"Professor, I don’t understand this part. Why do we need to peel the beer fruit to extract its seeds? Isn’t the skin more toxic?" Bruce rushed into the lab with a question about a poison formula he had replicated yesterday, one originally created by Ji Nian.
"Professor?" he called again.
He had barged in without even looking around first, blurting out his question, only to realize upon glancing up that no one was there.
"The toxicity is strong, but it disrupts the medicinal properties. Even though the difference is minimal—just 0.5%—it affects the final potency of the poison. That’s why many consider beer fruit unstable and rarely use it."
A head suddenly popped out from a pile of documents.
A tousled head of layered curls, black-framed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Pushing up the glasses that were about to slide off, Ji Nian met Bruce’s gaze.
"Any other questions?"
Bruce gasped. "Professor, why are you sleeping here? If the boss finds out, he’ll lecture you again."
He set down his notebook and hurried over to help her up.
Ji Nian stretched. "No… I just crouched for too long. My legs went numb, and I couldn’t stand."
She waved off Bruce’s assistance, steadying herself after a moment.
Bruce looked at the girl who had now grown to chest height and sighed.
Though he spent most of his time buried in research, even he couldn’t ignore the passage of time.
The most obvious proof was Ji Nian herself.
Now a high schooler, she had grown up without losing any of her charm. Unlike many children who outgrew their cuteness, Ji Nian had expanded in perfect proportion.
Her baby fat had faded, revealing sharper facial contours. Her features still resembled her father’s, but unless they stood side by side, the similarity wasn’t glaring—especially if one ignored her eye color.
Back when she was fourteen, Bruce often felt like the younger one when calling her "Professor" while staring at her childlike face.
Now that Ji Nian had grown, Bruce felt a little better about it.
She pulled out a hair tie to tie up her hair but fumbled, dropping it. As she bent to pick it up, something else fell from her pocket.
Bruce picked it up for her.
…It was Ji Nian’s school ID.
Bruce, who had graduated from school centuries ago: "……"
Yeah, he still wasn’t used to this.
On her way back from the lab, Ji Nian made a detour to the "Doggy Graveyard" (as she called it).
"Da Dan, did you visit my dreams last night asking for chocolate?"
"Living dogs can’t eat it, but dead ones can. I got you a bunch of flavors."
She tossed her braid over her shoulder, crouched before Da Dan’s grave, and arranged the offerings neatly before stroking his photo.
After chatting with Da Dan for a while, she moved to Da Gen’s grave to update him on Ji Tingzhou’s recent antics.
"Uncle Gen, let me tell you—he’s been so unreasonable lately. The other day, I was practicing yoga with my instructor, and he walked by and said my pose looked like a dog peeing!"
"I didn’t even have the heart to tell him that when he meditates, he looks like he’s holding in a crap."
"And also…"
Once Ji Nian started, she couldn’t stop.
"Recent updates" = "complaints."
Only after venting to her heart’s content did she stand up, stretching her numb legs with a satisfied sigh.
Behind Da Gen’s tombstone, Ji Tingzhou—wearing a straw hat—expressionlessly yanked out a weed, sending dirt flying onto his splash-proof face shield.
His tall frame slowly slid into view before Ji Nian, who hadn’t yet registered his presence.
Under the shadow of his hat, his dark green eyes gleamed with unreadable emotion as they locked onto hers.
Her own identical dark green eyes widened in horror.
The girl turned to flee, but her father was faster, snagging her by the collar and hauling her back.
"Holding in a crap, huh? Got a problem with my meditation pose?"
Ji Nian shrank under his glare, avoiding eye contact. "Dad, you misheard. What crap? I didn’t say anything."
Then, eyes widening in feigned outrage: "Where’s your proof?!"
Three years had passed, but Ji Tingzhou looked exactly the same—if anything, his hairstyle had only gotten more refined. Ji Nian sometimes wondered if he was secretly eating preservatives.
Once, while traveling abroad, an old foreign man had even asked if they were twins.
Me and My Dad: The Twin Saga.
Could anything be funnier?
Fully expecting her denial, Ji Tingzhou wordlessly pulled off a glove, took out his phone, and tapped play.
Ji Nian’s voice rang out clearly.
Her eyes bulged. "You did this on purpose!"
"You hid back there like a ghost, not saying a word, just to ambush me!"
"Am I not your favorite child anymore? You’re nitpicking my mistakes—you must have another kid out there somewhere!"
"Now that you’ve caught me, are you gonna kick me out tomorrow? Make me live on the streets?!"
"Ji Tingzhou, I misjudged you! I can’t believe you’re this kind of person!!"
After her dramatic tirade, Ji Nian stormed off in (fake) anger.
The moment she turned, a triumphant smirk flashed across her face.
Ji Tingzhou, who hadn’t gotten a single word in: "……"
Whatever. This wasn’t the first time.
Glancing down at the pile of candy left at Da Gen’s grave, his lips quirked.
He bent to pick out the conspicuously bizarre "shrimp-flavored" stick—no need to poison the poor dog’s ghost a second time.
...
"Huh? Ms. Li is coming?"
Ji Nian, wrapped in a blanket and curled up on her sofa studying a new formula, looked up as Zhiliao entered.
Noticing the girl’s messy hair, Zhiliao reached out to smooth it.
Ji Nian leaned into her touch, letting her fix the stray strands.
Seeing the child she once cradled on her lap now a graceful young woman filled Zhiliao with pride. She patted Ji Nian’s head affectionately.
"Yes. She’s coming to see you."
Ji Nian lowered her eyes. She still hasn’t given up.
Two years ago, during an event, Ms. Li had been targeted by an assassin. Though the bullet missed vital organs, it was laced with poison.
The Ji family, invited to attend, had been present—and Ji Nian, now old enough to appear in public as the heir, had accompanied Ji Tingzhou.
If Ms. Li died, her political rivals stood to gain the most, complicating things for the Ji family.
Even without Ji Tingzhou saying it, Ji Nian had made her decision in an instant.
With the situation critical and no one allowed to leave, she demanded to see Ms. Li. To craft an antidote, she needed to identify the poison.
Her identity as the Ji family’s poison master was thus revealed to the recovering Ms. Li.
The moment Ms. Li learned the truth, she had stared at Ji Nian in stunned silence.
Since then, the woman who once treated her as just another youngster now doted on her like a granddaughter.
Ms. Li finally understood why Ji Tingzhou had refused to "choose" between his daughter and the poison master.
They were the same person. Who could possibly choose?
And then…
She had even hinted to Ji Tingzhou about a "suitable" young relative of hers, around Ji Nian’s age, subtly floating the idea of an alliance through marriage.
Ji Tingzhou had brushed it off, citing her youth—but whether Ms. Li had truly given up remained to be seen…
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