18、
Being late to the laboratory that day had been inevitable.
But surprisingly, the usually strict professor didn’t pursue the matter.
Later, Mao Mao laughed and said, “Looks like my recent Buddhist devotion really has been effective.”
Chaoyang shook her head. “Thinking back to when you stood outside the temple yelling, ‘I want to eat meat!’… I really don’t think the credit belongs to you.”
Mao Mao: “Sincerity moves the heavens! Besides, A-Miao said lots of immortals cultivated themselves from ordinary humans. They’ve all been through it before, so they can understand my suffering.”
Qiangwei smiled faintly. “If I cultivated, there’d be no need to choose at all. I’d directly become a demon on the spot!”
At that moment, a boy from their class came over to speak with Qiangwei.
“A-Wei, I heard you’re pretty close with Jiang Xu. Can you introduce me to him? I’m interested in him.”
Mao Mao let out an “Ah!”
Recently she’d become hopelessly addicted to reading BL novels, so any hint of ambiguity immediately sent her imagination in that direction. Especially since the way this guy said it had been downright radiant.
In Mao Mao’s imagination:
“Child, you’re still young.”
“I’m not young anymore.”
“He won’t be interested in you.”
“As long as I’m interested in him, that’s enough.”
“You should give up.”
“I won’t give up.”
“There won’t be any results.”
“I only want the process.”
“……”
In the end, they finally discovered this classmate merely wanted to interview Jiang Xu…
Meanwhile, the professor on stage—who had been struggling to restrain his temper—finally exploded.
“Fu Qiangwei! Do you think this is a marketplace?! If you want to chat, go outside!”
Qiangwei became depressed. “Damn it, I only said one sentence, okay?!”
The professor frowned and was just about to stand up when Anning pointed at the blackboard.
“Um… Professor, your formula is wrong.”
“……”
That night, Anning earned herself a free feast.
The next morning, Anning went to see the supervising teacher for their special research project. The teacher asked her a question.
“Why did you apply to do this project?”
Anning answered righteously, “Because I want to learn more knowledge.”
The teacher smiled, seeming rather gratified.
“Originally, your topic wasn’t going to be approved. But last week a student from another department came to our research group and said he’d act as your advisor—”
One of Anning’s male teammates immediately spoke up.
“Teacher, doesn’t an outside department not really fit with ours?”
“He’s done many projects before. He’s very familiar with the procedures. Of course, you’ll still have to work hard on the actual content yourselves.”
The male student: “Alright.”
“Li Anning, you’re the team leader. Come over and write down his name. Contact him later if you have questions—you can ask him first.”
Anning: “……”
The teacher saw she wasn’t moving.
“Is there a problem?”
“…No.”
As Anning walked over and picked up the notebook beside the teacher, slowly copying down that beautiful calligraphy handwriting…
Mm… she’d actually learned to imitate about seventy percent of it already.
Right then, her phone rang.
Anning reflexively answered.
“Hello?”
The other person also politely replied with a “Hello.” His voice sounded hoarse, tinged with a nasal tone.
“Where are you?”
Anning was genuinely caught off guard.
“I-I’m writing something. In the teacher’s office.”
The other side thought for a moment.
“About how much longer?”
“Mm… can I say a very long time?”
The words escaped directly from her thoughts. The moment Anning realized what she’d just said, she had only one thought left:
I’m doomed!
Silence from the other end…
Anning hurriedly tried to salvage the situation.
“P-please leave a message after the beep…”
The two sides remained paused like that for several seconds until the other person hung up.
Anning groaned. “Why can’t I just become even stupider…”
A few days later, someone who had always been calm and indifferent about everything suddenly started becoming troubled and distracted…
To the point where everyone in the dormitory felt nervous and fearful.
Qiangwei was the first to raise a possibility.
“Do you think A-Miao might suddenly turn evil?”
Chaoyang: “If she really turned bad, I feel like none of us would be able to stop her.”
Mao Mao looked puzzled. “When have we ever managed to control her before?”
Chaoyang: “……”
On the day of Qiangwei’s semifinals, Anning finished her work and met up with Mao Mao and the others around five in the afternoon. Quite a few teachers attended the competition that evening, and the contestants all used every trick they had to compete.
Anning watched the crowd applauding while overhearing whispered conversations around her.
“Too bad that judge from last time didn’t come…”
“I heard contestant number three, Xu Chengyu, is his girlfriend.”
“How come I can’t find a boyfriend that handsome and capable?”
“What left the deepest impression on me was the way he walked. He had such style.”
“……”
Beside her, Chaoyang sighed emotionally.
“He’s practically a nonlinear characteristic—cutting across every major, infiltrating every field, existing everywhere in abundance.”
Anning sighed too and couldn’t help glancing toward the judges’ seats below the stage, feeling somewhat melancholy.
After the show ended, Qiangwei still hadn’t come out from backstage for a long time. Chaoyang and Mao Mao went to look for her while Anning waited by the main entrance.
As she idly played with her phone, she dialed a certain number.
The call connected after two rings—but the person answering wasn’t him.
“Sorry, Xu Moting can’t answer the phone right now. Is there anything you’d like me to pass along?”
“Mm… nothing.”
The other side paused briefly.
“You’re Li Anning?”
“…Mm.” Anning also recognized the voice as his roommate’s.
“Hah!” Zhang Qi laughed. “Your name’s saved in English on his phone—I couldn’t even understand it! Wait a sec, I’ll hand the phone to him.”
Anning hesitated, actually feeling somewhat timid.
“Isn’t he busy right now?”
“Haha, he’s sleeping. Boss has been busy to death these past few days, and he caught a cold two days ago. He’s on an IV drip right now. It’s fine, I’ll wake him up—”
“No need. It’s nothing important anyway. I’ll call later…”
She hung up before the other side could really respond.
At that moment, Chaoyang wrapped an arm around her from behind.
“What are you thinking about, girl?”
Anning: “Where are they?”
Chaoyang: “Arguing with two sophomore girls. Honestly, I feel like those two are getting more childish as they age. Come on, let’s go eat!”
“Alright.”
Chaoyang tilted her head and looked at her again.
“Why do you look so listless?”
Anning smiled faintly.
“Mm… I think I caught a cold.”