Rich Woman?

A few minutes later, Chen Chen walked out of the library with a composed expression.

Unlike when he usually left late at night, it was not yet two in the afternoon. And following closely behind Chen Chen was a Black-rimmed Glasses Girl.

The two of them had been "invited" out by the Reading Room Manager and a crowd of students.

"Can you really do it?"

The girl hesitated. "What if you don't get any results? Wouldn't my money be wasted?"

"That depends on just how rich you are."

Chen Chen turned around, his gaze calm and open, without the slightest hint that he was asking anyone for a favor. "You come from a single-parent family, don't you?"

"How did you know?"

The girl's eyes widened. If she had not told no one about her family situation, she might even have thought the boy before her had investigated her long ago.

"You said earlier that you wanted to get into graduate school to show your father. On the surface, there was nothing wrong with that statement, but considering that you're taking sleeping pills, your father clearly holds an extremely important place in your heart. At the same time, there is also a deep conflict between you."

Chen Chen continued, "You have a rebellious streak, so the conflict should stem from your studies. You want to continue your education, while your father has other expectations for you... Let me guess. It's still too early for you to start a family, so does your father want you to help manage his company?"

"How did you know?"

The girl asked in a tone an octave higher than before.

"If you had an older brother, your father probably wouldn't be making that demand of you. Clearly, you don't, which means you're an only child. And since your relationship with your father is so strained, it couldn't have happened overnight. If your mother had been there to mediate between you, you wouldn't have ended up taking sleeping pills. So there's a strong chance that your mother isn't by your father's side."

"And your father and mother likely aren't divorced either. Unless there are unusual circumstances, Central Continent courts generally award custody of daughters to their mothers. But you live with your father, which is why I concluded that you come from a single-parent family."

"I..." The girl opened her mouth, utterly dumbfounded.

Chen Chen checked the time and headed toward the dorms as he spoke. "For a girl, having such ambition is truly rare. You already live a life of luxury, and you care little about money or fame. Right now, you're simply holding your breath, wanting your father to see you in a new light, constantly wavering between his expectations and your own desires."

The girl's face filled with shock. "How did you know..."

"I'm just good at observing." Chen Chen smiled faintly, looking completely harmless.

"Then... what do you think I should do?" the girl could not help asking. Without realizing it, she had already begun to lean toward Chen Chen's words.

"That depends on you."

Chen Chen changed the subject. "Generally speaking, children from single-parent families have flaws in their personalities, varying in severity. You're no exception. You're still young, and you don't understand what fatherly love really is. Perhaps, in your eyes, your father spends all day working and rarely has time to care for you, which has led to your poor relationship with him. But deep down, you can't possibly be unaware of how your father truly feels about you."

The girl immediately fell silent.

"Other than the gap caused by age and gender, the state of your relationship with your father is largely your own doing. When you were young, you resented him for not spending time with you. Now, you resent him even more for not letting you pursue further studies. In truth, that is all a sign of immaturity."

"So you're saying I should give up on further education?" the girl asked somewhat dejectedly.

"No. You should continue your studies."

"?" The girl looked at Chen Chen in surprise. She had almost been persuaded by him.

"Fatherly love is reserved. He won't tell you how much he loves or cares about you, but that doesn't mean such concern doesn't exist."

Chen Chen explained, "Resolving the rift between you is simple. A meal together, a heartfelt conversation, and it can be cleared up. But that doesn't mean you should obey him and take over the company."

"After all, education is a lifelong matter. Though you don't care about money, it represents your perseverance. If you want to repay your father, you should repay him by becoming a better version of yourself. Fatherly love may be great, but you also have beliefs of your own."

At that, Chen Chen let out a breath and smiled at the girl. "That's my advice. Let go of the resentment in your heart and reconcile with your father. Does that conflict with your determination to continue your studies? No, it doesn't."

"You're right!"

The girl's eyes brightened completely, and there was an extra trace of closeness in the way she looked at Chen Chen. "I should have my own persistence, my own beliefs!"

Heh, if you don't have any beliefs, how am I supposed to conduct experiments? If you and your father reconcile, you can provide me with even more funding...

Chen Chen smiled and looked at the girl calmly, without a trace of ulterior motive. "So, what do you think?"

"Alright, I'm willing to give it a try!"

The girl nodded vigorously, her little face flushed with excitement as she held out her hand to Chen Chen. "You don't know my name yet, do you? I'm Xia Yin from Class of 2017 Biotechnology."

Xia Yin? Xia Yin? Oh, it was Xia Yin.

That name has something to it.

"Spring water like blue, summer grass like a carpet, autumn leaves like butterflies, winter snow like flowers. It's a beautiful name."

Chen Chen shook her slender hand.

"Wow, you actually remember that essay?"

The girl looked up in delight. "I thought you'd be like everyone else..."

"Like everyone else how?"

"N-Nothing."

Xia Yin smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, when are you planning to start the experiments? How can I help?"

"Winter break is in a few days. I'll apply to stay on campus, but it would be even better if the laboratory came with a staff lounge."

Chen Chen laid out his requirements. "That's the first condition. Second, the laboratory must meet GMP standards. Since several of the experiments I'm doing involve stem cells, it must have an ultra-clean workbench. It also needs equipment such as a micromanipulator, high-speed centrifuge, blood cell separator, biosafety cabinet, low-temperature freezer, and so on."

"But I've never rented a laboratory before..."

Xia Yin looked troubled. "Other than the experimental building, where else are there laboratories? How am I supposed to rent one?"

Sure enough, she was a pampered young miss who had everything handed to her—even this was beyond her...

"Then I'll rent it."

Chen Chen said indifferently, "But you'll probably need to prepare more money. Renting this kind of laboratory won't be cheap."

"Then... roughly how much would it cost?"

Xia Yin looked grave, as if she had mentally prepared herself.

"A GMP-grade laboratory like this has at least five or six rooms with different functions, around three hundred square meters in total. Based on laboratory market rates, the daily price is about five yuan per square meter, so the monthly rent alone would be at least forty to fifty thousand."

"Phew, that's not too much."

Xia Yin sighed in relief.

"That's only the rent, not the experimental funding."

Chen Chen shook his head. "I can run three experiments simultaneously. If everything goes smoothly, they can be completed within three months. Including funding and rent, it may take three hundred thousand."

"That much?"

Xia Yin immediately sucked in a breath, making Chen Chen's heart tighten.

Just as Chen Chen thought she was about to change her mind, Xia Yin suddenly sighed and put on a look of facing death with righteous resolve. "Looks like this year's New Year money isn't going to survive..."

Chen Chen: ???