At precisely 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Shen Yu woke up.
After a simple breakfast, Shen Yu declined Qi Fang’s offer to drive him to work, coolly stating, “I’ll take the bus.”
Shen Yu could never forget the first day he went to work after getting married. Qi Fang had insisted on driving him in a large Land Rover, resulting in Shen Yu being surrounded by gawking students and onlookers at the school gate for five minutes. He nearly arrived late to an important inter-school conference, leaving an indelible psychological scar.
Afterward, Shen Yu had to supervise Qi Fang as he created an alternate account to log into the school forum and report all posts related to “The hidden wealthy family behind Professor Shen.” Only after the posts were deleted did the impact of the incident gradually subside.
Qi Fang was somewhat disappointed but didn’t push the matter.
Shen Yu arrived at the school after a forty-minute bus ride, just in time for his 10 a.m. class.
This course primarily covered basic cell biology theory. The large lecture hall was filled with young, naive undergraduates. Initially noisy like a bustling market, the room fell instantly silent the moment Shen Yu pushed open the door, as if someone had hit a mute button.
Several students in the front row were so startled they dropped their fragrant flatbreads into their desk compartments.
Under the watchful eyes of the quail-like students, Shen Yu strode to the podium and stood firm. His clear, dark eyes swept coldly over the audience as he calmly stated, “Sixty-two enrolled, fifty-nine present.”
He glanced at his phone, then looked up and said, “It’s now 10 a.m. By 10:10, the three absent students must either provide a reasonable explanation for their absence or come to class immediately.”
“After 10:10, it will be treated as an unexcused absence.”
Shen Yu rested one hand on the podium, his features delicate but expression cold. “Now, let’s begin the class.”
Eight minutes later, two disheveled and panicked students tumbled into the classroom. After reporting to Shen Yu, they hurriedly sat in the back rows.
“That was terrifying…” one of the late female students whispered to her friend. “My phone died, so the alarm didn’t go off. Thankfully, I suddenly felt an impending crisis and woke up. When I looked, it was almost 10, and it’s Professor Shen’s class…”
“Sigh… Couldn’t he just skip taking attendance for one class?”
“He never actually takes attendance. He just scans the room and knows who’s missing. Truly terrifying.”
“He’s so handsome. Why can’t he be a bit gentler? You can’t judge a book by its cover…”
“Looks like one person still hasn’t shown up. Poor soul, they’ll probably fail the course.”
Shen Yu never brought textbooks to his lectures. There were only a few basic textbooks, and he had memorized every chapter, every sentence, and even every example image. He could even cross-reference knowledge points from several other courses. There was simply no need to bring a textbook.
He rarely used PowerPoint, except to display necessary images. Shen Yu disliked students burying their heads to copy slides. If they needed to copy slides, they could get them from senior students from previous years.
In his class, students only needed to listen, communicate, and learn.
After class, having answered questions from a few nervous novices, Shen Yu picked up his phone and prepared to leave the classroom. Just then, he saw a male student frantically running into the room towards him.
“Professor…” the student said, looking lost. “I’m sorry, I had a cold and fever, and couldn’t get up this morning… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Shen Yu stopped two meters from the classroom door, scrutinizing the student.
The young man’s cheeks were flushed, his breathing rapid, lips pale, and his voice hoarse. He indeed looked unwell.
“A cold?” Shen Yu inquired.
The student nodded, confused. “There’s been a flu going around. One of my roommates caught a cold the day before yesterday. This morning, I had a fever of 38 degrees. Professor Shen, I…”
Shen Yu stared at him for a moment before averting his gaze and saying coolly, “So it’s the flu.”
“Ah? Oh… yes…” The student was nervous and bewildered.
Wasn’t Professor Shen usually… less talkative?
“Take medicine, drink water, and remember to see a doctor,” Shen Yu said. “I’ll mark you as excused for this class. Submit a make-up absence note.”
The student could hardly believe it, unable to fathom that the infamous Professor Shen, feared both on and off campus, would let him off so easily.
The eavesdropping students nearby were also stunned.
Having said this, Shen Yu prepared to leave. Suddenly remembering something, he turned back and added:
“Don’t drink alcohol. You might die.”
Everyone: “…”
Professor Shen was still Professor Shen, after all!
*
At 5 p.m. sharp, Qi Fang rose from his leather executive chair, eager to leave work.
His assistant, Xiao Lin, a young man with black-framed glasses who had graduated only a few years ago and still retained his student-like passion for overworking, asked in surprise, “Our company doesn’t finish until 6:30 p.m. Boss, are you going to skip work?”
“What are you talking about?” Qi Fang waved his hand dismissively. “Just mark me as absent then.”
