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墨書 Inktalez
Su Lan had just sent Field Duty away to find someone when the old professor, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, showed up at her door. It was late at night, and he brought along a small child, both of them looking weary from travel.
"Professor, what brings you here?" Su Lan blinked in surprise, hurriedly wrapping herself in a robe and ushering them inside. "It's so late; why aren't you resting?"
"It seems you aren't sleeping either," Old Yang replied, his mood clearly not the best. Today, he wasn't wearing his usual work uniform but had thrown on a thin shirt instead. His face was obscured by a pair of stone-cold glasses, and he held the hand of the small boy beside him, creating an odd contrast.
Su Lan couldn't help but chuckle softly. She bent down and affectionately pinched the boy's cheek. "Why are you following your teacher around like a little night owl?"
The boy's gaze lingered on the exposed skin at Su Lan's neckline, his expression blank as he greeted her lightly, "Sister Su."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su Lan straightened up and adjusted her robe. A wave of emotions washed over her. Three years had passed, and the boy had grown; his features increasingly resembled An Zheng's, especially that slightly cold demeanor that seemed to mirror his parents'. The indifference and calmness of An Zheng and his wife stemmed from years of rigorous work, yet this young boy, still so small, already bore such expressions. Su Lan sighed inwardly; children grow up, and some things will eventually be understood. The little boy who used to sweetly call her "Susu sister" and begged her to take him to find his parents was no longer there.
Old Yang cleared his throat loudly, not bothering to hide his displeasure as he led the boy into the office filled with the scent of ink. He plopped down into a chair and immediately launched into a tirade. "You all think you've grown wings and that I'm just an old nuisance? What do you all plan to do?"
Su Lan stood at the door with a bewildered expression, still processing the boy's earlier demeanor when she was suddenly bombarded with accusations.
"W-what's wrong?" Su Lan closed the door behind her and poured tea for both of them before sitting down across from them, puzzled. "Why are you so angry, Professor?"
"How could I dare call myself your teacher? I should be calling you teachers now," Old Yang retorted dismissively, pushing away the teacup in front of him and turning his face away defiantly.
Su Lan felt both amused and exasperated. She thought back; they hadn't done anything out of the ordinary lately. Old Yang had mostly been in the lab while she stayed home taking care of children. What was this all about?
After sulking for a while without any response from Su Lan, Old Yang couldn't hold back anymore. He slammed his hands on the table angrily. "Field Duty has searched for three years—three whole years—without finding a single case of Antibody carriers! And now that there's finally news about Antibodies appearing, why wasn't I informed?"
Su Lan's expression froze momentarily as she processed his words. Her smile turned somewhat awkward. "Where did you hear this news?"
"Do I need to report to you?" Old Yang seized the opportunity to press further, snorting in frustration as he nearly dented the wooden table with his pounding fists. "Why wasn't I notified?"
Su Lan thought to herself that this was bad news. She had previously discussed this matter with Kenny, who insisted on bypassing Old Yang entirely and handling it directly without informing him. Little did they know that Old Yang had his own channels and had already learned about it; he had just come from a meeting where it was reported that Antibodies had been brought back. What were they going to do now?
Seeing Su Lan's expression confirmed Old Yang's suspicions about his information being accurate, which only fueled his anger further. "Where is Wang Chengyu?"
"He is in the laboratory." Su Lan was sweating profusely. Even back in her student days, she had been intimidated by Old Yang, and that hadn't changed. Faced with her teacher's questioning, Su Lan panicked; whether she spoke up or remained silent, it would all fall on her.
"Have him come see me," Old Yang said, his tone softening somewhat. He understood his student well enough. If there really was an Antibody and it hadn't been reported to him, it must have been Kenny's decision; Su Lan wouldn't do something like that.
"Okay, I'll go find him now." Su Lan felt a wave of relief. She had some reservations about Kenny's decision, so having the two of them confront each other was the best outcome, sparing her from being caught in the middle.
"Hmph." To her surprise, Old Yang slammed his hand on the table again, displeased. "Why do you have to go personally to relay a message? Should I go find him myself instead?"
"No, no, no! Teacher, please calm down. I'll send someone to notify him." With no other choice, Su Lan activated her communicator and relayed Old Yang's order to Field Duty, instructing them to rush to the laboratory and inform the boss.
Old Yang had nothing more to say. He had vented most of his frustration; after all, Su Lan wasn't the mastermind behind this. Moreover, in front of the young boy, he wanted to maintain a semblance of kindness. After a moment of silence, he exchanged glances with Su Lan across the table.
The atmosphere grew awkward. Su Lan found herself at a loss—she couldn't leave but didn't know what else to say. "Teacher, please don't be upset. It's still uncertain whether the Antibody exists or not. Cheng Yu knows you're busy and probably plans to confirm things before notifying you."
"You don't need to cover for that kid." Old Yang remained unconvinced, puffing out his cheeks and glaring for a while before his anger subsided slightly. He sighed, "That kid is getting bolder and wilder; I'm well aware of that. You can't control him anymore; he hardly listens to me now."
