CHAPTER 25 (PART 1)

“Why are you staring at me?” Shen Jingyan chuckled.

Shi Li snapped out of her thoughts and smiled along with him. “Nothing, it’s just that I haven’t seen you outside in a while. Somehow, you feel a little unfamiliar.”

“If you want to see me, just let me know in advance. Sometimes I’m not at the company. What if you make the trip for nothing?” Shen Jingyan said while glancing down at the cake Shi Li had bought.

Shi Li steadied herself. “I just wanted to surprise you. If you don’t like it, I won’t come next time.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to come, just that you should let me know beforehand,” Shen Jingyan looked up at her and smiled gently. “I just happen to be free now. Let’s go home and eat the cake together.”

“You seem to have way too much flexibility in your job,” Shi Li deliberately emphasized her suspicion. “Coming and going as you please—doesn’t your boss mind?”

Shen Jingyan hesitated for a moment. “It’s fine. My job offers a lot of freedom.”

Shi Li nodded but still stopped him before he could turn away. “Wait a second.”

“Hm?” Shen Jingyan paused.

Shi Li smiled innocently. “Nothing, I just figured since I’m already here, why not head to the lab and check our weights?”

“Didn’t you just weigh yourself this morning?” Shen Jingyan raised his phone slightly. “The data is still here.”

“The bathroom scale at home can’t compare to the ones in your lab. Let’s go to the lab—I also want to see if my body has improved.” Shi Li said as she pushed Shen Jingyan toward the company entrance.

Shen Jingyan reminded her, “There are a lot of people in the company right now. The elevators might be full. Why not wait a bit? I can take you somewhere nice to eat first.”

“If I eat first, the weight won’t be accurate. Come on, let’s get it done now, and then we can go for hotpot.” Shi Li specifically chose this time, wanting to observe the reactions of the employees and catch Shen Jingyan off guard. If she waited until everyone had left and he had time to prepare, what would be the point?

Seeing her insistence, Shen Jingyan had no choice but to accompany her inside. Shi Li kept an eye on the security guard at the lobby. When the guard saw Shen Jingyan, there was a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes. Just as Shi Li’s heart tightened, she saw the guard simply return to his work.

Shi Li: “???”

If Shen Jingyan wasn’t an employee here, shouldn’t the security guard stop him like he had stopped her earlier?

While confusion brewed in her mind, the two of them arrived at the elevator. As Shen Jingyan had mentioned, a crowd was already waiting. Shi Li observed them carefully—some merely glanced at Shen Jingyan like they would a stranger, showing a hint of admiration before quickly looking away. The less reserved ones stole a few more glances.

But there was also a small group who instinctively nodded upon seeing him, only to abruptly stop mid-greeting as if something had choked them. They then avoided looking in his direction altogether. Shi Li didn’t even need to turn to Shen Jingyan to sense that those people had only refrained from greeting him because he had signaled them not to.

…This felt even weirder.

If Shen Jingyan were an employee, why wasn’t his name on the staff list? But if he wasn’t, why was he freely using the lab, and why didn’t the security guard stop him? Some of the employees clearly recognized him.

Shi Li’s confusion deepened. The words of the professor, the roommate, and the woman from earlier all overlapped in her mind, making her increasingly restless.

“The elevator’s here.”

A gentle voice pulled her back to reality. Shi Li blinked and quickly followed Shen Jingyan inside. To avoid arousing suspicion, she suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in her head.

The elevator was packed. As they stepped inside, the crowd nearly separated them, but Shen Jingyan caught her hand in time, pulling her into a corner. Their bodies were pressed tightly together.

Shi Li wasn’t particularly short, but standing next to Shen Jingyan, she still seemed petite. With their proximity, her ear was pressed right against his chest. Listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat, she found her roommate’s words somewhat laughable.

Shen Jingyan was clearly a living, breathing person with a strong and healthy heartbeat. How could someone like that lack normal emotions?

As she got lost in thought, the number of people in the elevator gradually decreased until only the two of them remained. Finally, she had some breathing space and stepped back slightly.

“After we check your weight, let’s implant a monitoring device as well,” Shen Jingyan said casually.

Shi Li hesitated. “What kind of device?”

“It tracks your heart rate and blood pressure. You’ve gained a little weight recently, and your body has recovered well enough to start monitoring other things more precisely. It’ll also make future treatments easier,” Shen Jingyan explained.

Shi Li: “…And how exactly does that work?”

“It’s simple, just a nano-chip injected into your wrist with a syringe,” Shen Jingyan paused before adding thoughtfully, “The injection is very shallow, it won’t hurt at all. It’ll feel like a light ant bite and be over in a second.”

