The academic genius started by accidentally flirting with the rich female principal.

At this moment, the mature female professor was a little at a loss. Faced with the sudden and bold confession, she didn't know what to do. As for Chen Yu... he was even more fearful and uneasy. He knew that there was a problem with what he said, but now he dared not speak.

For a time,

The huge laboratory was completely silent, so quiet that you could hear each other breathing.

Chen Yu sat there blankly, his whole body tense. He tried several times to break the awkward atmosphere, but found that the words he wanted to say lingered on his lips and he could not say them.

What should I do?

This can't go on.

We need to get things moving quickly, otherwise the longer we drag it out, the worse it will be for us.

Chen Yu was thinking about how to turn the situation around when, to his utter surprise, the mature female professor who had been silent all along spoke first.

"When did this happen?"

Shen Yanru questioned coldly, but upon closer listening, one could detect a hint of panic mixed in with her icy tone.

"what?"

"When...?"

Chen Yu instinctively wanted to deny it, but considering that denying it would involve more things, such as the secret between him and her stepmother, he simply decided to play along... let the misunderstanding continue. Although he didn't know what the consequences would be, at least he ensured that the mature female vice principal was safe.

"Cough cough cough—"

"Professor Shen...do you believe in love at first sight?" Chen Yu coughed a few times and asked earnestly.

"..."

"you mean..."

Shen Yanru, her face flushed, frowned and maintained her aloof demeanor, muttering, "You came here to study for your master's degree not for academic purposes, but... but simply to get close to me?"

No, no, no.

"I came here to study for my master's degree... entirely because of your talent!" Chen Yu hurriedly explained, "The reason I... I have feelings for you is... uh... one day I was suddenly attracted to you, to the point that I couldn't eat or sleep, um... that's how it is."

Inviting a wolf into the house...

If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn't have taken it from him in the first place.

Shen Yanru's face darkened. Faced with this bold declaration of love, she felt both annoyed and somewhat regretful. Annoyed because their relationship had unwittingly become murky, and regretful because of her initial attraction to him...

In order to get Chen Yu to study for his master's degree, he even risked falling out with the mathematics department. Looking back now... he should have just given him to the mathematics department instead.

"Chen Yu..."

"Liking someone is a basic human instinct, and I won't be angry with you for it." Shen Yanru pursed her lips and said calmly, "But I still want to say... don't focus your energy on me, you should focus your energy on scientific research."

"key..."

"What you call love at first sight is more of a fleeting feeling, and that feeling comes from the body, not the mind." Shen Yanru paused here, then continued, "Besides, there's absolutely no possibility between us."

Logically speaking...

At this point, one should go downhill, but Chen Yu deliberately went against the grain, preparing to go upstream.

"actually..."

"If you like someone at first sight, that feeling will last a very long time."

"This kind of liking has nothing to do with age or appearance. It's because the other person gives me a feeling that no one else can. I can't quite put my finger on what's so good about it, but..." Chen Yu took a deep breath and murmured to himself, "but no one can replace him."

Shen Yanru was stunned. Hearing these words from someone, the calm lake in the depths of her heart seemed to be slightly disturbed.

"Yanru..."

"We'll meet many people in our lives, but we have to admit... there are some people we can't help but like at first sight." Chen Yu pursed his lips and muttered to himself, "It's not about looks, figure, status, or money, but rather a deep-seated feeling of familiarity..."

"It's like it's in my mind..."

"A mental image I'd been building up for so long materialized the moment I saw the person. And no matter how much time has passed, when we meet again... I still like them very much!"

Chen Yu turned around and looked at the mature female professor behind him, staring directly into her eyes without any hesitation.

The next second...

Shen Yanru suddenly reached out and pinched his ear hard.

"What did you call me?"

"Yanru?"

"Is that a name you can use?"

"Don't you even respect me as your advisor anymore?" Shen Yanru glared at him fiercely, gritting her teeth as she said, "Do you even want to graduate? Don't think that just because you have a few first-author papers in top-tier journals, you can act with impunity. These achievements mean nothing to me!"

Chen Yu tilted his head, pleading in pain, "It hurts... Professor Shen... I... I was wrong, please have mercy on me this time."

"snort--"

Shen Yanru snorted coldly, then released her hand, looked at him indifferently, and said irritably, "You keep saying you like this and that, but you're secretly going on blind dates with some shameless old woman."

"Your preference..."

"It's really incredibly cheap!"

The last few words were uttered through clenched teeth.

"this..."

"Isn't it supposed to be a misunderstanding?" Chen Yu explained awkwardly, "Why are you bringing it up again?"

Shen Yanru rolled her eyes, didn't say anything more, pushed him away forcefully, checked his calculation results, and casually said, "I will put you as the second author in the final paper of this project."

"oh..."

"Actually, it doesn't matter how many times I participate, as long as I'm involved in your project," Chen Yu said.

The mature female professor turned her head, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and said coldly, "Stop spouting nonsense in front of me."

As soon as he finished speaking,

He slowly stood up and muttered to himself, "That's enough... I should go back."

After tidying up the lab briefly, Chen Yu and Shen Yanru left together.

Because I worked overtime until quite late...

There were hardly any people left in the laboratory building.

Chen Yu and Shen Yanru walked side by side, but not too close; there was still some distance between them.

at this time,

A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the mature professor's hair and carrying away some of her delicate fragrance.

Chen Yu, with his keen sense of smell, caught a whiff of her scent.

It smells quite nice...

unconsciously,

The two were about to leave the laboratory building, and after a few more steps they would go their separate ways; he would head east, and she would head west.

"Professor Shen..."

"I'm off then."

Chen Yu greeted the mature female professor and then walked towards the dormitory without looking back.

Watching his departing figure gradually shrink in her sight, Shen Yanru suddenly felt a strange impulse. She bit her full, red lips tightly, as if she had made some kind of decision.

"Chen Yu!"

Shen Yanru called out to him.

Upon hearing the news, Chen Yu stopped and turned around to look at her with a puzzled expression.

"One NSC first-author paper, three PRL first-author papers..."

"I agree to date you."

Chen Yu: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?