After the Online Romance with the Campus Beauty Roommate Went Wrong - Chapter 13

When Sang Shi’an reached the C District dormitory building, she ran into Su Ningyue, who was buying snacks at the convenience store.

Su Ningyue glanced at Jian Chenyu’s retreating figure and mysteriously pulled Sang Shi’an aside. “I’ve sent you something amazing! Check WeChat right now!”

Seeing Su Ningyue’s mischievous expression, Sang Shi’an immediately stuffed her phone into her pocket, suspecting it was nothing good.

Undeterred, Su Ningyue grabbed Sang Shi’an’s arm and pleaded, “Seriously, it’s something you’ve never seen before! If you don’t look, I’ll be so disappointed!”

Throughout their walk back to the dormitory, Su Ningyue kept pestering Sang Shi’an. Finally, at the foot of the building, Sang Shi’an relented and opened WeChat.

It was a text file. Sang Shi’an eyed it warily. “You didn’t send me some research paper, did you? Are you trying to get me to do your homework?”

Su Ningyue vehemently denied it. “No, no! It’s purely for entertainment! Trust me!”

Only then did Sang Shi’an tap to open the file.

It was a very short novel. After scanning just two lines, Sang Shi’an’s pupils constricted sharply.

“What is this?”

“A novel! Or you could call it fanfiction. You can tell, right?”

Sang Shi’an was speechless. Her and Jian Chenyu’s names were plastered all over the screen. After a moment of stunned silence, she steeled herself and forced herself to keep reading.

Su Ningyue kept a close eye on the path ahead for Sang Shi’an, reminding her at the end of each flight of stairs, “Even if the story’s good, watch your step!”

Before she knew it, Sang Shi’an, who had only intended to skim a few paragraphs, found herself reading all the way to the end.

Su Ningyue winked at Sang Shi’an. “What do you think?”

Sang Shi’an paused for a few seconds before murmuring, “We grew up together, I’ve secretly loved her for years, and she’s always held me in her heart. After years apart, we reunite and fall head over heels, then convince our parents to let us live together and dive into a passionate romance.”

Su Ningyue: “…Huh?”

Sang Shi’an: “What’s so interesting about this story? It’s not even as good as something I could make up on the spot.”

As she put away her phone, Sang Shi’an suddenly remembered something and grabbed Su Ningyue’s arm, her expression odd. “The author of this fanfic actually wrote that our parents arranged for us to live together for ‘mutual support,’ instead of the usual wild guesses about us ‘choosing to cohabitate.’ Isn’t that strange?”

Su Ningyue pulled her hand away, pretending to search for her keys to hide her guilt. “Someone sent this to me too, haha. Who knows what kind of genius wrote this stuff? Yanjing University really does produce exceptional talent, huh?”

Sang Shi’an: Hmph.

While Sang Shi’an was interrogating Su Ningyue, pinning her against the bed, Jian Chenyu headed straight to the lab.

Jian Zhiyan was guiding her students through their experiments. When she saw Jian Chenyu enter, she waved her over. “I need to adjust some data temporarily. Could you take a look at these two? They’ve been fiddling with it for half an hour and still haven’t gotten any results.”

“Go ahead and focus on your work. I’ll help them out,” Jian Chenyu replied.

She approached the two students and skillfully asked a few questions. After examining their lab records, she pinpointed the issue: “In a hydrogen atmosphere, alcohol esters will react violently. Try using a different catalyst.”

One of the students recognized Jian Chenyu’s face immediately. Remembering her major, she hesitated. “…Senior Jian, but when I used methanol earlier, it sparked and caused a hydrogenation reaction.”

“Wait a moment.” Jian Chenyu stepped out, retrieved a lab coat from Jian Zhiyan’s locker, and held out her hand. “New petri dishes, reagents.”

“Oh, oh, right!” The student, impressed by Jian Chenyu’s familiarity with the lab and reassured by her professor’s endorsement, immediately got to work, remeasuring and preparing all the necessary reagents.

Jian Chenyu stood under the bright lab lights, wearing white lab gloves. With practiced ease, she dripped reagents into a petri dish. Her slender fingers picked up a test tube clamp and heated the tube. As the reagents reacted and vaporized, she swiftly plunged the tube into a nearby water bath to cool it, a wisp of blue smoke rising slowly.

The students hadn’t yet recovered from their surprise when the cooled reagent was dripped into the petri dish. Before their eyes, the mixture began to fuse—something they had failed to achieve after dozens of attempts. Jian Chenyu lowered her gaze and began preparing a new reagent, her pipetting movements swift, precise, and clean.

