"One, two, three... thirty-two."
Liu Chen counted the coupons in his hand and the numbers in his mouth. After counting, Liu Chen looked at the neatly arranged lottery tickets on the table and smiled like an aunt.
Taking a deep breath, Liu Chen chuckled:
"You are all good children! The old rule is to draw one first to try."
Of course, before doing all this, Liu Chen did not forget to lock the door.
The last time Liu Chen used it, he had to change the scope from the fixed "carnivorous constant temperature snack food formula" to "constant temperature snack food formula" because it was too specific.
Then he obtained the formulas for five products: original flavor potato chips, pure milk candy, milk chocolate, strawberry milk, and soda crackers.
Thinking of this, the formula sheets belonging to the five products floated out from the system backpack and stopped in mid-air in front of Liu Chen.
It seemed to be reminding Liu Chen, "You've drawn us out for so long, why haven't you prepared to produce them yet?"
Liu Chen looked at these five formulas and felt a headache. The main reason was that there was no legitimate excuse!
He couldn't just lie at home receiving IV fluids for a few days, then suddenly have an epiphany, complete the experiment in his mind, and then produce a food formula without any problems.
If he said that, he would be dissected within minutes!
Perhaps sensing that Liu Chen was truly unable to use these food formulas at the moment, the five formulas floated back into the system backpack on their own.
Liu Chen glanced again at the five formula sheets lying quietly in his backpack, and felt a little guilty.
Because she had already decided to try a new designated lottery ticket.
Since it's advanced...
Liu Chen made a bold request:
"I want the formula for the Soul Revival Pill."
"Dong! Warning! The current request exceeds the limits of this world. Please re-designate!"
The sudden warning sound echoed in Liu Chen's mind, making his recently healed temples feel like they were about to relapse.
In a hurry, with a pounding headache, Liu Chen had to quickly change his designated scope.
But even so, Liu Chen was determined not to waste this precious lottery ticket. With his head throbbing, Liu Chen began to frantically think about something that was worth more than its cost and absolutely deserved the use of a designated lottery ticket.
Then...
"Holy crap, it hurts so much. If only I could get another nutrient solution... Nutrient solution formula! I want to draw the energy nutrient solution formula!"
After saying this, Liu Chen let out a long sigh of relief.
That was close. He almost asked for a bottle of nutrient solution due to the headache, which would have been a huge loss!
It was always most cost-effective to master the formula for nutrient solutions.
As Liu Chen spoke, a form labeled "Energy Nutrient Solution Formula" floated down in front of him.
To be honest, when Liu Chen said he wanted this formula, he was a little worried, not because the formula wasn't worth it, but mainly because it was an energy nutrient solution. If the raw materials in the formula were very expensive, then this formula would have no commercial value.
But looking at the materials on the formula sheet, well, although they were all traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, most of them were listed as one year old, and the longest was a two-year-old ginseng. Moreover, it was specifically noted that this formula was for making the concentrate, and the concentrate only accounted for less than 5% in the production of the energy nutrient solution.
Holding the energy nutrient solution formula in both hands, Liu Chen began to ponder how to create a plausible backstory for producing this formula.
-
So, for the next few days, the express deliveries to the house kept coming. Liu Chen opened them in front of the three family members, revealing books like "Compendium of Materia Medica," "Learning Chinese Herbs from Scratch," and "A Hundred Folk Remedies."
Fortunately, these books were considered leisure reading by Ren Yu, so he didn't stop Liu Chen from "studying."
As for Xia Tian and Dong Tian, they stated that they cared about nothing other than the employer's safety.
Liu Chen stayed at home reading (actually, he was receiving one-on-one tutoring). Soon, the winter break approached its end.
Ren Yu walked with Liu Chen's luggage on campus, reflecting in his mind, how did the cohabitation he had envisioned during the New Year pass by so quickly due to Liu Chen's overthinking and recuperation?
After all, apart from the kiss in the parking lot last time, most of their cohabitation life had been spent with Liu Chen reading on the sofa and him working on his laptop on the sofa.
Recalling these moments, Ren Yu's face became even more serious as he pushed the suitcase.
For safety reasons, Liu Chen, who had lived off-campus for a semester, decided to lie low in the school dormitory this semester. Under the arrangement of Professor He Long, Liu Chen moved into the former dormitory of senior student He Siyu.
