CHAPTER 26 (PART 2)

“Because I didn’t want you to feel inferior.”

Shen Jingyan gave her the answer during dinner.

Shi Li was taken aback. “You were afraid I’d feel inferior?”

“Mm.” Shen Jingyan nodded, pausing for a moment before explaining, “We were once boyfriend and girlfriend, both bad at school, with no future prospects. Then, you ended up as a beggar while I became the owner of a major company. The gap in status widened all at once. I was afraid you’d develop an inferiority complex and start rejecting me because of it.”

“…Aren’t you overthinking this?” Shi Li was speechless.

Shen Jingyan looked at her blankly. “Isn’t that a normal human emotion?”

By now, he no longer hid his unusual traits in front of Shi Li at all. His face remained expressionless as he spoke—calm and rational, like an AI programmed for logical conversation.

Shi Li suddenly found herself missing the man who used to put on an act in front of her.

Shaking off her thoughts, she coughed lightly and said, “It’s a normal emotion, yes, but I’m not like other people. I don’t feel inferior at all.” After all, before she transmigrated, she already knew just how miserable her situation would be.

Shen Jingyan stared at her for a moment before nodding. “You’re indeed different from normal people.”

“In what way?” Shi Li asked, intrigued.

Shen Jingyan replied with a straight face, “You have incredibly thick skin.”

Shi Li: “……”

The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, Shen Jingyan slowly asked, “Did I ruin the conversation?”

“What do you think?” Shi Li countered.

Shen Jingyan nodded. “I did it on purpose.”

“…Can we have a normal conversation?” Shi Li was starting to suspect that now that he had dropped his façade, Shen Jingyan was actually just a human embodiment of contradiction.

The corners of Shen Jingyan’s lips curved slightly. Whether he was genuinely amused or just faking it was unclear. “I didn’t want to talk about this topic, so I found a way to end it quickly.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?” Shi Li asked.

Shen Jingyan looked at her. “I want to confirm our relationship.”

A trace of confusion flickered in Shi Li’s eyes. Before she could ask, he spoke seriously, “We’re back together now, right?”

Shi Li was momentarily stunned before she laughed. “Believe it or not, in my eyes, we never actually broke up.” They had been forcibly separated by the system—it wasn’t a mutual breakup.

Shen Jingyan fell silent. After a while, he nodded. “I see.”

“And?” Shi Li raised an eyebrow. “No reaction?”

Shen Jingyan stared at her, his obsidian-like eyes devoid of any emotion.

After a few moments of being fixed under his gaze, Shi Li started to feel a bit awkward.

She knew full well he was as emotionally unresponsive as a rock now, so why did she keep trying to provoke him?

“My heart is beating faster,” Shen Jingyan answered seriously.

Shi Li paused for a moment.

“I’m happy, Shi Li,” Shen Jingyan rephrased more directly.

Shi Li smiled, reached out to hug him, and whispered in his ear, “Then let’s make you even happier.”

Shen Jingyan lowered his gaze and wrapped his arms around her.

They hugged for a while until Shi Li’s stomach suddenly growled. Shen Jingyan silently let go of her. “Hungry?”

“…Yeah.”

The two exchanged a look, and a few minutes later, they were holding hands, heading out for a meal together.

They ate together, went out together—aside from hugging and kissing each other more often, their daily lives hadn’t changed much. Shi Li also stopped investigating Shen Jingyan. The only thing she did each day was wait for him to come home.

She no longer controlled her weight and started eating normally. Her once-thin frame gradually filled out to a healthier state, and her complexion improved significantly.

And that meant the experiment could officially begin.

Although it was considered the official start, the early stages still required extensive preparation. For example, Shi Li had a chip implanted in her wrist and had to accompany Shen Jingyan to the company every morning. Occasionally, she had to undergo blood tests and medical examinations.

“We’re already in the later stages of the experiment, so why do we still have to do so much? I thought it would be something simple, like just taking some medicine,” Shi Li sat in Shen Jingyan’s office, still holding onto a cotton swab from a recent blood draw.

By the way, Shen Jingyan’s office was no longer the small one near the restroom that she had visited last time. Now, it was a spacious office next to the top-floor laboratory.

Shen Jingyan beckoned her over. Once she approached, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and Shi Li naturally sat on his lap. Shen Jingyan still only displayed emotions when it came to her, and even then, only about 20% of what a normal person would feel—sometimes, it barely reached 10%.

With emotions so faint, it was difficult for him to feel strong fluctuations, no matter how intimate their actions were. At first, Shi Li would still feel a little shy, but over time, she realized that he remained completely unfazed each time. Eventually, she got used to it too.

Like now—their posture looked highly inappropriate, but both of them were calm, not even thinking in that direction.

“Aren’t we already in the later stages? Shouldn’t the final version of the medicine be ready? I thought it’d just be as simple as taking two pills a day,” Shi Li half-jokingly complained.

Shen Jingyan calmly tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “Once it’s released, it will indeed only require two pills a day. But right now, we’re still in the development phase. Until we reach the very last step, we must remain cautious. That’s the essence of scientific research.”

“Then where’s the medicine? Let me see it.” Shi Li stretched out her hand expectantly.

Shen Jingyan took her hand in his. “Not yet. Just wait a little longer.”

“…Oh.”

Shi Li suddenly lost interest and went to the sofa to play on her phone. Before long, she fell asleep.

Recently, she had been going to the biotech company every day. After each examination, Shen Jingyan would drive her home. After a while, she simply started staying at the office, accompanying him to and from work. Shen Jingyan had also gotten used to having a little companion in his office.

