The second floor cafeteria fell into a dead, suffocating silence. Almost everyone’s eyes locked onto Lin Wanshuang, filled with astonishment, wariness, and even a lingering sense of dread.
Never before had Lin Wanshuang made her family background so blatantly clear at the research institute. Yet, no one dared to doubt the authenticity of her words, because they all knew she possessed the exact power to back them up.
In truth, even when it came to Feng Wan, Lin Wanshuang had plenty of ways to kick her out of the institute, it would just require a bit more effort. And what Lin Wanshuang detested most in this world was unnecessary trouble.
Feng Wan sat frozen on the floor, staring up at Lin Wanshuang who stood just a short distance away. High and mighty, completely unstained by a single speck of dust, Lin Wanshuang looked as though she was born to tread over everyone else. And that exact demeanor was precisely what Feng Wan loathed the most.
“Lin Wan…”
Before Feng Wan could utter another syllable, Lin Wanshuang’s oil stained coat was hurled directly at her face, forcefully cutting off the words bubbling up her throat.
Lin Wanshuang swept her freezing gaze across the individuals standing before her, issuing a cold warning: “I know some of you didn’t have an easy time getting into this institute, and you’re desperate to find a solid backer. But do not provoke me. Don’t think for a second that hiding behind a high-sounding excuse gives you the right to prance around in front of my face. Making you pack your bags and leave is easier for me than breathing.”
The crowd stood completely silent, as still as cicadas in late autumn. They had never expected Lin Wanshuang to lay things out so brutally and directly. To a group of academic researchers who valued their pride above all else, this was equivalent to grinding their dignity face first into the mud. Yet, no one dared to utter a word, let alone continue their provocation. They could only stand by and watch as Lin Wanshuang ruthlessly tore away their fig leaf of respectability.
What grand titles of researchers? What noble academic research? They were nothing more than a bunch of sycophantic, opportunistic turncoats.
Even long after Lin Wanshuang led Ming Jiao out of the second floor cafeteria, not a single voice could be heard in the dining hall. A few moments later, the silence was shattered only by Feng Wan’s utterly collapsed, furious shriek.
Meanwhile, having entirely escaped the “battlefield,” the two of them were already quietly seated in a secluded corner of the first floor dining area. A half-human tall potted plant stood right beside them, perfectly shielding them from view. Next to them was a panoramic French window, through which the perfect afternoon sunlight streamed, wrapping both of them in a warm, cozy glow.
A pair of bamboo chopsticks kept prodding a shrimp ball on the plate, making the honey mustard sauce stick messily all over them. Yet, the owner of the chopsticks showed no intention of bringing the food to her mouth.
As the most loyal disciple of gastronomy, Ming Jiao truly couldn’t bear to watch Lin Wanshuang ruin the food any longer. Closing her eyes, she exhaled a soft sigh and tried to comfort her: “Are you still upset because of those people?”
The chopsticks that were poking the shrimp ball came to a sudden halt. Lin Wanshuang shook her head, an aura of profound dejection radiating from her entire body. “No. They aren’t worth my anger.”
Ming Jiao asked, “Then what is it? Personally, I think honey mustard shrimp balls are far more important than that crowd.”
Lin Wanshuang set her chopsticks down and stared at the mutilated shrimp ball in her bowl, feeling even more miserable inside. “I just feel it’s terribly unfair to my mentor.”
“Every single one of those people used to be students under my mentor. But after he passed away, even before the funeral could be held, they all ran away. They did it to scramble for new career paths and find new backers, which I can actually understand.”
“But what those people shouldn’t do is use my mentor’s name to lord it over others. That hypocritical, self-righteous act makes me sick to my stomach.”
Lin Wanshuang curled her lips into a deeply cynical smile. “Do you know? On the day of the funeral, I was the one who went up as the student representative to present the flowers. The hilarious part is that by then, except for me, my mentor didn’t have a single student left to his name. As I stood there watching them weep their fake, theatrical tears, for some reason, I couldn’t shed a single tear myself…”
“They weren’t entirely wrong about one thing,” Lin Wanshuang said with self-derision. “I really do seem like an ungrateful ingrate.”
She picked up her chopsticks again and popped a shrimp ball into her mouth. What used to be her absolute favorite food now tasted entirely like chewing wax.