If this were before, Shi Li would have cooperated without hesitation. But now, with countless doubts about him, she had no intention of letting him inject anything strange into her body.

She cleared her throat. “I’m terrified of needles. If I get one, I won’t be able to sleep for days—think of how that would ruin my appetite for hotpot later.”

“You’re that afraid?” Shen Jingyan chuckled. “Then what should we do? There will be plenty more times you’ll need injections. Are you saying you won’t cooperate every time?”

Shi Li forced a laugh. “Not exactly, I just need some mental preparation. You suddenly bringing it up caught me off guard.”

“Then we won’t do it today. Take a few days to mentally prepare,” Shen Jingyan smiled, seemingly joking. “After all, you have hotpot to eat later. Can’t let this affect your appetite.”

Shi Li smiled awkwardly.

By the time their conversation ended, they had reached the lab. Only a handful of people were inside. Seeing Shen Jingyan enter with Shi Li, they hesitated for a moment before standing up to greet them. Shi Li quickly waved back.

“You all keep working. I’m just bringing her in to check her weight,” Shen Jingyan’s voice turned indifferent the moment they entered the lab.

The others nodded and returned to their tasks. Shi Li glanced around the room and, once she and Shen Jingyan were inside a separate chamber, curiously asked, “I don’t see that one lady from last time.”

“Who?” Shen Jingyan asked.

Shi Li thought for a moment. “The one who drew my blood.”

“Oh, her? I fired her,” Shen Jingyan shrugged. “Her mental resilience was too weak. I can’t have someone like that as my assistant.”

“…You sure are strict,” Shi Li said dryly.

Shen Jingyan glanced at her. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Of course not.” Shi Li pouted at him, as if playfully complaining. But only she knew how violently her heart had pounded upon hearing that question.

Shen Jingyan lowered his gaze and smiled faintly. After turning on the weighing scale, he looked at her warmly.

Shi Li stared at him for a moment, then twitched the corner of her mouth. “Take them off?”

“What do you think?” Shen Jingyan adjusted his glasses slightly.

Shi Li could no longer force a smile. Stiffly, she began unbuttoning her clothes. Soon enough, she was stripped bare.

…Forget it. The first time was always the hardest. If this happened again, she’d probably strip at lightning speed before he even asked.

Shi Li was silently trying to comfort herself when she suddenly felt a sharp prod at her waist. Instantly, her entire body stiffened.

“Not bad, you’ve definitely gained some weight.” Shen Jingyan withdrew his hand.

Shi Li stared at him in shock. Shen Jingyan met her gaze and hesitated for a moment. “Should I not have touched you?”

“…What do you think?” Shi Li had mixed feelings.

A hint of apology flashed in Shen Jingyan’s eyes. “Sorry, I’ve been carefully fattening you up. When I see you, I can’t help but want to touch you more—it feels like admiring my own creation.”

“You might as well not have explained.” Shi Li was speechless.

Shen Jingyan chuckled. “My bad.”

“Forget it, let’s just get on with it.” Shi Li stepped onto the scale, and the result quickly appeared.

Shen Jingyan recorded the data in his notebook. “96 jin. If you gain a few more, we can start the experiment.”

“Really? That’s great!” Shi Li beamed with excitement while silently warning herself—she must not gain any more weight. Before she uncovered all of Shen Jingyan’s secrets, she couldn’t let herself fall into a passive position. Even if death in this novel world wasn’t real, the pain of dying was still very real.

She did not want to die. Getting hurt wasn’t an option either.

Shi Li put on a grateful smile. “I’m so happy I can finally help you.”

“I’m happy too.” Shen Jingyan ruffled her hair. “Get dressed. I’ll take you to eat.”

“…Alright.” She suddenly didn’t feel like going anymore.

But no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn’t say it out loud—otherwise, Shen Jingyan would definitely get suspicious. So, under great reluctance, Shi Li accompanied Shen Jingyan to a hotpot restaurant. She warned herself not to eat too much while putting on an act of trying to stuff herself like a glutton.

…And then, she accidentally ate too much.

Back home, she looked at the scale and sighed deeply at the extra two jin.

After this outing, life seemed to return to its usual routine. Shi Li stayed at home, waiting for Shen Jingyan to return. He had breakfast and dinner with her every day, and when he had time at noon, he would take her out for a meal.

Life appeared comfortable and carefree, but Shi Li was growing more anxious with each passing day—because she had gotten in touch with someone who was in the same reform school as Shen Jingyan.

It was purely by chance. While investigating Shen Jingyan’s past before college, she had to look into what had happened during his three years in the reform school. She was wary of contacting his old friends, fearing they might leak information to him, so she started from the reform school records instead. By coincidence, she found someone from his time there who was currently job hunting.

