The Mad Beauty Professor Forced Me to Mark Her - Chapter 9

The incident happened so suddenly that Qi Si’s first reaction was to suspect herself.

After all, she was not a professional. During the process of caring for the nude mice, she might have made a mistake in some step, leading to the current situation.

But Su Moxiao’s attack came far too quickly. She had even humiliated Qi Si in front of so many people, as if she were in a rush to distance herself from something—or as if this had been a trap designed specifically to frame her.

With Ji Min’s earlier warning in mind, Qi Si no longer considered problems from only one angle.

She was not frightened by the scene. Her mind cleared quickly, and she reacted by stopping Su Moxiao’s outburst. She gripped the hand Su Moxiao had been about to slap down with and shoved her away forcefully.

An Alpha’s strength was naturally greater than an ordinary person’s. On the surface, that grip and shove did not seem like much, but Su Moxiao grimaced in pain from it.

Although there were many people here, Qi Si had no intention of showing weakness. Her voice was cold as she said, “Su Moxiao, can you speak properly? How I got into medical school—you really have no idea?”

Su Moxiao rotated her aching wrist and glared at Qi Si with furious disbelief. Before she could even open her mouth, someone behind her immediately spoke up for her. “Stop dragging in irrelevant things. Who cares how you did on the college entrance exam? Look at what you did. You couldn’t even take care of mice without causing such a huge mess. Hurry up, admit your mistake, apologize, and pay whatever compensation you should pay!”

Qi Si said, “How have you determined that it’s my fault? Do you have evidence?”

Su Moxiao said, “There was no one else in the laboratory during the holiday. Senior Brother Liu Peng explained everything he needed to explain to you. Now, in the entire laboratory, only the nude mice you were responsible for had problems. If it isn’t your fault, whose fault is it?”

Qi Si emphasized, “I need evidence proving that I made an error in operation.”

Su Moxiao pointed at the dead bodies on the ground. “Isn’t this evidence?”

Qi Si ignored her and glanced at the others. “Who is in charge here? It can’t possibly be Su Moxiao, can it?”

A tall, short-haired man wearing rimless glasses walked out with an experimental record book in hand. “You look rather unconvinced. What’s your name? Yuan, Yuan… What’s the second character?”

“Qi Si,” Su Moxiao leaned over and said. “Eldest Senior Brother, her name is Qi Si. A freshman from the class of ’23.”

“Oh.” Eldest Senior Brother dragged out the word slowly. “How did a freshman end up in our laboratory? Is she also someone who got in through connections?”

A trace of embarrassment and anger flashed across Su Moxiao’s face, but she was not sure whether Eldest Senior Brother’s tone was mocking her or not. After all, he still looked quite upright.

“I asked her to come help,” Su Moxiao said, her voice weakening a little. “I wasn’t in the lab during the holiday, and Senior Brother Liu Peng had to rush the progress of his experiment, so I asked her to come help. I heard she was short on money and looking everywhere for part-time work.”

The others began chattering. Someone mentioned “ex-girlfriend,” and someone else immediately retorted, “Junior Moxiao only wanted to help her. She paid out of her own pocket to ask someone to come help with the work!”

After they argued for a while, that tall Eldest Senior Brother said, “I assume no one wants this matter to reach Professor Lin, right?”

That sentence seemed to press some kind of switch. Everyone fell silent at the same time.

Another more senior female researcher passed by and roared, “Do none of you have experiments to do? Why are you all gathered here? Are you playing Fight the Landlord?!”

The young researchers scattered like ducks being chased away. After roaring, this senior sister did not even look at the people involved. She took several sealed test tubes and left.

Only Eldest Senior Brother, who was reading the experimental records, the numb-looking Liu Peng, Su Moxiao, and Qi Si remained in the corridor.

Eldest Senior Brother flipped to the end of the experimental records, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a laugh that did not sound very serious. He said, “Your handwriting is very beautiful, and your records are very complete. Student Qi Si, you do have some talent for being a researcher.”

Qi Si lowered her head. What she was thinking about was the issue of her wages.

