Han Shuyan fixed the bug, but Mu Xia still had to take the fall and collect the new experimental data.
After two all-nighters in a row, Mu Xia finally finished processing all the data just before the formal review and put together a complete report.
It was clearly organized, its conclusions were decisive, and the work was excellent.
The review presentation went smoothly. That day, Professor Chen Deping was in such a good mood that he booked a private room at a restaurant off campus and treated the project team to a celebratory dinner.
Mu Xia and Han Shuyan sat on either side of their imposing Eldest Senior Brother, where they couldn’t see each other.
Mu Xia thought that suited her just fine. At least she could enjoy some peace and quiet.
Unfortunately, someone wouldn’t let her eat in peace.
After another round of toasts, Professor Chen called out to Mu Xia, who was using her chopsticks to doodle abstract designs in the sauce on her plate.
“Did you ever take Han Shuyan out to dinner like I asked?”
Mu Xia was speechless. Whenever Professor Chen got tipsy, his memory became frighteningly good.
“Not yet,” she answered honestly. Worried he’d scold her, she pressed her lips together and put on an angelically obedient look. “Professor, I’m broke. Could I count this dinner as my treat to her?”
Professor Chen laughed and chided her. “You little liar. You just got a GN Scholarship. You’re the richest person in the whole lab.”
The words caught in Mu Xia’s throat, and a faint blush spread across her face.
She’d spent all that money on buying someone. Now she was poor as a church mouse.
“All right, all right. You look like your heart’s breaking.” Professor Chen glanced at Han Shuyan as if by accident. When he saw the smugness she couldn’t quite hide, his expression darkened. He tightened his grip on his glass and said, “Good thing you didn’t treat her, then. No point wasting the money. But be a little more careful from now on. You can’t trust everyone. Understand?”
Mu Xia’s cheerful smile froze.
Maybe nobody else thought much of his words, but she understood exactly what he meant: Professor Chen knew Han Shuyan had something to do with the bug.
But how had he found out? Mu Xia hadn’t said a word.
The realization came late. She hurriedly looked across the table at Han Shuyan.
Han Shuyan was staring straight at her, red-rimmed eyes full of resentment.
Mu Xia met her gaze without flinching.
She’d once said that when she stopped pretending to be sweet and innocent, she could be narrow-minded and unforgiving. But she would never stoop to sneaking around behind someone’s back to report them.
So who else could it have been?
It couldn’t have been her roommates. They couldn’t get into the faculty office to see Professor Chen.
Mu Xia couldn’t make sense of it. She listened in a daze as Professor Chen went on reminding her to be careful.
Halfway through, he changed tack and narrowed his eyes. “Besides celebrating, there’s even better news today. Want to hear it?”
Mu Xia’s mind was elsewhere. “No.”
Professor Chen gave her a chilly look. “You’re the one who needs to hear it most!”
“Huh?” Mu Xia looked puzzled. “Does it have something to do with me?”
“Correct!” Professor Chen grinned until his face creased. “You’ve been busy processing data these last two days, and I didn’t want to distract you.”
“Oh.” Mu Xia wore the air of someone who’d seen it all. “Don’t worry, Professor. My heart is a still pond. You could stir it with a stick and you wouldn’t make a ripple.”
“Give me a break. All you do all day is giggle and laugh. Since when did you have a still pond for a heart?” Professor Chen drew out the suspense with a knowing look, then announced, “The day before yesterday, an assistant to GN’s president called the department office personally. GN wants to add a graduate-school recommendation slot for our program. The student they choose will receive targeted training for GN, and the company will cover all their tuition and living expenses for the next three years. After graduation, they can go straight to work at GN. And if they want to continue their studies, GN will support them in every way.”
“That’s incredible!” The Eldest Senior Brother looked green with envy. “It’s like a pie just fell out of the sky.”
“Exactly.” Professor Chen glanced at Mu Xia, who still showed no reaction, and teased, “Looks like you’ve turned your misfortune into a blessing.”
“?” Mu Xia was baffled. “What does that have to do with me?”
The Eldest Senior Brother caught on at once and slapped Mu Xia on the shoulder, nearly knocking her soul out of her body. “You’re the one GN wants to train, Junior Sister!”
“!!!” Mu Xia’s mind went completely blank. “Why me?”
In Mu Xia’s eyes, GN had become one of the industry’s leading companies years ago. Even its most junior developers earned annual salaries in the hundreds of thousands of yuan. It was the dream workplace for graduates in her field.
Naturally, the pay came with high expectations.
Ever since she joined the computer science honors class, she’d heard upperclassmen complain about how strict—and downright brutal—GN’s spring hiring exams and interviews were.
She remembered one exceptionally talented senior who always ranked first in his major. GN rejected him just because he’d left out a semicolon on its written hiring exam. That was how absurdly picky the company could be.
