Since Dan Pinghua had already set an example, the others naturally could not continue occupying multiple seats by themselves.
In the end, Xin Hongcheng still gave up his seat.
Xu Kuan: “So arrogant, huh? Why isn’t he acting tough anymore? Bullying the weak and fearing the strong!”
Bai Chuanhao shook his head: “Only after kicking an iron plate does he realize his foot hurts.”
If he had given it up earlier, Jiang Fuyue wouldn’t have gone to ask Dan Pinghua. Now look, everyone he should have offended and shouldn’t have offended, he’s offended them all.
With Jiang Fuyue pulling this move, empty seats appeared everywhere.
But she still chose the original corner spot, then moved the experimental equipment over there. A secluded and private semi-open laboratory began to take shape.
She didn’t use the computer here, instead taking out her own laptop.
Before use, it had to be sent to the counterintelligence investigation department for scanning and the installation of monitoring software, to ensure that the operation of this computer would remain under base supervision the entire time: no leaks, and of course no external virus attacks either.
After settling everything, Jiang Fuyue finally began arranging the experiment. Before that, there was still a lot of preparatory work to do.
She didn’t know what research direction Dan Pinghua’s and Bai Chuanhao’s teams were in, nor was she interested. She only needed to be clear about her task on this trip, to improve the defensive capability of the existing recombinant vaccine.
And this type of vaccine was first researched by Xie Dingyuan’s team. She had to obtain first-hand data and clinical trial results in order to determine the next research direction and key focus.
So, she went next door.
“Eh? What’s Jiang Fuyue doing?”
“Holy cr*p! She—she—she actually went next door?”
“What?!”
Everyone immediately crowded over.
“Could she be going to look for Professor Xie?”
“Are girls these days all this bold?”
“Is that bold, or is that reckless?”
“You’re all right, brave female tiger, no problem!”
“…D*mn!”
“Is she here to be funny or what?”
“Should we follow over and take a look?”
“If you want to go, you go. What if she suddenly kicks up a fuss… I don’t want to become the second Old Xin.”
Xin Hongcheng: “?” If you’re talking, then talk, why drag me into it? D*mn it!
But Jiang Fuyue walked straight through these whispers and peeping glances. Throughout, her eyes didn’t stray, her expression unmoved, her back still as calm and composed as ever.
Xu Kuan: “I really kind of admire her now.”
Bai Chuanhao nodded: “Her self-control really is good.”
Xu Kuan thought darkly: Is it really just self-control? Why does it feel like the disdain of a king, like nothing in the world is worth looking at?
……
Next door.
The moment the tall and beautiful figure of the girl appeared, it drew the attention of most of the people in the experimental area.
“Oh my god! When did a fairy come to our place?”
“Tall and slim, so lively!”
“Black hair, black eyes, just that her skin is too fair. She’s Chinese, right?”
“H-Hey, isn’t this the girl Old Liu and I saw in the cafeteria last time?”
“Oh! I remember now! Seems like she’s from Bai Chuanhao’s team?”
“Not sure which team exactly, being pretty is enough!”
“D*mn! She wouldn’t be the one rumored to be involved with our professor, would she?”
“There’s only one woman next door, bro, you’ve hit the truth.”
“……”
Once this layer of relationships was sorted out, the way everyone looked at Jiang Fuyue immediately changed.
The legendary woman who had been hugged by Professor Xie—uh… no, not woman, girl!
“If I could, I’d really like to reach out and touch her. Ah—pah! I don’t mean it like that, I just want to see what’s different! Not that I want to look at… d*mn it! Can’t control this mouth…”
“Bro, you’re something else, 666!”
“If you’re not afraid your claws will break, go ahead and touch. Anyway, touch once, break one. When your hand claws are gone, there are still foot claws.”
“……”
Jiang Fuyue stopped in front of a young man: “I’m looking for Professor Xie. Is he here?”
“He—he is!” The young man swallowed nervously. “He’s inside. Walk forward a few steps and you’ll see him.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Jiang Fuyue floated inward, leaving behind a fresh citrus fragrance drifting in the air, making people’s hearts itch.
“Are we really just letting her go in like that?”
“Will Professor Xie get angry? Last time Old Liu casually let someone in and got criticized right after…”
“D*mn! Who let her in? Anyway, it wasn’t me!”
“Not me either!”
“Definitely not me!”
Everyone shook their heads and waved their hands.
The young man who had pointed the way to Jiang Fuyue finally reacted, his face turning pale. “I—I didn’t do it on purpose…”
He wasn’t part of Professor Xie’s fixed team to begin with; this time he was temporarily seconded to learn and had volunteered to come to F Continent.
He wasn’t very familiar with everyone and usually didn’t like talking. Within the team, he was the kind of person who wasn’t very welcome.
He had wanted to blend in before, but everyone seemed unwilling to accept him. Over time, he stopped caring and just wanted to use this opportunity to learn something from Professor Xie.
He usually kept his head down and followed the rules. Who would’ve thought he’d cause such a big disaster today!
“Th-then what should I do now?” He was sweating profusely, at a total loss.
“At this point, that girl is probably already in front of Professor Xie. It’s too late to stop her!”
“Sorry, there’s nothing we can do. You should… fend for yourself.”
“Friend, hang in there!”
“Actually, when Professor Xie loses his temper it’s not that scary, just two ice mountains pressing down on you, freezing you until you shiver.”
Li Juzhu was about to cry.
