Seeing this man, Lex was not surprised at all, because he was the eldest brother of the Moretti family, Benson Moretti.
"Hello, sir."
Lex smiled politely: "I'm looking for Miss Melissa."
"What, you're looking for Melissa?"
Benson's eyes fell on the flowers in Lex's hand. He suddenly walked out, closed the door, and said seriously: "Sir, I think we need to have a good talk."
"Melissa is still a child. She's still in school. I don't think she should waste too much time on socializing. Especially, um, you know."
Why do I feel like I'm meeting the parents? Lex chuckled awkwardly and said: "Sir, I'm afraid you've misunderstood. Miss Melissa and I are just ordinary friends. I entrusted her to design an artifact two months ago."
"I left Tingen City for work and only returned these past two days. I wanted to know the progress of that artifact, which is why I'm visiting. It's definitely not what you're imagining."
Benson suddenly realized: "So that's it. I've heard Melissa mention this before. You're Mr. Lex, correct?"
Lex quickly said: "That's right, it's me."
Benson turned around and opened the door: "Please come in quickly. I thought you were a gentleman trying to pursue Melissa."
As he walked into the house, he said: "You know Melissa is still studying. I don't want her to get involved in this kind of thing too early."
Lex nodded repeatedly in agreement.
He followed Benson to the living room and sat down on a set of fabric sofas. Then Benson went upstairs to inform his sister that a guest had arrived.
Not long after, Lex heard footsteps on the stairs, and then a young girl walked in.
Melissa.
She seemed to have emerged from the grief of losing her brother and looked much more energetic than two months ago. Under the light, her face looked slightly fuller, no longer as thin as before.
Her complexion was also rosier, and her skin was glowing, naturally exuding a youthful Qi.
Like Benson, she also had brown eyes. At this moment, Lex's reflection was in her brown eyes. She nodded slightly, a smile playing on her lips: "Good evening, Mr. Lex."
Lex had already stood up when she entered. He nodded slightly and greeted: "Good evening, Miss Melissa. I hope my visit hasn't disturbed you."
"No, we just finished dinner. It's not time for me to read yet." Melissa sat down on the sofa on the other side.
Benson brought two cups of black tea, then said he had something to do and went straight to the study.
After her brother left, Melissa said directly: "You're here for the 'Pressure Bottle', aren't you? I've already made a few finished products. I'll go get them now."
The young girl went upstairs again, and when she returned, she had a cardboard box in her hand. She placed the box on the table and opened it. Inside lay several metal bottles, of various sizes and specifications.
But without exception, they all had a simple, valve-like mechanism at the mouth of the bottle.
They looked a bit like the 'fire extinguishers' Lex was familiar with, but much smaller. Melissa picked one up and said: "I finished the first product two weeks ago. At that time, I sent you a letter with this news, using the address you provided. Unfortunately, I didn't receive a reply from you."
Lex smiled apologetically: "Not long after I asked you to design this item, I left Tingen for work. I only returned today, so I couldn't reply in time. Please forgive me."
Melissa shook her head and said: "It's alright. So, let me explain how to use this bottle."
"Okay."
So the young girl explained in detail how to use this 'Pressure Bottle'. According to Lex's idea at the time, he wanted to store hydrogen in the bottle in advance, and only mix it with air when needed, thereby making the energy in the bottle flammable and explosive.
Therefore, Melissa fully considered this when designing it.
Under the young girl's explanation, Lex quickly mastered the use of the bottle. He sincerely said: "Miss Melissa, your practical ability is very strong. Given time, I believe you will achieve extraordinary accomplishments in mechanics."
Melissa humbly said: "You flatter me. Oh, by the way, I still have a lot of the research funds you gave me left. I've kept a detailed record of every expense for this project, you can take a look."
"Also, please take back the remaining funds."
She took out a notebook and a roll of banknotes.
What an upright girl.
Lex took out the notebook and read it carefully. It wasn't that he didn't believe Melissa, but he felt that if he didn't read it carefully, he would be letting down the young girl's integrity.
On the notebook, in addition to materials expenses, Melissa's 'salary' was also recorded. According to what Lex had agreed with her at the time, a weekly salary of 2 pound. Since the development of this bottle took 6 weeks, Melissa then spent 1 week making several finished products.
Therefore, under salary, she wrote 14 pound.
After deducting the salary and materials costs, Lex's research funds still had over two hundred pound left.
In front of Melissa, he counted the roll of banknotes again and found that not a single copper penny was missing.
"Thank you very much, Miss Melissa, you've helped me a great deal."
Lex took out a 10 pound note from the roll of banknotes and placed it on the table: "This is an acknowledgment of your hard work. Please accept it."
Melissa was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said: "No, Mr. Lex, this is too much."
"Compared to the contribution you've made, this is not much at all. Believe me, this bottle you've designed will shine brilliantly in the near future."
Lex stood up, preparing to leave, but he casually asked: "What are your plans next?"
Melissa bit her lip lightly, as if she had made a decision: "I plan to go to Backlund for further studies. There are better universities there, and I hope to learn more useful knowledge!"
"Excellent decision." Lex gave a thumbs up and said, "Go for it, you will succeed!"
Melissa's face broke into a smile: "Thank you."
"Well then, I'll take my leave."
"Have a good evening."
Lex picked up the cardboard box and, with Melissa seeing him off, walked out the door.
"Is he gone?"
As soon as the door closed, Melissa heard Benson's voice. She returned to the living room and saw Benson tidying up the cups while saying: "That gentleman seemed pretty good, and when you were chatting with him, you seemed very relaxed and happy."
"Benson, what are you trying to say?" Melissa leaned against the wall, looking at her brother.
Benson stood up, straightened his receding hairline, and shrugged: "I'm saying, maybe you could make a few more friends, like Mr. Lex."
Saying that, he looked towards a spot on the sofa: "After all, we can't always dwell on the past, can we?"
Melissa also glanced at that spot.
That was Klein's usual seat. If he were still here, he would probably agree now.
But he was no longer here.