After completing the final step, Jian Chenyu removed her gloves, picked up the lab report, added a few notes, and handed it back to one of the students.

“Did you see clearly?”

“Yes, yes! It actually fused!” One of the students exclaimed as Jian Chenyu turned to leave. “Senior, how are you so skilled? You don’t even need to weigh the reagents to get the proportions right! You finished in under five minutes! Even Professor Jian doesn’t demonstrate this quickly!”

The Jian Clan and Yanjing University had a deep-rooted collaboration. This entire experimental building and all its expenses were sponsored by the Jian Clan. Jian Chenyu had been brought here by Jian Zhiyan at the age of ten and had spent countless hours immersed in the lab, making her intimately familiar with the equipment and procedures.

She didn’t elaborate, offering a gentle encouragement: “Practice makes perfect. You’ll get there too.”

Jian Chenyu’s demeanor was always reserved, yet impeccably polite.

After speaking, Jian Chenyu was called over by Jian Zhiyan to process a new set of data.

The data from Jian Chenyu’s research at Oxford on neutrophil-based cancer therapies had been brought back to China. One of her reasons for pursuing a second master’s degree at Yanjing University was to continue this research.

The afternoon flew by, and by the time she stopped working, dusk was approaching. A gentle evening breeze stirred the lab papers covered in neat handwriting. In the fading twilight, the words on the pages seemed to flutter and dance until Jian Chenyu gathered them up.

Jian Zhiyan waited patiently for Jian Chenyu to finish packing up before beckoning her over. “Come with me.”

As they left the lab, Jian Chenyu glanced at the brightly lit interior and asked, “Your students?”

Perhaps buoyed by the afternoon’s successful experiment, Jian Zhiyan’s voice carried a playful tease. “Did your advisor at Oxford hover over you every day when you were a graduate student? They can find their own meals when they’re hungry. Your aunt doesn’t believe in exploiting her students.”

Once they were seated in Jian Zhiyan’s office, Jian Chenyu turned serious. “Is there a problem with the paper from last time?”

“The paper is fine. It’s passed peer review, and I’ll let you know before it’s published.” Jian Zhiyan handed Jian Chenyu a bottle of fresh fruit juice, twisting open another for herself. “I wanted to ask if you’re settling in well living off-campus. Are you getting along with that girl from the Sang Family? Living with strangers can’t be as comfortable as living with family. Why don’t you move in with me?”

“Why bring this up now?” Jian Chenyu didn’t answer directly about her living situation. “Didn’t we discuss this when I first came to Yanjing University? We’re both students; living together would be convenient.”

Jian Zhiyan smiled. “That’s true, but you’re studying Finance at Yanjing University, right? No one would gossip if you lived with me, a professor.”

Jian Chenyu: “Aunt, just say what’s on your mind.”

“I knew I couldn’t beat around the bush with you. Fine, keeping this bottled up isn’t good for either of us.” Jian Zhiyan set down her thermos and leaned forward. “This isn’t something your aunt should be telling you, but I think you deserve to be prepared.”

“Your parents have been arranging blind dates for you lately. You know how early these things are settled in our circle. When you’re young and obedient, you’re still ‘marketable.’ But once you’re older and harder to control, it becomes impossible to arrange a marriage alliance.”

Jian Chenyu froze, her gaze meeting Jian Zhiyan’s ambiguous smile. Slowly, she twisted open the unopened bottle of juice, tilted her head back, and took a sip.

When their eyes met again, the emotion in her eyes had faded. “Who?”

Jian Zhiyan reached out and pinched Jian Chenyu’s cheek, turning her face from side to side as if examining a rare specimen. “I can understand your usual expressionless demeanor, but how can you remain so calm even now? No wonder those kids outside are so obsessed with you.”

She was referring to Jian Chenyu being chosen as the School Belle.

Professor Jian, unmarried and having never suffered the torment of a loveless marriage, was generally aware of the romantic affairs among her students.

Jian Chenyu frowned and pulled Jian Zhiyan’s hand away. “If you’re in the mood to joke about blind dates, why should I be surprised?”

“This time, I’m not joking.” Jian Zhiyan wagged a finger, her smile gradually fading. “As far as I know, your parents have their eyes on the Sang Family.”

“You know, the little girl you’re living with.”

Jian Chenyu looked up.

“Her older brother, Sang Shiyue.”