“Yes,” came Winnie’s reply. “I remember you telling me about it. It’s Marie Curie, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize.”
“Yes, that’s the great woman I admire. What a pity their research environment was terrible back then; they did not have as many precautionary measures as we do. Because of her long-term exposure to radioactive material during her research, she ended up passing away from aplastic anemia. I don’t want that, of course, but I believe death for a noble cause should be worthwhile. Alpha radioactive gas has yet to undergo human trials. I’m simultaneously the researcher and the test subject. Even if I end up dying, I am sacrificing myself for science. I think it’s worth it. God, what am I talking about? We’re not going to die. I’ll find a way to cure us all. Trust me, Winnie.”
“Of course,” was Winnie’s confident answer. “I refuse to believe that I’ll die this easily. Still, there’s something I want to ask you about.”
“What is it?”
“How does the red marking look like? Is it ugly? I asked the doctor about it earlier, but she didn’t tell me anything. I’m guessing it looks horrible. Does it look like the markings of a melon?”
“Melon markings? I’m surprised you thought of that. Aren’t the markings of melons too thick? Have you ever watched fantasy dramas? Do you know how the veins on their faces turn black when they’re poisoned?”
“I have. I still remember the name of the drama.”
“What drama is it? Let’s see if we were watching the same drama.” A moment later, she cried out, “Darn! That’s the drama I was talking about. We really watched the same thing.”
The two of them ended up chatting from the topic of a life-and-death situation to the topic of television shows they used to watch. It was as though they were unbothered by their crisis.
At that moment, Xavier was outside the quarantine room, watching Winnie.
By then, he had already found out about the red markings on Winnie’s body.
He was afraid that she would feel bad, and he was terrified of losing her. That was why he had rushed over to her right away, wanting to cherish every second he had with her.
Yet, it seemed that she was chatting merrily with Lisanne. Even though he had no idea what they were talking about, he was content with standing just outside, watching her.
No matter which angle he looked at her from, the woman he loved was simply the most beautiful woman in the world, especially when she smiled.
He could not bring himself to disturb her, so he continued standing outside until Lisanne noticed his presence and ended the call.
Once Xavier saw that they were done with the call, he went into Winnie’s room.
Upon hearing Xavier, Winnie stretched out her hand to him.
Xavier strode toward her.
Before he could say anything, Winnie uttered, “Did you bribe the doctor? You’re here right after she’s gone.”
“It’s just a coincidence. If you weren’t adamant about kicking me out, I would’ve stayed here with you,” Xavier said as he put a hand on her stomach. “Can I take a look?”
“No. I haven’t even looked at it myself, so how can I let you look at it first?” Winnie rejected him with a smile. “Why aren’t you talking? Are you really that interested? Lisanne and her colleague will be recording these symptoms. They’ve taken photos of theirs, so you can go and check out Lisanne’s male colleague’s photo instead.”
There was a pained look in Xavier’s eyes that Winnie could not see. “I don’t want to. I’m not interested in other people.”
Even though Xavier was already suppressing his emotions, Winnie could still hear him choke on his words
She wrapped her arms around Xavier’s neck and said, “Don’t be like this, okay? You’ve been here for a while now, right? You must have seen how unperturbed I was when I was chatting with Lisanne. If we, the ones caught up in this, aren’t worried, why are you worrying about it instead? You’re only stressing me out.”
“Then what should I do?” Xavier asked, tears in his eyes.
“You’re neither a doctor nor a scientist, so there’s nothing you can do. Just relax as I do and think of this as just a normal cold. Go back to your normal schedule.”
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