Song Shuyi's expression was so gloomy that everyone who entered the laboratory thought it was artificially raining inside.

So scared that no one in the entire laboratory dared to speak to the person who was usually the best at cracking jokes.

But Cen Zeng had never been afraid, so he calmly took the coffee bought by Senior Sister Xu and sat down next to Senior Brother Song.

"Are you okay?"

Song Shuyi didn't expect his junior brother to be the one asking.

"No," he said. "Uh, it's not that I'm completely not okay. You can still ask me to help you look over Director Li's tasks. Anyway, uh..."

Cen Zeng said, "I was asking if you were feeling okay."

When this junior brother spoke, he had no expression on his face—calm, indifferent, without any superfluous emotion.

Like an elite doctor from an idol drama who handled matters with calm and order.

Not like all the loudly shouting nurses, the doctors from the Hematology Department, OB/GYN Department, Radiology Department, Orthopedics Department—all the departments—and the anesthesiologists in the Emergency Department.

"I'm not," he said.

"Oh..." Cen Zeng nodded, put down the coffee, and got up to leave.

"Wait."

"Hm?" The junior brother lowered his eyes to look at him.

"That's it?"

"Then do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked. "We have twenty minutes."

"Where on earth did you cultivate this cool and aloof aura of yours?" Song Shuyi asked.

"Is this why you're in a bad mood?" Cen Zeng asked back seriously.

"Hey, hey, hey, no."

The little junior brother gave a rare, faint smile. "I'm joking."

"You'd better not," Song Shuyi shook his head. "It's a bit scary."

"Go on."

Facing his expression, which wouldn't change even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, he surprisingly found himself calming down.

"After you left, my girlfriend broke up with me yesterday," he said. "I had a feeling, but I didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Then Director Li said I might have to delay my graduation, and that I shouldn't even dream of getting into the Standardized Residency Training at the Affiliated Hospital."

"His original words definitely weren't that gentle," Cen Zeng commented.

"It was something like that, anyway," Song Shuyi said. "I can't imitate the way he curses people out."

"Mm..."

"Aren't you going to say something comforting?"

"I'll be just as miserable as you."

"That didn't comfort me at all."

"Everyone in the laboratory is pretty miserable."

"That just makes it more painful, okay?" Song Shuyi said. "Have you heard about Sister Xu's paper?"

Cen Zeng shook his head from across him.

"Forget it, she probably doesn't want you graduates and undergraduate students to know anyway. The first authorship was stolen. She'll be lucky to even get third author."

"Oh..." Cen Zeng said. "So what are your thoughts?"

"What else is there to think? I had the worst luck to study medicine, even worse luck to pursue a PhD, and the absolute worst luck of eighteen generations of my ancestors to run into Director Li."

"Mm, anyway, it's really not your fault."

"I'm just very tired," Song Shuyi said. "And a little confused."

His eyes, which were always smiling, were now dim and dull. "How can there not be a single thing to look forward to in life?"

Cen Zeng didn't answer. He just pointed at the coffee. "Senior Brother, I'll do this afternoon's experiment and the subsequent data entry first. After I'm done, you can help me look it over at the end. You demonstrated it before, so I have a general idea."

He wanted him to rest for a while.

Song Shuyi thanked him for his kindness but stood up. "I still have to keep an eye on it."

"Then you can watch me do it," Cen Zeng replied. "Just guide me along the way."

"Sigh, my junior brother is being so sincere..." Song Shuyi waved his hand and sighed. "Then I'll just openly slack off today."

Though he said that, he sat in his seat scrolling through his phone. Before long, he still followed Cen Zeng, watching him put on a white lab coat, don a pair of gloves, and begin his work.

"Your technique is so much better than the first time," Song Shuyi commented sharply.

"You taught very clearly last time." Cen Zeng's voice came through from the side of his mask.

"You don't even show any emotion when you praise people."

"I was afraid your emotions would fluctuate too much."

