Chapter 53: A Habit Unchanged for Ten Years
At the World Serpent technology corporation, the three lead doctors had announced a company-wide day off. As a result, the building was nearly empty except for a few essential staff members. Mobius had Ya Qing park in the company's private lot.
"This building is pretty big. It looks like you guys at World Serpent have been doing quite well these past few years," Ya Qing remarked, holding a cup of bubble tea for himself and carrying several more in a holder.
Mobius, also sipping her own bubble tea, swallowed a mouthful of pearls before replying, "Isn't that thanks to you? Our big-shot investor behind the scenes."
"Don't say that. I only invested a single sum back when I graduated. It's been seven or eight years since then. World Serpent's success is all your own doing," Ya Qing said, unconcerned about his initial seed money. To him, it was less than a single fiscal quarter's worth of his corporate dividends.
Ya Qing and Mobius swiped their keycards and entered the building. As they waited for the elevator, their two little stalkers finally arrived at the building's entrance by taxi.
Hiding in the bushes, Kevin held up two small tree branches as a makeshift disguise. "A date at the office? Is there some kind of special meaning to this?" he wondered aloud.
Watching Kevin's foolish antics, Mei put a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "Kevin, you... are you trying to be camouflaged?"
Kevin coughed a few times, tossed the branches aside, and asked seriously, "Mei, should we keep following them?"
"How? There are security cameras everywhere. Besides, Mobius is definitely taking Ya Qing to her lab, and only one elevator goes there," Mei gave up. She knew the company layout like the back of her hand and understood that continuing would get them caught.
"Sigh," Kevin let out a disappointed breath, clearly not ready to give up the chase.
As Ya Qing and Mobius stepped into the elevator, something strange happened. Instead of going up, the elevator descended, stopping only when it reached the third basement level.
Mobius's lab was on B3, a location she had requested herself. In her own words, she didn't want anyone disturbing her experiments.
Inside the lab on B3, a young woman in a white lab coat sat at a desk, her head constantly nodding with exhaustion. The dark circles under her eyes were so severe it looked like she might fall asleep at any moment. On her desk were three bowls of instant noodles, weighed down by books. Beside her, a pair of energetic twin girls were sound asleep on a lab bench.
Ding.
The sound of a keycard swipe echoed. A girl in a white JK-style short skirt rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Haa~, is it evening already? Senior Klein, did you get our noodles ready?"
The girl in the white skirt nudged the girl next to her, who was dressed in an identical but black JK skirt. The black-skirted girl slowly woke up.
"Ngh... noodles, noodles!" Klein fumbled to remove the books from the noodle bowls, only to find that the noodles had been soaking for so long they were completely soggy. The hot water poured in hours ago was now ice-cold.
"We probably can't eat this... right?" Danzhu leaned in, staring at the cold, over-soaked noodles.
"Better not. Let's just make three new bowls," Cangxuan said, concerned for their safety. She had no desire to end up in the hospital with food poisoning again.
"Ahem." Mobius watched them, the corner of her mouth twitching. She had survived on the exact same diet for years, so why, from an observer's perspective, did it feel like she was some kind of abusive employer?
"Doctor!"
The cough drew their attention. Klein and the twins, Cangxuan and Danzhu, finally noticed Mobius standing at the door. They hurried over to greet her, their eyes also landing curiously on the man beside her.
Very few people were allowed into Mobius's lab, let alone men. In all their time working there, they had only ever seen the three World Serpent doctors and, occasionally, a certain corporate drone who used 'delivering supplies' as an excuse to see someone—specifically, Kevin.
"I get it, Doctor! This is another guinea pig you've found!" Danzhu declared, her eyes shining with wisdom despite her exhausted state.
Ya Qing shot a strange look at Mobius. First, she abused her employees, and now she was kidnapping people for experiments? It seemed his senior had become even more dangerous than she was back in their academy days.
From Ya Qing's look alone, Mobius knew exactly what he was thinking. "Hmph," she snorted coldly. "They were all volunteers for my experiments. I never forced them."
