Chapter 158 : Chapter 158
Chapter 158
"You..." Mu Xinyue seemed to want to say something, but stopped when she realized Bai Xuechao hadn't broken any rules, muttering in a low, dissatisfied voice, "Opportunistic."
Of course, Bai Xuechao could hear her, but he did not care.
"As long as it complies with the rules of our bet." He shrugged, then suddenly looked at Yuan Lan, who was propping his face with one hand, and changed the subject, "What do you say, Yuan Lan?"
Yuan Lan was not a sore loser. Besides, losing this time only meant losing a very suitable opportunity to poison Bai Xuechao. With his mind, he could instantly come up with many new methods; he did not have to fixate on this one.
His eyes still curved with a pleased arc as he smiled and nodded, saying gently, "Yes, you won."
Since Yuan Lan had acknowledged Bai Xuechao's victory, Mu Xinyue had nothing more to say, only adding a new label to Bai Xuechao in her heart: playing smart-ass.
Now that the bet was over, it seemed it was time for Yuan Lan to take Bai Xuechao and leave the piano room.
Yuan Lan uncrossed his legs and stood up from the sofa.
Sensing that Yuan Lan intended to leave, Mu Xinyue also got up and said, "Wait, Yuan Lan. I just received a notice that the matter of the exchange in B City has been settled."
Since Bai Xuechao's arrival, apart from the dinner party, Yuan Lan was either in the laboratory or with Bai Xuechao. Mu Xinyue had not been able to have a proper conversation with Yuan Lan for several days. She just wanted to spend a little more time with him now, so she brought up a topic he had previously been interested in.
"Oh?" Yuan Lan was indeed interested and turned to look at her. "When?"
Mu Xinyue glanced distractedly at Bai Xuechao, who was standing by the piano bench with a faint expression and no reaction, before continuing, "The 25th. I have to go back to school on the 24th to leave with my advisor and senior."
Today was October 17th, exactly one week later.
Yuan Lan took a step closer to Bai Xuechao, his palm resting on the back of his neck, but his gaze remained on Mu Xinyue as he smiled. "That's perfect timing~ How long can you stay?"
Because Bai Xuechao was still running a fever, his body temperature was relatively high. The skin under Yuan Lan's palm felt delicate and scorching hot. The slender, bony neck was covered by a thin layer of skin, and holding it felt like holding a piece of mutton-fat jade that was emitting heat. Seemingly finding the sensation comfortable, Yuan Lan's fingertips caressed the skin on the back of Bai Xuechao's neck.
Mu Xinyue tried hard to ignore Yuan Lan's somewhat intimate gesture towards Bai Xuechao and replied, "Two weeks. I'm expected to be back on the 8th of next month."
Remembering something, she immediately added, "If you need, I can stay for a while longer."
"No need, the two weeks you'll be there is enough." Just touching was not enough for Yuan Lan. As if his hands had a mind of their own, he pinched the back of Bai Xuechao's neck a few times while saying, "But Yanhua and Minghua are quite far apart. Don't let it delay your studies."
Hearing this, Mu Xinyue subconsciously glanced at Bai Xuechao, as if what Yuan Lan said could not be heard by him.
She said, "It's fine, it's not like I have to go every day."
Yuan Lan's large hand was still kneading the back of Bai Xuechao's neck. Bai Xuechao, seemingly at the end of his patience, emotionlessly and fiercely pinched the flesh of his waist.
It was unclear if there was an element of acting, but Yuan Lan let out a "hiss" as if in great pain. His palm remained on the back of Bai Xuechao's neck, but he finally stopped fidgeting. He turned his gaze to Bai Xuechao, his tone sticky and coquettish, "It hurts when you pinch like that. I didn't even do that to you."
Bai Xuechao's blood-red eyes glared at Yuan Lan, asking with a hint of a smile, "Do I need to step aside for a moment?"
Mu Xinyue was also staring at Yuan Lan. She quite wanted Bai Xuechao to leave, and besides, Bai Xuechao probably shouldn't know what was going to be said next, right?
"Hmm? No need." Yuan Lan's first words crushed Mu Xinyue's hopes.
Then, he also put on a half-smiling expression, tilting his head to lean close to Bai Xuechao's ear.
A strand of pure white long hair fell onto Bai Xuechao's shoulder.
Yuan Lan lowered his voice, his tone gentle and slow, as if whispering a secret to Bai Xuechao, "You should already know, so it doesn't matter if you know a little more."
Bai Xuechao had long expected that Yuan Lan would know, so the expression on his face did not change at all.
Although Yuan Lan's voice was very soft, at such a close distance, Mu Xinyue could still hear the content clearly.
Her eyes widened in shock as she thought, what does Yuan Lan mean? What does he mean by Bai Xuechao should already know? He's only been at the Apocalypse Society for a few days?
However, before Mu Xinyue could think carefully about Yuan Lan's words, her attention was diverted by what he said next, "Mu Xinyue, this might be a bit difficult for you, but I hope you can meet with her every two days to record the data on her end. If she kills someone, you must immediately go and record the growth of her special ability value."
Mu Xinyue said without hesitation, "I can."
"That's great." Yuan Lan gave her a pleasant smile and added, "Her special ability is very interesting, and she has great potential. If she can continue to upgrade, we might as well bring her back to the Apocalypse Society."
Mu Xinyue thought of that girl's special ability, her mood complicated, and the expression on her face revealed some of it.
Just then, Yuan Lan said, "I'll have to trouble you then, Mu Xinyue."
Mu Xinyue, who had come back to her senses, quickly shook her head, "It's no trouble."