"Seriously, stop joking," Song Shuyi said. "I don't know whether to laugh or not."

"Then continue sitting over at the computer and play your game."

"Now that's what I like to hear."

He would play a round, then lean over to watch for a bit. Cen Zeng had truly remembered it, not the kind of 'remembering' that undergraduate students claimed, where he would later have to redo the experiment himself.

"You've got some talent, kid."

"You should also stop joking," Cen Zeng said, standing in front of the instrument and looking at the data.

"You're telling me to stop when it's not even a joke," Song Shuyi replied. "It's my sincere praise, okay?"

"Thank you."

Rendered speechless by his junior brother again, Song Shuyi gave up.

On this day, Li Aimin was out. He had no time to deal with the group in the laboratory in the evening. In the morning, after assigning tasks to everyone, he naturally said a few harsh words, then said they would have a "good talk" after Tuesday's group meeting.

Although disaster was imminent, it was, after all, a matter for the day after tomorrow.

They finished the work in the laboratory and managed to get off work at seven.

The two ill-fated senior sisters and brothers who still had to monitor their experiments at night said goodbye to them.

Song Shuyi walked out of the laboratory entrance and asked his little junior brother, "Want to have dinner together?"

The person before him glanced at his phone and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother, but I have plans."

"The one from yesterday?" Song Shuyi waved his hand. "Go, go, go. Seize the time and get on with your relationship. Don't be like me, waiting until you're too busy with your PhD, and then having both your career and love life collapse."

Cen Zeng wanted to say that he had misunderstood, but the person had already quickly slipped away.

He lowered his head to look at his messages. Cheng Shuo, after asking when he would be getting off work, had sent a message half an hour ago: "I'll wait for you at the coffee shop outside the Affiliated Hospital."

Five minutes ago, he said he had arrived and asked what to eat for dinner.

He sighed and typed, "Whatever."

"Finished?" A message popped up from the other side.

Cen Zeng didn't reply. He walked to the entrance of the coffee shop.

The sky was growing dark. The coffee shop next to the hospital was still crowded. Some faces showed the great joy of a false alarm, while others silently stared at their medical records, speechless for a long time.

This time, Cheng Shuo was finally not dressed like he was about to be street-snapped at any moment. He tapped the table nonchalantly, gazing lazily out the window.

Then his eyes met Cen Zeng's directly.

In an instant, his expression brightened. He was already handsome and flamboyant, and when he suddenly smiled, it carried the heat of a midsummer sun.

Cen Zeng walked in and sat down beside him.

Caught off guard, a cold drink was pressed directly against his cheek.

"Off work, Doctor Cen?" the person opposite him said with a grin. "How many patients did you save today?"

Cen Zeng held the fruit tea. "Two of my senior brother's mice died. But given the treatment they were about to endure, dying early wasn't a bad thing."

"So you successfully delivered two souls to the afterlife," Cheng Shuo chimed in. "How about a smile?"

Looking at his face, Cen Zeng inexplicably relaxed in front of this person he had only known for two days and met a week ago.

He obliged with a smile.

Cheng Shuo paused for a moment, then lifted his face. "Alright, have a drink first. Is there anything good to eat nearby?"

"I don't usually eat around the hospital." Cen Zeng thought for a moment and took out his phone. "I can ask the people in the lab."

"Never mind..." Cheng Shuo replied. "I'll drive you to my neighborhood. There's a good rice noodle shop downstairs."

He stood up, turned back, and waved at him. "Come on."

The warm, orange light fell on his face, and paired with his fleece jacket, it made him look fluffy.

This ridiculous thought that suddenly appeared in his mind made Cen Zeng laugh.

[Author's Note]

The senior sister's surname has appeared first. I didn't write her full name before because I didn't want her name to only appear as a victim or a resistor.

She is more three-dimensional from Xiao Cen's perspective, so her name will appear when it's primarily from Xiao Cen's point of view.

Next chapter, a (what Cen Zeng doesn't think is a) date ^ ^