Just as they were about to finish their meal, Deanna's phone rang. It was a call from Lance.
When she answered, Lance's concerned and pleasant voice came through.
"Have you eaten?"
"We're eating now."
Deanna said, pointing her camera at her bowl and chopsticks.
Aniyah noticed the happiness on her face and curiously asked, "Is that your fiancé calling?"
"Yes." Deanna nodded and introduced Lance over the phone, "This is a new friend I met at the research institute. She took me out for dinner and a walk."
Lance heard the female voice and smiled lightly, "You two enjoy your meal and time together. I'll call you later."
Although reluctant, he ended the call.
Deanna put away her phone and saw Aniyah staring at her. Confused, she asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing, just thinking you really have a fiancé. From the way you talked, you must be very much in love."
Aniyah's tone was full of envy.
Deanna found this amusing, "Did you think I was lying to you before?"
Aniyah didn't respond, but her expression said it all.
Deanna was speechless and amused, "There's no need for me to lie about such things."
Aniyah felt extremely embarrassed and wished she could dig a hole with her toes and hide in it.
Seeing this, Deanna decided not to dwell on it.
After finishing their meal, they strolled around the nearby pedestrian street.
Remembering her promise to buy gifts for the two little ones, Deanna dragged Aniyah to a children's clothing store and a toy store.
When it was time to pay, Aniyah beat her to it and settled the bill.
"Miss Woodard, what are you doing?"
Deanna asked in confusion.
Aniyah waited until the cashier returned her card and then smiled, "Consider it my apology to you and a gift for your two children."
Aniyah's apologetic tone made it hard for Deanna to say no.
After about two hours of shopping, they decided to head back.
Aniyah thoughtfully dropped Deanna off at her hotel.
Back in her room, Deanna organized her purchases and went to freshen up.
After her shower, she sat on the bed and called Lance.
When he answered, she saw his tired but handsome face and immediately frowned, "Why do you look so tired? Haven't you been resting well?"
"It's not that I haven't rested well; it's just that I miss having you by my side."
Lance's sweet words made Deanna smile.
"I've made some progress here. I'll try to wrap things up in a few days and come back. Just hang in there a bit longer."
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you."
Lance smiled at Deanna, thinking about how surprised she would be when she saw him the day after tomorrow.
Unaware of his plans, Deanna reminded Lance to take care of himself and the two children. She started feeling sleepy and kept yawning.
"You should rest. I have some company matters to handle."
Lance said with amusement as he watched Deanna on the video call.
Deanna nodded and soon fell asleep in front of the camera.
The next day, Deanna was woken up by her alarm clock. She noticed the video call had ended at some point during the night.
She didn't mind, turned off the alarm, and got up to wash up.
Just as she finished, Lionel called, offering to pick her up for the research institute again.
Deanna couldn't refuse and agreed.
When she got in the car, Lionel handed her breakfast with a smile, "I bought these tacos from a time-honored restaurant. They're delicious. You probably haven't had breakfast yet; give them a try."
"Thank you!"
Deanna accepted the food and hesitated before saying, "Actually, Mr. Grant, you don't need to pick me up. I can take a cab to the institute."
Lionel seemed to have anticipated this and smiled, "That won't do. Your master instructed me to take good care of you."
Hearing this, Deanna was taken aback.
She hadn't expected it was her master's instruction and felt relieved she hadn't said anything else that might have been awkward.
Soon, they arrived at the research institute.
With new leads from yesterday, Deanna quickly immersed herself in her research.
Time passed as she added processed liquorice to two medicinal ingredients. Visible changes began occurring in the mixture.
In less than three minutes, the solution in the test tube almost completely fused.
Seeing this, Deanna smiled with relief, "It's done!"
She exclaimed joyfully and carefully extracted a small amount of the solution to observe under a microscope.