Chapter 1076: He Is Jealous

The man's tone sounded thick with an inescapable sourness.

Upon hearing this, Liu Xin'ai instantly frowned slightly.

Liang Zhicheng?

How could he be here?

Liu Xin'ai thought to herself, and just as she intended to greet the other party out of politeness, her hand was suddenly gripped tightly by Qin Yiyan, fingers interlaced.

"Xin'ai, an acquaintance of yours?"

He asked casually, his gaze sharp as he looked at Liang Zhicheng.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the other party replied: "Ah, President Qin probably doesn't know, but Xin'ai and I graduated from the same university, though I am a few years her senior, and we were once colleagues at a research institute..."

Liang Zhicheng paused mid-sentence for a moment, a flash of displeasure crossing his eyes.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject.

"Back then, we would always joke about who such a fine girl as Xin'ai would marry in the future. I never expected it to be President Qin. Looking at it now, President Qin must take very good care of Xin'ai; she hasn't published any new papers in nearly a year."

Liang Zhicheng pushed up his glasses, and as he said the final words, a dark glint flashed in his eyes.

Listening to the other party's tone, Liu Xin'ai's brow furrowed even tighter.

Papers?

Over the past year, because of her marriage and her father's illness, she simply hadn't been able to settle her mind to write anything at all.

But Liang Zhicheng was bringing it up on purpose now; he really still cared about that matter...

As a grown man, was he really such a sore loser?

"Mm, I've been quite busy lately."

Liu Xin'ai did not want to say more to him; she gave a perfunctory reply and wanted to pull Qin Yiyan away.

But she hadn't expected the other party to be relentless.

He continued: "Even with being so busy, you still specifically made time to come here. I thought that for a wealthy wife like you, you would be busy with your husband and children after marriage. After all, as a woman, you have to return to the family eventually; how could you be like us men, forgetting to eat and sleep to conduct research? President Qin, don't you agree?"

Liang Zhicheng wore an expression of being concerned for Liu Xin'ai, even wanting to gain Qin Yiyan's agreement.

Liu Xin'ai took a deep breath; she hadn't expected that after so long, she would still hear this kind of rhetoric from him—it was absolutely disgusting!

She couldn't help but want to strike back, and just as she was about to speak—"Xin'ai's and my affairs need not trouble Mr. Liang."

Qin Yiyan suddenly threw out these words, his arm also wrapping around Liu Xin'ai's shoulder.

He then retorted: "However... if I recall correctly, Mr. Liang is not on the invitation list this time."

Although there was a smile on his face, his tone was inexplicably cold.

As soon as these words were spoken, Liang Zhicheng's complexion turned somewhat ugly.

He was indeed not among those invited.

He had only come along by riding the coattails of his mentor.

Liu Xin'ai also suddenly realized something; she immediately recalled the details carefully and realized that Liang Zhicheng was not on the list she had seen earlier.

But looking around, almost every person who looked like at least a professor was accompanied by one or two students, which was why the banquet hall looked exceptionally lively.

However, there were not many women appearing on the official list.

The three or five who were there were all elderly professors.

Like her, there was only one young person on the official list; the rest were all students.

Liu Xin'ai was just thinking this—when she heard Liang Zhicheng speak again.

"I came with my mentor. President Qin personally facilitated this project, and since medical professionals naturally cannot help but want to participate in further research on brain diseases, I wanted to join. Unfortunately, my qualifications naturally cannot compare to those of the professors, and I am not like Xin'ai..."

He stopped at the right moment, saying no more, his eyes only darting back and forth between Liu Xin'ai and Qin Yiyan with pointed meaning; the implication could not have been clearer.

Liu Xin'ai was only able to have such an opportunity because she relied on having married into a good family!

Otherwise, just based on her being a woman...

Liang Zhicheng lowered his eyes and pushed up his glasses again, suppressing the surging emotions in his eyes, while his peripheral vision calmly sized up Liu Xin'ai's expression, feeling no fear at all.

He was determined to disgust Liu Xin'ai!

He wanted her to have a bit more self-awareness and understand why she was able to appear on the official list!

Qin Yiyan looked like a smart man; surely he wouldn't make things difficult for him over just these two sentences?

If he dared to do so, then everyone here would immediately know that Liu Xin'ai had only gotten in through the back door, and that she was trying to silence everyone!

Let's see how she would continue to stay here!

The atmosphere seemed to freeze for a moment.

Liu Xin'ai naturally understood Liang Zhicheng's meaning, and she knew herself that she could not compare to the highly respected professors.

It was because of her father's illness that she...

She couldn't help but clench her fists, wanting to explain.

But she felt that there was no need to explain to such a person.

The next second—"Nor is she like Xin'ai, who has so much potential."

Qin Yiyan suddenly smiled and took over the conversation.

Liang Zhicheng's expression stiffened; he was instantly rendered speechless by his words.

Even Liu Xin'ai was stunned.

Then she heard Qin Yiyan continue, unhurriedly.

"Actually, this list was screened by me personally. While I don't have much research in the medical field, I have carefully read the resumes of all the professors, and Xin'ai's was the same. If I remember correctly, she seems to have once been selected for an award in the field of brain research, it seems to be called..."

He deliberately drew out his voice, watching as Liang Zhicheng's expression grew increasingly stiff, before continuing: "Oh, right, it's called the Gert-Wohlendek Europe Brain Research Award, am I correct?"

Liang Zhicheng instantly fell into silence, unable to respond.

This award was the dream of almost every researcher in the brain field, one that left him far behind.

Even among the professors present, only a sparse few had ever won it, or even been nominated.

Although Liu Xin'ai was only shortlisted, at her age, it was enough to brag about for a lifetime!

On the other side, Liu Xin'ai was full of surprise.

Could Qin Yiyan actually say the name of such a convoluted award?

No, that's not right.

Had he actually looked up her resume in private?

Liu Xin'ai's mind was suddenly in a mess, and for a moment, she didn't know which question she should care about first.

Immediately after, she saw the person in front of her smile and reach out, gently pinching her cheek.

"Why are you so surprised? Isn't it normal for me to remember things related to you?"

Qin Yiyan's tone was so gentle it was practically dripping with water, carrying an inseparable doting, looking every bit the image of a good husband who doted on Liu Xin'ai.

Following that, he looked at Liang Zhicheng with a smile once again.

"Although Xin'ai was only shortlisted and did not win the award, I think Mr. Liang should also understand the importance of this award; I have looked at many people's profiles, and she is the only one at this age with this resume, and the medical field is exactly at a time when it needs fresh blood."

"Regardless of whether Xin'ai is my wife, I think such a promising researcher should always have more opportunities, not to mention that Xin'ai is your junior schoolmate from the same university; if she can participate and truly achieves some major scientific research results in the future, presumably your school will also have glory on its face, and as her senior, I think you should also be happy for her, Mr. Liang?"