That day, Deanna had just finished resting and was preparing to switch shifts with Lionel. As she reached the laboratory door, it opened from the inside before she could knock. Lionel came out, looking excited.
"Deanna, you're here! I have great news-the cultivation of Element I was successful!"
"Really? It actually succeeded?" Deanna's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.
Lionel nodded again, confirming, "Yes, it really succeeded. I'm going to inform Mr. Martinez."
With that, he hurriedly ran out. Within minutes, the three of them were carefully extracting Element I from the culture chamber.
For the rest of the day, they worked on the final stages of their research, incorporating Element I into the medicinal herbs, extracting the active ingredients, and placing them in the same test tube with cancer cells to await microscopic observation results.
During the waiting period, Deanna asked, "Master, once the special medicine is made and goes through clinical trials, how long will it take before it can be released to the market at the latest?"
"It usually takes more than six months since it's a new drug and requires patient observation," Mr. Martinez replied with a gentle smile. "Your grandmother's condition has been stable, so there's no need to worry."
Deanna nodded, indicating she understood.
Since the microscopic results would take three days to come out and everyone hadn't been home for a while, Gunner generously gave everyone in the lab a three-day break.
When Deanna returned home, she saw Samantha chatting with her grandmother on the sofa, with Gregory and Chloe sitting obediently beside them.
She was a bit surprised and asked, "Didn't Gregory and Chloe go to school today?"
"Mommy, you're back!" The two children looked over in surprise and jumped off the sofa, running joyfully towards Deanna.
Deanna hugged them both and asked, "Were you good while Mommy was away? Did you listen to Great-Grandma and Grandma?"
"We were very good, but we missed you so much," Chloe said, shaking Deanna's hand playfully.
Gregory pouted and complained, "Mommy, Daddy bullied us. We could have brought you breakfast together this morning, but Daddy hogged you all to himself and didn't take us."
"Really? When your daddy comes back, I'll scold him for you," Deanna said with a laugh, comforting the little ones.
Unexpectedly, they refused. "Mommy, we don't want you to scold Daddy. Just sleep with us tonight instead of Daddy. Let him see but not touch," Gregory said.
"That's right. We won't sleep with Daddy," Chloe agreed, nodding beside him.
Deanna couldn't help but laugh at their antics. Clearly, the two little ones had quite a few grievances against their daddy recently.
After some thought, Deanna agreed to their request. She feared that if she refused, they might cry on the spot.
Old Ashley and Samantha watched the interaction between mother and children with soft smiles.
After some small talk, they all returned to the sofa. At this moment, Samantha remembered something and asked, "Deanna, how many days off do you have this time?"
"Three days. Why?" Deanna looked over in confusion.
Instead of answering immediately, Samantha asked again, "After three days, will you return to the research institute and stay there as before?"
"It's not certain yet. This break is because the project has reached a stage where it's being sent for inspection. If it passes, I won't need to stay at the institute as much. Otherwise, we'll have to continue researching," Deanna explained, feeling a bit guilty towards the end.
She had been so focused on her work at the institute that she had neglected her family and the children. Was Samantha unhappy with her for this?
Unbeknownst to her, Samantha noticed her unease and felt a pang of sympathy for her sensitivity.
"I was just asking casually; don't overthink it. Also, your wedding with Lance is less than a month away. Shouldn't you start making time for some self-care and rest?" Samantha said soothingly while bringing up what was on her mind.
Deanna was taken aback by this and then scratched her head in embarrassment. "Is it really less than a month? I thought we still had two months."
To be honest, she had been so busy that she had forgotten about the wedding date.
Samantha and Old Ashley couldn't help but laugh at this. It was their first time seeing someone forget their own wedding date.
"I think you've really been working too hard if you can forget something this important," Old Ashley said with a laugh.
Deanna scratched her head awkwardly and promised, "I won't forget again. I'll ask for leave from Master in advance to prepare."
"It's okay. Even if you forget, Lance surely won't. He'll come to the institute to fetch you if needed," Samantha joked with a smile.
Old Ashley chimed in with more teasing remarks about her granddaughter.
Deanna felt so embarrassed by their laughter that she wished she could find a hole to hide in.