Chapter 2

Qiao Yan wanted to tease Shu Juan, saying that their budget had finally run out so much that they had to rent a lab to film some low-quality TV dramas.

Until she saw a group of people in lab coats walking in, surrounding a boy in a white T-shirt, she rubbed her temples. Was this for real?

When Qiao Yan walked up to them, she felt that the people in the photo had come to life, and were almost exactly as she had imagined.

He has a bad temper, like a wild cat that's always hissing at people.

She looked him over carefully and wondered if his face was too white. Underneath several layers of powder, she noticed a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Qiao Yan had once been a member of the interstellar expeditionary force, so she was all too familiar with injuries. But seeing that the person was wearing thick foundation, it meant they didn't want others to notice, and Qiao Yan was too lazy to point it out.

Shu Juan saw him and hurriedly went to greet him, "It's really kind of you, Mr. Nan, to come here so late at night."

Seeing her approach, Nan Yayin took a few steps back and said, "It's nothing, just stay away from me."

Shu Juan: "......"

"Who is the one with a 99% match?" Nan Yayin looked around.

Qiao Yan didn't say anything. His expression seemed to say that he was about to punch that highly compatible Alpha to death, and that he should have known better than to come.

Shu Juan took a breath and pointed to Qiao Yan sitting on the sofa.

Nan Ya Yin saw her when she came in, but she felt that she didn't seem to be there for a blind date, but rather like Boss Shu Juan. He was most bad at dealing with people who looked high-ranking and powerful; he would say three sentences and then deflect four, ultimately getting nothing done.

He came today for no particular reason other than to collect the 500 interstellar coins that Shu Juan had promised him. He was already starving and didn't care about dignity or how to lower himself, but he couldn't resist when he saw this group of people in white trying to grab him.

Qiao Yan was now fully awake, more awake than ever before, and even wanted to break Shu Juan's fingers. She watched as the young man strode up to her and sat down on a sofa opposite her. Qiao Yan was curious about the powder on his face, and when he got closer, she noticed the mottled cracks caused by sweat, and she immediately knew what it was made of.

Do you use flour to wipe your face?

Nan Yayin asked Qiao Yan, "What do you want to do?"

Qiao Yan had never met someone so outspoken, but since she was already there, she told the others to leave first. What kind of blind date involves people watching?

Shu Juan and the others immediately understood; they came in large numbers and left in large numbers. Nan Ya Yin felt a little uneasy when she saw that everyone else had left.

"Why do you want to kick people out?" He clenched his fists on his knees.

"You really enjoy being watched by others?" Qiao Yan sat up.

Nan Yayin didn't speak, but just stared at her warily.

Qiao Yan ignored his gaze, simply poured him a glass of water, placed it next to him, and said, "My name is Qiao Yan, I'm 26 years old, and I'm a teacher at Bailu Interstellar University."

She typed her name on the terminal and placed it on the glass table in front of her. Under the blue light, the two words appeared in the air.

"I live at No. 61, Linglan District, Yinhe Street."

Nan Ya Yin interrupted her, "Why did you tell me your home address? Aren't you afraid I'll steal something?"

"Steal?" Qiao Yan looked at him. "Why bring this up?"

An arbitrary guess popped into my mind: he had injuries on his face, probably from stealing.

“Isn’t Linglan District a place where rich people live?” Nan Yayin replied, “You live there and you don’t know?”

"Is there any connection between being rich and being robbed?" Qiao Yan asked him. "If you want to steal, you have to get inside first."

Nan Yayin was speechless and stopped talking.

"Is there anything you want to ask?" Qiao Yan wasn't very good at these kinds of situations where she had to initiate the conversation. A previous matchmaker had told her that she was boring and would kill the conversation.

Nan Yayin thought to herself, what could he possibly want to ask? To put it bluntly, he just came to collect 500 interstellar coins, and once he did, he would leave and never see her again. Who cares if her house is easy to rob or not?

He shook his head. "No."

"Then please introduce yourself," Qiao Yan said.

To everyone's surprise, Nan Yayin suddenly stood up and said, "I've already given the information to Shu Juan. You can just ask her for it. Besides, why should I have to talk to you about this nonsense? I have something to discuss with Shu Juan!"

Qiao Yan saw that he was as stiff as a spring and knew he had no intention of getting together. It seemed that the 99% compatibility was just a lie. Fortunately, she didn't have any hope for it, so she picked up the teacup on the table and pointed to the door, "She shouldn't have left yet. Go and see."

Nan Yayin hurriedly ran away, leaving Qiao Yan alone in the reception room drinking tea. She said she was leaving, but he insisted on keeping her there, and she got a good scolding.

Of all the matches she's been matched with, none have left her as helpless as this one. Shu Juan's matching device must have been programmed incorrectly, pairing two people with a 1% match value together.

Not long after Nan Yayin left, Shu Juan returned, stomping around angrily. Pointing at her with a look of utter disappointment, she said, "You only chatted with him for a few minutes! It costs money to move my equipment, you know!"

"How much? I'll pay for it."

Seeing her stubbornness, Shu Juan kicked her angrily, "Whatever! I don't care about you anymore! Die however you want!"

