Chapter 32: Gold Shines Wherever It Goes

"Through the water maze experiment, we can assess that the mice have different memory abilities," Lin Xi said, skillfully pointing the laser at the bar chart on the PPT.  

She appeared professional and enthusiastic.  

Even though it was an academic presentation, her tone was infectious.  

"We can see that mice with low scores tend to exhibit more frequent aggressive behavior, and therefore..."  

She stood at the podium in the lecture hall, wearing a simple yet elegant white blouse and beige dress pants.  

The tailored design accentuated her slender but upright figure—straight shoulders and a perfectly cinched waist.  

Her golden hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, with a few loose strands casually falling by her ears.  

It didn't look messy at all. Instead, it added an intellectual neatness.  

Under the lights, Lin Xi's face appeared particularly striking.  

Her winged eyeliner gave her a sharp look, but she was radiant, with a focused and serious gaze.  

Gao Qinghe sat in the last row of the classroom, her elbows propped on the desk and her chin resting on her hand.  

She watched Lin Xi at the front of the lecture hall, delivering her speech in a steady voice.  

'Was she always this confident when speaking?'  

Gao Qinghe found it hard to imagine that this was the same Lin Xi who had been curled up in bed this morning with a stomachache.  

At this moment, not only was there no sign of pain, but her animated expression made her seem to have boundless energy and a deep love for what she was doing.  

There was no doubt that what Lin Xi had said in the car was true—this was clearly something she wanted to do from the bottom of her heart.  

Watching her firmly choose what she loved and fight for it made Gao Qinghe feel deep admiration.  

There was no spotlight, but Gao Qinghe felt as if Lin Xi on stage was glowing.  

She was so far away, and the moment she spoke, she reached a place that Gao Qinghe could never reach.  

It was hard to imagine that this was the same Lin Xi who had been curled up in bed this morning with a stomachache.  

Applause thundered.  

Gao Qinghe looked around and then belatedly joined in clapping.  

Lin Xi's expression remained composed and steady.  

She smiled slightly, signaling that everyone could start asking questions.  

'How could she be so calm?'  

Gao Qinghe couldn't help but imagine herself standing on that stage.  

Well, if it were her, receiving so much applause and praise, she would have already shown her joy on her face.  

"The aggressive behavior of mice is negatively correlated with memory, but did the design of this experiment control for food intake? Studies have shown that memory decline affects food intake differently depending on the situation..."  

Sure enough, she still couldn't understand these things.  

Gao Qinghe felt like her brain was about to explode.  

Whether it was because these academic studies were too difficult for her, the classroom was too stuffy, or she was sleep-deprived, she felt a tightness in her chest.  

The words wouldn't enter her mind at all, and instead gave her a splitting headache.  

She quietly got up and slipped out through the back door.  

The moment the door closed behind her, the sounds from the lecture hall were instantly cut off.  

'Sigh... As expected, these academic things are still too hard for me—like reading a foreign language. It makes sense: changing bodies doesn't mean changing brains. There's no way I could suddenly understand all this.'  

Gao Qinghe let out a heavy sigh.  

But when she looked up, she suddenly felt as if she were bathed in fresh air.  

The cool breeze hit her face, and the tightness in her chest loosened.  

The campus was still the same campus.  

It had only been a little over a week since she last came here, but everything was different.  

Before, as Gao Jingdong, every time he walked on the road, he felt like a slacker, completely different from the people who were actually there to study.  

It wasn't that he felt inferior, but he certainly didn't feel good about it.  

Now it was completely different.  

"Hey, does our school have a beauty like that? Is she a freshman?"  

"Oh my god... What major is she? Hey, can you go get her WeChat for me?"  

"Damn, didn't you see what she's wearing? You? Just you? Take a look at yourself—you're probably not even fit to carry her shoes."  

What was she wearing?  

Gao Qinghe looked down at herself.  

She had just thrown on a random Hermès T-shirt and casual shorts—no deliberate effort to dress up.  

But even so, she still attracted everyone's attention.  

'What?'  

She looked up at the guy who had spoken.  

"Holy crap, the goddess is looking at me! I'm done... I've fallen in love..."  

"Dude, don't you have a girlfriend?!"  

These voices were incessant.  

Gao Qinghe walked out of the teaching building and all the way to the small garden in the center of campus.  

Along the way, she never had to push a door open herself.  

Some people smiled and nodded at her, but most of them glanced at her, blushed bright red, and wanted to look but didn't dare to look a second time.  

Gao Qinghe thought she had gotten used to this, but indeed, the feeling on campus was very different from on the street.  

That guy—over there, the one in the T-shirt looking timid, almost burying his face in his neck, sneaking glances at her—that guy used to steal kills from her when they played games with Li Xiang. She remembered that.  

This guy over here, frantically typing on his phone while watching her, probably chatting with someone about her. He was the one who had severely criticized her during a presentation, costing her a low score.  

Oh—that guy was different.  

Although he was hiding his face with a book now, looking up at her several times a second, he was the god who had carried her in a group project.  

So Gao Qinghe smiled at him.  

He was completely stunned, his book slipping from his hand with a slapping sound onto his lap, then bouncing off onto the floor.  

His face turned bright red, and it looked like his ears were about to steam.  

Excellent, excellent!  

No wonder girls loved to stroll around campus so much.  

She hadn't understood it before, but with so many potential suitors, wouldn't it be a waste not to walk around more?  

Who wouldn't love this kind of campus life?  

If life was this smooth and everyone liked her so much, then maybe studying seriously wouldn't be impossible...  

Besides, with this face, she probably wouldn't even need to write a word on group projects to get high scores.  

Why would she have to go around begging people for help like she did when she was Gao Jingdong?  

No worries about academics, no worries about living expenses, suitors everywhere on and off campus... How could such a life have any worries?  

A wave of relief washed over Gao Qinghe's chest.  

Being a woman was basically like being able to do whatever she wanted.  

Which man wouldn't fall at her feet?  

And besides, the campus was probably full of men who had already fallen at her feet.  

"Gao... Gao Qinghe...!"  

For example, right now.  

Gao Qinghe turned around and flashed a sweet smile at her former roommate, Li Xiang, who had been following her, hesitating for who knows how long before finally greeting her.