Ming Jiao remained quiet, but she took in every single fluctuation of Lin Wanshuang’s expression.
Though she wasn’t particularly good at comforting people, she still spoke up: “Eldest Miss, on a battlefield, tears are the cheapest things available. They can neither fill an empty stomach nor transform into a sharp weapon. They serve merely as an outlet for emotional venting, a form of self-consolation for the weak.”
“In that exact moment, you surely had much more important things to do than cry. Perhaps it was the fierce determination to carry on Professor Xin’s experiments, or perhaps it was the burning desire to kick those people completely out of the institute. Whatever it was, everything you wanted to achieve in that moment was far more useful than crying.”
Lin Wanshuang stared fixedly at Ming Jiao. The sunlight bathed the top of Ming Jiao’s head, making her platinum-blonde short hair look incredibly radiant, so bright that looking at it for a second longer felt as if it would pierce one’s eyes.
Averting her gaze, Lin Wanshuang mumbled under her breath, “But I did cry heavily after I got back home.”
Ming Jiao froze for a second, then burst into hearty laughter. She couldn’t resist reaching out to gently ruffle Lin Wanshuang’s hair. “That’s perfectly fine. It’s okay to be the weak one once in a while.”
The research institute provided a one hour lunch break. Remembering that Director Lan wanted to see her, Lin Wanshuang instructed Ming Jiao to return to the N08 lab first while she headed straight to Director Lan’s office.
The incident that had transpired in the cafeteria at noon had spread like wildfire across every single anonymous chat group within the institute. Consequently, on her way to the office, almost everyone Lin Wanshuang encountered actively avoided her like the plague.
None of them knew whether this young heiress was still throwing a tantrum or if she would use them to vent her rage, so their only option was to steer completely clear of her.
Lin Wanshuang paid them no mind, calmly smoothing out the clean clothes she had just changed into. The outfit stained with oil had already been tossed straight into the trash can; such filthy things didn’t deserve to leave a single trace on her body.
As for those people who scurried away at her sight, Lin Wanshuang didn’t even bother to give them a passing glance. She wasn’t that free, nor did she have the time to care about their opinions of her, as they couldn’t affect her in the slightest anyway.
However, there were always people whose whims and malicious intent could affect her.
Pushing open the office door, she saw a slightly plump figure standing by the window. A somewhat old-fashioned, short, curled hairstyle rested neatly against the back of her neck, perfectly concealing her gland. The white lab coat she wore was meticulously neat, without a single visible crease.
Hearing the door open, Lan Liru turned around, her eyes crinkling into a warm smile as she looked at the young, beautiful Omega standing at the entrance. “Xiao Lin, you’re here.”
Lin Wanshuang gave a slight nod. “Director Lan, Qiao Yi mentioned you were looking for me.”
Lan Liru smiled warmly and gestured for her to come closer. “Come in and have a seat. It’s nothing major, just a slightly troublesome matter.”
I hate troublesome matters the most, Lin Wanshuang thought. Maintaining a neutral expression, she walked into the office and smoothly shut the door behind her.
Director Lan’s office wasn’t particularly large. The entire wall on the left was lined with filing cabinets containing various experimental data, all securely locked away with silver padlocks.
On the office desk sat a standard computer and keyboard. However, near the wall, a small bouquet of lilies was neatly arranged, placed right in front of a picture frame. Lin Wanshuang had seen the photo inside before, it was a portrait of Lan Liru and her late daughter.
“By the way, I heard about what happened in the cafeteria at noon. Xiao Wan has a reckless nature and a fiery temper, and she crossed the line with you. I have already ordered her to go home and reflect on her actions for a week,” Lan Liru spoke with an air of absolute impartiality, seemingly favoring neither side, acting as if she was truly vindicating Lin Wanshuang.
Lin Wanshuang wasn’t surprised by this outcome. Director Lan had taken the initiative to punish Feng Wan simply to make it awkward for Lin Wanshuang to pursue the matter any further. Meanwhile, regarding the other individuals who had sided with Feng Wan, she hadn’t uttered a single word, meaning she was leaving them entirely to Lin Wanshuang’s disposal, openly treating them as disposable pawns.
