Chapter 487: All for the sake of science
The next morning, Mingshen arrived in the lab in a good mood. Him whistling a merry tune nearly gave Bojing a heart attack.
"Bo-Boss..." As usual, he peeked from behind a pillar, voice half-tense, half-worried. "W-Why are you whistling?"
Mingshen raised a brow. "Can I not hum a tune I want?"
"B-Boss is in a good mood?" He asked cautiously.
"You can say that~ Does it look like I am glowing?"
Bojing studied him in all seriousness. "You look different..."
He smirked. "I know right?"
His white coat fluttered at his back as he made his way towards his office. Bojing followed him, albeit keeping a safe distance.
"B-Boss..."
Mingshen took his seat at the desk and glanced up, brow raised. "What? You look like you are hiding something."
"I-I-I...I wanted to a-ask...um..."
"Complete your sentence in the next two seconds or close the door on your way out."
"Don’t t-throw me out..." tears pooled in his eyes.
Mingshen took several deep breaths and smiled. "Since I am in a good mood, I will let your slow pace slide. Just for today. So what do you want?"
A blush appeared on his cheeks, his gaze darting left and right out of pure panic. "I wanted t-to ask if I-I could...take a leave...today..." his voice was barely audible at the end.
"Huuh..." his eyes narrowed. "What? A date with your girlfriend?"
Imaginary steam escaped from the top of his head and he stuttered further.
Mingshen tilted his head. "Now that I think about it, where is your girlfriend? I don’t hear you talking about her much these days."
Bojing panicked harder. "I-It’s not like that...! Zexi h-has been busy. After Quantum Games sh-shut down, she got b-busy with searching for a new j-job. We didn’t g-get the time to talk much..."
Mingshen squinted. "Really now?"
He nodded frantically.
A moment later, Mingshen shrugged. "Whatever. Take the day off. Upto you."
From tears, his eyes sparkled with pure joy. "Th-Thank you Boss!"
He turned on his heels to get ready when Mingshen stopped him. "Wait."
Bojing turned back and blinked with his teary eyes. "Yes..."
Mingshen continued tapping his pen against the desk, while his black eyes bore into his very soul.
"A-Am I not allowed to t-take leave, after all?"
"Not that. I was wondering..."
He blinked again.
Mingshen pressed his lips as though trying to find the right words. He gave up in the end.
"Forget it. Leave."
"Are you sure...?"
"Yeah. Go."
So Bojing was about to exit when he was stopped once again. "Wait."
Mingshen’s good mood was now slowly taking the form of an unsaid frustration. "Between you and Zexi, it was her who...who had confessed to you, right?"
The tips of his ears turned bright red and he gave a slow nod. "Sh-She confessed to me! Um...um...i-it was the happiest day of my life..." a fresh fountain of happy tears burst forth his eyes.
"Yeah I can see that," he grimaced. "By the way...how had she confessed?"
"Um...j-just confessed...?"
He shot him a glare. "As in, she would have done something special, right? Like...setting the mood or something. Or planning a date."
"I-It wasn’t anything special...I was just h-helping with her studies a-and then Limei..."
"The little chili’s little chili?"
He nodded. "Sh-She kind of m-made that atmosphere a-and we ki-ki-ki..." he blushed as if every last drop of blood rushed to his cheeks.
"Yeah, I got it with all that rosiness and stuttering."
Bojing cleared his throat. "Then sh-she confessed..."
Mingshen’s eyes narrowed. "Just like that?"
"Yes."
"Like...I like you or something."
"Y-Yes...Boss, wh-why are you asking?" He trembled.
Mingshen stiffened for a moment, then waved his hand in dismissal. "Part of my research."
"C-confession is part of y-your lab research?"
He smiled. "What do you know, science is quite vast. Do you have a problem with it?"
He jolted and shook his head vigorously. "N-No problem, Boss! I-I will take my leave-"
He turned around - only to crash into a tall figure. Rubbing the tip of his nose, he looked up.
"Shilin..." he gasped. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry! I am so sorry!!!"
Shilin smiled, gentle and carefree as always. "Senior Lu. You look excited."
He touched his warm cheeks. "R-Really?"
"Yes. Hope you have a good date with Miss. Zexi."
He blushed. "Th-Thank you..."
As soon as he left, Mingshen leaned back on his chair, eyebrows raised.
"Shilin."
He bowed. "Boss."
"One boss bowing before another boss doesn’t fare too well," he smiled.
"Within this lab’s premises, I still work for you, Boss."
"Uh-huh," he then said, "Spicy told me your father will be released from prison soon. The courts gave its ruling."
"Yes, Boss."
"You must be just as excited as my idiot assistant who left."
He smiled. "Most of the excitement would come from my mother. I think she will finally stop drinking. I heard Hou Anming will be released too."
"And you are okay with that?"
"He was always a scapegoat anyway."
"He got too involved with his role of a scapegoat I believe."
Shilin stared at him for half a moment longer. "Depends who scapegoated him. I have a strong feeling that the same ’who’ won’t allow his scapegoat to rot in prison."
Mingshen held a faint inkling as to who he was talking about, but he chose not to clear the air.
Shilin took a step forward. "Boss. I would like to take Yuming back to Huayuan."
He raised a brow, giving it a thought. "She is recovering. I am checking her reports daily. Her heart is stable as of now, but it needs time-to-time monitoring. The next year, especially, is crucial for her. If this time passes without any hiccups, she will be fine."
He smiled. "Indeed. So-"
"But she will stay here for some more. I want to do more tests on her before sending her off."
"Oh. I see."
Mingshen studied his eyes.
"You seem to have some problem with it, don’t you? It feels to me you don’t want her to stay here any longer."
