93: The delicate balance between escalating emotions and a "threesome" relationship

Time flowed quietly deep within the Candle Dragon base, at a rhythm distinctly different from the outside world. As they continuously shared the heavy responsibility of caring for Excellence, faced various emergencies side-by-side, and participated in highly confidential projects like the magpie bridge, the relationship between Su Mu and Evelyn—two women with vastly different backgrounds, personalities, and even starting points for their feelings towards Excellence—gradually settled and evolved. After initial probes, subtle jealousy, and an invisible barrier due to differing stances, it formed a delicate and complex balance that is hard to describe with simple words. This balance, rather than being an intimate friendship, was more like a “comradeship” forged on a special battlefield, intermingled with competition, understanding, admiration, and shared helplessness.

Su Mu, a girl of ordinary background yet possessing a rock-like tenacity and a sun-like warm personality, found herself increasingly unable to ignore Evelyn’s admirable professionalism, composure in crisis, and decisive efficiency at critical moments during their daily interactions. She clearly remembered an incident that still made her shudder—Excellence, while enthusiastically trying to upgrade the power module for his “Cyber Wasteland style” brainwave imager, accidentally short-circuited a solder joint. A dazzling electric spark instantly erupted, igniting a stack of old circuit diagrams piled nearby!

The incident was sudden. Su Mu, who had her back to Excellence, was organizing items. Hearing the abnormal sound and Excellence’s startled cry, she spun around and saw the rising flames. Her mind went blank instantly, and she froze in fear. But at this critical moment, Evelyn, who was closer to Excellence, reacted almost reflexively. Almost as soon as the sparks flew, she lunged forward like a swift leopard, grabbed the neatly folded fire blanket always kept in the corner, expertly unfurled it, covered the flames, and pressed down—all in one fluid motion! The entire sequence was clean and decisive, without any hesitation, instantly nipping the danger in the bud. After extinguishing the fire, she didn't even pause. She immediately turned to support Excellence, who was pale with fright and standing dumbfounded, quickly checking his hands and face for burns, and calmly reassuring him: “It’s alright, Excellence, just a small accident, don't be scared.”

At that moment, Su Mu looked at Evelyn’s calm and composed back, filled with lingering fear, but also an indescribable admiration and gratitude. She realized that this girl, from an opposing faction, whom she had once harbored reservations about, truly served as an indispensable protective umbrella for Excellence in critical moments, thanks to her professionally trained emergency response and steady mindset. This tangible display of capability was far more convincing than any words, quietly dismantling the last high wall of distrust in Su Mu’s heart.

In Evelyn’s eyes, the almost instinctive resilience, the never-ending optimism, and the unreserved, down-to-earth, and exquisitely detailed care Su Mu showed for Excellence deeply touched her, and even… made her envious. She came from The Foundation, a cold environment with a rigid hierarchy, emotional detachment, and everything driven by efficiency and results, where all she saw and heard were precise calculations and ruthless strategizing. She had never met anyone like Su Mu—someone who could dedicate almost all her time and energy to a seemingly hopeless companion, without complaint; who could patiently guide Excellence through boring rehabilitation exercises again and again in the clumsiest yet most sincere way, transforming a painful process into an encouraging game; who could pull him back from the brink of collapse when he was downcast and irritable due to cognitive impairment, with not-so-funny jokes, out-of-tune songs, or even warm hugs.

This pure emotional power, this profound bond built on daily trifles and shared experiences, was something Evelyn had never felt, or even imagined, in The Foundation's world of high technology and cold rationality. She admired Su Mu's persistence and was even more drawn to her vibrant vitality and warm human glow. Deep down, Su Mu was like a mirror, reflecting the warmth and purity that was missing from her own upbringing.

In the daily practice of

The two of them, one like warm earth providing stable reliance and life's nourishment; the other like a calm guide, pointing the way to knowledge and the boundaries of thought. Their styles were distinct, yet their goals were highly consistent, jointly constructing a relatively stable and safe

Excellence, under this dual protection, seemed quite content, even instinctively mastering a survival wisdom of

This

A sudden, seemingly trivial

This sudden drastic change in environment had a strong impact on Excellence, who was sensitive to sensory input and whose cognition was still unstable. The darkness deprived him of visual references, the silence amplified the voices in his mind, and the familiar

"Lights... out... all out..." He curled up in his rehabilitation chair, hugging himself tightly, his voice noticeably trembling, and his breathing becoming rapid. "...The voices in my head... seem... louder... so noisy..."

His most relied-upon Emotion-Visualization Device also went dark due to the power outage, unable to provide him with direct feedback on his emotional state, which further exacerbated his unease.

Su Mu reacted quickly, immediately pulling out her phone and turning on the flashlight function. A beam of warm light instantly pierced the darkness, dispelling some of the heart-stopping gloom. She quickly walked to Excellence's side, unhesitatingly gripping his cold and slightly trembling hand, using the warmth of her palm to convey a sense of calm. At the same time, she began softly humming a simple, cheerful campus folk song that Excellence used to love. Her singing was gentle and steady, like a mother soothing a frightened infant.

Almost simultaneously, Evelyn also sprang into action. Without the slightest panic, and relying on her familiarity with the room's layout, she walked in the dark to the storage cabinet and accurately retrieved a spare high-powered flashlight and an emergency light with adjustable color temperature and brightness. She set the emergency light to a soft, warm yellow, adjusting the brightness to illuminate the entire room without being harsh, creating a cozy rather than stark lighting environment. Then, she moved to Excellence’s other side and, using a calm, clear tone imbued with rational strength, explained the reason for the blackout: "Excellence, don't worry. This is just routine grid maintenance at the base, like a computer needing a regular system update, to ensure more stable power supply later. Power will be restored in about twenty minutes. See, we have backup lights, we are safe."

