CH 174

Chapter 174 – 1992-2020

It was another night of absurdity. By the time Lian Qiao had his fill of fun, RenDong had been turned into a puddle of ooze, with bad marks all over his body and he didn’t even have the strength to lift his fingers.

RenDong was really tired, his scalp was numb, his consciousness was floating in mid-air and he couldn’t really fall asleep. Lian Qiao hugged him tightly, his arms were so tight that he couldn’t breathe. RenDong didn’t have the strength to struggle but thought in a trance that it would be good if he strangled him to death. It’s good no matter what.

In this way, the long night finally passed. It was daybreak.

After daybreak, the old body cracked open and Xu RenDong appeared to be reborn. The bad marks on his body disappeared.

Lian Qiao looked at his smooth and clean skin, with an annoyed expression on his face: “I feel like I had a spring dream and I woke up with nothing.”

Xu RenDong: “…” What else do you want! Do you want me to go out and meet people like this?! Did you forget that I have a final exam and thesis defense today!

The two went downstairs to have breakfast and found everyone sitting in the dining room. The round table was full of breakfast but no one moved their chopsticks. Everyone originally lowered their heads but when they saw RenDong coming, their eyes fell on them in unison.

No wonder. After all, Aunt Long-Hair and the others besieged Lian Qiao yesterday but Lian Qiao easily countered and killed them. The only surviving players today are the Scarfaced Man, the Monk, four passers-by and RenDong. {Passerby is a Chinese term for an unimportant character, i.e. the nameless other teammates.}

The future is uncertain but Lian Qiao’s combat effectiveness has been repeatedly verified. No matter what the instance clearance conditions are, none of these remaining people will ever want to challenge him again. What’s more, Lian Qiao returned to Xu RenDong’s side with injuries, which greatly stimulated Xu RenDong. If they dare to act rashly again, maybe the key players will kill them by himself.

RenDong naturally guessed what they were thinking and he didn’t bother to care about it. Instead, the Monk asked about Lian Qiao’s injury and Lian Qiao smiled and said that it would be fine for another ten rounds. Everyone naturally understood that he could go for ten more but Xu RenDong blushed quietly and pinched him under the table.

…Speaking of which, is it really okay for them to do it so frequently?

His body can recover every morning but Lian Qiao… are young men all in such good physical conditions! It’s been almost every day for the past few days… No, they did it several times in a row yesterday!

—like the craziness before the end of the world.

Xu RenDong’s heart skipped a beat. At this moment, Lian Qiao seemed to have noticed something and held his hand under the table.

RenDong met his eyes in a daze and Lian Qiao said softly: “Hurry up and have breakfast, you have a lot of things to do today.”

He questioned Lian Qiao and Lian Qiao had already seriously promised him that he would not do anything that would make him sad.

If he continued to ask now, wouldn’t it be the same as not trusting Lian Qiao?

He has decided not to doubt Lian Qiao anymore but Lian Qiao has become really strange recently. This change made RenDong very uneasy, even a little scared.

RenDong finished his breakfast in a dull manner and the two of them came out of the hotel after preparing things for defense and exam.

The Monk followed and said that the atmosphere in the team was not good and he didn’t want to stay with them.

Lian Qiao cast a sideways glance at him and said, “You want to spy on us.”

RenDong was a little surprised. He never understood where Lian Qiao’s hostility towards the Monk came from but things had come to this point, it wasn’t wrong to be defensive, so he didn’t speak and waited quietly for the Monk’s answer.

The Monk scratched his head and smiled narrowly. Finally, he said very straightforwardly: “That’s right. I’m here to spy on you.”

To spy on “you”?

The Monk’s eyes fell on Lian Qiao calmly, which made RenDong feel very uncomfortable. Before Lian Qiao said anything, RenDong had already taken a step forward as if protecting a calf, blocking the Monk’s sight with his body and said calmly: “Whatever you want, come along if you like.”

Xu RenDong has a very full schedule today. The final exam in the morning, the defense in the afternoon, followed by the school recruitment. The three went to the examination room together but RenDong went in alone, while the other two waited outside.

Several courses were tested together, which made Xu RenDong very stressed. Fortunately, most of the content is familiar to him and cramming can be considered somewhat effective. After the exam, he reckoned that he could get seventy or eighty points. In a few minutes, the result was announced on the radio. The three of them went to the results bulletin board to check and it turned out that the score was about the same as Xu RenDong’s estimated score.

After a hasty lunch, Xu RenDong rushed to defend this thesis.

The defense process is similar to yesterday’s question opening, the only difference is that everyone’s reporting time is a little longer, so the waiting time in line is also longer.

The lecture theater was used as a waiting hall and was full of people. Everyone is facing the laptop, checking for the last time whether there is any delay in their PPT. RenDong didn’t have his own computer, so he had to go to the public computer at the podium to debug the PPT. After a simple debugging, someone else was waiting to use the computer.. He had no choice but to go back to his seat and do the final rehearsal against the handwritten speech.

Lian Qiao saw that among the college students around him, RenDong was the only one who didn’t have a computer. Then he sighed and said: “I knew it, I should have provided you with a computer.”

RenDong smiled and was about to say it’s okay but Lian Qiao raised the corners of his mouth again and glanced over playfully: “However, if you have your own then you wouldn’t have to go to the library and the all-night study room anymore. What a pity.”

RenDong: “…” With a vein on his forehead, he said angrily, “Don’t bother me anymore.”

“Okay.” Lian Qiao said softly. In response, he glanced to the side if there was nothing there.

