Yu Nianqing glanced at Bo Chen in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to be a professor at the research laboratory as well. She teased him, “I underestimated you!”
Ivy silently grumbled to herself. ‘If only you knew your husband’s true identity, you’d realize just how much you’d underestimated him.’
“Old Master Tang once did me a favor, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to refuse him outright,” Bo Chen said calmly.
“So you used me as a shield?”
Neither Ivy nor Bo Chen had expected Yu Nianqing to say something like that without showing the slightest hint of nervousness. If she hadn’t acted so confidently, Tang Xiaoyin wouldn’t have believed her.
“A shield? Take a look at the project credits.” As he spoke, Bo Chen brought up the report. Yu Nianqing looked at it and saw that her name really was listed as the researcher.
“But…”
Before she could finish, Bo Chen interrupted her. “Were you the one who brought the tea leaves home?”
“I was, but…” ‘But this research wasn’t my idea.’
“No buts. Since this is your research, as my wife, it belongs to Lab One.”
Yu Nianqing: “…”
In her understanding, the authorship of academic research papers was subject to extremely strict standards. Having one’s name on a paper was a tremendous honor, signifying that one was indispensable to the team or had played a crucial role. Yet here, she had done absolutely nothing and had already been credited as a researcher on such an important project.
She hadn’t contributed anything at all, so she felt she didn’t deserve the credit.
“So starting tomorrow, come to the laboratory to assist with the research after your classes. Your wages will go toward paying off your debt.”
Yu Nianqing gritted her teeth. She took back every last bit of guilt she had felt just moments ago!
Ivy took a laboratory coat and an ID badge from the side and handed them to her. The badge bore several utterly embarrassing words: “Professor Bo’s Personal Assistant.”
“May I ask what this ID badge is supposed to mean?”
Ivy answered seriously, “Exactly what it says. Personal assistant, you know… Have you ever read the novel The Overbearing CEO’s Personal Female Secretary?”
Yu Nianqing was at a loss. After all, whether in the twenty-first century or the New Era, she had always been a well-behaved student who loved studying and never read frivolous books.
“Helping our Professor Bo with his work, his daily life, and his physical needs.” Ivy’s eyes lit up, and who knew what sort of scenes she was imagining in her head again.
Yu Nianqing couldn’t imagine anything in the world more embarrassing than this ID badge. But after thinking about it carefully, she remembered the wedding gift Ivy had given her…
She dropped everything and hurried out of the laboratory, her face burning hot with embarrassment. Bo Chen had remained silent the entire time. In the end, he watched her fleeing figure and said, “Stop teasing her all the time.”
Ivy silently fumed at his lack of ambition. Why had she gone to all that trouble? Wasn’t it all for Bo Chen’s sake?
Yu Nianqing checked the time. She could still make it to the last session of the Ancient Human Behavior Studies class.
However, on her way to the classroom, she was stopped by Yu Yarou, whom she happened to run into again.
“Big Sister, where are you going?”
“Please move aside. I’m in a hurry.” Yu Nianqing was puzzled. Was the Federation First Academy, the top institution on Kloss Star, really that small? Why did she keep running into Yu Yarou everywhere she went?!
Not only did Yu Yarou refuse to move, but she also blocked the entire path. She linked her arm through Yu Nianqing’s. “Big Sister, Dad wants you to come home and visit soon.”
Yu Nianqing removed her hand and didn’t even bother sparing her another glance. She simply continued on her way. How could Yu Yarou let her go so easily? She couldn’t afford to provoke the three older brothers in the Yu family, but this younger sister of hers was another matter…
Yu Yarou suddenly dropped to her knees, clutching her head and bursting into tears. Naturally, passersby gathered around to see what was happening and ask about the situation.
Hearing the commotion behind her, Yu Nianqing didn’t even turn around. Yu Yarou cried out to her, “Big Sister, why are you treating me like this?”
A large crowd gathered around and began blaming Yu Nianqing without bothering to find out what had actually happened. Some even went so far as to stop her from leaving. As time ticked away and class was about to end, Yu Nianqing realized she had no chance of making it to this lesson anymore. Fine, then. She might as well play along and give Yu Yarou the performance of a lifetime.
“Big Sister, you haven’t been home for three months. I only wanted you to come back. Why did you have to hurt me…” Yu Yarou sobbed as she spoke. Someone helped her to her feet, and she leaned weakly against the wall.
Yu Nianqing could see right through her little white-lotus act, designed to frame her. But… there was really no need for all this!
Most of the passersby knew Yu Yarou. After all, she was a gifted young woman at the academy who had awakened her talent at just eighteen. Naturally, they took her side and spoke up for her.
“How could you be so heartless as to treat your own younger sister like this?”
Yu Nianqing shot back immediately, “Since she’s my younger sister, this is a family matter. What does it have to do with you? Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was your sister.”
“You! Even so, how could you be so heavy-handed?” Chen Qi retorted, refusing to back down.
Yu Nianqing’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Have you ever heard the old saying, ‘A big sister is like a mother’? If I’m disciplining my own younger sister, what business is it of yours? Who gave you the right to interfere?”
She fixed her gaze on Yu Yarou’s tear-streaked face and asked, “I haven’t even laid a finger on you. How exactly did I hurt you?”
The passersby hadn’t been paying attention to the two of them at first, so it was perfectly understandable that they hadn’t noticed Yu Nianqing never touched her.
Yu Yarou clutched her head again, as though waves of sharp pain were stabbing through it. “Big Sister… your mental power has reached S-rank. What is there that you can’t do?”
“Stop it!” Seeing Yu Yarou’s condition deteriorate, Chen Qi anxiously grabbed Yu Nianqing by the shoulder. Suddenly, he felt not only pressure on her shoulder but also a sharp ache beginning to spread through his head. A moment later, his head felt unbearably heavy.
A sense of fear began to creep over him, but he merely furrowed his brows slightly.
The man was releasing his mental power to fight against Yu Nianqing.
“Stop!” Two voices rang out simultaneously. In that instant, everything Yu Nianqing had been feeling disappeared.
The weight lifted from her shoulder. Bai Xue, who usually seemed rather timid, strode over and slapped the man’s hand away. Staring straight at him, she demanded angrily, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“You should ask her what she’s doing!” Chen Qi snapped. Bai Xue had knocked his hand away, but someone else was responsible for the mental power pressing down on him.
That person had to possess at least S-rank mental power to leave him drenched in sweat like this.
“The Yu family doesn’t need to explain themselves to you.” Just then, someone approached at an unhurried pace, dressed in a dark blue Kloss military uniform adorned with medals.
Yu Ningyan approached one step at a time, and the pressure he exuded grew with each step. The moment Yu Yarou saw him, her expression changed completely. Trembling, she called out, “Eldest Brother…”
Yu Ningyan kept his gaze straight ahead and stopped in front of Yu Nianqing.
“If there are any further problems, bring them directly to me.” Although he was speaking to the man, his eyes were fixed on Yu Yarou.
Yu Yarou felt a little guilty. With tears welling in her eyes, she said to the man, “Senior, you should leave first. I’ll talk to my big brother myself.”
Chen Qi felt sorry for Yu Yarou, but this was ultimately someone else’s family matter. He could only help her this much, never once realizing that he had been used.
Bai Xue carefully asked Yu Nianqing if she felt unwell anywhere. Only after receiving her answer did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Yu Ningyan turned around, his expression somewhat stern. Looking at Yu Nianqing, he called out, “Yu Nianqing.”