88: A hint of jealousy and the awkward tacit understanding of a "threesome"

The thrilling yet slightly absurd Joint Review Committee hearing at the 'Candle Dragon' base finally came to an end in a way no one could have predicted.

Excellence's 'Huli' defense technique, a mixture of naivety, philosophical sophistry, and mundane trivialities, successfully turned the experts' carefully prepared inquiry agenda into a mess, forcing the committee to issue a vague conclusion of 'continued observation, cautious clearance.'

Although the process was nerve-wracking, the result was safe, buying the base precious buffer space and tacit permission to continue exploration.

With the storm temporarily abated, life at the base seemed to tighten its springs, returning to a 'normal' track that was highly tense yet superficially calm.

Excellence's daily rehabilitation training, regular medical evaluations, and the 'escort' of Su Mu and Evelyn, who were almost inseparable from him, formed the main melody of his world.

However, beneath this seemingly regular operation, some subtle and indescribable chemical reactions began to breed and permeate between this peculiar 'trio,' like undercurrents beneath a calm lake.

Su Mu, as Excellence's legitimate 'official' monitor, his earliest friend, and now his de facto number one caregiver, was like the most stable anchor in Excellence's chaotic world.

Between them lay the precipitated university days they had experienced together, countless days and nights fighting side-by-side in laboratories and libraries, and a 'revolutionary friendship' that had grown deeper after facing life-and-death crises together.

This bond had long surpassed that of ordinary classmates or caregiver relationships, mixed with a vague ambiguity that they were both tacitly aware of but had to shelve due to Excellence's current state.

Su Mu knew everything about Excellence, just as she knew the lines on her own palms.

She could judge precisely from the degree of vacancy in his gaze whether he was deeply thinking about a complex formula or just mentally wandering due to brain fatigue; she could distinguish from the frequency and force of his unconscious tapping on the table whether it was a precursor to hypoglycemia because he was 'hungry,' a lack of energy because he was 'tired,' or the excited agitation before a burst of inspiration because he 'wanted to stir up trouble again.'

Her care was meticulous, carrying a near-instinctive rapport; the timing of passing water, the force of wiping sweat, and even the off-key lullabies she hummed when he was irritable were all just right.

This intimacy and tolerance, carrying a sense of matter-of-factness like a 'homegrown bear child' and deep emotion, was a unique aura between her and Excellence that outsiders could hardly intervene in.

And Evelyn Li represented a completely different kind of existence.

She was like a wind from another world, carrying exotic fragrances and precise rules.

She appeared at the most chaotic and fragile moment of Excellence's life, carrying the indelible original sin of her family and a heavy sense of atonement.

Her professionalism was impeccable; the snacks she brought were no longer simple treats, but amino acid puddings or special energy bars that were as exquisite as works of art and said to contain The Foundation's latest biotechnology and help with neural repair.

The topics she discussed with Excellence often slid naturally into cutting-edge technological trends, profound mathematical conjectures, or the latest developments in quantum theory that even Su Mu found incomprehensible.

She could always precisely catch Excellence's whimsical and logically leaping technical questions (although most of the time, Excellence's questions stemmed from fragmented memories and intuition, and he himself might not really understand them) and provide clear, well-cited answers, even if these answers might have been like heavenly books to the Excellence of that time.

The look in her eyes when she looked at Excellence was as complex as an unreadable classic.

Within it was deep guilt stemming from her father's crimes, sincere pity for the suffering he had endured, but gradually, a more complex emotion began to breed—a fascination deeply attracted by the strange mixture of Excellence's unique, broken sense of fragility and the occasional flashes of pure, heart-wrenching wisdom.

She tried to make up for it through meticulous care and professional help, while subconsciously and cautiously trying to approach that star which seemed closed off but might actually contain the mysteries of the universe.

As for Excellence himself, he still lived most of his time in a chaotic world pieced together by memory fragments, chaotic logic, and sudden whims, his thinking like a tangled mess of paste.

