Self

Chapter 39

With July rolling in, the heat cranked up, prompting a red alert from the weather service.

For a week, a scorching 35 degrees Celsius had been the norm, and Wade’s experiment, after rounds of relentless calculations, was finally getting somewhere.

Eager for a break, he shuffled to his seventh–floor apartment, desperate for some shut–eye to recharge. when a strange noise stopped him.

He paused with his key in the door, turned, and knocked on Yara’s door. “Yara, you in there?”

Silence. He knocked again.

Nothing.

Hovering in doubt for a few seconds and wondering if he should call for help, he heard the latch give way, and the door cracked open.

Yara peeked out, leaving just a sliver of space.

“Need something?”

Her voice was flat, her face unreadable. It seemed she had only opened the door because of his unexpected knocking. However, Wade could not shake the feeling that something was off with her.

She seemed like a rose deprived of water, on the verge of wilting.

Wade was speechless for a moment..

Yara’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

Then he said, “Last time, you mentioned you were working on a paper? How’s it going?”

Yara replied, “I finished and sent it off half a month ago. I’ve been reviewing and waiting on the outcome for the past two months.”

Wade adjusted his glasses. “I’ve got a draft of a paper I’m working on. Would you be interested in giving it a look?”

Yara gave him a puzzled look.

Twenty minutes later, inside Wade’s apartment, Yara lounged on the couch, her eyes sparkling as she flipped through the research paper in her hands.

Wade had challenged her with a topic on biological sequences, zeroing in on the mystery of life’s initial changes.

It was not a brand–new topic, but the angle was fresh, the unheard–of methods packed with

groundbreaking conclusions and innovative techniques.

Yet, with innovation came the need for solid, substantial data to back it up.

“Is this masterpiece yours?”

Wade gave a modest nod. “Whipped it up in my sophomore year.”

Yara felt mixed emotions. It was no wonder the bioinformatics department’s professors were still Jamenting Wade’s switch from biology to physics after all those years.

The guy had a golden touch–crafting a thesis like this as a sophomore was like being hand–fed by fate.

Chapter 39

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“Why didn’t you publish it?”

“I thought it could be even better. Look at this. These two sections need more experimental data to back.

them up.

“Once I dove into physics, it took over my life, and I didn’t have the time to finish this.”

A shadow of regret passed over his face.

Yara mused for a moment. “So why bring it up now?”

“A while back, Professor Olson sent me your undergrad thesis and asked me to review it and maybe generate a new research idea.

“And then I saw it–you’ve danced around this topic before.” He tapped the paper in Yara’s grasp.

“So, I’m wondering if you want to dive back in?”

The question thrilled Yara, stirring up passions she had buried long ago.

She had not been in a lab since graduation.

“Do you think I’ve still got it?”

Although her hands had not touched the tools of the trade in ages, the steps were etched in fier memory. Yet, there was a nagging fear–could she still keep up with the lab’s demanding pace like she used to?