Chapter 05
Experiment
Lin Yan held up a black umbrella as he left the teaching building. Just as he was about to reach the dormitory building, he received a message from someone nicknamed “Fake Kind Rich Pretender Who Might Actually Have Money.”
【Ge, aren’t you sleeping with me tonight?】
Lin Yan’s mind went blank for a few seconds.
Before he could think further, another message popped up.
【Ge, I’m sorry. The chemistry competition finals have been going on recently, and I couldn’t find time to visit you in the hospital. The competition just ended tonight. I’m sorry, Ge. Please don’t blame me.】
That tone…
It could only be Mu Lan.
Lin Yan silently scrolled through the chat history.
There were very few past messages between the original host and Mu Lan.
Then suddenly, one day, they began chatting frequently.
The original host directly asked Mu Lan for money. After transferring it, Mu Lan would ask about his situation, show concern for his life, and occasionally chat a little. Judging purely from the messages, they didn’t look like a romantic couple at all.
The dim glow of the screen reflected on Lin Yan’s dark brows and eyes.
After spending a few minutes reading through everything, he typed a few words.
【It’s fine. I’ll sleep in the dorm.】
Before the message could be sent, another message from Mu Lan quickly appeared.
【Ge, it’s okay if you blame me. I’m sorry. I don’t have the ability to change your situation. But they trashed your dorm—there’s water everywhere and even spiders. It’s not livable anymore. I’m really scared… what if someone wakes you up in the middle of the night by pouring water on you again…】
Fragments of memory suddenly surfaced in Lin Yan’s mind.
The four young masters of F4 controlled the Federation’s lifelines—medical research, finance and oil, diplomacy and education, and military and politics. Standing at the top of the pyramid, they were the trendsetters of Aurora Academy.
That was the first day the original host received the red card from F4.
Countless malice spread from anonymous forums into reality—books torn apart, desks destroyed. He was locked in the restroom until midnight, then staggered back to the dorm.
Lying in bed in the dark, he reached into his blanket and found a handful of spiders. Trembling in fear with nowhere to go, he forced himself to sleep. Before dawn, he was awakened by a bucket of ice water.
This kind of life had lasted for half a month.
The original host went from despair to numbness, almost committing suicide—
Then the protagonist shou rushed back from the lab, dusty and exhausted. He saved the original host and let him sleep in his dorm.
In the original story, this plot went like this:
The protagonist shou happened to meet F1 on the rooftop. A photo of them alone together spread throughout Aurora. He shared the same mentor as F3, and in front of everyone, he accidentally broke F3’s test tube—yet F3 didn’t get angry.
The nobles, who had attended countless social events since childhood, caught wind of the young masters’ indulgence. None of them were fools, so they stopped targeting the protagonist shou.
The original host was sheltered under the protagonist shou’s protection.
No one wanted to be the first to act, so everyone waited and watched.
The original host “lived” peacefully for one week.
Then the professor assigned the protagonist shou another task, and he rushed back to the laboratory.
Without that protection, the original host endured nearly another week of bullying.
In the original novel, the abandoned warehouse scene was where the protagonist shou would save him at the last moment again, becoming his savior once more.
Overloaded memories flooded into Lin Yan’s mind.
His temples throbbed. He didn’t want to play the role in a “hero saves the beauty” story, so he typed again:
【No need. Let’s break up.】
During Aurora’s thunderstorm season,
the network lagged, and a bright red exclamation mark appeared on the screen.
Lin Yan tapped resend and confirmed the message was delivered.
Expressionless, he put away his phone, held up his umbrella, and walked toward the honors students’ dormitory.
The dormitory was built in Rococo style—
magnificent, bright, and luxurious.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and famous paintings by renowned Federation artists lined the corridors—enough to make any newly arrived honors student lose their way.
The original host lived in a double room.
After the red card was issued, his roommate, afraid of being implicated, had moved out early.
Lin Yan walked past the spiral staircase.
All the luxury faded away.
The section belonging to honors students had narrow, cramped corridors.
The light bulbs were dim, casting elongated shadows that twisted and overlapped. Figures moved about noisily, chaotic and disordered.
When Lin Yan reached Room 324—
It was as if the world’s consciousness rebooted.
The honors students suddenly connected his name with him. Silence fell instantly, as if everything had been paused.