However, perhaps due to tinkering with that 'emotion visualization' device for a long time and repeatedly pondering the mapping relationship between various physiological signals and emotional states, his Perception of the emotions of people around him seemed to have become unusually keen and... direct to the core.

He could clearly feel the stable, reliable warmth radiating from Su Mu, like the winter sun, as well as her deep-rooted dependence and trust in him; he could also capture the gentleness hidden under Evelyn's elegant restraint, and the longing to be accepted that carried a hint of timidity and ingratiation.

This keen Perception was not based on complex logical analysis, but more like an animal instinct—direct, primitive, and often expressed without concealment.

Thus, scenes that seemed insignificant but caused small ripples in Su Mu's heart began to occur from time to time.

Once, Evelyn brought a small, translucent pudding that was said to be the latest achievement of The Foundation's nutrition laboratory, emitting a faint melon fragrance, claiming it contained rare amino acids that could specifically promote the repair of neuronal synapses.

Excellence ate it with gusto, spoon after spoon, and after finishing, he licked the spoon with lingering desire, then raised his bright eyes and gave Evelyn a guileless, silly smile: 'Sister Evelyn, this... jelly you brought? It's delicious! Sweet and smooth, much better than those wobbly red and green jellies in the cafeteria!'

At that time, Su Mu was holding a small knife, carefully cutting an apple into uniform small pieces, preparing to insert toothpicks and hand them to him.

Hearing this, her outstretched hand paused slightly, looking at the simple apple pieces in her hand, and then comparing them to Evelyn's 'high-tech' pudding that was as exquisite as a work of art, a sense of inexplicable... loss and comparison flashed through her heart.

She silently pulled the fruit plate towards herself and swallowed the words she had originally intended to say.

Another time, Evelyn and Excellence talked about a phenomenon called 'quantum tunneling effect,' trying to explain in the simplest language how microscopic particles could 'pass through walls.'

Evelyn explained it in simple terms, citing several clever metaphors.

Although Excellence likely didn't understand those complex physical images, he opened his eyes wide and watched Evelyn intently the whole time, his face revealing a pure, unadulterated expression of worship, as if he were looking up at an omniscient goddess of wisdom.

He would occasionally exclaim 'Wow...' or 'So amazing...'

And at that time, Su Mu was sitting on the side, patiently helping Excellence organize his draft papers, which were filled with strange symbols and circuit diagrams and comparable to heavenly books, trying to classify them.

Seeing Excellence reveal that look toward Evelyn—a look she remembered he only had when facing extremely exquisite mathematical proofs or physical models—she couldn't help but feel a touch of sourness in her heart: This idiot, he used to only stare at those incomprehensible formulas and circuit boards with these sparkling eyes!

Now he was actually showing this expression to... (she paused subconsciously)... to someone explaining knowledge!

A subtle discomfort of having her exclusive territory invaded quietly grew.

The time that gave Su Mu the greatest sense of invisible crisis was after Excellence finished a round of high-intensity physical therapy, exhausted, sweating profusely, and breathing rapidly.

Seeing this, Evelyn naturally took out a simple, elegant handkerchief from her silk handbag, with exquisite dark patterns embroidered on the edges and a faint, elegant fragrance, and leaned over to wipe the sweat from Excellence's forehead.

And Excellence, perhaps too tired to have his guard up, or simply thinking the handkerchief was beautiful and smelled good, didn't subconsciously dodge as he usually did when others touched him, but instead tilted his face slightly, preparing to accept this gentle wipe!

Just as that fragrant silk was about to touch Excellence's skin, Su Mu, almost as a conditioned reflex, stepped forward in one stride, quickly and politely blocking Evelyn's hand, while swiftly taking out a clean, pure cotton towel with a slight scent of soap from her pocket, saying: 'Oh! Excellence is a bit allergic to some artificial fragrances, use this! This is safe!'

She then neatly wiped the sweat from Excellence's forehead.

The entire process flowed seamlessly, but in that moment, Su Mu distinctly felt her heart race and experienced a fleeting, intense, possessive urge deep within.

Evelyn's hand froze in mid-air, a flash of brief awkwardness and realization crossing her face before it softened into a polite smile, and she silently withdrew her handkerchief.