That is, a doctoral student dormitory.
Given that Tsinghua University's doctoral student population was not as large as its undergraduate population, some of the doctoral student dormitories were occupied by international students. These international students included undergraduates and master's students, but no doctoral students.
But this was not the point. The key was that the doctoral student dormitory Liu Chen moved into was the size of a two-bedroom apartment.
Opening the door revealed a small living room. On the balcony outside the living room was a washing machine. The windows on the balcony were now open, and the wind was blowing into the living room.
Even though the sun was out and it looked warm in Beijing today, the strong wind made it feel cold even in the sun, making one wish they could wear a down jacket from neck to ankle, plus a pair of snow boots.
Liu Chen went to the balcony first and closed the window. The heating in the dormitory started today. Beijing's heating season ends on March 22nd, which is still about a month away.
The door on the left was locked, so Liu Chen assumed someone was already living there. He, along with Ren Yu and Shen Hong behind him, placed their luggage in the bedroom on the right.
Entering the room, Liu Chen looked at the bathroom door inside the room and suddenly realized:
"I was just wondering why the doctoral dormitory building didn't have a bathroom. Turns out it's configured as one bathroom per room."
Actually, Liu Chen only brought one suitcase of clothes. The rest were books on traditional Chinese medicine that he had been reading recently.
Surprisingly, although he had intended to use them as a cover, Liu Chen found himself engrossed in the books. He felt that the application of traditional Chinese medicine was profound and was enthusiastically considering whether he could explore it based on the system's provided version.
After all, when conducting experiments, one doesn't always succeed on the first try. As long as the goal is clear, one just needs to keep trying.
After letting Ren Yu and Shen Hong put down the luggage, Liu Chen took out two bottles of mineral water from his bag and handed them over. While pushing Ren Yu's shoulder, he said, "You guys go ahead and get busy. I'll organize the room this afternoon. Ren Yu, come pick me up tonight. I'm having dinner with Zhuzhu and the others today."
Shen Hong, walking in front, couldn't help but turn back and wink with a smile:
"Oh, are you going to show off your 'ugly bride' Ren Yu to your friends? Ah!!"
Hearing Shen Hong's last scream, Liu Chen couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and look up.
He saw Shen Hong standing in front of a person wearing a black cloak, with messy hair falling over her shoulders, her face mostly obscured by her explosive hairstyle, revealing only a pair of listless eyes with heavy dark circles.
Liu Chen suddenly understood why Shen Hong had screamed. If he had suddenly turned around and seen someone standing there silently, he probably would have screamed too.
"You must be the new roommate. I'm Qin Cancan, a third-year doctoral student in Computer Science. Cancan, the sunny and bright one..."
As she spoke, Qin Cancan ignored the two men standing in front of her and extended her hand towards Liu Chen.
Liu Chen quickly put down his things and shook hands, introducing himself:
"Hello, I'm Liu Chen, a freshman in Food Science. This is my boyfriend, Ren Yu, and this is my friend, Shen Hong."
After hearing the introduction, Qin Cancan slightly turned her head towards them with Liu Chen's gesture and nodded.
"Ren Yu..."
Qin Cancan turned away, repeating the name as she walked with her head down. Liu Chen watched her absentminded gait and worried she would bump into the door.
"Bang!"
Well, his worries were not in vain. Qin Cancan had a close encounter with the bedroom door, causing her to sway like an inverted pendulum, and then...
"Thud!"
Qin Cancan fell backward. Although Shen Hong, who was in front, rushed forward before she started to fall, he still couldn't catch her. Qin Cancan fell to the ground, her back of the head making contact with the tiled floor.
Then she fainted.
Now, Liu Chen had no intention of organizing his luggage. He quickly asked Shen Hong to carry Qin Cancan to the affiliated hospital.
At the Tsinghua University Affiliated Hospital, after the three of them carried Qin Cancan, they heard that she had fallen on the back of her head and fainted. The nurse immediately asked them to place her on the hospital bed, lifted her eyelids, and then performed a series of checks.
Finally, she told Liu Chen:
"There are no problems. She just stayed up too late, and the blow to the head activated her brain's protective mechanism. She's just catching up on sleep now. An infusion of nutrient solution will do."
The small bag of nutrient solution was infused quickly, and as the nurse removed the needle, Qin Cancan also opened her eyes.