Shi Li wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip away, so she secretly reached out. From the conversation, she learned that back in reform school, Shen Jingyan had once carved his own name all over a wall. In the early days of his incarceration, he had even attempted suicide by smashing his head against the wall due to his inability to adapt to the environment.

The person didn’t say much, but every word sent chills down Shi Li’s spine. It made her even more convinced that Shen Jingyan’s hatred for her couldn’t possibly be just 20%.

The person rambled on about Shen Jingyan’s time in the reform school, and Shi Li slowly pieced together the image of an impulsive, stubborn, and hot-tempered young man who refused to admit defeat. This was the Shen Jingyan she had known in the past. The current version of him, with his seemingly perfect temperament and personality, felt like he was wrapped in a layer of something—something she couldn’t quite touch.

Shi Li listened silently until, just before hanging up, the person mentioned something that caught her attention.

“Oh, right. His parents cut ties with him long ago. When he got into trouble inside and injured someone, they didn’t intervene at all. In the end, it was a buddy of his who borrowed money from loan sharks to help settle the matter. I wonder if he ever paid it back.” The man spoke casually.

Shi Li froze. “Loan sharks?”

“Pfft, that kind of debt is a nightmare. From what I heard, the interest rate was ridiculously high. He only borrowed about a hundred thousand at the time, but with compound interest, by the time he got out, he probably owed over a million. No way he could’ve paid that back. I mean, guys like us—where would we get that kind of money…”

The man kept talking, but Shi Li could no longer hear him. Her mind was stuck on the fact that Shen Jingyan had taken out a loan from loan sharks.

She thought back again to how poor his family situation had been and how expensive his university tuition was. His program wasn’t even a standard four-year degree—it required more time to complete. How had he managed to afford it all while carrying such a massive debt?

After hanging up the phone, Shi Li sat in her room, deep in thought. Her gaze slowly shifted to the objects in the room, and she couldn’t help but ask the system about it.

—The tasker does not have access to plot-related information. The system cannot answer your question.

Shi Li was momentarily speechless. Left with no choice, she had to figure it out on her own. But after an entire afternoon of thinking, she still couldn’t make sense of it—until Shen Jingyan came home.

“You’re back,” Shi Li greeted him as usual, only to pause when she noticed the brown paper bag in his hand. Recently, he had been bringing home one of these every day. As soon as he got home, he would place it in the study. The next morning, he would take it with him when he left.

Shen Jingyan smiled at her. “Good evening. What do you want for dinner?”

“Seafood again,” Shi Li quickly replied, trying not to look at the bag in his hands.

Shen Jingyan gave her a helpless look. “Again? This is your fifth day in a row eating seafood.”

Shi Li chuckled awkwardly. “I just really want to eat it. You said before that eating what you like makes it easier to gain weight.”

As if. The truth was, she knew that eating the same food repeatedly made it harder to gain weight. She was already sick of seafood.

“Alright, but you need to eat some staple food too.” Shen Jingyan gave in easily.

Seeing how readily he compromised, Shi Li felt a pang of guilt. But the moment she met his warm, gentle eyes, she snapped back to reality. “Okay, I will.”

Shen Jingyan nodded, and after ordering takeout together, he took the brown paper bag into his study. He didn’t come out until dinner arrived, and by then, the bag had disappeared—it was obviously left inside the study.

“You’ve been going straight to the study as soon as you get home lately. What are you so busy with?” Shi Li asked casually during dinner.

Shen Jingyan paused for a moment. “Just dealing with some past matters.”

“What kind of past matters?” Shi Li instantly perked up.

Shen Jingyan glanced at her. “Nothing important.”

The more he brushed it off, the more suspicious Shi Li became. Her eyes kept drifting toward the study door. After doing this a couple of times, she realized that no matter how hard she stared, she wouldn’t be able to see through the wooden door. She might as well focus on eating and act normal instead.

After dinner, the two of them went for a walk around the neighborhood. During their stroll, Shen Jingyan brought up the chip implantation again. “The project is nearing its final stage. The team is getting anxious. It’d be best to implant the chip now and start collecting data. Once your weight is up, we can begin the final experiment immediately.”

“Let’s wait a little longer. I think my weight has hit a plateau—I haven’t gained much recently. If I get the injection now and end up losing a few pounds from the stress, it would be counterproductive.” Shi Li sighed.

Shen Jingyan was silent for a moment. “Are you that resistant to the implantation?”

Shi Li’s heart tensed, and she blinked before saying, “Not at all. I’m just considering the experiment’s success. If necessary… let’s wait until I gain a few more pounds before proceeding.”

Shen Jingyan said nothing, and the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. After a brief pause, he spoke again. “I feel like you’ve been acting differently lately.”