Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Without waiting for her answer, he muttered, “You must have.”

The corners of his mouth curled up, and his voice turned low habitually, but it was inexplicably husky.

The air in the compartment was thin and dry.

Qin Ran’s five senses seemed to become countless times more sensitive. She could clearly feel the hand clasped around her waist and vaguely feel his heat.

He stared at her closely, his eyes dark and bright, gentle and serious, as if reflecting snow.

He wasn’t pressing down too hard on her left hand, so she slightly moved it and broke free with a slight flip. Without saying a single word, she held his hand, as if giving her response.

Lowering his eyes, he stared at her with a pair of clear eyes. He didn’t think he would get any response from her now.

It was really…

Killing him…

He lowered his head…

**

Ting Lan.

Old Master Cheng and Cheng Wenru had chosen a time when Qin Ran wasn’t in class to find her. Qin Ran had gone to find her classmates, and they sat on the sofa, calmly waiting for her.

Cheng Wenru leaned on the sofa and lowered her head to play games.

Old Master Cheng stood at the side, asking Cheng Mu about Qin Ran’s recent situation.

While making tea in the kitchen, Cheng Mu meticulously answered, “Miss Qin has been studying all the time. She basically goes to bed after midnight.” After a pause, he continued, “She’s even reading while eating.”

Upon hearing this, Old Master Cheng frowned worriedly and sighed. “Why is she working so hard?”

Butler Qin looked at Old Master Cheng and thought of Qin Ran in Yun Cheng…

He paused, but still didn’t tell the Old Master the truth. Back then, Qin Ran hadn’t done anything pragmatic other than playing games. She would even help Qian Dui and the others track down some cases in her free time…

Hearing Cheng Mu speak of Qin Ran as being hardworking, Butler Qin felt like he was daydreaming…

What was Miss Qin doing again?

As he thought about this, a voice came from the hallway. He looked up to see Qin Ran and Cheng Juan.

Cheng Juan lazily changed his shoes and casually greeted Old Master Cheng.

Ignoring him, Old Master Cheng reached out to adjust his clothes, and his face eased as he turned to Qin Ran. “Aren’t you tired from studying lately? Do you want to go out next week? Wenru said you liked places with a sense of age. A new local garden in the neighboring province had just been developed.”

Taking off her scarf, Qin Ran put it on the sofa beside her. She calculated the time and apologetically glanced at Old Master Cheng. “I might not be able to go anytime soon, you’ll have to wait for me when I’m free.”

The Beijing University laboratory assessment was just around the corner. Principal Xu and Song Luting both paid so much attention to it, she couldn’t relax.

Many things had to be prepared.

“Okay.” Old Master Cheng regretfully nodded and planned to come back to find her after a while.

Cheng Wenru bent down to pick up a cup of water, smiling at Qin Ran. “Ignore my Dad. Has your Dean been preparing you for the Beijing University laboratory assessment in March next year?”

“Miss, why are you telling Miss Qin this now?” Butler Qin smiled and glanced at her. “Miss Qin is only in her freshman year, so don’t put too much pressure on her.”

Butler Cheng remembered how crazy Cheng Wenru had been because of the ordinary examination.

She had been a mess.

Cheng Juan unbuttoned the windbreaker with his fingers and turned to Qin Ran. “Go upstairs and read.”

She politely greeted them, took her mobile phone, and went to study.

When her figure had disappeared, Old Master Cheng sat down and took the tea from the kitchen. Upon hearing Cheng Wenru’s words, his slightly muddy eyes narrowed.

Unlike them, he knew that Zhou Shan had fought with University A for Qin Ran for resources in the first place.

With Qin Ran’s qualifications, it was only a matter of time before she entered the laboratory.

Holding his tea, he glanced at Butler Cheng. “Didn’t a sophomore just join the Institute? We have to prepare early.”

Butler Cheng was speechless.

Who was the one who said a few days ago that Principal Zhou would let Miss Qin enter the Institute in two years? But now he was singing a different tune.

The Old Master was a little too biased.