Under the coordinated comfort of the two women, one warm and one cool, one emotional and one rational, Excellence's rapid breathing gradually calmed, and his tense body slowly relaxed. The fear brought by the darkness was dispelled by the phone's light and the emergency lamp's warm glow, and the internal noise seemed to be soothed by Su Mu's song and Evelyn's rational explanation. In this peculiar atmosphere, he even reignited his curiosity, looking up in the warm yellow halo and asking Evelyn a childlike question: "Sister Evelyn, then... if there was a universal blackout, would all the stars blink their eyes in fear, just like I was?"

Evelyn was amused by the imaginative question and smiled. She patiently used this opportunity to explain the principle of stellar light and the vastness of the universe in simple terms, skillfully diverting his attention. Su Mu, meanwhile, took the chance to pull out a piece of dark chocolate—Excellence's favorite, which she had prepared earlier—peeled the wrapper, and put it in his mouth, saying with a cheerful voice, "Stop overthinking! The universe can't run out of power! Hurry up and eat the chocolate to sweeten your mouth. The fridge needs to work when the power comes back, so watch out for your pudding melting!"

Under the warm emergency light, the figures of the three were stretched and intertwined on the wall, resembling an inseparable whole. A warm atmosphere of mutual support and shared difficulty, transcending individual awkwardness, subtle jealousy, and identity gaps, quietly flowed in the darkness, silently permeating everyone's heart. This brief power outage caused no actual damage, but it acted like a silent team-building exercise, making the interactions between Su Mu and Evelyn more natural and harmonious. They started occasionally cracking jokes during work breaks, exchanging tips on skincare and fashion, and even shared helpless and amused expressions while complaining about one of Excellence's particularly "outlandish" attempts at a "hand-crafted" invention.

However, beneath this increasingly harmonious surface, the undercurrents of emotion were still surging deeply and had not truly subsided. Su Mu's feelings for Excellence, having passed the test of life and death and long waiting, had become clearer and firmer—a complex emotion blending responsibility, deep friendship, and nascent love, pure and persistent. Evelyn’s feelings for Excellence, on the other hand, were like a cocktail mixed with various base spirits, more complex and difficult to decipher: deep guilt stemming from her father's crimes, heartache and pity for his vulnerable state, pure admiration for his occasional flashes of astonishing intelligence, and perhaps... even a dangerous sentiment, one she hadn't clearly realized herself, quietly drawn by the unique temperament of Excellence, a strange blend of brokenness and pure intellect. But she constantly restrained herself with powerful rationality and self-discipline, always mindful of her identity and past, carefully maintaining an appropriate distance, and dedicating more effort to research assistance and rational support, as if erecting an invisible barrier around her feelings.

As for Excellence himself, most areas of his emotional and cognitive world remained like a pure lake shrouded in mist—simple and direct. He instinctively relied on and trusted Su Mu, enjoyed discussing "cool" knowledge with Evelyn, and felt a simple sense of "comfort" and "security" when he was with them. Interestingly, his Emotion-Visualization Device, which served as a window for externalizing his mood, recently often displayed a warm, orange-pink glow, like the afterglow of a sunset. The projected pattern frequently showed a dynamic effect similar to dandelion seeds lightly scattering in the breeze. When Su Mu asked him what mood this represented, he would tilt his head in thought for a moment, then reply with a satisfied tone: "Hmm... it's like... basking in the sun in winter while having a marshmallow in your mouth... that kind of... warm and sweet feeling." —Perhaps, this was the highest level of happiness and tranquility he could currently perceive and express.

Wang Jianguo silently observed the increasingly "harmonious" scene in the rehabilitation room through the omnipresent surveillance system, his mood quite complicated. On one hand, he was pleased. This stable, harmonious, and supportive environment was undoubtedly the best soil for Excellence's physical and mental recovery. The complementary protective alliance formed by Su Mu and Evelyn effectively cushioned Excellence from external pressures. But on the other hand, as an experienced strategic commander, he knew that risks could lurk beneath any seemingly stable equilibrium. Especially this delicate emotional love triangle—it might be peaceful now, but in the future, if a major change or external stimulus occurred, it could easily become the fuse that ignites internal conflict. Evelyn, in particular, despite her loyalty having passed initial tests, her complex family background, the true emotions potentially hidden deep within her, and the intricate, hard-to-sever ties between her and The Foundation, always felt like a ticking time bomb, preventing him from fully relaxing.

"Continue close observation, granting them full trust and autonomy on non-critical issues so they can comfortably care for Excellence," Wang Jianguo instructed Little Zhang at the daily security briefing, his tone serious. "However, the critical bottom line must be firmly held! Excellence's physical data, any abnormal words or actions, and all information related to core projects must be strictly controlled within the minimum need-to-know scope! Furthermore..." He paused, his gaze sharply fixed on the monitoring screen of the base's perimeter defense system. "Morpheus Li has been unusually quiet lately. Given his personality, he would never give up easily after a few failures. This surface calm often foreshadows a bigger storm brewing. Pass the order down: all perimeter alert units are to raise their vigilance level by one! We must prepare for the worst-case scenario!"

Thus, beneath this seemingly calm and peaceful harbor built by warm light, daily companionship, and shared protection, the shadow of external threat from the abyss never dissipated, and subtle internal emotional undercurrents and identity tensions still lurked. All the tranquility was merely a brief respite between storms. The real test, perhaps, was only just beginning.