Chapter 108: Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child -40

At first, Shen Xiuyan could still manage to have a meal with Su Mingyue.

But as time went on, even getting one meal together a week became impossible.

Rumors of a breakup between them began circulating in the computer science department.

This made Zhang Chunfang practically giddy with delight, as if they were actually getting divorced.

She fanned the flames everywhere, making the rumors even more convincing.

One of Su Mingyue’s close friends scoffed with disdain, “Shen Xiuyan doesn’t come to eat with you, and look how happy she gets, as if he were coming to eat with her instead.”

Then she added worriedly, “Mingyue, what on earth is Shen Xiuyan doing? These rumors can’t go on. I’m about to explode from frustration!”

Su Mingyue laughed, “I’m not even mad, so why are you so worked up, Ailin? Xiuyan’s been working on an experiment lately. He hasn’t even been home for the past few days, just sleeping on a mat in the lab.”

“Wow, that intense?” Ailin’s eyes widened. “What kind of experiment is he doing that takes so long? And isn’t he just a freshman…?”

Su Mingyue shrugged. “He’s been super secretive and hasn’t told me. Last time he came home, he said it was almost done. We’ll find out soon.”

“Wow, then you have to take me to see it,” Ailin said with curiosity all over her face.

“Sure.” Su Mingyue patted her chest in promise.

But in the end, that promise never got fulfilled. Shen Xiuyan, having completed his experiment, was now surrounded by a bunch of senior professors and couldn’t move an inch.

It all started when Director Wang heard that his prized student, Shen Xiuyan, hadn’t attended class in days.

After a little digging, he found out that Shen Xiuyan had been holed up in the lab for days on end without stepping out once.

This was unacceptable. He had approved the lab for Shen Xiuyan’s use, not for him to forget about his studies altogether. It was completely contrary to his original intent.

So he stormed over in a rage, determined that if Shen Xiuyan couldn’t give him a satisfactory explanation, the lab would be shut down immediately.

But the moment he opened the door, he froze.

What was this???

If he wasn’t mistaken, this looked like a computer…

But why did it look completely different from the two clunky ones the school already had? That ultra-thin screen, the compact CPU—it all left him stunned.

Wait a minute. Could it be that the higher-ups developed some new machine, and their school managed to get one first???

Impressive. No wonder their school was top-tier!

Hopefully B University didn’t get one—then their school could still hold the upper hand.

Wait, no! Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. Why was this machine here with Shen Xiuyan?

Could he have stolen it?

Director Wang’s face twisted in panic. How could someone so young go so far astray?

At this moment, Shen Xiuyan didn’t seem to notice him at all. He was completely focused, typing away at the computer.

Director Wang held his breath and moved closer. He glanced at the screen and was greeted by a flood of numbers, which instantly made him dizzy.

Great. Totally incomprehensible.

Even though he couldn’t understand a thing, it didn’t stop him from being absolutely shocked.

If he wasn’t mistaken, all those numbers were typed out by Shen Xiuyan himself…

What on earth was he doing?

A thousand conspiracy theories ran through his mind. Could he be a spy from some foreign country?

But if he were, why target this school? There wasn’t even any top-secret intel here…

Then again, he couldn’t help but think: wow, the resolution on this screen was amazing. The school’s two clunkers couldn’t compare at all.

No, no, no! Why was he spacing out again? This was not the time!

Director Wang clutched his chest and shouted, “Shen Xiuyan! What are you doing?! You’re too young to be making such reckless decisions!”

Shen Xiuyan jumped in fright at the sudden shout. He turned around and saw Director Wang, who looked like he might faint at any moment.

“Oh, it’s Director Wang. You startled me.”

“You startled me, more like!” Director Wang’s expression was grave. “I’ve caught you red-handed. Now speak—where did this thing come from? What’s your real purpose for being at this school?”

Shen Xiuyan slowly typed out a question mark.

Was Director Wang sick or something? Was this some kind of delusion?

He looked at him like he was looking at a lunatic. “What do you mean, ‘where did it come from’? What did you discover? None of this makes any sense.”

Director Wang pointed at the computer. “Don’t play dumb! Where did you get this thing?”

Shen Xiuyan sighed in relief. Oh, so he wasn’t mentally ill—just a little paranoid.

“You mean this? This is what I’ve been working on. You even provided the materials. Don’t tell me you don’t recognize it now?”

Director Wang: “%￥#u0026*”

Great. The moment Shen Xiuyan finished talking, Director Wang started spewing gibberish.

Okay, so he wasn’t mentally ill, but he was pretty close.

He calmed down. If he understood correctly, Shen Xiuyan was saying he built this computer himself???

He pointed at the computer in disbelief, then at Shen Xiuyan. “You… you built… this?”

Shen Xiuyan nodded confidently. “Yep!”

Director Wang: “…”

Seeing that Director Wang looked like he’d crashed, Shen Xiuyan ignored him and turned back to continue typing away at the keyboard.

The sound jolted Director Wang back to reality. “Wait! Stop! Don’t move!”

Shen Xiuyan looked back in confusion.

Director Wang’s expression turned serious. “Hands up. Step to the side. Do not touch that thing again.”

Until he figured out what was going on, everything Shen Xiuyan did was highly suspicious.

Shen Xiuyan broke out in a cold sweat. Okay, sure, building a computer ahead of its time was a bit intense.

But wasn’t this overkill? His ability to process this was seriously lacking…

He said helplessly, “If you don’t believe me, just get a professor who knows this stuff to come take a look, won’t that solve everything?”

Director Wang saw that Shen Xiuyan showed no sign of guilt, which made him even more unsure.

Could it be… could he really have built this?

No, no way—what was he even thinking?

So many scientists couldn’t make something like this, and Shen Xiuyan managed to cobble one together in this shabby little lab?

And in just twenty-something days?

Who’s he trying to fool? Even a dog wouldn’t believe it.

He glanced at the doorway out of the corner of his eye and spotted a familiar student. Immediately, he called out, “Chen, come here for a moment!”

Chen Zhigang pointed to himself, surprised. “Director, you mean me?”

“Yes, you.” Director Wang looked him up and down.

Tall, strong, solid build—looked like he could take on two Shen Xiuyans. Reliable. You’ll do.

With a solemn face, he continued, “Watch over Shen Xiuyan for me. Don’t let him go near that thing, and don’t let him put his hands down.”

Though confused, Chen Zhigang agreed.

Director Wang turned to Shen Xiuyan. “You behave yourself. I’m going to get someone right now.”

Shen Xiuyan raised his hands helplessly. “Alright, I promise to behave and not move an inch…”

He felt a little guilty—he could tell that Director Wang had been overstimulated by him.

If something really were to go wrong, surely they wouldn’t pin the blame on him, right…?

Well, he wasn’t going to admit to anything. It was clearly Director Wang’s own lack of mental fortitude.