Chapter 68 – Mine
Although Bai Jinyan didn’t care about the box office, the movies he acted in never had low earnings.
But… booking out a theater is a gesture, a way to support someone you like.
Bai Jinyan was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t say much more about booking the theater.
He gave Qiao Huaiyao a piece of rib and smiled, “So, when do you have time recently? I’d like to invite you to a movie.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes curved as he smiled, but thinking about his schedule, he hesitated.
Aside from his class times, which were non-negotiable, he didn’t have much free time, especially time that would overlap with Bai Jinyan’s.
Qiao Huaiyao took a sip of lemon water and considered, “Do you have time this weekend?”
Bai Jinyan nodded, “Let’s do it this weekend then. I’ll arrange it.”
Qiao Huaiyao said, “Alright.”
While eating, Bai Jinyan remembered his upcoming work schedule, “I have a movie press conference tomorrow, so I might be back late.”
Nowadays, Bai Jinyan’s schedule was managed by Lu Lu, who would organize it and send it to Qiao Huaiyao after confirming the details.
But this time, it was a last-minute arrangement, not on the schedule.
Qiao Huaiyao asked, “Is it in the city?”
“No, it’s in Ningxing, a drive away.”
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment. It wasn’t too far, just the next city over. But even if he left in the morning, it would still be late by the time he got back after the press conference.
“No rush, be careful on the road. Tell the driver to take it slow.”
“Okay.” Bai Jinyan took away the lemon tea by Qiao Huaiyao’s hand and replaced it with a small bowl of cold beef salad.
Qiao Huaiyao blinked, “Brother?”
Bai Jinyan tapped the edge of the bowl with his finger, “Finish this.”
The cold braised beef was lighter than other preparations, not too oily, and it wasn’t spicy. It paired well with fresh vegetables.
Bai Jinyan watched as Qiao Huaiyao finished the small bowl of beef, then handed back the lemon tea, “Which class do you have this afternoon?”
Qiao Huaiyao replied, “It was temporarily changed to ‘Introduction to Experiments’, the class time remains the same, it’ll switch back next week.”
It was common for university professors to arrange for substitutes if they couldn’t make their classes. Some professors had few classes and only took leave if absolutely necessary.
Qiao Huaiyao only had one class in the morning, but he was busy in the lab after that.
His afternoon was fully booked with classes, and he only had this short lunch break to rest.
Lunch break was short, not enough time for a nap.
After lunch, it was almost time for class.
Qiao Huaiyao felt like he hadn’t sat for long before his alarm went off.
He helped tidy up the takeout boxes, grabbed the book he needed, and said, “Brother, I’m off to class.”
Bai Jinyan stood up, grabbed his jacket, and hugged Qiao Huaiyao for a kiss, “I’ll walk you to your classroom.”
Qiao Huaiyao was heading to class, and Bai Jinyan didn’t feel like staying in the dorm by himself, so he could head back to the set after dropping Qiao Huaiyao off.
Bai Jinyan took Qiao Huaiyao’s book in hand, “Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
The lab equipment arrived much earlier than Qiao Huaiyao had expected.
Before dawn, his phone by the bed rang incessantly.
Qiao Huaiyao woke up, grabbed his phone, and saw several delivery notifications.
[Your ‘lab equipment’ has arrived at the Qingda Laboratory building. Please sign for it promptly.]
[If there are any issues with the delivery, you can refuse to sign. Contact this number, and our professional customer service will provide a perfect solution within three days.]
Qiao Huaiyao frowned, it’s here?
He had thought it would arrive next week. The lab had just been cleaned yesterday, and today the equipment was already delivered.
It was surprisingly fast.
But since it was here, he had to go check it out.
Bai Jinyan was leaving for Ningxing today, departing early in the morning.
Qiao Huaiyao got up, sent Bai Jinyan a good morning message, then headed to the bathroom.
Even before his morning class, Qiao Huaiyao was already at the lab.
He stood downstairs, holding the receipt, watching the staff unload the equipment from the truck.
He occasionally marked the list, confirming the quantity of equipment delivered.
The packaging boxes were labeled with the equipment names.
Wait a moment to unpack everything, and after setting it all up, double-check it.
The first few small pieces of lab equipment went in, but for the larger ones, they had to wait for the staff to come back down to move them.
These pieces of equipment couldn’t be handled by others because if any issues arose, it would be difficult to assign responsibility.
While waiting, Qiao Huaiyao took out his phone to message Bai Jinyan.
Qiao Huaiyao: [Brother, are you in the car?]
Bai Jinyan: [The filming just finished here, I’m about to leave.]
Qiao Huaiyao: [Cat nodding.gif, the lab equipment has arrived.]
Bai Jinyan: [Okay. Check if anything is missing.]
From the time the order was placed to delivery, the company had been providing regular updates, so Bai Jinyan knew the equipment would arrive today.
The equipment they had been waiting for had arrived early, which was a pleasant surprise for Qiao Huaiyao.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled, [It’s all here.]
The equipment Bai Jinyan had listed was much less than what had actually been delivered. He must have added more items when selecting.
Bai Jinyan: [There are some issues on set, I’ll talk to you once I’m in the car.]
Qiao Huaiyao: [Alright, you take care of things first.]
Bai Jinyan: [Good boy, head pat.gif.]
…
While texting, Qiao Huaiyao checked off a few more items on the list.
Qiu Shufeng and the others had planned to come by today to clean and disinfect the basic equipment they had sorted out yesterday.
But when they reached the lab, they were stunned.
