Chapter 40

Her tone was sharp, snapping at the communicator. The person on the other end froze, unable to speak for a long moment.

"Not talking? I'm hanging up!"

"What's wrong? Why so fierce?"

Asher's voice was low, as if afraid of being overheard, and it sounded almost aggrieved.

Of course, Wu Ying didn't feel sorry for him at all.

This dog of a man had run off right after eating, leaving not a single message, and the moment he walked out the door, he'd turned into a missing person.

Wu Ying was already annoyed to death. The experiment was frustrating enough, and this man was still bothering her. Not cursing him out was already the mark of excellent upbringing.

"Do you think you're the only one who's busy? I'm busy too, and I'm in the middle of something right now. If you have something to say, say it."

Her tone was icy cold, coupled with a cold little face. Wu Ying's intimidating posture was spot-on, but the voice call failed to convey her full intimidating presence.

Asher stared at the Light Brain—no figure in it—but he still lost himself for a moment.

There was actually nothing wrong. It was just that he hadn't received any news from Wu Ying in a long time, and it made him feel uneasy. He'd sent her several messages without any reply, and he was just a little worried.

Wu Ying silently rolled her eyes. Worried? Where was this worry before? Why was he being so thoughtful all of a sudden?

"I'm at home, so what's there to worry about? You'd better worry about yourself instead."

Wu Ying said through gritted teeth, her hair flying everywhere, vividly embodying a ferocious look.

"Alright, I understand."

Asher's calm voice came through the Light Brain, as if nothing Wu Ying said could make him angry.

But his words made Wu Ying quite angry instead.

What did he mean? Did he think she was worried about him? What did he mean by "I understand"? Had she just said something like "don't worry about me, take care of yourself"?

Wu Ying's face scrunched up in anger. She hissed ferociously, "You don't understand a damned thing."

Asher listened and couldn't help but laugh out loud. His stern face, like a melting iceberg, suddenly brightened. He rubbed the warm pen in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Wu Ying, let's video call."

Video? His low, magnetic laughter still echoed in her mind, making her ears tingle. The refusal she was about to speak slipped back into her stomach.

What should she do? He was seducing her again. Wu Ying frowned in indecision, and a moment later, the communication cut off, followed by a video call appearing on the screen.

Wu Ying bit her finger, her mind filled with Asher's face paired with his low laughter, surrounding her in all directions. Setting everything else aside, this man truly was a rare specimen.

Still, her moist finger, which she'd bitten, uncontrollably tapped the connect button. A magnified, handsome face suddenly appeared before her.

He had changed backgrounds again. This time, it was a broken wall covered with traces of gunfire, mixed with the dark brown blood of the insect race.

Wu Ying looked at him curiously. Asher was actually video-calling her in such an environment, without any urgent matter.

"Are you home?"

Asher gazed at the tiny figure in the Light Brain, his eyes softening faintly. Outside, he didn't want to project her image, so she could only appear on the small interface. It wasn't ideal—he always felt he couldn't clearly see Wu Ying's expression.

She tilted her head, her bright eyes gleaming with curiosity as she openly examined him, her nose slightly wrinkled, as if hesitating over what to say.

Wu Ying couldn't be bothered to answer him. She'd already said she was home, so why ask again? What she was curious about right now was why Asher had called her for a video. How should she ask?

She got up, took off her research coat, closed the lab door, and walked toward the living room. The house was so quiet that only the faintest hum of machinery could be heard, while the sound of Wu Ying's footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Asher didn't rush her. He quietly watched as Wu Ying walked alone from the lab to the living room. She'd carelessly tied up her hair, revealing her clean neck. She seemed a little tired, turning her head to loosen up.

Finally, Wu Ying reached her destination—the sofa in the living room, with a glass of water on the side table.

"Where are you? Why did you suddenly video-call me?"

Wu Ying collapsed onto the sofa, found the most comfortable position, and then spoke.

She pulled Asher's projection closer, not missing a single change in his expression. When the distance was just right, she reached out and pinched the projection's face, watching Asher's expression shift accordingly. Wu Ying smiled in satisfaction.

Asher saw her reaching out—even though she was still just a tiny figure on the small screen of the Light Brain—yet his face felt as if she'd actually pinched it.

"Hurry up and answer me. I'll give you five seconds. Five, four, three..."

"I'm on the defensive line. You didn't reply to my messages, so..."

Asher looked serious, as if he truly believed that.

Wu Ying cut him off. "I know. You missed me. Hmph, didn't you leave quite stylishly before? Now you know you miss me?"

She spoke one sentence after another, so fast that Asher couldn't get a word in, her words direct and embarrassing.

Asher didn't know how to respond to her.

"Asher? Honey? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Wu Ying squeezed her voice, sweet and clingy, her eyes full of laughter, deliberately teasing him like a little hook.

"Say what?"

"Say that you missed me! I miss you so much. You don't even know that I dreamed of you last night. I told you not to go, but you left without mercy. I was so heartbroken!"

Lies. She was so exhausted she'd slept without a single dream, no time to dream at all.

