Chapter 4: World 1 [4]

“Little Yu, you actually secured the investment?” After Dean Liu couldn’t save face and left, Senior Sister Mei stared blankly at Shang Siyu, her expression a mix of complexity and disbelief.

Senior Sister Mei: “Little Yu, don’t force yourself to do anything unpleasant just for the investment.”

Shang Siyu smiled. “Senior Sister, don’t worry. I’m actually quite happy. And the investment is real; the funds will arrive tomorrow.”

Shang Siyu: “I actually received the investment money yesterday. I even told the teacher this morning. She knows about it.”

“Really? Which boss has such good vision?” Hearing that Professor Lin also knew, Senior Sister Mei’s uncertainty vanished instantly.

Everyone in the lab knew Professor Lin’s character. An investment approved by her would definitely be without issues.

Remembering she had promised her teacher she’d only invest three million, Shang Siyu rubbed her nose. “The boss who invested, they…”

Before Shang Siyu could speak, Jing Ke’s voice appeared first.

“I suggest you don’t tell too many people that you are the investor.”

“There’s a difference between an investment Junior Schoolmate worked hard to get, and an investment she chose to make after winning the grand prize.”

“Sometimes, human nature can’t withstand tests. Not everyone’s character is the same as your teacher’s.”

Jing Ke’s reminder stunned Shang Siyu. She had never doubted the character of her senior sisters and brothers in the lab. After all, just the day before yesterday, everyone had said they’d pool money together to help the lab through tough times.

But recalling how Dean Liu had also treated them quite well before today, Shang Siyu couldn’t help but become a little wary. She swallowed her original words and changed her story.

“The boss who invested had known the teacher before. When I spoke with her, I heard she mentioned the teacher had helped her quite a few times. Probably because of that, after learning the teacher’s project lacked funding, she readily invested five million.”

Shang Siyu’s expression remained unchanged. “That boss invested because she believes in the teacher. We absolutely can’t let her down. We must produce results as quickly as possible.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is. Then we really have to work hard. We can’t let the teacher lose face,” Senior Sister Mei said, beginning to rally the others to continue the experiments.

Then Senior Sister Mei lowered her voice and spoke with some concern. “Little Yu, that President Xue seems to have his eye on you. If you run into trouble, don’t shoulder it alone. Come to us and the teacher. Don’t do anything foolish.”

Shang Siyu nodded, a slight smile on her lips. “Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. But I genuinely have no time to bother with that President Xue. I plan on spending every day in the lab.”

“It doesn’t have to be experiments every day. A balance of work and rest is important.” Senior Sister Mei had a relaxed smile on her face as she patted Shang Siyu’s shoulder. “When we take a break, let’s all go out together for a nice meal.”

“Sure,” Shang Siyu agreed with a smile.

–

“Hmm? They already received the investment? Who invested?” After answering the phone, the smile on Xue Fan’s face vanished completely. “Don’t all the prospective investors know that Professor Lin is implicated in academic fraud? Aren’t they all very careful about protecting their reputations?”

“The investor’s information is confidential? The money came from Professor Lin’s account?” Xue Fan frowned, his tone turning dissatisfied. “You’ll accept an investment from an unknown source?”

“No authority to intervene? That’s not what I want to hear.” Xue Fan cut off the person on the other end. “I won’t withdraw the money. But I want to know who invested five million in a project that’s about to shut down. I’ll give you three days to find out.”

After saying this, Xue Fan hung up the phone. His previous good mood was completely ruined.

After staring at the financial statements on his desk for a moment, Xue Fan tried calling out to the System in his mind.

Unfortunately, just like before, the System gave no response, causing a stir of panic in Xue Fan’s heart.

If he hadn’t obtained the System that could predict the future to a certain extent, he’d probably still be hauling bricks at a construction site. He could never have become the president of a company worth over a hundred million in his lifetime.

“Not a big problem. The System might just be upgrading again. It upgraded once before, didn’t it?” Xue Fan muttered to himself, trying to calm himself down.

But Xue Fan also knew deep down that the previous upgrade only caused a brief disconnect for a few hours, not nearly ten days like this time.

The worst outcome would simply be the System disappearing. But the things he had already obtained would absolutely not vanish.

He had already earned more than enough money. His company’s growth momentum was excellent. Even if the System vanished, he could still live out his life as a superior person. He was no longer the nobody who could be bullied at will.

After consoling himself, Xue Fan refocused his attention on the documents on his desk, pulling himself together to read them.

While doing so, he pondered his next move to reclaim the face he had lost because of Shang Siyu.

–

The five million in project funds that arrived revitalized the spirits of most people in the lab. They threw themselves into research, forgetting food and sleep.

Some did experiments, others wrote papers. The atmosphere in the lab was excellent.

After being informed that her student had turned the originally planned three million investment into five million, Professor Lin, who had been recuperating in the hospital, first sternly scolded Shang Siyu for being too reckless, then promptly checked out early and returned to the lab to take command.

“I know my own body best. I’m not seventy or eighty yet. I’ve been lying around for almost half a month. If I lie down any longer, my brain will rust,” Professor Lin said.

Once Professor Lin made up her mind, no one could stop her. Even though Shang Siyu was the biggest investor, it was useless. She could only help her teacher with the discharge formalities and then go back to the lab together.

