Chapter 13 reveals that love is enough for him.

Cheng Sijie thought for a moment and then sent another message: I didn't agree to marry you, senior. Why did you reveal your relationship?

She put her phone in her backpack, and when she arrived at the lab, everyone had just started working.

Spring drowsiness, autumn fatigue, and summer naps—everyone was still recovering from their afternoon nap. After greeting everyone, Cheng Sijie put her computer away and continued eating her melon seeds.

Just then, the PhD student rushed in, "Let's do a count, who can't attend next week's academic conference?"

Scattered responses came from the crowd: "I'll go, I'll go. Where is it located again?"

"At W University, they're so rich, their tea breaks must be amazing!"

"Wow, I heard that our supervisor's husband is also at the meeting. Maybe he'll take us out to dinner after the meeting."

"Wow, I absolutely have to go!"

Cheng Sijie looked up abruptly, put her phone away, and said, "I'm going."

The PhD student nodded in satisfaction: "Good, good, good. We'll be academic locusts then. Oh, by the way, I heard that a certain big shot will also be giving an academic presentation. Hey you, junior, don't you admire him a lot?"

My junior colleague exclaimed excitedly, "I want to study for my PhD under him!"

My junior colleague comes from a well-off family and is incredibly passionate about academic research. He dedicates himself to it every day, even to the point of financial loss, and possesses an extraordinary academic enthusiasm that is incomprehensible to ordinary people like him.

The PhD student said, "Pursuing a PhD? You've got a path to heaven but you're choosing the path to hell..."

Hearing her weak and listless tone, Cheng Sijie asked obediently, "Senior sister, I still have some mints here, do you want some...?"

The senior student was the one I asked her to help with makeup and styling last time. Aside from when she was meeting her boyfriend, she was always in the lab with greasy hair and the same old short-sleeved shirt and jeans. Applying a BB cream occasionally was considered the greatest respect she could show to everyone. You could say she exuded the aura of a twisted academic slave who had been "beaten up" by literature and data every day.

Upon hearing this, the senior sister waved her hand and looked at Cheng Sijie, "I don't need those pills for now. I have plenty of energy. Hehe, Sijie, how's your essay coming along?"

In short, most science and engineering majors in universities with high requirements need to publish a paper that can be published in a journal in addition to their graduation thesis, which is a long paper of tens of thousands of words, in order to graduate. This paper is called a short paper. Their schools require that it be published in an SCI or EI journal, regardless of the journal's index.

Cheng Sijie smiled wryly: "The child is disappointing. We've tried several different models, but the data just won't come out."

My senior sister said, "Take it slow, this thing is just a test of patience."

…

After chatting with her fellow students for a while, Cheng Sijie lowered her head and continued sending messages to Jiang Hui: If you were scammed by marketing accounts... oh wait, what I wanted to say was, why is your company so incompetent? Did we just waste all our money?!

Who knew that the message would disappear without a trace after it was sent?

Cheng Sijie wasn't in a hurry. She put her phone on the table and continued reading the literature. The senior student from earlier came over and said, "Junior, thank you. Here."

Cheng Sijie was given an adorable doll, a popular purple eggplant with beady eyes and a silly grin.

Cheng Sijie exclaimed excitedly, "So cute! Thank you, senior sister!"

My senior sister laughed, "You're being too polite. I should be thanking you. Oh, by the way, this is from my boyfriend."

She took out a lipstick, placed it on Cheng Sijie's desk, and winked. "That day after you did my makeup and hair, I was wearing my little dress, haha, he said I looked amazing, um... I got a nosebleed. It was embarrassing, but it was really funny, hahaha."

Cheng Sijie laughed so hard she almost fell over. "I can't take it anymore, you guys are so sweet! But... why does it even have boutique packaging? Did you specially go to the boutique to pick it out for me?"

The senior sister raised an eyebrow. "He's so busy with work, he only comes to see me three times a month. Shouldn't he be a little more careful? Pfft, I only let it go because I saw how sincere he was. You even gave me a lipstick. You usually give me so many cosmetics. I picked out a shade for you that you said you'd use the empty tube of."

Cheng Sijie reached out, put her index and middle fingers together, and "knelt" on the table with a "thud," shouting, "Long live Senior Sister!"

The senior sister adjusted her glasses and whistled, "Little one, following me will bring you a lot of benefits."

Just then, a junior student came over and said, "Hey, senior sisters, could you give me some advice? I want to pursue my classmate from undergrad, what kind of gift should I give her for our first time?"

Cheng Sijie and her senior colleague said decisively, "We'll give them lipsticks!"

The junior brother scratched his head. "Give me a gold necklace?"

Cheng Sijie: "..."

Senior sister: "..."

Cheng Jiayu, who had been munching on snacks the whole time, laughed. "You definitely can't do that, junior. You have to take it step by step. If you give a gold necklace the first time, what will you give on the tenth date? Chanel or Gucci? And when you get married, will you just buy a mansion? Besides, with your straight-male aesthetic, what kind of nice gold necklace can you even pick out?"

The junior brother smiled innocently: "It's not that it's impossible..."

Cheng Jiayu choked, and couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Junior brother, I really don't understand what a rich second-generation like you is doing pursuing a master's degree. Haven't you experienced enough hardship in life?"

The junior brother quickly waved his hand, "No, no, senior brother, my family just runs a small business."

Cheng Jiayu clutched his chest and pretended to vomit blood.

