Chapter 206: The Meeting

Chapter 206: The Meeting

“I don’t think I could avoid hearing it even if I wanted to,” Ji Shuiyao said with a helpless smile as she swept a glance around the lab, where every colleague was buzzing with the same topic.

The institute director, unable to hold back his excitement, leaned forward and urged, “Since you know already, shouldn’t you give a response?”

“A response?” Ji Shuiyao blinked, feigning ignorance despite the stirrings in her heart. She was a woman, after all—reserved and proud. Even if her thoughts had already begun to shift, she wouldn’t wear them on her sleeve.

“What else could it be? Obviously, I’m talking about your response to that confession!”

Still trying to maintain her composure, Ji Shuiyao replied, “It all came out of nowhere… I need some time to process it.”

“Process? What’s there to process?” The director stomped his cane against the floor in exasperation, as though scolding a disobedient student. “If you keep hesitating like this, someone else might snatch him away!”

He looked at her sharply. “That ‘Wei Xiaobao’ is a blazing star in the scientific community right now. Institutes from abroad are already eyeing him, hoping to lure him into their research centers.”

“If that really happens, it would be a massive loss for our country’s scientific strength. And you—right now, you have a golden opportunity to keep him here. If you don’t act fast and claim ‘Wei Xiaobao’ while you can, what are you waiting for?”

“Do you want to go down in history as a sinner of our nation’s scientific community?!”

Ji Shuiyao had honestly never thought that far. But with her mentor laying it out so bluntly, the full weight of the situation hit her all at once. Her chest tightened with urgency. She looked up with resolve. “Teacher, I’ve made up my mind. But… how do I even contact him?”

“That, I’ve already taken care of.” The director handed her a small slip of paper. “A friend of mine working at the Global Discovery website pulled this from their system—it’s the email address Wei Xiaobao registered when he entered his personal ID.”

Ji Shuiyao’s cheeks turned faintly pink as she took the paper. She nodded quietly, then turned and left the lab amid a chorus of teasing cheers from her coworkers.

In the break room, she opened a laptop and began drafting an email. Her message was simple and direct: she wanted to meet.

Then came the hardest part—waiting.

To kill time, she picked up a book, but her eyes kept drifting. Every five minutes, she’d refresh her inbox, hoping to see a reply.

Eventually she gave up pretending to read and just stared at the screen, watching the inbox like a hawk. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.

Nearly two hours passed.

Finally—an email arrived.

Wei Xiaobao had agreed to meet. The location was a quiet café in Qingling.

Ji Shuiyao was overjoyed. That night, she tossed and turned, completely unable to sleep. Her mind buzzed with excitement and anticipation.

—

On the other end, after sending the reply to Ji Shuiyao, Wang Haoran contacted the Global Discovery website.

He submitted a formal statement, requesting it be posted as a public announcement the following day.

The statement clarified that the public confession previously made under the name “Lin Xiaobao” had been the result of a hacked account. It had nothing to do with him.

The whole stunt had been Lin Chen’s cheap trick—a shameless move that Wang Haoran wanted no part of. Now that the name “Wei Xiaobao” had become a red-hot legend in the scientific world, the website had no reason to object. They readily agreed.

—

The next morning.

Inside the café.

Ji Shuiyao sat quietly in a booth by the window, waiting.

She had gone all out today—her makeup elegant and refined, her hair styled to perfection. She wore a sleek black chiffon dress that made her look every bit the image of a cultured, intellectual beauty.

Even in the ambient hum of the café, she drew glances like a flame drew moths. Men passing by couldn’t help but steal looks—some so distracted they walked into tables or walls, causing light commotion here and there.

The power of her allure was on full display.

In truth, Ji Shuiyao had never dressed up like this before. She’d never bothered with things like fashion or cosmetics. Her outfit today had been chosen with the help of several female colleagues, and her makeup had been professionally done.

On the table before her sat a clear glass with a single rose placed upright inside—the signal she and Wei Xiaobao had agreed on.

It was nearly time.

Her heart thudded nervously in her chest.

After the director’s push, she was already standing at the edge of the cliff. There was no turning back. Today, she had to accept Wei Xiaobao’s confession—there was no longer any room for hesitation.

Yet, even with all the pressure, this wasn’t something she found hard to accept. Quite the opposite.

She admired him—idolized him, even. To be with someone like him… wasn’t that a rare joy?

Still, she had one lingering hope.

She hoped that the person behind the name wouldn’t be too old. If he was handsome, well, that’d be a pleasant bonus. She wasn’t superficial, of course, but from a genetic perspective, she had to consider the quality of their future offspring.

“Miss Ji.”

A familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

She turned.

And froze.

“You?!”

“Miss Ji looks stunning today,” Wang Haoran said with a smile. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“I… I have an important meeting today. I don’t have time to chat. I’ll treat you to coffee another time. Could you… give me some privacy right now?” Ji Shuiyao’s words came quickly, her eyes darting toward the door as she worried that “Wei Xiaobao” might walk in and misunderstand the situation.

“You want me to… leave?” Wang Haoran blinked.

“I’m sorry, but I really have something important.”

“Miss Ji has a date, then?” He didn’t look hurt—only amused. He was clearly toying with her.

“N-No…” Ji Shuiyao’s cheeks flushed, and she avoided his eyes, resorting to a blatant lie.

“So you dressed up like this and came alone to a café? Just for fun?”

“Yes,” she replied stiffly.

“I recall Miss Ji once said that female grooming behaviors usually indicate a courtship instinct. Based on your logic, your appearance today suggests you’re meeting a potential mate—likely a man. Did I guess right?”

His words hit like a tease, but also like an observation rooted in brutal logic.

Ji Shuiyao felt cornered and slightly flustered. Her voice rose as she retorted, “I’m a woman! A normal, mature, 21-year-old woman! Having a courtship instinct is perfectly normal. What’s wrong with that?!”

“Nothing wrong at all,” Wang Haoran said, breaking into a smile. “It’s wonderful, actually.”

To hear someone like Ji Shuiyao—a proud, serious woman—say such things out loud, it was rare, and oddly charming.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Shuiyao tried again. “So… can you go now?”

“If I leave, who’s going to meet you?” he said, and from his pocket, he pulled out a rose, identical to the one in her glass.

He gently placed it in the vase on the table, completing the pair.

“You… You…” Ji Shuiyao stared at him, stunned beyond words.

Wang Haoran calmly took the seat across from her and signaled the waiter for a cup of coffee, as if everything was unfolding exactly as planned.

It took a long moment before Ji Shuiyao could form a coherent sentence.

Her voice trembled with disbelief. “How… how is it you?!”