Ji Tingzhou tossed the fork and knife back onto the plate, leisurely wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue he had brought himself, and then slowly glanced over.
“Did you grow a brain just to add to your height?”
Ji Nian curiously stared at Bruce, who had suddenly appeared across the table.
Unshaven, red-haired, with an unhealthy pallor that made the freckles on his face stand out, Bruce’s blue eyes behind black-rimmed glasses were surprisingly sharp.
Tall and thin, he wore a wrinkled blue shirt paired with loose red sweatpants, clearly having thrown on the first outfit he found.
The dark circles under his eyes and the academic vibe were all too familiar to Ji Nian.
Bruce, who was trying to avoid the murderous gaze of his boss, noticed the kid staring at him and immediately walked over, sitting down next to Ji Nian.
“Hi, I’m Bruce. What’s your name, kid?”
Up close, he looked even more like Ji Tingzhou.
Especially those emerald-green eyes, which looked newer than Ji Tingzhou’s, as if they had just been manufactured a few years ago.
Ji Nian nodded politely. “My name is Shen Nian.”
Bruce nearly tumbled off the bench in shock, turning to Ji Tingzhou with wide eyes. “You’re telling me this isn’t yours and Shen Rushan’s kid?!”
Ji Tingzhou: “……”
“Ji Nian.”
His gaze was full of menace as he looked at the innocent, cat-like child across the table.
Ji Nian immediately straightened up, smiling sweetly. “Just kidding. My name is Ji Nian.”
Bruce stared at the child’s bright, smiling face for a moment before shaking his head and muttering, “This kid doesn’t take after you.”
No wonder she was allowed to stay.
He still held onto the idea that Ji Tingzhou treated the child like a pet, just as he had raised his dog, Big Egg.
“The person who made that toxin is a real genius.”
“I spent the whole night trying to figure out which form of Shamu could successfully break down Ojnm. The lab rats either went crazy or died, and the one that seemed fine actually started getting frisky with me!”
Ji Tingzhou’s eyes instantly turned sharp.
Bruce finally realized there was a human child sitting next to him.
“Ahem…” he coughed awkwardly.
Ji Nian, however, wasn’t about to let it go. With an innocent expression, she looked at Ji Tingzhou and asked, “What does ‘getting frisky’ mean?”
She had perfectly latched onto the word the adults least wanted her to know.
Without hesitation, Ji Tingzhou replied, “That’s Bruce’s nickname.”
Bruce, who had been enjoying the drama, was now stunned. “???”
Ji Nian: 【Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!】
【Frisky Bruce】
Before Bruce could retort, Ji Tingzhou placed a clean tissue on the table and tapped it with his finger.
“Get to the point.”
The atmosphere turned serious again.
Bruce placed a box on the table and opened it for Ji Tingzhou to see.
Inside was a milky-white vial of liquid.
“It can neutralize 80% of the toxin. As for the remaining 20%, I’m not sure what the side effects might be.”
Eighty percent.
A number full of uncertainty.
Ji Nian peeked at it with curiosity.
【Not bad. To achieve this in such a short time, he’s definitely a genius.】
【Though not quite as good as I was in my younger days. The younger generation is impressive.】
System: 【………】
Bruce looked somewhat guilty, his blue eyes filled with defeat. “Sorry, this is the best I can do in such a short time.”
He had a love-hate relationship with the person who created the toxin—admiring their madness but despising their cruelty.
If only they weren’t enemies, he had thought countless times.
Ji Tingzhou remained silent.
If even Bruce said so, then aside from the creator of the toxin, no one in the world could do better.
“Understood. Let’s use it.”
For the remaining 20%, he would make the mastermind and the toxin creator pay with their lives, as compensation for Wei Yang.
Completely unaware that her father was plotting her demise, Ji Nian yawned.
Seeing Ji Tingzhou stand up, she hopped off the bench as well.