So how could Professor Chen’s good news possibly have anything to do with her?
Even the college administrators, who were especially forgiving by comparison, couldn’t tolerate her “mistake.”
Mu Xia couldn’t make sense of it, but Professor Chen could. He’d received the department office’s notice earlier and personally called Han Qingshi to confirm the details.
Han Qingshi had told him what really happened. She’d also made it clear that giving Mu Xia the graduate-school recommendation slot was the cheapest form of compensation she could offer.
Professor Chen thought it was unfair to Mu Xia, too. But he understood Han Qingshi’s predicament. The most he could do was hint to Han Shuyan, right to her face, that he knew the truth and that she’d better behave from now on.
Since he couldn’t explain the whole story, he couldn’t tell Mu Xia the real reason GN had suddenly added a graduate-school slot, either.
Professor Chen took a bite of food and made up an excuse. “Maybe GN’s boss likes you. After all, you’re the only girl to win a GN Scholarship in the last few years.”
Mu Xia thought, Yeah, right. She didn’t even know what the GN boss looked like. How could they possibly like her?
“Professor,” she said, frowning as suspicion took hold, “do you think GN’s boss has some other motive?”
Almost as soon as she said it, the Eldest Senior Brother turned to Han Shuyan and asked anxiously, “Junior Sister, why are you so pale? Are you feeling unwell?”
Mu Xia looked up. Han Shuyan’s expression was even worse than before.
Mu Xia assumed she was upset because the news had thrown her off balance.
After all, she’d finally gotten her moment to shine thanks to what had happened. Who wouldn’t be upset if Mu Xia suddenly stole the spotlight with some strange GN training program?
Mu Xia didn’t know that Han Shuyan’s reaction had everything to do with her final question—and with those enviable terms Professor Chen had just described.
GN was offering the slot, which meant Han Qingshi was the one behind it. Han Shuyan might have had an idea why her aunt had arranged it so suddenly, but as far as she knew, Han Qingshi had never given in to anyone like this. Even an apology from her wouldn’t come with such generous terms.
So was Han Qingshi really doing all this because Mu Xia was the only girl in the last few years to win a GN Scholarship?
Since taking over GN, Han Qingshi had created many job opportunities for women. It wasn’t impossible.
But if Mu Xia hadn’t been there, Han Shuyan would have won that scholarship herself!
Jealousy blazed through Han Shuyan, devouring what little reason she had left.
Mu Xia had had enough of being stared at. She leaned back and said flatly, “I don’t want it.”
Everyone at the table erupted. Professor Chen was especially aghast. “Have you lost your mind?”
“That’s right, Junior Sister!” the Eldest Senior Brother chimed in. “Grad school and job hunting are both hard. Take this chance, and you’ll already be two steps ahead of everyone else.”
“That does sound about right,” Mu Xia said, nodding with a teasing smile.
But the way she saw it, if the bug hadn’t been exposed, getting recommended to grad school would have been the natural next step. Then someone had suddenly ruined that chance, and she’d accepted the outcome. So why was GN offering her a slot now?
Did she really need a pie to fall out of the sky?
Even without one, she could still earn a full scholarship on her own.
The only question was whether she wanted to.
And right now, she didn’t.
“I don’t want it,” she repeated.
Even if all she accomplished was getting under Han Shuyan’s skin, that was fine. Let Han Shuyan take away one of her honors, then watch Mu Xia win an even bigger one—only for Mu Xia to toss it aside without a second thought.
Was that childish?
Who cared? She felt better now.
If she was going to be narrow-minded, she might as well act the part.
Professor Chen fell silent for a moment, then asked seriously, “Have you made up your mind?”
Mu Xia sat up. For the moment, she set aside her grudge against Han Shuyan and gave him an earnest answer. “I have. These opportunities that fall out of the sky aren’t for me. Even if I took one, I wouldn’t feel right about it. I’d rather make it on my own. Professor, there’s nothing I want to do that I can’t do. I don’t need this opportunity.”
Mu Xia spoke with confidence and conviction, her bright eyes sparkling like a starry sky.
Professor Chen admired that about her. It was one of the reasons he’d picked her for his lab in the first place.
A smart, confident young person always caught his eye.
“All right. I’ll turn it down for you,” he said.
Mu Xia’s playful smile returned. She lifted her glass to him. “Thank you, Professor.”
After they finished their drinks, Professor Chen used a trip to the restroom as an excuse to leave the private room, leaving Mu Xia to fend off a fresh round of persuasion from her senior colleagues.
Mu Xia only smiled, her bright eyes darting around. She had everyone laughing—everyone but Han Shuyan, who sat on the other side of an invisible wall, her expression blank.
The pride she’d only just picked up had been crushed beneath Mu Xia’s heel once again, leaving her in pieces.