"Alright, I'm ready to take Little Xuechao back." Yuan Lan put his arm around Bai Xuechao's shoulder to leave, but as if remembering something, he turned his head to Mu Xinyue and said, "Aren't you submitting to SCI (Scientific Citation Index)? Have you finished writing? If you don't submit soon, you won't make it for next year's awards, right? The review process for that takes several months."
"Ahhh, I know, stop rushing me, I'm going right now!" Mu Xinyue covered her ears, no longer wanting to chat with Yuan Lan, and ran out of the piano room in just a few steps.
In just a few seconds, she was out of sight.
"Did you see that?" Yuan Lan covered his mouth with his hand. Although there was no one else in the piano room, he seemed to be telling Bai Xuechao something confidential. "Never study medicine. Mu Xinyue is 25 and still hasn't graduated from her master's program. She's as busy as a dog every day and has to publish in SCI. She's been writing that paper for a week and still isn't finished."
Bai Xuechao: "..."
So what if you graduated with a Ph.D.?
And what's wrong with writing for a week? Are you trying to say she's slow?
Yuan Lan continued to whisper, "According to her, she still has to study for a few more years, because even municipal Class A Grade 3 doctors need a Ph.D. now, so she has to continue pursuing her doctorate."
Bai Xuechao said, "Don't worry, I'm not studying medicine. You don't have to tell me this."
"You should study mathematics or physics," Yuan Lan said immediately. "It would definitely suit you."
Bai Xuechao also copied Mu Xinyue's earlier action and raised his hands to cover his ears, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, you're just spouting nonsense."
Yuan Lan was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha!"
He seemed to find what Bai Xuechao said interesting.
Bai Xuechao just watched him laugh with a straight face.
After Yuan Lan had laughed enough, he noticed that Bai Xuechao was still covering his ears. He blinked at Bai Xuechao, his eyes full of innocence, as if to say: Why are you still covering your ears? I've stopped laughing.
Although, even with his ears covered, Bai Xuechao could still hear him speak.
Only then did Bai Xuechao lower the hands covering his ears, changing to crossing his arms over his chest. "Where are we going next? Back to the laboratory?"
"Not going back, the sintering time I set isn't up yet." Yuan Lan leaned against Bai Xuechao as if he had no bones. "It'll be super—hot if we go back now. Although the temperature has dropped here in S City, it's not cold at all. It will still feel hot at that temperature indoors..."
Bai Xuechao was very weak now due to his fever and could not bear the weight of Yuan Lan leaning on him. He lost his footing and staggered back two steps. As a result, his legs hit the piano bench, and he lost his balance and fell, landing right on the piano bench.
And Yuan Lan, for some reason, also failed to react and stumbled along with Bai Xuechao's movement, landing on one knee in front of him.
Looking at it this way, it was as if Bai Xuechao was a king sitting on a throne, and Yuan Lan was a knight kneeling before him.
Yuan Lan raised his head and met the eyes of Bai Xuechao, who was sitting on the piano bench.
Both of them fell silent.
To be honest, this posture was a bit comical.
"Hahahahaha!" Yuan Lan sat directly on the floor and started laughing loudly, laughing so hard he was about to beat the ground. "This is the first time I've ever knelt to someone, hahahaha!"
Bai Xuechao also found it a bit funny. He pursed his lips but still could not help but smile, though not as unrestrainedly as Yuan Lan.
Indeed, when Yuan Lan had wanted to put his shoes on for him before, he had only knelt on one knee, not on the ground.
Yuan Lan stood up and let out a breath, calming his unstable breathing from laughing. Then he extended a hand to Bai Xuechao, the laughter still lingering in his eyes. "Alright, let's go."
He added jokingly, "You really got a good deal this time, my first kneel."
Bai Xuechao's gaze fell on the hand Yuan Lan extended in front of him.
Yuan Lan's hands were large, and his fingers were long. They looked a size bigger than his own, about the same size as Duan Xingzhi's hands. But Duan Xingzhi was over one meter ninety tall.
He slowly placed his hand on it, allowing Yuan Lan's pull to help him stand up. "Where are we going?"
"Since we're bored anyway, I'll take you for a random stroll." Yuan Lan pulled Bai Xuechao towards the piano room window. "Didn't you say you haven't had a good look around the island and don't know what it's like outside?"
Bai Xuechao grabbed Yuan Lan's hand and leaned back, trying to hold him back. "Wait, can we take a different route and not jump out the window?"
As if deliberately having a power struggle with Bai Xuechao, Yuan Lan pulled him towards the window. "Jumping out the window is the fastest way."
"Then can you not carry me when you jump out the window?" Bai Xuechao continued to lean back, but as a level 9 special ability user, Yuan Lan was too strong. He pulled him along with ease. His shoes were slippers with no anti-slip function, so he was dragged and slid across the floor.
Yuan Lan pulled him along, "But you're sick, I'm not at ease letting you jump by yourself."
Bai Xuechao: "..."
I'm numb, just destroy me.
He was going to be carried by Yuan Lan again, even with shoes on.
What was the deal with always being carried by Yuan Lan? Although Yuan Lan treated him like a doll, couldn't he consider his feelings? He was a man, being princess-carried all day?
...Never mind, he was sick. He still had to go along with Yuan Lan today to maintain the "very obedient when sick" persona.
The two of them arrived at the piano room's windowsill.
"Hey—" A shout suddenly came from outside the window.
Bai Xuechao and Yuan Lan looked down and saw, to their surprise, Lin Changqing.
Lin Changqing seemed to have just returned from outside and was standing downstairs waving at them, his long and narrow eyes curved into a smile like a fox.
Bai Xuechao and Yuan Lan exchanged a glance.
Bai Xuechao said in a low voice, "I suddenly have an idea."
Yuan Lan also said in a low voice, "I have an idea too."
They were just bored, and hadn't the fun just delivered itself to their doorstep?