Chapter 44: Gene Selection
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Gene Selection
Although a metaphorical slap to the face had "woken him up," Zhang Yan had to admit that even after such a brief and superficial interaction, Xia Xiqing had piqued his interest immensely. What attracted him most wasn’t her supermodel-like figure, nor her breathtaking beauty, but rather her "scent." Just one whiff made it impossible to pull away.
Thinking of the deep, lingering, and incredibly intoxicating body fragrance she possessed, he took out his phone and searched across various apps—Baidog, Weiknow, and Little Doubi. The answers were mixed. Ultimately, he had to consult the omniscient god of the new century, Jipiti: Do humans really have a natural body fragrance?
"Humans do indeed possess a body odor, primarily determined by sweat gland secretions, microbial activity on the skin’s surface, and genetic factors.
"For most people, the emitted scent is not obvious and is easily influenced by the external environment, such as diet and hygiene habits," Jipiti displayed.
"Oh, so it really is a thing," Zhang Yan mused. "But looking at the explanation, it seems to just describe human body odor. As for whether this odor can be fragrant... It seems this is a very rare talent. The vast majority of people can’t manifest a unique body fragrance, and their natural scent might not even smell good."
While Zhang Yan had received some level of an answer to his question, it still didn’t explain why he found her scent increasingly intoxicating the more he smelled it. His junior also smelled good, perhaps a mix of some cosmetics and skincare products, but it stopped at just smelling nice; there was no sign of it being addictive.
He continued questioning the omniscient god.
"The ’sexual fragrance’ people commonly refer to is a human’s unconscious perception of certain pheromones, a choice made based on genetic preferences."
There was a slew of detailed explanations involving the immune system’s diversity theory, symmetry and genetic health, and Fisher’s theory of sexual selection.
"Hmm, so the gist is that Xia Xiqing is genetically very attractive, especially to me?" Zhang Yan thought. "Now I have to pursue her!"
It wasn’t that Zhang Yan was just lusting after her body—this was all a choice made by his genes!
DING DONG. As if fate were protesting his burgeoning interest in another girl, his junior’s profile picture happened to pop up with a greeting. She had actually been messaging Zhang Yan on and off since the morning. Most of it was idle chatter and real-time life updates, occasionally interspersed with places she wanted to visit.
[Kitten appearing out of nowhere.gif]
"Senior, this aquarium seems to have gotten a new penguin. Want to go see it when we have time?"
[Aquarium Link]
"This dessert shop launched a hit new item. I heard it’s really good. When should we go try it?"
[Dessert Shop Link]
Every line screamed three words: I miss you.
However, Zhang Yan merely kept up the chat interaction, using the excuse that he was busy and sticking to the classic "next time for sure" strategy. Of course, he also wanted to stick by his junior’s side all day. He missed the taste of her lip balm and wanted to unlock the unlit hidden areas on the map as soon as possible. But he knew that unless he just wanted a casual fling with her, it was best not to do so. That would only accelerate the burning out of their mutual feelings.
This so-called burning was nothing more than a momentary brilliance, leaving only ashes behind. Whether it was fruits like cherries and grapes, or seafood like abalone and sea cucumber, no matter how delicious they were, eating them every day would eventually make one sick of them. Gorging oneself in a short period would only cause a rapid, permanent loss of interest.
Zhang Yan’s little girlfriend in high school had been his desk-mate, so they had practically been glued together all day long. In the beginning, their feelings really did heat up quickly. They exchanged their first hand-holding, first hug, and first sharing of each other’s oral microbiota. This had once delayed their studies and nearly gotten their romance discovered by their teacher. But once the honeymoon phase passed and the two gradually got used to and understood each other, they slowly discovered countless flaws in one another that they hadn’t noticed before, eventually feeling that their relationship was nothing special. Easy come, easy go.
When Zhang Yan refocused his mind on his studies during his senior year of high school, he had realized his parents’ hardships and expectations. But wasn’t it also because he just didn’t love her as much anymore? The new knowledge he had recently acquired corroborated this point: "The key to a stable and lasting Intimate Relationship lies in balancing passion and reason."
Zhang Yan really was liking his junior more and more lately. Although he could sense from their verbal sparring that she had a lot of experience interacting with boys, he could clearly feel her inexperience from their physical interactions. He was fairly confident about whether it was her first time holding hands and hugging, but he was absolutely certain that they had exchanged their first kisses.
As for why Zhang Yan still had his first kiss to give? His first kiss refreshed daily.
In this increasingly open-minded era, netizens joked that if you wanted to find someone who still had their first kiss, you’d probably have to look in an elementary school. Although Zhang Yan knew it definitely wasn’t that exaggerated in reality, it still reflected how precious his junior was to a certain extent. If she still had her first kiss, it was pretty much a given that she had never been in a real relationship. Thus, her first kiss was her first love.
He desperately wanted to make his relationship with his junior more solid and lasting, so he was willing to spend more time planning and cultivating it. After pondering for a moment, Zhang Yan replied on his phone, "Babe, I’m really a bit busy today. I’ll definitely ask you out tomorrow so we can have some fun."
"Ah, I didn’t mean it like that. I just simply wanted to chat with you for a bit," she replied. "If you’re busy, you don’t need to reply to me right away. Focus on your work first!"
Zhang Yan didn’t reply immediately. After all, he was "busy" right now. On her side, seemingly feeling that she had disturbed his daily work, she quieted down for the time being.
Zhang Yan clicked on the aquarium link she had sent. It was a small-to-medium-sized aquarium. It didn’t boast a particularly rich variety of aquatic life, but its decor was exquisite and trendy, making it very popular among young people.
"Driver, please change my route. I need to go here next," Zhang Yan instructed.
Not seeing each other temporarily was to make them miss each other more for the next meeting. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Zhang Yan planned to give his junior a little surprise tomorrow.
Inside Chi Xinyue’s room.
Chi Xinyue scrolled through her chat history with Zhang Yan line by line, occasionally revealing a sweet smile. Suddenly, an incoming call notification popped into her vision, extinguishing much of her joy.
"Hello, Uncle."
"Okay, yeah, okay," she replied after a pause. "I’ll go back in a few days. Don’t worry, everything... everything will work out."
Setting down the phone, Chi Xinyue stared blankly at the ceiling.
"I’m so scared," she thought. "Scared that once I lay everything out, you’ll despise me and leave me. But I don’t have any time left. What should I do..."