Cheng Tao remained silent, her gaze on Feng Xue was extremely veiled.
This left Feng Xue utterly bewildered.
She didn't recall ever meeting Cheng Tao before.
"Is there a problem? If it's not possible, then forget it."
Just as Feng Xue turned to leave, Cheng Tao grabbed her arm.
"Of course it's possible."
She generously handed over the jade pendant, scrutinizing Feng Xue with serious attention.
She wasn't particularly beautiful, certainly not as much as Cheng You.
But her appearance had a touch of a cool, detached demeanor that might ignite a man's desire for conquest.
From the bottom of her heart, Cheng Tao felt that in terms of looks, Feng Xue and Qi Chengyan were not a good match.
Feng Xue had observed enough, and in her mind's eye, she was sketching the peony design on the jade pendant.
"It is indeed beautiful. This jade pendant of yours must be worth a fortune."
Cheng Tao pursed her lips into a smile. "It's alright. My man bought it for me. I don't really know how much it cost."
Feng Xue looked at her thoughtfully and asked, "May I ask where you bought it?"
Cheng Tao shook her head. There was no way she would tell Feng Xue about Zhao Yunlin's smuggling activities.
Feng Xue didn't pay much attention to it, and instead started chatting with her.
"My family has similar jade. Yours actually looks familiar, very much like the one my aunt wore when she was little."
But she wasn't sure, as the photograph she had was very blurry.
When the old lady's daughter was left behind, she was only a few months old. Decades had passed since then.
Cheng Tao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly put the jade pendant away.
Was Feng Xue trying to steal her jade pendant?
With that thought, Cheng Tao hurried away, no longer paying attention to her.
However, when she looked at Cheng You again, a hint of pity involuntarily crept into her gaze.
Cheng You probably didn't know yet that Qi Chengyan still harbored another woman in his heart.
A group of students emerged from the specimen hall and headed to the research institute's cafeteria for lunch.
In the afternoon, they toured the data center and several cultivation bases.
However, there were very few medicinal herbs here, and everyone's interest waned.
Cheng You diligently took notes on the plants that interested her until Su Jinwen organized everyone to leave.
She put away her notebook and followed the group outside.
Fang Yunbao yawned. "Finally, we're leaving. It was so boring. It's a good thing you could take notes here, Cheng You."
Cheng You smiled. "Not at all, I found it quite interesting."
The teachers organized the students in their classes to leave in an orderly fashion.
As they passed the honor wall, many people stopped to look.
For some reason, more and more people stopped to gaze, almost blocking the path.
Su Jinwen reprimanded them with displeasure, "What are you all blocking here for!"
At this moment, someone turned to look at Cheng You.
"Teacher Su, a student from your class is on the research institute's honor wall."
Cheng You wasn't tall enough to see who was on the honor wall, even on tiptoes.
"Yan Yan, who is it?"
Cao Yanyan squinted. "It looks like your name. It shouldn't be a case of same name, different person, right?"
Su Jinwen squeezed through the crowd and read the inscription. "Saved the endangered plant Mu Xi Cao from peril..."
Ensuring that Mu Xi Cao was returned to the research institute intact.
Su Jinwen was dumbfounded. So Mu Xi Cao wasn't lost!
She was overjoyed. Such great honor, and no one at school knew about it.
The scene erupted in a commotion, with everyone discussing whether Mu Xi Cao had been lost or not.
When the students asked Cheng You, she frankly admitted, "It wasn't lost. I said so before."
It was just that no one took her seriously; they all thought she was shirking responsibility.
For a moment, the students' hearts were filled with mixed emotions, a profound sense of shame.
They had been too narrow-minded.
Cheng Tao remained silent, trying to minimize her presence.
After all, she, Cheng Tao, had brought up this matter the most from beginning to end.
Su Jinwen smiled and emerged from the crowd, patting Cheng You on the shoulder.
"Well done. You haven't embarrassed me, your teacher. I'll arrange for the school to reward you later."
Cheng You smiled and glanced at Cheng Tao. "If you want to give me a reward, teacher, please donate the prize money to impoverished students as living expenses. Classmate Cheng Tao donates two hundred yuan every month. While I can't match her, I also hope to contribute my small part."
"Alright, I'll tell the school. Let's go, we shouldn't be blocking here," Su Jinwen called out.
Just as they walked out, they heard someone calling from behind, "Teacher Su! Teacher Su from the Chinese Medicine Pharmacy major, please wait!"
Su Jinwen stopped with her group. The person who called out was the head of the specimen hall.
"Teacher Su, Director Hao wishes to see you. He has some questions he'd like you to clarify."
Su Jinwen asked, "What questions?"
The head of the specimen hall held the information registration form they had just filled out. "It's this. Why did you say that Mu Xi Cao could be successfully propagated by cuttings?"
Su Jinwen was startled. "I didn't write this, it was my student."
Cheng Tao sneered from the side. "I told you, if it could really be propagated by cuttings, the people at the research institute would know more than us. Judging by their reaction, Mu Xi Cao definitely cannot be cultivated by cuttings."
Her every word had a single purpose: to prove that Cheng You was lying.
Even if Cheng You had protected Mu Xi Cao, what of it? Could she be more skilled than the experts at the research institute?
The person looked disappointed. If it was said by a student, it probably lacked credibility.
"Our research institute has conducted experiments before. Mu Xi Cao cannot be propagated by cuttings."
Cheng You offered no explanation. If they thought it couldn't be done, then so be it.
Then, she heard the person ask again, "So, may I ask, what is the basis for your claim that Mu Xi Cao can be successfully propagated by cuttings?"
Cheng Tao nudged Cheng You, "She said it."
Cheng You shook her head. "No, I guessed."
As expected, the person's brows furrowed. He sternly admonished, "Student, science cannot tolerate guesswork! In the future, please do not speak nonsense without evidence."
Cheng You humbly replied, "I understand. I won't do it again."
After they left, Su Jinwen whispered by her side, "Cheng You, you were really just guessing."
Cheng You blinked. "Who knows."
Su Jinwen gave her a knowing look. She had her suspicions.
However, there were too many people around, so she didn't talk much with Cheng You.
After leaving the botanical research institute, everyone went their separate ways.
Cheng You bid farewell to her teacher and classmates and took the bus home alone.
Upon arriving home, she saw Sun Xiaowan and Duan Liping waiting at the door, chatting with Sister-in-law He.
"Cheng You's back. Your friends have been waiting here for quite a while. I wanted to invite them over to my place."
Cheng You took out her key and unlocked the door, smiling. "Thank you, sister-in-law. I'll take them inside."
"No trouble, no trouble. I got a letter for you today. I'll get it for you, just a moment."
Sister-in-law He quickly ran inside to fetch the letter. "It's probably from your husband."
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Cheng You accepted the letter.