Striving for Science C81 pt1

These two seemingly ordinary boxes contained something extraordinary.

A box of lustrous, perfectly round pearls, and another box of cut gemstones and diamonds, radiating a dazzling brilliance. He took a deep breath, closed the lids, and looked at Dao Nian with a serious expression. "Dao Nian, this isn't quite right."

"What's wrong?" Dao Nian took the box with the pearls from the top, took out a pearl and played with it.

The aquatic species haven't had it easy these past few years. The ocean has been severely polluted by humans, and the pearls they cultivate are not as good as before. Even for playing with, they're not round or big enough.

"Such a heavy gift, and they're so eager to give this and that, it's obvious they're asking for something." Shen Chang'an thought more and more that this was the case, "No, no, we should return this."

"Chang'an, you're usually so enthusiastic, why are you so timid now?" Liu Mao laughed, "Since they dare to give it, you dare to receive it. With the Master here, what are you afraid of?"

"That's not the same. What I usually do is within my capabilities, it won't make me feel uncomfortable. It's because of Dao Nian that I need to be more cautious. What if their request brings trouble to Dao Nian?" Shen Chang'an thought more and more, and suddenly felt that these pearls and gems were no longer beautiful or bright, but two boxes of trouble.

It's really making my head spin..." Shen Chang'an sighed, "Dao Nian, you shouldn't have persuaded me to accept this.

It's not something valuable. Using these stones and gravel to ask for favors, he's too embarrassed to speak." Dao Nian threw the pearl back into the box, "Don't worry, keep it. You can throw it around, play with it, or give it away. Just tell Liu Mao when you're done, there are plenty of these at home."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

"Dao Nian, tell me honestly, how rich are you?"

Even if they were rich, few could calmly say that a whole box of pearls and gems were just worthless stones and gravel.

Dao Nian opened the car window, and the cold wind blew into the car.

Shen Chang'an shivered from the cold: "Dao Nian?"

"Everything you see, I can give you." Dao Nian looked at Shen Chang'an seriously, "As long as you like it."

After being slapped in the face by the cold wind, Shen Chang'an snapped out of his daze: "Dao Nian, you... watch less of those 'Overbearing CEO Falls in Love with Me' dramas."

All the atmosphere was destroyed by Shen Chang'an's words.

Dao Nian closed the window, reached out to straighten Shen Chang'an's hair that was blown by the wind: "If I were an overbearing CEO, what would you be?"

Liu Mao: It's coming! It's coming! The first confession scene of the Heavenly Dao Lord is about to appear!

Shen Chang'an: "The little brother who follows the overbearing CEO?"

Liu Mao: ...

Dao Nian suddenly leaned closer to Shen Chang'an: "What do you think... ?"

Dao Nian's sudden closeness made Shen Chang'an feel a little uncomfortable. He hugged the box containing the gems: "Brother?"

"You..." Dao Nian sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the front, his tone calm, "Then this overbearing CEO, having you as a brother is enough."

Shen Chang'an felt something was wrong.

No, stop thinking!

He secretly glanced at Dao Nian. His face was still so handsome, so upright, so serious.

So he was overthinking it. What kind of evil thoughts did he have about his good brother?!

Shen Chang'an, Shen Chang'an, I never thought you were this kind of person!

Dao Nian drove the car to the building where Shen Chang'an worked. Shen Chang'an handed the jewel box to Dao Nian: "Keep this safe for me."

"Chang'an." Dao Nian placed the jewel box aside, followed him out of the car, and reached out to straighten Shen Chang'an's slightly askew collar. "Come home early tonight."

As they stepped into the courtyard, Xu Ze and Chen Panpan, who had arrived separately, saw this scene and silently stopped in their tracks. Though they hadn't come together, they exchanged a look at this moment, a silent understanding, and quietly retreated two steps.

Dao Nian withdrew his hand, turned, and nodded to the two of them: "Thank you for taking care of our Chang'an."

"N-no, you're welcome." Chen Panpan shook her head, dazed. She watched Dao Nian get into the car and leave, unable to recover for a long time.

"Our Chang'an..." The words were so sweet that even she, an outsider, felt a tinge of sweetness. Seeing Shen Chang'an acting as if nothing had happened, Chen Panpan suspected that it wasn't the world that was too dirty, but her own thoughts.

"Sorry, we came at a bad time." Xu Ze pushed up his glasses, solemnly confessing to Shen Chang'an, "I'll pay more attention next time."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

What a mess.

The three of them returned to the office and found that Director Du and Aunt Juan were already there. They seemed to have a disagreement on something, and their expressions weren't good.

A director and a deputy director, if their opinions don't align, it's not a good thing for those under them.

They exchanged glances, choosing to pretend they didn't know, and quietly slipped back to their desks, opening their computers and pretending to be very busy.

"Chang'an, come to my office for a moment." Du Zhonghai didn't look at Gao Shujuan, turning to Shen Chang'an. "Everyone else, keep working."

Chen Panpan looked at Shen Chang'an with worry. Could it be that he was being retaliated against for rejecting the Imperial Capital Security Department's job offer?

Shen Chang'an glanced at Aunt Juan, whose expression wasn't good, and followed Director Du into his office. Gao Shujuan hesitated for a moment before following them in.

Seeing them leave, Chen Panpan whispered to Xu Ze, "What's going on?"

"You're so well-informed, and you don't know? I certainly don't." Xu Ze pushed up his glasses, organizing the documents in his hand. "Why don't you go knock on the door and ask?"

