkward laughter from the other end. “I heard you’ve been holed up in the lab lately?”
“Yeah. Rushing to collect data for two papers,” Xie Dingyuan replied.
“When will you be done?”
Xie Dingyuan raised an eyebrow, nonchalant. “Why are you interested?”
“No… I’m asking for someone else.”
He pondered for a moment. “Probably another twenty days, two experimental cycles.”
“So long?”
Xie Dingyuan remained silent.
Shen Qiannan could only plow through: “Actually, the main reason I called today is to discuss something with you.”
“Hmm, what is it?” Xie Dingyuan’s voice was indifferent, not revealing any emotions.
“I have a little… uh! friend,” Shen Qiannan originally wanted to say “junior sister,” but considering Xie Dingyuan’s quirky and picky nature, he quickly changed his wording and continued, “She wants to use the lab. Could you accommodate her?”
Xie Dingyuan didn’t respond.
Shen Qiannan felt there might be hope, so he pushed harder, “She’s alone, no team with her, at most, she’ll only need it for five days, and her research direction leans towards physics, so it won’t conflict with the biochemical equipment you’re currently using. Even if there is a conflict, she’s willing to compromise to accommodate your experimental needs first.”
Still, there was no response from the other end, but the call hadn’t ended either.
Based on his understanding of Xie Dingyuan, if this matter really couldn’t be negotiated, he would have hung up long ago. He wouldn’t waste his time listening to Shen Qiannan’s babble.
“The lab has three entrances. You can give her the key to the left entrance only. There’s a wall in between, so even if it’s shared, it’s unlikely to bump into each other. You can just treat her as air. How about that?” Xie Dingyuan’s left hand rested on his thigh, fingers rhythmically tapping.
It seemed like he was genuinely considering the proposal.
Shen Qiannan, on the other end of the line, couldn’t gauge his attitude. He had said what needed to be said and could only wait silently for a reply.
After an unknown period, Xie Dingyuan finally spoke, “Are you close to this person?”
“Um, sort of.”
He absolutely couldn’t admit he had been tricked by a little girl, otherwise, Xie Dingyuan would mock him for a whole year.
“In consideration of your face, lending it is not impossible…”
Shen Qiannan didn’t rejoice too early. He knew it wouldn’t be that simple.
Sure enough—
“But I have a condition.”
“What condition?”
“Do you know Lin Weiwei?”
Shen Qiannan was stunned, surprised that Xie Dingyuan could utter such a feminine name.
But it was truly unexpected.
“Lin Weiwei? Who’s that? Why does the name sound so familiar…”
“The postdoctoral fellow from the neighboring Materials Science Institute.”
“I remember now! The direct Ph.D. from MIT, became the hot topic at several universities as soon as she returned to China, joined the Materials Science Institute as a postdoctoral fellow last year, rumored to be exceptionally beautiful among the many female Ph.D. candidates, once caused a stir, worshipped by the group of youngsters in the Materials Science Institute as a goddess.”
“No… why are you suddenly bringing her up?”
Xie Dingyuan’s eyelids twitched, his Adam’s apple rolling lightly, unable to speak for a while.
“Old Xie? Still there? Has this guy fallen asleep…”
“This Lin Weiwei, you help me deal with her, and I’ll agree to lend the lab to your friend.”
“Deal with Lin Weiwei? What does that have to do with anything? Why do you need to deal with Lin Weiwei? Are you acquainted with her?”
It was completely inconceivable for a postdoctoral fellow from the Materials Science Institute and an extramural personnel who only came back once every six months and didn’t belong to Q University to be connected in any way!
“I didn’t know you had any dealings with Lin Weiwei before?”
Xie Dingyuan’s eyelids twitched more fiercely: “…No dealings, just met her recently.”
“Then why do you need to deal with her?”
Xie Dingyuan wasn’t one to do superficial things.
Why would he need to deal with anyone?
Shen Qiannan was completely baffled.
Finally unable to bear it, he gritted his teeth, “My family arranged for me to go on a blind date with her.”
“?”
“I’m not suitable for marriage. I made it clear to her the first time we met, but this girl…”
Xie Dingyuan didn’t know how to describe it. To say it lightly seemed to be unable to express the true meaning, and to say it heavily might tarnish the girl’s reputation.
“In short, you step in and help persuade her not to persist anymore, it’s futile.”
There was dead silence for two seconds, then suddenly exploded, “F*ck—”
Xie Dingyuan: “?”
“You went on a blind date?! My god, you actually went on a blind date?! And you’ve met Lin Weiwei once?! Wait, let me check if the sun rose from the west today!”
“…”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot it’s nighttime now. Sure, Old Xie, sneaking behind my back to get some action. You call yourself a brother, but instead of sticking together through thick and thin, you’re secretly ending our ‘dog life’?”
“…”
“Alright, it’s just Lin Weiwei, I agree, don’t worry! With me here, you’ll keep being a dog. How can you leave halfway through when we agreed to be dogs together?”
“…Strictly adhere to the laboratory rules, use experimental materials in a standardized manner, while I’m present, they must not appear, after I leave, they must not touch my experimental equipment randomly, and if they want to borrow, they must inform me in advance. If they can abide by these conditions, come find me tomorrow morning at nine o’clock to get the key.”
Xie 99 is finally going to meet Sister Yue~!
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