Aniyah felt a lump in her chest and her face changed.
Lionel, oblivious to her reaction, continued, "Miss Jones has found a way to merge the properties of two medicines. I need to go observe. If you have time, you should come too. It might give us new insights for our research."
Without waiting for her response, he turned and left eagerly, as if he were going to meet a lover. Aniyah watched him go, feeling a painful tightness in her chest. She bit her lip and eventually decided to follow him. Beyond Deanna's capabilities, she wanted to how Deanna attracted Lionel.
In the lab, Deanna had already secured a workstation and started her experiment.
Once she began, she was completely absorbed in her work. She didn't notice Lionel and Aniyah entering the lab and watching her intently.
Deanna carefully extracted the properties from two herbs using the equipment, placed them into a test tube, and added a few drops of an unknown transparent liquid.
As the liquid mixed in, the previously balanced properties began to merge slowly.
Lionel's face lit up with excitement as he watched Deanna. Aniyah's feelings were mixed; she hadn't expected Deanna to solve a problem that had troubled Lionel for so long in less than a day. No wonder Lionel admired her so much.
Lost in thought, Aniyah was startled by Deanna's puzzled voice, "How could it fail?"
Deanna frowned at the test tube, muttering to herself. Lionel's voice broke in, "Could it be that you added too little of that liquid, causing the fusion to fail?"
Deanna looked up, noticing Lionel and Aniyah for the first time. "Mr. Grant, Miss Woodard, when did you get here?" she asked, though her gaze was fixed on Aniyah as if questioning the situation.
Aniyah forced a smile and said, "Lionel wanted to see how you merged the properties of two different medicines. I was curious too, so we came along. Did I hear you say it failed?"
"Yes, it failed. According to my hypothesis, merging the properties of two different medicines requires a mediator. I chose liquorice because it's commonly used in traditional medicine as a harmonizer. With it, even poisons can be turned into beneficial medicines," Deanna explained while continuing her work.
She poured out the contents of the test tube and placed a sample under a microscope to identify the problem. Lionel and Aniyah stood by quietly, not wanting to disturb her. Lionel's curiosity was piqued by the liquorice on Deanna's table. He remembered her saying it could extract useful properties from poisons and was fascinated but restrained himself due to professional ethics.
After a few minutes, Deanna stepped away from the microscope. Lionel asked eagerly, "Did you find anything?"
"Yes and no," Deanna replied hesitantly.
Lionel pressed on, "What do you mean?"
Deanna looked at him and explained, "The liquorice caused a qualitative change in the properties of the two medicines, preventing their fusion."
"So, liquorice can help merge the properties, but we need to address the qualitative changes it causes?" Lionel summarized.
Deanna nodded, "That's right. But I don't know how to prevent these changes yet. I need to think about it."
"Since Miss Jones needs time to think, Lionel, we shouldn't disturb her," Aniyah suggested.
Lionel agreed and said, "Miss Jones, if you need any help, let my assistant know."
"I will. You two go ahead," Deanna replied, focusing back on her failed experiment.
Throughout the morning, she tried several methods but couldn't prevent the qualitative changes caused by liquorice. Frustrated, she decided to call her master for inspiration. Unfortunately, the phone rang several times without an answer.
"Why isn't Master answering?" Deanna wondered aloud just as the call connected.
Her master's voice came through, "Deanna, what's wrong?"