THD Chapter 30

I had thought that meeting a legendary scholar would be incredibly stressful, but in the end, it turned out to be surprisingly easy.

As Meng Xuedong walked out of Professor Yang's house, she was still savoring the experience. Looking at Ye Xiqing with admiration, she exclaimed, "Master Xi, you really are a genius. You managed to invite a great scholar with nothing but a single letter. You truly know how to persuade people!"

Ye Xiqing smiled faintly. If someone lacks money, tempt them with profit. If someone lacks love, move them with emotion. If someone lacks neither, appeal to their ideals. That was an eternal truth.

The only thing that grows old with time is the human body. A person's passion for life can be awakened from the depths of their soul at any moment.

Even someone as steadfast as Professor Yang Wenqing had been touched by her seemingly extreme ideals. In a world that so often favored men for no apparent reason, women naturally felt the unfairness that came simply from being women.

Once they had gained the support of this academic giant, everything else became much easier. Before long, the two of them had established connections in nearly every area they needed.

However, Professor Yang also gave them a serious warning.

Drug research was a bottomless pit. There was no guarantee of success, and there might never be any return on the investment. Even with government grants and funding from multiple sources, there was no certainty that a research project could continue to the end, much less one that involved building an entirely new research team.

She admired Ye Xiqing's lofty ideals, but she still advised, "You could spend a few years learning under me before joining an established laboratory. You'll gain more experience, and it will be much safer."

Ye Xiqing was as stubborn as an ox.

"I don't want to join a mature laboratory where I have no say."

"I want everyone to conduct research according to my own ideas."

"I'll spend six months mastering all the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. After that, I'll continue learning advanced knowledge from you, Professor Yang, while carrying out research based on my own plans."

"As for money, I don't care. I'm a wealthy second generation. My family has plenty of it."

Professor Yang Wenqing fell silent.

Well... fair enough.

Compared to the stereotypical rich heirs who wasted their money, at least Ye Xiqing intended to spend hers on something with social value.

If she truly managed to learn the entire undergraduate curriculum in six months, then even if her laboratory eventually failed, she would still have no trouble finding work in the pharmaceutical field.

Besides, plenty of scientific researchers had their own peculiar personalities.

Ye Xiqing was simply somewhat radical in her thinking. That hardly counted as a major flaw.

Professor Yang had mentored many students before. She knew that teaching students was like serving one's ancestors. If a teacher insisted on controlling everything like an overprotective mother, they were destined to exhaust themselves.

Better to let the "ancestors" do as they pleased.

Unlike Professor Yang's cautious concern, Meng Xuedong was overflowing with excitement after leaving the house.

At first, she had assumed her boss was acting on impulse because she knew absolutely nothing about scientific research.

But now Professor Yang had joined them.

What was there left to fear?

The thought of having a laboratory that belonged entirely to them was simply irresistible.

She was still too young to appreciate Professor Yang's practical concerns. All she saw was that they were starting a business while still in college.

To every office worker, the ultimate dream was to one day start their own company.

Although she had not yet officially become a corporate slave, she already possessed the dreams of one.

And now those dreams were beginning to come true.

Filled with enthusiasm, she asked, "Where are we going to recruit people for the lab?"

"There are so many women graduating from X University's pharmacy program every year. Surely we can find suitable candidates."

"That's right! I'll ask around in my part time work group and contact some senior students. We should recruit qualified people, especially master's and doctoral graduates who haven't had much luck finding jobs."

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

"It would be even better if they suffer from menstrual cramps!"

Ye Xiqing, who had only been half listening while driving, finally became interested.

"Why?"

"Because only people who actually suffer from menstrual pain have the motivation to develop medicine for it."

"And everyone knows how things really are. Most company executives are old men."

"Even if a woman graduates with better grades than a man, that doesn't mean she'll get the job."

"Some of them won't even find employment. They'll graduate, go home, get married, have children, and spend their lives taking care of husbands and kids."

"So frustrating!"

"Why is it that everyone benefits from women's ability to bear children, but only women have to pay the price?"

"Sometimes it makes me so angry."

"If you really want to become a devoted feminist fighting for women, then I'll follow you without hesitation."

"Heh."

Ye Xiqing genuinely laughed.