Cheng Sijie and her senior exchanged a glance and laughed. "Are you trying to prove you're not short of money and make her be with you for money? The first gift is enough to show your sincerity. We're all students, and if the gift is too expensive, it will be detrimental to our relationship later. So it's best to have a sense of ceremony and show your sincerity. Invite her out for a meal at the mall, then go to the counter to try on some colors. The sales assistant will help you recommend the shades."

The junior apprentice bowed and said, "There are so many intricacies involved."

The senior sister said proudly, "Of course, you want to have a serious relationship, especially since you're already twenty-three or twenty-four. Unlike junior high or high school students, or undergraduates, you don't have your own income. With our salaries and subsidies, plus the tutoring jobs you do, you should have at least four or five thousand, right? You need to be careful, formal, and sincere, but definitely not too extravagant, otherwise there won't be any surprises later."

Although engineering graduate students are said to be pursuing graduate studies, it's actually no different from starting work early. On weekdays, they have to clock in at their workstations on time, either to work, read literature, or write short papers. Therefore, their supervisors also pay them a salary every month.

The junior brother said thoughtfully, "Indeed, I understand."

Their lab has always had a very harmonious atmosphere. It's rare to find such humble, polite, and well-mannered people. This seems to be related to Professor Cheng Sijie's personality. Sometimes, choosing a reliable mentor who values ​​character and quality of life is more valuable than a lot of planning and preparation.

Cheng Jiayu and she were quite destined to meet; Cheng Jiayu had switched majors and ended up in her professor's lab, becoming her classmate. According to Cheng Sijie's analysis, her professor must have a thing for good looks, as all of her graduate students were exceptionally handsome.

Cheng Jiayu sidled up to him mischievously, "Is your boyfriend still not back? Want to go to the movies with me, cousin?"

Cheng Sijie answered listlessly while reading the literature: "What movie are you watching?"

Cheng Jiayu: "Zootopia, go for it! It's so good, Nick Wilde is so handsome, and Judy Hopps is so cute! Don't you like watching 'The Silence of the Lambs'? The policewoman in it is based on Judy Hopps."

Amidst her busy schedule, Cheng Sijie rolled her eyes at him, “The Silence of the Lambs, not lambs, brother.”

Cheng Jiayu slapped his forehead. "Hey, look at my mouth."

Cheng Sijie had heard that this movie was good, and she was really eager to see it. In fact, she had already made plans to go see it with Jiang Hui, but... good movies can withstand repeated viewings, can't they?

Cheng Sijie asked slyly, "When were the tickets purchased?"

Cheng Jiayu replied slyly, "Next week!"

Cheng Sijie readily agreed, "You'll have to buy the movie tickets, bro."

Cheng Jiayu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, we're just a couple. I'll make sure I look handsome without being greasy and charming without being pretentious. I definitely won't embarrass you."

Almost two hours later, Cheng Sijie's phone lit up; Jiang Hui had replied to her message.

Jiang Hui was in a meeting with her staff when she saw the message. She focused her reply on the one that asked, "Was our money wasted?"

h: No, this marketing account belongs to my company.

h: We just had a meeting.

As he spoke, he took a picture of her; it was a thick stack of project proposals and meeting minutes.

Cheng Sijie replied immediately: What's going on? What do you mean by "this marketing account belongs to my company"?

Cheng Sijie wouldn't usually be in such a hurry to reply to messages, but this time was different. This gossip was huge and important. Although Jiang Hui wouldn't be so crazy as to publish it without her permission, Cheng Sijie was still very concerned.

Jiang Hui's side shows "typing in progress..."

h: Did you see the analysis in the post, especially the part about my Instagram? All the timing, jewelry, and movie quotes in it were all planned by me, and they're all genuine.

Oh—so it was the person who leaked the information themselves. No wonder they were so decisive and aggressive. Just as it was time to leave work, Cheng Sijie packed up her tablet and notes, left her workstation, and weakly sent a voice message: "Thank you so much. Should I praise you for being so thoughtful and romantic?"

The other party also sent a voice message: "Don't you know what I'm talking about?"

There were too many people around Cheng Sijie. Feeling guilty, she was afraid that Jiang Hui's voice would be recognized, so she only dared to convert it to text. The text popped up one by one. Well, even without hearing the voice, she could imagine Jiang Hui's cold, questioning tone.

Cheng Sijie said guiltily, "Of course I know."

Senior H continued to sneer: "Cheng Sijie, you really can't resist being tested. Didn't I tell you before to follow my Instagram updates every day?"

Cheng Sijie said, "Oppa, how can I bypass the Great Firewall in the country? It's illegal."

h: ...

Cheng Sijie said, "Okay, senior, actually I read it every day. You really put in a lot of effort. The Instagram post you made when you broke up hurt me like my heart was being torn apart. I even found your alternate account and saw those posts that were only visible to me. My heart was breaking at that time."

h: You'd better be.

Jiang Hui heard her weak voice coming from across the room. Undergraduates had just finished class, and Cheng Sijie walked among them. The lively laughter and chatter of the students seemed to be separated from his life like two different spaces.

He suddenly became a little unhappy.

He longed to keep talking on the phone, video chatting, and meeting up with Cheng Sijie...

Even if I don't sleep, I can still be content with love and water.

But he knew that saying such things would only burden her more. He couldn't speak, so he could only suppress his irritability, put on noise-canceling headphones, send a WeChat message to Cheng Sijie, and then go to continue the meeting.

His new album is about to be released, and Cheng Sijie isn't coming to be with him; he has no energy to do anything.

He thought to himself, "He looks like a sickly madman."

A note from the author:

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