Chapter 30 A base rumor: The jealous puppy barks helplessly...

Early Saturday morning, Liang Siyu and Xu Aida took a walk along St. Paul's Road.

This is a long, narrow garden green space, where the pale yellow flowers of linden trees are hidden in the shade, and the endless summer flowers, a blend of blue and pink, are in full bloom.

The early summer morning was quite pleasant, with a gentle breeze carrying the sweet scent of linden blossoms. Xu Aida took a deep breath and turned to look at her boyfriend: "Have you finished compiling that data?"

They returned to school from Long Island on Tuesday, and after meeting with their two advisors on Wednesday morning, Professor Brooke privately assigned Ned a small task: to analyze the relationship between the medical school's IRB review time and the PI's demographic information over the past two years.

This is public information from the auditing system; his secretary, Jenna, has already exported the basic data.

Liang Siyu nodded: "Yes, I sent it to him last night. As he expected, there is a certain representative bias. The review process for applications from women, ethnic minorities, and young PIs will be slower."

She was a little puzzled: "This data is certainly unfavorable to Professor Will, but it doesn't help Professor Brooke either, does it?"

The chairperson and members of the ethics committee are appointed, usually by the dean.

Professor Brooke was using this data to remind the dean that the ethics committee needed fresh blood. But he himself was a white male, so he didn't have an advantage either.

Liang Siyu raised his hand and tapped her slightly furrowed brow: "I guess he's paving the way for someone more suitable."

These past two days, he's been analyzing data while trying to figure out his mentor's intentions.

She considered the current composition of the ethics committee: "You mean, Professor Foster?"

She is a female professor in her early forties, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, and has outstanding research achievements.

“That’s good.” He nodded. “Professor Foster has a very good reputation in the medical school, and she did her undergraduate studies at JHU. Most senior professors would also support such a candidate.”

“He’s really something,” she remarked. Professor Brooke’s political acumen was as precise and ruthless as his surgical skills. Indeed, in the years before her rebirth, he served as the director of MIRA and the vice dean of the medical school.

"What? Regretting it? If you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have changed the source of funding. You could have just waited for the election." There was a hint of teasing in his eyes.

However, they all knew that although the election was scheduled for mid-July, the new committee would probably not be able to officially start working until September, which was indeed a bit of a delay.

She rolled her eyes at him lightly: "If we get a notification next week, you'll be writing the project application. Don't expect me to type a single word."

She wasn't bullying them; they had already finished the first draft of their thesis, and rewriting it into an application was effortless.

“No problem, as long as you sign.” He readily agreed and gently reached out to take her hand.

She grasped the back of his hand with her other hand, and gently traced a line on his palm with the index finger of her other hand: "It's signed, keep it safe."

She talked and laughed, then let go of his hand and ran a few steps forward.

Liang Siyu was amused by her and caught up with her in two steps, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his embrace.

She elbowed him: "It's hot, let go."

It's summer, and the weather is so hot. Why is he sticking this giant furnace up here?

He loosened his arms around her, but kept holding on with his left hand.

The sun grew increasingly hot, the air became humid and sticky, and their clasped hands were sweaty.

Upon entering her home, Hsu Ai-ta exclaimed, "It's so much better to have air conditioning."

Liang Siyu picked her up in one go, his eyes crinkling with a smile: "The air conditioning's on now, can I hug you?"

Her clothes were damp, and she wanted to take a shower right away, but leaning on his shoulder and feeling his closeness, she chuckled softly, turned her head, and gave him a light kiss.

Liang Siyu smiled and carried her to the bathroom.

"Hey, get out."

"Let's shower together, what's wrong?"

On Monday morning, the research secretary sent a group email to everyone: A certain foundation has offered a grant program for young researchers, which aims to support research on non-invasive electrode-controlled neuroprosthetics, with a grant of $40,000.

During lunch, several classmates remarked that Ada was lucky; the grant was a perfect fit for her research area, and it seemed like it was destined for her.

MIRA awards twenty or thirty small grants like this every year, and I've seen even more niche areas. Since most people don't meet the application requirements, I just make a few casual remarks, and that's it.

Unexpectedly, about ten days later, a rumor began to circulate. It was said that someone had seen Ada on a date with a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties at an upscale restaurant.

The other party donated to MIRA for her sake and set those requirements. Otherwise, who would specifically fund non-invasive electrode research at JHU, the headquarters of invasive electrodes?