"Is this heaven?"
Looking at the ceiling above her, Qin Cancan's first words were this. Then she saw the nurse removing the needle and her new roommate, whom she vaguely recognized.
"Thank you... Liu..."
"Liu Chen,"
Liu Chen smiled and nodded, adding.
"Ah, thank you, Liu Chen, ah! It's already two o'clock! My advisor will kill me! Uh, I have to go. I'll pay the medical expenses when I get back. Goodbye!"
After saying this, Qin Cancan flipped off the bed and left with her phone, her steps hurried, leaving Liu Chen no time to say goodbye before she disappeared out the door.
"Tsk tsk, I knew pursuing a doctorate was hard, but I didn't expect it to be this hard. Looking at her dark circles, I guess she didn't go home at all during this winter break and was kept at school doing grunt work."
Shen Hong entered from outside, holding two cups of hot milk tea. As he handed one to Liu Chen, he sighed.
Liu Chen drank his milk tea, recalling Qin Cancan's dark circles. Well... you couldn't get such dark and rich circles without staying up for a long time.
"Is pursuing a doctorate that hard?" Liu Chen was somewhat puzzled. In fact, the doctoral students under Professor He Long whom Liu Chen had met seemed no different from himself. The only difference was that they handled more experimental projects, while he could only watch from outside the laboratory.
"Professor He Long's doctoral students don't seem to be in the same state as this Qin Cancan. I feel like her condition continuing like this is a bit dangerous."
Liu Chen, who had just recovered, felt a lingering fear.
When Shen Hong heard Liu Chen mention He Long, he immediately became animated.
"Do you know how rare Professor He Long is? As a supervisor, he doesn't exploit his students, nor does he engage in any social engagements. Basically, the experiments he does all have results, and as long as you are in the lab, even if you're just sweeping the floor, he'll put your name in it.
So, everyone at school was extremely envious when you were able to get into Professor He Long's lab.
Normal supervisors basically don't care about anything else except doing experiments. If an experiment goes wrong, the students below are finished."
Hearing Shen Hong's words, Liu Chen could better appreciate what a perfect fallback plan Grandpa Chen had found for him. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"So, isn't staying up late the norm? What if something happens?"
Liu Chen was worried about his new roommate. She was really afraid that one day she would come back from class and find her roommate collapsed in the dormitory, lifeless.
Liu Chen's words were meant to be concerned, but the smile on Shen Hong's face faded upon hearing them, and he sighed.
"Who's to say? Just last year, someone at our school died suddenly from long-term sleep deprivation. So, what you're seeing now is much more restrained."
Sudden death from sleep deprivation...
These four words were short, but Liu Chen felt a crushing weight on his chest.
Ren Yu and Shen Hong saw Liu Chen back to the dormitory and then left.
Liu Chen, who had planned to leisurely pack his luggage in the afternoon, was now sitting on his bed, lost in thought.
She had also seen the news a few days ago, about a driver falling asleep due to fatigue, causing the car to veer into a green belt. Fortunately, the car was not moving fast, and the driver woke up and slammed on the brakes, thus avoiding a major accident.
After the news report, the host urged everyone not to drive while fatigued and to drive safely for themselves and for others.
Liu Chen thought for a moment, opened his phone, and accessed the QQ group. Mi Zhuzhu was complaining frantically in the group. Because she had the largest number of Weibo followers, she received the most commercial advertising inquiries.
Mi Zhuzhu: I have three promotional posts due this week, and I still need to tidy up my dorm today. I estimate I'll be up all night today, and if not today, then tomorrow.
Lai Jielun: Zhuzhu, wait for me. I'll finish this interview and come help you tidy up the dorm.
Mi Zhuzhu: No need, I'm already done. You've prepared for this interview for so long, go to bed early tonight.
Ren Mo: Holy crap, I'm exhausted from taking photos and editing Weibo for a few bloggers lately. I only sleep five hours a day. I don't even dare to drive anymore, for fear of falling asleep while driving.
Sang Ling: Our class schedule for this semester is out too. I've also arranged with Brother Shen Hong to go for an internship at Xinghai on the weekend, and I still need to update my Weibo once a day.
After scrolling through the chat history, Liu Chen typed silently:
Liu Chen: If I researched a beverage that supplements energy, would you buy it?