It would take three days. Su Yuan paused in surprise; this was clearly beyond what she had expected. When Xia Linfei had said that checking the chromosomes was just a minor extra task, she had thought it would be just like looking at cells: put them under a microscope and that was it.
She hadn't expected that they'd need to be cultured first—and for three whole days. She realized she might have caused Xia Linfei quite a bit of trouble.
"Maybe we should just forget it," she said sheepishly.
"How could we? I've already drawn your blood. How can I not let you see your own chromosomes?" Seeing that Su Yuan was always thinking of others, Xia Linfei said firmly, "Don't overthink it. You provided a sample for our project, after all. And even if you hadn't, I'd be happy to satisfy your curiosity."
Since Xia Linfei had put it that way, Su Yuan couldn't bring herself to turn down her kindness. As she walked down the corridor with her, something suddenly seemed to occur to her, and her expression froze. "What's wrong?" Xia Linfei asked with concern.
Su Yuan shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing."
Lowering her head, Su Yuan's expression grew complicated. She had just realized she'd overlooked an important problem: if her chromosomes were made into a slide, wouldn't Sister Xia find out her sex?
She gritted her teeth, annoyed with herself for not thinking of such a crucial issue. She sneaked a glance at Xia Linfei, then calmed down and shook her head. Whatever. If she finds out, she finds out.
"Su Yuan, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
"Huh?"
Xia Linfei smiled. "Why are you so surprised? We know each other, after all. It's settled—I'm treating you to dinner tonight." She seemed to think of something and added, "Invite those two people from your dorm, too. You told me their names were Ji Yehao and... Gao Jun, right? Let's get together and make friends."
"Sure," Su Yuan answered without a second thought.
Dinner together was great, of course. But why invite Ye Hao and Gao Jun, too?
A thought suddenly popped into her head. Could it be that Sister Xia didn't really want to treat her to dinner, but was using her to invite her dormmates?
It wasn't strange that she'd think that way. Xia Linfei was so beautiful, yet still didn't have a boyfriend. As she got older, she might be starting to feel the pressure. Su Yuan remembered talking about her two dormmates last time and, carried away, going on about how handsome Ji Yehao was and how creative Gao Jun was.
Su Yuan had to admit the truth: Ji Yehao was very handsome. When he acted normal, he had a special appeal to girls. Gao Jun was full of clever ideas, and with his knack for making things, he was also likely to be popular with girls.
"Sister Xia, are you looking for a boyfriend?" The more Su Yuan thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She felt rather uneasy asking. Before long, either Ji Yehao or Gao Jun might end up finding a partner, just like Yang Xiaowei.
Xia Linfei paused, then smiled. "Why would you think that?"
"Isn't that it?"
"Of course not. I just think it'll be livelier with more people. If you don't want to invite them, we won't."
"Wait, who said I didn't want to?" she said quickly. "But won't it cost you more if there are more of us?"
Xia Linfei smiled faintly. "What's the big deal? There'll only be four of us, including me. As long as we don't go to a fancy hotel, treating three friends to dinner is no problem."
"Then it's settled. I'll call them now!" Su Yuan pulled out her phone and called Ji Yehao. After hanging up, she said, "I've let them know. We'll meet at the east gate in a bit."
"Okay. While we're on our way there, tell me about the two of them," Xia Linfei said with a smile.
Su Yuan gave her a teasing look. She said she wasn't looking for a boyfriend, but Su Yuan had already given her a brief introduction to them last time. Now she was asking for more—she must want to get to know them better.
She sighed silently. Su Yuan really liked Xia Linfei, though not simply in the way a man liked a woman. There was also a bit of admiration for an older-sister type mixed in... Watching her possibly get taken away by someone else left Su Yuan conflicted.
"Oh, one is Ji Yehao, and the other is Gao Jun. I'll introduce Gao Jun first. Gao as in 'high,' Jun as in 'steep.' He looks pretty good—not stunningly handsome, but he's really quick-witted. If you're looking for a boyfriend, I think he'd be a good fit. As for Ye Hao..."
Su Yuan thought it over. "He's more handsome than Gao Jun, but I don't really know what he's like. His background is a mystery, and he's not very forthcoming! He's not someone you can rely on for a lifetime, so I don't recommend putting him on your list of candidates."
"Enough already. Do you really think I'm so desperate to find a man?" Xia Linfei smiled at her. "You're obviously giving them a biased introduction. Student Su, I'm going to have to educate you: you shouldn't judge your classmates with prejudice, especially when you live under the same roof as him."
"Oh, I get it. You're jealous that he's better-looking than you!" She patted Su Yuan on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Student Su has plenty going for her, too. There's no need to be jealous of him."
"Sister Xia, what are you talking about? Jealous of him?" Su Yuan exclaimed. She glanced around guiltily.
As for being jealous of Ji Yehao's good looks, she really had been a little jealous once—especially when they first met as freshmen. Su Yuan hadn't been willing to accept it and had secretly competed with him.
But after they got to know each other, they became good friends, and that initial rivalry had long since disappeared.