Needless to say, she had worked meticulously. During the entire holiday, she had risen early and worked late, doing the dirtiest tasks. Handling those dissected animal corpses made her uncomfortable all over, and the only reason she had managed to persist was for the pay.

With Su Moxiao making such a scene, how was she supposed to ask her for the money?

Hearing Eldest Senior Brother praise an outsider, Su Moxiao said half-coquettishly and half-irritably, “Eldest Senior Brother, who usually writes experimental records seriously? What nonsense are you saying?”

Eldest Senior Brother handed the record book to Su Moxiao. Seeing the neat, beautiful handwriting on it, Su Moxiao drew in a breath and once again felt the fear of once being dominated by a top student.

In 2022, as their cohort graduated from Jinghai No. 1 High, the legendary era of that top student had already ended. No one else could be like Qi Si, ranking first in the grade every single time and pulling more than ten points ahead of second place.

Su Moxiao had once suspected that Qi Si was a monster born specifically for studying and taking exams. Aside from studying, this kind of person was utterly useless—dull, foolish, stupid, and clumsy, a malformed product cultivated by the education system. Once she reached university, she would be completely at a loss, and there was no way she could adapt to a complicated social environment.

Back in high school, Su Moxiao had been made to look completely dull beside her, and her confidence had suffered a huge blow. Now that they were in a different environment, Su Moxiao believed she could support a sky of her own, but seeing Qi Si’s handwriting still instinctively made her flinch.

Admitting that someone was outstanding was truly difficult, especially when that person was an ex-girlfriend she did not want to face. And as for “girlfriend,” they had not even kissed. They had only held hands and hugged a few times, and every time, Su Moxiao had been the one to initiate it.

Her family had said that only by doing this could Qi Si wholeheartedly tutor her, but Su Moxiao had always been skeptical.

This stupid Alpha, Qi Si—just giving her a few cheap gifts would have been enough. Why bother putting in so much effort?

And now it had become part of her dark history, something she could not shake off.

She had already heard about Qi Si’s family situation. How pitiful. Her family did not even own a house in Jinghai and was burdened with debt. Even like this, Qi Si still wanted to climb up to Su Moxiao’s high branch. It was simply wishful thinking.

Su Moxiao only glanced hurriedly at the experimental records before saying without thinking, “Senior Brother Liu Peng’s experiment was about to produce results. This batch of nude mice had just had their genes knocked out. So much effort went into them, and now they’ve ended up like this. Eldest Senior Brother, tell us, how should this matter be handled?”

“Liu Peng, what do you think?”

“I… I don’t know.” Liu Peng’s face was numb, looking as though his heart had died. “I want to die.”

“All right, then don’t rush to die yet. Wait until the matter has been investigated clearly.”

Su Moxiao said, “This still needs to be investigated?”

“Of course. If something goes wrong in the lab, it has to be handled according to rules and procedures. We have to investigate the cause of the accident. We can’t just push all the responsibility onto Student Qi Si simply because she temporarily came over to help, right?”

Qi Si said nothing. She could not figure out what trick the other party was playing. During the time they were casually talking, she had already carefully gone through her operations over the past few days in her head.

Whenever she entered or exited the sterile operating room, she had strictly followed the required disinfection procedures. Even if one step had not been cautious enough, the operating room had layer upon layer of protection. At most, one or two nude mice might have been infected by external microorganisms and died. It was impossible for a large number of nude mice to die collectively.

After thinking this through, Qi Si gained confidence. She said, “There was basically no problem with my operation. Moreover, I am not the only person who could come into contact with the nude mice. If you want to investigate, start by checking everyone’s entry and exit records.”

Su Moxiao was astonished. “What are you talking about?”

Qi Si said, “I can accept your laboratory’s investigation, but it should not be aimed only at me. Everyone should be treated equally.”

The seemingly gentle and tolerant Eldest Senior Brother said, “That’s true. But at present, you are the biggest suspect. There’s no helping that. You’re in the lowest year and have relatively little experience, so the possibility of you making a mistake is the greatest. I’m not saying this because I have any prejudice against you. As long as you cooperate with the investigation, that’s enough.”

