Chapter 1027: 1026. Finally succeeded

The next day, when Tang Shu got up and buried herself in the design sketches again, news about “Uncle She and Yu” was already blowing up online.

Luo Lin was almost scared to a heart attack. She wanted to call and ask what was going on, but the phone line was busy.

Busy?

Inside the Palm Pavilion, Tang Shu adjusted her phone to speaker mode while tweaking the spread-out design sketches on her desk.

“The wing section still needs improvement. The load in Zone C is a bit too heavy and will severely affect speed.”

“Zone C? Let me see… How about adding a simple bearing device?”

“Send it to me once you’re done so I can take a look.”

“No problem.”

Through the phone, the sound of a pencil scratching on sketch paper reverberated briefly. Five minutes later, Tang Shu received the fourth version of the design sketch for that day.

“What do you think? Should we really be working from separate locations? It’s not like the Medical College is such a long drive from Palm Pavilion. Tang Xiaoshu, are you getting lazy?”

“Shut up, Wen Xiaonuan. I have a live stream tonight. Going back and forth wastes nearly three hours. I’d rather spend that time reading a book.”

“Reading? What book?”

“Grad school exam prep materials.”

“Tang Xiaoshu, that’s weak. Back in the day, Professor Chen insisted on recommending me for direct admission. If my husband hadn’t stopped me, I probably wouldn’t even have needed to take that PhD exam.”

“If you’re so amazing, how about you do the revisions yourself?”

“….”

The voice on the other end of the phone went completely silent again, followed by another round of pencil scratching noises. While opening her folder, Tang Shu gave herself a casual victory sign.

***

In the afternoon, Shen Yan cut excerpts from the live stream video and sent them to Tang Shu’s email in a large attachment.

After confirming everything was correct, she forwarded it to Section Chief Kong from the Medical College. A reply came back quickly. As always, Section Chief Kong was considerate (well, not always); he first praised her efficiency and then suddenly lowered his voice.

“Xiao Tang, do you have a boyfriend?”

“….”

Wait, how do you know—er, why are you even curious about this gossip?!

Tang Shu was silent for a moment, before awkwardly replying, “Yeah, yeah,” unable to deflect his clearly disappointed tone.

“Oh dear, I was thinking of introducing you to my grandsons. Let me tell you, my grandson is very talented! If that doesn’t work out, I’ve got cousins too. They’re all top-notch!”

Tang Shu had never imagined Section Chief Kong moonlighting as a matchmaker. Scratching her head while laughing awkwardly, she tried to evade further conversation.

“What does your boyfriend do? Is he a student at the Medical College? What year is he in? Chinese medicine or Western?”

“He’s already working. Runs a business.”

“…What?”

Section Chief Kong froze in confusion, utterly dumbfounded by this unexpected answer. At that point, both of them became progressively more uncomfortable, killing the conversation completely.

After hanging up, Tang Shu let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing that the video had already been updated on the Medical College website, she logged into her “Uncle She and Yu” Weibo account, intending to share it.

Logging in was fine—until she saw her notification count explode to 999+. The sheer volume of direct messages made her feel both dizzy and overwhelmed.

What’s going on? She only admitted to being female. Is there really such a big difference between being a guy and a girl?

Apparently, yes… Sure, fans discovering “Uncle She and Yu” was a woman was shocking enough, but what truly amplified their marvel was her age.

“Uncle She had such an undeniable aura; how could she turn out to be a girl? That makes no sense!”

“It’s way beyond senseless! I used to imagine an eccentric old man sitting there, and now suddenly, it turns into a young department head in a black-framed suit…”

“And she’s also a department head who just got a boyfriend!”

“The mental image is too much to bear—emmmm~~~”

“Three liters of blood isn’t even enough to express my heartbreak.”

“Your imagination is too limited. I just think she’s a stunning beauty. My Uncle She was always bound to be extraordinary—young, brilliant, and capable of outperforming 99% of the men in the medical field effortlessly. Someone like that would hardly be ordinary.”

“Makes sense. I used to think she was a good-looking older man. Now I’m all for beautiful women!”

“Even if Uncle She turns out to be plain-looking, she’s still knockout gorgeous. Standing beauty supporter +1.”

“Standing beauty supporter +10086.”

“…”

With an increasing number of fans picking sides in her latest post’s comments, Tang Shu noticed that some genius had even started a voting poll—on the left, the blue team advocated for “department head,” while the red team stood by “beauty.”

Tang Shu: “….”

Well, isn’t this awkward.

Honestly, you all have too much free time. Truly.

***

Because of Tang Shu’s recent retreat from the spotlight, Starshine Media’s other artists had been allocated packed schedules by Luo Lin. They were either on set filming or making rounds in various talent shows.

Without this “little ancestor” stirring up chaos (ahem), Luo Lin enjoyed two blissfully peaceful months. Her mood visibly improved, with signs that even the crow’s feet around her eyes were fading.

Walking the halls of Starshine Media with newfound confidence, Luo Lin’s energy was palpable. Even Shen Yan and the others patted themselves on the back, relieved by the “Tang Shu-free” days: “It’s just—too—good!”

“Hey, didn’t our boss suddenly become so well-behaved?”

“I heard she’s prepping for an exam, but it still feels unsettling… Could she be gearing up for a big stunt?”

“Shut up!”

“Shut up!”

…

Shen Yan’s casual comment was immediately met with sharp reprimands from his office coworkers, including two blunt “shut ups” in English.

So deep down, you guys probably agree with me, huh? You can’t just admit what we’re thinking, can you? Must you act blind to the truth?

Hmph~

“But today, COOL’s photographer reached out to me, saying our boss’s contract is about to expire.”

“Then just renew it! What’s COOL’s stance?”

“With the boss so popular now, and the photographer messaging me directly, it’s clear they want to keep working together. Looks like they’re planning a shoot for their summer collection.”

Since April had come, daytime temperatures in the capital were already reaching averages of 28 degrees. Summer season was fast approaching—spring collections were quickly losing their appeal.

Xiao Li chimed in, “Makes sense. But if Luo Lin hasn’t been notified yet, why is their photographer giving you the scoop first?”

“Revolutionary comradeship. Every time he finishes editing photos, he sends them to me for technical feedback. Over time, we’ve just gotten close.”

Shen Yan offhandedly explained their rather innocent backstory—no grudges, just a “connection.” Then he sent Luo Lin a quick DM, reminding her about the impending contract renewal.

Luo Lin wasted no time calling Tang Shu, who in the past three or four months had been notably absent from the spotlight due to her work on a simulation project at the Medical College.

“Finally succeeded~~”

Pulling her three-thousand strands of hair into a high ponytail, Wen Nuan stared at the screen showing the simulation progress bar hitting 100% and exhaled deeply. This was the result of the team’s tireless corrections over the past two months.

She had even recruited Tang Shu as external help to assist throughout this project.

“Let’s head out. Today’s my treat—how about we go big and feast!”