I scan my ID and nod at the security guard as I walk into the research center. The cold lobby air slaps me straight in the face. Great. Just what I need. My cheeks are still damp, and my eyes sting like someone rubbed chili powder in them.
Tch. All this crying messed up my makeup. My eyeliner's probably halfway down my neck. And my eyes? Red like I pulled an all-nighter crying to a heartbreak playlist.
Why did Tang have to show up today, of all days?
And thanks to him, my secret blood test plan? Totally delayed. Again.
I step onto our lab floor, and chaos greets me like a surprise party I never asked for. Papers flying, voices overlapping, people pointing at screens like they're trying to summon a miracle.
No wonder it's a mess. Nobody here knows what they're doing. Who to report to, what rules to follow—just another beautiful day at the National Biological Research Center.
Then I hear it.
"Oh my, my dear, what happened to your eyes? Did you cry? You cried, didn't you? Baby, who made you cry? Just give me their name—I'll handle it!"
Yuyu.
I let out a tiny laugh, shaking my head as I wave her off. "It's nothing. I'll go wash my face first… then I'll help you clean up this disaster."
She squints at me, hands on hips like a mom catching her kid red-handed. "You sure?"
"Yeah." I nod and try to smile. It's wobbly, but it counts. "Just give me a minute."
I turn on my feet and head for the washroom, trying not to let the tears sneak back in. I hold my breath. I hold myself together. Barely.
Sigh…
Cold water splashes against my face. I let it drip down, clinging to the edge of the sink like it's the only thing keeping me upright. My reflection stares back—soaked face, red eyes, zero life left in them.
"Get it together, Yunhua," I whisper to myself.
I breathe in through my nose, sharp and deep. Then let it out, slow. Okay. Time to pull the team together, deal with the data chaos, and tonight, no matter what, I'm testing Jiang's blood.
I grab a tissue, pat my face dry, then pull my hair back and fix it into a tight bun. I give the mirror a nod like it's my personal cheerleader.
"Besides," I mutter, "Jiang's being a good boy today. No apartment disasters, no sudden park escapes. So it's fine if I go home late."
My chest still aches, but I square my shoulders. I step out of the washroom like I've got everything figured out—even if I'm just barely holding it all together.
"Dr. Yunhua… Dr. Yunhua… Dr. Yunhua!"
It's like a chant. A never-ending loop of voices calling me, needing me, handing me files, asking questions I don't have time to answer.
Just like that, half the day disappears.
Finally, it stops. Like someone hit pause on the chaos.
Lunch break.
"Yunhua, let's go to the canteen, what do you say?" Yuyu asks, placing a file aside and stretching her arms with a tired sigh.
"Ahh, Yuyu… I just have a quick thing at NSRO. You go ahead and eat lunch—I'll be back in two hours."
Her eyes narrow a little. "Hmm… okay. But eat something on the way, alright? I'll handle things here."
I step over and wrap her in a quick hug, my bag already slung over one shoulder. "Thank you, dear. I'll be quick."
She hugs back and taps my arm gently. "Don't stress yourself with work, baby."
I smile and wave as I head toward the exit.
She says that like I know how not to stress.
I hurry myself and reach NSRO, weaving through the hallway with my ID badge barely swinging straight. The building's quieter than NBRC, but not by much. As soon as someone spots me—
"Miss Yunhua! Miss Yunhua!"
Ugh, no. Not now. I didn't come here for this!
I slow my steps, try to wave them off, but the crowd still pulls me in. "Ahh wait, wait—what happened now?"
Mr. Shang steps forward, closing his tablet with a relieved sigh. "Miss Ling Yunhua, it's great you're here! You see, like I mentioned in yesterday's online meeting—Mr. Xian isn't here today."
"I remember. But you're here. So are the others. So what's the issue?"
He grimaces. "Well… Mr. Yun, Mrs. Qin, Dr. Yeang—they're all suddenly reassigned to another project. They left me with a few instructions but…"
My brows furrow. "Wait, what? All the senior astronomers? Reassigned? Just like that?"
Yeah no—something definitely feels off.
Mr. Shang scratches his head and shifts the files in his hands. "Exactly. It's chaos. I mean, everyone's doing their part, but no one knows what comes next. Mrs. Qin told me to collect all the reports and organize them, but then what? I don't know who I'm supposed to send these to or what protocols to follow without further direction!"
He throws his hands up, clearly frustrated. "I'm not Mr. Xian. And I'm definitely not you—I can't just… manage things."
I sigh, gripping the bridge of my nose. Why does everything collapse the second I turn my back?
"Miss Yunhua—!"
"Miss Ling—!"
