The next day, the sun was bright—perfect for going out.
Since she was heading to the lab, Jiang Fuyue didn’t wear a dress. Instead, she chose a simple T-shirt paired with pencil pants, the hem tucked neatly into her waistband. Her abdomen was flat, her long legs striking.
When she came out, Xie Dingyuan was already waiting at the door.
The car window rolled down, revealing his sharply defined profile.
Sure enough, it was another car. No wonder Jiang’s little brother had said he had so many of them…
Jiang Fuyue slid into the passenger seat and, before the man could reach over, buckled her own seatbelt.
Xie Dingyuan’s fingers twitched lightly on the steering wheel, a trace of regret flickering in his eyes.
“Let’s go.”
…
On the way, they passed by a dessert shop.
Jiang Fuyue asked, “Do they like sweets?”
Xie Dingyuan: “…Not too sure.”
Forget it. Jiang Fuyue simply bought desserts anyway, along with coffee and milk tea.
Soon, the car drove into the Hanqing Biotech research zone.
The security guard, upon seeing Xie Dingyuan, didn’t even ask a word and immediately raised the barrier to let them through.
Though he did glance several times at the young woman in the passenger seat.
Why did this girl look so familiar?
…
Xie Dingyuan hadn’t told the others ahead of time that Jiang Fuyue would be coming today.
So when they arrived, the group was completely unprepared—
Old Bai was sprawled over the lab bench reading manga—maid outfit, explosive cleavage, and even a little tail attached at the back.
Old Jin was squeezing pimples in front of a mirror: “Staying up late for half a month straight wrecked my hormones, my face is ruined. I passed by a beauty clinic the other day and they told me to get cosmetic treatment—one session costs eight thousand! D*mn—daylight robbery!”
Hearing that, Ding Yu didn’t even lift his head: “You can always put in a receipt and have Professor Xie reimburse you. D*mn, this Gongsun Li just stole my kill—”
Old Jin’s eyes lit up at once: “It can be reimbursed?!”
Liu Guan looked at him with disgust: “Seriously, can’t you be a little less stingy? You’re a researcher with an annual salary over ten million, yet you act like eight thousand is cutting flesh from you. With that kind of stinginess, how do you expect to ever find a girlfriend?”
Old Jin snorted: “Eight thousand is still money, of course it hurts! If you’re so rich, then throw me eight thousand just like that.”
Liu Guan: “…”
“And anyway, finding a girlfriend isn’t something you can rush! Look at Professor Xie—his annual income is in the billions, generous with money, yet still single. That proves money or generosity doesn’t necessarily help you get a girlfriend.”
Liu Guan coldly snorted: “You’re doomed to be single, a lonely frog forever—lonely! Lonely! Lonely!”
Old Jin’s eyelid twitched: “Get lost—if you’ve got guts, go push Professor Xie instead! He’s more destined for eternal bachelorhood than I am…”
“Professor Xie! Y-you’re here!” Liu Guan shot up to his feet.
Old Jin rolled his eyes: “Trying to trick me again? No way!”
“He’s really here!”
“Yeah right. Why don’t you just say a fairy descended from heaven? I might actually turn my head for that.”
Liu Guan gave a little laugh, his gaze landing on Jiang Fuyue beside Xie Dingyuan, smiling with her eyes: “Actually… there is a fairy.”
Old Jin shot him a look of disdain: “What’s wrong with you? I say fairy, and you just go with fairy? Can’t you be more creative? At least switch it up to the Queen Mother of the West or a spider demon or something—”
Liu Guan covered his face, unable to watch: “Honestly, just turn around and look.”
Old Jin crossed his arms, chin raised stubbornly: “I refuse!”
Liu Guan: “…” Sorry, I tried my best.
It wasn’t until Old Bai and Ding Yu both stood up, one after the other, and greeted: “Professor Xie.”
That Old Jin finally realized something. Stiff-necked, he turned around—only to see Xie Dingyuan standing right behind him, expressionless.
Cr*p—
His legs almost gave out on the spot.
“Th-th-th-thank you, Professor! I-I-I-I-I…”
He couldn’t string together a full sentence.
The atmosphere instantly turned painfully awkward.
Jiang Fuyue stepped forward, set down the coffee and milk tea. “I brought these for you, want to try some?”
She gave Xie Dingyuan a subtle look, telling him not to be so intimidating—it was scaring people.
Only then did his expression soften. He walked over and put down the dessert bag, placing it neatly beside the drinks.
Old Bai: “These are for us?”
Jiang Fuyue nodded.