He then walked out, and seeing that she didn't try to stop him at all, he turned around, embarrassed, and said to her, "Do you even understand what a 99% match rate means?"

Qiao Yan thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps it means there's a problem with your equipment. You need to apply for another round of funding to repair this money-devouring beast that even needs to be turned on."

"Damn it!" Shu Juan suddenly sat down on the sofa next to her. "Listen to me carefully. According to the data estimated by the pheromone matching instrument, a matching value of over 30% can appease an Alpha or Omega who is in a special period. The higher the value, the better the appeasement effect. Do you understand what 99% means?"

Seeing that she still didn't care, Shu Juan patted the sofa and said, "You don't necessarily need to be marked to soothe her. As long as you have his pheromones, you can safely get through your susceptible period. Do you understand?"

Shu Juan saw Qiao Yan, who only looked up when she heard that no marking was required, and scoffed: "You don't understand, because you don't even want to try, yet you say you're very proactive. Your proactiveness is bullshit."

No marking is needed, just pheromones. Qiao Yan was stunned. This was such a good deal. She didn't have to invest her emotions, and the other party didn't have to bear the risk of being marked.

Qiao Yan wasn't one to procrastinate. She rubbed her right leg and asked, "How confident are you about this 'not necessarily needing to be marked' thing?"

Shu Juan snapped her fingers. "99%."

"Where is he?" Qiao Yan asked her.

Shu Juan gave her a knowing look, as if she knew she would change her mind, and said, "I'll just stay in my office. Don't worry, this is something that can be settled with money."

Qiao Yan shrugged. "What makes you say that?"

“Nan Yayin lives in the old city. She only put her pheromones in because she was short of money. You know, not many people have ever believed in our matching system, so we pay 500 interstellar coins for every pheromone given. It's not much, but it's a good way to attract customers,” Shu Juan said. “He only came because I said I could give him 500 interstellar coins. No matter what, he must be really short of money.”

Qiao Yan leaned back. Judging from his behavior, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would compromise his principles for five hundred yuan.

"Are you sure I can persuade him with money?" Qiao Yan was skeptical.

"If you want to use money to bribe my experiment, I'm willing to risk my life," Shu Juan said seriously.

Qiao Yan glanced at her. "Can you stop being disgusting? Let's get down to business."

Shu Juan shrugged. "Who would complain about having too much money, Professor Qiao?"

Qiao Yan followed Shu Juan to her office and, sure enough, saw Nan Ya Yin sitting in her seat, looking impatient.

"You promised me 500 Star Coins if I came, are you going to renege on your promise?" Nan Ya Yin always spoke with a barb, showing that she was not someone to be bullied.

Shu Juan shook her head. "It's not like I'll owe you even five hundred, but are you really that short of money?"

He was indeed lacking money; he'd been lacking money since birth. But this wasn't something that could be openly discussed. Nan Ya Yin's useless pride began to stir again, even though the person in front of her had no intention of mocking him.

"What's it to you?" he said in a low voice, his eyes glaring at her.

"That's what's missing," Shu Juan turned to Qiao Yan, "This person owes me money. You can ask her for the five hundred later."

"What!" Nan Yayin turned to look at Qiao Yan. "Just give me the money and I'll leave. Why is it so complicated? I have to ask someone else for it!"

Qiao Yan disliked arguing the most, so she stepped forward to transfer 500 yuan to him first before discussing the matter, saying, "Give me your account number."

"What account?" Nan Yayin asked, pursing her lips.

“Okay, this is my account.” Qiao Yan opened her account to show him. “Then I’ll transfer the money to you.”

But Nan Yayin couldn't understand, and said, "I only want cash."

Qiao Yan was surprised; if it weren't for the fact that the amount was only five hundred, she would have called the police.

“He seems to only accept cash. Last time he came, I had to scrape together 500 to pay him. He’s from the old town area, where cash is definitely the norm,” Shu Juan whispered to her.

“Then go and get some,” Qiao Yan said to her. “I don’t have any on me right now.”

Shu Juan held up his terminal and said, "Then give me five hundred."

Qiao Yan: "?"

After Shu Juan left, Qiao Yan was alone in the room with Nan Ya Yin again. She didn't know what to talk about with a stranger. Although Nan Ya Yin was sitting in his seat, he seemed restless. It wasn't hot, but his face was covered in beads of sweat. Qiao Yan tried to start a conversation, asking sincerely, "What effect does applying flour to your face have?"

For example, there are some folk remedies for acne treatment or making the skin smoother, but Qiao Yan has always been a believer in science and doesn't really believe in these things.

Upon hearing this, Nan Yayin immediately stood up. He first whispered, "It's about theft and some kind of account, and now they're talking about flour."

Then he shouted, "I don't want it anymore! I don't want that five hundred yuan anymore, I'm leaving now!"

Qiao Yan looked at him with disbelief, as if his hair was about to stand on end, and grabbed his wrist just as he took a step.

"Wait a moment."

"What are you doing!" Nan Ya Yin struggled to pull her hand away.

A bittersweet fragrance suddenly filled the room.