YPSSS Chapter 20

The weekly meeting was filled with undercurrents, with everyone harboring their own thoughts, yet Xia Shiruan remained the most composed.

After the meeting, he went to use the restroom at Boya Building, which wasn’t far from the laboratory building.

Boya Building had single-occupancy restrooms, which was more convenient for Xia Shiruan.

When he returned to get his bag after washing his hands, the laboratory was almost empty, and most of the lights in the building were off. As Xia Shiruan approached the doctoral students’ office door and was about to push it open, he suddenly heard voices conversing inside.

“Him? Give me a break!” a familiar voice said heatedly. “It’s just a feasibility study, and look how smug he is! You’d think he’d already gotten national certification or something!”

Another voice advised quietly, “Keep it down. We don’t know if anyone’s still around…”

“I just can’t stand his attitude. He’s just a Beta, but he acts all high and mighty every day. Isn’t he just good at studying? Honestly, having him in Professor Lu’s lab, I think he’s dragging down our lab’s standards…”

Xia Shiruan stood at the door for two seconds, hearing their conversation clearly.

The conversation inside was taking an increasingly hostile turn, but his bag was still in there.

Avoiding or backing down from situations wasn’t Xia Shiruan’s style. He wasn’t afraid, nor did he need to be.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Seeing someone enter, Huang Yun and Luo Zhou’s conversation came to an abrupt halt. They froze when they saw who it was.

But Huang Yun quickly changed his expression and clearly had no intention of apologizing for what he’d just said. Instead, he looked at Xia Shiruan provocatively and sneered, “I didn’t know the top student eavesdropped.”

Xia Shiruan ignored him and walked to his seat, silently gathering his things.

But some people were just like that – when you don’t provoke them, they become even more aggressive.

Seeing Xia Shiruan’s lack of reaction, Huang Yun jumped down from the desk and walked over to him, tilting his head as he watched.

With an Alpha’s natural physical advantage, even while standing with his head tilted, Huang Yun was still half a head taller than Xia Shiruan.

Huang Yun had disliked Xia Shiruan for a long time.

Despite being a Beta, he somehow gained Professor Lu’s favor, and now after being embarrassed because of him again, Huang Yun found him even more detestable.

He watched Xia Shiruan for a moment, then said with a smile, “Hey, top student, don’t ignore people. You’re always so quiet and never talk to anyone. What, too busy studying?”

Xia Shiruan still didn’t respond. He put a book in his backpack and forcefully zipped it shut, creating a harsh metallic sound.

“That’s no fun, you—”

Before he could finish, Xia Shiruan cut him off, “Sorry.”

He looked up, staring directly at Huang Yun, his voice ice-cold, “If you have this much energy, why don’t you go read ‘Introduction to Photon Mechanics’ a hundred more times? Next time when the professor asks a question, you won’t have to look at Luo Zhou for help.”

Luo Zhou, who had been quiet the whole time, widened his eyes in surprise.

‘Introduction to Photon Mechanics’ was a mandatory freshman course in the Department of Particle Physics. For Xia Shiruan to bring this up was maximum sarcasm. Moreover, Luo Zhou never expected to hear such sharp words from the usually quiet Xia Shiruan.

Huang Yun’s face turned red.

After a moment, he narrowed his eyes. He looked the Beta up and down who was nearly half a head shorter than him, and let out a cold laugh. “Just because you know some conversion formulas, you think you’re so great? After graduation, you still won’t get into a top photonics research institute. The physical assessment alone will disqualify you.”

Huang Yun spoke with absolute confidence.

Top photonics research institutes had extremely high recruitment standards, with strict requirements not only for academic qualifications but also for applicants’ physical conditions.

The last time Xie Ji’s father visited the school, Huang Yun happened to be nearby and took the chance to introduce himself and his major. Father Xie had patted his shoulder and nodded at him.

Father Xie was a military officer with five stars on both shoulders. He was from a family that had held power at the highest levels for five generations.

Having made himself known to someone like that, Huang Yun felt assured. After graduation, getting into any research institute would just take a word from the right person.

Hearing this, Xia Shiruan looked up at him once, then fell silent.

To Huang Yun, this seemed like he’d hit a sore spot. Feeling like he’d gained the upper hand, he pressed on more aggressively, “No matter how great you are in school, nobody in the real world will take you seriously.”

He stared at Xia Shiruan, showing a malicious smile. “The disadvantages in your genes can’t be overcome no matter how hard you try.”