Rebirth from the Ashes

The girl looked as though she had something to hide. Her acting was not flawless, and her firm attitude left more questions than answers.

Only when Mama Fu walked to the door, did she remember that the girl introduced herself to be Shen…

Her mind was all over the place the moment Mama Fu laid eyes on the girl. She could not really remember her name, but it was two words.

Nevertheless, she seemed to recall Li Jingran only had a daughter and if her memory served her right, the name was Su Ruowan.

Mama Fu turned to glance at the girl who was focused on her work. The serious and cautious look on the girl’s face as she got into full gear was an exact match to Xuan. Even though Mama Fu was bugged by a question, she did not have the heart to disturb her.

She closed the door but stood outside for a while, not knowing where to go. Mama Fu wanted to look at the girl, but it was a fully enclosed door without a see-through screen.

Good thing the soundproof door was not shut, so she could still hear the sounds coming from within. Soon, Mama Fu could hear the girl on the phone, chatting in a sweet voice to her mom. The girl’s honeyed tone, calling out to her mom triggered Mama Fu to shed silent tears. Overwhelmed by bitterness, Mama Fu fell to the ground and shivered from head to toe.

Mom.

Oh, how Mama Fu wished to hear her daughter call her Mom.

It left her to wonder if she would ever be alive to see her darling Lil’ Xi.

Fu Qingxuan’s assistant said it would only take half an hour, but Fu Qingxuan was still nowhere in sight by the time dusk fell.

Mama Fu had remained all this while, itching to look for Shen Xi, yet aware that the girl was reluctant to see her. Mama Fu held back from meeting Shen Xi because she did not want to be an eyesore.

Since Xuan was not available, Mama Fu gave a call to Li. However, Li said he did not know who Li Jingran’s daughter was and was en route to pick her up and send her home.

Shen Xi was distracted from her experiment after Mama Fu left. Her mind kept flying back to the old woman’s hurt expression.

Did she go overboard? How could she do that to a kind and gentle person?

Shen Xi caught a glimpse of Mama Fu getting a blanket when she first woke up. It must be to tuck her in. The old lady even asked her to have cake, and if her guess was right, Mama Fu came in to give her the cake.

Nevertheless, the image of Fu Qingli’s heartless and poker face was foretelling of issues to come. It reinforced to Shen Xi that an assertive attitude was the best course of action. Otherwise, Fu Qingli would never stop giving her a hard time.

Today at the airport, Li Yuan mentioned that she was afraid of Fu Qingli. Shen Xi did not admit to it, but she knew that her skin would crawl at every encounter with Fu Qingli.

She felt naked in the face of Fu Qingli, and she hated this feeling. Yet at the same time, Shen Xi had to admit that he had that presence to him.

Li Yuan had this effect, if not stronger than Fu Qingli. However, he would never do this to her.

Sample analysis was not a hard thing to do, but the sample cultivation took a huge chunk of time in the process. Hence, she was left waiting most of the time, checking on the sample while unable to leave unnecessarily.

Otherwise, she would have used the opportunity to visit the whole medical center and see if she could discuss with Situ Zhangyou to build one.

Of course, she would not have the money and talent to establish a huge medical center but she could start with a cutting-edge mini-laboratory.

Back at the center of the laboratory, Shen Xi took a bite out of the cake. It was just the right amount of sweetness, and its savory aroma tingled her senses, lingering in her mouth. It was the best cake she ever had.

Madam Yun was good at baking cakes and they were better than those sold in bakeries. Still, Mrs. Fu was better by a narrow margin.

One of Shen Xi’s experiments would need another night before the report could be ready. Shen Xi had gotten the ball rolling for the last experiment when Jennifer walked in.

It was a straightforward experiment without requiring constant monitoring. However, the petri-dish cultivation would take the whole night. Shen Xi was not going to stay and wait. She informed Jennifer before taking off her lab coat and changing into her clothes.

Seeing that Shen Xi was leaving, Jennifer hurried to Fu Qingxuan’s office to report to Mrs. Fu.

Shen Xi just got into the elevator when Mrs. Fu entered the scene in a flurry of footsteps. It was clear from her uneven breaths that she ran over.

“Hold on.” Mama Fu was gasping in between.

Shen Xi held the elevator door and gave a friendly nod as a greeting. She quickly became uncomfortable when Mrs. Fu stepped inside and stood next to her.

Well, she finally experienced the feeling of sticking it to herself.

Mama Fu was tender as she posed a question. “Are you done with your work?”

Shen Xi hummed a response but thought she might come off a little cold. She then faintly lengthened her sentence. “Yes, I’m done.”

Despite the standoffish air surrounding the girl, Mama Fu tried to get into conversation with her. “Did you manage to get the report?”

Why did the girl tense up in her presence as if holding back emotions? Was she giving the girl pressure?

“It’ll be ready tomorrow.” Shen Xi was contemplating how to answer so as not to come off overly cold, yet would stop the woman from chatting her up.

At the same time, Shen Xi thought it would make no difference. She was aloof in the afternoon, but that did not stop Mrs. Fu from talking to her here.

“Would you be around here for the next few days? Where are you staying?” Mama Fu carefully inquired, finally blurting out the questions that had been on her mind.

After leaving Shen Xi be, Mama Fu had been thinking of ways to break the ice with her despite the former wanting nothing to do with her. Mama Fu wanted Shen Xi to be comfortable around her and to stop avoiding her.

“My friend needs it urgently, so I’m going back straight after the experiment is done.” The elevator was moving too slow for Shen Xi’s liking. It felt too small and suffocating in the elevator that Shen Xi was praying they would arrive soon.

For the first time ever, Shen Xi was losing the will to put up a front. All she wanted to do was escape – escape the anxiety she was feeling and from here. Shen Xi would not feel bad nor would she have to be hard on herself.

“How are you going to get a plane ticket at such short notice?” Mama Fu was ready to offer their family’s private plane if she was in a hurry.

Shen Xi replied, “I took a private plane over.”

Mama Fu choked on the words she had prepared to say. She glanced at the girl in surprise, and Shen Xi appeared nervous as her body was stiff. The expression on her face remained solemn and indifferent though.

Why was Shen Xi nervous to see her? Mama Fu was not some flesh-eating monster.

Shen Xi looked straight ahead. Conscience was eating her up alive the more people were tender and kinder to her. Shen Xi would be tormented inside, thinking she had gone too far as if she committed a crime.

She heaved a sigh of relief when the doors to the elevator finally opened. However, the relief did not last for long as her heart jumped back in her throat. She quickly pulled a long face.