ORCBRB – Chapter 13
Chapter 13
When she arrived at the C-district dormitory building, Sang Shi'an ran into Su Ningyue buying snacks at the convenience store.
Su Ningyue glanced at Jian Cenyu's departing figure and pulled Sang Shi'an over conspiratorially. "I sent you something good. Quick, open WeChat and take a look."
Seeing her expression, Sang Shi'an felt it couldn't be anything good and immediately stuffed her phone into her pocket.
Seeing Sang Shi'an's lack of cooperation, Su Ningyue shook her arm and pleaded, "Really, I guarantee it's something you've never seen before. If you don't take a look, I'll be really sad."
On the way back to the dorm, Su Ningyue pestered Sang Shi'an the entire time. Having no other choice, Sang Shi'an opened WeChat at the entrance of the dormitory building.
It was a .txt file. Sang Shi'an was wary. "You didn't send me some paper, did you? Are you asking me to help you with your homework?"
Su Ningyue cried foul. "No, no, it's purely for entertainment. Trust me."
Only then did Sang Shi'an tap on it.
When she opened it, she found a very short story. Sang Shi'an scanned two lines, and her pupils suddenly constricted.
"What is this?"
"A story, or you could call it fanfiction. Didn't you already figure it out?"
Sang Shi'an was at a loss for words. The entire screen was filled with her and Jian Cenyu's names. She paused for a moment, then braced herself and continued reading.
Su Ningyue kept an eye on the path for Sang Shi'an, giving her an early warning every time they reached a flight of stairs. "No matter how good the story is, watch the steps."
Before she knew it, Sang Shi'an, who had only intended to skim a few lines, had read to the very end.
Su Ningyue winked at Sang Shi'an. "What are your thoughts?"
Sang Shi'an was silent for a few seconds before saying faintly, "We grew up together, I've had a secret crush on her for years, and she's long had a place for me in her heart. After years apart, we fall for each other at first sight upon reuniting, trick our elders into letting us live together, and fall passionately in love."
Su Ningyue: "...Huh?"
Sang Shi'an: "What's so good about this story? I could make up something better off the top of my head."
As she put her phone away, a thought suddenly struck her. She grabbed Su Ningyue, her expression strange. "The author of this fanfiction actually managed to write that our parents arranged for us to live together so we could 'look out for each other,' instead of randomly guessing that we 'chose to live together' like everyone else. Don't you think that's strange?"
Su Ningyue pulled her hand away, guiltily pretending to look for her keys. "Someone sent this to me too, haha. I don't know which genius wrote it. It seems Yanjing University is truly full of talented people."
Sang Shi'an: Hehe.
While Sang Shi'an was pinning Su Ningyue to the bed for an interrogation, on the other side, Jian Cenyu went straight to the laboratory.
Jian Zhiyan was guiding her students with an experiment. Seeing Jian Cenyu come in, she waved her over. "I need to change some data last minute. Come help these two for a bit. They've been fiddling for half an hour and still haven't analyzed anything."
"Go on, I'll help them."
Jian Cenyu walked over to the two girls, skillfully asked a couple of questions, and precisely identified a section in their lab notes. "In a hydrogen atmosphere, the alcohol and ester will conflict. Try changing the catalyst."
One of the students was no stranger to Jian Cenyu's face and had recognized her as she approached. Thinking of Jian Cenyu's major, she hesitated. "...Senior Jian, but when I used methanol just now, it caused a hydrogenation reaction and sparked."
"One moment." Jian Cenyu stepped out, grabbed a lab coat from Jian Zhiyan's closet, and held out her hand. "New petri dish, reagents."
"Oh, oh, okay!" Seeing how familiar she was with the lab, and with her professor's prior words, the student immediately got into the zone, re-preparing and weighing all the necessary reagents.
Jian Cenyu stood under the light, wearing white lab gloves, skillfully dripping reagents into the petri dish. Her long, slender fingers picked up the test tube holder to heat it. As the reagents reacted and vaporized, she quickly placed it in the water tank to cool, and a wisp of green smoke slowly rose.
Before the student could react, the cooled reagent was dripped into the petri dish, and she saw the contents, which had failed to react after dozens of attempts, begin to merge. Jian Cenyu lowered her gaze and started preparing new reagents. Her movements with the pipette were fast and precise, deft and clean.
