Chapter 188
The next morning, Lucinda didn't go to the office. She went alone to the lab on the west side of the city.
It was a standalone building tucked deep in the alleys of the old district—unremarkable from the outside. But from the second floor down, two basement levels had been carved out, filled with the most cutting-edge equipment in all of Starlight City.
She changed into a white lab coat, locked the door, and stood at the workbench to begin.
Orla's medicine couldn't be mass-produced. Each cycle required micro-adjustments to the formula based on her body's response. Even a fraction off wouldn't work.
To get the right ingredients, she had to do it herself.
At the lab, she weighed medicinal herbs, ground them, mixed them. A row of small vials lined the workbench, each containing powder in different ratios.
She prepared the first three days' worth, sealed them in bags, labeled each with the date and dosage instructions. Only after finishing that did she move on to the next task.
A new order from overseas.
Tamsin had messaged her yesterday. A top-tier client in the jewelry design world had added a new haute couture series to their order.
They wanted three additional pieces on top of the original set. The timeline was tight—the design drafts had to be submitted within the next two days.
She switched to a different workbench, spread out her drawing paper, and picked up a pencil.
She drew for hours. Outside the window, the sky shifted from bright to dim, then from dim to deep. Her hand never slowed.
By the time she set down her pencil after the final stroke and stretched her stiff neck, it was nearly ten o'clock.
Her phone screen was lit up with several unread messages.
The name at the top was, as always, Reginald.
[I know you're busy. I won't bother you. Just let me know when you're done. I'll wait for you.]
Lucinda looked at the message and smiled helplessly.
She typed back: [Done now.]
The moment she hit send, her phone vibrated. A call came through.
She answered. Before she could say anything, Reginald's voice came through. "You're done?"
"Yeah." Lucinda leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. "Just finished a batch of sketches."
"Are you hungry? I'll have someone bring you food."
"No need. I'm heading back soon."
Reginald was silent for a beat, then said, "I'll wait for you."
Before Lucinda could respond, he spoke again. "Lucinda, I missed you."
Lucinda paused, glanced at the time, and said helplessly, "You just saw me yesterday."
"A day is a long time." His voice was earnest. "I want to spend more time with you."
Lucinda didn't respond, but somehow, her mood lifted.
This man and his smooth talk.
She didn't reply, but she stood, gathered her drawings, locked the lab door, and headed out, still talking to him on the phone.
When she got home, she didn't even have time to greet Valencia before collapsing into bed and falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, after washing up and changing clothes, Lucinda came downstairs. Valencia was already in the living room.
Seeing her come down, Valencia smiled and walked over. "Cindy, you're up? Reginald's here. He's waiting for you at the door."
Lucinda froze, then walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and glanced outside.
The black Maybach was parked at the estate gates. Reginald leaned against the car door, holding a bag in one hand.
The driver sat quietly in the driver's seat, ready to go at a moment's notice.
She pushed the door open and stepped outside. Reginald looked up at the sound. The moment his gaze landed on her, his eyes lit up.
She was wearing loungewear—a loose, light beige knit sweater. Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she wore no makeup. She looked relaxed and clean.
But Reginald looked at her, his gaze sweeping from head to toe, then back up again, as if he couldn't get enough.
She walked up to him. "Wait a second. I'll go change."
Reginald looked at her face, soft and clean in the morning light, and his voice dropped. "You don't need to. You look beautiful like this."
His fiancée looked beautiful no matter what she wore.
Lucinda's face flushed for a moment. She didn't respond, just turned and headed back inside.
By the time she came back out, changed, Reginald had already opened the rear door.
Once she got in, he circled around to the other side and slid into the back seat, then signaled the driver to start the car.
As the car pulled out of the estate, Reginald held his phone in one hand and reached over with the other to grab a paper bag, setting it on her lap.
Lucinda glanced down. It was packed full: walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, all neatly portioned into small bags.
A few individually wrapped pastries, wrapped in parchment paper.
A small box of blueberries, washed clean. Next to it, a bottle of warm milk.
She glanced back at him from the front seat. "Did you go out this morning just to get this?"
"I was passing by." His tone was casual, but every single snack in that bag was something she liked.
Lucinda picked up a pastry and took a bite. The crust crumbled in her mouth—sweet but not cloying.
She leaned back in her seat, feeling the sunlight fall warm across her shoulders.
When they arrived at the office, Lucinda had barely sat down at her desk when Fiona pushed the door open.
She was holding a gold-embossed envelope, her face flushed with barely suppressed excitement.
"Ms. Wipere! Look at this!" She set the envelope in front of Lucinda. "A national-level scientific research tour exam invitation! It just arrived—hand-delivered. The seal on the envelope is stamped with the National Academy of Sciences of Astoria's official emblem!"
Lucinda raised an eyebrow, picked up the envelope, and opened it. She pulled out the letter inside.
The paper was thick, high-quality. The letterhead bore the emblem of the National Academy of Sciences of Astoria.
Fiona stood beside her, speaking twice as fast as usual. "Ms. Wipere, you know about this exam, right? The national-level scientific research selection exam. Unified questions, unified grading, unified rankings across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people apply every year, from students to professional technicians. But the threshold is incredibly high. Just to pass the preliminary review, you have to submit research results from the past three years and at least two core journal publications. Nationwide, fewer than two thousand people even get a test permit."
Her voice rose several notches. "But this time is different! They're not inviting you to take the exam—they're inviting you to join the judging panel as a chief examiner! Chief examiner, Ms. Wipere! There's never been a precedent for this. A civilian being directly invited into the chief examiner panel. Do you know what this means? It means your research credentials have been officially recognized by the National Academy of Sciences of Astoria!"
Lucinda's gaze moved down the letter, line by line.
She pressed her lips together, listening to Fiona's excitement, but didn't say anything right away.
Fiona stood beside her, watching her calm, unbothered expression, and couldn't help but feel anxious on her behalf.
"Ms. Wipere, this is the National Academy of Sciences of Astoria! The top scientific research institution in the country! In past years, the chief examiners were all white-haired old academicians. You're the first young person to be directly invited. This is a tremendous honor!"
Lucinda set the invitation on the desk, her gaze resting on that line of text. She was quiet for a long moment.