Devastated by Su Bai's Remarks

At the mention of this fellow Shanghai native, Xia Lin's face was filled with disdain.

It wasn't that she was being mean; it was just that after spending so long in these circles—and being a counselor herself—she knew exactly what caliber of people were just phoning it in at the university. She had their number.

Nowadays, decent universities basically require researchers to have overseas experience, but that doesn't mean every instructor returning from abroad actually possesses real talent or scholarship.

Bai Feili was the definition of a lightweight. The guy had bought his way through two incredibly easy master's programs. After hitting a wall in the job market, he had no choice but to pull strings to get a grunt work position in a lab run by a Chinese expat. He had struggled mightily to churn out two papers—just enough to scrape by the graduation requirements—before rushing back home to coast through life.

Getting into Jiangcheng University was also thanks to family connections. Of course, Jiangcheng was a legitimate top-tier "985" university, so the most they could offer him was a temporary "up-or-out" contract. Securing a tenured position would depend entirely on Bai Feili's own competitiveness; his connections could only carry him this far.

"The Bai family isn't part of the academic circle, so they can't offer him that much support," Xia Lin explained. "If he were from a true scholarly dynasty, they'd escort him the whole way. Even a mediocre student could be packaged as an academic rising star, though the cost of doing that is steep."

"So that's how it works..." Su Bai said, his appetite for gossip satisfied. "Could they package someone to be like Chen Yusheng?"

"Definitely not. Your Shengsheng actually has to lead projects. What kind of project could someone with Bai Feili's skills handle? Back when he was doing his PhD abroad, he managed to kill off the lab mice he was supposed to be raising. He's incredibly clumsy!"

As they chatted, Xia Lin made herself laugh. The professional competence of some of these rich young masters was truly laughable.

At least Xia Lin had been able to handle her undergraduate and master's papers independently, and she organized events with meticulous care. She really looked down on someone of Bai Feili's caliber.

Furthermore, his parents were a bit... stingy. They haggled endlessly over buying a unit at the Riverside Sky Villas. What was there to haggle about? Look at Su Bai—now that was a true tycoon, someone on her level.

Being well-matched in social and economic status was still incredibly important in this day and age.

Xia Lin was a gentle older sister figure, true, but she was also very pragmatic. Well-educated young ladies from good families were often quite realistic; she wouldn't support a deadbeat, but she also wouldn't take advantage of a man. This was a principle Xia Lin had been raised with.

"By the way, speaking of Bai Feili, is his relative Chu Mingzhe doing okay? I see him posting emo stuff on his Moments every day. I hope he hasn't been infected by that neurotic girlfriend of his." Having reached this topic, Xia Lin couldn't help but ask about the situation in Dorm 510, that den of eccentric characters.

Honestly, that dorm had been the object of her fascination since she started. The four members had such vastly different personalities; there was a certain chaotic beauty to them, like they were destined to cause a scene.

"It's not that bad. Aside from studying the wrong material for his first exam—which was a bit rough—the rest have been fine. At the very least, he won't fail."

"That's setting the bar pretty low. Honestly, it's actually quite difficult to rack up the 20 failed credits needed for expulsion in our department. We tend to be quite lenient with students who struggle to pass," Xia explained. "In previous years, some students couldn't handle getting scores in the seventies or eighties. They'd spiral into depression or even engage in extreme behavior. After all, before coming to Jiangcheng University, everyone was the top scholar in their class. They have pride."

Su Bai nodded repeatedly. Xia's analysis was spot on.

Based on his own observations, that was exactly the case.

Never mind the other students; even Xue Tao and Chu Mingzhe had that arrogance. Take Xue Tao, that eccentric genius, for example. Watching him rack his brains over a workbook while refusing to ask for help was a classic symptom. They were all former top students; if they asked for help the moment they hit a snag, wouldn't that make them look weak?

Su Bai had chatted on various forums frequented by college students and found that freshmen at top universities all seemed to suffer from this affliction to some degree.

Miraculously, neither he nor Wang Haoran carried this psychological baggage. Maybe they were just naturally thick-skinned. When Wang Haoran got stuck on something and needed help, he would happily camp out in someone else's dorm for half an hour.

Rumor had it that these symptoms would alleviate significantly by sophomore year. After all, a year was enough time for everyone to recalibrate their self-perception.

Bai Feili, in fact, also had a backbone made of pride.

He felt his advantage was a "composite" one: those who were better at research weren't as rich as him, and those who were richer weren't as cultured.

Although his path through those "easy" overseas master's degrees had been a bit winding, well... how should one put it? At least he was a legitimate PhD graduate in Materials Science. How many other rich young masters and mistresses could actually finish a doctorate?

But the power behind Su Bai's tennis swing had given him a visceral shock. It was comparable to the first time Bai Feili traveled to Africa and saw wild animals through the glass of a safari bus. That raw, predatory power represented a gap that no amount of family wealth or academic degrees could bridge.

And of course, Xia Lin was a girl who loved sports. She liked physical specimens like Su Bai... Argh! The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!

Bai Feili decided to find a café and grab a drink to cool off.

However, as he went downstairs and passed the main entrance, he spotted a stunningly built woman with an elegant, aristocratic air signing a purchase contract.

Bai Feili recognized her. He knew this woman was one of Su Bai's entourage... Damn it. This was what annoyed Bai Feili even more. Su Bai was a known playboy with plenty of women around him, so why was Xia Lin still willing to throw herself at him?

It didn't make sense. Logically speaking, for a woman of Xia Lin's caliber, never mind worrying about a partner's fidelity—many parents in her circle would simply recruit a live-in son-in-law to marry into *their* family.

Just how charismatic was Su Bai?

Bai Feili grabbed a passing saleswoman and, feigning casual curiosity (though he was genuinely curious), asked, "Which unit did they buy?"

"The largest one, the 270-square-meter unit... It includes personalized customization. If they change a lot of the fixtures and fittings, it could easily cost an extra few million."

"Haha, so he can't appreciate the 'Old Money' aesthetic? I guess his taste is limited after all."

Bai Feili muttered to himself somewhat obsessively, trying to salvage a bit of his own dignity.

The saleswoman had seen plenty of jealous types like him before. While secretly despising him, she maintained her professional smile. "Sir, Young Master Su actually loves our style. He simply requested higher-end appliances and some material upgrades. The budget even includes the purchase of artwork... And Young Master Su paid in full."

"Ah."

Paid in full. Over ten million... As a native of Shanghai, Bai Feili had seen money like that before, but the key was how nonchalant Su Bai was about it. He couldn't even be bothered to handle the contract signing himself, leaving it entirely to his housekeeper. You had to admit, that attitude really did scream "Old Money."

Dammit!

Utterly defeated, Bai Feili walked away, shaking his head and muttering unintelligibly.

Staying any longer would just be asking for more humiliation.

Having finalized the contract, Zhou Jialu went to the top floor to find Su Bai, just in time to see him and Xia Lin playing tennis.

A meaningful smile played upon her lips.