Chapter 53

Blue Seal Pharmaceuticals, Laboratory Building, 3F.

The person leading the way ahead had “Lv Min” engraved on her name badge. She was Bai Yuqiao’s direct senior sister and also a PhD student in biology.

“Come, Yuqiao. This is the floor plan of our level. We’re currently here.” She raised her arm and pointed at the safety evacuation diagram. “The entire floor is generally divided into left and right sides. You see, going straight from our left side, the right row is our various project research groups, and the left is the office area and break room.”

“Then there’s nothing else, but pay special attention here.” She circled it. “The two doors out of the fridge are quite close, but this door is Director Gao’s office. She occasionally comes over, so make sure not to go through the wrong one.”

Bai Yuqiao took an extra look and nodded.

The two continued inward. Lv Min pressed down on a door handle and pushed open the fire door. “This door leads to our research group. It’s usually not locked.”

“Beep.” At a metal door, she pressed her fingertip to unlock it and said, “From here on, you need a password. I’ll take you later to register your fingerprint.”

That morning, Lv Min took Bai Yuqiao around all the places on the floor they had access to, including demonstrating the newly introduced equipment in the lab.

Until her phone vibrated a few times in her pocket. Lv Min took it out, exclaimed in surprise, “Oh no, sorry, it’s already past one. I’ll take you to the cafeteria first.”

As the two took the elevator down, another group of people in suits crowded into the elevator.

Bai Yuqiao only heard Lv Min beside her suck in a cold breath. She moved closer to block Bai Yuqiao’s body and whispered through gritted teeth.

“Shh, Director Gao, Director Gao…”

Bai Yuqiao glanced at Lv Min, straightened her face, and looked past the layers of heads to see the back of a woman with ear-length short hair wearing a smoky gray polo shirt.

Blue Seal Pharmaceuticals, Chairwoman Gao Wenlan.

Born January 1970, overseas PhD returnee. Besides her director position, she was also the Chief Technology Officer of Blue Seal Pharmaceuticals’ R&D Center.

Just as she thought of this, the elevator reached the first floor, and everyone tacitly moved outward.

Lv Min quietly tugged Bai Yuqiao’s arm, about to slip away.

The person at the front of the suits turned around and called out, “Little Min.”

Lv Min quickly stood still and responded properly, “Director Gao!”

Gao Wenlan passed through the crowd and came before the two juniors. Her face was cold and dignified. She first smiled slightly at Lv Min. “I received the selection results. Thanks for your hard work. This is the new classmate?”

Lv Min nodded busily again, stepped slightly aside, patted Bai Yuqiao’s lower back, and introduced, “Yuqiao, this is our Director Gao.”

Only then did Gao Wenlan’s gaze land on Bai Yuqiao’s face. In just one second, her brow furrowed noticeably, and the smile at her lips quietly faded a bit.

But she quickly adjusted her expression and proactively extended her hand. “Classmate, hello. Welcome to join Blue Seal.”

Bai Yuqiao shook Gao Wenlan’s hand and politely bowed slightly at the waist.

Lv Min added at the right moment, “Director Gao, uh, sorry, Junior Sister Yuqiao has personal health issues that make it inconvenient for her to speak.”

“Oh.” Gao Wenlan slowly withdrew her hand. Her gaze still uncontrollably scanned Bai Yuqiao’s face. “I understand.”

After leaving the laboratory building, Lv Min finally let out a big breath and then pointed the way ahead.

“Come on, Yuqiao. I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”

In the first five months at the art studio, although her dormmates all said they were tired, Bai Kou had a particularly, particularly comfortable time.

Although the system defined her as mostly “zero foundation,” her sketching foundation was very strong. The teachers all praised that whether in form or color, she didn’t seem like someone who hadn’t received professional training as a child.

Every day, Bai Kou arrived in the classroom at exactly eight, first practiced lines, then completed the day’s assignment according to the teacher’s instructions.

In mid-June, before the main group arrived, they went to an ancient town for color sketching.

While everyone was still carrying their art bags looking for suitable spots, she spotted a black-and-white kitten sitting under an umbrella in the rainy alley.

That was it.

Bai Kou found the angle, set up her easel.

Ancient town rainy alley: on the right foreground, an orange-red bicycle; on the left ground, a yellow umbrella propped up, with a little kitten sitting under it licking its paw.

Painting this at the time, Bai Kou had no pressure in her heart. She used bold light and shadow, and after finishing, all the scene colors blended very naturally.

Only the black-and-white kitten stood out somewhat abruptly.

【Sisters! The teacher praised my painting as outstanding!】 That evening, sitting on the bus back to base, Bai Kou grinned from ear to ear, full of anticipation for replies in the group.

But she waited and waited.

The sisters ignored her.

Yang Wanxi… well, Yang Wanxi was even less likely to reply to her.

Thinking of how her relationship with Yang Wanxi had been patched up only to break again, Bai Kou had a real headache.

In July, the Art Exam main force arrived. Their class, which had only been half full before, was now packed from front to back, the floor littered with paint palettes.

“Faster!”

“Get up!”

“You dare look at the person standing in front of you? Like a ghost! Tear it up and repaint!”