"If I dared to do that, would I need to ask you?" Chen Panpan muttered under her breath. Director Du, though usually cheerful and easy to talk to, was terrifying when he got angry. The last time Director Du lost his temper was when the Civil Service Department was first established. They went to headquarters for a meeting, and some leaders from other departments mocked their department for being unambitious. Director Du rolled up his sleeves and engaged in a verbal battle with them, ultimately humiliating the other side into silence.

Since then, no matter how other departments mocked them behind their backs, no one dared to say anything to their faces, all afraid of Director Du's sharp tongue.

"Panpan, Chang'an and your friend are on the news!" Ding Yang ran in from outside, excitedly. "Lots of people are forwarding it online, and the video views have already exceeded a million."

"What video?" Chen Panpan took out her phone. "Quickly send me the link."

Ding Yang sent the video link to the chat group, excitedly saying, "I saw a lot of people online praising Chang'an. He's brought honor to our Civil Service Department again."

Chen Panpan clicked on the link Ding Yang sent, and it redirected to Weibo. It turned out that the video was released by a very credible media platform in China.

The video started with a hidden camera capturing Shen Chang'an stopping his car and buying a few pairs of gloves from an elderly person selling them on the side of the road. Because the distance was far and the angle was slightly off, the video only captured Shen Chang'an's side profile, and the nearby vehicles were all blurred out.

A handsome person, even just a silhouette, will make you feel their specialness.

In the video, a reporter's voice said: "This video was copied from our reporter's social observation program. We can see that after this gentleman bought the old man's gloves, he continued to patrol the street, and the cameras at every intersection clearly captured the route of the vehicle."

The car stopped at the traffic light intersection outside the mall.

Chen Panpan knew that Shen Chang'an had saved her friend Zeng Yi, but she didn't expect the scene to be so dangerous. Within five seconds of Shen Chang'an stopping the car, the trash man hiding in the crowd rushed out with a knife, and Shen Chang'an was only about ten seconds slower than him.

Through the screen, she clearly felt the danger of the scene, especially when the trash man stabbed with a knife and Zeng Yi dodged, and he was about to stab again, her heart jumped to her throat.

Just then, Shen Chang'an had already arrived behind the trashy guy. Seeing him subdue the trashy guy in an instant, Chen Panpan sighed, no wonder someone as proud as Zeng Yi would lower herself to pursue Shen Chang'an.

In this moment of life and death, human fear reached its peak. Shen Chang'an's appearance was like the only light in the endless darkness, and he was so handsome...

In this moment, falling in love with such a man is so easy to understand.

After this video from the mall's entrance surveillance camera ended, there was another video taken by a bystander. Because this video was very clear, Shen Chang'an and Zeng Yi's faces were both blurred.

The trashy man, being kicked and beaten by the crowd, let out a pained howl. Shen Chang'an squeezed through the crowd, holding back the enthusiastic people who were trying to hit his head, while shouting loudly, "Everyone, calm down! Don't hit his head, don't hit his head! If you cause any problems, you'll be held legally responsible!"

Chen Panpan also saw someone stepping on the trash man's hand right under Shen Chang'an's nose. Shen Chang'an acted as if he were blind, not only did he not reach out to stop it, but he also turned his head away.

Although there was a thick layer of mosaic, Chen Panpan still felt that Shen Chang'an's expression at that moment must have been innocent and naive.

At the end of the video, Shen Chang'an asked everyone to take back the money and gifts in the car, then he ate a little bear lollipop given by a little girl.

The reporter from this platform was quite playful. They even bought a lollipop of the same kind, removed the packaging, and took a close-up shot of it, which they put at the end of the video.

The comment section below the video already had over 20,000 comments. Chen Panpan couldn't help but click in to take a look.

"Don't hit the head, you'll be legally responsible if anything happens," that line really cracked me up. Little brother is such a law-abiding citizen.

Netizen 2: I saw a leak somewhere else, saying the girl is incredibly beautiful and the guy is super handsome. I want to see their love story novel within ten minutes.

Netizen 3: Such a handsome and brave guy is mine! He's lying in my bed right now, don't try to steal him from me.

Netizen 4: You're shameless! You're trying to seduce my boyfriend!

Netizen 5: Am I the only one who noticed that when those people were beating up the trashy guy, the little brother pretended not to see anything?

Netizen 6: I saw it! I saw it! This kind of little brother is a treasure of the world.

Netizen 7: I'm reporting this! The little brother took a lollipop from the little sister. If he doesn't date me, I'm going to report him to his leader.

Netizen 8: The lollipop the little sister gave, how can that be called a bribe? That's called sharing delicious food. I warn you, upstairs, if you dare report my kid's dad, I'll go smash your windows.

Netizen 9: The little brother is really good. He bought the gloves the old lady was selling, saved the girl from the villain's knife, and when he talked to the little girl, he squatted down in front of her. He wasn't actually eating the candy, he was protecting the little girl's pure heart. Having said all this, what I really want to say is, little brother, I want to date you!

Netizen 10: Stop fantasizing, upstairs. The hero saves the beauty is a timeless classic trope. I think the girl who was saved can develop a 200-chapter sweet love story with the little brother.

Netizen 11: I don't care, anyway, through the thick mosaic, I've already seen the little brother's handsome face, look at that waist, those legs, and those hands, really... tsk tsk tsk.