Midnight Beauty

When Su Yuan heard about the rumors linking her to Xiao Yiyan, she became depressed. If there was anything bothering her most these past few days, besides the transformation, it was being associated with Xiao Yiyan.

No matter how much others affirmed Xiao Yiyan, calling her a goddess or anything, in Su Yuan's eyes, those weren't the standards for judging whether someone was worth interacting with.

"Even the most beautiful is just a powdered skeleton. Bones and flesh, they look good, but be careful if they're poisonous."

"Remember, a beautiful woman's charm is fleeting; meeting one doesn't guarantee a good match. How many have chased after beauty throughout history, losing years of their lives without gaining fame?"

Moreover, Xiao Yiyan was a "spoiled" princess who grew up in a greenhouse. People like her, when throwing a tantrum, probably feel the whole world should revolve around them. They wouldn't consider if it was reasonable, just that it should be that way.

The terrifying thing is that this kind of illness doesn't show any symptoms normally. On the contrary, due to their family's innate conditions, such a person might be excellent in all aspects, receiving nothing but praise. However, upon closer examination, one would find that beneath the shining halo lies an excessive sense of self!

From the fact that Xiao Yiyan used Su Yuan as a shield without feeling any discomfort, and only felt slightly apologetic afterward without truly considering the possibility of Su Yuan facing retaliation from Lin Jun, it's evident that Xiao Yiyan hasn't recognized her own privileged status. She might even believe everyone enjoys the same treatment as she does.

A typical case of high intelligence but low emotional intelligence!

Therefore, Su Yuan didn't have much of a good impression of Xiao Yiyan.

"What explanation? The reality is I have nothing to do with her. I was dragged in as a shield by the great goddess Xiao, I'm so unlucky!"

Gao Jun said, "Actually, you can't entirely say it's unlucky. Remember, misfortune can be a blessing in disguise. There were so many people she could have chosen as a shield, why did Xiao Yiyan pick you? It means you're special in her heart. Being special is good; if you can be a shield today, you can make it real tomorrow!"

"I'm not that optimistic."

Ji Yehao didn't entirely agree with Gao Jun's statement. He had a different opinion, saying, "It's certain that Xiao Yiyan has a special view of Su Yuan, but maybe it's because Su Yuan seems harmless to her. Perhaps she thinks using someone else as a shield might have side effects, like a sticky plaster that's hard to shake off afterward, while our Su Yuan is easier to deal with."

What kind of talk is that!

Su Yuan was unhappy. She looked at him with a resentful gaze, annoyed, "Are you saying I'm easy to deal with, that you can just toss me aside after using me?"

"Ye Hao does have a point, Su Yuan. Since Xiao Yiyan thinks you're easy to get rid of, then be a freeloader and let her know what it means to weave her own trap!!"

Su Yuan shook her head repeatedly, "I don't want to be a sticky plaster; my integrity doesn't allow me to become so shameless."

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

Su Yuan blinked. When did she give them the impression of being "pure"? Su Yuan herself thought she was quite reserved and outwardly demure. In this regard, Gao Jun's previous evaluation of her was quite objective. However, hearing Gao Jun call her pure now felt quite pleasant, though her face couldn't help but flush with heat.

"Hey Ye Hao, stir the flask a few times," she suddenly called out.

They were so engrossed in chatting that they forgot about the experiment.

Ji Yehao finally reacted and quickly stirred the flask.

Seeing Ji Yehao being directed by Su Yuan, Gao Jun smiled knowingly. He looked at the reaction in the flask, and somehow a silhouette flashed in his mind. He couldn't help but say, "Ye Hao, Su Yuan, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

Ji Yehao was diligently shaking the flask, while Su Yuan watched the liquid in the flask. Neither of them looked up at Gao Jun.

Seeing that he hadn't gotten their attention, he didn't mind and said mysteriously, "Last night when I went to the restroom, I think I saw a beautiful woman..."

"Ah!" Su Yuan couldn't help but gasp softly. Fortunately, the sound was light and she quickly stopped herself, so the gasp only revealed a hint of surprise, not much fear.

Ji Yehao glanced at Su Yuan, then at Gao Jun, and asked doubtfully, "We're in the men's dorm, where were you in the restroom that you saw a beautiful woman?"

Gao Jun awkwardly scratched his cheek with his hand and chuckled, "That's what I found strange too. It was the dorm bathroom, how could a beautiful woman suddenly appear..."

"And she was completely naked!" He leaned closer to them and whispered.

Su Yuan's face instantly darkened. She finally confirmed that it was Gao Jun who had entered the bathroom last night! However, she didn't have the energy to be angry; instead, she felt uneasy. She didn't know how much Gao Jun had seen, or if he had recognized that naked woman as herself. What if he had recognized her?

Su Yuan's face turned a little pale.

Frowning, Ji Yehao gave Gao Jun an exasperated look. "A beautiful woman in the men's dorm bathroom, and completely naked? You must have been half-asleep. You might as well say you saw Su Yuan naked in the toilet!"

"Ah!" Su Yuan's heart leaped. Although Ji Yehao's words were crude, they were not unreasonable, and they hit Su Yuan's sensitive spot.

Gao Jun nodded and laughed, "I also thought I must have been half-asleep."

Hearing this, Su Yuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Gao Jun hadn't recognized her! She regained her composure and smiled, "I think you must have seen a female ghost."

"A female ghost? I'm a staunch supporter of materialism!" Gao Jun's expression changed. He was most afraid of ghosts and spirits; he had childhood trauma.

Su Yuan couldn't help but scoff, "Then why are you shaking?"