RenDong involuntarily followed his gaze and saw that the Monk was chatting with the surrounding college students. After all, it is rare to see a Monk on a university campus and he attracts attention wherever he goes.

But the Monk, even though he had a heated debate with the female college students, still paid attention to Lian Qiao’s side. Lian Qiao just glanced at him and the Monk sensed it sensitively, and asked him with a smile, “What?”

Lian Qiao clicked his tongue and said, “Aren’t you a Monk? Why do you still flirt with female college students?”

The Monk clasped his hands together and said, “Amitabha, can the matter of becoming a monk be called flirting? The poor Monk is preaching Buddhism!”

Lian Qiao smiled and ignored him. Instead, he turned around and said to RenDong: “Let’s rehearse again, I’ll help you read the manuscript.”

RenDong nodded and began to rehearse the manuscript. Lian Qiao came over and took a pen to draw on his manuscript.

After an hour, RenDong entered the defense classroom with his speech. Lian Qiao and the Monk were still waiting for him in the lecture theater.

However, when the defense was over, RenDong didn’t go back immediately but turned around and left through the small door on the other side of the teaching building. Five minutes later, he came to the laboratory building of the Department of Chemistry.

Laboratory 307 at the end of the corridor on the third floor…

It’s the final defense time, so there is no one in the laboratory building and the entire corridor is empty. RenDong went straight to 307 and found that it was a large laboratory for teaching. Several experimental tables are neatly arranged in the large classroom, with a blackboard at one end and reagent cabinets and disposal pools at the other end.

The windows are bright and clean, and the wind blows the light-shielding curtains fluttering slowly. RenDong came to the reagent cabinet and saw a lock on the door. He tried to pull the glass cabinet door and was surprised to find that the lock was broken.

He opened the glass cabinet and looked through the reagent bottles one by one.

There are several types of reagent bottles, including transparent glass bottles, brown glass bottles and white plastic bottles. All bottles are labeled with the labels facing outwards for easy finding. Xu RenDong found that there was a gap in the concentrated acid column, next to the concentrated nitric acid. Probably what was once stored there was the concentrated sulfuric acid that was stolen by the long-haired aunt.

RenDong narrowed his eyes slightly. His eyes continued to move, and it didn’t take long before he found what he was looking for.

It was a transparent glass reagent bottle and the liquid contained in it was also clear and transparent. The label read: 30% NaCN. Exactly what he was looking for.

RenDong put away the bottle carefully and went to another cabinet to get gloves and a dropper.

Was there anything else he needed? That’s all.

RenDong took out the speech and looked at the message that Lian Qiao had left for him. After confirming that it was correct, he left the laboratory building.

He returned to the defense hall of the Department of Finance. The Monk and Lian Qiao were still waiting for him in the lecture theater.

“Did everything go well?” Lian Qiao raised his head and smiled at him.

Lian Qiao obviously had a deeper meaning. RenDong nodded, “Mmm”.

The Monk came over and patted him on the shoulder happily: “Okay! Then wait to receive the diploma! You have really worked hard. When the job fair is over, let’s go back and have a big meal for you to celebrate!”

Looking at the Monk’s hearty smile, Xu RenDong felt inexplicably guilty.

Lian Qiao squeezed his hand and said softly, “Why are your palms sweaty? It’s not the first time you’re defending your thesis, do you need to be so nervous?” Then he took the backpack gently and carefully from his hand .

“…” RenDong glanced at him and suddenly felt a strange emotion in his heart.

The campus job fair is held in the Student Activity Center. There were huge crowds of people here and hundreds of recruiting units. There was a long queue in front of each booth and the fresh graduates held several resumes in their hands, excited and nervous, and delivered them around.

Xu RenDong went straight to the target, which was the financial firm he worked for in the real world. As an old employee who has worked there for several years, he clearly knows the company’s recruitment requirements. Therefore, after a brief conversation with the on-site recruiter; joy and approval appeared on the recruiter’s face. The stone in RenDong’s heart finally fell.

Done.

This time, he can really relax for a while…

It was already sunset. On the way back to the hotel after coming out of the university student activity center, Xu RenDong felt physically and mentally exhausted, and his pace dragged very slowly. The Monk and Lian Qiao walked around him. Lian Qiao held his hand and the Monk was lamenting college life.

“It’s not easy for you college students. Final exams, dissertation defenses, and making resumes to find a job, everything makes people feel a little discouraged.”

Lian Qiao sighed: “What’s more, these things have to be done in one day . “He gave RenDong a pitying look, “You’re exhausted.”

“It’s okay.” RenDong responded habitually.

Lian Qiao smiled: “You will always say ‘it’s okay’ but obviously you are exhausted. When will you realize that you are just an ordinary person, and you will also be tired, hurt and collapse?”

RenDong was taken aback. Turning around, he stared blankly at him.

The orange-red sunset dyed Lian Qiao’s facial features extremely softly. Xu RenDong’s shadow was clearly reflected in his eyes. It was a small figure but it seemed that he couldn’t hold anything else.

RenDong asked almost subconsciously: “Are you…”

Lian Qiao didn’t let him finish, but pulled him to the side and put a light kiss on his lips.

The Monk turned his head away very consciously, curled his lips and thought: Do you want to feed me dog food? Pah!

The hotel was close at hand and the Monk quickened his pace. He said “Come back quickly when you are done”. He entered the hotel first.

The two stood and kissed under the setting sun. Soon, Lian Qiao let him go.

“Let’s go.” Lian Qiao smiled and took his hand.

However, the direction he walked was not the main entrance of the hotel.

It was the kitchen.