Su Lan nodded silently, recalling certain matters that weighed heavily on her heart. She decided to skip over that topic and asked, "Teacher, if the Antibody really does exist, what do you plan to do?"
"Of course we will start developing a Vaccine; is that even a question?" Old Yang shot her a look and huffed angrily. "Am I supposed to destroy the Antibody? What a joke."
Su Lan didn't dare lift her eyelids for fear that Old Yang would see through her thoughts. Cold sweat trickled down her back as she silently reflected: You are right; your precious student is indeed planning just that.
"It's been three years now; the longer it goes on, the harder it becomes to control the situation. Just look at what Cheng Yu has done." When discussing these matters, Old Yang's tone carried deep helplessness and fatigue. He sighed, "Aso, let me tell you something I shouldn't say: I increasingly feel like I've been led around by Cheng Yu from start to finish."
"Teacher..." Su Lan's expression stiffened as she was about to speak when Old Yang waved his hand, signaling her not to elaborate.
"It would only make me a laughingstock; let's not mention it." Old Yang picked up his teacup and took a sip, reflecting sadly, "I'm getting old and starting to feel overwhelmed. In the past, I led Cheng Yu along; now I can hardly keep up with his pace."
"Teacher, actually we are all in the same boat." Su Lan offered a silent bitter smile as she uttered those inexplicable words.
Old Yang stared at Su Lan for a while, shaking his head as if talking to himself. "This path won't work. Natural laws are irreversible; extremes must reverse. One day, everything will collapse."
A teacher and a student, each speaking words they both understood yet could not articulate, fell into silence. They sat quietly, gazing at their teacups, their eyes slowly drifting to a framed photo on the table. In the picture, Old Yang's face bore fewer wrinkles than it did now; he looked spirited, his triangular eyes sparkling with life, a smile gracing his lips. Two beautiful young women stood before him, beaming at the camera; beside him stood a young man who had not yet donned glasses, looking refined and gentle.
Of the four people in the photo, one had aged, one sat across from him, one was in a laboratory, and one was nowhere to be found.
A young boy sat quietly in a chair. Once lively eyes now held a depth that belied his age, reflecting an understanding beyond his years. The conversation of the two adults nearby seemed to disturb him not at all; he remained still as a stone, untouched by the world around him.
After a long while, the communicator on the table lit up. Su Lan pressed the call button, and Field Duty's voice came through.
"We've found the person. Should we bring him up?" Field Duty asked.
Old Yang erupted in anger. "Isn't it obvious? Do you expect us to stand outside and talk?"
"Yes, yes! I'll bring him up right away." Field Duty seemed to have suffered an unwarranted misfortune; the gentle Su Lan who had left was now replaced by an irate old man upon his return.
Su Lan was startled by Old Yang's outburst and suddenly remembered something important. She waved her hands hurriedly. "Teacher, it's not Cheng Yu."
"What?" Old Yang paused in confusion.
Su Lan grew anxious; amidst all the commotion earlier, she nearly forgot what she had instructed. Swallowing hard, she explained, "It's someone I asked Field Duty to find—an old friend."
"An old friend?" Old Yang's expression turned increasingly strange as he eyed her suspiciously. "How come I didn't know you had old friends in this dead city?"
"Oh come on, Teacher, that's none of your concern. You should go inside and wait for Cheng Yu; I have some personal matters to attend to." Su Lan was at a loss for how to explain further and hoped to distract Old Yang.
Old Yang blinked with an amused expression that suggested he found her evasiveness curious. "Personal matters? With a man?"
"Ah." Su Lan replied instinctively but noticed an unusual look on Old Yang's face and felt embarrassed. She scolded playfully, "Teacher, that's quite disrespectful!"
"Dead girl, how dare you speak to me like that?" Old Yang didn't get angry; instead, he smiled helplessly, pulling the little boy up and sighing, "I won't interfere in personal matters. Cheng Yu probably won't be back for a while. I'll go rest inside, call me when he returns."
"Alright, alright, you two can take a nap here," Su Lan hurriedly stopped Old Yang from leaving, leading him and the little boy into a small partitioned area of the office. The partition had a bed; Kenny was usually not around, and Su Lan felt lonely sleeping in the bedroom alone. So she set up this partition in the office. The other bedroom was where she and Kenny shared intimate moments, filled with many embarrassing things that naturally couldn't be shown to an old man with a child.
Old Yang didn't bother to ask too many questions; at his age, when fatigue hit, he couldn't care less about anything else. He lifted the curtain and stepped inside.
Su Lan finally let out a sigh of relief. After putting down the curtain, she felt a bit anxious again. The soundproofing wasn't great, making it somewhat inconvenient to talk here. However, she quickly reassured herself; Old Yang wasn't interested in matters outside of research, so whether he could hear or not didn't really matter.
After finishing all this, the sound of a door opening came from outside the hall. Moments later, two Field Duty officers appeared at the door, escorting someone.
Even though she was mentally prepared, seeing him face-to-face still stirred her emotions. She put down her teacup and stood up, waving for the Field Duty officers to leave. They exchanged silent glances before both shook their heads and smiled bitterly.
"Long time no see," Su Lan said.
"Hope you've been well," Ming Junwei replied.
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