Assistant Xiao Lin said, “Boss, your perfect attendance bonus this month is already at negative 800. There’s nothing left to deduct.”
Qi Fang felt this guy was truly ungrateful and tried to reason with him.
“Leaving early means I’m efficient. Look, today I held three short meetings, inspected operations across twenty-some floors, reviewed this quarter’s critical financial reports, signed five new projects, and assigned next quarter’s performance targets to all the vice presidents. Isn’t that efficient enough?”
“Boss, this is only your first day at work this week. If this continues, our company will go bankrupt,” Assistant Xiao Lin added.
“It won’t,” Qi Fang replied casually, having already changed out of his suit into a casual jacket. “Worst case, you can abscond with the funds, and I’ll start a new company.”
Xiao Lin: “…”
Before leaving, Qi Fang patted Assistant Xiao Lin’s shoulder and said kindly, “Everyone’s been very motivated this month, and several key projects were completed ahead of schedule. Notify the logistics department to order afternoon tea. Say it’s my treat for everyone.”
“Remember to order yourself a pear with rock sugar drink,” Qi Fang said. “It’ll cool you down and calm your mind.”
Qi Fang strolled to the company parking lot and, judging the timing was about right, called Shen Yu.
“You don’t have classes this afternoon, right?” Qi Fang’s tone softened. “Shall I pick you up? I just got off work, it’s on my way, and I’m not driving a car worth over 300,000.”
Shen Yu’s voice sounded slightly distorted over the phone, but to Qi Fang’s ears, it was still pleasant. “In the lab. Working.”
Qi Fang paused, then persisted, “How much longer will you be? I can wait. It’s rush hour anyway.”
“No need—” Shen Yu cut himself off mid-sentence.
Qi Fang: “Hm? What’s wrong?”
Shen Yu lowered his gaze to the specimen preservation box in the lab, remained quiet for a moment, then said, “One hour, I guess.”
Qi Fang’s voice noticeably brightened. “You’ll be done in an hour? Alright, I’ll head over now. I should arrive at your school just about then.”
After hanging up, Shen Yu first found the nearest hospital on his phone and made an appointment. Only then did he look at the dejected student before him.
“Are all the specimens contaminated?” Shen Yu asked.
The most panicked was a first-year graduate student. He had misplaced the samples that had been cultivating in the lab for two whole months. One side was for constant-temperature storage, the other for low-temperature storage. The mistake was only discovered this afternoon, and the specimens had already met their heroic demise.
“These specimens were the source of observational data for several of our papers.”
Shen Yu glanced at the time on his phone and, unprecedentedly, didn’t add any criticism. Instead, he said decisively, “Dispose of the contaminated specimens. You come with me, and we’ll collect new samples together right now.”
“We must finish this today,” Shen Yu stated.
The first-year graduate student, singled out by Shen Yu, was momentarily stunned, his expression showing a hint of pleasant surprise—Shen Yu hadn’t reprimanded him, but instead was going to personally guide him through the experimental work.
The young man’s face reddened slightly, and he couldn’t help but sneak glances at Shen Yu’s profile as they worked.
When Shen Yu focused on his work, he was completely absorbed. His long eyelashes lowered slightly, his lips gently pressed together, and even his usual cold, unapproachable demeanor seemed to diminish, revealing an indescribable allure.
Professor Shen… maybe he wasn’t as terrifying as campus rumors suggested?
Qi Fang parked his car outside S University and headed straight for Shen Yu’s lab.
He had been here many times before, even bringing Shen Yu meals, so he knew the way well. Walking along the corridor outside the lab, he peered through the clear glass windows, trying to spot Shen Yu.
After a few glances, Qi Fang indeed found Shen Yu near the window, standing with a young male student, both bent over something on the lab bench.
Qi Fang looked once, then again, gradually furrowing his brow.
That guy next to him—the brat, why did he keep leaning towards Shen Yu?
And why were his ears red?? What was he getting so worked up about?
Shen Yu had just finished collecting the samples when he suddenly heard someone coughing loudly outside the window.
“…” He looked up to see Qi Fang pacing back and forth outside the glass window, coughing and swaying his body back and forth, looking as if he was in the final stages of pneumonia.
Shen Yu quickly washed his hands, handed the samples to the slightly flushed first-year student, frowned, and walked past him, grabbing a medical mask on his way out of the lab.
Seeing that Shen Yu had been drawn out, Qi Fang immediately stopped coughing and approached him, about to speak when Shen Yu beat him to it.
“You’ve caught the flu.”
Shen Yu raised his hand and promptly placed the mask over Qi Fang’s face, decisively stating, “Don’t spread the virus on campus. We’re going to the hospital right now. I’ve already made an appointment.”
Muffled by the mask, Qi Fang said, “Huh?”
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