“Come with me. Tell me about your procedure. Do you recognize all these reagents? How long should the ultraviolet lamp be turned on? How is this equipment used?”

When they arrived at the laboratory operating room, Qi Si answered each question one by one.

Su Moxiao’s brows furrowed tighter. Several times, she wanted to interrupt, but she never found a suitable opportunity.

Liu Peng, half-dead, expressed his surprise. “You actually remember it this clearly…”

“Shh. Let her keep talking.”

Qi Si went through the procedures she had performed over the past few days, focusing on the last time she had fed the nude mice yesterday morning.

“I left around ten o’clock. Before leaving, I looked through the glass from outside. The mice were all in good condition. There were also two newly born mice in Incubator No. 5.”

“Mm. You recorded all of that in the experimental record book. All right, then the investigation into you ends here. You can go back and study.”

Qi Si said, “Ah, it’s over?”

“We’ve already asked everything that can be asked. I understand the situation. But I can’t tell you the conclusion for now.”

“Oh.” Qi Si nodded, turned to Su Moxiao, and said, “Nine days in total. Eighteen hours. One thousand eight hundred yuan altogether. Are you transferring it to me or paying in cash?”

Su Moxiao: “?”

Qi Si said, “WeChat or Alipay are both fine.”

“You—what gives you the right?” Su Moxiao exploded like an animal with its fur standing on end. “You didn’t even do the work properly. What gives you the right to ask me for money?”

Qi Si was dazed for a while. “Because that was the agreement. I do the work, you pay me. Are you planning to go back on your word?”

Su Moxiao said, “How many days of work did you even do? Do you believe I could sue you for extortion?”

The thread of reason in Qi Si’s mind nearly snapped. Su Moxiao’s cunning had cornered her viciously. Her throat was dry, and her voice was pale as she said, “With your circumstances, are you really going to deny even this little bit of money?”

Su Moxiao rolled her eyes in irritation. With the two men watching from the side, it was not good for them to say anything. Liu Peng felt guilty and said, “Junior sister, if you’re short on money, I can transfer you five hundred first. That’s all the living expenses I have for a month. Thank you for helping me during this time.”

Su Moxiao said, “Senior Brother Liu, don’t believe her. She has money to buy an Apple laptop. How could she be short of your five hundred yuan?”

Liu Peng was a little surprised. Su Moxiao pressed her lips together and snorted. “It’s not that I’m refusing to pay. When we discussed it originally, the hourly wage was twenty yuan. You asked for one hundred, and I agreed because we used to be deskmates. But with the work done like this, how do you still have the nerve to ask me for so much? If you’re really short on money, I’ll settle it at twenty yuan an hour. Let’s count it as twenty hours. I’ll give you four hundred. Compensation will be calculated separately.”

As Su Moxiao spoke, she took four brand-new hundred-yuan notes from the handbag at her workstation, lightly pinched them between her index and middle fingers, and held them out in front of Qi Si.

She said, “Take it.”

She truly was worthy of being a little princess raised by black-hearted capitalists. She carefully schemed over the interests of the poor and still made her words sound so pretty… as if she were truly showing great mercy.

The loose change from her plane ticket for her Japan trip during the holiday was probably more than this, wasn’t it?

Su Moxiao waved the bills in front of her. It looked as though if Qi Si did not take them in time, those bills would immediately fly from between her fingers and fall to the ground to be trampled.

Several pairs of eyes were watching her. Some people were even secretly watching from outside the corridor.

Qi Si knew very well that she could not take this money. A mere few hundred yuan could make her unable to lift her head for the rest of her life.

But without money, her life would also be ruined.

At that moment, a terrifying thought formed in her heart: if destruction was inevitable, she had to drag Su Moxiao down with her.

The few bills were flung away by Su Moxiao. She smiled carelessly and mouthed, “Loser.”

Qi Si felt as if something were destroying her beliefs.

She was tired. She no longer wanted to make futile struggles. Most of society’s resources were in the hands of people like this. People at the bottom would never be able to turn their lives around.

If she took a knife right now and traded one life for one, taking Su Moxiao with her, wouldn’t that be a huge win for both herself and society?