Mobius whipped her head around, her long, light-green hair flicking across Ya Qing's face. The fragrant scent of her shampoo tickled his nose.
Danzhu scratched her head, completely confused. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Dummy." As the older sister, Cangxuan gave Danzhu a light tap on the head, earning her a glare.
"Hello, my name is Ya Qing Schariac. I'm Dr. Mobius's junior from school, and we're also housemates at the Golden Courtyard," Ya Qing said, putting on his gentlemanly persona as he always did around new people, even if it rarely won them over.
Perhaps due to her lab assistant's instincts, Cangxuan didn't take Ya Qing's outstretched hand.
Danzhu, however, grew excited and grabbed his hand with both of hers. "So you're that famous director! I'm a huge fan! I loved your show The Saintess's Redemption back when I was in elementary school! Please, you have to give me your autograph!"
Ya Qing had been pleased to hear he had a fan, but the moment she mentioned that cursed project, his smile froze. He felt an urge to snatch his hand back.
Sis, I really can't agree with your taste.
But as a gentleman, Ya Qing didn't say it out loud, nor would he embarrass a lady. He reluctantly signed his name for Danzhu.
"You're the Schicksal director?" Cangxuan finally realized, her eyes turning into literal money signs. Fortunately, Danzhu pulled her back in time.
"Ha... ha, I brought you all a little something," Ya Qing said, completely unable to comprehend the thought processes of Mobius's subordinates. He awkwardly changed the subject, placing the bubble tea he'd bought earlier on the table.
"It's bubble tea! Senior, come quick, we've got bubble tea!" Danzhu called out to the half-asleep Klein.
Klein groggily accepted the drink, murmuring to herself, "Bubble tea... great... I can work for a few more hours now."
"Klein, long time no see," Ya Qing said with a smile.
He remembered Klein as his junior from school. She had enrolled just as he was leaving for his fourth-year internship. He had only met her for the first time at his graduation party, where she was trailing behind Mobius like a lost chick.
"Ngh... Senior Ya Qing, long time no see," Klein's voice was frail, as if she might run out of breath at any second.
"Klein, how long have you been working continuously? I've told you before, you'll collapse if you keep this up," Ya Qing said with concern.
"It's fine, it's fine. I already slept for two hours this afternoon," Klein insisted, shaking her head even as her mood lifted from the sweetness of the tea.
"Klein, you need to rest," Mobius said, walking over with a cup of instant coffee. She was also worried about Klein's health, genuinely afraid she might one day collapse from overwork in the lab.
"But, the research isn't finished..." Klein said weakly.
"Research?" Mobius shot a glance at the twin sisters. "If it weren't for them, this project would have been finished ages ago."
"Doctor, how could you say that!" Danzhu protested, hands on her hips.
"Yeah, yeah!" Cangxuan chimed in.
"Heh," Mobius sneered. "A few days ago, who was it that knocked over a bowl of instant noodles, soaking an entire page of important data in soup? And who was it that was late twenty-nine days in one month, forcing me to buy them tea twenty-nine times as punishment? And who..."
Mobius began counting off the twins' blunders on her fingers. Before she could finish, Cangxuan and Danzhu clung to her legs like desperate monkeys, begging her to stop.
"Doctor, please stop, I'll never eat noodles near the data again!" Danzhu cried, tears streaming down her face. Of all the foolish things Mobius listed, she was responsible for at least two-thirds of them.
"I think I understand why you two were stuck at the office," Ya Qing said. He casually opened a bottle labeled Iron(II) Phosphide, poured some of the powder into his palm, and tipped it into his mouth.
The action stunned Cangxuan and Danzhu, who were still in the middle of their tearful performance. Iron(II) Phosphide—was that something a person could eat?
"What are you looking at me for?" Ya Qing licked the powder from his lips and smiled. "Senior, after all these years, you're still obsessed with putting powdered sugar in a bottle labeled 'Iron(II) Phosphide'."
"Powdered sugar?!"
Danzhu, who had worked in Mobius's lab for two or three years, never knew the bottle contained sugar.
"Hmph." Mobius turned her head away.
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