Chapter 132 Authentic

In the laboratory, Fang Qing and I sat facing each other in silence, with only sighs coming from one another. The air was filled with an awkward and helpless feeling of sharing the same suffering (?).

"So..." I spoke with difficulty, trying to break the silence, "Brother Gu's current...exactly what is his condition?"

Fang Qing slumped in her chair, listlessly scrolling through her phone. "What else could it be? It's just the cold shoulder! No WeChat replies, no phone calls, and no one can find him in the lab. He's probably sulking in a corner, mentally compiling a 'Report on the Similarities and Potential Threats Between My Girlfriend's Ex and Her Current Classmates'."

The corner of my mouth twitched. "...Senior Brother Gu, this jealousy is quite academic."

"I'm just afraid he'll get stuck in a rut,"

Fang Qing cried, "I thought I was nice to you because you looked a bit like...that person...and then I started doubting life, love, everything!"

I held my forehead and said, "Sister, you have a very rich imagination. Brother Gu is a scientific researcher who prioritizes rationality after all. He wouldn't be so...right?"

I feel a little unsure when I say this, after all, love is something that can easily lower one's intelligence.

"I hope so..."

Fang Qing sighed deeply, then suddenly sat up straight again, looking at me with burning eyes, "Chen Rui! How about... you go talk to Senior Brother Gu? Help him overcome his inner demons? You're the 'original body'! He'll definitely believe you!"

I was so scared I nearly jumped out of my chair. "What the hell?! What would I say if I went there? 'Hello, Senior Brother Gu, I'm the high-end, youthful, and only genuine version of Fang Qing's ex-boyfriend. Please rest assured, I have absolutely no feelings for your girlfriend. I wish you two a long and happy marriage'? — I didn't mean to explain myself, I meant to disrupt the situation and provoke!"

Fang Qing thought about the scene and became depressed: "It seems... a little weird..."

Just when we were at a loss, the laboratory door was pushed open again.

Speak of the devil!

Gu Jizhong stood at the door, his face looking... well, a little tired, but it didn't seem as dark as imagined.

He was holding two cups of milk tea in his hands.

Fang Qing and I held our breath for an instant, like two elementary school students awaiting trial.

Senior Brother Gu's gaze first swept over Fang Qing, with a bit of complicated emotions, and then fell on me.

I suddenly felt a chill on my back and quickly forced out an extremely stiff and friendly smile.

"Senior Brother Gu..."

I greeted weakly.

Gu Jizhong nodded, said nothing, walked in, placed one of the cups of milk tea on Fang Qing's table, and handed the other cup... to me?

I:"???"

Is this... a final feast? A Hongmen Banquet? Is the cup poisoned?

I was flattered (mostly surprised) and took the milk tea, my hands shaking a little: "Thank you... Thank you, Brother Gu..."

Gu Jizhong pushed his glasses up, his expression still calm, but his tone was still quite calm: "I bought it by the way."

Then he looked at Fang Qing and said in a low voice, "I've done some preliminary processing on the experimental data from this afternoon. There are a few anomalies, and I need to recheck the original records. You..."

He paused, "...are you free now?"

Fang Qing was stunned for a moment, then immediately jumped up as if she had received an imperial decree: "I'm available, I'm available! Check it right away!"

She secretly gave me a look that said "there's something going on" and quickly went to Brother Gu's computer.

I stood there holding the cup of scalding milk tea, not knowing whether to leave or stay. I felt like a giant light bulb and a source of embarrassment.

Senior Brother Gu and Fang Qing began to discuss the experimental data in a professional and calm tone, as if the person who had stirred up the cool sea before was not him.

But I keenly noticed that his ears seemed to be slightly red?

After a while, he finally seemed to be unable to hold back. While Fang Qing was looking down at the data, he casually said to me in a very fast voice, as low as a mosquito's hum: "Chen Rui, don't think too much. I didn't mean anything else."

I:"!!!"

I quickly shook my head like a rattle: "Don't think too much! Absolutely not! Brother Gu, don't worry! I am Lin Yan's man in life and Lin Yan's ghost in death! Oh no! What I mean is that I pose absolutely no threat to your love life! I wish you and Fang Qing will be together forever and have a baby soon!"

I got nervous and blurted out what was really in my mind.

Senior Brother Gu: “…”

Fang Qing: “…”

The laboratory fell into deathly silence.

Fang Qing's shoulders were shaking from trying so hard to hold back her laughter. Senior Brother Gu's ears turned even redder. He coughed violently to mask his embarrassment. "...I've finished looking at the data. I'm going to the lab next door."

After saying that, he almost ran away.

Fang Qing and I were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

After a while, Fang Qing burst into earth-shaking laughter: "Hahahahahahaha! Chen Rui! Have a baby soon?! You are such a talent! Hahahaha!"

I wanted to find a hole to crawl into: "Isn't it all your fault! I was so nervous that I said something I didn't want to say!"

However, after my interruption, the atmosphere seemed to ease inexplicably?

At least Senior Brother Gu came over to talk to me, gave me milk tea (although it might have been just a casual gesture), and clearly told me "not to think too much about it."

It seems that the rational brain finally defeated the jealousy (or just temporarily suppressed it?).

When I was video chatting with Lin Yan, I told him this dramatic scene as a joke.

Lin Yan laughed so hard on the other side of the screen: "Have a baby soon? Hahaha! Honey, you really are my happy pill! Gu Jizhong's expression must have been amazing!"

I was furious: "You're still laughing! I'm so embarrassed! But there's no one like me."

Lin Yan stopped laughing and raised his eyebrows: "Huh? Like you?"

"If I hadn't found a boyfriend who was so handsome and charming, and had become some kind of 'role model,'" I said deliberately, "why would anyone find someone like you like me?"

Lin Yan was stunned for a moment, then revealed an extremely cocky and smug expression: "Oh? So in my wife's mind, I'm already the ceiling of her mate selection standards?"

Me: "...Lin Yan! Your focus is always so off!"

Lin Yan chuckled softly: "Okay, no more trouble. It seems that Gu Jizhong has figured it out. But..."

A sly glint flashed in his eyes. "In order to completely prevent similar 'substitute' incidents from happening again, I feel I need to further enhance the uniqueness and irreplaceability of the 'authentic product'."

I was alert: "...What do you want to do?"

Lin Yan leaned closer to the screen, lowered his voice, and spoke in an ambiguous tone: "For example... working overtime tonight to leave you with a more profound impression? I guarantee that no one can imitate that."

My face flushed instantly: "...Lin Yan! You rascal! I'm talking about business!"

Lin Yan: "This is also a serious matter. It is to maintain family harmony and stability and prevent the infiltration of external forces."

Well, although this jealousy jar seems calm, there are actually undercurrents. They are still trying to assert their sovereignty and ask for "rewards" in a roundabout way.