Julius smiled softly when he heard Lilia's firm and unmistakable answer. He was relieved that at least his niece had thought about what she would do with that information. But Julius also felt a little guilty.
As a geneticist, Julius once did DNA tests for Lilia and Sylvia without their knowledge. But he never revealed that to the two of them. He had vowed to take the secret with him to the grave.
The man looked at Lilia thoughtfully, "Generally, the DNA test results will come out in three days. If you are not in a hurry, I can give you the results in three days."
Hearing that, Lilia's face immediately brightened up. She leaned towards Julius excitedly. "Uncle, does that mean you agree to help me?" She asked in disbelief.
Julius laughed at the wide smile on Lilia's face, "Of course! How could I refuse my favorite niece's request? Ah, but…" His handsome face turned serious again.
"But?" Lilia's heart skipped a beat when she heard that word.
"Do you have the samples needed for DNA testing? The sample could be blood, hair, or anything like that which contains my sister's DNA." He asked.
Lilia's face suddenly turned grim. She had no such samples. As far as she could remember, Sylvia had never touched the things around Lilia. They weren't close either, so Sylvia would suspect something if Lilia suddenly approached her.
Julius saw the conflicted expression on Lilia's face and hurriedly said, "Ah, it's okay. You know, I haven't been back to Surabaya at all since I came back to Indonesia. Tomorrow I will go home and visit my sister at the Pangestu Family house."
Lilia looked at her uncle in surprise. She didn't expect that Julius would be willing to help her that far, "Thank you very much, Uncle. You have to be careful so that Mom doesn't realize what you are doing!" Lilia reminded him.
Julius laughed and nodded. He felt a little relieved that Lilia had not prepared a DNA test sample yet. That meant Lilia didn't originally plan on doing the test. Maybe something happened and made her suspicious.
*****
After getting Julius' approval, Lilia's mood immediately improved. The two of them chatted a little longer until their drinks were both finished. Only then did they leave the cafe.
The wind that was blowing hard felt chilling, making Lilia pull her coat tighter. If she was walking with Jean, that man would definitely take off his jacket and put it on Lilia's shoulder. Thinking about her husband made Lilia chuckle.
"Hm? Is there something funny?" Julius asked from behind her.
"Nothing." Lilia shook her head. Then she quickened her pace and stopped in front of Julius, "Uncle, can you grant my one wish?"
The man automatically stopped walking. His expression was filled with curiosity as he asked, "Oh? Why do you use the word 'wish'? What is your wish?"
Lilia straightened her back and looked Julius straight in the eyes, "Uncle, no matter what the test results will be, don't hide the truth from me. Whatever the outcome, I can accept it. The point of my request is, tell me the true results of that test!" Lilia said firmly.
Julius's eyes widened in shock. The little girl who always followed behind him and smiled sweetly at him had now grown up. That realization carried a mixture of joy and sadness into Julius's heart.
"Okay." Julius chuckled with a nod, "I promise you that I won't hide the truth from you, Lilia."
He might have vowed not to reveal the results of the DNA test he had before, but this time was different. In addition, Julius wanted to do one more test to make sure that his test results several years ago were correct.
"But Lilia, I also want you to remember one thing." Julius stepped forward, closing the distance between them. The man stretched out his hand and rubbed Lilia's head while smiling softly, "Whoever you are, you are still my favorite niece. Nothing can change that fact."
Lilia's chest was filled with warmth at those words and her eyes felt hot. When she was neglected by her mother and plunged into sadness, her uncle was always there to cheer her on. She was relieved that Julius hadn't changed after so long.
****
As a legendary doctor, Julius was actually very busy. He and Lilia had only walked a few meters, but he had already been called three times by three different people.
Lilia felt guilty for taking Julius' time. She accompanied her uncle back to his laboratory before saying goodbye. The man again reminded Lilia that he would send her the test results within three days.
"Yes, I will wait for the results." Lilia said while smiling sweetly at Julius. She watched her uncle walk away until his figure disappeared behind the door. Only then did the smile on Lilia's face fade.
In three days, she would find out the truth.
Lilia sent a message to Clifford, asking the man to pick her up at the gate. Then she turned and walked along the path she'd been on by herself. The researchers and students she passed were always looking at Lilia full of curiosity or admiration.
"Since when did our campus have such a beautiful student?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Our campus is just filled with boring people. When will a beautiful woman like her enter here?"
Lilia heard the grapevine conversation of the two students who walked past her. She held back her laughter and shook her head. There were also students who were brave enough to talk to her.
The young man asked Lilia's major and asked her to drink coffee together, but Lilia only showed the ring on her ring finger. The young man immediately turned bright red and ran away from there muttering, "The power of make-up is terrible..."
Another group of youths elbowed each other as Lilia passed. They seemed to want to ask for the woman's number, but none of them were brave enough to come forward. Lilia was overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia. She also had a similar incident when she was still in college. Love stories on campus were still full of awkwardness and sincerity... except for certain cases like William.
When Lilia arrived at the front gate, her cell phone suddenly vibrated. There was an incoming message from one of the chat groups in the Other application.
[Rachel]: "@Lilia, guess where I am!"
Her friend also sent a photo in the group. But before Lilia could see it, Vivi had preceded her.
[Vivi]: "Hey @Rachel, did you also go to Jakarta?!"
It turned out that the picture Rachel sent was a photo of herself at the Soekarno Hatta Airport terminal. Lilia immediately replied to Rachel's message in the group.
[Lilia]: "Are you really in Jakarta right now? When did you arrive?"
[Rachel]: "Hehe, I just arrived today! I'm on a business trip with my boss to discuss a collaborative project."
[Vivi]: "That's amazing! I've never been on a business trip with my boss!"
Vivi also sent crying face stickers with messages. Rachel hurriedly tried to calm Vivi down.
[Rachel]: "I'm only here as an assistant. Think of me as the personal assistant he can mess with!"
[Vivi]: "That's still amazing tho! My boss has never told me to do anything for him!"
Rachel stopped replying after that, perhaps because she was speechless. Lilia laughed out loud as she read their conversation.. She immediately called Rachel to ask her for a meet up.
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