Gou Wen smiled upon hearing Xia Qingtian's words.
She longed to care for Xia Qingtian herself, to have the chance to compensate for years of neglect, to fill the long void.
Alas, she did not have much time left.
Alas...
Xia Qingtian didn't know what to say seeing Gou Wen like this, only nodding, her nose bridge feeling a slight sting.
This must be the work of fate.
Tang Rui Yang clenched his fists tightly at his sides, his gaze cast down and filled with helpless sorrow.
"Hey!" Er Ya stood at the entrance of the partitioned room, looking at the three of them speechlessly. "What kind of tragic melodrama are you putting on? Are you that clueless? Have you heard of hematopoietic stem cells? Bone marrow transplant surgery, you must know about that, right? No one's going to drain your blood dry, what kind of trashy body-harming plot is this?
Qingtian, are you a scumbag CEO? You'd drain her blood to save your white moonlight?
If novels bleed into reality, I'll call the police, okay?" Er Ya shivered, her tone full of disgust and alarm.
"And you, who are you trying to impress with your self-sacrifice?" Er Ya pointed at Gou Wen. "If the experiment is successful, Da Ya's hematopoietic stem cells can also detoxify you, and you won't die from poisoning. Isn't that a good thing? Why are you being so dramatic?"
Upon hearing Er Ya's words, the three people in the partitioned room froze.
Tang Rui Yang immediately turned to look at Gou Wen, his eyes alight with hope.
Gou Wen was also stunned, could she really survive?
"Uh... I really don't understand," Xia Qingtian awkwardly touched the side of his face. He had been completely misled by Tang Rui Yang's words.
"Just a fingertip's worth of blood! Are you going to dawdle until next year!" Professor Tang's angry roar echoed.
Hearing Professor Tang's voice, everyone immediately got busy.
"Um..." Li Xiao Xiao, standing at the laboratory door with two large bags of packed lunch boxes, asked timidly, "I bought the food, do you... still want to eat?"
"Just put them down first," Xia Qingtian figured no one had an appetite to eat right now.
The comparison of the three blood samples proved that the toxic protein in both blood types had a positive reaction, and the mutated protein had returned to normal.
As Professor Tang conducted the comparison, everyone held their breath, daring not to make a sound.
Only when Professor Tang officially announced the good results did everyone sigh in relief, followed by a wave of hunger.
The rumbling in their stomachs accompanied by everyone's cheers, sounding somewhat humorous.
"Let's eat first, even though... it might be a bit cold," Xia Qingtian said with a dry laugh.
"I paid an extra ten yuan for insulated bags, it should be fine," Li Xiao Xiao said, helping to take out the food and distribute it to everyone.
"They're still warm, that's good," Professor Tang felt his hands, holding the bowls and chopsticks, tremble slightly.
After all these years, his lifelong pursuit had finally yielded results.
His life had not been lived in vain.
Professor Miao glanced at Professor Tang, opened his mouth, and then slowly closed it again.
The sarcastic words never left his lips.
Never mind, let the old fellow be happy for a while longer.
After so many years, he hadn't had an easy time either.
The experiment had achieved initial success. The next step was to obtain sufficient sample data to ensure the subsequent surgery was foolproof.
During this interval, Gou Wen could properly rest and recover from the wound in her abdomen.
For this precious experimental subject, Professor Tang finally tacitly allowed her to rest in the partitioned room of the laboratory and personally took charge of her physical conditioning.
The price was daily blood draws for samples.
Tang You Xi also stayed in the laboratory, as her blood samples were also very important.
Although she had readily agreed, Da Ya, suffering from a headache, was unhappy: Tang You Xi agreed, but what does that have to do with me, Da Ya?!
This place looked cold and scary, she wanted to go home, to go home with Li Xiao Xiao.
She didn't want to be here.
Fortunately, Er Ya was there, ensuring she wouldn't leave Da Ya and would always accompany her.
Li Xiao Xiao also promised to visit often and bring her dolls.
Only then did Da Ya reluctantly agree to become Gou Wen's roommate.
After pacifying things here, Xia Qingtian and Li Xiao Xiao hurried back to class. Although they were forced to miss more than half a class, with the signatures of Professor Tang and Professor Miao proving they were helping in the laboratory, the teachers didn't say anything.
The other students in the classroom, though displeased, could only secretly seethe with envy. They no longer dared to cause trouble.
Neither Xia Qingtian nor Li Xiao Xiao were people they could afford to provoke.
Not to mention that these two had now latched onto Professor Tang and Professor Miao.
It was so infuriating, why were they always the lucky ones!
Meanwhile, in the laboratory, Professor Miao knew that Professor Tang would be busy from now on. He didn't say much, only leaving a parting remark: "You're getting old, don't overexert yourself."
Professor Tang snorted, uncharacteristically not retorting.
Instead, Da Ya and Er Ya made matching silly faces behind Professor Miao.
Professor Tang, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, also showed a rare, faint smile.
He couldn't help but recall his own childhood with that old scatterbrain.
Soon, Professor Tang pushed that memory aside.
Now was not the time for him to reminisce about the past.
The real battle was yet to come!
At the same time, in the partitioned room, Tang Rui Yang brought water to Gou Wen. "Drink slowly, be careful of your wound."
Gou Wen took small sips of water, then looked up at Tang Rui Yang. "Why did you follow me?"
"Why?" Tang Rui Yang placed the cup aside, a self-deprecating smile appearing on his face. "I'd like to know why too. You didn't hesitate at all when you stabbed me..."
Hearing Tang Rui Yang's words, Gou Wen shifted her gaze away from his face.
"But I know clearly, if you truly wanted my life, that one stab would have been enough," Tang Rui Yang took a deep breath and said, "Anyway, you were also stabbed once, so we're even, right?"
Gou Wen was momentarily at a loss for words. The child who couldn't even stand steadily, who would tremble uncontrollably at the sight of blood, had grown into this.
As the one who had raised him, Gou Wen should have felt gratified.
But now, Gou Wen felt Tang Rui Yang's feelings were too heavy, too heavy for her to bear.
"Tang Rui Yang, I..." Gou Wen wanted to explain, but Tang Rui Yang interrupted her as soon as she started.
"Don't say anything," Having spent so many years with Gou Wen, he understood her too well. Saying certain things would only make him feel worse, so it was better not to say them. "Recover from your injury first."
Gou Wen opened her mouth, then slowly closed it again.
The image of the crying child in her mind and the silent man before her gradually merged...
Never mind. After the surgery, if she survived, she would talk about it then.