“It was probably caused by accidentally ingesting a mutated black grape.”
Allen returned to the living room on the first floor and asked about Bo Chen’s meals that day. Xiao Jiu mentioned that he had prepared a glass of grape juice for Yu Nianqing, but Bo Chen had accidentally drunk it instead.
Xiao Jiu lowered his head, his face full of guilt. “Pretty big sister likes drinking fruit juice in the morning. I prepared it for pretty big sister…”
Yu Nianqing patted Xiao Jiu on the head. “Dr. Allen, is there something wrong with the juice?”
“Grapes naturally have a high alcohol content. After mutation, black grapes contain not only high concentrations of alcohol but also small amounts of stimulants.”
“Fortunately, Mr. Bo has a strong constitution. He managed to tough it out through the adverse reactions.”
In other words, if Yu Nianqing had been the one to drink the black grape juice today, instead of passing out cold, she would have devoured Bo Chen alive.
Xiao Jiu understood that he had caused trouble. Frightened, he went upstairs to face the wall as punishment. As he shut himself down, he even neglected to recharge his own battery.
After seeing Allen off, Yu Nianqing decided to stay and keep an eye on Bo Chen’s condition. After all, the incident was at least partly related to her.
She sat down on the carpet beside the bed and began reading the documents on the tea tree research stored in her smart terminal.
As an astronomer, Yu Nianqing specialized in exoplanet science and astrobiology, two subdisciplines of astronomy. She had originally worked in theoretical research, but because the M0922 star system she had proposed was never recognized, the stubborn Yu Nianqing had switched to observational research.
As a result, Yu Nianqing had an exceptional ability to learn. Although she had known absolutely nothing about the research topic of reducing mutagenic factors in tea trees, after two days of Bo Chen’s “meticulous instruction,” she had already gotten the hang of it.
Her smart terminal vibrated with a reminder that it was late and she should go to sleep.
Yu Nianqing yawned, then fell asleep with her head resting on the edge of the bed.
The next morning, when Bo Chen woke up, he felt a sharp pain in his head. He wanted to raise a hand to rub his temples, only to discover that his hand was pinned down.
Only then did Bo Chen notice Yu Nianqing lying beside him. In an instant, all the memories of the previous night flooded back into his mind.
His eyes darkened slightly before he closed them again, and the tips of his ears gradually turned red.
Allen was coming early that morning to examine Bo Chen. Butler Lin received him and led him to the bedroom. Butler Lin knocked on the door, and Bo Chen replied, “Come in.”
The sound also woke Yu Nianqing. She raised her head sleepily. “You’re awake.”
Allen entered and gave Bo Chen a brief examination. “You’re fine now.”
Yu Nianqing asked awkwardly, “Are you all right now?”
Bo Chen glanced at her before turning to Allen. “Did something happen?”
Allen explained why he had fallen into a deep sleep, then considerately asked, “Do you remember what happened before you fell asleep?”
The question made Yu Nianqing’s palms grow slightly sweaty. Bo Chen replied indifferently, “I don’t remember.”
“The effects of mutated black grapes are quite potent. It’s perfectly normal to lose some fragmentary memories,” Allen explained understandingly.
Only then did Yu Nianqing finally breathe a sigh of relief. Just before she looked at him, Bo Chen turned his gaze away. “Thank you for your trouble. Where’s Xiao Jiu?”
Butler Lin answered, “Xiao Jiu feels very guilty, so he’s facing the wall in reflection. Sir, how would you like to handle this matter?”
“Since he likes making fruit juice so much, have him deliver a glass to Miss Yu every day.”
Yu Nianqing had thought that after something like this happened, Bo Chen would certainly be furious. Unexpectedly, he had simply brushed the matter aside and told Xiao Jiu to make juice.
She remembered how, not long ago, Bo Chen had complained that Xiao Jiu was too talkative just because he had exchanged a few extra words with her.
Suddenly, she felt that this man was rather endearing after all. He said one thing but meant another.
As the master of the household, if he really disliked the personality Xiao Jiu’s system had programmed into him, he would have changed it long ago.
During their brief conversation, Allen noticed that the redness in Bo Chen’s ears was gradually fading.
So, did the Regent actually remember what had happened earlier or not?
.
Yu Nianqing’s twentieth birthday was fast approaching. She told Bo Chen that she would be staying at the Yu family home for the next few days, so he didn’t need to wait for her after the experiment ended.
Bo Chen merely hummed in acknowledgment and said nothing more.
“Bo Chen, are you coming to my birthday party?” After hesitating for a while, Yu Nianqing finally asked.
She had already invited Ivy right in front of Bo Chen. Wouldn’t it seem terribly rude if she didn’t invite him as well?
Bo Chen didn’t stop what he was doing. He continued working with the same focus as before as he replied, “In what capacity do you want me to attend? Have you told your family about our marriage?”
How could she possibly tell them? If her three older brothers found out, wouldn’t they come charging straight into the research lab?
However, this gave her the perfect opportunity to ask the question that had been on her mind.
“If I pay back the one million star coins I owe you, can we call off our engagement?”
This time, Bo Chen finally stopped his experiment and turned to look at Yu Nianqing with a serious expression.
He had anticipated this from the beginning. One million star coins was a substantial sum, but the Yu family had more than enough resources to repay it. Besides, the three men in the Yu family doted on Yu Nianqing so much that they would sooner bankrupt themselves than let her marry someone just because of a debt.
The one million star coins was nothing more than a way to make things difficult for Yu Nianqing, who no longer had Yu Tiancheng providing her with financial support.
“No.” Bo Chen rejected her outright.
“Why not?” Yu Nianqing pressed, unwilling to give up.
“My tomatoes are priceless.” He paused, then gave a rare smile. “Ever heard of raising the price on the spot?”
Yu Nianqing understood perfectly well what he meant. Even if she showed up with two million star coins, Bo Chen could still tell her, ‘Sorry, my tomatoes have gone up in price again.’
This was the first time she had ever met someone like Bo Chen. It was bad enough that he was mean, but he couldn’t even be bothered to hide it!
Yu Nianqing could only complain resentfully, “With your qualifications, Mr. Bo, there must be plenty of people who’d want to marry you. Why insist on forcing me into this?”
After a pause, she saw that Bo Chen remained silent, with no intention of responding, so she continued muttering under her breath.
“A forcibly picked melon won’t taste sweet.”
“I’m still young. If we get married this early, I won’t even be able to take care of you in your daily life.”
“I think Tang Xiaoyin from Lab Two would be a good choice.”
“I can’t help you with your work either. Honestly, I have no idea what you’re thinking.”
“Yu Nianqing.”
Finally, after listening to her endless muttering, Bo Chen called her name. Yu Nianqing thought he had grown annoyed with her, but to her surprise, Bo Chen suddenly took hold of the hand holding her test tube.
“Two drops are enough.”
Yu Nianqing was startled by his sudden movement, but Bo Chen seemed completely unaware of it. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and steadied her other hand. “Be careful. This stuff is corrosive.”
Once they had finished the procedure, Bo Chen let go of her without the slightest reluctance, as though his actions just now had been nothing more than a necessary part of the experiment.
Yu Nianqing froze for a moment, her mind going blank. Still, she managed to continue the experiment without making any mistakes. After that, however, she no longer dared to keep muttering under her breath.
It was only when they were leaving and changing out of their lab coats that Bo Chen suddenly spoke again.
“Whether a melon tastes sweet can be determined entirely through technical means. It has nothing to do with whether it was forcibly picked.”
“Huh?” Yu Nianqing didn’t understand at first.
“The melon I forcefully pick has to be sweet.”