Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 275 Your Third Brother is a Genius
"Buy a... house?" Du Anrao almost thought he had misheard.

“Yes.” Mrs. Du didn’t think there was anything wrong with her argument that buying a house was like buying groceries. She frowned and added, “There’s no time to spare. It would be best if we could move in immediately. If we buy the house tomorrow, Yu Xi and I will go shopping for some New Year’s goods to decorate the house. We should have enough time.”

Seeing that everyone had skipped the topic of buying a house and started discussing how to decorate the house after buying it, how much food to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner, and where to order the food, Du Anrao finally realized that his parents really planned to buy a house specifically to spend the New Year in City B.

She quickly stopped him, saying, "I...I'm fine. That matter will most likely be resolved in a day or two, and then I can fly back to reunite with you all. It's not troublesome at all. You really don't need to buy a house just to stay and spend the New Year with me. Our family doesn't live here anyway, so this house will most likely just sit idle. What a waste."

"It's not entirely for the sake of spending the New Year with you in City B; it's mainly for your third brother."

"Third Brother? What happened to Third Brother?" Du Anrao turned to look at Du Yihan in confusion.

“Your third brother recently applied for a master’s program at Beijing University and has been accepted. He will most likely be staying in Beijing for the next few years. Your father and I are thinking of buying a house there so that he can have a private place to rest in his spare time.”

"Yes, yes, and your great-uncle is here, so you might come to stay here often in the future. Although you'll probably stay at your great-uncle's place when you come, it's not good to keep bothering your great-uncle when you occasionally have one or two friends visiting. It's more convenient to have your own place outside."

As he spoke, Mr. Du seemed to have thought of something, and frowned, saying, "It seems that one set might not be enough. Why don't we just buy two sets? One set for you and one set for your third brother."

Du Anrao: "?!!"

"No need, no need, I don't have any friends to entertain, you can just buy one set for Third Brother."

Du Yihan also came over, put her arm around Du An's shoulder, and pulled him into her arms: "Yeah, one set is enough. Someone like me who runs the lab all year round, I probably won't live there many times. An'an will probably go there more often than I will, so there's no need to buy another set."

Du's parents and others agreed that it made sense and nodded, ultimately deciding not to dwell on the matter any further.

Du Anrao breathed a sigh of relief and finally realized what the two had just said.

"Mom, you just said that Third Brother applied for a master's program at Peking University and... got accepted?"

"Correct."

"...But isn't he only a junior? This is only his first semester..."

“Who says college students can’t skip grades?” Du Yihan flicked Du Anrao’s forehead triumphantly. “To tell you the truth, your third brother is a genius. For a genius, following the rules and regulations means wasting time.”

Du Anrao: "..." [What kind of top-tier Versailles-style outrageous statement is this? Third Brother, back in school you were definitely number one on the list of classmates who wanted to put a sack over your head and beat you up.]

Du Yihan: "..." It's not that annoying.

"Third brother just ran away like that, and his previous school didn't have any objections?"

"What could they possibly object to? Allowing me to stay at their school for two years is already their limit. Their lab's facilities can't support my subsequent experiments, and staying any longer would only hinder me—they know this better than anyone else. Rather than clinging to me and preventing me from leaving, it's better to be straightforward and save face for both sides. If I do achieve something in the future, it will be a good resume for them."

After Du Yihan explained it this way, Du Anrao understood.

That's true. No matter how many times her third brother switches to other schools for graduate studies, it can't be denied that he studied at S University. If her third brother were more ambitious and produced some great results, it could become a future admission quota for the school.

From this perspective, the school really doesn't need to fall out with him over such a "trivial matter." It's too narrow-minded and could easily backfire.

"So, Third Brother will have to stay in City B from now on?"

"Pretty much. I'll have to stay here for at least the next few years. And objectively speaking, as the capital, B City is better than S City in terms of economy and culture. As one of the top universities in the country, B University's investment and construction in its laboratories are unparalleled. Even just to complete my experiments, I have to live in B City for a while. As for whether I will settle down in B City after that, that depends on the progress of my experiments and the learning atmosphere at B University."

"..." As expected of the research fanatic Third Brother, every sentence he utters is about his beloved experiment, and even his future plans only consider this. There's no one else like him!

This made Du Anrao suddenly feel an urge to persuade Ye Mengzhen to stop chasing after her third brother's face like a moth to a flame, and to stop loving him because it would lead nowhere!

With her third brother, there was only one unshakeable empress: the one who had an endless stream of scientific research experiments on his hands. She, a living person, could never compete with those things.

After listening to Du Anrao's complaints, the Du family members were speechless. It seemed that this was indeed the case. Could it be that their troublesome son (brother) was destined to be single forever?
Du Yihan didn't seem to care much. Ye Mengzhen? Was she the girl who secretly stood next to them at their birthday party last time?
Du Yihan was too busy studying her new little sister's thoughts to remember Ye Mengzhen well. Now, hearing Du Anrao mention her, she only vaguely remembered that Ye Mengzhen was a cute girl with a bit of baby fat. It was obvious that she was a spoiled child like Du Yuxi.

But as Du Anrao said, most of his energy was devoted to his experiments. Dating was time-consuming and troublesome, not to mention having to take care of the girl in every aspect, from behavior to emotions. Just thinking about it made Du Yihan's head feel like it was going to explode. It was a hundred times more strenuous than staying up all night to work on his experiments. So from the beginning, he had already decided to be inseparable from his experimental data for the rest of his life, which meant he was destined to disappoint the girl's heart.

"After the New Year, when the school's faculty and staff return and complete the formalities, I will officially become a member of B University and its experimental team. Would you like to visit our school and laboratories then?"

"Is that alright?" Du Anrao was slightly taken aback. "I've heard that many university labs aren't open to the public, not even their own students can just enter, for fear of data leaks or damage to equipment..."

"That's true, but as long as you report it to the lab director in advance and get their permission, and you don't go to those confidential areas where precision instruments are placed, it'll be fine. Do you want to go? If you do, I'll go back and talk to my advisor, and we'll arrange a time in advance to take you in for a visit."