CHAPTER 96: SKYLAR

Jian Ci was the one who fed them, entertained them, and made connections with ease. Together, they balanced each other perfectly.

Jian Ci chuckled. "After this, I will go get you some snacks. Anything you like, it’s on me."

***

Jian Wei had been sent to a resort just outside the capital, a place designed for relaxation with sprawling pools, lush gardens, and the hum of soft music drifting through the air. But relaxation was the last thing on his mind.

Jian Rui had gone the extra mile, not only sending him away but also limiting his access to his work. Every attempt Jian Wei made to log into his projects was met with a locked screen.

Fuming, he called Jian Rui. The connection opened, and Jian Rui’s face appeared surrounded by multiple floating screens, his hands busy with tasks. He didn’t even glance at Jian Wei. "You better be dying," Jian Rui said flatly.

"Yes, yes, I am fucking dying!" Jian Wei snapped. "What the hell, I can’t access my projects or anything for that matter!"

"You are on vacation. Relax," Jian Rui replied, still not looking at him.

"Oh, come on! Who gave you this much power? You can just shut us down whenever you feel like it?" Jian Wei growled.

"I am the oldest. Bye." Jian Rui cut the call without hesitation.

Jian Wei grunted in frustration, slamming his fist against the poolside chair. Just then, a waiter approached, balancing a tray. "Sir, here is your cocktail."

Jian Wei frowned. "I didn’t order this."

The waiter gestured discreetly. "Courtesy of that young lady over there."

Jian Wei turned his head, his irritation momentarily forgotten as his eyes landed on the figure across the pool, watching him with a faint smile.

The young woman had waist-length hair that shimmered in the sunlight, cherry lips that curved into a knowing smile, and sunkissed skin that seemed to glow against the backdrop of the resort.

Something about her face tugged at his memory, though he couldn’t place why it felt familiar. She raised her glass in a casual salute, and Jian Wei narrowed his eyes, suspicion hardening his expression.

He huffed, pushing himself up from the poolside chair. "No need," he muttered, striding toward the bar. The waiter, caught in the middle, looked awkwardly between them until she gestured for him to leave. He obeyed quickly, walking towards the bar.

The woman rose from her lounge chair and followed, her steps unhurried, her confidence unshaken. Spotting Jian Wei at the bar, she leaned against it, facing him directly, her smile playful. "My feelings were hurt, Your Highness," she said lightly.

Jian Wei stared at her, unimpressed. "Nobody asked you to buy me a drink. I don’t even know you." His voice was blunt, his tone cutting. Jian Wei had terrible social skills, and anyone who knew how he spent his days could understand why.

He preferred analyzing results, running simulations, and working through data rather than talking to strangers. The only people he truly got along with were his brothers.

The young woman, clearly younger than him, didn’t flinch. "You are right," she said smoothly. "Let me introduce myself. I am Skylar, a student of the Virelia Institute of Neural Sciences. I have read a lot of your research articles. Your work is incredible."

Her words hung in the air, and for the first time Jian Wei’s suspicion wavered, replaced by reluctant curiosity.

The Virelia Institute of Neural Sciences was no joke. To be admitted was to step into the pinnacle of research and innovation, a place where the brightest minds unraveled the mysteries of psychic resonance, Esper biology, and Guide empathy.

Jian Wei had walked those halls himself, though his path had already carried him far beyond the standard curriculum. His aptitude had propelled him into postgraduate studies, and even then he was juggling multiple projects that demanded his relentless focus.

So when Skylar approached him at the resort, Jian Wei’s response was curt. "Good for you. Now move right along, I am on vacation."

Skylar, however, seemed prepared for his cold demeanor. She didn’t flinch, her smile steady. "I am so sorry to disturb you. It’s just—I have read your articles on erratic Espers. The one on resonance therapy was brilliant. I was excited to see the mastermind behind it."

Jian Wei’s eyes narrowed slightly, though his mind flickered back to that paper. It had been one of his most ambitious projects, an attempt to unravel the neurological triggers behind instability in Espers. He had mapped aura surges, identified genetic predispositions, and tested resonance therapies that might stabilize psychic channels. It was meticulous work, the kind that consumed weeks of sleepless nights.

The work had been grueling, but it bore fruit: multiple articles published in the Institute’s prestigious journals, each dissecting a different facet of the problem and proposing solutions ranging from empathic Guide-link conditioning to neural dampening implants.

For a moment, Jian Wei’s irritation softened. Skylar’s words weren’t empty flattery. She spoke with the tone of someone who had studied his work closely. Still, he folded his arms, unwilling to let her see that her admiration had struck a chord.

He blinked at Skylar, his tone clipped. "Now you have met me, is there anything else?" If Seraphyne had been present, she would have chastised him immediately, reminding him that with such an attitude he would remain single forever.

Skylar smiled, undeterred. "I have a lot of questions."

Jian Wei sighed, resigned. "Sit." He was already bored, but he didn’t mind educating a junior. It was easier than small talk.

Skylar nodded eagerly and sat beside him. Her words came quickly, but with surprising depth. She referenced case studies, dissected his arguments, and even offered insights he hadn’t considered. Her voice carried a spark of genuine curiosity.

"What if the instability isn’t just neurological?" she asked, leaning forward. "What if it’s environmental—linked to planetary psi-density? Your data hinted at it, but you didn’t expand."

Jian Wei’s eyes flickered with reluctant interest. He remembered those anomalies in his readings, dismissed at the time as statistical noise. For the first time, he wondered if this young woman might not only admire his work but challenge it in ways that mattered.