Asher's throat was dry, his voice like a lump of cotton stuck there. His pitch-black eyes widened slightly, his gaze fixed firmly on her face, but after thinking for a long while, he still said nothing.

"Say something!"

Wu Ying felt a little embarrassed and got angry instead. This man on the other end had no reaction at all, making her feel like a clown performing a one-woman show!

Bastard!

"Mm."

"You're sick! What the hell is 'mm'?!"

Wu Ying was so angry her brows were practically standing on end. She swore that if Asher didn't make her feel better today, she wouldn't let him off.

"I'm not. Don't be angry."

"I said so much, and I even told you what I wanted, yet you still pretend you can't hear me! You're doing this on purpose! You deliberately want to make me angry! You can't stand to see me happy. I think of you and miss you every day, hoping you're well, but you're so bad—you just want me to be unhappy. How can your heart be so poisonous!"

Wu Ying was so furious she said whatever came to mind, mixing lies, truths, and angry words together, just trying to provoke him into speaking.

"Don't talk nonsense. Don't rush."

Asher naturally knew Wu Ying's temperament, and why someone so small could have such a fiery temper.

He glanced around, then couldn't resist taking a few more steps toward a corner.

In the few steps Asher took, Wu Ying's teary eyes appeared on the video, her grievance practically piercing through the screen to stab him.

"Asher!"

This man was infuriating. If he were in front of her, she could at least punch him a few times to vent, but now she could only rage helplessly.

Sure enough, being led astray by good looks would ultimately cost you. She shouldn't have answered this call!

But hanging up now would feel like such a loss.

She'd originally wanted to tease him, but she hadn't expected that this man could hold his ground so well outside—not changing his expression or his heartbeat. So infuriating!

"I'm here. Don't be angry."

"That's all you ever say. I'm not satisfied." Wu Ying glared at him, paused, then said fiercely, "Say anything else, and I'm hanging up."

Asher leaned against the wall, where it was darker and more secluded. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Though Wu Ying was about to explode, Asher actually felt a hint of secret joy. The fire blazing in her bright eyes seemed to ignite him completely.

"Don't hang up. I miss you too."

Wu Ying pursed her lips. He could have just said it, but adding "too" annoyed her to no end.

"Doing experiments at home? If you're tired, get some rest." Perhaps the darkness gave him a sense of safety, so Asher said more than usual. "Where's Jiujiu? Why isn't it keeping you company?"

Wu Ying curled up on the sofa, not wanting to entertain him, her voice languid. "It's in the flower room, helping me plant flowers."

"Then install a new system for Zhi Yangyang too. The house is too quiet, and you don't like that, right?"

Asher was unusually thoughtful, but Wu Ying declined, feeling that having Jiujiu was enough.

Wu Ying calmed down. Her eyes wandered around his face for a moment, then lazily drifted to her own hands—the hangnails on her fingers were more interesting than him.

"I'll be back in a week."

On the screen, Wu Ying kept her head lowered, twisting her delicate white fingers, showing only half of her profile, her lips pouting, still looking quite upset.

"If things go smoothly, I can come back earlier."

Wu Ying shot him a glare. Did anyone want him back that badly? She was busy too. Only he was the big busy man...

A flood of complaints ran through her mind, but Wu Ying was too lazy to voice them. This self-important man relied on his face for attention. Hmph, did he think she was that shallow?

"Hmph, who cares about you. I'm hanging up."

Asher didn't have time to say anything before the call was cut off. Wu Ying's face vanished from the Light Brain. Asher's mouth was slightly open—perhaps he wanted to say something.

But Wu Ying was too quick with her hands.

If she'd truly wanted to hang up, she wouldn't have talked so much.

After hanging up, Wu Ying's mood wasn't high either. She reopened the chat window, looked at the "essay" she'd almost sent Su Yi for a while, thought it over, and decided against it.

Finding a team could wait for now.

After lying down for a bit, Wu Ying still got up and headed to the flower room.

The warm sunlight streamed down from the glass ceiling, scattering across petals of every color. Even the hibiscus seemed to be breathing, a vibrant vitality filling the flower room, fragrant and rich.

The moment Wu Ying stepped in, she was so enchanted she just wanted to lie down.

"Master~ did you do experiments last night?"

Jiujiu bustled out from the depths of the flower bed with its little steps, holding a shovel and nutrient solution in each hand, a big smile on its face.

Wu Ying couldn't help but reach out and pat its head. It was her dear little gardener, after all.

"Jiujiu, you've worked hard. Luckily I have you, or I'd be swamped."

Jiujiu giggled and said it wasn't hard, looking as if it would gladly serve Wu Ying body and soul.

Wu Ying sauntered slowly through the flower room with her little follower, finally stopping at the southernmost corner. There stood a peony, its branches bearing flower buds that hadn't yet opened, already withered to yellow.

She casually pinched off a small withered yellow petal, brought it to her nose, and breathed in the smell of decay and death.

She sensed that only the roots of the peony still held a spark of life. If she continued using the cultivated soil and nutrient solution, this peony wouldn't survive.

"Sigh, this is already the sixth version of the experimental soil. Little peony, what exactly do you want? I really have no idea what to do with you."