……
At this moment, the scene inside was a bit different from what everyone had imagined.
Professor Xie, who should have been glaring coldly and flying into a rage, now had gentle eyes, relaxed features, and even a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
The freshly produced analysis report was temporarily set aside. He stood up, took the girl’s hand, and led her to sit on his chair, while he leaned against the lab bench, long legs together, carrying a kind of unrestrained ease and debonair charm.
“Why did you come over at this time?” he asked.
Jiang Fuyue: “Not welcome?”
Xie Dingyuan: “I couldn’t ask for more.”
“I came to see what you were doing.”
“Checking up on me?” He smiled.
“Yes. To see if you’re working seriously, and whether you’re secretly thinking about some pretty girl.”
Xie Dingyuan squeezed her fingers and said softly, “I’m only thinking about you, this pretty girl.”
Jiang Fuyue: “Cough…”
So mushy! So mushy!
“Did you take your medicine today?” he suddenly asked.
Jiang Fuyue froze.
“Looks like you didn’t,” Xie Dingyuan raised his wrist to check the time. “Fortunately, it’s not too late to take it now.”
As he spoke, he took a cup to get some water. From the looks of it, he was going to supervise her taking it on the spot.
Jiang Fuyue’s gaze flickered. That medicine was both bitter and large, really hard to swallow. Every time she took it, she felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
On top of that, her body had basically recovered already, so Jiang Fuyue hadn’t planned to continue taking the remaining two days’ worth of medicine.
“Don’t get water. I didn’t bring the pills, they’re forgotten in the dorm. I’ll take them when I go back.”
Xie Dingyuan didn’t respond. He filled the cup with water and even tested the temperature.
“I have some in my drawer.”
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
He put the cup down, went around behind the desk, pulled open the top drawer. “Exactly two days’ worth. I had the medical office prepare an extra set, just in case.”
Jiang Fuyue: “……” A man being too considerate isn’t always a good thing.
Xie Dingyuan placed the medicine into her hand. “Take it.”
“I suddenly remembered I already took it this morning, really!”
“Oh? Then no need to—” His motion of putting the pills away paused. That’s not right!
He suddenly lifted his eyes, just in time to meet Jiang Fuyue’s flickering gaze. Yet the instant their eyes met, she steadied herself and even smiled gently at him.
Xie Dingyuan: “……”
Jiang Fuyue urged, “Hurry and put them away. Don’t drop them.”
“Yueyue.”
“Mm?”
“Tell me honestly, did you take your medicine today or not?”
“……”
At this point, what was there not to understand?
Xie Dingyuan set the medicine down by her hand and said nothing, simply crossing his arms and staring.
The corner of Jiang Fuyue’s mouth twitched. With genuine feeling, she said, “It’s very bitter.”
“I know.”
“How do you know? You didn’t take it—” Uh!
She suddenly realized, widened her eyes, disbelief written all over her face. “You took it?!”
“I tasted it. Didn’t swallow.”
“Are you stupid?! Getting injections and taking medicine!” Jiang Fuyue exploded. “What did you promise me?!”
Her voice was too loud, people outside could vaguely hear it—
“Did it start?”
“Professor Xie getting angry one-sidedly?”
“I knew barging in wouldn’t end well.”
“As expected of Professor Xie, he can be ruthless even to a beauty.”
“Hiss—why does it sound like a woman’s voice? Professor Xie hasn’t really said anything.”
“You heard wrong, right?”
“Our Professor Xie letting a woman scold him? You’re joking.”
“……Oh, then maybe I heard wrong.” But that raised shout really did sound like a woman’s voice.
“There’s no sound again…”
Inside, Xie Dingyuan’s gaze softened, and he couldn’t help but sigh. “Look at you, before you even figure things out, you start getting anxious. Can you listen to my explanation first?”
“Sure, go on.” Jiang Fuyue also crossed her arms like him, calm and composed.
Seeing her puffed-up cheeks, Xie Dingyuan couldn’t help wanting to pinch them and he did, just once, lightly, without using force.
Jiang Fuyue glared at him, but didn’t stop him.
Xie Dingyuan: “I tasted the pill because the doctor wasn’t there. The nurse wasn’t qualified to prescribe medication, so I had to do it myself…”
Because he wasn’t familiar with how their medicines were arranged, Xie Dingyuan found two kinds of bottles without labels but with almost identical appearances. One was bitter, one tasted sweet. To tell which was which, he tasted them, just lightly licking one.
It really was very bitter and hard to swallow, but the components of this medicine were good, with no added hormones, and it could help Jiang Fuyue recover quickly, which was why he prescribed it.
“…All of this happened before I promised you. I didn’t go back on my word.”
“Oh,” she lowered her gaze, eyelashes fluttering lightly, muttering softly, “that’s more like it…”
Xie Dingyuan laughed helplessly. “Next time don’t be so quick to get worked up, shouting so loudly the whole world knows.”
Jiang Fuyue picked at her fingers. “Well, that’s because you have a record…”
She still remembered the injection incident.
“Alright, I’ve explained everything clearly. When are you going to take the medicine?”
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
Why does she still have to take it? There’s no getting past this, is there?
“Cough—can we not—”
The man refused outright: “No.”
Jiang Fuyue could only obediently pick up the pills and, under the man’s gaze—no, under his supervision, grimacing as she fed them into her mouth.
Too bitter…
Xie Dingyuan quickly handed her the water. “Drink some water. Take a big gulp and it won’t be hard to swallow.”
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