A faint, competitive scent of gunpowder began to permeate the air.

"Excellence!" One day, while Evelyn was attending a technical briefing and they were alone in the rehabilitation room, Su Mu finally couldn't help herself.

With a hint of emotion she hadn't even realized she was harboring, she asked half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Do you think... Sister Evelyn is particularly gentle? Especially knowledgeable? Especially... good?"

At the time, Excellence was hunched over the workbench, fully focused on upgrading the software for his "Emotion Visualization 3.0" device.

He planned to add a bizarre, melodic cat meow he’d heard somewhere as the new notification sound for the "extreme pleasure" emotion.

Hearing the question, he looked up blankly, a smudge of solder paste still on his face, his eyes clear yet foolish.

"Huh? Monitor, what did you say? Sister Evelyn? Hmm... she's pretty nice... but Monitor, you're also very nice!"

He counted on his fingers, "You tell me those... um... sometimes really funny cold jokes, and when I pretend to be asleep because I don't want to take my medicine, you help me trick the doctor by saying I'm sound asleep and can't be woken up! You're amazing!"

Su Mu: "..."

Looking at Excellence's sincere "I'm praising you" expression, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The slight jealousy in her heart instantly dissolved into helplessness and a bittersweet tenderness.

Was this a compliment or an insult?

This guy's train of thought was truly as unique as ever!

Su Mu naturally wouldn't, and couldn't, openly express this subtle jealousy and comparison.

But Evelyn was incredibly sharp and perceptive; from Su Mu's subtle body language, momentary silences, and occasionally quickened speech, she had long since keenly sensed that hidden anxiety.

She smiled bitterly to herself, a deeper sense of guilt and self-awareness welling up.

What right did she have to compete with Su Mu, the "rightful partner" who had such deep roots with Excellence?

She was merely a sinner here to atone; to be able to watch him from afar and occasionally be of some help was already more than she could ask for.

Consequently, she began to maintain distance even more deliberately, reducing the time she spent alone with Excellence.

Even when sending things, she tried to have them delivered through Su Mu, becoming increasingly cautious and restrained in her words and actions, terrified of overstepping her bounds.

However, fate—or more accurately, Director Wang Jianguo's arrangements based on strategic considerations and optimal resource allocation—seemed determined to bind the three of them even closer together.

A small pre-research project codenamed "Wall Breaker" was launched, aiming to utilize Excellence's inexplicable, almost intuitive sensitivity to underlying logic and anomalous patterns (though it was hit-or-miss) to assist in cracking a short, encrypted code intercepted from a suspicious communication channel that used an extremely bizarre encryption method.

The project team required the collaboration of all three: Evelyn was responsible for providing cryptographic theory, possible encryption algorithm models, and technical characteristic analysis support that The Foundation might use;

Su Mu, with her solid computer science foundation and programming skills, was responsible for converting various conjectures into concrete algorithms and implementing them in software;

And Excellence, acting as an "inspiration source" or "humanoid anomaly detector," only needed to watch the processed, visualized data stream in a secure environment and then... share whatever comments came to mind, even if it was "nonsense" like "this code looks like a crooked tree" or "these numbers are arguing."

The work inevitably forced the three to spend long periods in the same room.

During breaks in the tense project discussions and debugging, the atmosphere was inevitably somewhat awkward and subtle.

"Excellence, look at this loop control flow. Do you think it feels a bit... off here?" Su Mu pointed at the dense code on the screen, leaning in close to Excellence to patiently guide him.

"Hmm... here... it's flickering... it's like a little bug is crawling..." Excellence frowned, pointing to a conditional judgment statement within a nested loop.

Evelyn stood a little further away, maintaining a professional distance.

Hearing this, she immediately chimed in, "Analyzing from the perspective of information theory and coding redundancy, the boundary condition settings for this loop might involve non-optimal repeated calculations. It would indeed generate invalid power consumption similar to 'jitter.' We could try optimizing it with a lookup table or a state machine..."

Her words were professional and precise, but Excellence seemed to have picked up on something else entirely.