With a “click,”
Lin Yan unlocked the door.
As he entered, a sweaty figure quickly spoke in a low voice:
“We have classes tomorrow… If you stay in the dorm, will it affect our rest?”
Indeed.
After the red card was issued, every student in Aurora had the right to “discipline” Lin Yan. The arrogant noble young masters, curious about the ordinary-looking Lin Yan, even lowered themselves to come to the honors dormitory just to cause him trouble and please F4.
The dorm’s soundproofing wasn’t great.
Sudden noises, screams, or crying could wake others.
Under the dim light, Lin Yan tilted his head, not yet seeing the boy’s face clearly.
The boy suddenly raised his voice, sounding aggrieved:
“I… I just sweat a lot, that’s why I don’t smell! If water and electricity weren’t turned on at six in the morning and cut off at ten, I’d definitely shower twice a day…”
Before he finished speaking, he abruptly shut the door.
With a loud bang,
the already fragile dorm door took a heavy hit.
As soon as the time came, the dim hallway lights went out.
The boys hurried past with basins, rushing to get the last bit of water from the washroom. No one paid attention anymore to Lin Yan suddenly returning to the dorm.
Lin Yan lowered his eyes silently.
As he closed the door, he said softly:
“I’ll try.”
Water and electricity in the dorm were cut off at ten at night.
Using his phone’s light, Lin Yan saw the filthy state of the bed.
After thinking for a moment, he opened the wardrobe.
It was full of clothes—fortunately, the noble young masters hadn’t bothered with such trivial things and hadn’t torn them apart.
Lin Yan spread all the clothes over the opposite bed, making himself a barely passable resting spot.
He checked the original host’s toiletries.
Before he could even look at the class schedule, he received a genetics experiment assignment from Professor Sumer.
Rubbing his temples, Lin Yan replied to the email.
He had thought the night would be restless.
But he was wrong.
The night passed peacefully, with no one causing trouble.
Lin Yan even had a brief dream.
The dream followed the original novel:
The protagonist shou’s compassion for honors students was twisted by the nobles into meddling. Two months after enrolling, he was bullied by F4’s followers.
Yet he remained kind and gentle, sympathizing with everyone. He saved the honors students during the bullying, became their center, endured many hardships, and eventually caught F4’s attention.
As a poorly finished novel, the story never revealed the final main love interest.
The last chapter showed:
After graduating from Aurora Academy, the protagonist shou entered a prestigious political and law university in the Federation.
And that was the end.
These lines kept repeating in Lin Yan’s dream.
He suddenly woke up.
The sky was turning pale, and bright sunlight shone equally on every dormitory in Aurora.
After waking, Lin Yan felt a dull ache in his temples, his face pale.
He washed up, put on his uniform, and packed his books.
Since transmigrating, he had been recovering in the hospital and had never seen the original host’s face. As he passed a full-length mirror, he casually glanced at it—
And froze.
It was like a few strokes sketched on paper—
sharp bone structure, cold pale skin, dark brows and eyes.
This face… was almost identical to his original one.
Did the original host look like this too?
Lin Yan pressed his lips together.
The reflection did the same.
Amid the scattered footsteps in the dorm,
Lin Yan opened his genetics textbook.
He had never studied genetics or seen such experiments before. After briefly familiarizing himself with the procedures, he left the dorm and found an empty laboratory.
Following the book, he replicated the experiment—
Again and again.
He never got the correct result.
His brows drooped in frustration.
He redid the experiment.
While waiting for results,
he dealt with lunch and rested on the desk.
Having slept poorly the night before,
he soon fell into deep sleep again.
There seemed to be sounds of a door opening and footsteps—but then everything went quiet.
When Lin Yan opened his eyes again,
it was already dark.
The lab’s lone bulb emitted faint light. Aurora had many laboratory buildings—this one was old and rarely maintained, seldom visited. But its safety standards and equipment were intact.
Lin Yan checked the results.
As expected—failure again.
Ignoring his frustration, he carefully reviewed the data from all three attempts.
He had made two minor mistakes—twice.
Comparing with the textbook and remembering the errors, he conducted the experiment again.
The waiting process was boring.
He patiently repeated the procedure, recalculating the results. Just as he was about to finish, something felt off—he might have made another mistake.
When he got another failed sample,
he finally identified the cause.
