Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Notification
"That’s enough! If you don’t stop, I’m calling the police. But if you’re not afraid of embarrassing yourselves, then by all means, continue."
The ever-smiling Eugene’s expression turned cold, and the two brawling females finally, reluctantly, let go of each other.
Although they stopped fighting, they continued glaring at each other, their expressions defiant.
It was clear that if Eugene hadn’t threatened to call the police and they weren’t worried about the disgrace, they would have definitely kept on fighting.
Seeing them like this, Doctor Eugene felt mentally exhausted. He said to a staff member nearby, "Take these two to go clean themselves up. The rest of you, take a short break. I’m going to handle something and will be back shortly."
No one else said anything. After all, nobody expected something like this to happen out of the blue. They hadn’t been here for long, and it would be disastrous if these two caused the research to be halted.
So, the others all said it was fine and told Doctor Eugene to go handle it. They could wait.
After returning to his office, Doctor Eugene thought it over and decided he had to inform Duke Lu Xia about what had happened.
Otherwise, he worried that if Duke Lu Xia heard about it from someone else, she would think he was incompetent.
After quietly listening to Doctor Eugene’s report, Lu Xia said, "I understand. I’ll head over in a bit. Don’t worry, problems exist to be solved. You’ve worked hard, Eugene."
She knew very well that Eugene not only had to manage No. 3 Courtyard but also personally lead the research team. A person’s energy is finite, so it was perfectly normal for things to be overlooked at times.
So, she wouldn’t take it out on anyone over such a small matter.
However, this incident made Lu Xia realize she couldn’t treat the female volunteers the way she had before. Even though they were adults, they were strong-willed, independent, and considered themselves the best of the best wherever they went. It wasn’t surprising at all that something like this had happened.
Doctor Eugene hadn’t expected that after hearing about the incident, Duke Lu Xia would not only not blame him for failing to manage No. 3 Courtyard but would actually console him.
He was moved. This feeling of being trusted was truly wonderful.
"Are you really coming over? Is it convenient for you right now?" Thinking of Duke Lu Xia’s current condition, Doctor Eugene was a little worried.
But Lu Xia smiled. "It’s not inconvenient at all. It’s also a good opportunity to let them see what they stand to lose if they can’t behave themselves as volunteers here. I’ll be there in a moment. Just leave this to me and continue with your other work."
"Understood." With Duke Lu Xia backing him up, Doctor Eugene felt an unprecedented sense of security.
Cecil, who happened to be resting at home, heard that Lu Xia was going out and immediately said he wanted to go too.
Lu Xia didn’t refuse and readily agreed.
But just as she nodded, she saw Little Pu Tao looking over, eyes full of longing.
Though the child didn’t say anything, Lu Xia could easily read the meaning in Little Pu Tao’s eyes. She smiled and said, "Does Little Pu Tao want to go out and play?"
Hearing this, Little Pu Tao immediately ran over and hugged Lu Xia. "Can I, Mother?"
"You’ll have to ask if Cecil’s father is willing to take you out. Mother has to handle something in a little while and might not have time to play with you. If your Cecil’s father is willing, then you can go."
Hearing Lu Xia say this, Little Pu Tao immediately let go, turned, and hugged Cecil’s leg. "Cecil’s father, take me, take me!"
Being called so affectionately by Little Pu Tao for the first time, Cecil was overjoyed. He swooped Little Pu Tao up and placed the child on his shoulders. "Let’s go! We’ll go together."
Little Pu Tao immediately burst out laughing.
Cecil glanced at Lu Xia, whose eyes were filled with amusement. He knew, of course, that she was deliberately creating an opportunity for Little Pu Tao to get closer to him.
Once the three of them had changed and arrived at No. 3 Courtyard, Cecil, holding Little Pu Tao, consciously avoided disturbing Lu Xia while she worked.
Instead, he took Little Pu Tao to play in the garden.
Little Pu Tao, who usually only played within the Duke Mansion, was out for the first time and was curious about everything.
Cecil didn’t need to worry much; the child was having a great time all on their own.
When Lu Xia entered from outside, she immediately caught the attention of the volunteers waiting for their examinations.
Her belly, now nearly seven months along, was extremely obvious. Even though she wore loose clothing, it couldn’t hide the prominent curve.
Glancing at the shocked volunteers, Lu Xia turned to a staff member and said, "Gather these people in the adjacent conference room. I’ll be over in a minute."
With that, she pushed open the door to the office and went inside.
"Did you all just see Her Grace’s stomach?"
"I saw it too. That can’t just be from gaining weight, right?"
"It shouldn’t be. After all, besides her stomach, the rest of her is still slim. So, do you think she’s pregnant?"
"Does that mean the natural conception research we’re participating in has already produced results?"
"If that’s true, doesn’t it mean we have a chance too?"
...
Realizing this, everyone’s faces lit up with an excitement they couldn’t contain.
A promising study and a study that has already yielded results are two completely different things in people’s minds!
If they had been hopeful about this research before, now they were filled with anticipation and hope—they were practically desperate.
Before long, all of them had gone to the conference room.
Including the two who had just been fighting.
However, because those two had been cleaning themselves up, they didn’t see Duke Lu Xia right away and naturally had no idea what everyone else was so excited about.
She didn’t keep them waiting long. Lu Xia soon appeared in the conference room with Doctor Eugene.
Now that she had taken off her coat, Lu Xia’s bulging abdomen was even more apparent.
Everyone, in unison, stared at her abdomen. Even those who had seen it earlier were still shocked to see it again.
As for the two females who were just seeing it for the first time, their eyes went wide and their mouths hung open in utter disbelief.
Lu Xia could even hear their sharp intakes of breath.
Without saying a word, she walked to the head of the conference table with Doctor Eugene.
Doctor Eugene personally pulled out a chair for her before taking a seat himself.
After sitting down, Lu Xia swept her gaze over the shocked crowd. "You’ve all seen it, and you’ve probably guessed my current situation. I’m pregnant with twins, a little over six months along, which is why my belly is a bit larger than usual. To be frank with you all, this is my third pregnancy. We achieved results with this natural conception research long ago. We are only now beginning to roll out trials simply to collect more data. To push beyond our current research... even though you aren’t specialists, you should be able to understand what that implies, right?"