Bruce was about to follow when he noticed Ji Tingzhou wasn’t moving.
He turned to see Ji Nian trotting over to Ji Tingzhou, naturally raising her arms as the man took her small hands—
and wiped them clean with a disinfectant wipe.
After tossing the tissue away, Ji Tingzhou took the child’s hand and gave Bruce a look.
Why are you just standing there?
Bruce looked like he had something to say but held back.
Ji Nian had been so focused on listening to Ji Tingzhou earlier that she hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings.
Now, looking around, she realized this place seemed to be a research facility built specifically for scientists. Everyone passing by carried stacks of documents, looking sleep-deprived.
Ji Nian’s biggest dream in her past life was for a wealthy billionaire to appear before her and say with deep affection—
‘Ji Nian, let me invest in you. I’ll build you your own research facility.’
Sadly, she never got to experience that before she died. Instead, this red-haired guy seemed to have all the luck.
Jealousy.
Bruce suddenly shivered, his already unsteady steps faltering as he nearly tripped into the nearby bushes.
Feels like someone’s out to get me…
When they arrived at the observation room where Wei Yang was being kept, Bruce glanced at Ji Nian, who had been quietly holding Ji Tingzhou’s hand the entire time.
“Maybe… we shouldn’t bring the kid in.”
Wei Yang’s condition was a bit terrifying.
Ji Tingzhou thought for a moment.
Remembering what the doctor had told him earlier, he let go of Ji Nian’s hand.
“Go play for a bit. I’ll let you see Wei Yang later.”
With that, he pulled a small yellow package from his coat pocket.
Ji Nian’s eyes lit up immediately!
“Shrimp crackers!”
Ji Tingzhou actually carried snacks with him.
“Go on.”
Seeing Ji Nian happily clutching the shrimp crackers and spinning around in excitement, Ji Tingzhou felt the awkwardness of having someone rush to deliver these junk snacks overnight fade away.
Bruce, standing nearby, looked at the scene with a strange expression.
Forgive him for saying so, but Ji Tingzhou now looked like…
a father doting on his child.
Though he treated his dog well, as far as Bruce knew, Big Egg’s daily care was handled by others. Ji Tingzhou only called the dog over to play with it occasionally.
He certainly didn’t go out of his way to carry snacks around to pamper the dog.
Bruce’s opinion of Ji Nian shifted slightly, and he waved over his assistant, instructing him to take the child to the next room to play for a while.
The assistant was a young black man who gave Ji Nian a shy smile. The child, not shy at all, smiled back warmly. Before leaving, she politely said to Ji Tingzhou, “I’m going now.”
Ji Tingzhou waved her off.
Bruce looked at Ji Tingzhou as if he didn’t recognize him, shaking his head in amazement.
The next room was a two-level lounge where staff could grab a coffee, play pool, or nap on the couch when they were tired.
Ji Nian immediately climbed onto the couch, stuffed the shrimp crackers into her fluffy coat pocket, and looked up at the assistant. “Big brother, I’d like some juice.”
The young man, who didn’t understand Chinese, used a translator to figure out what she meant.
There was no juice in the lounge, so he went outside to find a vending machine to buy some for Ji Nian.
He didn’t even consider making her settle for something else, as it was clear to anyone with eyes.
This child was obviously the boss’s kid.
Not to mention, the little girl with her cat-like hairstyle was quite pretty. Dressed in her white fluffy coat, she looked like a little animal sitting there.
Once the assistant left, Ji Nian’s childish demeanor vanished. She jumped off the couch, ran to the printer, grabbed a few sheets of paper, found a pen, and then pulled out a crumpled tissue from her pocket. Smoothing it out, she quickly scribbled down some formulas.
Knowing Bruce’s level of expertise, she didn’t need to go into too much detail. She finished quickly and then placed a fresh sheet of paper over it.
When the assistant returned with the juice, he found the little girl diligently drawing.
