"I'm hanging up now," Ryan said cautiously. "Mm, sleep early," Addison replied, picking up her water glass and taking a sip. Suddenly, she heard a burst of noise from Ryan's end of the line, along with the faint blaring of car horns. Addison frowned slightly. "Dr. Daves, you should sleep early too," Ryan said, his tone now a bit hurried, as though something urgent had come up. "Wait, don't hang up just yet," Addison called out suddenly. Ryan froze as his finger hovered over the hang-up button. "What's wrong?" Addison wanted to ask where he was, but after a moment's thought, she decided to keep her questions to herself. Ryan's whereabouts and late-night activities were his personal matters. She shouldn't pry whatever he was trying to hide. After a brief pause, she said, "Well ... it's so late, so don't you dare show up at the lab earlier than me tomorrow. If I see you there before me, you're banned from coming to the lab again." She reprimanded. Knowing Ryan's personality, if she didn't set a firm boundary, he would likely arrive early as usual to prepare materials for the lab. Staying up late at night and waking up early in the morning wasn't good for his health. "Uh ... " Ryan blinked, taking a moment to process what she had just said. Is Dr. Daves worried about me? He could almost picture her acting fierce with a frown on the other end of the line. She would probably look very cute. Ryan felt like something inside him had exploded. A firework had filled him with an indescribable feeling. His ears burned red almost instantly. "Ryan ... ? Did you hear me?" Addison asked after not hearing a response for a while. Was her phone broken? She shook it and tapped on a few apps. It seemed fine. She adjusted the volume, but it wasn't on mute. Just as she was about to call out to him again, Ryan's voice came through, stammering, "Uh ... I ... I'll be late tomorrow then." His voice was awkward and hesitant. ... Even long after the call ended, Ryan remained in the same position, clutching his phone tightly. He had never experienced that feeling in his entire life. That feeling from earlier—he had never experienced it in his entire life. Standing there, Ryan could still sense the lingering glow of that imagined firework. It was so vivid and brilliant. The next morning, Addison woke up at 8:45 AM, later than usual. The exhaustion from the day before, both physical and mental, had taken its toll. "Wow, it's this late already?" she murmured, glancing at her phone. Annoyed with herself, she quickly got ready. She had intended to arrive early to organize the lab materials, but now she was over an hour behind schedule. After hastily washing up and grabbing a quick breakfast, Addison rushed to the lab. The moment she stepped inside, she noticed a familiar figure working diligently at one of the lab benches. "Ryan," she called out as she entered. Hearing her voice, Ryan immediately put down the reagent bottle he was holding and turned around. "Dr. Daves, you're here." Addison nodded and was about to say something, but both of them started speaking at the same time. "You—" "I—" "You go first," Addison said, raising an eyebrow as she placed her things aside and started tying her hair up. She'd been in such a hurry earlier that she hadn't had time to do it.Leaving her hair loose in the lab wasn't ideal; it could contaminate the reagents or cause cross-contamination between experiments. "Um ... Dr. Daves, I didn't mean to come early on purpose," Ryan said weakly. "I just couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come and get some work done ... "You're not mad, are you? I figured since I couldn't sleep, I might as well be productive." Addison blinked at him and deliberately put on a stern expression. "I was very clear yesterday, wasn't I? I said if you arrived earlier than me, there'd be consequences. Are you disobeying me?" Her tone sounded genuinely angry. Ryan panicked immediately, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously as he stood there. He looked utterly clueless. Seeing his flustered reaction, Addison couldn't hold back her laughter. Her facade of seriousness crumbled as she cleared her throat. "I'm not mad. I planned to come early, but I overslept. Don't be so nervous. Do I really look that intimidating when I'm serious? You're acting like I scared you to death." "No, no," Ryan said quickly, waving his hands. The tension he'd been feeling dissipated instantly. He scratched the back of his head, looking a little sheepish. "Have you had breakfast yet? I brought you some," Addison said, handing him a bag. Ryan looked at the bag with his bright eyes. A broad smile spread across his face. "Thank you, Dr. Daves!" He accepted the bag eagerly. Even though he'd already had breakfast and wasn't hungry at all, the fact that Addison had brought it for him made him feel like he could eat it all over again. After finishing the breakfast outside, Ryan returned to find Addison fully immersed in her work. Once she started, she gave her full focus, completely shutting out the world around her. Ryan glanced at her quietly for a moment before lowering his head and getting back to his own tasks. The two of them worked side by side, methodically and seamlessly. Their teamwork was impeccable.Time passed unnoticed until the ringing of a phone interrupted their work. Addison frowned and removed her gloves to press the decline button instead of checking the screen. The phone rang again shortly after. Ignoring it, Addison continued with her experiment. The persistent ringing didn't stop. Ryan glanced at her phone and saw the name "Michael Fuller" displayed on the screen. A shadow crossed his eyes. Michael? Wasn't that the name of the Fullers' eldest son? Why was he calling Dr. Daves? Frowning deeply, Ryan chose to ignore it as well, unsure of the emotions stirring within him. The phone continued to ring as if Michael was determined not to stop until someone picked up. Ryan stole a glance at Addison, who remained entirely focused, seemingly unaffected by the noise. He lowered his gaze, the odd feeling in his chest dissipating as he resumed his work. Eventually, the experiment ended, and Addison finally relaxed. She removed her goggles and gloves before picking up her phone. The screen showed seven missed calls, all from Michael. Michael Fuller was the eldest son of the Fullers. Though the family had once had two sons, the younger one had disappeared years ago, leaving Michael as their sole heir. The Fullers' main enterprise, ApexMed Group, was a pharmaceutical company. Addison had been in initial talks with them about collaborating on a new drug, Acygine. Since Michael was the sole heir, there was no competition for the position of ApexMed's CEO, which he now held. From the repeated calls, Addison guessed he wanted to discuss the contract details for Acygine, which was still in its draft phase.