"Fang Zheng, I thought we would be partners."
"oh?"
“You’re different from those people. You have the same quality in your eyes as I do. You were testing me just to confirm my feelings. Now that you’ve achieved your goal, I need to get out of the water as soon as possible. You don’t want those people to continue to be so smug, do you?”
"Finally, I couldn't keep up the act any longer."
The knowing tone and confident manner could no longer stir any emotion in Xiang Wan's heart.
Fang Zheng is a variable. He is someone who doesn't exist in the original owner's memories at all. Or perhaps he came in the previous life, but was eventually discovered and died in some corner.
"The contract is already signed, aren't you still worried?"
Xiang Wan leaned against the glass tank and said casually.
If one side absolutely has to compromise, then let her do it. Fang Zheng's temperament is too unpredictable; endlessly testing him will only waste unnecessary time for both of them. They'd be better off using that time to do something else.
"If you can understand it, that's good. Eat up."
The food, almost cold, was handed to her. Xiang Wan gave a self-deprecating laugh and began to eat heartily.
It's not that she doesn't hold grudges, she just feels it's unnecessary. Circumstances dictate actions; she doesn't have the leverage to back up her claims, so why bother pretending anymore?
“Starting today, you must read at least one book I gave you every day and wait for the right opportunity.”
"Okay, how long will it take you to develop a medicine that allows legs to grow back?"
"Provide a blood sample. I need to test your genes and hormone levels before I can give you a specific date."
"Why weren't you drawn before?"
"You're willing?"
The rhetorical question revealed Fang Zheng's true feelings. It turned out that he didn't want to draw Xiang Wan's blood; rather, he wanted her consent. In his heart, he truly regarded Xiang Wan as an independent individual, not a cold, impersonal experimental subject.
Xiang Wan felt relieved; scientists who respect life were the partners she was looking for.
After the meal, Fang Zheng pushed a small cart out of nowhere and placed a stack of books taller than a person within Xiang Wan's reach.
"Remember to read every day, from top to bottom. If you don't understand something, you can ask me. These books are precious; they are my private collection, so please don't get them wet."
"Han Shiren and the others..."
"You don't need to worry about that. As long as I provide you with some information, they won't suspect anything. What we need to do is buy time and get out of their control as soon as possible."
"good!"
Since the agreement was reached, Xiang Wan has devoted all her free time to reading. These books are all about biological sciences, introducing the habits, characteristics, and environmental adaptations of various animals, as well as cell biology, genetics, and genetic engineering. Interspersed among them are books on chemistry, physics, and other disciplines, but all of them serve the purpose of biology.
In the real world, Xiang Wan wasn't particularly interested in sciences like chemistry and physics, though thankfully they were only supplementary subjects. She, however, enjoyed reading other books. Sometimes, to speed up the process, she would have the system copy and paste information directly, which would then be read to her before bedtime.
Fang Zheng, after drawing a blood sample from Xiang Wan, remained busy at his workbench until the wee hours of the morning. If Xiang Wan hadn't reminded him, he would have completely forgotten about even something as important as eating.
No wonder many scientists use assistants; besides helping out, they also take care of his daily needs, just so that not a single moment of experimental time is wasted. Now, Xiang Wan is honored to be Fang Zheng's personal assistant, ordering all three meals a day. If she could leave the fish tank, she could easily imagine herself running around beside him, busy with everything.
A week later, Fang Zheng told her that if his guess was correct, he would create a medicine for her a month later, allowing her to stand and walk without the fish tank.
This outcome was something Xiang Wan was happy to see.
However, Fang Zheng then gave her some bad news: due to the short timeframe, the resulting medicine might not be perfect and could have some side effects.
As long as it's not fatal, Xiang Wan said she has no problem at all.
Han Yu, that kid, hasn't come back since Xiang Wan ignored him last time. According to the system, his father locked him up in a private villa, but he also took Ni Xiaoxiao there to live with him and hired a tutor.
Xiang Wan chuckled. What truly crushes a child's imagination is directly shattering that hazy feeling. Xiang Wan could already imagine how this little brat would avoid Ni Xiaoxiao like the plague from now on.
During the month, Han Shiren sent people to check on Fang Zheng's experimental progress, but Fang Zheng dismissed them with the excuse that he was still conducting research.
Han Shiren had become suspicious and increased the number of personnel guarding this floor. It seemed like they were controlling the entire floor of laboratories, but the real target of their surveillance was still Fang Zheng's laboratory.
Xiang Wan read day and night, and after a month, she finally finished the stack of books. Meanwhile, Fang Zheng had also developed a pink potion.
"I've altered your genetic sequence, replacing the segment related to the fish tail with a different sequence. Since it hasn't been tested before, the consequences are unpredictable. The worst-case scenario is that you'll be stuck in a fish tank and never be able to grow legs again. Are you still willing to try?"
Fang Zheng's expression was serious, and there was no hint of joking in it.
Xiang Wan smiled and said softly, "I believe you!"
Trust your soul; it won't harm me, that's all.
Life is a series of gambles. If you win, everyone's happy. If you lose, you just start all over again. Having experienced so much of the world, what is there that you can't see through?
Fang Zheng stared blankly at Xiang Wan, somewhat moved, his hand holding the medicine trembling slightly.
"The story of the Little Mermaid doesn't have a happy ending. The prince may not be as perfect as she imagined."
"Ha, you still believe that? Then let me tell you," Xiang Wan stretched out her hand and said to Fang Zheng, word by word, "I'm not a princess, and you're not a prince, are you?"
Sometimes, Xiang Wan really suspected that Fang Zheng had a dual personality: one was deep and shrewd, the other innocent and childlike. Perhaps these were just appearances, and that deep down he might have suffered some trauma.
Fang Zheng returned to normal in a second, took out the syringe, and inhaled the medicine.
"As you wish!"
As the pink potion was slowly injected into my body, a cool sensation gradually spread from my arm to my whole body.
The Frost Technique within his body circulated wildly, accelerating the absorption of the medicine. Then, a slight tingling and itching sensation came from the depths of his heart.
Fang Zheng pulled Xiang Wan out of the water and placed her on the lab table. Her whole body was tied up, including her tail.
What are you doing?
Suppressing the tingling sensation, Xiang Wan's voice was soft and restrained, as if her desires were not being relieved.
"I told you there would be side effects, you have to be patient."
Fang Zheng cradled Xiang Wan's head, looking into her eyes, giving her no chance to look away.
In the pitch-black eyes, there was only a mermaid whose entire body was bound!
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