In the student activities area north of Binhe Institute of Technology, someone suddenly kicked open the door of a huge activity room from the outside.
"Kids, your queen is back!!"
Lan Qiuzhu looked full of energy, her bright eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Huh? It's already dark. Why haven't you turned on the lights? Are you trying to save on the electricity bill?"
"Sister Qiuzhu, don't be ridiculous. We don't pay the activity room's electricity bill, so why would we worry about saving power?" A girl who was sorting through club applications pushed her glasses up and gave Lan Qiuzhu a withering look.
Lan Qiuzhu looked a little embarrassed and went over to her. "Then why aren't the lights on?"
"The circuit breaker tripped."
"Then hurry up and fix it!!"
"I can't." The girl answered crisply.
"..."
"Student Bao Bao, what am I supposed to do with you? You can't even handle a circuit breaker. How can I trust you with the Anime Club someday?" Lan Qiuzhu said, heartbroken.
At that moment, she heard unrestrained laughter around her. Lan Qiuzhu glared and scolded them. "What are you laughing at? You're all the pillars of my Great Anime Club! If you don't hold yourselves to high standards and help the club thrive, what gives you the right to laugh? Tell me, have you found any promising recruits?"
"Reporting to the Club President..."
A slightly chubby young man stepped forward, but Lan Qiuzhu cut him off as soon as he began. "Get to the point. What did you find?"
"Yes!" The chubby young man acknowledged the order and reported, "On the day of Wuchen, in the month of Jiyou, on the day of Wuzi, after half a day of effort by the entire club, we selected seventy-nine qualified members from one hundred and twenty-two applications. Eighteen of them are promising recruits. I await the Club President's judgment."
"Male-female breakdown!"
He hesitated briefly before answering, "Well... about the same as in past years. More men than women, at a ratio of three to one. Among the promising recruits, it's two to one!"
"So of the eighteen promising recruits, twelve are men and six are women?"
"The Club President is wise!"
Smack!
Lan Qiuzhu slapped the hard tabletop, then lifted her hand, blew on it, and rubbed her sore palm. "Wise, my foot! Student Zhang Xin, as vice president of the club, what do you think we can do to improve our club's strength?"
Zhang Xin thought for a moment and gave the kind of answer that could fit any situation. "We will follow the Club President's lead in all things!!"
"You're going to be the death of me!!"
"Bao Bao, what do you think?"
In the office, Lan Bao Bao, who handled planning and external relations, was a pretty, gentle-looking girl. She thought it over and replied firmly, "Recruit people!!"
Lan Qiuzhu nodded. "That makes sense. Talent is key! But the question is, have any of you brought in anyone?"
From Lan Qiuzhu's tone, everyone knew something was up. She wouldn't talk like that if she were about to undermine herself. If she'd brought it up, she must have found someone herself. The eager, practically begging-for-praise look on her face was impossible to miss.
Zhang Xin was not only the vice president, but also handled publicity and finance. He was the best at reading Lan Qiuzhu's mood, so he immediately led everyone in bowing before her. "We are overwhelmed with shame! We have failed to live up to your favor, and even death could not atone for our crime!"
"Enough, enough."
Lan Qiuzhu knew they were just buttering her up. Still, she had to admit she was rather pleased with herself for finding Su Yuan, such a promising recruit, that day.
"Today, I found a promising recruit at the library, and I'm working hard to bring her into my Great Anime Club!!"
"So that's what it is!" Everyone suddenly understood.
"I wonder what the new member's name is," one curious girl asked.
"Her name is Su Yuan. She's a sophomore. Has anyone heard of her?"
Everyone racked their brains. How had they never heard of someone like that? Surely anyone the club president took an interest in had to be somewhat famous. Binhe Institute of Technology might not have the beauty or handsome-guy rankings you saw in novels, but its campus beauties and hunks still had some renown.
Wait—a girl who followed campus gossip closely suddenly spoke up. "Su Yuan... I think I've heard that name somewhere. Is she the one involved in that rumor?"
"Rumor?" Lan Qiuzhu frowned.
"Yeah, I think someone called Su Yuan came up on the campus forum. Apparently, she has something to do with Xiao Yiyan." Then she recounted the gist of the rumor.
Lan Qiuzhu snorted. "So what if she has something to do with Xiao Yiyan? Are we afraid of her? Those Xiao fans are just a disorganized rabble. How could they stand up to our Anime Club, with its clear organizational structure? Those awful Xiao fans have no shame, smearing a promising recruit I, Lan Qiuzhu, have taken a liking to!!"
Everyone was left speechless. She called the Xiao fans disorganized, but the Anime Club wasn't any better, was it? It was just the autocratic rule of Queen Lan Qiuzhu!
Zhang Xin stepped forward. "Since she's someone the Club President has taken an interest in, our Anime Club has to stand up for her, no matter what!!"
"But come to think of it, is this Su Yuan a boy or a girl?"
"Girl!" Lan Qiuzhu said.
"..."
Before you continue