Seeing that she was asleep, he subconsciously lowered the sound of his typing to create a quieter environment for her. Even though his emotions had become dulled, taking care of her seemed to have become second nature—something deeply ingrained in him. Even if he was just acting on instinct, he still made sure to look after her properly.

The office was silent. Shi Li shifted slightly, burying her face into the sofa. Her position made it harder for her to breathe, so Shen Jingyan glanced at her and got up to help adjust her posture.

Just as he was about to move, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” he said indifferently.

The door opened, and an assistant carefully reported, “President Shen, it’s time for the meeting.”

Shen Jingyan hesitated briefly before walking over to turn Shi Li onto her side. Only then did he leave.

As the door closed, the office fell into silence again, with only Shi Li left inside.

The person who had been sound asleep suddenly opened her eyes—her gaze sharp and alert, without the slightest hint of drowsiness.

She sat up, glanced at the door, then quickly ran over to the desk and started searching through it.

Ever since they had laid everything out in the study that night, she had stopped investigating Shen Jingyan. Not because she completely trusted him, but because she had realized that her previous actions had already been noticed by him.

Yes, on the night they had confronted each other, she hadn’t thought much of it at the time. But after waking up and replaying everything in her mind, she noticed something suspicious. If Shen Jingyan truly didn’t want his past to be exposed, why would he keep those records and even wave them in front of her, practically inviting her to dig deeper?

At first, she only had a vague suspicion. But when that woman from the biotech company called, she was completely convinced—Shen Jingyan had orchestrated everything.

The woman had gotten her number many days ago. The company wasn’t that large, and from what she had seen, employee records were fairly open. If the woman had really just wanted to help her, she would have reached out on the same day.

Of course, delays could happen—people got busy. But out of all possible moments, the woman had called right after Shi Li confronted Shen Jingyan, as if she were delivering a final confirmation that everything he had said was true.

Wasn’t that just too much of a coincidence?

After spending more time with Shen Jingyan, Shi Li had gradually realized that most of what he had told her that night was indeed the truth. He was the company’s owner. He had deliberately recruited her. His hatred value toward her was only 20%. On the surface, there seemed to be no further issues.

But she couldn’t understand—if he wanted to be honest with her, why not just tell her outright? Why go through such a roundabout way, waiting for her to take the bait before revealing everything?

Something didn’t add up.

After thinking it through, Shi Li believed the issue lay in the contract she had signed with Shen Jingyan.

That volunteer agreement she had signed probably didn’t just involve some simple experiment.

She had done nothing for the past few days—not because she had given up, but because she knew that any move she made would be noticed by Shen Jingyan. Instead, she had chosen to stay still, waiting for him to lower his guard—so she could finally uncover what he was really hiding.

Shi Li furrowed her brows and carefully rummaged through his desk. After searching for a while, she finally found the contract they had signed.

Shen Jingyan’s meeting could end at any moment, so Shi Li didn’t have time to waste. She quickly took out her phone and snapped pictures of each page, aiming to capture everything as fast as possible so she could examine it later at home. She flipped through the contract, taking photos one by one, occasionally glancing at the door to make sure no one was coming before continuing.

She wasn’t too worried about surveillance cameras—she had already investigated and knew that while there were a few cameras outside Shen Jingyan’s office, there weren’t any inside.

After taking all the necessary photos, Shi Li swiftly put everything back in order, then hurried back to the couch and lay down. Her heart pounded, and her palms were damp with sweat. She took a moment to steady herself, then decided not to pretend to be asleep anymore. Instead, she pulled out her phone and started watching a drama.

About ten minutes later, Shen Jingyan returned. At that moment, she was watching a particularly amusing scene and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Is it that funny?” Shen Jingyan asked.

Shi Li nodded.

Shen Jingyan glanced at her screen and remarked flatly, “I don’t understand what they’re doing. It looks stupid.”

“It’s just for entertainment. That’s how dramas are,” Shi Li replied casually as she turned off her phone. Once he sat down, she leaned against him. “Done with your meeting?”

Shen Jingyan hesitated for a moment. “How did you know I was in a meeting?”

Shi Li’s fingers twitched slightly as she glanced at him. “Why? Was there something else you were doing?”

Shen Jingyan’s lips curled slightly. “There was.”

“What was it?” Shi Li raised an eyebrow.

Shen Jingyan stared at her for a moment, then pinned her down on the couch, kissing her slowly and thoroughly. By the time he pulled away, Shi Li’s face was flushed. His voice was low as he said, “You.”

“…You sure know how to talk,” Shi Li muttered, her breathing slightly unsteady.

Shen Jingyan kissed her earlobe lightly, satisfied when he heard her sharp intake of breath. “It’s not just talk. I’m stating a fact.”

Shi Li couldn’t help but push him away. Looking at his calm demeanor, she grumbled, “You’re just taking advantage of the fact that you don’t get embarrassed and using it to tease me on purpose.”

She froze the moment the words left her mouth, instantly regretting them. Every time she left the novel world, her emotions would be retracted, so she understood how unsettling that emptiness felt. He was already dealing with such dull emotions, and yet she had still said something like that—it wasn’t right.

Just as she was debating how to apologize, Shen Jingyan thought for a moment and then, with a perfectly serious expression, said, “That’s right.”

“…Huh?”

Shen Jingyan continued matter-of-factly, “I’m deliberately provoking you. Watching you is more interesting than watching a drama.”

Shi Li: “…Oh.”