I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 44

Initially, Nan Xi didn’t pay much attention to this minor incident.

Her workload was tight, and Chen Yu reported progress to her every month. Perhaps by next spring, the research institute would be completed, and Nan Xi would leave Yu Yacheng’s side to establish her own venture.

Therefore, she wanted to wrap up the work with this team before leaving, ideally seeing it through from start to finish as a gesture of gratitude for Yu Yacheng’s help.

She spent her days buried in work at the lab, barely exchanging a few words even with her closest friend, Tong An’an. On the rare occasions she had free time, she would seize the moment to rest, maintaining almost zero communication with others.

Even so, rumors quickly reached Nan Xi’s ears.

Nan Xi had always been accustomed to focusing solely on her research, believing that as long as she minded her own business, trouble wouldn’t find her. Little did she know that trouble would come knocking on its own.

During her lunch break, Nan Xi sat on a bench downstairs, eating her lunch with one hand while sneakily browsing Mu Xi’s social media feed with the other.

It was only recently that she had managed to coax Mu Xi into sharing her private account. To her surprise, Mu Xi occasionally posted reflections on life there, a whole new uncharted territory unfolding before Nan Xi, sparking her curiosity to explore further.

Moreover, Nan Xi had put in considerable effort, exhausting herself to the point of barely being able to lift her arms, before Mu Xi reluctantly agreed not to delete any content from that account, leaving everything intact for her to see.

Though she wasn’t sure if Mu Xi had still secretly deleted some posts, what remained was more than enough to excite Nan Xi.

Just as a silly grin spread across her face, accompanied by the thought, “Why is the young lady acting like this again?” she was abruptly interrupted, leaving her feeling quite annoyed.

Irritated, she looked up to find the culprit who had called her name and saw Tong An’an standing before her. Her expression softened slightly, and she gestured for Tong An’an to sit beside her.

Tong An’an swiftly snatched a chicken wing from Nan Xi’s lunchbox, stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled, “Hey, Nan Xi, how have you been feeling lately?”

Nan Xi thought she had come for a casual chat.

Lately, the team had been racing against deadlines, with many voluntarily staying late after work. Perhaps everyone was under a lot of pressure, and Tong An’an just wanted to chat a bit more?

“Pretty good,” Nan Xi replied. Noticing Tong An’an’s fondness for the chicken wings, she generously offered her another piece and slid the lunchbox closer. “Is something bothering you, Senior?”

“Hey, hey, what are you doing? You should eat more.”

Caught red-handed stealing a chicken wing, Tong An’an felt extremely embarrassed and quickly pushed the lunchbox back toward Nan Xi. At the same time, she grew even more determined to share the news with Nan Xi.

Her face flushed with guilt as she hesitated for a moment, sizing Nan Xi up several times before finally saying, “Nan Xi, I need to tell you something. Promise me you won’t get angry when you hear it.”

Just by looking at Tong An’an’s guilty expression and hearing the words “promise me you won’t get angry,” Nan Xi knew she had something to say, something that would undoubtedly upset her.

The phrase “promise me you won’t get angry” carried a weight of severity that everyone ought to recognize.

If it were the old Nan Xi, she might have outright refused with, “Then don’t say it.” But after spending so much time with Mu Xi, Nan Xi had grown softer inside, her heart more tranquil, and she found herself willing to endure even such bitter news.

She smiled slightly. “Go ahead, Senior.”

“Ugh, it’s probably about your butler, right? I don’t think it’s a big deal, it’s a mutual agreement…” Tong An’an began to ramble. “But some people are taking it way too far! They’re even questioning your research abilities. What gives?”

“Who else finishes experiments first and with the best results every time? Even Professor Yu praised your reports. Even if that weren’t the case, the value of a direct-entry Ph.D. from overseas isn’t something they can just dismiss! I worked so hard for my degree, and I’m even older than you…”

Once she started, she couldn’t stop, following her train of thought and chattering away, quickly forgetting about Nan Xi, who was listening attentively beside her.

“Wait,” Nan Xi had to interrupt her. “Are you saying people are gossiping about me being in a relationship?”

Nan Xi’s mind quickly flashed to the figure that had followed her all the way to the parking lot that day and the relentless questions from behind.

It seemed that even though she had refused to answer, others had already drawn their own conclusions.

However, Nan Xi just scoffed and even comforted Tong An’an in return. “It’s fine. Let them say whatever they want.”

Then she watched as Tong An’an struggled, looking as if she had more to say but didn’t know how to express it.

Nan Xi quickly assessed her expression. “They said something else?”

“Yeah!”

Tong An’an nodded heavily, as if relieved, and casually snatched another chicken wing from Nan Xi’s lunchbox, taking a bite. Her tone was both angry and resentful.

She said, “Actually, they’re not saying you’re in a relationship. They’re saying you’re keeping a secret lover, someone you’re hiding because the relationship can’t see the light of day. That’s why you’re avoiding the topic.”

Hearing this, Nan Xi fell silent.

They had pretty much guessed the truth. Her relationship with Mu Xi, whether now or in the long run, was indeed something that couldn’t be exposed. And Mu Xi… could be considered her secret lover.

Since they were stating facts, Nan Xi couldn’t bring herself to get angry.