"Miss Ling Yunhua—!"
One after another, like I just stepped into a press conference instead of a research facility.
I raise my hand. "Okay, okay—slow down! One at a time, please."
They start pouring in, question after question, all rapid-fire. About signal readings, satellite interference, code discrepancies—ugh, these people are way too smart to be acting this clueless. I mean, I know they're not helpless, they're just... panicking.
"Miss Yunhua, about the signals from—"
"Oh, Mr. Jun!" I cut in quickly, holding up a palm. "Wait. I'll handle that signal issue for you. But can you do me a small favor instead?"
His face lights up like I just offered him a cheat sheet. "Oh, absolutely! That'd be really helpful. What do I have to do?"
I smile sweetly. "I just need proper, detailed images of all constellations and galaxies—every quadrant we have available."
His mouth falls open. "What??"
"Shh!" I hush him quickly, glancing around.
He leans in, whispering urgently, "No, I mean—all of them?? Do you know how massive that is?"
I nod, still smiling. "I know. That's why I asked you, Mr. Jun."
He groans quietly, already regretting his excitement. "You tricked me."
"Think of it as a challenge! I believe in you."
And just like that, he sulks away with his tablet, muttering under his breath.
Ugh, I know exactly what Mr. Jun must be thinking right now—two trillion galaxies?! If each image is full resolution, I'm asking for over 1 or 2 terabytes easy. Which means he'll need to get me access to all the NSRO servers. Maybe even borrow some from the other research centers too.
Too bad.
That's the only way.
I need those images. Jiang will take one look and be like, "Oh, that? That's my neighbor's galaxy. I'm from three spirals left." Or something weird like that. Who knows how alien space directions work.
I press my lips together, suppressing a smile as I walk away from the crowd.
Perfect plan. Absolute genius.
I mean, Jiang literally does nothing all day but watch stupid romance dramas and copy their characters. He better be useful once in his life.
Now, all I need to do is sneak him the data tonight... and hope he doesn't say something like "Oh yeah, this is ancient. My planet moved last century."
After freaking six hours—yup, six long, brain-melting, chaos-packed hours—and like a hundred missed calls from Yuyu and the team at NBRC, finally... Mr. Jun shows up.
He walks in with the most exhausted face I've seen all day. His shoulders are slumped, his eyes have dark circles, and he's holding... a tiny piece of paper like it's a sacred scroll.
"Ah, Miss Yunhua," he says, half alive, handing it to me. "Here. This is your cheat code. I've written the access key. You can enter all the server archives you asked for… just make sure your PC doesn't blast, okay?"
I blink. "Wait, really?"
He nods dramatically, like he's about to collapse. "Yes. But if your screen catches fire, I'm not responsible."
I burst out laughing. "Haha! Thank you so much, Mr. Jun! I knew you could do it!"
He gives me a tired smile, like, "Yeah, yeah, just remember me when I die of overwork."
I waggle the little paper at him and grin. "I'll see what I can do about your promotion, okay?"
He raises a thumb, already turning to leave. "I'm going to nap under a satellite dish. Don't call me unless Earth is under attack."
Fair.
I clutch the paper like it's gold. Alright, time to get those galaxy images and finally solve one alien mystery.
It's already 8 p.m.
Perfect. Time to sneak into NBRC and finally run that blood test on Jiang's sample.
Poor Yuyu... she must be dying there alone, handling that storm of a lab by herself.
I rush back and swipe into the building, jogging through the quiet hallway.
But as I push open the lab door—
Dead silence.
Everyone's sitting like zombies, eyes glued to their screens, faces pale, fingers moving like they've forgotten how to be human.
Then someone suddenly lifts his head and groans, "Ah! It's our Dr. Yunhua! We're saved!"
And thunk!—he slams his forehead right into the desk.
I flinch. "Oops… I guess that's my fault…"
Yuyu marches up to me. Her hands grab my shoulders tight. Her smile is so sweet it's terrifying.
"Yunhua," she says, voice low. "You said two hours. TWO."
Gulp.
"I'm sorryyy, Yuyu! Really! But just like how NBRC senior researchers were suddenly reassigned... same thing happened at NSRO too!"
She blinks. "Wait, what?"
Yeah. Exactly. It is suspicious. Something doesn't feel right with all this.
"Oh dear…" she sighs, rubbing her temples. "So you've been handling that mess the whole time?"
I nod, gently taking the file from her hands. "Yes. But don't worry. I'm here now. Let's wrap things up, okay?"
Her eyes soften. "Oh, thank you, dear… please don't vanish like that again. I thought the aliens abducted you."
Technically… not wrong just wise versa.