Chapter 80 Argument

Chapter 80: The Fight

Chen Su just didn't feel like going home tonight.

Zhao Jinzong leaned against the door, saying nothing.

"You go back and rest first. I'll rest once Deputy Meng gets back and I check the data, I promise." After saying this, Chen Su lowered his head and kept recording.

Zhao Jinzong waited quietly at the door.

Soon, Meng Suizhi returned, holding some refreshing items. "Director Zhao, want a coffee?"

"No, I'm good."

"Alright." Meng Suizhi called out, "Engineer Chen, want me to make you a coffee?"

"Sure."

"With sugar?"

"No."

"Okay." Meng Suizhi made Chen Su a coffee, and when he saw Zhao Jinzong leaving, he called out, "Director Zhao, are you leaving?"

Chen Su looked up and saw the tall figure disappear at the door.

Zhao Jinzong had left.

Chen Su stood frozen, staring, and only after a long while did he lower his head and continue working.

Meng Suizhi took a couple sips of coffee to wake himself up and then entered the lab.

At 2 a.m., Chen Su was extremely sleepy and yawned. Meng Suizhi said the coffee was in the office. Chen Su nodded, took off his rubber gloves, rolled his neck, and walked out of the lab. He looked up and saw the office door open with the lights on.

Enigma was sitting at his desk, rubbing his temples while working.

The hallway's motion-sensor light went out, casting a thin silhouette on the floor. Chen Su stood at the door for a while before entering. He walked behind Zhao Jinzong and massaged his temples. "I thought you left."

"I'd have told you if I left." Zhao Jinzong pulled Chen Su into a hug and rested his chin on Chen Su's shoulder. "Time to rest?"

"..." Chen Su said, "Just a bit longer."

Zhao Jinzong let out a barely audible sigh. He straightened up, poured a glass of water for Chen Su, and said, "Get back to it then."

That's when Chen Su noticed the coffee on the desk was gone.

Chen Su picked up the water glass. "You're not going home?"

"To be with you."

"Zhao Jinzong, you don't need to accompany me. I'll rest when I'm tired. I'm only crashing at the base because things are a bit unusual lately. It might continue for a while... Don't worry too much..."

Zhao Jinzong cut him off: "No, you won't."

Zhao Jinzong knew Chen Su way too well.

Saying he'd rest later was just a cover. As long as no one was watching, Chen Su would not rest. He'd probably power through for days on coffee alone.

"I will."

"I'm not gonna argue. I'm staying right here." Zhao Jinzong poured another glass of water for Chen Su's empty cup.

Zhao Jinzong was very persistent, and Chen Su was equally persistent.

Two stubborn people together… it takes a lot of work.

Chen Su finished his water and returned to the lab. After recording the last set of data, he turned off the instruments. "Let's wrap up. Get some rest, Deputy Meng."

"Alright." Meng Suizhi changed his clothes, glanced at the light in the office, and smiled at Chen Su. "Go make it up to him. It's really late now. I'll grab a cab. See you tomorrow."

"Mm, good night."

Chen Su changed his clothes and returned to the office.

Chen Su took Zhao Jinzong's phone out of his hand. "The hotel's not far. Let's go crash for a bit."

"Okay."

Zhao Jinzong held Chen Su's hand.

Chen Su's hand was cold and way too slender.

At the hotel, Zhao Jinzong held Chen Su while they slept, and Chen Su soon drifted off.

On day three, Chen Su still showed no sign of going home.

At noon, he even went to the hospital to pick up sleeping pills. In the evening, when Zhao Jinzong came to accompany him, he slipped the pills into Zhao's water to make him sleep, then worked alone in the lab all night. At six in the morning, he returned to the office, sat next to Zhao and dozed off for an hour with his head on the desk. Zhao Jinzong woke up.

Zhao Jinzong gently stroked Chen Su's hair, letting out a soft sigh.

Chen Su's lie didn't fool the monitoring watch.

Zhao had seen through it all along.

He didn't call him out—Chen Su was actually asleep, which was rare.

On day four, Zhao Jinzong still showed up.

During a kiss, Zhao held Chen Su's chin and slipped the pill into his mouth, not letting him breathe. Chen Su swallowed it, and as he got drowsy, he shot an angry glare at Enigma.

The next morning, Chen Su woke up at the Chen family home.

He was very angry. He skipped breakfast, walked past the table stone-faced, and drove himself to the Drug Supervision Bureau.

At noon, he got a critical illness notice for Xiao Li from the hospital.

Chen Su rushed over. Xiao Li had already been moved to the ICU. Chen Su stood outside the glass door, watching the omega—tubes everywhere, machines keeping him alive, face ashen. His fingers curled and tightened against the glass, then he slammed his fist into the wall.

Chen Su returned to the experimental base.

He couldn't even spare time to eat; his meals were all over the place.

Chen Su didn't reply to messages, didn't look at his phone, didn't eat, didn't sleep. He was going crazy.

In the evening, Zhao Jinzong personally brought him food, but Chen Su didn't even look up.

Zhao Jinzong called him, "Chen Su."

Chen Su's eyes were rimmed red. "Zhao Jinzong, I don't have time to baby you."

Dark shadows lay under Zhao Jinzong's eyes, and he reached out to touch Chen Su's head. "I'll calm you down."

"I don't want that!"

The moment Chen Su blurted it out, he himself was stunned.

This was the first time he spoke to Zhao Jinzong like this, his voice hoarse with desperation, which completely betrayed his usual calm and also his love for Zhao Jinzong.

He shouldn't have lost his temper with Zhao Jinzong.

Chen Su was the last person who should lose his temper with Zhao Jinzong.

Since he had opened his mouth, Chen Su might as well continue. He didn't want Zhao Jinzong to stay up with him anymore, to urge him to rest and eat on time. Chen Su couldn't afford to wait, and Xiao Li couldn't afford to wait even more.

Telling Zhao Jinzong clearly and ending this relationship was a good option, or rather, it was the best outcome between them.

"Zhao Jinzong, Xiao Li is my younger brother, my only family. I don't want to sleep, I don't want to eat... I know this will harm my health, but I simply can't sleep. I just want him to wake up. I don't want to be powerless... His gland is failing; it's not just a matter of replacing the gland."

Chen Su took a breath and confessed to Zhao Jinzong: "Xiao Li is someone I took in. He was also an experimental subject from Huaicheng. When I found him, he was barely alive, on the verge of death. I struggled so hard to raise him. I understand everything you do is for my good, but right now, I don't want to talk about this, and I can't consider your feelings."

Chen Su's tone sounded like pleading: "I really don't have much time left..."

Zhao Jinzong's voice was very soft, but his answer was surprising: "I know."

Zhao Jinzong said he knew.

Zhao Jinzong seemed to know everything.

Chen Su was stunned for two seconds, then lowered his head, not daring to meet Zhao Jinzong's eyes. He only took a step back and said, "Lately, I've been feeling really worn out. Let's just... end it here."