But Tong An’an continued, “Some are even saying you might be throwing yourself at some low-class alpha. They say a wealthy heiress like you, who’s never faced real hardship, could easily be tricked by some bottom-feeding scum. They say you’ll be taken for everything you have and won’t even know how you died…”

At this point, Tong An’an glanced worriedly at Nan Xi and, seeing the faint signs of anger brewing in her eyes, hurried to finish everything she had to say before Nan Xi exploded:

“Some people started extrapolating, saying you only got into our program because of connections. They say your skills might be passable, but it’s mostly your mother backing you up. They say you’re arrogant and look down on others, that you don’t get along with anyone. I can vouch that this part isn’t true! Look, you even share your chicken wings with me…”

Finally having spilled everything, Tong An’an blinked and shut her mouth, waiting for Nan Xi to fully erupt.

Nan Xi’s cheeks gradually turned bright red, her back teeth clenched tighter and tighter, and her face, usually pale and translucent, now swelled with anger like a pufferfish.

She gripped the hem of her clothes so hard her knuckles turned white, finally squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth:

“What low-class scum…”

Nan Xi admitted that there were indeed some issues with her personality. It was true that she was aloof and often ignored others, though she didn’t see that as a problem. Still, she had never denied it.

It was also true that she had never been hardened by society’s harsh realities. So far, the biggest setback in her life had been the time when Mu Xi disappeared. To others, it might have seemed like nothing more than a failed romance, hardly worth mentioning.

And yes, her mother had her back. Nan Zhiya was more than willing to support her in every possible way, even going so far as to gift her a massive plot of land to build a research institute. How much more backing could one ask for?

As for the whispers behind her back questioning her abilities, she brushed them off as jealousy. Nan Xi knew her own worth, and that was all that mattered.

But why drag Mu Xi into it? They could criticize her all they wanted, but what gave them the right to insult Mu Xi too?

They hadn’t even met Mu Xi in person. They had no idea how wonderful she was.

Honestly, Nan Xi thought she was being remarkably tolerant by not demanding that everyone in the world acknowledge Mu Xi as the best.

…

Abruptly, Nan Xi stood up from the bench and said to Tong An’an, “I’m going to find them.”

“Wh-what?” Tong An’an was so startled that she jumped to her feet as well, asking nervously, “Who are you going to find?”

“Whoever started the rumors,” Nan Xi said, clenching her fists. “What’s the name of that female beta in our group with the surname Zhao?”

Tong An’an exclaimed in surprise, “You mean Zhao Liang? How did you know she’s been the one spreading the most gossip these past few days? I’m starting to wonder if the two of you had some history of bad blood.”

Maybe there hadn’t been any bad blood before, but there certainly was now.

If she had known Zhao Liang would talk like this, she wouldn’t have been so polite to her that day…

Without another word, Nan Xi lowered her head and strode forward, even leaving her lunchbox behind on the bench. Tong An’an hurried after her, panicking as she tried to dissuade her:

“Are you really going to confront her? Nan Xi, I only told you about this to warn you. They outnumber you, and even if you’re in the right, you won’t be able to argue them down…”

“You said I’m in the right, didn’t you?”

Tong An’an widened her eyes, looking puzzled. “Huh…?”

Nan Xi repeated firmly, “You said I’m in the right, didn’t you? Senior Tong, if justice is on my side, what is there to fear?”

With that, Nan Xi turned and continued walking toward the lab building, ignoring Tong An’an’s desperate calls.

Tong An’an stamped her foot in frustration, but she didn’t regret telling Nan Xi about the situation.

It was strange. Everyone else found Nan Xi difficult to approach and hard to get along with, but Tong An’an felt she had glimpsed another side of her.

In fact, Zhao Liang and the others had a point: because Nan Xi had never been beaten down by society, she possessed a kind of enviable clarity and purity of heart.

To her, conducting experiments was just conducting experiments, and falling in love was just falling in love. If she disliked someone, she wouldn’t speak to them; if she loved someone, she loved them unreservedly, which was why she had been so deeply affected by her ex-girlfriend’s disappearance.

Tong An’an had been born and raised in a large family, where she had to compete with her siblings from a young age: for snacks, toys, and even their parents’ affection.

Seven years ago, when she first heard about Nan Xi’s existence on campus, Tong An’an was astonished that someone in the world could live such a fortunate life. From that moment on, she had wondered what kind of troubles could possibly trouble Nan Xi.

She had thought she would deeply envy Nan Xi, who lacked nothing and never had to fight for anything, yet when actually studying and working alongside her, she found it impossible to dislike her. That feeling of admiration made her see Nan Xi as the middle school girl next door…

But she still stole her chicken wings. Those two things weren’t mutually exclusive.

Come to think of it, she’d secretly eaten Nan Xi ‘s food so many times, and Nan Xi had never once called her out on it. Wasn’t that proof enough of Nan Xi ‘s kindness?

…

Ah well, consider it repayment for all the meals she’d mooched off Nan Xi.

Tong An’an gritted her teeth, jogged a few steps, and caught up, deciding to accompany Nan Xi to find Zhao Liang.

They weren’t the type to be reasoned with, Tong An’an had heard them curse at Nan Xi before, using the most vulgar, petty insults. If Nan Xi actually ran into them, she’d definitely get the short end of the stick.