YPSSS Chapter 13

Xia Shiruan prepared quite well for the start of the semester.

Besides getting a general grasp of “Online Monitoring and Fault Analysis of Photonic Devices,” he also adapted well to his new gender.

During the ten days before school started, he experienced his first formal heat.

As the doctor mentioned, he was in the early stages of presentation, so his heats weren’t stable yet, but fortunately they weren’t intense either.

After Gao Qiuyun gave him the suppressant shot she had prepared in advance, Xia Shiruan’s remaining symptoms were just mild dizziness, nausea, and loss of appetite.

Xia Shiruan himself felt this level of discomfort was acceptable, but Gao Qiuyun was quite concerned.

At first, she wanted to call Xia Shiruan’s advisor to explain the situation, but feeling that it would be difficult to explain clearly over the phone, she planned to find time to meet in person.

Professor Lu was busy every day, and Gao Qiuyun was quite busy with work herself, so while this was put on the agenda, they hadn’t found a suitable time yet.

The day before school started, Xia Shiruan submitted his documentation to the Omega Protection Association.

The OPA would need about a month to review the materials before issuing Xia Shiruan’s certification documents, after which he would use those to apply for his new ID.

The whole process would take about two months.

So strictly speaking, before his new ID was issued, Xia Shiruan’s official gender status would remain Beta.

On the first day of school, all of Professor Lu’s lab students gathered in the large conference room, waiting for the meeting.

For PhD students, the concept of “starting school” didn’t really exist anymore, but this meeting was mandatory. Everyone from first-year master’s to PhD students had to attend, and Professor Lu himself would speak, so they treated it as the start of school.

At nine in the morning, the spacious conference room quickly filled up.

Xia Shiruan arrived early and sat near the front in the middle section. While waiting, he absently flipped through his book.

After a while, a few more people came in.

A teasing voice sounded beside his ear. “Well, if it isn’t the top student here so early!”

Xia Shiruan looked up to see a somewhat familiar face. It was a guy with medium-length hair, black-framed glasses, and decent enough features.

This was Huang Yun. Xia Shiruan recognized him; they had been classmates during their undergraduate years and had run into each other at several competitions.

Xia Shiruan nodded and offered a bland “good morning.”

Huang Yun grinned at the tall, dark guy beside him and said, “See that? That’s what makes a top student. He gets up earlier than you, reads more than you. No wonder he always ranks first.”

The person beside him laughed along in agreement and found a seat towards the back.

Xia Shiruan turned a page, his expression unchanged.

In an environment where everyone was excellent and had good grades, being called a “study freak” wasn’t really a compliment.

Compared to hard work, people seemed to prefer the idea of “being brilliant without trying too hard.” If people thought your grades came from endless studying, it somehow became less admirable.

As a Beta, for Xia Shiruan to maintain his position as top student at the Science University, especially in the Department of Particle Physics filled with high-IQ Alphas, it wasn’t possible through hard work alone – his mind had to be one in a hundred.

But Alphas were naturally competitive, and admitting that a Beta was smarter than them was like a slap in the face.

Fortunately, this Beta was famous for being a bookworm and socially awkward. He spent all his time either in the classroom or library and rarely participated in entertainment activities or gatherings.

This made it natural for everyone to call him a study freak, as if calling him that gave them an excuse to convince themselves – I just don’t try as hard as he does.

Xia Shiruan had only reached the second page when everyone arrived, and within five minutes, Professor Lu strolled into the conference room.

The previously noisy space instantly fell silent.

Professor Lu walked to the podium, placed his laptop on the desk, first smiled and said “everyone looks energetic,” before beginning his speech.

Professor Lu was an Alpha who was charismatic in every sense of the word.

He was over fifty but still well-maintained. He wore a crisp suit, hair meticulously combed back, always wearing a gentle smile.

He first welcomed the new students joining the lab by reading their names one by one, then introduced the lab’s main research areas and ongoing projects, finally focusing on a major national-level project.

When he introduced this project, several PhD students sat up straighter.

While the Department of Particle Physics always received substantial government funding, projects with material costs alone exceeding 100 million were rare.

The importance of this project was self-evident.

Xia Shiruan listened attentively, occasionally jotting down notes.

Since presenting as an Omega, his hearing had improved significantly, allowing him to clearly hear Huang Yun and Luo Zhou’s whispers from the last row.