Many boys even cast strange glances at Liang Siyu, wondering if he would break up with his girlfriend because of this.

Liang Siyu was furious. He didn't know who had fabricated such a vicious rumor, but he couldn't possibly say it publicly that it was his family who had provided the help.

That would only solidify the impression that "she relies on her boyfriend," which wouldn't be good for her.

In the campus café, Cohen patted him on the shoulder: "Calm down, calm down."

Liang Siyu's chest heaved: "They just believe such nonsense? It's utterly ridiculous!"

Cohen looked at him, then at Ada, and sent a photo to the three-person group chat.

He sighed, "They're talking about this in private."

In the center of the photo is a handsome waiter who happens to walk past Ada. The background shows their table, and Ada's profile is clearly visible. The man opposite her is only shown by his shoulders and arms; his face is not visible at all.

Liang Siyu immediately recognized it as a restaurant in a Fugu Hotel near the school. They had been there together before, but the man in the photo was not herself.

Xu Aida frowned slightly and looked closely at the restaurant's decor: "It's the photo from last week, it's by Professor Nelson."

Liang Siyu suddenly looked up: "Didn't you say you were going to discuss an outsourcing project? How come it's Professor Nelson?"

Last week, Professor Nelson was invited to give a lecture at JHU, and of course they all went to listen and greeted him afterwards. Although it was basic etiquette, he still felt a little jealous.

She explained, "He has a startup that does motion capture and motion control, right? I took on a small project."

She plans to complete this small project first, and after gaining trust, continue to deepen the cooperation.

In their previous lives, they collaborated on a paper that solved a major technical problem for Nielsen. Of course, the core algorithm was not fully disclosed.

Of course she knew, because when she broke up with him right after her rebirth, Ned was a little jealous of Nelson, which is why he didn't explicitly say it was the other person, but only vaguely said it was an outsourcing project.

“You’re doing outsourcing projects for him? Ada, you’re simply…” Liang Siyu stared at her, unable to describe his feelings.

She knew perfectly well that Nelson had feelings for her, yet she still continued to contact him, even preferring to take on his outsourced projects rather than fully accept his family's help.

Xu Aida reached out to shake his hand, but he shook her off. She paused, her voice still clear and calm: "He and I are just colleagues. I earn my fair share of the money through my skills."

She gripped her right hand, which had been flung away, with her left hand, her tone slightly raised, "Of course, we got along well, and maybe we'll co-write an algorithm paper. That's all."

Don't make that face, it's like I'm acting out some melodramatic soap opera.

She restrained herself and swallowed the sarcastic remark; she wouldn't act like him and throw a tantrum when she got emotional.

But they were so in sync. Liang Siyu looked into her eyes, smiled wryly, and asked, "So, it's all my fault for overreacting?"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Have you really considered my feelings? You know perfectly well..." that Nelson has feelings for you.

He glanced at Cohen and swallowed the sentence back.

“I know perfectly well that he has feelings for me,” Xu Aida said without any hesitation.

"Sorry, there are plenty of women like that. Men are too easily attracted to women; they can have all sorts of fantasies about any woman."

Her words were laced with sarcasm as she glanced at the two men in front of her. Cohen felt as if he had been shot in the knee.

She raised her chin, refusing to back down: "Why should I care about avoiding them and disrupting my normal work? I just need to make sure I'm not interested in them."

Hmph, even if she has a little bit of superficial affection, those men never hesitate to ask her for work, and they never back down when competing with her for awards. They are meticulous and fight for every inch of ground when it comes to core interests. Why should she put herself in a shackle for that cheap "affection"?

Liang Siyu glared at her. She always had a point, and he couldn't argue with her.

He wanted to shout in his heart, "Yes, I am immature, I am not good enough," but all he wanted to hear was, "You care about my feelings, you are willing to care about my feelings."

But he couldn't say a word about it; he could only take deep breaths and drink a few sips of coffee.

Cohen hadn't expected things to turn out this way. Taking advantage of the brief silence, he quickly stood up: "RA said there's a solder joint he's afraid to work on. I'll go back and take a look."

Watching Cohen walk away, Xu Aida calmed herself and returned to the main topic: "Let them say what they want about the rumors. They can't control what others say. Just focus on your work. After summer vacation, who will remember these things?"

She wanted to tell him that she didn't care, and that he shouldn't overthink it. She didn't want him to feel that seeking financial support from his family had inadvertently provided fertile ground for rumors; it wasn't their problem. They should just move forward together.

