“Who is it?” Zhao Xuebing asked coldly without looking up from her work.

“Li Shi.”

Upon hearing Cen Huai’an and Zhao Xuebing’s conversation, Li Shi felt his heart nearly stop.

Everyone knew Zhao Xuebing had a bad temper; if your work wasn’t up to par, she wouldn’t show you any mercy.

She was capable, and many in the lab needed her help, which made everyone wary of offending her.

No one had ever dared to ask her for help or resources in her presence.

“Li Shi? Average abilities,” Zhao Xuebing remarked, glancing at him with an expressionless face.

Li Shi could already feel her disdain.

“He works diligently,” Cen Huai’an interjected.

“True enough,” Zhao Xuebing nodded. “You can take him, then.”

Indifferently, she resumed organizing her own materials.

Cen Huai’an thanked Zhao Xuebing and led Li Shi back to his workstation nearby.

“Now you’ll help me organize the tasks assigned by the professor. You don’t need to worry about the work over there with senior sister,” Cen Huai’an instructed.

“But—”

Cen Huai’an’s tone turned firm. “No ‘buts.’ Senior sister has already agreed, so you’re following me now, and you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

Li Shi still looked hesitant.

Cen Huai’an pressed on, “If you want to leave now, go ahead. I won’t need to hear about your tasks in the future.”

Hearing this, Li Shi was reminded of the times he had been bullied in the lab—not through physical actions, but through derogatory comments, being assigned all the worst tasks, and being called foolish.

Those experiences had taken a toll on his mental state.

His gaze steadied with resolve. “Junior, I’ll follow your lead.”

Cen Huai’an smiled slightly and began distributing today’s tasks to Li Shi.

Li Shi couldn’t believe his ears when he saw the work assigned to him. “Junior, is this all I need to do today? It seems a bit too little,” he remarked, as he usually handled at least double the workload.

“Not too little; just focus on this for now,” Cen Huai’an replied, not offering further explanations.

He emphasized that Li Shi was currently assisting him with the professor’s tasks, so he didn’t need to worry about anyone else’s work.

“If you can’t refuse them, let them come to me,” he added.

Li Shi was moved by Cen Huai’an’s words; it was the first time he had felt cared for by a fellow student in the lab.

He quickly buried himself in his work, determined not to let his junior’s trust down.

As Li Shi was sorting materials, sure enough, others approached him for help. He looked at the person with some difficulty and spoke weakly, “I… I have other work to do.”

“This is work for senior sister, and it’s more important. I can’t finish it alone, please help me! Otherwise, if senior sister gets angry, we’ll all suffer,” the student pleaded.

“But I—”

“Junior, you weren’t always like this, leaving your friends to fend for themselves…” the girl continued, trying to pressure him.

“You didn’t hear him say he has his own work?” Cen Huai’an interrupted sharply.

“I’m speaking with Li Shi; this isn’t your business,” he asserted.

Standing up, he used his height and presence to intimidate the girl, who instinctively took a step back. “Are you going to hit me? If you do, my professor will expel you immediately!” she retorted, fear creeping into her voice.

Cen Huai’an ignored her completely and pulled Li Shi closer. “Senior, you focus on your tasks.”

“Hey!”

Cen Huai’an blocked the girl’s path. “Right now, Li Shi is helping me with materials.”

“Zhao Xuebing…” the girl tried to argue.

“She knows,” Cen Huai’an replied curtly.

Having no further retort, the girl shot Li Shi a resentful glare and left without another word, unable to confront either of them.

As Li Shi watched her walk away, a feeling of liberation surged within him.

For the first time, he felt a sense of vindication.

“Thank you, junior,” he said sincerely.

“Just focus on your work,” Cen Huai’an replied.

Li Shi nodded vigorously and became even more diligent in his tasks.

Later, as others approached Li Shi for help, Cen Huai’an stood his ground and turned them away.

Some students, unable to bear it, went to Zhao Xuebing to complain, saying that without Li Shi, their own work would be unmanageable, and they urged her to call Li Shi back.

They also subtly tried to undermine Cen Huai’an, saying, “Senior sister, this junior is openly challenging you. It’s clear he doesn’t respect you at all! You should teach him a lesson to put him in his place.”

Zhao Xuebing suddenly looked up at the accuser. “Who is being arrogant?”

“Cen Huai’an, huh? Look at how he behaves since he came to the lab; he doesn’t care about anyone…”

“Only incompetent people would think he’s arrogant. If you feel overwhelmed with work, I can ask the professor to let you drop out of the lab.”