"Aren't you afraid my little laboratory will go bankrupt someday?"

"No!"

Meng Xuedong immediately protested.

"It's not a makeshift team!"

"As the saying goes, 'Those who eat meat are shortsighted.'"

"We're vegetarians with ideals, ambition, and ability!"

"Menstrual cramps aren't even life threatening. Why should they be so difficult to treat?"

"A bunch of people keep taking research funding without producing results."

"It's about time we cleaned up the pharmaceutical industry."

She paused before adding thoughtfully,

"The only thing left is deciding what to name the company. We need to think carefully about that."

"Qingqing Technology."

Meng Xuedong blinked.

"Huh?"

"Master Xi, you just named the company after yourself?"

"What else?"

"I'm paying for it."

"Do you have any objections?"

Meng Xuedong fell silent.

She certainly had no objections.

But... Boss...

Your naming sense is unbelievably narcissistic.

---

Two weeks of military training passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, the hottest gossip at X University was the confrontation between the "legendary academic genius" and the "legendary campus heartthrob."

Ye Xiqing was the newest rising star.

Qin Nian, however, had remained the university's most admired student for four consecutive years.

As a result, public opinion was far less one sided than many had expected.

"Seriously? He just asked for her WeChat. Qin Nian is handsome, rich, and drives luxury cars. Who exactly lost out here?"

"When is this girl going to stop hyping herself up? She can't stay quiet for even a few days after enrolling. Is she trying to become some female celebrity?"

"+1. So what if she scored 746 on the college entrance examination? Plenty of research geniuses never even took that exam. Why don't you compare yourself with them?"

"Exactly. She gets one high score and immediately becomes arrogant. She should improve her emotional maturity before showing off. Her skin is way too thin."

"Qin Nian is the top student in our pharmacy department. As for academic ability, we'll see. Junior, you should focus on attending class first."

Negative comments flooded the internet one after another.

Although Qin Nian had left the confrontation looking rather embarrassed, many male students disliked seeing a girl make such a big fuss simply because someone had asked for her WeChat.

Without anyone organizing them, they naturally formed a united front.

Whether they had liked Qin Nian before or not, they began digging into every detail about this so called genius girl, searching for anything they could ridicule.

Yet every gain came with a corresponding loss.

Qin Nian had always enjoyed considerable popularity among female students because of his handsome appearance.

But after those all too familiar, offensive comments flooded the discussion boards, many of his female supporters immediately distanced themselves.

"No wonder it smelled awful the moment I logged in. Turns out the V fans have been making a mess again."

"Exactly. The top scorer only needs to score 746. Our Tianli Dreamer has to worry about so much more."

"Summer has arrived, and certain creatures are in heat again. The campus heartthrob thinks every girl will fall for him, but the top scorer doesn't even bother looking his way."

"Rich second generation? That's hilarious. Who here isn't one? The Ye family's daughter could casually spend her pocket money, and it'd be enough for those money hungry dogs in the comments to worship for the rest of their lives."

"She's a daughter. What does her family's wealth have to do with her? She won't inherit it anyway."

"Oh really? Then you'll inherit everything? Congratulations! You're a little taller, so naturally the inheritance belongs to you. Who would dare disobey our precious little prince?"

---

When men start thinking, even God laughs.

I really don't want to stir up conflict between men and women, but some men are so full of nonsense that if nobody scolds them, they'll actually think everyone enjoys listening to it.

Determined to charge straight into the battlefield, Hou Nianyun practically exploded.

She leaped down from the top bunk like a ghost climbing out of a horror movie and rushed toward the lower bed.

"I'm begging you, Xueli."

"Can you please stop crushing on Qin Nian?"

"Fans are responsible for the reputation of their idols, and I'm honestly starting to find him ridiculous."

Ye Xue Li remained silent.

"That's just what other people are saying..."

"Brother Nian isn't like that..."

Hou Nianyun nearly screamed.

"He was casually trying to pick up a random first year girl. What else could he possibly be like?"

"It was a misunderstanding."

"I'm partly responsible too."

"They thought that girl was actually my sister."

"Isn't that even worse?"

"He knows you like him, yet he still flirts with another girl right in front of you."

"And that girl is your own sister!"

Ye Xueli forced an awkward smile.