Looking at her calm face, Liang Siyu felt a mix of emotions. She remained calm and rational; why should he worry unnecessarily? She was never as emotional as he was.

"Yes, you're right." He lowered his head, finished his coffee in one gulp, and left the coffee shop quickly without waiting for her.

Xu Aida was stunned, watching him stride away, and before leaving, he casually tossed the paper cup into the trash can with a "bang".

She scoffed in exasperation. How annoying! She wished he hadn't thrown it in. He was being unreasonable and throwing a tantrum, but his aim was surprisingly accurate.

He said such nice things on Long Island, but what about now? She almost believed him that day, and cried as she blamed herself for being so heartless and refusing to say yes.

She slowly sipped her coffee to calm herself down, and casually Googled the photo, easily locating a Pinterest account.

However, the other party had been registered for a long time and frequently posted photos of various restaurant food and handsome men, so it was clear that they did not intentionally take pictures of her.

Furthermore, Professor Nelson is clearly in his thirties, yet he's been portrayed as a man in his forties or fifties. This suggests that the person who fabricated the rumor likely just happened to come across the photo, rather than being stalking him.

She felt relieved. It wasn't that anyone truly hated her to the core and was secretly following her. Spreading such rumors, did they think they could anger her? She wouldn't care at all.

In his past life, Liang Siyu encountered a rather obsessive fan who actually followed him to his hotel room and knocked on the door in the middle of the night, trying to break in. That was truly terrifying.

My memory is a bit hazy. When was that again? Hmm, I think it was around 2021?

She suddenly froze. Wait, 21 years? That means it happened right after her last visit to the set? More than a month later?

It is said that the fan stayed in Hengdian for a while, until Liang Siyu was about to finish filming, before taking extreme action.

Did he discover some clues while she was there, which is why he suddenly had the driver take her away?

But why wouldn't he explain further? Why did he have to be so cold and say that he didn't like her visiting the set and that she shouldn't come again?

She rested her forehead on her hand, wondering why she hadn't connected all of this back then and asked him for clarification.

But how can you blame her? She didn't even know about the stalking incident until several months later.

His agent casually mentioned it, and he rolled his eyes at him, saying it was nothing serious, why bring it up?

She was very annoyed. He was the one who said hurtful things and made her sad for a long time, and now, she had found a good excuse for him.

He wanted to protect her; that was truly noble, pure, and beyond reproach. Shouldn't she thank him? But why should she?

She was the one hurt by the cold words; she was the one trying to piece together the truth; and she was the one who needed to process her emotions and receive a complete, one-stop understanding and forgiveness. What did she do to deserve this from a past life?

In mid-June, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the air was humid and muggy, as thick as a pot of overcooked porridge.

Perhaps because she had drunk too much coffee, she even felt palpitations, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. Once inside, with the air conditioning on, she was able to catch her breath.

No, she didn't want to see him right now. She went to the restroom, stood in the stall for a while, and then managed to suppress her frustration before slowly walking back to her workstation.

Liang Siyu stared at the screen. A new batch of rat experiments for the Tense project was about to begin. He went through the process twice to make sure it was correct.

He unconsciously turned his head to look at the workstation diagonally opposite, feeling a surge of unease—why hasn't she come back yet?

Looking at the sun outside, he regretted leaving her at the coffee shop.

Ada had always lived in the Bay Area, where summers are dry and comfortable. On the East Coast, however, humidity often exceeds 70%, and she's clearly not used to the humid weather these past two weeks, constantly complaining about how stuffy it is.

He sent her a message, but five minutes had passed and she hadn't replied. He couldn't sit still any longer and decided to go back to the coffee shop to find her, making a phone call as he walked out.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw the figure in the corridor, stopped, hung up the phone, and turned around.

When Xu Aida returned and sat down, she noticed his messages and missed calls on her phone. However, since she was already back, there was no need to reply.

She rubbed her forehead and continued modifying the algorithm-assisted surgical procedure. She struggled for almost an hour, but upon closer inspection after saving, she discovered several spelling errors even in the variable names.

She was so angry that her chest felt tight, and she cursed herself for being brainless. She could only revert to the previous version and pretend that she hadn't done anything.

Unable to continue coding, she simply pushed away the keyboard, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes to rest.

Less than five minutes later, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up impatiently, cursing inwardly, "Who else but him is so inconsiderate?"

It was him, after all. He handed her a glass of iced lemonade, said, "Drink some water, don't get heatstroke," and then got up and left.