Qiu Shufeng scratched his head, feeling a bit incredulous, “Scholar? You got this lab approved so quickly, how did the equipment arrive so fast?”
Lab equipment is different from the lab itself. The lab already existed and was vacant; once approved, it could be assigned for use.
However, lab equipment, especially specific or single-use items, is counted as consumables.
The experiment hasn’t even started, and there’s already so much equipment?
Qiu Shufeng couldn’t count how many large items had been moved in. The truck delivering them was quite big, and they’d been watching the unloading for a while.
Moreover, from the packaging, many pieces of equipment were uncommon, definitely not something used in standard lab classes.
These weren’t the regular equipment provided by the school, making the approval process even harder.
Wang Zhan was also puzzled, “Why is the school being so generous this time?”
“My brother bought it.” Qiao Huaiyao wrote on the list and explained, “I didn’t apply for lab equipment from the school.”
The slow approval process was one thing, and besides… the school’s budget was limited.
Qiu Shufeng felt dizzy hearing this.
How much did this cost!
Lab equipment is notoriously expensive. Those high-end luxury brands might not even have a single item, like a custom-made screw for lab equipment, that costs as much as the most expensive clothes or bags.
Wang Zhan gasped, “I apologize for my previous reckless comments.”
How could he have dared? How could he have dared to say that they would supply lab equipment for the scholar?
If this got back to his father and uncle, he’d get a slap across the face.
Experiments are indeed costly, and the scholar’s experiments even more so.
Yu Xingfan said calmly, “Is it that surprising? The scholar isn’t lacking, and neither is Brother Bai.”
Qiu Shufeng: “…”
That’s true. Spending this money might just be a bit of pocket change.
Wang Zhan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized something.
Setting aside Bai Jinyan’s identity as an artist, from what could be found online, Bai Jinyan also ran his own company.
It seemed like he had investments in the production of lab equipment.
It was news from a long time ago. Many people were puzzled at the time, wondering why Bai Jinyan, a celebrity, didn’t start an agency but instead went into finance, which was understandable since it’s profitable.
But why invest in a lab equipment company?
People were curious, and Bai Jinyan never responded to this question.
Fans got used to it, and when no more news came out, the matter was forgotten.
Because the topic had been so hot, almost everyone had become an amateur detective, and Wang Zhan had followed it for a while.
He didn’t understand it back then, but thinking about it now…
Wang Zhan narrowed his eyes, amazed at his own imagination, “Could these be custom-made lab equipment ordered specifically for you by Brother Bai?”
Qiao Huaiyao paused. He wasn’t entirely sure, but lab equipment, unless specially modified for a particular experiment, usually had fixed specifications and couldn’t be altered.
After considering, Qiao Huaiyao said, “No.”
Once all the equipment was moved upstairs and arranged according to the lab layout.
A staff member wiped his sweat, “That’s all of it. Please check and let us know if there are any issues, and I’ll report it.”
Lab equipment is delicate. Although some materials aren’t particularly fragile, some equipment can be easily damaged with the slightest bump.
At best, the data might become inaccurate, but most often, it would be rendered completely unusable.
Qiao Huaiyao walked in and started inspecting the equipment closest to the door.
New lab equipment inevitably has a material odor, and some pieces need to sit for a while before they can be used normally.
In high school, the lab equipment provided by the school always had that distinct smell.
The batch Bai Jinyan sent him didn’t have that pungent odor. Instead, it had a faint, pleasant scent that was hard to describe but not unpleasant.
Qiao Huaiyao used a solution to perform a simple test, finishing the inspection in about twenty minutes.
“All good, no problems.” Qiao Huaiyao signed the delivery receipt, “Thanks for your hard work.”
“No problem at all.” The staff collected the receipt and didn’t forget to take away the packaging materials on their way out.
Qiu Shufeng swept the dust off the floor with a broom and casually asked, “Study god, are you getting ready to start in the lab?”
Students entering the lab usually submit an application to their course instructor, and the coordinator would handle everything, so they wouldn’t need to attend classes anymore.
However, they still had to take the final exams.
If their experiments yielded results before the exams, and those results were particularly outstanding, they might be exempted from the finals.
With all their focus in the lab, there wouldn’t be much time for course tutorials.
Qiu Shufeng anticipated that Qiao Huaiyao wouldn’t be in class for long, but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit down, “What am I going to do for the exams now?”
Qiao Huaiyao poured the experimental solution into a specially treated waste bin, saying nonchalantly, “If you have any questions, you can come to the lab and find me.”
He was very familiar with the chemistry textbooks at Qingda University. Even if asked to recite the textbook verbatim during the exam, Qiao Huaiyao could do it.
The exam questions were extensions of the tutorials, which for Qiao Huaiyao, might be easier than reciting the text.
“Great!” Qiu Shufeng responded enthusiastically, immediately motivated, “With that assurance, I feel much better.”
During previous exams, the notes Qiao Huaiyao had given him were organized in his free time, even before the course had started.
Qiu Shufeng fully trusted Qiao Huaiyao’s self-study capabilities.
The reason why Qiao Huaiyao was considered a prodigy was likely because he excelled in areas like this.
After finishing up, Qiao Huaiyao activated the self-cleaning function of the lab equipment and turned, “Let’s go, time for class.”
The self-cleaning would take two hours, and they would be done with class just in time to check back.
Qiu Shufeng put his arm around Wang Zhan’s shoulder, “Let’s go.”
The sky was overcast, and halfway through the second class of the morning, it started to snow heavily outside.
Looking out the window, the thick snow blurred the view into a white expanse.