CHAPTER 24 (PART 2)

As Shi Li watched the professor across from her, the odd feeling grew stronger. Why did he remind her so much of Shen Jingyan?

It wasn’t their physical appearance but rather their mannerisms, expressions, and subtle movements—so similar, yet not quite the same.

“I saw a photo of you and Jingyan in his phone,” the professor said warmly.

Shi Li was momentarily stunned. “A photo of us?”

“Yes, from your high school days, right? You’ve lost a lot of weight since then—I almost didn’t recognize you,” the professor said, looking at her with the fondness of an elder. “Jingyan told me before that he had been looking for you. Seeing you here now… I suppose you two have reconciled?”

Shi Li forced an awkward smile, saying nothing.

“It’s good that you’ve made up. Jingyan really likes you. Back then, so many people pursued him at school, but he never showed any interest. If you two hadn’t gotten back together, I think he would’ve remained single for life.” The professor chuckled.

Shi Li pressed her lips together, hesitating before asking, “He… he’s really been looking for me all this time?”

“Yes, he never stopped,” the professor said, sighing. Perhaps sensing that the conversation was getting heavy, he quickly changed the subject. “So, what brings you here today?”

“I… I want to learn more about Jingyan’s past,” Shi Li admitted, embarrassed. “I’ve missed so much of his life, but I don’t want to ask him directly and risk reopening old wounds. So, I thought I’d reach out to people who knew him.”

“I understand. You can ask me anything,” the professor said understandingly.

Shi Li nodded. “It’s nothing major—I just want to know what he was like during his university days.”

The professor thought for a moment. “He wasn’t much different—just very hardworking. He was completely focused on studying…”

Shi Li listened quietly as the professor spoke about how diligent Shen Jingyan was, how he worked tirelessly. It was a strange feeling—Shen Jingyan had never told her these things, but she had already guessed as much. Still, hearing it from someone else felt unreal.

…He was too perfect, almost unnaturally so. He had once said that he got into university right after leaving the juvenile detention center, meaning he had already transformed into this flawless person before then.

Did she get it wrong? Was she looking in the wrong direction? Instead of investigating his college years, should she be focusing on what happened during those three years in the reformatory that caused such a drastic change in his personality?

Shi Li still couldn’t grasp the full plot, but she had a strong feeling that Shen Jingyan’s transformation was directly tied to his hatred value.

After talking with the professor for over an hour, Shi Li said, “Please keep today’s conversation a secret. We haven’t fully reconciled yet, and if he finds out…”

“I understand,” the professor replied with a smile, nodding.

Looking at the professor’s familiar smile, that strange feeling in Shi Li’s heart surged again. She forced a laugh, nodded, and watched him leave.

Since she hadn’t made any real progress, she decided to look for Shen Jingyan’s former roommate. However, the roommate still wasn’t in his office. After some hesitation, she decided not to wait—after all, they were all people who knew each other from college, so the roommate’s answer was probably no different from the professor’s.

Shi Li sighed and turned to leave campus. She had only taken a few steps when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. Realizing it was the roommate she had seen in photos before, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly ran over and stopped him.

“Hello, can I help you?” The roommate looked at her in confusion.

Shi Li smiled awkwardly. “Could we talk for a moment?”

The roommate frowned, his eyes full of uncertainty.

Ten minutes later, after understanding her purpose, his expression became distant. “Sorry, I wasn’t very close to him. I probably can’t answer your questions.”

Shi Li paused, sensing that he might actually have the answers she was looking for. “Please, I really just want to know how he’s been living all these years. I don’t mean anything else by it.”

But the roommate refused to say more and turned to leave. Shi Li had no choice but to keep pleading, again and again. Finally, the roommate got annoyed and blurted out, “You’re the one sharing a bed with him. Shouldn’t you know better than anyone what he’s like?”

“…What do you mean?” Shi Li was stunned.

The roommate studied her blank expression, hesitated, then said, “He’s not normal. Don’t you know that?”

Shi Li: “…”

“Figures. He’s so good at mimicking human emotions—he’s copied Professor Jin to perfection. How could you possibly notice?” The roommate sneered. “Only someone like me, who has known him since college, would realize there’s something off about him.”

“Mimicking emotions? What exactly do you mean?” Shi Li suddenly felt like she had grasped something crucial.

The roommate hesitated before responding impatiently, “I really shouldn’t be the one saying this, but let me give you some advice—he’s not a normal person. He doesn’t have real emotions, but he learns fast. Even if he started off like a robot, he quickly found the perfect person to imitate and copied their personality and emotions completely. Professor Jin never even noticed; he just thought they got along well. But I know exactly what he was like before.”

Shi Li stood there in a daze, overwhelmed by the weight of this revelation. Countless images of Shen Jingyan and the professor flashed through her mind, and suddenly, they overlapped in an eerie way.

…No wonder.

