power failure
The news released by Lu Yan spread like a drop of ink into clear water, quickly infiltrating and permeating the industry. Although Linda's team issued a solemn statement and prepared legal documents immediately, the insidious nature of the accusation of "seducing a director" lies in the fact that it requires no evidence and can easily be attached to a beautiful female star, becoming a "taken-for-granted" assumption in some people's minds.
Jiang Mo remained outwardly calm, continuing to study the script and communicate with the production team as usual, even offering sincere compliments to Researcher Zhou's new hairstyle. But only she knew that a cold, sticky weariness was slowly rising from the depths of her heart. She was like a machine that had been running at full capacity, its core already overheating, the alarm silently blaring.
Shen Zhiyan was obviously aware of this matter as well. He didn't mention it, but once when Jiang Mo needed to fix a rather unstable experimental device by hand, he silently came over and used several delicate clamps to fix it for her, his movements quick and precise.
"Thank you," Jiang Mo said softly.
“Without a stable center of gravity, the probability of failure when securing it by hand exceeds seventy percent,” he replied, his gaze not meeting hers, but instead checking the clamp’s locking mechanism. “Unnecessary risks should be avoided.”
He was always like this, encapsulating his care within a shell of rigorous logic and data. Looking at his calm profile outlined by the lab lights, Jiang Mo felt the taut string in her heart relax slightly.
The afternoon's recording schedule was demanding, involving the coordinated operation of multiple precision instruments and real-time data exchange. The laboratory was brightly lit, the low hum of various devices creating a familiar background melody. Jiang Mo's part required manually operating a robotic arm under a high-powered electron microscope to locate samples at the micrometer level, demanding extremely high levels of concentration.
She took a deep breath, put on her goggles, and forcibly shut out all external distractions. Her vision was now focused solely on the magnified microscopic world and the target she needed to precisely capture. Her movements were steady, even more so than usual, as if she had suppressed all her emotions into absolute focus in this moment.
Shen Zhiyan monitored the overall data flow from the main control panel, occasionally issuing concise instructions via internal communication. His voice came through the earpiece, steady as a pendulum.
Just as Jiang Mo was about to complete the localization of the last sample—
"Smack!"
A soft cracking sound rang out from somewhere, followed by an instantaneous blackout of all the laboratory lights and abrupt cessation of the humming of the instruments, plunging the room into deathly silence. Emergency lights sluggishly flickered on, casting a pale, limited glow that elongated and distorted the shadows cast upon the walls and equipment.
Darkness descended so suddenly.
"Did the power trip?"
"What about the backup power supply?"
After a brief moment of shock, the staff member's voice rang out in the darkness, tinged with confusion and a hint of panic.
Jiang Mo froze on the spot. The high-powered goggles had robbed her of most of her vision, and the sudden, absolute darkness engulfed her like a cold tide. A sense of panic, stemming from a forgotten, unpleasant memory of her childhood, seized her heart without warning. She instinctively reached out to grab something, but her fingertips futilely traced lines in the air.
Just then, a warm hand firmly grasped her wrist. The pressure wasn't strong, but it carried an undeniable firmness.
"Don't move." Shen Zhiyan's voice rang out very close by, deep and clear, piercing through the panic that was growing in her heart. "The workbench is three steps to your left. Moving forward blindly risks a collision."
The warmth of his hand seeped through her slightly cool skin, like the only source of heat in the darkness. Jiang Mo snapped back to reality, realizing she had almost lost her composure.
"I..." She tried to explain, but her voice was a little strained.
“The emergency lighting system has been activated. It is expected that the main power will be restored in three to five minutes.” He interrupted her, speaking calmly as if issuing a system announcement. At the same time, he held her wrist and guided her to slowly move half a step to a safer spot. “Follow my strength.”
In the darkness, she couldn't see his face, only feel his breath so close to hers, and his hand, steady as a precision instrument. He didn't let go of her, nor did he offer any comfort; he simply existed there, like an absolutely reliable coordinate that suddenly appeared in a chaotic system.
"Everyone stay where you are, don't panic, and avoid damaging the equipment!" Researcher Zhou's voice maintained order in the darkness.
Xiao Chen groaned softly, "My data! That set of real-time data hasn't finished saving yet..."
"The buffer has a 30-second redundancy design, and the data can be recovered." Shen Zhiyan's voice rang out again, addressing Xiao Chen as if to announce to everyone, "The loss is controllable."
This statement strangely calmed the restlessness that was simmering in the laboratory.
Jiang Mo stood quietly, the warmth emanating from her wrist. Suddenly, she was no longer afraid of the darkness. She could even feel Shen Zhiyan's thumb unconsciously and very lightly pressing on the inside of her wrist bone, so quickly it was almost an illusion. The movement wasn't like comforting, but more like... confirmation.
A few minutes later, the lights suddenly came on, and the laboratory returned to normal, as if the darkness had just been a collective hallucination. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began checking the equipment, complaining about the sudden malfunction.
Almost the instant the lights came on, Shen Zhiyan released her hand, took a step back, and resumed his usual restrained social distance. His expression was normal; he even immediately began checking the system logs on the control panel, as if he weren't the one who had grabbed her wrist in the darkness.
Only the lingering warmth on Jiang Mo's wrist proved that it wasn't an illusion.
She lowered her head and gently moved her wrist, where the touch of his fingertips seemed to still be imprinted.
"Are you alright?" Researcher Zhou came over and asked with concern.
"It's nothing." Jiang Mo raised her head, revealing a flawless smile. "I was just startled."
She looked at Shen Zhiyan, who was frowning as he pointed out to the arriving maintenance personnel that the short circuit was likely caused by an overloaded old line node. His profile remained calm and focused under the light.
Xiao Chen was helping with the investigation when he suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and picked up a tiny metal fragment from near the electrical box that didn't belong in the lab. He muttered to himself, "What is this thing...? It looks like a part of some kind of... remote control device?"
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