“…Military projects naturally pay more, but their requirements are also high. A ton of labs got screened out during bidding just based on qualifications. Professor Lu is really something else.”

“For such a big project, several PhD students will probably need to work together. We might even need help from other departments. I see there’s nanoparticles involved, that’s not our specialty.”

“Oh right, do you know who’s in charge of this project on the military side… You’ll recognize him when I tell you. It’s the father of that little brother we met last week.”

What should have been a dry project introduction became fascinating in Professor Lu’s hands, keeping everyone engaged.

At the end, Professor Lu said, “Actually, for all of you, doing projects isn’t the ultimate goal. What you learn from them is what’s most important. Don’t think this is empty talk, very few people truly understand this.”

After a pause, he said, “We’ll end the meeting here. Lower years can leave first. PhD students – Huang Yun, Luo Zhou, Shen Chuan, Xia Shiruan, please stay behind.”

Everyone else gradually left, each casting envious glances at them on their way out.

Everyone knew they were about to be assigned tasks.

Their guess wasn’t wrong.

Once only the four remained, Professor Lu got straight to the point, saying each of them would be responsible for one of the four sub-projects within the national project. Junior graduate students would be assigned to help later, but they needed to produce the initial feasibility research reports themselves.

Feasibility reports weren’t particularly difficult to prepare. They were just to give the client an initial outline. Whether and how closely they would follow it during implementation could be discussed later.

Professor Lu sent them the project brief through his laptop. He highlighted a few key points in the contents, giving everyone a general idea.

When they reached the final page with the deliverables, Huang Yun couldn’t help asking, “Professor, how will the sub-projects be assigned?”

His eyes was fixed on the fourth sub-project – its requirements included only three papers but called for establishing a national standard.

In the photonics field, national standards were rare. Firstly because the process was complex, and secondly because there were few projects large enough to support them, making it difficult for universities to apply independently.

But with sufficient project funding, the process wouldn’t be a concern. If the university couldn’t manage it, the well-established project client would help find a way.

Once a national standard was established, the benefits were significant.

For a PhD student, just having their name on a national standard meant they could graduate directly.

Naturally, this fourth sub-project was highly coveted.

“About that, I plan to assign them based on the research interests you mentioned when school started,” Professor Lu said gently. “I’ve read your undergraduate theses, and Xiao Xia’s work closely aligns with the fourth sub-project’s research content. The thesis was very well written.”

Xia Shiruan blinked lightly.

Being praised by a professor he had admired since his undergraduate years made even Xia Shiruan smile sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Huang Yun’s expression wasn’t so pleasant.

He glanced at Professor Lu, then at Xia Shiruan, but ultimately held back whatever he wanted to say.

The sub-project assignments were settled just like that.

Xia Shiruan got the fourth sub-project, while Huang Yun got the second one.

As the four walked out together, Huang Yun couldn’t hold back anymore and said to Xia Shiruan with a sarcastic tone, “Xiao Xia, if you run into any problems with your project, feel free to discuss them with everyone.”

Xia Shiruan said, “Mm. Thank you.”

Huang Yun stared at him for two seconds, rolled his eyes in what he thought was a discreet way, then walked off.

Xia Shiruan didn’t linger either. He directly returned to his seat to open his notebook, planning to transcribe today’s meeting notes before starting his actual work.

But as soon as he opened his computer, the icon in the bottom right corner flashed twice.

[Yi Junya: Xiao Ruan, school’s started, right?]

[Yi Junya: I just remembered, isn’t your lab all Alphas? Must be inconvenient for you spending all day there.]

[Yi Junya: Let me recommend some amazing products!]

[Yi Junya: Copy this code TXgLIc5FobAw to view… {Cute Cartoon Bunny Shaped Neck Protection Patches}]

[Yi Junya: Copy this code SJDJFJG12^&*() to view… {Trendy Nordic Style Suppressant Storage Pouch}]

[Yi Junya: Copy this code AQTYHJG12^&*() to view… {Sexy Girl Sweet Tangerine Scent Anti-Pheromone Perfume}]

…

The product previews were all quite eye-catching.

Xia Shiruan stared at the screen in silence for a few seconds, quickly bookmarked each item, then hastily closed the pages.

Although the lab seats weren’t close enough for people to see each other’s screens, he still guiltily glanced around before switching to his phone to reply to Yi Junya.

[Xia Shiruan: …I’m still outside, don’t send these things.]