"This is your identification card."
"From today on, you are a member of our First Laboratory."
"Welcome aboard, Yulan."
"You can head over to the lab now to get acquainted with everyone. Your official staff badge is currently being processed; I’ll bring it over to you shortly."
"Oh, by the way, would you mind sharing your contact information? I'll add you to the laboratory's group chat."
Zhao Song pulled out his phone, looking at Yulan expectantly.
"Sure!"
Yulan obediently recited her contact details, and she received a friend request from Zhao Song in no time.
After she clicked accept, she was immediately pulled into a group chat titled "Gossip and Tea."
The moment her colorful profile picture—a fat fish blowing bubbles—appeared in the chat, the group members, who had been busy chatting and eagerly anticipating her arrival, went completely silent.
A second later.
Yulan posted in the group:
Yulan: [Hello everyone, I’m Yulan.]
Yulan: [Small cat jumping and spinning in circles.gif]
The next instant, the frozen chat exploded into a frenzy of messages.
[Welcome, Lanlan!]
[Baby Lanlan is so cute!]
[Head pats for the kitten.jpg]
A torrent of messages flashed by so quickly that Yulan could barely keep up; her eyes were practically spinning.
However, she could clearly feel the enthusiastic welcome from everyone, and she couldn't help but beam, her amber eyes sparkling as if filled with starlight.
"Everyone is so warm and welcoming."
"They must be very easy to get along with."
No one understood better than Yulan how important it was to have a pleasant team of colleagues. It could vastly improve one's mood at work.
Yulan looked at Zhao Song with a hint of excitement.
Zhao Song’s mouth twitched as he thought of his colleagues in the lab—those cold, elite researchers who usually couldn't be bothered to waste even half a sentence and were known for their utter indifference.
*You silly girl,* he thought. *They’re only acting like this because it’s you.*
But then again, who wouldn't like a beautiful, sweet-smelling female?
As he pondered this, his computer suddenly pinged—a work alert he had set up specifically for urgent matters.
Standing before the screen, he saw a direct work directive from Shen Zhuoran.
As the highest-priority order, it required immediate attention.
Zhao Song had originally intended to accompany Yulan to the First Laboratory to introduce her to everyone, but now, he could only offer a regretful look.
"I’m sorry, Lanlan, but I have some urgent work to handle."
"Would you mind heading to the First Laboratory on your own?"
"Just turn left out of this door. Everyone there is very easygoing."
*With how much they're already fawning over her,* he thought, *if this beautiful female walks in, they'll probably end up in a fistfight over who gets to mentor her.*
There was no way anyone would ever dream of giving Yulan a hard time.
Yulan nodded in understanding. "No problem at all, I can go by myself."
"You go handle your work, Zhao, that's more important."
"Right." Zhao Song nodded.
Yulan turned and followed her memory, heading toward the First Laboratory she had just passed.
As she stood in the corridor trying to get her bearings, the door to the Second Laboratory suddenly swung open with a bang.
The male standing at the doorway and Yulan stared at each other in surprise.
The male, dressed in a crisp white lab coat and looking every bit the elite researcher, couldn't help but rub his eyes, his voice filled with astonishment:
"A... a female?"
"How is there a female at the Scientific Research Institute?"
"Oh, oh, oh! I get it. You must be the female who came for the interview today, right?"
As the elite researcher spoke, his gaze swept over Yulan, growing more mesmerized by the second.
Because their Second Laboratory already had Princess Louisa, they believed that no female in the world could be more gentle or understanding than her. Yesterday, when word spread that a female had arrived at the convenience store, the entire institute had been thrown into a frenzy, with everyone rushing to get a glimpse. Only the people in their lab had remained unmoved, secretly mocking the single males for being so starved for female company that they'd get excited over a commoner.
Because of this misplaced arrogance, they had muted the institute’s group chat. Naturally, they had never seen a photo of Yulan.
It wasn't until this moment, seeing her with his own eyes, that the researcher from the Second Laboratory realized how arrogant and foolish he had been.
The beautiful female before him deserved to be praised with every wonderful word in the language.
*She smells so good, truly, so good!*
Despite being an elite researcher, he couldn't help but show the same mesmerized expression that any ordinary male would have when faced with a female.
"Alan, is there something else?"
The fact that the lab door was open but Alan hadn't moved caught the attention of those inside.
Louisa turned away from the workstation and walked toward the door. When her eyes fell upon Yulan, who was wearing the institute’s ID badge on her chest, her pupils constricted sharply.
*She joined the institute? And Yulan is joining, too?*
*What is she trying to do? Provoke me?*
*A useless female with no healing power.*
Louisa’s eyes darkened. She covered her mouth with a hand, feigning surprise:
"Lanlan, why are you here?"
"Are you the female who came for the research assistant interview today? Didn't you always hate working?"
Louisa covered her mouth as if she had let something slip, then quickly added with a look of apology:
"I see, Lanlan. You don't have your own assets, right? Are you short on money?"
"If you really need the money, I can give it to you. It's perfectly fine."
"But please, don't come to the Scientific Research Institute just to collect a stipend, okay? Every cent here must be put to good use."
"Besides, the position of research assistant is too important. The Palliative Serum we are developing will affect billions of males during their rut; we cannot afford a single mistake."
Louisa’s face was filled with utter sincerity. As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, putting on an act of trying to help Yulan.
"Lanlan, how much do you need right now?"
"Is a million enough?"
"I can transfer it to you right now."
"But I hope you can give up this position, okay?"
"The Scientific Research Institute is no place for games."
Before Yulan could say a word, she had already been labeled as a troublemaker who was only here to leech off the institute because she was desperate for cash.
Upon hearing this, Alan, who had been mesmerized by Yulan just moments ago, instantly turned cold and rational. He stared at her coldly, waiting for her response. The institute had no need for females who were just looking for a free ride.
Yulan gripped the identification badge she had just received from Zhao Song, her lips curling into a smile—she was so angry she had to laugh.
***
At the same time, inside Shen Zhuoran’s private lounge, the sound of rushing water echoed repeatedly.
The cold-toned faucet was turned on to its maximum setting. The man, whose features were as cool and refined as jade bamboo in the mountains, was burning up. Dressed in the institute's standard white lab coat, his exposed neck and fair-skinned, handsome face were flushed a deep red.
He was bent over, catching handfuls of cold water and splashing them onto his face, the spray soaking his clothes.
For the usually restrained Shen Zhuoran, this was incredibly strange.
*It smells so good, so good, so good!*
He could smell that intoxicating scent again. It felt as if his very soul were trembling, his parched body craving it with a desperate intensity. He was entering his rut; he wanted to be marked.
Shen Zhuoran gripped the edge of the marble counter tightly, his knuckles white, the prominent blue veins standing out on the back of his hands.