After this birthday banquet, Chong Yan became famous. Not because of the vivid descriptions from the attendees, but on a higher, broader level of fame.
There were no specific restrictions on communication devices that day, and this big news spread among many people. Everyone who attended the banquet knew that he now owned 18% of YL's shares, which amounted to at least tens of billions of yuan, making him an object of envy for many.
So, even though everyone felt his fiancée was difficult to deal with, some still wanted to try their luck. After all, the shares had already been given to her, and the deed of gift was signed publicly. Unless he voluntarily agreed, she couldn't take it back.
After the banquet, he returned to school. Li Jia, who had been quite attentive to him before, started to distance herself automatically. In her place, a swarm of admirers emerged. His school was full of talented individuals, and its most renowned departments were not Biology, which he studied, but Media and Broadcasting. Both departments had many handsome and beautiful students. The entertainment industry was often interconnected, and such a significant event easily became common knowledge. Thus, Chong Yan found himself being "accidentally" encountered by people these days.
"Hello, Ran classmate. I'm Lu Hui from the Class of '16 in the School of Journalism. I heard that the paper you published in XX Weekly on genetic engineering won an award. May I interview you?"
The person next to Chong Yan nudged him with their shoulder and said to the girl with a smile, "Classmate, someone from your journalism department has already interviewed him. The weekly paper is already out, what's the point of interviewing him now?"
The girl didn't seem embarrassed at all. She curved her lips into a relaxed smile, "It's still useful. Wasn't the last interview conducted by a student from the Class of '17? I think their interview direction had some issues. I want to interview you specifically on the topic of gene editing."
"I'm sorry." After being interviewed for the first time, Chong Yan heard some of the remarks from those around him and felt that these so-called interviews had problems, especially when more than a dozen people asked about it continuously afterwards. Many of them clearly had ulterior motives. He had no intention of dealing with them.
"I have other matters. Only about 6% of my paper is on gene editing, and it was based on the ideas of my predecessors. There's nothing worth referencing. Senior sister, you should interview someone else. I remember a senior sister from the Class of '16 also won an award."
The mention of "senior sister" made the girl's expression falter for a moment. Chong Yan didn't even look at her expression. He said goodbye and left with his companions.
"I never realized you were so shrewd before."
"What do you mean?"
The boy draped his arm over his shoulder, only for Chong Yan to shake it off. "Just talk. No touching."
The boy shook his hand. "People with an engagement are different. You're not even letting me touch you. This makes me a little sad. Dad loves you so much, but you..." Ouch!
The boy suddenly squatted down, clutching his stomach and wailing. Chong Yan hadn't intended to hurt him; he had controlled his strength, only wanting to give him a warning. He didn't like people joking about that matter.
After the boy wailed for a bit, Chong Yan reached out and pulled him up. As he rubbed his stomach, he said, "Your strength is too much. Can you tell me before hitting me next time? At least let me be mentally prepared."
"Don't make jokes like that," he said. "My father died many years ago. You wouldn't want to become him."
The boy waved his hand. "Sorry, I'm just used to it, it slipped out." All the boys in their dorm were like this. They loved calling each other dad and son, joking, and being a bit familiar, which was a great source of fun. Sometimes, it just came out before they could stop it.
Chong Yan didn't respond.
"I feel like you've become too popular lately. Some people in the class have long tongues and have exaggerated that day's events to sound like attending the Queen Mother's Peach Banquet, making many people curious about you now. That senior sister just now was quite good-looking, but her intentions were too obvious, even a passerby could tell." The girl's attire and makeup had clearly been carefully considered. And just as Chong Yan said, he wasn't the only one who had won an award at the school. Only he received such widespread attention and interviews. The others remained unknown.
Chong Yan's tone was indifferent. "Her being good-looking or not is none of my business."
The boy nodded. "That's true. Sister Ning is so beautiful, rich, and smart. Most importantly, she likes you so much. You really should remain pure for her."
Chong Yan frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm jealous, can't you tell?" The boy laughed heartily after saying that.
"You still have the mood to laugh? Have you finished writing the application?"
The boy's face fell again. Their entire group planned to find a company to collaborate with. Although the company's issues had been resolved, they needed a compliant application from the school, guaranteeing they wouldn't neglect their studies during this period. Several of them were struggling with it. They wanted to ride on Chong Yan's coattails, as it was always easier to flourish with strong backing. Not to mention, being able to get a private plane for inter-provincial travel at any time was a huge perk. However, their academic performance wasn't as good as his, and they weren't entirely confident in balancing both.
"If you haven't, hurry up and write it. The lab is almost ready. The major is relevant. I believe in you."
"Brother, thank you." The boy made as if to hug him, but Chong Yan moved aside.
Even those who heard he had billions in assets couldn't resist trying their luck. Not only women, but also a senior student from the fourth year, who looked soft, with bright, blinking eyes, and appeared even younger than him. He ambled over, barely spoke a few words, and was then carried away by someone. Chong Yan watched, dumbfounded. Fortunately, he left soon after, and the legends about him were spread throughout the school for a long time.
Zhu Ning truly didn't interfere with his work, as she had said, allowing him to operate independently. Chong Yan had been thinking about medical treatments for gene repair for a long time. The people in his team were also influenced by him to varying degrees, and they had sufficient theoretical knowledge. However, their previous experiments were conducted in the school laboratory. They had to be extremely careful even with a single white mouse, as each cost several thousand yuan, and they could easily kill one. In terms of practical operation, everyone lacked much experience. Zhu Ning hired several professors specializing in gene research from abroad with high salaries to assist them and serve as mentors.
The group of people never expected that after leaving school, they would still have to study, and the knowledge they had to learn was even more difficult than before. To better understand the literature, they also needed to improve their proficiency in several foreign languages. They were several times more tired than when they were in school. However, for those who were eager to learn, absorbing new knowledge was like absorbing nutrients. Although they were physically tired, their minds were greatly satisfied. In this process of painful joy, they steadily improved themselves.