Experimental Project Materials Missing?

After leaving the police station, Bai Jin remained silent the whole way as he followed Lu Chengze into his car.

"What's wrong? Did it really scare you?" Seeing the kid sitting there without saying a word, Lu Chengze ruffled Bai Jin's hair and asked with a smile.

A faint, lingering ache spread through his chest.

If he had known, he would not have called Bai Jin over.

Bai Jin shook his head, his tone despondent. "It's just a little hard to accept... It feels like I'm never very likable."

As Lu Chengze fastened Bai Jin's seat belt, he refuted him disapprovingly. "Who said that? I'm especially fond of you. The first time I saw you, I took a liking to you."

Bai Jin forced out a smile. "Fifth Master, you didn't take a liking to me. You wanted to fuck me."

Lu Chengze: "...Anyway, that's what I mean. You're so lovable, who wouldn't like you? Except for certain blind people, of course."

That finally made Bai Jin laugh. "So anyone who doesn't like me is blind?"

Lu Chengze nodded solemnly. "That's right."

By the time Bai Jin got home, it was already four in the morning.

Lu Chengze still had things to handle. After dropping Bai Jin off, he only had time to inspect every corner of Bai Jin's home and confirm that nothing was amiss before leaving.

Bai Jin stood at the door and watched Lu Chengze go downstairs, secretly feeling fortunate. Luckily, before going out, he had hidden everything that needed to be hidden.

Otherwise, with Lu Chengze's vigilance, he would definitely have noticed something suspicious.

At this hour, the drowsiness had long passed. Bai Jin had no desire to sleep at all, so he simply stayed up, took out the experimental materials he had brought back, and sat at his desk to get busy.

The experimental project Professor Jiang had assigned was not particularly difficult for Bai Jin, whether in terms of theoretical data or practical work. It took him less than four hours to complete everything.

He printed out all the equipment and theoretical data needed for the experiment, copied the process and results onto a USB drive, packed everything into a large document envelope, and stuffed it into his backpack. He planned to hand it to Professor Jiang after his morning classes ended.

Breakfast had already been delivered. Sitting alone at the dining table, Bai Jin quietly ate while replying to Lu Chengze's WeChat messages.

Lu Chengze was very busy today. He had taken Lu Jin and Lu Mu with him, while Lu Shui was tied up with other matters, so no one was openly taking Bai Jin to school.

As for the additional bodyguards secretly stationed around him, Bai Jin did not care and pretended not to notice.

Because the police had sealed off the news in time, Li Yue's death did not cause much of a stir at school.

Only the roommates familiar with Li Yue were somewhat curious when he failed to return to the dormitory all night.

When his morning classes ended, it was already eleven thirty. Bai Jin did not hurry to the cafeteria for lunch. Instead, he first made a trip to the laboratory building and locked his backpack in his locker in the break room.

He had no classes that afternoon and could spend the whole afternoon in the lab, which was perfect for discussing the experimental results with Professor Jiang.

When he came out of the break room, he happened to run into Cao Longtao and Zhu Chaohong, who were also heading out to eat.

Zhu Chaohong's gaze flickered, but he said nothing.

Cao Longtao, on the other hand, smiled and asked, "Bai Jin, going to eat? Want to come with us?"

"Sure."

Bai Jin and Cao Longtao walked side by side in front. After only a few steps, they heard Zhu Chaohong, who was two steps behind them, say, "You guys go ahead. I think I left my phone in the locker."

Cao Longtao did not think much of it and nodded. "Then hurry up and catch up with us. They have sweet-and-sour pork ribs in the cafeteria today. If we get there late, they'll be gone."

"Got it." Zhu Chaohong quickly turned around and ran off.

Watching Zhu Chaohong avoid meeting his eyes and flee in panic, Bai Jin's gaze flickered, and an almost imperceptible smile crossed his lips.

Zhu Chaohong did not rush over until they had finished lining up and buying their food. As expected, the sweet-and-sour pork ribs had already sold out.

Zhu Chaohong could only settle for braised chicken drumsticks. When he sat down with his tray, he deliberately avoided the seat across from Bai Jin and sat opposite Cao Longtao instead.

Cao Longtao did not notice Zhu Chaohong's little movements. His attention was fixed on how close his arm was to Bai Jin's, and the tips of his ears reddened slightly.

As though he had gathered immense courage, he said, "Bai Jin, I think I got more sweet-and-sour pork ribs than you. Do you want to take a few?"

Bai Jin paused, then smiled and reached over with his chopsticks. "Sure!"

Sweet-and-sour pork ribs were Bai Jin's favorite cafeteria dish. Although it was a little strange for Cao Longtao to suddenly treat him so well, Bai Jin did not reject his kindness.

"Here, take as many as you want." The moment Cao Longtao heard that, he immediately pushed his tray toward Bai Jin, incredibly generous.

Since Cao Longtao was being generous, Bai Jin did not take advantage of him. He only picked up two pieces, then stopped and thanked him. "That's enough, thank you."

"Y-you're welcome."

Zhu Chaohong: "..."

After the three finished eating, they went together to the break room in the laboratory building for their lunch break.

Bai Jin had already contacted Zhan Zhou in advance. After learning that he had completed the experimental project, Professor Jiang was very pleased and said he would come over at one in the afternoon.

Therefore, Bai Jin did not rest. Instead, he planned to take the materials to the office first and transfer them onto the computer.

But when he pulled his backpack out of the locker, he immediately noticed that it had become lighter.

Bai Jin narrowed his eyes and weighed the backpack in his hand again. It really was lighter.

After looking around the room, Bai Jin's gaze settled on Zhu Chaohong.

Zhu Chaohong's eyes became even more evasive.

Carrying his backpack, Bai Jin walked over to Zhu Chaohong and said coldly, "Give it back. I can pretend nothing happened."

At that moment, only the three of them were in the office. Thus, not only did Zhu Chaohong's expression change at Bai Jin's words, but Cao Longtao also looked over.

Sensing Cao Longtao's probing gaze, Zhu Chaohong jumped to his feet in exasperation. "Give what back? Bai Jin, you lost something yourself, and now you're asking me for it?"

"The experimental materials I put in my backpack—you took them, didn't you? Return them now, and I can let it go. But if you insist on denying it, I don't mind searching you myself. If I find them..."

"This experimental project was outsourced to Professor Jiang. If someone leaks information related to the experiment, you know what the consequences will be."

Zhu Chaohong was still furious. "I didn't take your things. If you keep falsely accusing me, I'll... I'll call the police."

"Fine, then call the police." Bai Jin had already given Zhu Chaohong a chance. "I marked all the materials I printed, and the paper is different from everyone else's. As long as we check the surveillance footage, we'll know who entered and left while we were eating."

As he spoke, Bai Jin took out his phone and dialed the police.

Cao Longtao stood to the side, completely dumbfounded. Seeing that Bai Jin had already called the police, he quickly notified Director Zhan.

Zhan Zhou had been with Elder Ai and Professor Jiang. After receiving Cao Longtao's call, he hurried over with Elder Ai and Professor Jiang.

"Bai Jin, what happened? Your experimental project materials are missing?"