No wonder from the very start of her conversation with the professor, she had felt that he and Shen Jingyan were incredibly similar. It wasn’t about their looks—it was the subtle expressions, gestures, and mannerisms.

After saying goodbye to the roommate, Shi Li left with a complicated feeling in her heart. Without even realizing it, she found herself taking the bus to Shen Jingyan’s company.

Standing in front of the building once more, she felt a bit strange. After buying a piece of cake from a shop downstairs, she headed inside.

This time, since she wasn’t here as a volunteer, she entered through the main entrance. However, she was quickly stopped by security. “Who are you looking for?”

“Oh, I’m looking for Dr. Shen,” Shi Li said with a smile.

The security guard frowned. “Dr. Shen? There’s no doctor here with that name.”

Shi Li froze. “Are you sure? Oh, I haven’t told you his full name yet. He’s—”

“It’s you?!”

A surprised female voice interrupted her.

Shi Li turned in confusion and saw a familiar face. After a moment, she remembered—it was the disheveled woman she had met when she first arrived in this novel’s world.

The woman beamed at her and walked over, looking her up and down before nodding knowingly. “I bet you listened to my advice and didn’t sign that contract, huh? I told you, unless you’re completely desperate, there’s no need to get involved in that mess.”

“You…” Shi Li looked at her clean and polished appearance, feeling slightly conflicted.

Noticing her reaction, the woman chuckled. “Oh, that day at the signing? That was just an act. My project is finished, so I don’t need to pretend anymore.”

“Well… congratulations.” Shi Li smiled.

The woman raised an eyebrow smugly. “This is the advantage of having connections,” she said, glancing around before lowering her voice. “It only took a few days, and I made over a hundred thousand.”

“…How much?” Shi Li couldn’t believe her ears.

The woman smirked. “Over a hundred thousand. I’m telling you, most people don’t get anywhere near that. The ones who usually do this stuff are desperate, so they sell cheap. My price was considered high.”

“…Wait a minute,” Shi Li interrupted. “You’re saying a hundred thousand is on the high end?”

“Of course.” The woman nodded firmly.

Shi Li stared at her in shock, suddenly recalling the five million she had received—just enough to pay off her debt. A cold chill spread through her body.

The woman kept chatting, then asked, “Anyway, what are you doing here this time?”

“Oh… I’m looking for someone,” Shi Li replied.

The woman nodded. “Someone from this company? Who are you looking for? I can ask my boyfriend to help.”

“I’m looking for a researcher named Shen,” Shi Li said politely. Initially, she had planned to say Shen Jingyan’s full name, but at the last second, she hesitated and changed her words.

The woman nodded. “I’ll ask around.” She then pulled out her phone and made a call. After a brief exchange, she stopped and frowned. “That’s impossible. He has to be here. My friend came specifically to find him.”

Shi Li’s expression changed slightly, and she looked at the woman in confusion. The woman pulled her into a corner and put the call on speaker.

“I’m telling you, there’s no such person. I’ve been with this company since it was founded, and I know every single researcher here. Even among the hundreds of assistants, there’s no one with the last name Shen. If you don’t believe me, I’ll send you the employee list.”

A middle-aged man’s voice came through the phone.

Shi Li’s eyes widened in shock, as if her entire world was crumbling.

The woman clicked her tongue. “I don’t buy it. Send me the list!”

“Fine, I will!”

With that, they hung up. Moments later, the woman received a file on her phone. Shi Li immediately leaned in to look. She scanned it three times—no sign of Shen Jingyan’s name.

“He really isn’t on here…” the woman muttered.

Shi Li could barely bring herself to smile anymore. “I might have remembered wrong. I’ll call him and ask for his real name.”

“You can’t even remember his name? Is he a blind date or something?” The woman playfully winked at her.

Shi Li’s lips twitched stiffly. The woman laughed. “Alright, I won’t keep you. Let’s exchange contacts so we can hang out sometime.”

After exchanging numbers, Shi Li left the building. Just as she stepped outside, she ran straight into Shen Jingyan. Both of them froze, clearly not expecting to see each other there.

“What are you doing here?” Shen Jingyan asked, walking toward her.

Shi Li stared at him. The usual gentle expression on his face suddenly felt like a mask—so flawless that it seemed eerily fake.

Male Lead Hatred Value: 20%

Shi Li hesitated for a moment, then forced an awkward smile. “I—I came to see you.” She lifted the cake in her hand.

Shen Jingyan paused. “Where did you get the money for that?”

“I wanted to surprise you, but I didn’t have any money. So, I secretly collected some recyclables and sold them,” Shi Li said while carefully observing him. “But I didn’t make much, so I could only afford something small.”

Shen Jingyan was silent for a moment, then smiled. “Thank you… I never expected you to go to such lengths for me. I’m really touched.”

Shi Li studied his expression. His smile was perfect—flawless, even. But there was no actual ‘emotion’ behind it.

…As if no one had ever taught him what being “touched” was supposed to feel like.