Outside the corridor, Lin Ye walked over in white British-style leather shoes, paired with the latest high-collared sweater dress and a Chanel-style jacket. Her steps were neither light nor heavy. When she passed by the animal corpses no one had cleaned up, Lin Ye herself—flammable and explosive—suddenly detonated.

The student eavesdropping outside the experimental operating room happened to see this scene. Their legs weakened in fright, and they dropped to their knees. They wanted to warn the people inside, but it was as if someone had seized their throat; they did not dare make a sound.

Lin Ye had not been managing the laboratory for long, but this was the first time she had encountered something this outrageous.

With a gloomy face, she slowly walked to the side of the student whose legs had gone weak and stood at the doorway. What she saw was precisely the scene of Su Moxiao scattering money.

Lin Ye laughed softly.

That laugh came so abruptly that it gave Eldest Senior Brother, who was mentally and physically exhausted and did not want to meddle any further, a layer of goosebumps. It also made Liu Peng, whose heart was like dead ash and whose mind was unclear, jolt sharply. As for Su Moxiao, she completely turned to stone.

Qi Si, on the other hand, did not pay attention. She pulled herself out of that terrifying thought just now and comforted herself.

It was only eighteen hundred yuan. She would just treat it as having fed a dog. She could earn it back by tutoring for two days.

She had brought nothing when she came, so leaving naturally meant going back empty-handed too. There was no need to say goodbye to anyone.

In any case, she would never come to this damned place again!

She would never believe Su Moxiao’s words again. Not even once! In the future, when dealing with people, she had to be cautious. School was even more sinister than society!

She lowered her head, turned, and left, taking the initiative to avoid Lin Ye at the doorway. Under the gazes of several petrified people, Qi Si left the corridor and quickly broke into a run.

In short, she absolutely had to get a sum of money today!

Lin Ye did not stop her and let her pass by like a gust of wind.

Summer had just passed, and the autumn wind carried a cool, dry scent, sweeping up sun-soaked withered leaves and making them whirl wildly.

It seemed that with just one more spark, all the heat the withered leaves had stored up during summer could be burned away in one blaze, much like Lin Ye herself—quick to ignite and quick to explode.

She stared at Su Moxiao with a smile that did not reach her eyes and clapped her hands.

“Crazy. Go on being crazy.”

Su Moxiao’s upper and lower teeth chattered. Her head nearly shrank into her neck as she murmured in a tiny voice, “Professor… No, it’s not… It’s not what you think…”

“Ahaha, does your family only have this little money? Why didn’t you exchange all of it into cash and stuff my entire laboratory full?” Lin Ye swept a faint gaze over the other two students, then walked up to Su Moxiao and looked her over.

“S-sorry, Professor, Professor Lin.” Su Moxiao was so frightened that tears immediately sprang out. “It isn’t what you saw. I was dealing with a junior. She committed a mistake. I was only… I was only imitating you and teaching her a lesson…”

The two men beside her both lowered their heads, not daring to speak up for Su Moxiao. Speaking at this moment would no doubt mean courting death.

Su Moxiao anxiously begged them. “Eldest Senior Brother, help me explain…”

The two tall male students were silent as cicadas in winter. Su Moxiao hurriedly picked up the bills from the ground, crying so hard her whole body trembled.

“Stop crying.” Lin Ye looked at the bean-sized tears on the floor and mocked her mercilessly. “You’re dirtying my floor.”

Su Moxiao was terrified and shocked. After picking up the money, she immediately stood. Her two hands hurriedly wiped away her tears. Seeing that Lin Ye’s tone still seemed fairly gentle, she forced out a smile and said, “Professor, I’ll mop the floor later and clean the laboratory properly. I’ll also clean up all those mouse corpses. Please don’t worry.”

“No need.” Lin Ye did not look at her. She roughly swept her eyes over the laboratory and said the most decisive words in the calmest tone. “If you don’t want to work here, then get out sooner rather than later. I won’t indulge you. I can’t afford to entertain a great Buddha like you. Tomorrow, even if the King of Heaven himself comes, you still have to get out.”