The Mysterious Night of Beijing

What they discarded was a major discovery that could shake the entire field.

Lin Chuxiu stared at the computer screen, her fingers trembling slightly.

She knew her chance had come.

She no longer needed to prove anything to Xu Ziming.

All she needs to do is produce this catalyst.

Use it to verify Meng Huizhou's crazy conjecture.

By then, all the data and facts will speak for her.

In the days that followed, Lin Chuxiu's life became even busier.

During the day, she was still in the lab, processing the "waste liquid," but her goal had changed from simple recycling to targeted enrichment and purification of the key precursor.

That evening, she returned to her dormitory and immersed herself in her doctoral dissertation and related literature, designing subsequent synthesis routes.

Zhao Jia was a little worried seeing her so energetic every day.

"Xiuxiu, don't push yourself too hard, your health is the most important thing."

"I'm fine."

A light like never before shone in Lin Chuxiu's eyes.

It's a kind of excitement and fascination that belongs to researchers when they are getting closer to the truth.

Another weekend has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Lin Chuxiu made an exception and didn't go to the lab; she wanted to give her brain a rest.

She was making her bed in her dorm room when her phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number from Shanghai.

She hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the answer.

"Hello, is this Chuxiu?"

On the other end of the phone was a voice that sounded somewhat old and tired.

Lin Chuxiu was stunned.

She recognized the voice.

It's Grandpa Jiang.

"Grandpa Jiang?"

"Oh, it's me." The old man's voice on the other end of the phone carried a hint of relief. "Girl, you still acknowledge me as your grandpa."

"What's the matter that you wanted to see me about?" Lin Chuxiu's tone unconsciously softened a little.

"It's nothing serious," Grandpa Jiang paused, "It's just... that kid Chi Ye, he went to Yanjing to see you a while ago, did he cause you any trouble?"

Lin Chuxiu frowned.

Jiang Chiye?

Has he been to Yanjing?

She remembered the scene at the school gate that day when Jiang Chiye stopped her.

"Did he go back?"

"I went back," Grandpa Jiang sighed. "When I got back, both I and the car were practically falling apart. I spent several days in the hospital."

Lin Chuxiu was somewhat surprised.

Given Jiang Chiye's personality, how could he possibly let it go after being beaten up?

"Girl, Grandpa knows that it is our Jiang family that has wronged you."

"I'll teach that brat Chi Ye a lesson and make sure he never bothers you again."

"You're all alone in Yenching, study hard, take good care of yourself, and don't worry us."

The old man talked on and on, like an ordinary grandfather who cares about his granddaughter.

Lin Chuxiu listened quietly, feeling somewhat uneasy.

After hanging up the phone, she looked out the window, lost in thought.

She never expected that Grandpa Jiang would personally resolve Jiang Chiye's matter.

She suddenly realized that she had spoken so harshly at the Jiang family banquet, perhaps hurting the old man's feelings too much.

Just as she was lost in thought, the dormitory door was pushed open.

Zhao Jia rushed in in a flurry of activity.

"Xiuxiu! Something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong?" Lin Chuxiu came back to her senses.

"Look at the school forum!" Zhao Jia handed her the phone, her face full of anger.

Lin Chuxiu took the phone; the screen displayed the Yenching University campus forum.

A post highlighted in red and bold was pinned to the top.

[Let's expose Lin Chuxiu, the newest student in the Chemistry Department, a social climber and academic stuntwoman who always takes shortcuts!]

Lin Chuxiu's eyes turned cold.

She opened the post.

The poster was an anonymous ID, and the content of the post was full of slander and defamation.

The post said that Lin Chuxiu was disciplined by Shanghai University for academic misconduct and a chaotic private life, and almost failed to graduate.

They said she was able to get into Yenching University entirely through improper connections.

The post also included several photos.

One of the photos is of her being harassed by that fat man when she was at Shanghai University, and Meng Huizhou stepped in to help her. The angle of the photo is very tricky, making it look like Meng Huizhou is intimately embracing her.

The other photo, taken at the lab entrance that day, shows Professor Zhou Wenhai handing her the USB drive. It was also taken in a highly misleading way, making it seem like some kind of private transaction was taking place.

The most malicious thing is that the poster also posted screenshots of Lin Lengyan's previous attempts to gain sympathy online, implying that Lin Chuxiu was ungrateful and betrayed her family.

At the end of the post, the poster asserted that Lin Chuxiu was able to enter the national key project team and even become the deputy team leader entirely because she "slept with" the project investor Meng Huizhou and her mentor Zhou Wenhai.

That's where the term "academic Daji" comes from.

The comment section of the post has exploded.

Holy crap, really? There are people like this at our school?!

[I knew it! How could a master's freshman like her be appointed as the deputy group leader? Oh, I see.]

[Isn't that Mr. Meng supposed to be celibate? Looks like the rumors aren't true.]

[Disgusting! This kind of person has completely disgraced Peking University! The university should investigate this thoroughly!]

The language was foul and offensive, and the words were unbearable to read.

"Are these people crazy?!" Zhao Jia stomped her feet in anger. "The photo is obviously taken with the camera angle manipulated; are they blind?"

"And the person who posted that message, it must be Xu Ziming! Nobody else knows you're the deputy group leader!"

Lin Chuxiu looked at the comments without any expression on her face.

She returned the phone to Zhao Jia.

"Ignore them."

She had long anticipated that this day would come.

Xu Ziming's hostility towards her was written all over his face from day one.

She was parachuted in as deputy team leader, which threatened his interests, so naturally he had to find a way to get rid of her.

This method of spreading rumors and smearing others, though crude, is very effective.

"How can we ignore this!" Zhao Jia exclaimed anxiously. "They're practically portraying you as Pan Jinlian! If you don't clarify this, you'll be drowned in their spittle!"

"How do we clarify this?" Lin Chuxiu countered. "Should we explain to them that the photo was just a perspective trick and the USB drive contained study materials? Do you think they'd believe us?"

"They only believe what they want to believe."

Zhao Jia was speechless when asked the question.

Indeed, the more you explain these things, the worse they get.

"Then... what should we do? Just let them curse us?"

"I don't have time to waste with them." Lin Chuxiu walked to her desk and turned on her computer.

She reorganized her experimental data again.

She needed to produce the catalyst as quickly as possible.

That would be the most effective way to refute these rumors.

Seeing Lin Chuxiu's stubborn attitude, Zhao Jia felt both angry and heartbroken.

She took out her phone, logged into Weibo, and started editing a short post, preparing to have a three-hundred-round battle with those keyboard warriors.

Lin Chuxiu did not stop her.

She knew that Zhao Jia was protecting her in her own way.

But her own battlefield is not online.

In the laboratory.

In the following days, the controversy on the forum intensified.

Lin Chuxiu's reputation as an "academic Daji" spread almost throughout Yenching University.

As she walked around campus, she could always feel the strange looks she received from those around her.

In the laboratory, Xu Ziming's gaze towards her was filled with undisguised smugness and contempt.