After speaking, Old Master Cheng took a sip of tea calmly, then looked at Cheng Juan, his face stern. “Why haven’t you come home?”

“No reason to.” Cheng Juan took off his coat and sat opposite Old Master Cheng. He leaned on the sofa, his eyes light. Usually, he wouldn’t bother explaining himself, but today, he was in a good mood, so he carefully explained. “The Cheng family must have many people looking for me now. It’s not convenient for me to go back.”

He didn’t continue talking about why it was inconvenient.

But Old Master Cheng already guessed.

Because of the Second Hall Master in City C, Cheng Juan had become famous in the Cheng family. If he went back, the Cheng family would flock to him, and more people would support him, hence why he felt it was inconvenient.

Putting the teacup down, he turned to look at Cheng Juan with his lips pursed. A light sorrow appeared in his eyes. “You should probably know better than me? Ran Ran will definitely enter the Institute in a few years. The Research Institute isn’t simply an institute anymore, too many forces are influencing it. More than one or two of the research results have been robbed and driven out of the institute. That’s the Xu family’s place, and no one will listen to the Cheng family’s Third Young Master. When the time comes, can you handle it?”

Cheng Juan tilted his head back, chuckled softly, and said in a somewhat calm voice, “Don’t worry about it.”

Old Master Cheng was speechless.

He really wanted to smack him.

When it was dinnertime, Old Master Cheng and Cheng Wenru finished their dinner here. Old Master Cheng and Qin Ran made an appointment to go out together next time before going back with Cheng Wenru.

Behind him, Cheng Juan stared at Old Master Cheng and Cheng Wenru’s backs.

After a long while, he took out his phone and casually played with his phone.

The phone screen lit up.

If Qin Ran was by his side at this time, she would definitely see that her mobile page had stayed on 129’s official website.

**

In City C.

At 5:30 am today, the production team ended work ahead of schedule. They had already become accustomed to it by now. Jing Wen came over to hug Qin Ling and kissed him fiercely. “You and your sister are really so precious!”

She released him and happily walked upstairs.

Back inside, she put on a face mask.

Her phone rang, and she picked it up. It was a planner she knew.

“What’s the matter?” She sat down on the chair next to the computer and turned on her phone.

The planner greeted her before talking about what happened. “Film Empress Jing, do you know Tian Xiaoxiao? I want to ask you for a favor.”

The planner’s theme song had yet to be finalized. Recently, Tian Xiaoxiao had appeared on the hot search, and her composition on her homepage had been discovered by insiders. The planner had taken a fancy to her music to use as his theme song. He wanted to buy the copyright, and then put it in his new movie with a little modification as a song for publicity.

The main thing was that Tian Xiaoxiao was a rookie and wasn’t a singer, so it didn’t cost much to buy the copyright. Since it was relatively cheap and also fitted the movie, it was best for the crew.

But Tian Xiaoxiao never responded.

He had directly contacted Jing Wen after seeing her interact with Tian Xiaoxiao.

The planner had only worked with Jing Wen once, and she was considered more famous in the circle. Jing Wen also wanted to help Tian Xiaoxiao out with this, so she took off her face mask and went to talk to Tian Xiaoxiao about this.

Tian Xiaoxiao had always respected Jing Wen, Qin Xiuchen, and her other seniors. If Jing Wen had approached her earlier, she might have sold the copyright, but after Yan Xi’s reminder…

“Film Empress Jing, I won’t sell the copyright for this composition.” Tian Xiaoxiao apologetically glanced at her.

Behind her, Sister Wen motioned for Tian Xiaoxiao to agree and almost convulsed.

Surprised that she didn’t want to sell it, Jing Wen was taken aback for a moment. But she respected her decision and left after speaking a few more words with her.

After Jing Wen left, Sister Wen glanced at Tian Xiaoxiao. “Are you stupid? Forget it if it’s one hundred thousand yuan, but now you’re not even selling it for five hundred thousand yuan? And it’s a film by a producer in the circle. Although it’s a literary film, selling it will help you a lot…”

She was trying to persuade her.

