Half an hour later, at the No. 1 cafeteria of Beihua University, Li Peifeng and Wu Wenyue, having showered, each got a meal and sat at the same table, chatting once again.
This was considered a tacit understanding between the two; they usually had a meal together after working out.
There was a time when this understanding disappeared during the six days of Li Peifeng dating Xu Manning.
During that short period, they didn't even communicate on WeChat, let alone dine or work out together. They didn't dare see each other, avoiding each other for fear of running into one another.
Li Peifeng avoided Wu Wenyue out of fear of being hit, while Wu Wenyue avoided Li Peifeng for fear she might kill him.
The two played dumb, pretending not to know anything. It wasn't until Li Peifeng and Xu Manning broke up that he sent his gym buddy a heartbroken emoji, and she immediately understood and replied with a "Hahaha, laughed my head off" sticker...
Subsequently, their friendship resumed as usual.
"Have you noticed any changes about me?" Li Peifeng looked around and asked casually.
The people eating in the cafeteria were scattered, each minding their own business; however, as soon as the two sat down, people's gazes subtly shifted their way, especially the girls.
Ever since he had his face remodeled, Li Peifeng found his face... even more attention-grabbing.
If his previous level of handsomeness could be considered understandable, his current handsomeness was a bit out of the ordinary, truly flawless.
"Hmm, there have been changes."
Wu Wenyue looked him up and down: "You've become even more like a beast. As the saying goes, there are only wrong choices in names, not in nicknames. You deserve the nickname of Beihua University's top beastly student!"
"I meant my looks!"
Li Peifeng widened his eyes, leaned closer: "Haven't I become handsomer?"
Wu Wenyue leaned back in mock disgust: "Step back, I'm afraid I'll vomit. I didn't even bring it up, yet you dare speak of it—secretly getting whitening injections as a grown man, isn't that disgusting?!"
"Nonsense, I haven't had any injections; this is my third puberty!"
Li Peifeng argued: "And haven't you noticed my strength has grown too? I've had another growth spurt!"
Wu Wenyue laughed mercilessly: "I thought you were using both whitening injections and steroids! Alright, alright, my big boy has had a growth spurt, do you need me to give you some of my food?!"
"I'm serious!"
Li Peifeng whispered: "I really feel my body has changed a bit lately, and I want to do a blood and genetic test along with a urine test. Since you're from the Sports Academy and have access to the human research lab, can you help me test it privately when you have time?"
Despite feeling a bit strange about the changes given by the system, Li Peifeng was still curious. Of course, he didn't dare expect modern science to replicate the technologies of having "indestructible kidneys" or a "flawless face," nor did he dare imagine using these technologies for profit or the public good.
He merely wanted to be responsible for himself and understand his current physical condition.
Li Peifeng was just afraid that, should he fall ill in the future, if a doctor saw his blood test or CT scan and realized he wasn't human, he might report him to the authorities, treating him as an alien.
If that happened, Li Peifeng feared he'd be sent to a top-secret lab overnight, subjected to various experiments without anesthesia, where they'd take out his kidneys… The likelihood was small, but never zero!
To avoid this, Li Peifeng intended to research himself first, to see if his current body metrics still fell within the human range.
And such "specimen research" certainly couldn't be done in a hospital, as that would be asking for exposure. Instead, someone trustworthy had to test him privately and keep the results confidential.
Conveniently, he had someone around with the ability, resources, and trustworthiness for this task.
There are five activities that help people build trust hormones: eating together, walking together, studying together, working out together, and sleeping together.
Except for the last one, they had been doing almost all of these things every day for over five years.
Li Peifeng considered Wu Wenyue to be almost like a brother. He believed she would never betray him.
"Now that you mention it, there seems to be some change…"
Wu Wenyue recalled Li Peifeng's state during their workout earlier, scrutinized his face, and nodded: "Alright, tomorrow's the start of the new term. Although the lab will be open, I doubt many students will use it, so there'll be a chance to test you."
