ORCBRB – Chapter 49
Chapter 49
The lab building was quiet at the end of the semester. Most students were preparing for their final exams. Sang Shi'an walked into the lab building but didn't call Jian Cenyu right away. She held her phone and paced several times between the four pots of evergreen plants at the entrance.
Just as she was on her sixth lap, footsteps sounded from around the corner.
It was Jian Cenyu.
Indoors, she had taken off her coat, revealing black, high-waisted, wide-leg pants that made her legs look even longer. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Sang Shi'an. She pointed to the call screen on her phone and then pushed the door open to go outside.
A delivery guy handed a large bag of takeout to Jian Cenyu. Sang Shi'an glanced at it and recognized it as a private dessert shop she had just scrolled past last night.
Sang Shi'an averted her gaze from the takeout bag and asked with feigned indifference, "Why did you ask me to come here?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Jian Cenyu herself seemed to have forgotten to tell Sang Shi'an the reason. After a brief moment of surprise, the smile in her eyes deepened as she looked at Sang Shi'an.
Sang Shi'an understood immediately.
Right, she had come running just because of a single sentence from Jian Cenyu.
Feeling like she had lost face, Sang Shi'an turned to leave.
Jian Cenyu wrapped her arms around her from behind, her warm palms covering the side of her waist. She spoke close to her ear, "I didn't get to see enough of you at noon and wanted to see you again, so I called you over."
Sang Shi'an was suddenly unable to scold her. It was as if the desserts in the takeout bag had spilled, otherwise why did the air feel so sweet?
Sang Shi'an asked awkwardly, "Why are you ordering takeout at this hour? Didn't you have lunch?"
Jian Cenyu pulled Sang Shi'an inside. "Eating with a group of professors is very boring. I used the excuse that I have an exam soon and came back early."
They passed the lab Sang Shi'an had been to before, but Jian Cenyu didn't stop. Sang Shi'an asked, "Where are we going?"
"To the small lab further inside," Jian Cenyu explained. "That lab is for my aunt's private use. We won't be disturbed there. It's very suitable for..."
Very suitable for flirting and romance. Sang Shi'an silently completed the sentence in her mind.
"...suitable for reviewing your lessons," Jian Cenyu said. "You can bring your books over too. Memorizing things here won't disturb anyone."
Sang Shi'an: "Won't I be disturbing you?"
Jian Cenyu was silent for a moment, then said reluctantly, "For you, I suppose I can bear it."
The words 'bear it' were pressed on the tip of her tongue, her voice inexplicably low.
Sang Shi'an's mind almost instantly jumped to other things, and she was about to die of embarrassment.
The moment the lab door opened, she quickly pushed Jian Cenyu inside, lest someone discover the unknown side of their pure and noble campus belle.
This lab was exceptionally clean. Every test tube and piece of equipment on the benchtops was placed neatly, without a speck of clutter.
Jian Cenyu unhurriedly unpacked the takeout bag. There were a good ten or so small boxes inside. As she laid them out one by one on the table, Sang Shi'an even felt a little guilty towards the precise instruments on the table.
"Don't take them all out. I don't like this stuff."
Jian Cenyu: "Then why were you browsing their livestream for so long last night while eating coconut chicken?"
Sang Shi'an turned her head away.
Jian Cenyu let out a low laugh. "So stubborn. Just like a little kid."
"I only eat them freshly made," Sang Shi'an blurted out, making it up on the spot.
Jian Cenyu's lips curved. She raised a hand to ruffle Sang Shi'an's hair, deciding not to expose her lie. She picked a few less visually appealing boxes for her own lunch. "Then sit down and have some with me. Or are you just going to watch me eat?"
Sang Shi'an completely ignored the option of playing on her phone and picked a box of mango pomelo sago. "Who wants to watch you?"
The mango puree in the mango pomelo sago was freshly squeezed. Sang Shi'an had never liked the pomelo bits inside, but when ordering out, she was afraid the staff would laugh at her for being a country bumpkin who couldn't handle the authentic version, so she always forced herself to eat it.
Unexpectedly, she found there were no pomelo bits in this box. Her eyes crinkled with happiness. "It's alright."
Jian Cenyu pushed another mango soufflé towards her. "Try this too. The strawberry one was very fluffy, so the mango one should be good too."
Sang Shi'an, who had just finished a meal, happily accepted it.
Five boxes were opened in succession. Jian Cenyu barely had a few bites; almost everything went into Sang Shi'an's stomach. It was like feeding a small animal—it ate whatever it was given, very obediently.
When Sang Shi'an really couldn't eat anymore, she finally felt a little embarrassed. She took the initiative to open a few dessert boxes for Jian Cenyu and then changed the subject. "Were those professors from other universities at lunch today?"
"Yes, they're here at Yanjing University for a teaching and research exchange conference. There are a few lectures in the Chemistry College this afternoon."
"Ah, they still have to attend lectures like this at the end of the semester. The students in the Chemistry College have it so tough."
Jian Cenyu explained, "Two of the professors are about to set the questions for the chemistry competition. This is their last lecture before they go into seclusion to write the questions. How could no one go?"
"Wow," Sang Shi'an blinked. "Will they leak the questions?"
"Of course not, but you can analyze their preferred question-setting tendencies from their lectures."
Sang Shi'an nodded, thinking it made sense. She remembered the competition training camp she attended before high school; a few of the famous teachers there were three of the final question setters.
So she had practiced the question types those three teachers emphasized over and over, not even sparing the ones that were beyond the syllabus.
In the end, almost none of them appeared on the exam. If she hadn't been so well-prepared, she probably wouldn't have gotten into a key municipal high school and would have been sent abroad by her parents.
That secluded training camp back then had caused her to miss the news that Jian Cenyu was planning to go abroad, something she had held a grudge about for so many years.