“Ran Ran helped me to revise this piece of composition, and Emperor Yan also advised me not to sell it.” Tian Xiaoxiao lazily looked up and took a bite of an apple.

Upon hearing Qin Ran and Yan Xi’s names, Sister Wen paused, and immediately changed her tune. “Then don’t sell it.”

After a pause, she sat down and glanced at Tian Xiaoxiao. “Why would Emperor Yan care about your composition…”

Looking down, she thought about Qin Ran and Yan Xi’s relationship and seemed to form a link between them. But…

It was too unbelievable.

**

Downstairs, Qin Xiuchen and Qin Ling returned to their room after eating. The teacher who taught Qin Ling was already sitting at the table with computers and books.

After listening to his explanation, Qin Ling turned on the computer.

The teacher glanced at him, then lowered his voice and signaled Qin Xiuchen to go out.

“Go on,” Qin Xiuchen closed the door and respectfully said.

“Xiao Ling’s talent is beyond my expectation. It’s the first time I saw someone who understands something after being taught once.” Qin Ling’s teacher looked at the door and exclaimed involuntarily. “In at most a month, I won’t have anything new to teach him. You’ll have to get ready to find a new teacher.”

Qin Xiuchen was stunned.

He had already expected Qin Ling to be talented, but he didn’t expect the teacher to speak so highly of him.

There used to be many technical masters in the Qin family, but now, they had all joined the Fourth Master’s side, so Qin Xiuchen could only find credible people outside.

Qin Xiuchen could trust only a limited number of people, and if he looked further, he was afraid that Qin Ling’s news was going to be exposed… the news about him seeking out the master of engineering and the news about Qin Ling would be exposed…

“Thank you, teacher.” Qin Xiuchen gathered his thoughts and began to ponder about Qin Ling’s problems in the following month.

The variety show had already filmed for half the episodes, and Qin Xiuchen’s future schedule had yet to be determined.

Looking down at his mobile phone, he saw that his manager had already sent him several movie scripts. He scrolled down and finally settled on a script in Continent M.

He pressed the phone with relaxed eyes.

The Fourth Master could only intervene domestically, but what about Continent M?

Pursing his lips, he put away his phone and returned to his room.

**

Monday.

Dean Jiang was slowly drinking tea in his office.

At this moment, Zhou Ying hurriedly entered, his face anxious.

“Sit.” Now that Song Luting had appeared in the Physics Department, he had gained another prestigious student this year. Dean Jiang tapped his fingers slowly at the sight of Zhou Ying. “Why are you so anxious? You must behave calmly like a professor.”

“Did you submit Qin Ran’s quota for the assessment at the beginning of next month?” Zhou Ying’s face was dark.

Dean Jiang paused, and the smile on his face instantly disappeared. “Qin Ran’s name has been submitted?!”

Be it the ordinary assessment for ordinary students or for the four major families, they only had one try.

If they failed, they would lose the opportunity to enter the laboratory forever, regardless of whether they were an ordinary student or from a member of the four major families. Cheng Wenru had failed the ordinary assessment at the beginning and failed to enter the Institute.

Therefore, major universities very seriously selected people for the assessment every year. When students were asked to sign confidentiality agreements or guarantees, they would always confirm that the students’ basic knowledge of various experiments were top-notch before signing them up.

This list was also obtained from the Physics Department’s meeting assessment.

Now that there were fewer and fewer professional talents, the Physics Department wasn’t doing it for the resources, but also to train a few Beijing University students who could provoke the laboratory and even the research institute.

Over the years, many students from Beijing University had entered the laboratory, but only a few of them emerged as leaders. Only University A gave birth to a few laboratory leaders.

Because of this, Beijing University’s status was in jeopardy, which was why Principal Zhou was so persistent about the annual top scorer.

At present, Song Luting had come out first, followed by Qin Ran. Every teacher in Beijing University’s Physics Department valued both of them very much.

Several doctors and professors of the Physics Department had seen Qin Ran’s entrance examination results for automation and had even held several meetings together.

Many doctors were transferred to the laboratory to help Qin Ran.

Because Song Luting preceded her, the Dean and the others had already created a complete plan for her.

