"This is your ID badge."
"From now on, you're a member of our Lab One."
"Welcome aboard, Yu Lan."
"You can go to the lab now and get to know everyone. Your work pass is being processed; I'll bring it to you in a bit."
"Oh, right. Can I get your contact info? I'll add you to the lab's group chat."
Zhao Song took out his phone and looked at Yu Lan expectantly.
"Okay."
Yu Lan obediently recited her contact info and soon received a friend request from Zhao Song.
After accepting it,
she was immediately pulled into a group chat named "Gossip & Tea."
The moment Yu Lan's colorful avatar—a chubby fish blowing bubbles—appeared in the group, the members, who had been flooding the chat in anticipation of her arrival, suddenly went silent.
The next second,
Yu Lan posted in the group:
Yu Lan: [Hello everyone, I'm Yu Lan.]
Yu Lan: [Kitten hopping and twirling.gif]
The next moment, the stalled group chat instantly exploded with messages.
[Welcome, Lanlan.]
[Lanlan is so sweet.]
[Patting the little kitten's head.jpg]
A torrent of messages flew by so fast that Yu Lan could barely keep up; her eyes were starting to blur.
But it was obvious she could feel everyone's enthusiastic welcome. Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, and starlight seemed to twinkle in her amber pupils.
"Everyone is so enthusiastic."
"They must be easy to get along with."
No one understood better than Yu Lan just how important it was to have easygoing colleagues.
It could vastly improve one's mood at work.
Yu Lan looked at Zhao Song, her expression full of delight.
Zhao Song's mouth twitched, thinking of that group of elite researchers in the lab—people normally so cold and aloof they couldn't be bothered with idle chatter, their every word a model of concise indifference.
'Silly girl.'
'They're only acting this friendly because of you.'
'But who wouldn't like a beautiful, sweet, and fragrant little female?'
Just as he was thinking this, the computer on his desk began to chime—BEEP BEEP BEEP. It was the custom work notification Zhao Song had set.
He stood in front of the computer and saw a work directive sent by Shen Zueran.
A directive from the Director was of the highest priority and required immediate attention.
Zhao Song had been planning to take Yu Lan to Lab One to meet everyone and get settled in.
Now, however, he could only look at Yu Lan apologetically.
"Sorry, Lanlan, something just came up that I need to handle."
"Can you get to Lab One by yourself?"
"It's just out the door and to the left. Everyone's really easy to get along with."
'With the way that pack of sycophants is acting, if the pretty little female walks into the lab, they'll probably start a brawl over who gets to show her the ropes.'
'Who could possibly bear to give Yu Lan a hard time?'
Yu Lan nodded in understanding. "No problem, I can go by myself."
"You should get to your work, Brother Zhao. It's important."
"Okay." Zhao Song nodded.
Yu Lan turned and, guided by her memory, walked toward Lab One, which she had passed earlier.
She was standing in the hallway, trying to get her bearings, when—
The door to Lab Two next to her suddenly flew open with a BANG.
The male standing in the doorway and Yu Lan stared at each other, mutually surprised.
The male, who wore a white lab coat and had the look of an elite, couldn't help but rub his eyes. He spoke, full of astonishment.
"A fe-female?"
"Why is there a female in the Science Research Institute?"
"Oh, oh, oh, I know! You're the female who came for an interview today, right?"
As he spoke, the elite male's eyes scanned Yu Lan up and down, his gaze growing more and more infatuated.
Their Lab Two already had Princess Louisa, and in their minds, there was no female in the world more gentle or understanding than her.
Yesterday, they'd heard that a female had shown up at the convenience store, causing a huge commotion throughout the Science Research Institute as everyone rushed over to gawk.
Only their Lab Two had remained unmoved, inwardly mocking those single males for getting so excited over a common female, as if they hadn't seen one in ages.
Because of this strange sense of superiority, they had muted the Science Research Institute's group chat, which had been buzzing with discussion.
Naturally, they had never seen a photo of Yu Lan either.
Only now, seeing Yu Lan's face with his own eyes, did the male from Lab Two realize how judgmental and foolish he had been yesterday.
The beautiful female before him deserved to be praised with all the most wonderful words in the world.
'So fragrant, so fragrant, she smells so good!'
Despite being an elite researcher at the Science Research Institute, when faced with Yu Lan, he couldn't help but reveal the utterly infatuated expression of an ordinary male before a female.
"Allen, is something wrong?"
The lab door had been open for a while, but Allen hadn't moved, drawing the attention of those inside.
Louisa turned from her workstation and walked straight toward the door.
At a glance, she saw Yu Lan with the Science Research Institute ID badge on her chest, and her pupils contracted sharply.
'She joins the Science Research Institute, so Yu Lan has to join the Science Research Institute too.'
'What is she trying to do?'
'Is she provoking me?'
'A useless female with no Healing Power.'
Louisa's eyes darkened. She covered her lips, feigning surprise.
"Lanlan, what are you doing here?"
"You're the female who interviewed for the R&D assistant position today? But don't you hate working more than anything?"
Louisa covered her mouth, as if she had just let something slip.
Then she quickly added, her face full of apology:
"Oh, I understand now, Lanlan. You don't have any properties to your name. Are you short on money?"
"If you really need money, I can give you some. It's no problem."
"But please, don't come to the Science Research Institute just to leech a stipend, alright? Every single cent of the Institute's money has to be spent wisely."
"Not to mention a position as important as R&D assistant. The soothing agents we develop will affect the estrus periods of billions of males. There is absolutely no room for error."
Louisa's face was a mask of utter sincerity. As she spoke, she took out her phone, speaking as if she only had Yu Lan's best interests at heart.
"Lanlan, how much money do you need right now?"
"Is a million enough?"
"I'll transfer it to you right now."
"But I hope you'll give up this position, okay?"
"The Science Research Institute is not a place for fooling around."
Before Yu Lan could even say a word, she had been labeled as someone who was just fooling around, who had deliberately come to the Science Research Institute to leech a stipend because she was broke.
Allen, who had been looking at Yu Lan with infatuation just moments before, instantly became extremely rational upon hearing this.
He stared at Yu Lan coldly, waiting for her answer.
'The Science Research Institute doesn't need a female who's just here to waste time.'
Yu Lan fiddled with the ID insignia she had just received from Zhao Song, a bitter smile touching her lips.
*
「Meanwhile.」
In Shen Zueran's private lounge, the sound of rushing water, SPLASH SPLASH, echoed from within.
The faucet, gleaming with a cold light, was turned on full blast. The man, whose composure was usually as cool and refined as jade bamboo in the mountains, was now burning hot. He wore the standard-issue white lab coat of the Science Research Institute, and the exposed skin of his neck and his pale, handsome face were flushed a deep crimson.
He was bent over, splashing handful after handful of cold water on his face, his clothes getting soaked by the spray.
For Shen Zueran, who was always so self-restrained, this was incredibly strange.
'So fragrant, so fragrant, so fragrant!'
'I smell that intoxicating scent again. It's like my very soul is trembling. My parched body is screaming with desperate longing... I'm going into heat... I want to be marked.'
Shen Zueran braced his hands on the edge of the marble countertop. The man's large, well-defined hands gripped the surface so tightly that the blue veins on his pale skin stood out in sharp relief.