Chapter 37

Whenever the topic of the rumors about him and Xiao Yiyi came up, Su Yuan would look gloomy. If asked what had been troubling her the most these days, apart from the transformation, it would be her association with Xiao Yiyi.

No matter how others praised Xiao Yiyi, considering her a goddess, in Su Yuan's view, these were not the standards for judging whether someone was worth communicating with.

Beauty is but a red-powdered skeleton. The bones and flesh may be beautiful, but one must be cautious of whether they are poisonous.

Remember, a beautiful woman's body may be alluring, but meeting her does not guarantee a good relationship. Throughout history, many who were tempted by beauty lost not only their fame but also their lives.

Moreover, Xiao Yiyi, a "pampered" princess raised in a greenhouse, when she has a princess complex, might think the whole world should revolve around her. She wouldn't consider whether this is reasonable; she just believes it should be so.

The scary part is that this condition usually shows no symptoms. On the contrary, due to her family's advantages, she may excel in many aspects, and people shower her with praise. But if you analyze it closely, you'll find that beneath the shining halo lies an excessive sense of self!

From the fact that Xiao Yiyi used Su Yuan as a shield without any discomfort and only felt a slight guilt afterward, without considering the possible retaliation from Lin Jun, it's clear that Xiao Yiyi hasn't recognized her own privilege, and might even think everyone enjoys the same treatment as her.

A classic case of high IQ, low EQ!

Therefore, Su Yuan had no particular fondness for Xiao Yiyi.

---

"There's nothing to it; the truth is that I have nothing to do with her. I was used as a shield by the great goddess Xiao, and it was really unlucky for me!"

Gao Jun said, "Actually, it's not entirely bad. Misfortune often brings good fortune. There are so many people who could be used as a shield; why did Xiao Yiyi choose you? It shows that you are special to her. If you're special, today you can be a shield, and tomorrow you might become real!"

"I'm not that optimistic."

Ji Yehao didn't entirely agree with Gao Jun. He had a different perspective: "Xiao Yiyi definitely has a special view of Su Yuan, but it might be because she sees Su Yuan as harmless. She might think that using others as a shield would have side effects, like sticking to them like a plaster, but our Su Yuan is easier to deal with."

What kind of talk is this!

Su Yuan was unhappy. She looked at him with a resentful gaze and said, "Are you saying I'm easy to get rid of, like something you can throw away after using?"

"Yehao has a point, Su Yuan. Since Xiao Yiyi thinks you're easy to get rid of, be a stubborn debtor and let her know what it means to be hoisted by her own petard!"

Su Yuan shook her head. "I don't want to be a plaster. My character doesn't allow me to be so shameless."

Gao Jun stroked his chin and nodded. "That's true. Our Su Su is so pure; she's not suited to be a stubborn debtor."

Su Yuan blinked. When did she give them the impression of being "pure"? She thought of herself as quite reserved. In this regard, Gao Jun's previous evaluation of her was quite objective. But now, hearing him call her pure, she felt a bit flattered, though her face turned a bit red.

"Hey, Yehao, stir the flask a bit," she suddenly said.

They had been chatting and forgot about the experiment.

Ji Yehao finally reacted and quickly stirred the flask.

Gao Jun saw Ji Yehao being directed by Su Yuan and couldn't help but smile. He looked at the reaction in the flask, and a figure flashed in his mind. He couldn't resist saying, "Yehao, Su Yuan, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

Ji Yehao was seriously shaking the flask, and Su Yuan was watching the liquid inside. Neither of them looked up at Gao Jun.

Seeing that he hadn't caught their attention, Gao Jun didn't mind. He said mysteriously, "Last night when I went to the bathroom, I saw a beautiful woman..."

"Ah!" Su Yuan couldn't help but exclaim softly, but she quickly suppressed her voice, so it only revealed a hint of surprise, not fear.

Ji Yehao glanced at Su Yuan and then at Gao Jun, puzzled. "We're in the boys' dormitory. Where did you go to the bathroom to see a beautiful woman?"

Gao Jun scratched his cheek awkwardly and laughed. "That's what I found strange too. It was clearly the dormitory bathroom, so how did a beautiful woman suddenly appear..."

"Completely naked too!" he whispered to them.

Su Yuan's face turned dark. She finally confirmed that the person who entered the bathroom last night was Gao Jun! But she wasn't angry; she was more worried. She wondered how much he had seen and whether he recognized the naked woman as her. What if he did?

Su Yuan's face turned pale.

Frowning, Ji Yehao glared at Gao Jun. "A beautiful woman appearing in the boys' dormitory bathroom, naked? You must have been half-asleep. You might as well say you saw Su Yuan naked in the bathroom!"

"Ah!" Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Ji Yehao's words, though crude, hit a nerve.

Gao Jun nodded and laughed. "I think I was half-asleep too."

Hearing this, Su Yuan couldn't help but sigh in relief. Thank goodness, Gao Jun didn't recognize her! She recovered and said with a smile, "I think you must have seen a ghost."

