Shi Jing left the high-speed rail station and glanced at the time; it was almost three o'clock.
She and Rong Yu hadn't seen each other for a long time. Since Rong Yu was on vacation and Shi Jing happened to be in Dingdu, they arranged to have dinner together.
She hailed a taxi on the street and said directly, "Driver, please take me to the Intercontinental Street Biological Research Center."
"Okay, sit tight." The driver replied and quickly drove off.
There was no traffic on the road at this time, and Shi Jing arrived in less than an hour.
She got out of the car, made a phone call at the door, and soon Rongyu came out from inside.
It's been a long time since I've seen Rongyu, and I feel that she has changed quite a bit.
Having spent so much time in the lab these days, Rong Yu exudes an increasingly scholarly air, tinged with a slightly unkempt and disheveled appearance. His hair has clearly been neglected for a long time, with his bangs even partially obscuring his eyes.
He was already tall and used to be very thin, but now he's become much stronger.
He wore a light blue shirt that made his skin look even whiter and cleaner, and he exuded an indescribable handsomeness.
Shi Jing stared at it for a while, somewhat lost in thought.
It's such a shame that someone this good-looking isn't in the entertainment industry...
Shi Jing quickly shook his head, wondering what Rong Yu was thinking about; Rong Yu's ambitions lay elsewhere.
She waved to Rong Yu, who saw her and quickly ran towards her.
"I'm sorry, Xiaojing. I was supposed to pick you up, but my tutor asked me to take some notes for him this afternoon, which made me late." Rong Yu apologized to her as soon as they met.
Shi Jing quickly waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care.
"It's okay, it's very convenient to take a taxi here."
Shi Jing checked the time; it was almost four o'clock in a short while.
Vehicles come and go from the entrance of the research center from time to time, and the closer it gets to the end of the workday, the more frequently they come and go.
"Let's go for a walk. It'll be close to closing time soon, and there will be a lot of traffic."
Rong Yu quickly realized that Shi Jing was checking the time.
This research center is a branch of the research institute. Unlike the research institute, which is a purely government-affiliated institution, the research units within the center are mostly educational and corporate entities. Therefore, the interpersonal relationships here are relatively more complex. Furthermore, due to its unique nature, it occupies a larger area than the research institute.
During rush hour, this main gate and the other side gates become quite congested.
Shi Jing was unfamiliar with the place and had no particular goal, so she listened to Rong Yu.
Although there are restaurants in the area, they are mostly fast food. If you want to have a meal or go shopping with friends, you still need to take a taxi to the nearby shopping mall.
There was a decent shopping mall about five kilometers from the research center, so the two of them took a taxi.
It was easy to get a taxi at this time, and I got in a car in no time. There was no traffic, and we arrived at our destination in a short while.
After getting off the car, Rong Yu paid the fare, and the two went directly into the mall.
The mall is air-conditioned and quite cool inside. It's not yet closing time, and there aren't many people in the mall.
"Are you hungry? Shall we eat first or take a walk?"
"Let's eat first, then we can go for a walk." Shi Jing touched her stomach; she had only eaten a quick bite at noon because she was rushing to the hospital.
"Okay, what would you like to eat?" Rong Yu asked again.
Shi Jing looked around and chose a Chinese restaurant that looked quite nice.
"That place, I'm hungry, they should be able to cook faster there."
"Okay, let's go."
As soon as the two sat down in the restaurant, a waiter came to serve them. It wasn't lunchtime yet, and the waiter was very responsive. Shi Jing asked Rong Yu for his opinion and ordered two stir-fries and a steamed fish.
After she finished ordering, she handed the menu to Rong Yu: "Take a look and see if there's anything you like, and order a couple more dishes."
Rong Yu ordered another dish and a soup before handing the menu to the waiter, reminding him, "Please hurry up with these."
Seeing Rong Yu's polite demeanor, the waiter blushed slightly, quickly responded, and took the menu to place the order.
"You said you were working on a project with your mentor. How's the progress? Is it convenient for you to tell me?" Shi Jing asked.
Rong Yu smiled and said, "It's not a confidential project, it's alright."
While helping to scald the bowls and pour water, he replied, "The progress is going quite smoothly. If nothing unexpected happens, we should have the results by the end of the month."
"That's great! So your internship at the research institute should be a sure thing now, right?"
"Yes, my advisor has already registered me. If all goes well, I can go there for an internship during my junior year."
"You're amazing!"
This was good news, and Shi Jing was happy to hear it.
Normally, only those who have graduated with a bachelor's degree are eligible to apply for research internships. Rongyu was able to apply before even starting her junior year, which shows how impressive she is.
Rongyu poured the water, then felt her hair was in the way, so she casually tied it into a small bun with a rubber band.
Shi Jing glanced at it for a moment and then laughed.
Rong Yu was a little embarrassed: "I've been too busy lately and haven't had time to go out for a haircut. My senior gave me a hair tie so I could tie it up when I'm working. I just forgot about it today and haven't gone to get a haircut yet."
"It's alright, she's quite cute," Shi Jing said with a smile. "After we finish eating, let's see if there's a barbershop nearby."
Shi Jing wasn't lying; Rong Yu is indeed quite adorable. This is probably what it means to be able to do whatever you want just because you're good-looking.
The dishes were served quickly. Shi Jing was hungry, so she didn't stand on ceremony with Rong Yu and started eating right away.
After dinner, Shi Jing offered to accompany Rong Yu to find a barbershop. Rong Yu smiled helplessly and said, "No need, there's a barbershop outside the research center. I'll get my hair cut there when I get back."
"It's alright, I have nothing else to do anyway, I might as well take a walk and digest my food," Shi Jing said nonchalantly.
She didn't have anything she wanted to buy. She had originally planned to buy a watch for Rong Yu, but since she hadn't bought it, Shi Jing decided to wait a bit longer.
"You'll be back to school soon after your project is finished, so you probably won't be as busy then."
Rong Yu replied, "Yes. I'll still be attending classes at school in the first semester of my junior year, and then I'll do an internship in the second semester."
"How are things going with working on projects with your supervisor? Is conducting experiments very serious?"
Shi Jing was quite curious about their research. In her memory, they all wore white lab coats and black-rimmed glasses, staring seriously at the experimental results.
I wonder if Rongyu, who conducts experiments, is like this too.
Rongyu didn't know why she suddenly laughed, but she still answered seriously: "Actually, the pressure is quite high. But my mentor is very capable, and I can learn a lot from him."
He paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and said helplessly, "Actually, doing experiments is not too difficult, after all, it's all professional work. The more difficult part is applying for project funding and attracting investment."
Shi Jing was somewhat surprised. Wasn't the National Research Institute supposed to just do the tasks assigned by higher authorities? Did they have to raise their own investment?
"Isn't your supervisor a senior researcher? Does he also need to attract investment?"
Rong Yu immediately realized that Shi Jing was unfamiliar with the work of the research institute, so he patiently explained: "Senior researchers do not all have research projects assigned by the state. Some projects they find themselves also require them to find their own investment."
Shi Jing nodded; she roughly understood. In other words, if a researcher occasionally wanted to work on a project that interested them, they would have to attract external investment themselves.
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