With an indifferent expression, Lin Wanshuang offered a faint note of gratitude: “Thank you, Director Lan.”
Seeing this, the smile on Lan Liru’s face deepened. After offering a few more words of elder-like concern, she finally steered the conversation toward her true objective.
“You’ve just returned from a long leave, so you might not be aware yet. Dean Chen and several research institutes in the capital are planning to host a joint exchange lecture series, and the venue happens to be our institute. Dean Chen attaches immense importance to this event and has mobilized almost everyone. Anyone at the director level or above is strictly required to participate. However, since you were on leave recently and have just been promoted, plus you don’t have any major projects on your hands, no arrangements were made for you.”
Lin Wanshuang nodded. She possessed very little interest in these types of exchange lectures anyway. The research direction of her current project was vastly different from theirs, so whether she attended or not made no difference.
Taking in her reaction, Lan Liru continued, “Because of the lecture series, the vast majority of personnel in the institute are completely tied up. Therefore, in a few days, I’ll have to trouble you to personally make a trip to Xinsong Prison for the routine pheromone sampling.”
Lin Wanshuang’s brow furrowed slightly, realizing that this was the real purpose behind Lan Liru summoning her today. “Hasn’t the sampling at Xinsong Prison always been handled by the sampling team?”
“Yes, that was originally the arrangement. However, word came from the prison stating that among the batch of convicts recently transferred from the capital, there is a B-class Alpha whose pheromones hold significant research value. The prison staff couldn’t explain the specifics clearly, so a researcher needs to go down personally to evaluate the situation. If it truly proves useful, the judicial tribunal can arrange to transfer him to Jincheng Prison to cooperate with our institute’s project research.”
A researcher had to be dispatched, but since all the other researchers were tied up with the lectures, the task naturally fell upon the shoulders of Lin Wanshuang, who wasn’t participating.
Lin Wanshuang remained silent, her expression dripping with reluctance. Lan Liru didn’t press her, merely waiting patiently for her response.
Xinsong Prison was located in Songyang City under the jurisdiction of Jincheng. It earned its name because it sat right against Mount Xinsong. The prison wasn’t particularly large, housing only about 1,000 inmates, with Alphas and Omegas making up less than 40% of the population. A B-class Alpha certainly carried enough weight to justify a researcher making a personal trip.
Recalling the prior warnings Qiao Yi had given her, no matter how unwilling Lin Wanshuang felt, she could only hold her nose and nod in agreement at this point.
“Understood. I will go.”
Lan Liru nodded in satisfaction, before casually tossing out another detail: “The sampling team is also severely short-staffed right now, they can probably only spare fewer than 10 people. Therefore, I have specially authorized the field use permission of Xiao Ba for you. With its assistance, your workload should be significantly lighter, right?”
A sampling team of fewer than 10 people tasked with collecting pheromone samples from nearly 400 inmates, even with an intelligent assistant helping out, the workload would still be brutal. Lan Liru was absolutely determined to keep Lin Wanshuang stuck out there for at least three days.
When Lin Wanshuang finally left the administrative building, her face was completely dark. Her “keep away from me” expression caused every passerby to freeze in apprehension.
Ming Jiao had been sitting by the edge of a flower bed waiting for her to come out. Spotting Lin Wanshuang’s furiously storming figure, she quickly hurried over to meet her.
“Eldest Miss, what happened?”
Lin Wanshuang didn’t say a single word. She was so furious she didn’t even bother to scold Ming Jiao for failing to wait for her inside the laboratory as instructed.
The two of them walked briskly back to the N08 laboratory. The moment the lab doors slammed shut, Lin Wanshuang marched over to her desk, plopped down into her chair, opened her messaging application, and began aggressively pounding away at the keyboard.
Standing right behind her, Ming Jiao could see her actions with absolute clarity. The name displayed at the top of the chat box caused her entire body to stiffen, it read, clear as day: Xin Le’an.
【Mentor! Lan Liru is giving me a hard time again! I am absolutely furious!】
【She’s making me go all the way to Xinsong Prison for sampling completely by myself, and she only assigned a sampling team of fewer than 10 people to back me up!】
【Mentor, you must go give her a terrible stomachache! Make sure she suffers from nightmares every single night!】