The fake heiress loves to act? The max-level boss isn't interested in playing along.

The girls exchanged glances, not daring to say anything more, and followed her away from the horse farm.

Fu Hua and Xie Ci left as the sun set.

The staff at the horse farm helped lead the horses.

He smiled and said, "You two ride really well, and your teamwork is excellent."

The setting sun cast a golden glow on his profile, highlighting his features.

After getting on the bus, Fu Hua suddenly said, "Thank you, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for saying that."

Fu Hua looked out the window and said, "Thank you too... for always respecting me."

Xie Ci smiled and started the car: "It's what I should do."

The car drove out of the horse farm and disappeared into the twilight.

Fu Hua leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

I definitely relaxed a lot today.

Those experimental data, family disputes, interpersonal entanglements... were all temporarily put aside.

The person beside her made her feel at ease.

Perhaps, love doesn't have to be dramatic.

Let's work together steadily, respect each other, and move forward side by side.

This model might be more suitable for her.

The car drove smoothly.

Fu Hua opened her eyes and saw Xie Ci's profile as he focused on driving.

"Thanks".

"Um?"

"Osmanthus-flavored sweet wine...can you make it again next time?"

Xie Ci paused for a moment, then smiled.

That smile was bright and warm: "Anytime is fine. Whenever you like."

Fu Hua smiled too.

Outside the window, the streetlights are just coming on.

The night in Beijing is just beginning.

He thanked her and escorted her back to her apartment building.

After watching her room light come on and standing downstairs for a while, I drove home.

I pushed open the door and saw that the kitchen light was still on.

Xie's mother, Zhou Yun, wearing an apron, ladled soup from a clay pot.

Hearing the noise, she turned around: "Aci, you're back? Have you eaten?"

"have eaten."

Xie Ci changed his shoes and went into the kitchen.

A faint scent of herbs filled the air. "Mom, are you making soup again?"

"I made chicken soup with ginseng for your dad. He's been having a lot of meetings and staying up late lately."

Zhou Yun put the lid on the clay pot, turned around and looked at her son, "What did you and Huahua eat?"

"ravioli."

"Wontons again?"

Zhou Yun laughed, fine lines appearing at the corners of his eyes. "Can't you take that girl to a nicer place? Zhaolong Hotel, Great Wall Hotel, it's not like we can't afford those."

Xie Ci took the rag from his mother's hand.

Wiping the counter: "Next time, today... I just want something simple."

"Even simple meals should be eaten well."

Zhou Yun took off her apron, then suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, does Huahua like the osmanthus-flavored sweet wine?"

Xie Ci paused in wiping the table, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face: "Hmm, she said it was delicious."

Seeing the rare smile on his son's face, Zhou Yun felt a warmth in his heart.

But he joked, "Sigh, all that hard work cleaning the kitchen this morning was for nothing. You have no idea how much flour was spilled this morning... Anyone who didn't know would think we had mice in our house."

Xie Ci's ears turned slightly red as he put down the rag.

She pulled over a chair: "Mom, please sit down."

"what?"

"Let me give you a shoulder massage."

As she spoke, she stood behind her mother and asked, "You must be tired from cleaning the kitchen today?"

Zhou Yun smiled, did not refuse, and sat down at the dining table.

Xie Ci's hand landed on her shoulder, applying moderate pressure to the acupoints on her neck and shoulders.

His technique wasn't professional, but his attitude was definitely very serious.

The kitchen quieted down, with only the soft bubbling of the clay pot breaking the silence.

The night outside the window was quiet, and the light from the streetlights shone through the glass.

Cast warm yellow squares onto the tiled floor.

"mom,"

Xie Ci suddenly spoke up, "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you... for your support."

Zhou Yun closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of her son's fingers.

Her voice was gentle: "Silly child, Mom just hopes you find someone you truly love and settle down. Huahua... I like her the moment I see her. She's decisive, capable, and has bright, clear eyes; she's a sensible person."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Don't worry too much about your grandfather. Your mother and father will speak up for him. Times have changed. You young people should live your lives the way you should."

Xie Ci paused for a moment, then continued pressing: "Hmm."

"I'll bring Huahua home for dinner next time."

Zhou Yun opened her eyes, turned to look at him, and said, "Mom made beef dumplings for her. Your dad brought in some really good beef from Inner Mongolia. It smells delicious."

"it is good."

The mother and son stayed there quietly.

The kitchen light was warm, and the night outside the window was peaceful.

The warmth of this moment is like a bowl of soup simmered over a low flame, with the flavor all settling at the bottom.

…………

When Fu Hua got home, she washed up first.

Wearing a beige silk nightgown, holding a hairdryer—a luxury appliance from the 1980s—she stood in the living room drying her hair.

Lock the doors and windows, and draw the curtains.

She didn't turn on the light, but raised her wrist. The brown wooden bracelet gleamed with a warm luster in the moonlight.

Consciousness sinks into space.

The scene before them changed; it was no longer the initial space containing only the spiritual spring and golden antiques.

Instead, it is a miniature world divided into multiple functional areas.

The most conspicuous part is the central area separated by an invisible barrier.

An acceleration zone where the time flow rate is 1:10 compared to the external environment.

This is my most precious treasure!

She stayed here, her appearance and body remained unchanged, but the progress of her work could be accelerated.

Fu Hua walked straight to the newly appeared "data area" on one side of the space.

Several bookshelves are neatly arranged here, but they don't hold physical books.

Rather, it is some kind of data image similar to a holographic projection.

This is one of the features unlocked after the space upgrade.

It can be based on her knowledge needs.

Generate available literature within the corresponding time period.

She reached out and pointed to one of the labels:

【Cell Biology: Telomere Research (before 1985)】

As light and shadow shift, images of numerous foreign language documents emerge.

Fu Hua quickly scanned the titles:

Determination of the telomere terminal sequence of Tetrahymena (Blackburn & Gall, 1978)

Research on the association between chromosome terminal structure and cellular senescence (Olovnikov, 1973)

Quantitative relationship between telomere length and number of mitotic divisions (Hayflick, 1965)

Conservation of terminal duplicate sequences on eukaryotic chromosomes...

They are all photocopies, some even bearing the library's stamp and borrowing records.

This was exactly what she needed; neither the school nor the research station had such comprehensive information.

This was in 1985, when telomerase 4 had just been discovered.

Research in this field is still focused on the stages of phenomenon description and basic sequence determination.

Fu Hua found an open space to sit down, and her mind began to work at high speed.

With a time acceleration of 1:10, one hour outside is equivalent to ten hours here.

She quickly read through Blackburn's classic paper on Tetrahymena telomeres.

The characteristics of the TTGGGG repeat sequence were highlighted.

Next came the theory of "end-point replication problem" proposed by Soviet scientist Olovnikov.

This scientist predicted the relationship between telomere shortening and cellular aging in 1971, but at the time there was a lack of experimental evidence.

Then there's the original paper on the Hayflick limit.

Fu Hua carefully considered that famous conclusion:

When normal human cells are cultured in vitro,

It can divide a limited number of times (about 50 times), after which it will enter a state of senescence.