"Ghost? I'm a firm materialist!" Gao Jun shuddered. He was most afraid of ghosts, a fear from his childhood.

Su Yuan couldn't help but laugh. "Then why are you shaking?"

"Standing for too long, just stretching a bit!" Gao Jun said stubbornly, refusing to admit it. He changed the subject. "But thinking about it, that 'ghost' was really beautiful, just a bit small in the chest, not my type."

Small chest?

Su Yuan forced a laugh and fell silent. She wasn't a ghost! Her chest... well, it was indeed a bit small.

"Why aren't you talking?"

"What should I say?"

"Ah, Yehao, now that you mention it, I suddenly realize that the ghost looked a bit like Su Yuan..." He gently lifted Su Yuan's bangs, revealing her large, frightened eyes.

"You..."

Gao Jun was stunned. At that moment, he suddenly found Su Yuan's eyes so bright, so... how to put it, quite beautiful.

"Hey, what are you doing, making such a misleading gesture!"

Gao Jun glared. "What do you mean misleading? You're not a girl, so what's wrong with touching your hair?"

"Because I'm a guy, that's why it's misleading!"

"Uh." Gao Jun had to admit it made sense.

"Cough!" Ji Yehao coughed. "Stop fooling around, Su Yuan, hold the flask."

Su Yuan nodded. Seeing that their group was falling behind, she quickly followed Ji Yehao's instructions and held the flask while he poured a small cup of ice water into it.

"High Jun, don't just stand there, get the Buchner funnel ready."

"Got it."

Gao Jun shook his head. He had just thought Su Yuan's eyes were beautiful, with a captivating effect. How could he have such a delusion? He must be in love and needs a girlfriend!

While obediently cutting the filter paper as Su Yuan directed, he couldn't help but say, "Yehao, our Su Su is getting more feminine. We should exercise more, or he'll have no manly qualities and won't be able to find a girlfriend."

"The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is..." Su Yuan muttered unhappily.

...

Time flies when you're focused, and this is when people can best demonstrate their value. In the lab, students in white coats worked methodically or busily, occasionally breaking a glass instrument.

A natural student atmosphere permeated the lab. In the future, they might look back and cherish this moment.

The bell for the first class rang, but the experiment continued.

"Su Yuan, check the lab manual, what's the next step?" Gao Jun was carefully scraping the crude product from the Buchner funnel. His movements were meticulous, and he had only obtained a small amount of crude product. Su Yuan smiled in understanding.

She picked up the lab manual and said, "Next, we need to transfer the crude product to another round-bottom flask, add ethyl acetate and boiling chips, set up the reflux apparatus, and heat it."

As she spoke, she saw that Ji Yehao had already set up the apparatus. She was surprised. "Yehao, you're so fast!"

Ji Yehao gave her a confident look and smiled. "Of course, unlike you who just stands there watching."

"Tch!" Su Yuan scoffed.

Ji Yehao was quite talented, not only handsome but also logical. Sometimes Su Yuan thought it was unfair that he had both these qualities.

Compared to him, Su Yuan felt quite inferior.

In terms of appearance, she used to be somewhat "handsome," at least in her own opinion. Others often thought she looked "pale" or "cute," which didn't compare to Ji Yehao's sunny charm.

As for logic, well, she used to be six out of seven, but that was in the past. Now, Su Yuan felt she had matured and had something to be proud of.

Even if she couldn't surpass Ji Yehao, she should at least be on par with him.

Putting the manual back on the lab bench, she put her hands in her coat pockets and watched Gao Jun transfer the crude product to the round-bottom flask.

She occasionally gave instructions, like "Be careful" and "Don't spill it outside." When Ji Yehao's deep eyes met hers, she closed her mouth and went to the front to pick up some boiling chips. When she excitedly "ran" back, Ji Yehao had already added 100 mL of ethyl acetate to the flask.

She solemnly and seriously added the boiling chips to the flask.

"Phew! Done!" Su Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

At that moment, she felt like a chief designer.

But adding a few boiling chips was hardly a task worthy of such a title. She rolled her eyes and scanned the manual—next, they needed to filter while hot, with the key being "while hot."

What did "while hot" mean? Su Yuan considered herself an expert on this. "While hot" meant speed!

To be fast, they needed to prepare in advance!

She confidently folded a piece of filter paper and placed it in the glass funnel.

"Here, take it!" Seeing the "admiring" looks from Ji Yehao and Gao Jun, she smiled.

After filtering, cooling to room temperature, vacuum filtration, washing with a small amount of ethyl acetate, drying, they obtained colorless crystalline acetylsalicylic acid, weighed it, and calculated the yield. The process was smooth.

Su Yuan's lab report was soon filled with data.

Her report was cleaner and neater than any of the other boys'. Her handwriting was elegant and generous, though a bit messy, it looked like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing, with a very good visual effect. There were no scribbles, clear and clean, with a grand momentum.

What Su Yuan was most proud of was her beautiful handwriting.

The three of them then restored the lab equipment, took off their lab coats, cleaned the lab, and left with their textbooks and coats, heading back to the dormitory.

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