Rubbing his temples, he tried again.
After removing the centrifuge tube and transferring the contents into a petri dish—
He finally succeeded.
The result matched his calculations perfectly.
His eyes curved slightly in satisfaction.
A figure hidden in the shadows watched him, puzzled by his repeated experiments.
The fading light outlined a slender figure.
Carelessly leaning back, the person tilted their head slightly, making a faint sound.
Lin Yan turned instantly, body tense and guarded.
“Who?”
No response.
Only heavier breathing in the room.
Lin Yan stepped forward silently and suddenly appeared beside the boy, grabbing his throat.
The boy didn’t struggle. He raised both hands in surrender, relaxed his body, and pressed his chin against Lin Yan’s neck, taking a deep breath.
Disgusted, Lin Yan let go and stepped back.
A massive shadow appeared on the wall—
dark and ominous.
Like a lurking beast hunting its prey, wanting to mark it completely with scent, drag it into its nest, and devour it.
A chill ran down Lin Yan’s spine.
He stepped back.
The shadow observed him, its expression shifting repeatedly, as if searching for the most suitable one. Finally, it abandoned its noble demeanor and settled into a blank, cold look.
“I’m here to do an experiment.”
Sensing Lin Yan’s vigilance, he added:
“I finished mine while you were asleep.”
“Then why didn’t you speak?” Lin Yan asked coldly.
After a pause, the boy replied, “Catching up on sleep.”
Lin Yan rubbed his temples.
He vaguely remembered hearing the door earlier—but hadn’t thought anyone else would come to this old lab.
Just an ordinary student, probably.
As Lin Yan prepared to apologize—
The boy spoke first:
“You made mistakes twice in a basic experiment.”
Lin Yan, who had actually made five mistakes: “…”
With a cold face, he turned to leave, saying,
“I’m an idiot.”
The boy reacted faster than thought.
He grabbed Lin Yan’s wrist forcefully.
Lin Yan countered instantly, restraining him and leaning in, voice sharp:
“What exactly do you want?”
So fragrant. So fragrant. So fragrant.
Unable to move, the boy tilted his head, trying to get closer to Lin Yan’s neck, swallowing repeatedly.
An irresistible genetic chain.
So fragrant.
At that moment—
A harsh light shone from the doorway, accompanied by a soft sob.
“Ge… what are you doing?”
Lin Yan released his grip and turned—
It was Mu Lan.
The dim light bulb flickered to life, shining brightly, as if excitedly watching a cheating drama.
The “other man” slowly stood up.
Tall and straight, wearing Aurora’s standard lab coat, with the Gu family’s iris embroidered on his chest. Black hair, golden eyes, cold expression.
His shadow stretched along the wall, almost reaching out to touch Lin Yan’s exposed neck.
So fragrant.
Tears filled Mu Lan’s eyes. He hurried forward, staring at Lin Yan, wanting to say something harsh but unable to.
Instead, he turned to the other man angrily:
“Gu Ye, why are you with my ge?!”
Gu Ye—
F3 from the original story.
(Description of Gu Ye and his family omitted here for brevity—unchanged from original meaning.)
Lin Yan didn’t want to get involved in the protagonists’ story.
After packing up, he calmly left.
Mu Lan called after him tearfully.
Lin Yan ignored him.
When Mu Lan followed closely, Lin Yan was about to drive him away—
Gu Ye suddenly spoke:
“The big snake in the cedar forest of District Three.”
Mu Lan’s eyes flickered.
Then he said carefully:
“Ge, I’ve been busy lately… I’ll come find you when I have time.”
Wiping his tears, he added firmly:
“Anyway, I won’t accept your message.”
Lin Yan chose to ignore it.
He left the lab quickly, leaving the two protagonists behind.
He refused to become what the original host was—
A catalyst for their romance.
On the way back, Lin Yan bought a quilt.
Fortunately, it didn’t rain today.
Holding the warm, clean quilt, his good mood lasted until he reached the dorm.
But as soon as he stepped onto the third floor,
he sensed something strange.
The same as yesterday—
Dim light, stretched shadows.
Frowning slightly, he walked to his door.
A trembling figure curled up nearby handed him a gilded invitation.
On it bloomed a flamboyant Freud rose.
“Lin… Lin Yan… Young Master Leslie… invites you to a… castle banquet.”