Dean Jiang originally wanted to ask Qin Ran to do some assessment questions during the winter vacation. If she was confident, she could start experimenting with the laboratory’s photoelectric nuclear magnetic experiments, if she wasn’t worse than Song Luting.

Dean Jiang had reported her to the laboratory in March of the following year.

The Physics Department was full of expectations for Qin Ran and Song Luting. They were very serious about their future, for fear that they would take the wrong step.

He had properly arranged it, and upon hearing Zhou Ying’s words, it was no less than being hit by five thunderstorms.

Qin Ran had never even touched the content of the assessment, much less the major experiments…

Dean Jiang didn’t plan on letting her take the assessment so early.

Only half a month was left, not to mention the theoretical questions for the assessment, Qin Ran was simply too busy for the photoelectric nuclear magnetic experiment.

If she failed this time, she wouldn’t have any chance next year…

Realizing the seriousness of this matter, Dean Jiangsat upright, picked up the landline on the desk and called the person-in-charge of the laboratory.

When the person-in-charge heard Dean Jiang’s intentions, he was taken aback. “The freshman application in your school was submitted by Principal Zhou. I asked the assistant to call him and confirm it several times. It’s such a big thing… could you have made an error?”

It was the Principal?

No wonder he had directly registered for Qin Ran. Dean Jiang suppressed the anger in his voice and asked in a low voice, “Principal Zhou didn’t discuss with me. Can I revoke Qin Ran’s application?”

“The confidentiality agreement and the application form have been applied. You know how strict the laboratory’s regulations are, even for the Cheng family.” The person-in-charge shook his head.

Then, he hung up the call.

Dean Jiang sat down on the chair.

Standing by his desk, Zhou Ying turned to look at Dean Jiang and understood it from his expression.

“Is it my Dad?” The person-in-charge of the laboratory spoke loudly, and Zhou Ying had heard it clearly. He pursed his lips. “Does he need to be so eager for quick success? It’s rare to see such a genius like Qin Ran, but he placed a bet on her future just because of his laughable performance resources?”

Upon hearing this, Dean Jiang sat upright in low spirits. “Principal Zhou isn’t someone who would randomly make decisions. Qin Ran is smart. Given half a month, she’ll definitely pass the theory test.”

“There are still experiments after the theory test. If she can’t pass it, then…” He looked out the window. In less than a month, if he wanted to train Qin Ran alone…

Time was simply too tight.

As Dean Jiang said, Qin Ran would definitely pass the theory test given half a month. Her talent in Physics was extraordinary, and it was precisely because of this that Zhou Ying was more distressed!

Zhou Ying’s face was gloomy.

He wondered whether his father was an undercover agent sent by University A.

Dean Jiang managed to cheer himself up. He picked up the landline to call Qin Ran and asked her to come to the office first.

No matter what, her application had been submitted, so the Physics Department wouldn’t give her up.

Qin Ran was still reading in the library.

Pressing her earphones, she walked out of the corridor. “Dean Jiang?”

“Classmate Qin Ran, where are you now?” Dean Jiang’s voice seemed a little weak.

“Library.” She put her hands on the windowsill and glanced out over the campus, her voice calm.

Dean Jiang paused and mildly said, “Come to my office for a while.”

**

At the same time.

In the Physics laboratory, on the second underground floor, the person-in-charge hung up the phone, looking confused.

Having heard the same thing, the assistant beside him cautiously asked, “Did Beijing University make a mistake?”

“They said they reported the name wrongly and made a huge mistake. The Physics Department didn’t know that Principal Zhou had reported the name of their Freshman King.” The person-in-charge pushed down his glasses and shook his head.

“No wonder. I was wondering why this Freshman King reported her name so early. The Physics Department shouldn’t be in such a hurry. It has only been two months since she was enrolled, and she can’t possibly have done many experiments.” The assistant pulled out an audit form from the desk, which was Qin Ran’s mid-term exam results. “She got full-marks in the mid-term exam and has unlimited potential.”

Shaking his head, the person-in-charge slightly sighed. “What a pity.”