Seeing Sang Shi'an fall silent, Jian Cenyu asked, "What's wrong?"
Looking at Jian Cenyu's calm eyes, she probably hadn't cared about what happened back then for a long time. If it were anyone else, they might have laughed and changed the subject, but Sang Shi'an couldn't hold back.
She moved the box of mango pomelo sago over again, stirred it with a spoon, and asked with feigned casualness, "Back then, if I had been able to use my phone at the training camp and found out you were going abroad, if I had asked you to stay, would you still have left?"
Jian Cenyu said, "Yes."
Sang Shi'an was also very clear about the reasons why. On one hand, Oxford's program had a top QS ranking, and it would have been a pity to miss it. On the other hand, there were Jian Cenyu's fly-like relatives.
Jian Cenyu had been at Yanjing University for less than three months, and Jian Zhenyang had already managed to orchestrate a lab explosion. If she had spent those four years in the country, she probably wouldn't have achieved her current research accomplishments.
Sang Shi'an teased her, "How are you trying to woo someone? Shouldn't you say you wouldn't have left at a time like this?"
She nudged Jian Cenyu with her elbow. "I'll give you another chance."
But Jian Cenyu still shook her head. "Even as I am now, I would have chosen to leave back then."
Sang Shi'an's face fell immediately, as if she had eaten a whole lemon in one bite.
Jian Cenyu took her hand and leaned close to her ear. "If I had stayed, what if I tempted you into a puppy love?"
The lab was silent for a moment. Sang Shi'an was incredulous. "You, you, you..."
Jian Cenyu looked perfectly composed. "An'an is so pretty. Once you blossomed in high school, would it have been hard to fall for you?"
Sang Shi'an: ...
That might be true, but... but how could the academically excellent and morally upright Jian Cenyu speak of puppy love so matter-of-factly!
Sang Shi'an's face was completely red. She was speechless, continuing, "You... you..."
"Don't tell me you liked me back then?"
Jian Cenyu couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. "Am I that much of a beast?"
Sang Shi'an expressed her doubt. "When I was little, everyone praised me for being pretty."
"And my grades weren't bad either. Plus, my world revolved around you, and I'd smile whenever I saw you."
Jian Cenyu shattered her fantasy with a single sentence: "But I wouldn't fall for a little fairy who spent all day holding a magic wand and reciting Balala the Fairies spells at me."
Sang Shi'an: ...
Sang Shi'an shut down, turned her back, and pretended to reply to a message, ignoring her.
Jian Cenyu had planned to coax her after they finished eating, but she was called away by Jian Zhiyan. Sang Shi'an seized the opportunity to leave, sneaking away like a thief.
Jian Cenyu caught a glimpse of Sang Shi'an's figure out of the corner of her eye. Her tone faltered slightly, but she didn't stop her.
Imagining Sang Shi'an's mortified expression as she left, her mood brightened, and the corners of her lips turned up.
Jian Zhiyan noticed and followed Jian Cenyu's gaze. "Is that the little girl from the Sang family again? I heard from your father that your marriage alliance with the Sang family was called off. Can you two still get along normally?"
Jian Cenyu's expression was a bit strained. "Not really."
Jian Zhiyan reached out and patted Jian Cenyu's shoulder, comforting her. "Then come live with your aunt. It's not like our Jian family lacks places to live. Now that your relationship with her has changed, it's not good to be living under someone else's roof."
Jian Cenyu shook her head and said without hiding anything, "Auntie, I can't go through with the marriage alliance with Sang Shiyue because I'm pursuing his sister."
Jian Zhiyan was stunned for several seconds, almost thinking she had misheard.
Jian Cenyu, showing no respect for her elder's fragile heart, repeated her life-threatening statement: "I'm pursuing Sang Shi'an."
Jian Zhiyan had studied abroad and had seen many same-sex relationships. After the initial shock wore off, she calmed down.
Her niece had never been keen on material things since she was a child and rarely liked anything. She hadn't even been in a relationship all these years. The moment Jian Cenyu said it, only one thought flashed through Jian Zhiyan's mind: It's over, it's over. This is real.
As her aunt, Jian Zhiyan still suppressed her shock and tried to persuade her. "This is the Sang family's daughter. Even if you like women, you shouldn't mess with her. Look, there are plenty of people in our circle with the same sexual orientation, but who dares to get involved with someone from within the circle? The girl is a few years younger than you, don't take advantage of living together and do something reckless."
Jian Cenyu thought to herself that she wouldn't have dared to, but a certain kitty had left the window open for her. What could she do?
Jian Cenyu asked in return, "Auntie, do I look like I'm forcing her against her will?"
Jian Zhiyan recalled the scene of Sang Shi'an leaving just now. It really didn't seem like it. "Even if it's mutual, this is too outrageous. Your father won't agree."
"The patent is in my hands. Worst case, I just won't go back to Jian Corporation. I can find investors and build my own team."
"But then you'd still have to answer to shareholders. How could that be as established as the system at the family company?"
Jian Cenyu's tone was light. "It's not important."
Jian Zhiyan asked, "Then what is important?"
Jian Cenyu thought for a moment and replied, "As long as she's happy."
Jian Zhiyan: ...
Jian Zhiyan was completely convinced. Before, when Jian Cenyu showed no interest in Sang Shiyue, she had privately inquired about him and found his qualifications to be top-notch in every aspect. At the time, she had worried that Jian Cenyu had spent so long in the lab that she had cut off all romantic desires, and had even considered helping to guide her.
Now it seemed there was no need for guidance at all. It wasn't that she hadn't blossomed; she just hadn't met the right person. With someone else, she could instantly turn into a living, breathing love-struck fool.
The incurable kind.
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