After helping Ji Nian crush the specified items, Ji Tingzhou stopped assisting further.
He set down what looked like a piece of agate in his hand and turned to see Ji Nian walking over to pick up a bottle of transparent liquid.
"What's this?"
Ji Tingzhou was like a curious child, finding everything new and fascinating.
Ever since Ji Nian put on the gas mask, it was as if she had become a different person.
"Concentrated hydrofluoric acid," she replied.
"It's a weak acid but highly corrosive. If it comes into contact with human skin, it can cause deep burns, tissue necrosis, and disrupt calcium metabolism, leading to systemic toxicity, cardiac arrest, and ultimately death."
Even Ji Tingzhou felt a bit uneasy hearing this.
He stared intently at the bottle in Ji Nian's hand, which looked just like water, never imagining it could be so deadly.
For a moment, he wanted to grab Ji Nian and take her away, to stop her from continuing.
But seeing her standing there, so calm and composed, as if something real and profound was emanating from her, an unspoken excitement, Ji Tingzhou couldn't bring himself to say anything to stop her.
Soon after, he completely lost track of what Ji Nian was doing.
"The steam later will be toxic, so don't come over," Ji Nian suddenly said without looking up.
Her voice was as soft and childlike as ever, but her tone was calm and cold, as if she found Ji Tingzhou to be in the way.
Under normal circumstances, he might have scolded her for being disrespectful, but seeing Ji Nian so deeply immersed in her work, as if she had transformed into someone else, Ji Tingzhou remained silent.
Touching the mask on his head, Ji Tingzhou stepped back but didn't go too far.
Hearing that the steam was toxic, he was genuinely worried about Ji Nian.
After uttering that one sentence, Ji Nian fully entered her zone.
All the equipment had been custom-made by Ji Tingzhou to fit her size, so there was no issue of her struggling to handle tools that were too large.
Ji Tingzhou sat back on the stool Ji Nian had prepared for him. Though he couldn't understand what she was doing, he watched her movements attentively.
When a burst of orange-red light suddenly erupted in front of Ji Nian, Ji Tingzhou shot to his feet.
Seeing that Ji Nian was unharmed and the strange light lasted only for a moment, he slowly sat back down.
In just two hours, he felt like he was on the verge of developing a heart condition, even though he didn't have one.
Ji Nian, on the other hand, remained much calmer, swiftly pouring the reacted liquid into a test tube.
Her composure made Ji Tingzhou feel like he was overreacting.
Propping his chin on his hand, Ji Tingzhou didn't find it boring at all and spent the entire morning just watching her.
When Ji Nian finally stopped, he glanced at the array of bottles and jars.
"Finished?"
Ji Nian shook her head, hopping down from her workspace and walking over to Ji Tingzhou.
"It's noon. Time for lunch."
Ji Tingzhou: "......"
Once she starts experimenting, even her own father is forgotten, but she never forgets to eat.
"Aren't you hungry, Dad?"
The two walked out, and Ji Nian, now without her mask, led Ji Tingzhou to the sink.
Seeing the child revert from her earlier cold demeanor to her familiar, sweet and naive self, Ji Tingzhou reached out with his soapy hand and poked her cheek, eliciting a look of annoyance from her.
"Nothing," Ji Tingzhou said, pulling his hand back and continuing to wash.
He just felt that the Ji Nian from earlier seemed distant, almost unreachable.
"Are you continuing this afternoon?"
Ji Nian nodded as she dried her hands with her exclusive little yellow chicken towel.
"Yes. It'll probably take two or three more days."
To be honest, 011 was also an experimental product she had developed not long ago and had chosen to destroy.
She had almost forgotten how to make it, let alone the antidote.
First, she would recreate the toxin to get back into the rhythm, and then work on the antidote, which would make testing on lab mice more convenient.
Ji Tingzhou nodded.
"Don't overwork yourself."
Ji Nian had expected him to complain about the slow progress, but instead, he said this.
Her clean little hand hooked onto his sleeve, and she looked up at him with a bright smile.
"Okay!"
Ji Tingzhou directly took her hand in his.
Ji Nian thought for a moment and decided to be a bit nicer to her dad.
"Dad, I'll get you a different stool this afternoon."
"Huh?"
"That stool is so short, and you're so tall. Sitting on it makes you look like you're riding a dog."
Ji Tingzhou: "......"
Well, at least she didn't say it looked like he was sitting on a toilet.
Many crabs had been air-shipped in today, so lunch was a crab feast.
The Ji family was small, so there weren't too many dishes: steamed hairy crabs, spicy crab, drunken crab in huadiao wine, stir-fried swimming crab with rice cakes, and crab roe noodles as the main course, accompanied by a few cold dishes to cut through the richness.
Ji Nian devoured ten hairy crabs as soon as she sat down, her focused eating a stark contrast to Ji Tingzhou, who was patiently waiting for the servants to use tools to extract the succulent crab meat for him.
Da Dan, who usually ate alone, was allowed to join the family meals after Ji Nian arrived, with Ji Tingzhou's permission.
The little dog couldn't eat much crab, so it had to settle for lobster and salmon.
After eating her fill, Ji Nian planned to return to the lab, but thinking about how Ji Tingzhou had sat with her all morning, she worried he might be tired.
"Dad, let's take a nap," she suggested, changing her mind and turning to Ji Tingzhou.
Seeming to understand her thoughts, Ji Tingzhou ruffled her hair, messing up her curls.
"Let's go."
He wasn't particularly sleepy, but the doctor had mentioned that a proper nap was good for children.
The forty-minute nap passed in a flash.
In the afternoon, as soon as Ji Nian stepped into the lab, she returned to her focused, cold state.
Ji Nian knew there was something off about her behavior.
But she... couldn't help it.
She had expected Ji Tingzhou to get angry, but instead, he showed no temper at all and was exceptionally patient.
No matter how long Ji Nian stayed in the lab, he stayed with her.
Even Ji Nian, with all her admiration for him, had to admit that watching this was incredibly boring, yet Ji Tingzhou showed no signs of impatience.
It was as if he didn't find it dull at all. Even though he didn't understand, he still watched her movements intently.
Over time, Ji Nian grew accustomed to his presence.
When the antidote was finally completed and confirmed effective through testing, the little genius presented her achievement to Ji Tingzhou in a box.
The box was quite beautiful, tied with a ribbon.
It looked rather delicate.
Ji Tingzhou looked at the child in front of him, whose face clearly said, "Quick! Praise me!" and gave a slight smile.
It would have been better if it weren't the box that once held his $3.5 million brooch.
And, if he wasn't mistaken, the "ribbon" tied around it was actually the shoelace from his leather shoes.
