Jin Xiangdong got into the car and backed it up a few meters. When he was about to take the turn to the main road, he looked back at the door of the house. Lu Jia’er was waving him goodbye. This scene filled his heart with an upsurge of warm sentiment. At that moment, Lu Jia’er was like his wife who was seeing him off to work.
Jin Xianglan noticed the glimmer of a smile that could not be hidden in his eyes. She could not help but exclaim that love was really magical. In the old days, he knew nothing but work. She had to look at him with a new perspective now that he appeared to be so deeply in love. That being said, she wondered, would this relationship last?
Jin Xiangdong did not ask her about the destination and just drove. “Aren’t you going to ask me where we are off to?” Jin Xianglan said.
Jin Xiangdong kept his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel. “The research center.” He gave a brief reply.
The siblings were still in sync. Jin Xianglan did not really mean to have him chauffeur her around for half a day. Her true intention was to get him checked.
Jin Xianglan smiled. “It’s been almost a year since your last check-up. I want to keep tabs on your physical condition.”
“I am in a perfectly good condition.” Jin Xiangdong answered.
However, Jin Xianglan did not buy it. “I must see the data.”
Jin Xiangdong smiled. “Actually, we could take Jia’er with us,” he said.
Jin Xianglan kept her eyes on her brother. “Being honest with each other is the most basic requirement for a couple. Yet, not everything should follow this principle. To present everything to the other party in a completely unfiltered way may be counterproductive and can be detrimental to the growth of that relationship.”
The corners of his mouth lifted up slightly. “Oh, I see! From now on, sister, please give me more advice like this.”
While Jin Xiangdong put on an expression of asking for guidance, Jin Xianglan had no interest in being his love tutor. She moved on to the next subject. “Are you on a business trip or just visiting home?”
“What if I say neither of them?” Jin Xiangdong asked with a smile.
Jin Xiangdong’s eyes twinkled. However her smile faded into a more stern expression. “What happened?”
Jin Xiangdong did not want to worry her too much now that her expression had changed so noticeably. “Just something minor!” He comforted her, smiling.
Jin Xianglan knew her brother all too well. “Anything minor according to you will be something major! Spill. What is it? Let’s see if I can help!” She proposed.
“Sister, you have helped me more than enough. Let me handle it this time!” Jin Xiangdong rejected her help.
Jin Xiangdong was not just being polite. If it were not for a sister like Jin Xianglan, he might not be able to escape the fate of untimely death, wasting away all his wild range of knowledge, due to his heart condition. Besides, Jin Xiangdong did acquire much understanding of this experiment for Lu Jia’er to recover her memory via genetic means. Given Jin Xianglan’s professionalism, her words were able to sooth his mind.
“I hope all will remain well with you!” Jin Xianglan blessed him.
“Of course.” Jin Xiangdong nodded. “We are forty minutes away from the research center. Take a nap while you have a chance.”
Last night, Jin Xianglan didn’t go to bed until the small hours and she drove over a bit after five this morning. At the moment, Jin Xianglan was sleep-deprived. She closed her eyes to get some rest.
—
At a biological research center in the States.
Jin Xianglan swiped her card to get in and so did Jin Xiangdong.
They headed toward Xianglan Foundation Lab. Judging by the name, one could easily tell that the lab was named after Jin Xianglan. Usually, when a lab was named after someone, those were the only possibilities. One, to commemorate a pioneer in a specific field; or to reward a researcher that had made milestone contributions; and another possibility was that this person was the financial sponsor, that was to say, the donator of the lab’s project fund assigned or gave a name to the lab. Clearly, Jin Xianglan belonged to the first category. She earned this honor because of her great breakthroughs and achievements.