With funds secured and their advisor back, the lab members’ motivation surged. Within just a couple of days, they achieved a very promising breakthrough.

“Teacher, I heard the boss who invested is your friend. Should we inform them of the breakthrough?” During lunch together, a Senior Brother of Shang Siyu’s asked.

His face was full of a shy, sincere-looking smile. “That boss provided timely help and greatly aided our lab. I was wondering if we should all send a gift together to express our gratitude.”

“We can. But what would be a good gift? How about a journal issue with our published paper?” Soon, another Senior Brother voiced his agreement.

Upon hearing this, Senior Sister Mei couldn’t help but tease, “Wouldn’t it be better to just give the experiment report? At least the report is freshly made.”

“Teacher, what do you think?” the Senior Brother who first spoke asked.

Professor Lin pondered for a moment. “Shi Xiang, having that sentiment is enough. I think the boss who invested in our lab would most like to receive news that our project has succeeded.”

“I understand what you mean, Teacher. But I think we should still give some token of our regard,” Shi Xiang continued. “Of course, we’ll do our best in research. But before that, we could properly express our thanks.”

“Shi Xiang, you’re not hoping the boss will continue investing, are you?” Senior Sister Mei asked with a grin. “The boss’s investment is already enough for us to complete development. You can rest easy.”

“That’s not what I meant. I just thought we should show our gratitude.” Shi Xiang frowned slightly. “The investor helped us. Isn’t it normal for us to thank them?”

“Alright, let’s drop this matter,” Professor Lin said, looking at Shi Xiang, who was unusually persistent about thanking the investor today.

“If you really want to give that boss something, just give it directly to me. I’ll take time to visit them.” Professor Lin made the final decision. “Now eat properly. After lunch, take an hour’s rest, then everyone do their own duties.”

Shi Xiang opened his mouth as if he wanted to say more, but meeting Professor Lin’s somewhat scrutinizing gaze, he silently swallowed his words.

–

“Have you figured it out yet?” Jing Ke’s voice sounded when Shang Siyu was preparing for her afternoon rest.

Shang Siyu pursed her lips. “Senior Brother Shi just wanted to express thanks. Logically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“You really think so?”

“Maybe Senior Brother Shi is just curious who the investor is,” Shang Siyu said.

Shi Xiang had been part of this project for two years. Shang Siyu was unwilling to casually suspect a Senior Brother who had always worked so hard.

“But the personality he’s shown has always been rather shy and introverted. For someone like that to proactively suggest giving a gift to the investor… isn’t it obvious? He wants to get information about the investor.”

Shang Siyu remained silent. She didn’t want to distrust her companions based on mere conjecture.

“Is this your speculation, or did you find something?” Shang Siyu asked.

“This is a conclusion I reached after analysis. If you want to verify if it’s true or false, it’s very simple. You can pay attention to who he’s been meeting frequently lately.”

“Or, you could look into his financial situation and see if he urgently needs money lately.”

Jing Ke’s hints were obvious enough. For lab members, doggedly investigating the investor wasn’t the top priority right now; conducting experiments was.

The person most desiring to ferret out the investor’s identity right now was President Xue, who wanted to use the investment funds to threaten Shang Siyu.

Shang Siyu could actually figure this out herself. But she was unwilling to believe that Shi Xiang, who had been working hard with everyone for two years, would choose to betray them just as the project was about to succeed.

“Perhaps you’ve misunderstood one thing. In Shi Xiang’s view, this isn’t betrayal.”

“He merely thinks he’s just asking who the investor is. Even if he leaks this information, the investment funds already in the account can’t be clawed back.”

“In Shi Xiang’s view, his actions won’t harm or affect anyone in the lab, let alone count as betrayal.”

Hearing Jing Ke’s words, Shang Siyu suddenly came back to her senses.

That was true. Only she and the teacher knew who the investor was. Senior Brother Shi didn’t know the inside story; he didn’t intend to harm her.

“Shang Siyu, you’re too soft-hearted. You were convinced by me far too easily.” Jing Ke couldn’t help but sigh.

“Don’t empathize with the potential perpetrator. You should think more about yourself.”

“If Shi Xiang really found out the investor is you, can you guarantee he wouldn’t tell Xue Fan?”

“You value the friendship from two years of working together, but the other party might not. He might value his personal interests more.”

“Senior Brother Shi isn’t that kind of person,” Shang Siyu instinctively retorted.

“Then do you want to make a bet with me?” Jing Ke asked.

“Bet on whether Shi Xiang, after learning your identity, will use the information that you’re the investor to gain benefits from Xue Fan.”

“I bet he will.”

Shang Siyu was silent. She knew well that human nature can’t withstand tests.

“Are you afraid?” Jing Ke chuckled. “Seems you’re not that foolish after all.”

“Fine, I’ll bet. I bet Senior Brother Shi won’t.” After a brief silence, Shang Siyu spoke. “Perhaps human nature can’t withstand tests, but we share common interests. If Senior Brother Shi tells Xue Fan that I’m the investor, it will also affect his own interests.”

“Hmm, a good thought. But still too naive.”

“Well then, let’s wait and see who the final winner will be.”