"I've been standing too long, just stretching my body!" Gao Jun put on a stubborn front, he would never admit it. He changed the subject, "But thinking about it now, even if it was a female ghost, she was really beautiful. Just a bit small-chested, not my type."

Small-chested?

Su Yuan gave a dry laugh.

"Why aren't you talking?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Ah, Ye Hao, now that you mention it, I suddenly realized that female ghost looks quite a bit like Su Yuan..." As he spoke, he gently lifted a lock of Su Yuan's bangs, revealing two large, terrified eyes.

"You..."

Gao Jun was stunned. At that moment, he suddenly felt that Su Yuan's eyes were so bright, so... beautiful.

"Hey, are you trying to die? Why are you doing something that can so easily be misunderstood!!"

Gao Jun glared, "What do you mean easily misunderstood? You're not a girl, what's wrong with moving your hair a little?"

"It's precisely because I'm a guy that this action is so easily misunderstood!!"

"Uh." Hearing that, Gao Jun felt a bit the same way.

"Cough, cough!" Ji Yehao cleared his throat. "You two stop messing around. Su Yuan, hold the flask steady."

Su Yuan hummed. Their group's experiment was already behind the others. She quickly followed Ji Yehao's instructions and steadied the flask, then watched him pour a small cup of ice water into it.

"Gao Jun, don't just stand there. Hurry up and get the filtration funnel ready."

"Got it."

Gao Jun shook his head. He had actually thought Su Yuan's eyes were beautiful just now, as if they had a captivating effect for a moment! Ah! To have such a delusion is completely wrong. I must be in love and need to find a girlfriend!

While obediently following Su Yuan's instructions to cut filter paper, he couldn't help but say, "Ye Hao, look at our Su Su getting more and more feminine. We need to train her properly someday, otherwise, she won't have any manly spirit at all. How will she find a girlfriend in the future?"

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

Time flies when you're focused, and this is when people can best express their true selves. In the laboratory, students in white coats worked either methodically or in a flurry, occasionally breaking glassware by accident.

A natural student atmosphere permeated the laboratory. In the future, when reminiscing about the past, perhaps they would miss everything about this day.

Just then, the bell for the end of the first class rang, but the experiment had to continue.

"Su Yuan, check the experimental manual. What's the next step?" Gao Jun was carefully scraping the crude product from the filtration funnel with a spatula, piece by piece. Seeing his meticulous actions, and realizing that only a small amount of crude product was obtained throughout the process, Su Yuan smiled knowingly.

She picked up the textbook and read it, saying, "Next, we need to put the crude product into another round-bottom flask, add ethyl acetate and boiling stones, set up the reflux apparatus, and perform heating and reflux."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw that Ji Yehao had already set up the experimental apparatus in advance. She exclaimed in surprise, "Ye Hao, you're so fast!"

Ji Yehao gave her a confident look and smiled, "Of course. Unlike you, who's just been watching from the side."

"Hmph!" Su Yuan scoffed.

Ji Yehao was quite talented. Not only was he handsome, but he was also highly logical when working. Sometimes Su Yuan thought it was unfair of heaven to bestow both these advantages on one person!

Compared to him, Su Yuan found herself lacking in many ways.

When it came to looks, she used to be considered a bit "handsome" herself, at least in her own opinion. Others always thought she looked "fair" or "cute." Compared to Ji Yehao's sunny disposition, she was neither here nor there.

As for logic, cough, cough, in the past, she was only half-witted. But that was all in the past. The current Su Yuan felt she had finally achieved her potential and had plenty to boast about.

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

Placing the textbook back on the lab bench, Su Yuan put her hands in the pockets of her white coat and assumed the role of a supervisor, watching Gao Jun transfer the crude product from the weighing paper into the round-bottom flask.

She occasionally gestured, saying things like, "Be careful," and "Don't spill it." Finally, under Ji Yehao's deep gaze, she dryly closed her mouth and went to the lectern to pick up a few boiling stones. By the time she "ran" back excitedly, Ji Yehao had already poured a hundred milliliters of ethyl acetate into the round-bottom flask.

She, on the other hand, solemnly and seriously dropped a few boiling stones into the flask.

"Phew! Mission accomplished!!" Su Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

At this moment, she felt the sense of accomplishment of a chief designer.

However, it was just dropping a few boiling stones. This small amount of work hardly deserved the title of chief designer, so she quickly scanned the textbook again—the next step was hot filtration, with the emphasis on "hot."

What did "hot" mean? Su Yuan believed her understanding of these two words was absolutely expert-level. Hot meant speed!

To be fast, one needed to prepare in advance!!

She very smugly picked up a piece of filter paper, folded it, and inserted it into the glass funnel.

"Here you go!" Seeing the "admiring" gazes from Ji Yehao and Gao Jun, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upwards.

After filtration, cooling to room temperature, vacuum filtration, washing with a small amount of ethyl acetate, and drying, colorless crystalline acetylsalicylic acid was obtained. It was weighed, and the yield was calculated. The subsequent steps proceeded smoothly.

Su Yuan's experimental report was quickly filled with data.

Her report was neat and clean, unlike those of the other male students. Her handwriting was delicate and elegant. Although written hastily, like a dragon dancing in the wind, it had a very good visual effect. There were no scribbled-out areas; it was pure and imposing.

What Su Yuan was most proud of was her excellent calligraphy.

Next, the three of them returned the experimental equipment, took off their white coats and folded them, cleaned the laboratory, and, carrying their textbooks and white coats, left the laboratory and walked towards the dormitory.