After Becoming the Scummy Alpha in a Substitute Romance (GL) - Chapter 10

Shen Shuyi’s voice was cold and indifferent.

After regaining her composure, she once again carried that calm and refined presence she was known for.

As soon as she spoke, the lab fell completely silent.

Her strictness was well-known. The few people who had still been sneaking glances at Jian Ya quickly lowered their heads and went back to their work. No one dared make another unnecessary move.

Jian Ya’s lips curved into a soft, lingering smile as she looked at Shen Shuyi.

“What should I do next, Professor Shen?” she asked gently.

Her voice had a teasing lilt to it, and her slightly playful tone gave the otherwise simple question a subtly suggestive undertone.

“Do as you please,” Shen Shuyi replied coolly, choosing to ignore the strange ripple of emotion that stirred in her chest.

With that, she had no interest in continuing the conversation.

She lowered her head and began organizing the experimental data from the past few days.

“Where is each group with their current progress?” Shen Shuyi asked as she put on her headset.

The project they were working on was primarily a medical research initiative. The core objective was to collect a large amount of research data and then integrate it using computer modeling. The goal was to extrapolate further possibilities and predictions through simulation.

The project was divided into two main phases.

The first phase involved live animal testing and data collection—something Shen Shuyi excelled at. She had led her team through more than a year of focused research in this area.

Now, they had reached the second phase—data modeling—a stage that required collaboration and computational expertise, which wasn’t her specialty.

This was where the data lab came in.

Around the lab, teams of two or three worked together. Each team reported their progress through headsets, sharing updates efficiently.

The entire lab environment was highly disciplined.

Everyone was focused on the screens in front of them, with clearly divided responsibilities and smooth cooperation.

They were undoubtedly people trained by Shen Shuyi.

Often, the atmosphere of a team is a direct reflection of its leader’s values.

And in this case, the lab exuded discipline, precision, and a serious work ethic in every corner.

Before long, everyone had fully immersed themselves in their tasks.

Jian Ya, although physically present among them, felt like an outsider.

It was a strange feeling—but not an unpleasant one.

She didn’t interrupt anyone. Instead, she quietly observed the space around her, taking everything in.

The lab was minimal in design. Aside from the essential equipment, there were barely any decorations.

The entire space gave off a sterile, cold aesthetic.

It was impressive that the team could spend so much time working in such an environment without feeling completely suffocated.

Jian Ya couldn’t help but smile faintly to herself. This really was Shen Shuyi’s doing.

As she quietly observed, her gaze landed on a corner of the lab.

There, a large cardboard box overflowed with discarded materials, used papers, and general waste.

The pile had already exceeded the box’s capacity, yet no one had touched it.

Jian Ya understood why—it was likely that some of the materials might still be reviewed or reused, so no one had cleared them out just yet.

But she also knew that things left in this kind of “temporary” pile usually stayed that way until someone gave up and threw them all out.

It looked like her offhand joke had actually been accurate—they really did need someone to handle odd jobs here.

With that thought, Jian Ya stood up and walked toward the messy pile.

Even though Shen Shuyi had buried herself in her own work, determined to pretend Jian Ya didn’t exist, that resolve proved hard to maintain.

Her attention inevitably drifted toward Jian Ya’s movements.

Shen Shuyi watched her carefully, her instincts on high alert. She still didn’t believe Jian Ya had come here for such a simple reason, and she was afraid Jian Ya might do something to disrupt the experiment.

When she saw Jian Ya pass by a few of the team members, her body subconsciously tensed.

Was she about to sabotage someone?

The thought flashed across her mind—ridiculous, yes, but not entirely unfounded. Jian Ya was unpredictable, and her past behavior made even that kind of irrational fear seem… plausible.

But no.

Jian Ya simply walked up to the trash pile, stood there silently, and frowned at the mess like she didn’t know where to start.

Even more telling—on her way over, she hadn’t once glanced at anyone’s screen or workspace.

For some reason, a strange thought popped into Shen Shuyi’s mind:

Is she doing this on purpose… because she knows I’m suspicious of her?

Jian Ya stood still for a while.

Then, finally, she got to work, sorting through the pile piece by piece.

Back when she led her own teams on projects, she’d encountered similar situations. She hadn’t been the one handling lab waste, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how.

Her hands moved quickly and efficiently—separating anything that might still have value, what needed to be disposed of carefully, and what was clearly useless.

She worked silently and patiently, handling a tedious task most people would never want to touch.

Gradually, not only Shen Shuyi but also her close associate, Xiao Bai, took notice.

Xiao Bai had a good relationship with Shen Shuyi. She was one of the few people in the entire team who wasn’t intimidated by her.

Seeing Jian Ya quietly handling the trash, Xiao Bai leaned in and whispered, “Shuyi, are we really just going to leave the new member to deal with garbage like that? If she made it here, she must have some talent. And she’s so young—probably a prodigy of some sort. People like that usually carry a lot of pride. Making her do the one job nobody else wants… it doesn’t feel right.”

Shen Shuyi kept her eyes on Jian Ya, watching her every move.

The way Jian Ya was sorting the trash now—there was a kind of patience and care that Shen Shuyi had never seen from her before.

Xiao Bai wasn’t wrong. Jian Ya’s technical ability might still be in question, but her pride had never been.

This was someone who probably wouldn’t bow her head even to the Buddha. Yet here she was, quietly sorting garbage.

Shen Shuyi found herself more and more unable to understand this version of Jian Ya.

After a long pause, she finally looked away and said calmly, “No one asked her to do it.”

No one asked. Everything she’s doing… is voluntary.

Jian Ya… what is it that you’re really after?