Zhao Xuebing didn’t like dealing with interpersonal relationships, but that didn’t mean she was foolish.

The boy’s face changed with fear at her words.

He quickly looked up at Zhao Xuebing’s expression and found her gaze cold, indicating she was serious.

He immediately shook his head and repeatedly said he was wrong: “Senior, I didn’t mean that! I can finish it. Please forgive me, and just consider what I said earlier as nonsense.”

Zhao Xuebing continued to look at him without speaking, and the boy hurriedly left, not daring to gossip anymore.

During lunch, Zhao Xuebing sat across from Cen Huai’an. “You’ve offended quite a few people in the lab.”

Cen Huai’an glanced at her and nodded.

Zhao Xuebing said, “Geniuses attract jealousy.”

Cen Huai’an replied, “Those people are not worth worrying about.”

He had never taken those people seriously; they were just a group of clowns.

Zhao Xuebing nodded, “You’re doing well.”

She was still contemplating whether to help since Cen Huai’an was the only one in the lab she deemed capable in research.

Now that she realized Cen Huai’an had his own ideas and didn’t need her help, she felt more assured.

Within the scheduled time, Cen Huai’an and Zhao Xuebing completed their work and compiled a project application.

Cen Huai’an finished even earlier than Zhao Xuebing.

By working alone, he could manage his time, but with Li Shi’s help, he saved a lot of time and didn’t have to struggle, completing the task ahead of schedule.

Professor Liu flipped through the application and became more satisfied the more he read: “Very good.”

Afterward, Cen Huai’an and Zhao Xuebing returned to their normal research work, waiting for the project application day to arrive.

The remaining parts of the application had to be done by Professor Liu himself, which Cen Huai’an and Zhao Xuebing hadn’t encountered before, so they couldn’t contribute.

On the application day, Professor Liu only brought Cen Huai’an and Zhao Xuebing.

The two worked together with Professor Liu’s explanations to submit a perfect answer sheet.

As for whether they would successfully secure the project, it depended on whether the decision-makers found their application competitive enough.

The rest of the work was beyond Cen Huai’an and the others’ control, so he focused on the new research in the laboratory.

“Huai’an.”

Cen Huai’an had just finished eating and was riding his bicycle back to the laboratory when he heard a familiar voice.

“Tang Song.”

Cen Huai’an stopped his bike, balancing on one foot, and waited for Tang Song to approach.

He looked at Tang Song with a questioning gaze.

“Do you have any news about Zhang Lu?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head: “She’s at military school now, and communication is inconvenient during tasks or training.”

Since they were all friends and he had a decent relationship with Tang Song, Cen Huai’an explained a bit more.

Tang Song frowned, worry etched on his face.

“I haven’t received a letter from her in several months.”

“Neither have I.”

Cen Huai’an looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Tang Song opened his mouth, then shook his head: “I understand.”

It seemed he wasn’t the only one without news about Zhang Lu, which reassured him.

Previously, Tang Song was very worried that Zhang Lu was ignoring him because he hadn’t received her letters.

He had hesitated for a long time, afraid that asking Cen Huai’an would yield an answer he couldn’t accept, which was why he hadn’t sought him out sooner.

But as time passed, Tang Song found it increasingly hard to sit still, and his heart grew heavier.

He thought for a long, long time before finally preparing himself mentally. Even if the outcome was bad, he would accept it as long as he could get news about Zhang Lu.

Now that the result was better than he had feared, Tang Song dared not hope for more.

Cen Huai’an watched Tang Song’s retreating figure, his eyes revealing deep thought.

However, he didn’t dwell on it much longer and hurried back to focus on his own tasks.

When winter vacation arrived, there was still no news about the project application.

Professor Liu sighed every day in the laboratory, and the atmosphere became heavy, with everyone being very cautious in their work.

Cen Huai’an continued doing what he needed to do; until the results came out, anything could happen.

Professor Liu’s state of mind had become unstable to the point where he started asking Cen Huai’an, “When we were making the project report, did we make any mistakes?”

Cen Huai’an showed him the latest experimental report, his tone calm: “No.”

“Then why is there still no news? Other labs have already been notified?”

Cen Huai’an pointed at the report: “Professor, look at this.”

The news of the application was not something they could decide.

Professor Liu looked at him and suddenly smiled: “Huai’an, your temperament is really stable. I’ve gotten old; my mindset isn’t even as good as a child’s. Forget it, it’s not like we haven’t experienced failure before. We’ve weathered all sorts of storms; even if we fail this time, it doesn’t mean anything.”