"Alright, I'm done."
Shen Zueran had just received a notification from Zhao Song that all of Yu Lan's access permissions had been revoked.
The next moment, the sound of Yu Lan announcing she had finished the test rang out.
His brows furrowed slightly. He stood up and walked over to Yu Lan.
"Is that so? Let me see."
Shen Zueran, a master strategist who prided himself on being a high-IQ elite male, also possessed the ability to quickly ascertain the answers with a single glance.
As Shen Zueran's eyes quickly swept over the test paper, the results from the question bank's intelligent robot were also announced.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in the air.
[Examinee: Yu Lan]
[Test Score: 100]
[Congratulations to Research Assistant Yu Lan for passing the Advanced Researcher examination.]
Now, all Yu Lan needed to do was go to the lab and prove her abilities through the relevant experiments to obtain the position of Advanced Researcher.
The other researchers present exchanged glances.
They had all just watched Yu Lan's test-taking process, so they already had an inkling about her score.
Now that their suspicions were confirmed, a powerful sense of disbelief washed over them.
'Could someone really achieve this?'
Before Yu Lan, the highest score ever achieved on the Advanced Researcher placement exam was only a 96.
More importantly, this was a female.
'To think she actually managed to do it.'
Zhao Ping's earlier anger at learning a female was competing for an Advanced Researcher position had completely vanished. The strong, no matter the circumstances, always earned the respect of others.
He proactively stood up from his seat. "You're Yu Lan, right? Come, this way. Let's go do the Advanced Researcher experiments now."
"Have you had any experience with related experiments before? Some of the lab equipment is brand new. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask us at any time. I can explain the function and use of the machines to you."
Yu Lan nodded, her pretty face still holding a poised and composed expression. She moved away from Shen Zueran's side. "Thank you, Teacher Zhao."
Shen Zueran pressed his lips together, staring at the perfect score of 100 on the test. For a moment, a rare blankness appeared on the elite dean's face.
'Yu Lan wasn't like those spoiled, arrogant, and foolish females he had met before.'
Her mind was as brilliant as her face was beautiful—more beautiful than the most exquisite rose.
'He had misjudged her.'
For once, Shen Zueran felt a sense of defeat.
He was now the only one left in Lab 308.
The tall male stood alone in the center of the room.
By the time he had calmed his mind and headed for the lab, he had just reached the doorway when he heard surprised and delighted shouts from inside.
"Heavens, Lanlan, you're just too amazing!"
"You completed such a difficult experiment in a single attempt."
"And you even extracted a new component material! This is a route we had never even considered before."
"Oh, right, Lanlan, when new talent gets promoted to Advanced Researcher, they first have to join one of our experiment teams to learn for a while. It involves things like how to run a project and lead a team in assigning tasks. After that, you can apply for funding and form your own research and development team."
"How about you join my project team? I'm working on gene..."
"Lanlan, come to mine! Come to my team! I'm working on..."
Such a beautiful and intelligent female was a rare sight, one not seen in the Empire for a thousand years.
Having finally encountered one, the Advanced Researchers immediately extended their invitations, vying to promote the advantages of their own lab's project team.
Amidst the clamor of the researchers, Yu Lan's gaze met Shen Zueran's, who was standing at the door.
She lifted her chin, her pretty face showing a blatant trace of smugness. Shen Zueran didn't find it annoying; instead, he thought it was rather cute.
His heartstrings trembled. Shen Zueran himself didn't even notice that in that instant, his heart had skipped a beat.
'Yu Lan had the right to be proud.'
She had proven her ability.
Just then, seeing Shen Zueran appear, the few researchers who had been competing to promote their projects hastily walked over with the results of Yu Lan's experiment.
"Dean, this is the experiment Lanlan just completed. It was a success on the first try. The four of us are in unanimous agreement that she has passed the Advanced Researcher placement."
For the Advanced Researcher experimental evaluation, an agreement from three out of five people was considered a pass.
But having seen Shen Zueran's rather poor attitude toward Yu Lan earlier, they wanted to speak up for her.
"So? Dean, you're not going to go back on your word, are you?"
Yu Lan strode up to Shen Zueran, her beautiful eyes staring intently at the mature, handsome man.
The man's figure was reflected in her clear eyes.
Being stared at so intently by Yu Lan, Shen Zueran felt a rare flicker of embarrassment. He blinked, averting his gaze slightly.
He let out a soft "Mm."
"Yu Lan, welcome to the Science Research Institute. Welcome to the team."
How could the aloof Dean of the Research Institute, who always kept his promises, possibly go back on his word?
The next moment, having received a satisfactory answer, Yu Lan lowered her head, took out her phone, and prepared to send a message to Zhao Song. He was the first friendly male she had met at the Science Research Institute, and she wanted to share the news with him.
But when Yu Lan tapped on the Science Research Institute's proprietary software she had just downloaded, a red warning prompt appeared.
[Insufficient Permissions. You cannot access this resource.]
Yu Lan's expression changed instantly.
She had clearly been able to access it freely when the placement assessment started.
Why was it telling her she had insufficient permissions now?
Yu Lan recalled seeing Shen Zueran handling some work matter during a break in her exam.
'Could that have been what he was doing?'
In the next instant, her contact, Zhao Song, sent her an apologetic message.
Zhao Song: [Lanlan, what on earth happened? Why did the Dean order me to delete your permissions?]
Zhao Song: [I'm sorry, Lanlan. I couldn't disobey the Dean's order. I...]
Yu Lan didn't finish reading whatever Zhao Song sent after that.
But she understood better than anyone that this had nothing to do with Zhao Song.
The true culprit was standing right in front of her.
When Yu Lan looked up at Shen Zueran again, her gaze was filled with scorching anger, even laced with a trace of disgust. She abruptly raised her hand, shoving the phone with its glaring red "insufficient permissions" notification in his face.
"So, from the very beginning, you never believed I could pass the placement, did you?"
"Shen Zueran, you're disgusting."
Yu Lan said, her voice deliberate and sharp.
Her soft, beautiful face was full of cold sharpness as she looked at Shen Zueran.
Shen Zueran's pupils contracted sharply.
Only in that moment did he suddenly recall what he had just done.
But Yu Lan had already lost all patience to speak with Shen Zueran any further.
'It was just a job.'
'Important, yes, but not so important that she couldn't live without it.'
'She had proven her ability. It was Shen Zueran who lacked judgment, not she, Yu Lan, who was unworthy.'
'She could just go and find another job.'
Yu Lan turned and walked away.
The beautiful, gentle young female had become sharp and covered in thorns, and she had looked at him with disgust.
He was standing so close to Yu Lan, completely enveloped in her soft, sweet fragrance, yet he felt as if he'd been plunged into an icy abyss, a chill running through his entire body.
It was only then that he realized he never wanted to see even the slightest trace of hatred for him on Yu Lan's face.
His body reacted faster than his brain.
Shen Zueran lunged forward and grabbed Yu Lan's arm, his expression urgent.