The teachers, who had been all about “freedom and joy,” transformed overnight into battle mode. Everyone in the studio was on edge, falling silent as frightened cicadas whenever the assistant teacher stood to patrol.

Sigh. Bai Kou lowered her head at her easel and painfully covered her face for a moment.

Ever since the teacher started giving them daily scores, her paintings… hadn’t been praised again.

They even fell to the lowest tier.

“The Joint Entrance Exam has its own formulas. Why give you reference paintings? You need to think carefully. Since your goal is the design academy, you have to give up some things and learn to memorize templates.” That was how the teacher scolded her.

Bai Kou spread her arms and collapsed onto the dorm bed like a walking corpse. She didn’t want to change, but was she wasting time like this?

The bright light at the top of the dorm also seemed to turn into a blood-red “0,” constantly reminding Bai Kou: if you keep going like this, when the Joint Entrance Exam comes, it’ll all be over—past efforts all zeroed out.

Tang Baini came back from outside after finishing her smoke, still holding the remaining cigarette pack.

Having been in a similar state to Bai Kou at this time last year, she understood at a glance.

She leisurely leaned against Bai Kou’s bed and looked down at her. “Frustrated again today?”

Bai Kou glanced at Tang Baini and let out a listless “Mm.”

“Normal.” Tang Baini pulled over a chair and sat in front of Bai Kou. “Last year, I had ambitions higher than the sky too, but reality slapped me hard, so this year I changed my goal to City Academy.”

“…” Bai Kou closed her eyes for a moment, sat up, and looked at Tang Baini. “Sister Tang, is having your own ideas really wrong?”

“Having your own ideas isn’t wrong.” Tang Baini leaned forward and pressed down on Bai Kou’s knee, smiling. “But it doesn’t work for the design exam.”

“Sigh!” Bai Kou flopped back heavily. “I’m going crazy. 71 points, second to last. How did I even paint that?”

“Pfft.” Tang Baini stood up. “I still advise you not to fixate on one goal. While there’s still time, consider a few more schools.”

“Sigh, I—” Her phone rang.

Bai Kou picked it up. It was already twelve; no wonder Pei Yue was video calling.

Pushing aside her messy mood, Bai Kou got up and walked outside.

“Right, a reminder.” Tang Baini set down her water cup. “You all should have to hand in your phones in a couple days.”

“Huh?” Bai Kou paused. “Hand in phones? What?”

“Didn’t read the handbook carefully, huh.” Tang Baini said, “Starting August 1, full closed training. Schedule readjusted: Monday to Saturday, phones handed in. Get them back Saturday night, hand in again Sunday night.”

She didn’t even care about the constantly ringing phone.

Bai Kou ran back to Tang Baini’s desk with thumping steps. “No phones for six days? Then what about the reference paintings?”

Tang Baini gave her a sidelong glance. “They’ll issue tablets, but they’re rooted ones.”

Another new term. Bai Kou instinctively asked, “Rooted?”

“Mm-hmm, only camera, photo album, notes—” Tang Baini ticked them off on her fingers. “Oh, and an alarm and drawing app.”

With that, she patted Bai Kou’s waist with a smile. “So, use these few days to say goodbye to your girlfriend properly, Little Bai Kou.”

In the empty basketball court at dawn, a circle of lonely lights shone.

Bai Kou was on video, head buried, stepping on the blurry light on the ground.

She didn’t even have the energy to feel sorry for the rapidly depleting data.

In the screen, Pei Yue sat in a corner of the cafeteria, with students of pale golden long hair passing behind her now and then.

She tapped the screen “tap tap tap” and laughed, “Bai Kou, why aren’t you looking at me?”

Bai Kou sighed softly and looked up. Because the video was nearing the end, she still had to tell Pei Yue about the upcoming phone hand-in.

Pei Yue listened quietly. The smile on her face slowly faded until, like Bai Kou just now, she slightly lowered her gaze. “…Ah, so from now on, only one video call a week.”

“Mm…” Bai Kou forced a smile. “Not really. If we get the phones Saturday afternoon and call every hour until Sunday, we could still manage over twenty times?”

Pei Yue smiled but didn’t pick up on Bai Kou’s forced joke.

Originally, she had wanted to say her daytime classes would get busier too. She hadn’t expected Bai Kou to have it worse.

There was a silence in the video, and a data low alert popped up at the top of the phone.

Bai Kou swiped it away and fixed her gaze on Pei Yue’s nose tip, positively saying, “No problem, it’s just eight months. Plus we can chat weekly. It’ll be like before, when you were in Guangzhou—save up the week’s fun stuff and spill it all out in one go on the weekend!”

“Mm.” Pei Yue nodded thoughtfully with pursed lips. When she looked at Bai Kou again, the other stared unblinkingly, her pupils sparkling in the darkness as she smiled at her.

So Pei Yue couldn’t help but smile too and asked, “What’s up?”

Bai Kou and Pei Yue had a little secret.

A selfish, little secret, a recent video call ritual.

In the screen, Bai Kou turned her head side to side to confirm safety. Then, she slowly turned her face to the left, showing her right cheek to Pei Yue.

“Data’s low, I’m hanging up.”

Without looking at Pei Yue, she tapped her right cheek with a fingertip and asked sweetly and softly, “Who wants to give me a goodbye kiss?”