"Song Xia, this is for you." The classmate who spoke put down the item and gave her a knowing look. "How many is this this month? The new junior is really persistent!"
"They're just stupid; they don't know that persistence alone won't work." Another classmate casually tore open the box. "It's chocolate again; nothing new."
"If you have something to eat, then shut up." The students gathered around and started taking turns eating to replenish their energy. They hadn't eaten anything all night.
Song Xia also took a piece. In the past, she would try to return these things, but later she gave up because it was too time-consuming to find the owner. So, whenever the students in the lab saw food left by the gatekeeper without a name, they would bring it in and share it with everyone.
After eating a piece of chocolate, Song Xia felt her body warm up considerably. She had been in the low-temperature room for too long and was so cold that she almost lost consciousness.
"Song Xia, don't push yourself so hard. Your health is the most important thing. Go back and rest."
"Yeah, how long have you been in the lab? Aren't you going back? I'm going to tell my advisor."
"You still have a lot of work ahead of you, so don't ruin your health because of this."
"I'm getting ready to head back." Song Xia stretched, the experiment was temporarily over, and she really needed to rest and organize the data for her paper. She got up, took off her white lab coat, waved to everyone, and said, "I'm off."
Her classmates watched her retreating figure with a mixture of envy and jealousy, which eventually turned into a sigh of admiration. There was nothing they could do; after all, she was not only talented but also diligent and ambitious. It was only natural that she received preferential treatment from her supervisor, since they didn't have the ability to independently create an SCI-indexed journal article.
No wonder she's pursued by so many people every day. After all, she's not only incredibly skilled in her field, but also beautiful. They can't be jealous of her. Only when they reach this stage do they realize the difference between intelligence and genius. They may look similar, but they're worlds apart. Even though they're in the same lab now, they might not even be qualified to be Song Xia's assistants in the future. No wonder her mentor treats her like a treasure, even instructing them to take good care of her when she goes out for exchanges.
Instead of riding her electric scooter home, Song Xia took a taxi directly. The day and night of experiments had left her physically and mentally exhausted, and she didn't want to risk her safety; it wasn't worth it.
When she got home, she opened the thermos and calmly took out a bowl of soup and a bowl of nourishing porridge. Judging from her smooth movements, this was not the first time this had happened. After drinking the soup and porridge, she took a shower and went back to her room to sleep soundly.
When Song Jun came home from school, he saw the shoes under the shoe cabinet and knew that his sister had returned. The corners of his mouth curved slightly upward. Then, he made extremely quiet noises, whether putting down his schoolbag or washing dishes and cooking, as if he was afraid of waking Song Xia who was sleeping.
However, Song Xia slept all day, so she naturally woke up when it was time. With her hair down, she leaned against the kitchen doorway and said, "I'll do it."
Song Jun didn't let her: "It'll be ready soon, sister, you go wash your face first, you don't need to."
Song Xia paused for a moment and then said, "Now it's you who's taking care of me."
“I’m already in high school, why would I need you to take care of me? Besides, you’re so busy, isn’t it only right that I do more? You used to cook for me and Song Jiao, and that’s how it was done, wasn’t it?”
"But I was already a senior in high school and an adult back then, while you're only a freshman now."
"How much difference could there be? Besides, I'm a man!" Song Jun neatly served the dishes. "There are only two dishes, so please make do with them, sis."
Song Xia smiled and ruffled his hair, then washed her face and sat down to eat: "How many more days until Xiao Jiao comes back?"
She said it was just a cameo role in the show and she would be back in a couple of days.
"Wouldn't that be just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"Um."
After finishing his meal, Song Jun watched Song Xia eat and asked, "Sis, are you still this busy?"
"This is just the beginning, we're starting to get a direction, and things will get even busier from here on out." Song Xia paused for a moment, "But my sister will try her best to come back."
Song Jun earnestly suggested, "Sis, why don't we rent a place near A University? That way you won't have to commute back and forth so often."
Song Xia refused without hesitation: "That would mean you and Song Jiao would have to travel, which is not possible. The three years of high school are very important, and we can't afford any accidents."
“We’re all grown up now, nothing will happen to us, sis. Your rest is more important. Your classes are much more demanding than ours.”
Song Xia shook her head again: "Don't talk about this anymore. I will take good care of myself. There is a rest room in the lab now. If I'm really tired, I won't insist on going home."
After the meal, she insisted on washing the dishes herself, no matter how much Song Jun tried to persuade her. According to her, a family should have its own rules. She had previously said that when she cooked, Song Jun and Song Jiao would take turns washing the dishes and mopping the floor. Today, since Song Jun cooked, it was natural for her to wash the dishes.
Song Jun said helplessly, "Sister, I always feel that you're making too many distinctions. We're family, aren't we? What's the difference between doing more or less?"
"Of course there's a reason for this. A family is only a family if everyone gives and cares for each other. If one side gives and the other takes, the relationship will gradually become unbalanced, and eventually, they will resent each other. Xiaojun, when you get married in the future, you must also take good care of your wife and children. If you love them, they will love you in return. Even if they only take from you and don't love you, you must still take good care of yourself, you know? No one is obligated to you."
Song Jun nodded. He knew these things from his childhood experiences. To be honest, even though he felt sorry for and valued his sister very much now, he still put himself first in his heart.
"Want to go for a walk?"
"Okay." The two strolled down the street, and Song Xia still felt a little unfamiliar with the place.
"Do you find it noisy when you're in the lab for long periods of time?"
"Yes, it's a bit lively, but it's also quite bustling. By the way, I usually keep my phone off. Have you been in contact with Sister Qianqian and the others lately?"
"Yes, they recently went to Australia to film scenes."
"Unexpectedly, after Sister Xu Lei got married, Sister Qianqian and Sister Yang Qin didn't want to make movies anymore, but instead went to make documentaries."
Song Jun still feels lingering fear when he talks about it: "They're both pretty bold. There are only two girls, yet they dare to travel around abroad. I heard that they plan to go to South America and Africa for the next two years. Aren't they afraid of riots and epidemics?"
"Everyone has different aspirations in life. They dare to go, so they must have been well prepared. We can only wish them well."
The two walked for two blocks until Song Jiao called to say that filming had wrapped up ahead of schedule. When they got home and found no one there, they asked where they had been, and then they went home.
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