Deanna agreed with Lance's words. After all, learning is endless. As long as she kept learning diligently, today's incident wouldn't happen again.
Seeing that Deanna was comforted, Lance shifted the topic to another matter. "The list of herbs you gave me earlier, I found a supplier who has what you need."
"Really?" Deanna looked over in surprise. It wasn't surprising she was so shocked; after all, the herbs she needed were numerous and precious. Finding a supplier who could meet her needs was almost impossible.
Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel a bit skeptical. "Is the supplier reliable?"
"Yes, it's the third-largest herb supplier in Klidphis. You got lucky; this batch of herbs had been ordered by someone else, but they canceled at the last minute. I heard about it and reserved it for you. Of course, if you're not convinced, you can visit Klidphis yourself," Lance explained while holding Deanna.
Deanna hugged him and smiled lightly. "Of course, I trust you. Thank you for finding a supplier so quickly."
"Thank me?" Lance raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Do we need to be so formal with each other?"
Deanna giggled without saying a word. Seeing her like this, Lance couldn't help but feel his heart melt with tenderness and affection. "I really can't do anything about you. But I don't want us to draw such clear lines between us next time. Even though we're not married yet, we're already like a married couple. So, I hope we can share everything between us in the future. Understand?"
"Understood," Deanna nodded sweetly.
With that, their car arrived at the estate while they were talking. Back in her familiar room, Deanna felt exhaustion wash over her, yawning continuously.
Lance noticed and urged her, "It's late. Go wash up. We can talk about other things after you wake up."
"Okay," Deanna nodded and went to the bathroom.
She slept straight through until noon the next day. When she woke up, she found that Lance was no longer in the room but had left a note on the bedside table.
"Seeing you sleep so soundly, I didn't have the heart to wake you. I've already taken leave from the research institute for you. You can go there in the afternoon."
Reading the note, Deanna smiled sweetly and walked out of the room.
Downstairs, Old Ashley saw her and asked with concern, "You're up. I've kept lunch warm in the kitchen."
"Thanks, Grandma. I'll eat and then head to the research institute," Deanna said playfully as she hugged Old Ashley and walked towards the dining room.
Old Ashley watched her back and called out with concern, "Aren't you resting today? I heard you were busy until late last night."
"Not today. The research project has just started, and there's a lot to handle. I'll rest once everything is sorted out," Deanna replied without turning back.
Old Ashley didn't press further after hearing this.
Later, after finishing her meal, Deanna went to the research institute. Entering the lab, she saw Lionel busy inside.
The other assistants also greeted her respectfully upon seeing her.
"Ms. Jones."
"Miss Jones is here."
Lionel turned his head at the sound and smiled lightly. "I thought you weren't coming today."
"How could I not come? What's the progress?" Deanna responded and got straight to business.
Lionel reported truthfully, "We just started the extraction process. Next, we need to observe."
Hearing this, Deanna nodded and then shifted the topic. "Since we need to observe, there won't be any immediate steps forward. I found a herb supplier who can provide what we're missing, but I'm a bit uneasy and plan to check it out myself."
"I'll go with you," Lionel instinctively offered.
But after saying it, he realized it wasn't feasible. Given that the project had just started, both he and Deanna couldn't leave the institute simultaneously; one of them had to stay.
Indeed, Deanna declined his offer for the same reason Lionel had thought of earlier. "The project has started; if both of us leave, there won't be anyone overseeing things here."
"I understand. Be safe," Lionel nodded.
That evening, Deanna told Lance about her plan to visit Klidphis.
"I want to check out the herbs myself. It's not that I don't trust your choice; I want to discuss a partnership with this supplier," she explained.
After these two purchases, she felt it was necessary to establish a partnership with a large herb supplier to secure her own supply chain. Especially since the research institute would need more and rarer herbs in the future, she couldn't always rely on others.
For instance, if Lance hadn't happened to find this supplier for her this time, the research at the institute wouldn't have been able to proceed.