Beast World: From Villainess to Cub-Raising Chef
Chapter 148 - 147: Sai’er Stirs Up Trouble
「The next day.」
The food Bai Su brought to the research lab was fried shrimp. It didn’t have a strong smell, and there wasn’t much of it—just a single, lonely piece of fried shrimp lying on a dish.
When Sai’er saw the portion size, he scowled. "Bai Su, even if you want to slack off, you don’t have to be so obvious about it, do you? Today’s portion is way too small!"
Bai Su looked at him. "What? Not enough for you to take a sample? Don’t you just need a small piece for your analysis? How much do you really need to see under a microscope?"
Sai’er’s expression soured. "That’s still too little. What if this one accidentally gets contaminated or lost? There won’t even be a backup."
"Even though your food isn’t helping our research at all, you can’t slack off so blatantly, can you? Would it kill you to make a little more and bring it over?"
Bai Su knew he was retaliating because she had challenged him the day before.
She turned to Li Yue, who was standing nearby. "Could you please take the sample now? If it’s not enough, I can bring more over."
A flicker of light crossed Li Yue’s eyes, and a faint smile touched her lips. ’Looks like Leia’s little sister isn’t a complete idiot after all.’
She nodded and moved to take the sample.
But Sai’er suddenly cried out, his voice sharp, "No!"
His voice was so shrill that everyone in the room turned to look at him.
Sai’er forced a stiff smile. "What I mean is... everyone is busy right now. Let’s save the sampling for tonight. We haven’t even finished analyzing the other samples for today..."
Bai Su didn’t back down. "Freshly prepared food isn’t the same as canned food. A sample needs to be taken shortly after it’s made, or it will spoil over time. As researchers, you should be very strict about the integrity of your data, right?"
Hearing this, Li Yue paused. "Is that so..."
None of them had worked with freshly prepared food before, so they didn’t know it spoiled quickly.
A flash of panic crossed Sai’er’s eyes. "W-well... let’s do it later. Everyone still has so much on their plates right now."
’He absolutely could not let these people get their hands on Bai Su’s food!’
Bai Su narrowed her eyes, her suspicions solidifying.
’Someone had probably tampered with the food she brought.’
’And in this lab, the only one who would tamper with the food was Sai’er.’
Bai Su looked at him. "I’ve noticed you seem terrified of letting Li Yue take a sample of my food. Every time I bring something, you make her wait until after work in the evening."
"You know perfectly well that the food will spoil if it’s left out all day, affecting the test results, don’t you?"
"Are you deliberately giving me a hard time, or are you intentionally trying to delay the project?"
"The way you’re acting, like a thief with a guilty conscience, makes it hard not to question your motives."
After Bai Su finished speaking, everyone instinctively looked at Sai’er.
Sai’er quickly composed himself and forced a smile. "What nonsense are you spouting? I value this project more than anyone. Bai Su, you shouldn’t be so paranoid."
"F-fine... how about this? I’ll take the sample myself, all right? Right now, this very instant."
He turned to Li Yue. "Go ahead and prepare the analysis tools. I’ll take the sample right now, so Miss Bai Su can’t accuse us of letting her food spoil."
Li Yue gave a slight nod.
Sai’er cast a wary glance at Bai Su, then lifted the fried shrimp out of the dish and placed it on the lab bench, preparing to take a sample.
Everyone else was busy with their own work, and Bai Su didn’t understand any of the chemical reagents.
A glint appeared in Sai’er’s eyes as he discreetly dripped a drop of a clear reagent onto the shrimp.
As the analysis results came in, Li Yue’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
"This meat shows signs of spoilage..."
Hearing this, Sai’er leaned in. "Let me see."
"It really is spoiled!"
He whipped his head around to face Bai Su. "Talk about a thief crying ’stop thief!’ The food you brought was already spoiled, and yet you have the nerve to blame us?"
"You brought spoiled food to the lab for us to use? Once food goes bad, its nutritional composition is completely different. Do you have any idea you’re just wasting our time?"
Hearing this, Flar, McKoff, and the others frowned and shot displeased looks in Bai Su’s direction.
They could tolerate the ever-decreasing portion sizes, but bringing spoiled food to fob them off with? That was actively undermining the experiment!
Bai Su said, "Impossible. I fried this shrimp fresh this morning. There’s no way it’s spoiled."
Li Yue showed her the analysis results. "I have no reason to lie to you."
Bai Su couldn’t understand the test results, but she had faith in her own food.
She walked over to the lab bench and picked up the dish with the large remaining piece of shrimp. "There’s no way the quality of my shrimp is the problem. If you don’t believe me, you can taste it for yourselves."
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of a sour, rotten smell.
Bai Su stared at the dish and shrimp in her hand, then leaned in for a sniff. The sour, rotten smell was even more distinct.
It was the smell of food that had been left outside for days in the summer, completely rancid.
She frowned. "How is that possible?"
A mocking glint appeared in Sai’er’s eyes. "What? Trying to deny it now?"
He snatched the shrimp from her hand and slammed it on the table. "This is the proof. You brought us rotten shrimp to use in our experiment."
"It’s one thing to pull strings to get in here, but you’re not even taking the work seriously. Slacking off to this degree... I really don’t know why Yelias ever stuck you in our project!"
Bai Su’s expression darkened. "This shrimp was fresh when I brought it in."
Sai’er sneered. "There’s no point in arguing, is there? Li Yue analyzed it herself, I have the sample right here, and the evidence is irrefutable. How are you going to lie your way out of this one?"
Bai Su’s face showed no sign of panic. She stared intently at Sai’er. "I suspect you tampered with it when you were taking the sample."
An angry look appeared on Sai’er’s face. "Don’t you dare make baseless accusations! Everyone was watching. You just brought the food in, how could I have possibly done anything to it?"
Bai Su stared at him. "How can you prove you didn’t do anything? It was fine when I brought it in, but it spoiled the moment it got into your hands."
Seeing that she had no proof and was just trying to pin the blame on him, Sai’er rolled his eyes internally with disdain. On the outside, however, his face twisted with the humiliation of being falsely accused. "I didn’t!"
Bai Su retorted, "Then show me proof that you didn’t do anything!"
Sai’er shouted, "I didn’t, and that’s that! How am I supposed to prove it? You’re the one who brought spoiled food, and now you’re turning it around and pinning the blame on me!"
Bai Su spread her hands. "If you can’t produce evidence to prove your innocence, then what right do you have to insist the food I brought was the problem?"
"I could just as easily say you’re the one turning this around to frame me!"
Sai’er’s face darkened. "You!"
He hadn’t expected Bai Su to be so unflustered; instead, she was sharp-tongued and stubbornly refused to admit fault.
He turned to Flar and McKoff. "Grandpa Flar, Grandpa McKoff, you saw everything. I’m really not the one starting trouble here. I never joke when it comes to our research. This project is more important to me than my own life!"
Flar’s expression grew grim as he stared at Bai Su. "Bai Su, if you continue with this attitude, I will join the others in submitting a formal request to Yelias to have you removed from this project."