He let out a whoop and pounced on the desserts: “Let’s see if there’s durian mille crepe—wow! There is!”
The next second, he spun around and gave Jiang Fuyue a bear hug: “Little Yueyue, I love you so much! You’re my heart, my liver, my darling sweet candied fruit!”
Jiang Fuyue: “?” A little suffocated.
Xie Dingyuan: “!”
But Old Bai hugged quickly and retreated just as fast. He dug out a huge spoonful and shoved it into his mouth: “Mmm—so much durian flesh, the cream isn’t greasy at all, so good!”
Xie Dingyuan silently unclenched his fist.
Ding Yu stopped gaming too; he liked coffee, and it just so happened Jiang Fuyue had bought his favorite brand. He was instantly satisfied.
“Thanks.” He smiled at her.
“You’re welcome.”
Liu Guan was the least picky. He could eat sweets, drink milk tea, coffee, anything.
So whatever was left, he took all for himself.
Seeing Old Jin hadn’t moved, Liu Guan walked over and drawled: “Come on, pick one.”
Old Jin was still reeling from his mortifying moment just now. All Liu Guan’s fault!
Hearing that smug voice, he clenched his teeth and snapped, with false bravado: “Why should I pick just one?! I’ll pick two—no, three!”
Liu Guan: “…” He thought Old Jin was about to throw down something fierce, but that was it?
…
After they went outside to eat, when they came back in, Jiang Fuyue and Xie Dingyuan had already changed into lab coats. She was sitting at the computer, and he was at the experiment table.
Old Bai’s eyes rolled as he leaned closer: “Little Yueyue, I heard you got full marks on the college entrance exam? Amazing!”
“Just lucky.”
Jiang Fuyue wasn’t being modest—since essay questions in Chinese and English involved subjective grading, getting zero deductions did involve some luck.
Old Bai gave her a playful shove: “Don’t give me that! You’re being too polite with me.”
Suddenly, he felt a cold chill shoot across his hand. He instinctively pulled back, rubbing at it, and looked around—but saw nothing unusual.
The windows were shut, the AC vent was overhead. Why was only his hand cold? Weird…
Xie Dingyuan withdrew his gaze and looked back down at the lab report.
“Old Bai, come here.”
“Huh? Okay. Little Yueyue, Professor Xie’s calling me, I’ll be back later.”
“Mm.”
Old Bai walked over, swallowing nervously: “Professor?”
“You did the third part of this experiment?”
“Yes.”
“There are two errors in the data, and one unit is wrong. Take it back and recheck.”
Old Bai felt like the sky collapsed.
Next: “Old Jin, your turn.”
Old Jin: “…” Life has no meaning.
Xie Dingyuan went through the reports one by one, pointing out flaws and calling each person over for face-to-face correction.
Meanwhile, Jiang Fuyue sat at the computer, pulling up a half-finished program. She called Ding Yu over to take a look.
“…This model is built on basic concepts of aerodynamics. I’m sure the code isn’t wrong, but when running it lags, and the output is gibberish. So I suspect there’s a problem with the fundamental concept setup. Since you’re better at aerodynamics, could you help me check?”
“Sure, though I only minored in aerodynamics—I might not be much help.”
Ding Yu casually pulled up a chair beside her.
…
By the time Xie Dingyuan finished grilling the others and looked over—he saw Jiang Fuyue sitting side by side with Ding Yu, the two bent over the screen in discussion.
When Ding Yu spoke, Jiang Fuyue tilted her head to listen, nodding now and then, sometimes offering her own opinion.
They were at a crucial point and hadn’t noticed how close they were.
Especially when Ding Yu reached across her to grab the mouse. The cable was too short, so half his arm was stretched right past her, upper body practically leaning onto the desk.
“You mean like this?” Jiang Fuyue adjusted the program step.
“No, here you need to add another case to the classification, because of the air friction index—”
“I see.” Jiang Fuyue nodded.
Her fingers flew over the keyboard. Soon: “Does this cover all cases now?”
Admiration flashed in Ding Yu’s eyes: “You’re quick to grasp things.”
Jiang Fuyue solved the entire problem in one go. Her smile was lighter now: “That’s because you explained it well.”
From Xie Dingyuan’s angle, it looked like the two shared a smile.
“Professor… are you alright?” Liu Guan asked nervously, seeing the man’s face sink.
He followed his gaze. There was nothing there! Just Ding Yu and Jiang Fuyue discussing work.
So why did it feel like Professor was… furious?
The pressure in the room seemed to drop.
…
Xie 99: I’m a vinegar dog, not Cool Dog. My whole body is turning sour!
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