269. Pink Fairy Invasion
Becoming Ling's assistant is a position many scholars dream of.
Countless people have racked their brains to get into his laboratory, but none have succeeded.
Yet, at this moment, Ling has invited a student who hasn't even graduated from high school yet.
"You didn't invite her just because she's pretty, did you?" Mobius narrowed her eyes, her cold, snake-like pupils gleaming with a dangerous light.
"Eh...Eh?!!" Mei looked startled.
"Actually, I think you might be more to my liking," Ling said calmly.
A blush crept onto Mobius's usually cool face, her beautiful eyes widening slightly, seemingly unable to believe these words came from Ling's mouth.
"Although you have many flaws, you are indeed a rare beauty."
"You didn't have to say that!" Mobius glared at him angrily, then turned and left.
Blanca, who had been watching the situation closely from a distance, hurriedly followed Mobius after her as she left.
"Doctor, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but you seem quite happy," Blanca asked suspiciously.
"…Don't ask what you shouldn't ask," Mobius replied coldly.
"Yes, Doctor." Blanca glanced at Ling out of the corner of her eye.
She always felt that Ling might not be as kind as he seemed to be. Could someone who was associated with Mobius really be considered a good person?
And perhaps Ling's separation from Mobius was simply to use her as a shield, at least to conceal what he had done.
This was something not only Blanca noticed, but Mobius had also guessed.
Because Mobius had secretly discovered that Ling had another laboratory, not inside the Fire Moth.
However, the location of that laboratory was unknown, and the things being researched inside were even more unclear.
In fact, Ling and Mobius shared remarkably similar values, so in Mobius's eyes, the Ling she saw at the moment was hypocritical.
This annoyed Mobius. Even if there was something truly shameful, was it really necessary to hide it from her?
Would she really blabber on his little secret?
Their mutual trust fostered an unspoken understanding in their relationship.
Mobius was responsible for creating a stir and drawing attention, while Ling calmly continued his experiments.
At least, that's how Mobius perceived it.
After much deliberation, Mei declined Ling's invitation.
"I'll keep my invitation open. If you join the Fire Moth in the future, I'll reserve a place for you in my lab," Ling said casually, waving his hand.
"Thank you, Dr. Ling!" Mei bowed deeply to him.
Ling nodded, then left to discuss some academic matters with Einstein.
Suddenly, Ling's phone received a text message. Someone had hacked into his computer.
At that moment, in Ling's lab, a pink fairy-like woman, who wished to remain anonymous, stealthily approached Ling's computer.
Looking at the password, Elysia fell into deep thought.
"Ling's birthday or name? Wrong."
"Could it be... my birthday or name? Hmm~ it's definitely not it..."
"Then... Mobius! Wow, it really is! Hehe, I've caught you red-handed."
As the computer loaded, Elysia eagerly opened Ling's file manager.
Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared—a video call.
Ling was coldly watching the scene.
"Elysia, I don't remember authorizing you to enter my lab."
"Ah... uh... you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not Elysia, I'm the pink fairy-like woman, hehe~?"
After a moment of panic, Elysia quickly devised a plan.
She pulled out some tape from somewhere and covered the computer's webcam, hoping to deceive herself.
As long as Ling couldn't see her, she was invisible!
This childish game left Ling speechless, but he was currently in Mu Continent and couldn't return anytime soon.
Fortunately, his experimental data was stored in another lab, where there were no records that could be tracked.
Sure enough, after searching around, what Elysia found were only normal academic papers and research on Honkai serum; there were no secrets at all.
"What! He hid it so well?" The pink fairy stomped her foot in frustration, puffing out her cheeks.
She searched around again, but still found nothing.
"Did you find what you were looking for? Please categorize my things after you're done, thank you," Ling said calmly to Elysia on the other side of the screen.
"Found it!" Elysia suddenly shouted.
"?" Ling frowned immediately. Could it be that he really left something in the lab?
"It's a picture of Mobius sleeping as a child! Wow~ Dr. Mobius was so cute as a child!"
Elysia seemed to have discovered a priceless treasure.
"…That's personal property, please put it down," Ling warned.
"Dr. Ling, you don't want Mobius to find out you secretly took a picture of her sleeping face, do you?" Elysia threatened cheekily.
"Do as you please, as long as you don't destroy the photo." Ling seemed unconcerned that Elysia would reveal this to Mobius.
Seeing that Ling was completely unmoved, Elysia pretended to be indifferent and replaced the photo.
"Hmm, okay, I'll tell Dr. Mobius about this at the next tea party. I think she'll be very happy, right?"
Elysia's voice gradually faded, as if she were moving away from the computer.
Ling took a deep breath, staring at the black screen.
"You won. What do you want?"
"Don't think of me so badly. I just... wanted to understand Dr. Ling a little better. I'll let you in on a secret: I guessed the password to the Mobius computer too—it's your name."
Elysia's voice suddenly rose, clearly having anticipated this.
"You two clearly love each other, so why did you separate?" Elysia asked, voicing her doubts.
"Will you let me go if I answer?" Ling inquired.
"Hmm~ That depends on your answer," Elysia replied playfully.
"I thought you'd ask something more subtle. If it's just this... Miss Pink Fairy, mutual affection is only a prerequisite for being together. It's inclusive of being together. No one says that mutual affection necessarily means being together."
"I'm not entirely satisfied with that answer," Alicia said pointedly.
"...Being together is just one way of relating. Mobius and I get along just as well; we each have our own space and comfort zone."
"So...you actually feel you're too familiar with each other, making it difficult to make a move?" Elysia pressed.
"You could say that if you want," Ling didn't deny it.
Now, allshe needed to do was find a way to get rid of Elysia.
"Emmm, okay, since you called me Miss Pink Fairy, I'll keep this little secret for you."
"That would be wonderful," Ling replied with a hint of gratitude; it was finally over.
Elysia's lips curled into a mischievous smile, seemingly thinking of something amusing again.
...