Li Peifeng specially reminded her: "This is a secret between us, something we can't reveal even if we die, ok?"
"Having a secret with you… that's just my bad luck."
Wu Wenyue sighed and shook her head: "Don't worry, even if you were a six-fingered alien dwarf in human skin trying to invade Earth, I wouldn't report you to the authorities."
Li Peifeng chuckled: "Well, thank you, quality human female."
"I'd just strangle you myself."
"…" Li Peifeng's expression froze.
Wu Wenyue jabbed, "Have you become split-personality writing novels lately? Starting to fantasize about having superpowers?"
No superpowers, but not far from it…
Li Peifeng diverted the topic: "What about you, have you figured things out after your trip? After finishing your second year of postgrad, are you planning to pursue a PhD or just work post-master's?"
Wu Wenyue pondered for a moment and replied: "I'll pursue a PhD. I have some offers now, but none of them are what I want. My parents are still young, so I don't need to earn money for them. I referee CUBA basketball games on the side, which covers my daily expenses."
"That sounds good."
Li Peifeng nodded in support: "Then focus all your energy for now, and make sure not to flunk the exams."
Wu Wenyue's academic level is impressive; her paper in her 첫 year was published in both national and international journals. If she pursued a PhD, she wouldn't have problems with quotas or exams, just her own willingness, and Li Peifeng merely gave a slight reminder.
"And you?"
Wu Wenyue said uncertainly: "I remember you said before that you wanted to pursue a PhD after your second year, right? You also mentioned your professor was keen on you doing a PhD, almost begging you. Unable to refuse her kind offer, you reluctantly agreed, planning to focus on writing novels, creating works, and conducting research, ultimately securing a PhD. After that, you'd find a place to become a lecturer at a decent school and be a content salted fish, living a sweet life… you said that, right?"
When the other party jokingly brought this up, Li Peifeng suddenly fell silent, poking at his food with markedly less enthusiasm than before.
Noticing the change in his mood, Wu Wenyue frowned and asked, "What happened? Encountered an issue?"
"The original plan was that way; I promised my advisor to pursue a PhD, and she guaranteed me a spot…"
Li Peifeng said bluntly, "But plans can't keep up with changes."
"What on earth happened?" Wu Wenyue asked, inexplicably tense.
Li Peifeng sighed helplessly: "Because, in the next fifty-plus days, my relationship with my advisor might undergo some subtle transformations, which could probably lead to her not giving me the PhD spot and even expelling me from her mentorship. I'd even feel ashamed to face her again…"
"Huh?! Why?"
Wu Wenyue was confused.
Li Peifeng's view was quietly interrupted by the system panel appearing in his line of sight.
[Newbie Mission: Assessment.]
[Current Task Progress: 1/2. Remaining Time: Fifty-five days and ten hours.]
[Please proceed to achieve the next task objective promptly.]
[Difficulty: ★★]
[Name: Zhao Qingge.]
[Age: 33 years old.]
[Height: 170 cm.]
[Weight: 108 pounds.]
[Background: Daughter of the Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Yandu University, Zhao Haiqi, and the Vice Dean of the School of International Economics and Trade at Yandu University of Finance and Economics, Li Xin.]
[Education: Ph.D. in Literature from the Department of Chinese, Yandu University.]
[Job: Tenured Associate Professor and Researcher at the Chinese Department of Beihua University, moderator of the Network Literature Research Forum at Beihua University, currently the principal investigator of the Dong Social Science Fund research project "Canonization of Network Literature and Reconstruction of 'Mainstream Literature'," and a member of the National Network Literature Research Association.]
[Relationship Status: Single.]
[Relationship Experience: …]
[Impression of the Host: A smart brain indeed, but not a decent kid. With a face like a rogue, always showing off, frivolous and shameless, attracting trouble. Fortunately, he believed the stories I spun; otherwise, letting him graduate to become a teacher would be disastrous. Let him be imprisoned in his studies for five years during his Ph.D.; he might still be salvageable.]