A Childhood Friend Drops from the Sky

Main story complete | Extra chapters updated daily from 23:30 to 23:59.

Male lead has a secret crush | Reunited after years apart | Finance professional heroine x doctor hero

Ling Xiao, a newly arrived resident in orthopedics, is tall, long-legged, handsome, and wealthy. He's the son of a well-to-do family, a favorite of the department director, and a graduate of an overseas university. He's the first author of a paper in a top journal, with several more SCI papers to his name. His future couldn't look brighter.

So the moment he started at the hospital, countless people began asking about him.

But he always seemed polite yet distant, giving the same stock response every time:

“I'm focused on my career. Not interested for now. We'll see what fate brings.”

Then one day, a witness claimed to have seen a beautiful young woman and Ling Xiao walking into the hospital cafeteria arm in arm. The way the young couple clung to each other made everyone's scalp tingle.

A busybody imitated them in front of Ling Xiao: “If you don't come to see me, I can always come to see you... Tsk, Dr. Ling, you've got no dignity at all!”

Ling Xiao remained unruffled, sitting as still as a snow-capped mountain, and handed them a stack of wedding invitations. “That's okay. We're legally married.”

Song Jiaoyue was strikingly beautiful and fiery-tempered, with plenty of suitors, yet she had fixated on one man.

He was the new resident in orthopedics at her mother's hospital. Broad-shouldered and muscular, he had an indescribably chaste air about him in his white coat.

Fresh out of university overseas, Song Jiaoyue fell in love with him at first sight. She'd never pursued anyone before, but now she dressed up as a gentle, ladylike woman every day, and sent him flowers, gifts, and love letters.

Her friend tried to wake her up: “He's an orthopedic surgeon! He's definitely keeping a bunch of women on the hook!”

For Ling Xiao, the age of fifteen was a turning point in his life.

Back then, his mother hadn't died of cancer, and he didn't know that the story about his father dying in the line of duty was a lie his mother had made up.

He had a childhood friend whom everyone liked. He was her loyal little sidekick, taking the blame for her countless times. Everyone thought he'd only become her shadow because she had forced him into it. In truth, he needed her.

Ling Xiao never imagined that after so many years apart, they would meet again, much less that their reunion would begin with her falling in love at first sight.

Reading guide:

1. The male lead is one year older than the female lead. First love for both.

2. The male lead keeps avoiding her because he mistakenly thinks she has a partner. He's not talkative because of his personality.

Preorder: The First Rule of Research. See my profile.

#Power-couple academics#Loving rivalries between labmates#

Nan Wei, a newly appointed master's supervisor, faces two major problems:

One, she's broke.

Two, she can't recruit any students.

Her friend is baffled. “Teachers are usually the ones who choose their students. How can you not find any?”

Nan Wei sighs. “It's nice to have a big tree to shelter under. Do I look like a big tree to you?”

Soon, Nan Wei faces the threat of being fired if she doesn't get promoted, while her research project stalls at its most critical stage due to a lack of funding.

Just as she's preparing to sell everything she owns and even swallow her pride to borrow money from her nemesis, a friend offers her a solution: “Why don't you become a content creator? Dr. Liu from the lab next door livestreams sales online. He made enough research money in a month!”

Nan Wei: “I'm a scholar, thanks.”

Later, Nan Wei goes viral for making online courses like How to Raise Mice Scientifically and Introduction to Illustration. Netizens exclaim:

“Modern internet is great. Now you can watch a provincial exam top scorer perform for a living, and a master's supervisor raise mice.”

A popular comment online reads: “I forwarded it to my mom. She said, ‘What is this nonsense? What's so interesting about rats?’ Then I told her the woman was a master's supervisor at the School of Medicine at Haidu University. Mom put on her reading glasses and watched ten times in a row. She said, ‘Educated people even raise rats until their coats shine.’”

After Nan Wei happily makes enough money for her research, she quits the internet. Later, she wins two National Natural Science Foundation grants, becomes a professor, and reaches the peak of her career.

Romance version

On Nan Wei's first day in the lab, a senior student warned her:

1. Don't date someone from the lab. If you do, keep it secret.

2. If you run into Demon King Meng, take the long way around.

Nan Wei listened, but not entirely. She secretly dated Meng Yiyuan for a year and a half, then they broke up after a huge argument over research theories.

After the breakup, she finally understood that her senior's advice was the truth. Nothing is more awkward than a failed lab romance. That awkwardness continued even after they graduated and stayed on at the university. Nan Wei kept competing with Meng Yiyuan in secret until she became a doctoral supervisor and finally got her moment of triumph.

She always thought Meng Yiyuan felt the same way. Who knew he was a hopeless romantic who still wanted to get back together? Nan Wei gaped at him. “Are you out of your mind?”

Nan Wei said in anguish, “I don't like men who aren't smart.”

Reading guide:

1. After the breakup, the heroine has no lingering feelings about the past and no time to spare. She's focused on her career. Her rivalry with the male lead is mostly because she can't stand the idea of an ex doing better than her.

2. A lighthearted urban comedy with plenty of career-focused plot.

Theme: Love life.