After that, Lu Huaiyu accompanied Shen Li to the laboratory building of the Institute of Physics.

He stopped walking and looked at the time. Then, with a smile on his face, he caressed Shen Li’s hair and said, “It really was a shortcut so we’re not too late.”

Shen Li kept quiet.

So, this man had already planned ahead and had used the extra time that they had saved while they were going along the path to do other things.

Lu Huaiyu’s gaze met her eyes as he paused to think for a moment. Seeming to understand something, he slid the palm of his hand down and cupped the side of her face. Pressing his thumb lightly against her lips, he said with a low laugh,”I paid attention just now. No one should have noticed it.”

Shen Li replied, “… I don’t–”

“Hey, Huaiyu?”

A deep and laughing voice was heard.

Lu Huaiyu paused and looked up.

At the same time, Shen Li turned around and saw a slightly plump middle-aged man in his forties walking over.

The sky was dark, but Shen Li found him rather familiar.

Lu Huaiyu quickly answered the question in her mind.

“Dean Wu.”

The middle-aged man chuckled. As his gaze fell on Shen Li, he could not help but click his tongue.

“I believe you’ve been to the Institute of Physics more times than you’ve been to our institute, haven’t you?”

Shen Li immediately realized the identity of this person. He was the director of the Xijing University Institute of Economics and Management, Wu Lin.

Lu Huaiyu did not seem bothered about his teasing. Instead, his gaze fell on the Thermos flask in his hand.

“Are you here to deliver soup to Professor Sun again?”

Professor Sun Yi from the Institute of Physics was Wu Lin’s wife.

Wu Lin snorted lightly.

“Her team has been so busy with a new research project recently that they don’t even have time to eat. If I didn’t come, she probably would have forgotten to eat again.”

As he said this, he was full of resentment.

“I don’t know what’s going on with these people from the Institute of Physics, but they seem to be getting busier and busier every day!”

Hearing this, Lu Huaiyu nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. She– They are very busy.”

Shen Li stayed quiet.

Hearing that Lu Huaiyu had agreed with him, Wu Lin recalled that this kid had also found a girlfriend at the Institute of Physics. He could not help but feel some empathy for him, and the desire to confide in him rose.

“That’s right! Tell me, what are they busy with all day? They leave early in the day and return late. Sometimes, they even spend a few days in the lab, without even caring about their home!”

“Is their project that important? Are their experiments that important?”

“It’s not that I don’t want her to do her research, but a person can’t spend all their time and energy on that, right? Am I not busy as well?”

Lu Huaiyu nodded with a faint smile as he listened.

Shen Li listened quietly as she stood by his side.

Although she knew that Dean Wu was venting about Professor Sun, she still had an inexplicable feeling that she was being scolded…

Dean Wu looked at the two people who were holding hands and could not help but let out a long sigh.

“Hey! Huaiyu, you’re doing well now. You’ll know in the future. Being with people who are in the field of Physics like them is really–”

Before he could finish, his phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the caller ID, he immediately picked it up and his voice immediately softened.

“Hello? Hey, I’m here. I’m right downstairs. Okay, okay. Wait for me for a moment and I’ll go up right away.”

After saying that, he ended the call.

“Huaiyu, I’ll be going up first. Professor Sun hasn’t eaten yet. It’s bad for the stomach if one is hungry for too long.”

Lu Huaiyu smiled and said, “Okay.”

“Okay.”

Wu Lin carried the thermos bucket and rushed into the laboratory building without looking back.

Shen Li, “…”

Looking at the view of his back as he left, Shen Li was silent for a moment before she said,”So, from what standpoint did Dean Wu criticize you for coming to the institute too many times?”

“That wasn’t criticism.”

Lu Huaiyu smiled.

“He was teaching a lesson.

“A dean teaches by example. It’s a student’s job to learn.”

Shen Li, “…”

..

For the next few days, Shen Li was indeed quite busy.

George had been discussing with her about the fashion week in Bai City. Shen Li had considered it for a long time and had finally agreed to go.

The time was set for March 22nd.

Therefore, during this period of time, she was focusing most of her energyon the last experiment.

Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly and her thesis had successfully been completed.

That morning, Shen Li accompanied Shen Zhijin to have breakfast.

“Dad, I’ve sent the thesis to your email. When will you be free to help me take a look?”

Shen Zhijin seemed to be a little surprised.

“So soon?”

According to his previous estimation, her thesis would be completed in a week.

Shen Li took a sip of milk.

“Didn’t I tell you before that George had extended an invitation to me to the Bai City Fashion Week? I told him that I would be there the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Shen Zhijin furrowed his brows slightly.

“Who else is going with you?”

Originally, he had planned to accompany Shen Li to Bai City, but he would be going to Haicheng for a business trip in the next few days, and it would not be easy to cancel it.

Shen Li knew about his plans, so of course, she understood what he was thinking.

“George will be going, as well as two G&S executives,” Shen Li said, “The flight will be leaving at 9:50 am the day after tomorrow. I’ll be going with them. Mian has also been invited this time, but there’s a slight clash in his schedule, so he’ll only be there the day after tomorrow.”

She thought for a moment.

“Oh right, there’s also Tang Wei. Both she and Fengmian are G&S’s brand partnership ambassadors.”

Tang Wei had been on set recently and had taken a leave of absence for this reason. She and Lin Fengmian would be on different flights on the same day.

Shen Zhijin’s brows relaxed. Although he still regretted not being able to accompany her, he felt much more at ease with someone accompanying her.

“Okay. I’ll read your thesis later.”

With that, Shen Zhijin got up and went to the study room.

After a few minutes, he walked out with a key in his hand.

He handed the key to Shen Li.

“I have a permanent house in Bai City. You can go there first when you arrive.”

Shen Li was momentarily stunned, then she smiled and took it.

“Thank you, Dad.”

In the past, Shen Zhijin used to spend most of his time in Bai City.

Last year, when he returned to the country, he had taken the lead as the initiator on a collaborative project between Xijing University and Fino Laboratory. That was why he had stayed in the country for a longer period of time.

After acknowledging Shen Li as his daughter, he had begun to shift the focus of his work from Bai City to the Capital so that he could spend more time with her.

However, it was a pity that he could not go with her this time.

He stroked Shen Li’s head and said,”I’ll try my best to finish my work here as soon as possible and go to Bai City to accompany you. Besides, Professor Carroll has been spending some time there recently. You can ask for his help if you need it.”

Shen Li nodded.

“Okay.”

…

In the evening, Shen Li made a trip to Rongyue Mansion.

She would be flying to Bai City tomorrow morning. This time, she would be staying there for at least a week, so she had specially come here to have a meal and tell him about this.

Shen Li went straight to the top floor and pressed the passcode to enter.

The living room was quiet.

“Second Brother?”

She called out but received no answer.

At this time… he should have already woken up, right?

With this thought in mind, she went to the master bedroom door and knocked on it.

“Second Brother?”

After a while, just as she was about to knock again, the door was finally opened.

He seemed to have just finished taking a shower and was wearing a bathrobe loosely around his body. His black hair was damp and was a little disheveled, slightly covering his deep brows and eyes.

Droplets of water fell on his straight collarbones and slowly slid into the bathrobe, disappearing from view.

He stared at her as he spoke to her in a husky voice as if he had just woken up.

“… Ah Li?”