He looked at Su Mu, who was huddled beside him, frowning as she stared at the screen, then glanced at Evelyn, who stood diagonally behind them, speaking fluently.

Suddenly, he blurted out, "When Monitor and Sister Evelyn... talk together... your voices... um... it's like... in music... that... a duet... one is higher, one is lower..."

Two blushes instantly flew onto Su Mu's cheeks, and she gave him a playful, embarrassed swat.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Focus on the code!"

Evelyn was also slightly taken aback; a faint, imperceptible blush appeared on her fair face, and she looked away, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

However, as the project progressed and they were forced into close collaboration, an awkward yet unavoidable tacit understanding slowly began to grow.

Su Mu had to admit that Evelyn's theoretical foundation was extremely deep; she could often take her own and Excellence's seemingly absurd conjectures, quickly organize them into a logical framework, and find the corresponding theoretical basis or technical feasibility.

Evelyn, in turn, secretly admired Su Mu's powerful hands-on ability and practical spirit, as well as her unique talent for seemingly resonating with Excellence's "leaping thoughts" and understanding the intuitive flashes of brilliance that might be hidden behind them.

As for Excellence, he did indeed spend most of his time looking like he was sleepwalking, staring blankly at abstract data visualizations or talking nonsense.

But occasionally—truly just by chance—his completely illogical "nonsense" would act like a rusty but perfectly fitting key that could pick a lock, precisely pinpointing the key Node they had been racking their brains over without success!

Once, the project hit a massive bottleneck.

They tried various mainstream cryptanalysis methods and several obscure algorithms provided by Evelyn that The Foundation might use, but all to no avail.

The three sat before the screen, staring at the chaotic, patternless data stream, at a total loss.

The atmosphere was stifling.

Excellence watched quietly for a long time—so long that Su Mu thought he had fallen asleep again.

Suddenly, he extended his index finger and gently tapped the randomly scrolling data packets on the screen, which were simulated as points of light.

He muttered to himself, "They're... dancing... so many little points of light... but... it looks like they're dancing wrong... they keep... stepping on each other's toes... it's all a mess..."

"Dancing? Stepping on toes?" Su Mu and Evelyn were both stunned, subconsciously exchanging a glance.

In that instant, it was as if an electric current had flashed between them!

They almost simultaneously realized a possibility they had overlooked—an extremely rare encryption method based on the superposition of pseudo-random sequences and specific collision rules to generate a mask!

The data conflict behavior during the decryption process was exactly like... a chaotic dance of "stepping on toes," wasn't it?!

The two immediately rushed to the computer, their fingers flying across the keyboards as they adjusted the parameters and algorithms based on this sudden "inspiration."

A few minutes later, the stubborn chaotic code on the screen began to loosen in a regular pattern, and a successfully extracted fragment of plaintext information appeared!

"It worked!" Su Mu couldn't help but cheer aloud.

Evelyn also let out a long sigh of relief, a long-lost, genuine, and relaxed smile appearing on her face.

In that moment, the immense joy of solving the problem together temporarily diluted all the subtle barriers between them.

They looked at the excitement sparkling in each other's eyes and couldn't help but laugh; a Resonance based on intelligence and collaboration rippled through the air.

Excellence watched them laughing happily.

Although he didn't quite understand what had happened, he joined in, smiling foolishly and repeating his strange metaphor: "See... a duet... sounds good..."

Hearing this, Su Mu and Evelyn's smiles faded slightly, and their gazes simultaneously fell back upon this young man, who was oblivious and ignorant, yet remained the core of the entire story.

Their hearts were filled with a complex mix of emotions—there was the relief of solving the problem, but also a deeper, indescribable, and complicated feeling.

Perhaps, in this extremely unique environment, maintaining this delicate and balanced relationship—where they jointly protected and guided him—was the best choice for everyone, especially for Excellence?

Yet, how were the seeds of emotion, silently growing in each of their hearts but forced to be kept hidden, to be planted and nurtured in this unique soil?

The road ahead seemed to remain shrouded in a hazy mist.