The effectiveness of the antiviral agent provided a much-needed boost to Guo Junyi. His mental state recovered rapidly, and he began clowning around with such optimism that Jiang Langmin, unable to bear it any longer, forcibly shortened the daily five-minute visitation window to less than three minutes—calling the CDC staff to escort the police officers out.
Guo Junyi watched them leave with lingering regret, lamenting with half-seriousness, "My greatest regret right now is that I can't livestream this..." Whatever else he intended to say was choked back by the look on Jiang Langmin’s face.
Jiang Cheng and Jiang Langmin fully embodied the spirit of workaholics. Aside from taking turns to rest for an hour in the afternoon, they spent the rest of their time buried in the isolation ward. Those watching the monitors couldn't help but marvel; as expected of those from Sius, they possessed not only extraordinary intellect but also remarkable physical endurance.
It was nearly midnight when Ren Lifei, unable to watch them push themselves any further, finally relieved them from the isolation ward. This coincided with Ren Lifei administering the third dose of medication to Guo Junyi.
"Not bad," Jiang Langmin remarked, standing before the glass wall. "At least so far, there haven't been any adverse reactions. Although the recovery in his vital signs is limited, the virus's ability to self-replicate has clearly weakened."
Jiang Cheng let out a visible sigh of relief. "At the very least, we've bought ourselves some time."
Jiang Langmin smiled. "You're too modest. Do I really need to critique every brilliant aspect of this formulation for you to realize how great it is?"
His words made Jiang Cheng flush. Having spent a long time abroad, Jiang Langmin’s mindset was entirely Western; he didn't possess the subtle reserve of a typical Easterner when it came to giving praise. Jiang Cheng, whose life experience involved being reprimanded even when he ranked first to keep him humble, simply didn't know how to handle him.
"No, no," Jiang Cheng waved his hands repeatedly. "We still have to make the vaccine. If I let it go to my head now, it'll be hard to perform later."
Jiang Langmin likely hadn't expected Jiang Cheng to joke with him. He froze for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, a voice cut in from behind.
"You two are finally out."
They both turned to look. It was Lu Linjiang, who had supposedly left that afternoon. Jiang Langmin frowned slightly, while Jiang Cheng looked entirely surprised. "I thought you left?"
"I didn't. I just saw my colleagues off." Lu Linjiang glanced at the sleeping Guo Junyi. "I came back wanting to take you to dinner, but I didn't expect to wait until now."
"Taking the hazmat suit on and off requires disinfection; it’s too inconvenient. When we're busy, we just endure it as long as we can."
Lu Linjiang nodded after hearing the explanation. "It’s fine. Waiting out here is still easier than what you're doing in there. Director Ren originally said he wanted to treat you both to dinner, but I declined on your behalf. No need for pointless social obligations after a long day of work." He then greeted Jiang Langmin. "Will Mr. Jiang be joining us for dinner?"
Despite Lu Linjiang’s seemingly sincere tone, the underlying implication of his words automatically categorized Jiang Langmin as an outsider. Jiang Langmin had no intention of giving Lu Linjiang and Jiang Cheng a chance for private contact, so he naturally didn't stand on ceremony. He replied without hesitation, "Then I shall let Captain Lu foot the bill."
Having cooperated well with Lu Linjiang on Liuma Island, and with his mind constantly occupied by the vaccine production, Jiang Cheng had long forgotten that Lu Linjiang and Jiang Langmin were at odds. After leaving the isolation ward, his stomach began to protest his neglect unreservedly. Hearing there was food, Jiang Cheng didn't think twice, but it was only after he had eaten his fill that he noticed something was wrong—the atmosphere had turned incredibly strange at some point.
The three of them were seated at a small table for four. When they sat down, Jiang Cheng hadn't given it any thought; he simply followed Lu Linjiang’s lead and sat beside him, leaving the spacious two-seater sofa opposite them to Jiang Langmin. This should have been a perfectly normal arrangement, but in the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it was naturally interpreted as the distinction between "one of us" and "an outsider."
Of the three people at the table, everyone except Jiang Cheng had "ulterior motives."
The investigation report Jiang Langmin had obtained clearly detailed the history between the two. Although the report didn't mention their emotional journeys, it wasn't difficult for Jiang Langmin to infer a thing or two based on the facts. However, upon meeting Lu Linjiang, he keenly noticed a change in the man. According to his original deductions, Lu Linjiang should have welcomed his appearance, yet the reality was that Lu Linjiang was opposing him at every turn.
Jiang Langmin had tested Lu Linjiang, and the feedback he received did not please him. Jiang Cheng had once liked Lu Linjiang; he didn't know how Jiang Cheng would react if Lu Linjiang had now changed his mind. Would he go back?
That would be truly terrible.
Throughout dinner, Jiang Langmin kept trying to probe Jiang Cheng, but unfortunately, Jiang Cheng was consistently a beat behind in his reactions. Especially today, after a day of high tension and having skipped lunch, the fact that the new drug was working finally allowed his nerves to relax. Once he sat down, almost his entire attention was focused on the food.
Unable to get the reaction he wanted from Jiang Cheng, and with Lu Linjiang occasionally placing food into Jiang Cheng’s bowl, Jiang Langmin could only barely maintain his composure despite his excellent manners. However, the daggers drawn between him and Lu Linjiang could no longer be hidden.
Having finally eaten his fill, Jiang Cheng noticed the friction between the two. Although neither was speaking, their gazes had turned into flying daggers. Jiang Cheng tiredly tapped his forehead with the back of his hand. "The two of you combined are nearly sixty years old. Can you stop being so childish?"
Realizing his lapse in decorum, Jiang Langmin gave an embarrassed smile. Jiang Cheng glanced sideways at Lu Linjiang. "Isn't the current situation enough of a headache for you? Guo Junyi’s condition is only temporarily under control. Whether he can actually recover depends on whether the vaccine can be developed. The alarm hasn't been fully cleared yet, has it?"
Jiang Cheng looked at Jiang Langmin as he spoke, his helpless expression carrying a hint of awkwardness. Jiang Langmin understood his meaning. Jiang Cheng had already clearly rejected him; saying more would only cause embarrassment for both parties. Moreover, the most important thing right now was finding a way to produce the vaccine.
"Captain Lu and I likely have some misunderstandings," Jiang Langmin said. "I have no intention of targeting him."
Lu Linjiang scoffed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged, his tone even carrying a bit of sincerity. "Neither do I. After all, we still have to trouble Mr. Jiang with the vaccine development."
Jiang Cheng naturally saw through their hypocrisy, but he hadn't expected them to "sincerely love" each other anyway; as long as they could maintain a facade of politeness, it was enough.
Fortunately, he would no longer be going to the CDC the next day. The lab space provided by Micro-U was officially ready for use. His and Jiang Langmin’s next task was to begin the vaccine development. Jiang Cheng could recite the PTC paper backwards, and the steps for the vaccine development had long been designed.
Before the lab was ready, he had used every spare moment to run through the process step by step, listing every possible problem and precaution, and revising the solutions over and over again. After Jiang Langmin saw his experimental preparations, he had remarked in awe, "If you hadn't wasted those four years, I'm afraid even I wouldn't be able to catch up to you now."
***