"I know it sounds outrageous."

"But... it's actually a lot more complicated than it looks."

"Complicated?"

Hou Nianyun cried out in despair.

"How is that complicated?"

"I don't understand!"

"You're beautiful, you're excellent at your studies, and plenty of people like you."

"So why do you have to like him?"

Ye Xueli lowered her head.

Like Ye Xiqing, she had already moved out of the Ye family home.

No matter how hard Ji Yuxiu tried to persuade her to stay, she refused.

She had once loved that house.

Now, for reasons she could not fully explain, all she wanted was to escape from it.

Perhaps it was because she had finally become honest with herself.

If even her elder brothers could not surpass Ye Xiqing, then she certainly could not.

Since that was the case, there was no point competing anymore.

She only wanted to live her own life from now on.

At first, Ye Xueli had been filled with fear about living in the university dormitory. Her imagination had run wild with all kinds of worries. But after she actually moved in, she realized it was not nearly as frightening as she had expected.

Her roommates were difficult to describe, but they all lived perfectly normal lives. Almost no one pried into her personal affairs, and no one questioned whether she was the real heiress or a fake one. Under the gaze of a group of strangers, she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Only Hou Nianyun, the girl in the upper bunk, was exceptionally lively and outgoing. She always seemed to have endless energy, sometimes leaving Ye Xueli at a complete loss. Even so, Ye Xueli found herself inexplicably relying on her.

Like now, Hou Nianyun naturally believed that between herself and Qin Nian, she was the one who deserved to be loved.

Although no one admired Qin Nian more than she did, Ye Xueli inexplicably enjoyed this feeling. As a result, she exaggerated her own reaction even further.

In truth, she was not nearly as heartbroken as she looked. Half of her gloomy, pitiful appearance was an act. For some reason, she simply wanted to look miserable in front of Hou Nianyun.

"Ahhh!"

Hou Nianyun was devastated.

She had no idea that half of Ye Xueli's performance was merely acting. Her own pain, however, was completely genuine.

This was the legendary case of one fan being worth ten haters.

She had never even met Qin Nian, yet thanks to his fanatical admirers, she had already developed a deep-rooted dislike for him.

Unable to vent her frustration, she logged onto the university forum and resumed her tireless crusade, engaging in yet another three-hundred-round battle with those inexplicably self-confident ordinary guys.

But the longer she argued, the less satisfying it became.

In the end, every argument turned into a comparison of achievements.

Qin Nian was already a fourth-year student, while Ye Xiqing had only just entered university.

Some of Qin Nian's diehard fans had even compiled a chart listing all of his accomplishments over four years:

National College Student Pharmacy Knowledge Competition Champion, twice.

National Chemistry Competition Special Prize, once.

Published in the NBC Academic Journal, twice.

Published in Biology, once.

The list went on and on with an overwhelming collection of awards and competition results.

At the very end was a bold declaration:

"Junior, we're waiting for your challenge!"

Hou Nianyun was furious.

In the first place, it had been Qin Nian's group who inexplicably targeted a first-year student as though they had lost their minds. Yet somehow public opinion had shifted into a debate over who was stronger, as if it were some kind of honor for Ye Xiqing to be challenged by him.

If they refused to compete and simply tried to reason with everyone, people would sneer and ask whether they were afraid.

But if they did compete, Ye Xiqing was only a freshman. Everything about her was still unknown. Those people placed absurd expectations on her simply because they had confidence in her.

Why should she have to bear such pressure?

Hou Nianyun hated this feeling.

No matter the profession, countless mediocre men could remain mediocre without anyone caring. Women, on the other hand, had to be extraordinarily outstanding before people would finally stop criticizing them.

Sometimes she found herself hoping that some incredible heroine would appear and slap these people in the face with overwhelming success.

But she also knew that placing such enormous expectations on a single person was a form of torture.

So she made up her mind.

She would attack without defending.

She did not care what kind of person this junior turned out to be. Right now, all she wanted was to curse those idiots to her heart's content.

Armed with astonishing combat ability and an exceptionally sharp tongue, she reduced countless people to emotional wrecks on the forum, earning wave after wave of likes.

Yet deep inside, she still held onto one hope.

Junior... I really hope you're unstoppable.

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