After finishing the final step, Jian Cenyu removed her gloves, took the lab report from the side, added a few more notes, and handed it back to one of the students.
"Did you see clearly?"
"Yes, yes, I saw it clearly! It actually merged!" As Jian Cenyu turned to leave, one of the students was still marveling, "Senior, how are you so skilled? You knew the dosage without even weighing it, and you finished in less than five minutes! Even when Professor Jian demonstrated it for us, she wasn't this fast."
Jian Corporation had always maintained a deep collaboration with Yanjing University. This entire laboratory building and all its expenses were sponsored by Jian Corporation. Jian Zhiyan had been bringing Jian Cenyu to hang out in the lab since she was ten, so she was naturally familiar with it.
But she didn't explain further, just offered a gentle word of encouragement: "Practice makes perfect. You'll be able to do it too in the future."
Jian Cenyu's demeanor always seemed very detached, but no one could find fault with it.
After speaking, Jian Cenyu was called over by Jian Zhiyan to process a new set of data.
Jian Cenyu had brought back the data related to her research on neutrophil anti-cancer therapy from Oxford. One of the reasons she came to Yanjing University for her second master's degree was to continue this research.
The afternoon passed quickly. By the time she stopped, it was nearly dusk. The evening breeze blew gently, rustling the lab papers filled with neat handwriting. In the twilight's afterglow, the characters on the pages seemed to dance until Jian Cenyu gathered them up.
Jian Zhiyan waited patiently for Jian Cenyu to finish packing, then beckoned to her. "Come with me."
As they left the laboratory, Jian Cenyu looked at the still brightly lit room and asked, "Your students?"
Perhaps because the afternoon's experiments went well, Jian Zhiyan's voice carried a cheerful, teasing tone. "When you were a graduate student, did your advisor hover over you every day? They'll find food on their own when they're hungry. Your auntie doesn't exploit people."
Once they were in the office and Jian Cenyu was sitting opposite Jian Zhiyan, she asked seriously, "Is there a problem with the last paper?"
"The paper is fine, the review is complete. I'll let you know before it's published." Jian Zhiyan handed Jian Cenyu a bottle of fresh fruit juice and opened another for herself. "I wanted to ask if you're used to living off-campus. Are you getting along with that little girl from the Sang family? How can living with an outsider be as convenient as living with family? Why don't you move in with me?"
"Why bring this up all of a sudden?" Jian Cenyu didn't comment on her living situation. "Didn't we already talk about this when I first came to Yanjing University? We're both students, so it's convenient to live together."
Jian Zhiyan smiled. "That's true, but aren't you studying finance at Yanjing University? No one would gossip if you lived with me, a professor."
Jian Cenyu: "Auntie, just say what you mean."
"I knew I couldn't beat around the bush with you. Fine, I don't feel good keeping this to myself either." Jian Zhiyan put down her thermos and leaned forward. "Your auntie isn't supposed to be the one to tell you this, but I think you should have a heads-up."
"Your parents are planning to set you up on blind dates recently. You know how our circle works, things are settled early. When you're young and obedient, you're marketable. When you're older and can't be controlled, it's impossible to arrange a marriage alliance."
Jian Cenyu froze. Under Jian Zhiyan's half-smiling gaze, she slowly twisted open the unopened bottle of juice and took a sip.
When their eyes met again, the emotion in hers had faded. "Who?"
Jian Zhiyan reached out and pinched Jian Cenyu's cheek, looking her over from side to side with great curiosity. "It's one thing for you to be expressionless on a normal day, but how can you be so calm even now? No wonder all those kids out there are so obsessed with you."
She was referring to Jian Cenyu being voted campus belle.
Professor Jian was older and unmarried, having never suffered the torment of a loveless marriage, and she kept up with the goings-on among the students.
Jian Cenyu frowned slightly and pulled Jian Zhiyan's hand away. "If you're in the mood to joke about blind dates, what's there for me to be surprised about?"
"This time, it's really not a joke." Jian Zhiyan wagged a finger, her smile gradually fading. "As far as I know, your parents have their eyes on the Sang family."
"The little one you're living with."
Jian Cenyu looked up.
"Her older brother, Sang Shiyue."
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