On how PhDs become human evil

Whether I take action or not depends on your answer; if your answer is—

Chen didn't continue speaking because a hand pressed down on hers as she prepared to draw her sword. The warmth and presence of the hand drew her attention away from Kal'tsit. —"Bai Jie, what brings you here?"

Standing next to Chen, Bai Jie removed her hand from Chi Xiao's robes and said, half annoyed and half helpless, "If I hadn't come, who knows what kind of trouble you two would have caused? Don't be so quick to threaten violence. Maintain your ladylike manners! Kal'tsit, you too, speak properly and don't get so angry—"

"Tell me before you do that, are you really going to marry this woman?"

Like a sharp arrow, Kal'tsit cut straight into Bai Jie's words, questioning him. Her sharp and piercing gaze sent a chill down Bai Jie's spine.

After a moment of silence, Bai Jie took Chen's hand and said, "Yes, I agree."

"Is that so..." Kal'tsit's tone sounded somewhat forlorn and regretful to everyone. "Then let me ask you another question: Will you leave Rhodes Island?"

Yes—Kal'tsit could almost hear Bai Jie's answer. She had brought Bai Jie to Rhodes Island through semi-coercion, and he had never been given a kind look on Rhodes Island. It was only natural that he would be tired of Rhodes Island. For him, Lungmen was the place he wanted to go most.

"Hey Kal'tsit, have you lost your mind? Why would I leave Rhodes Island for no reason?" Bai Jie looked at Kal'tsit like she was an idiot. "Could it be that you've been in the Medical Department, a place full of weirdos, for too long, and your own thought process has become weird too? Come to think of it, there's no way I would leave Rhodes Island, okay?"

"First of all, my official identity is now that of a Doctor from Rhodes Island, and my registration in Lungmen was revoked long ago. If I were to leave Rhodes Island, I would be a completely unregistered person. I would have to be out of my mind to leave Rhodes Island."

"Then, I'm now suffering from Oripathy. Where am I supposed to get treatment if I leave Rhodes Island? You may be a heartless doctor, but you've been very dedicated to treating me. Why should I waste such good treatment opportunities?"

"Finally, although Rhodes Island pays me less than Lungmen and the benefits are much worse—there are so many cute girls here!"

Kal'tsit was initially touched by the first two reasons, but the last one made her immediately turn cold.

"Putting aside Amiya, look at Exusiai and the others, aren't they all adorable girls who are at least idol-level cute? Besides, they have so many soft tails and ears for me to touch, I absolutely love Rhodes Island!"

That last "ah" wasn't something Bai Jie intentionally said loudly, nor was it deliberately drawn out in pitch; it was a cry of pain.

Clutching the back of his head, Bai Jie turned around and yelled at Chen, "Why did you hit me, honey? It hurts!"

"Don't you have any self-awareness about why you got beaten up?" Chen said irritably. She was the one who arrived first, and she was the one who fell for him first, so why are there always these Rhodes Island vixens cutting in line?

(But... honey, hehehe.)

"You're just like a little girl in love, even though you're already quite old." As if she could read Chen's mind, Kal'tsit said something that was no different from a provocation.

Upon hearing this, Chen glared back at her without any politeness, then grabbed Bai Jie's arm and said, "Alright, now that things are settled, we can go home."

"Wait a moment, Ms. Chen. You've caused such a big problem in my medical department, seriously hindering our research progress. How do you plan to compensate us?"

—Actually, it would have been fine to just keep Bai Jie here.

Kal'tsit would never say such a thing, no matter what. The one who confesses first is the loser!

(At a time like this, you're still worrying about pointless issues of dignity. You're really too naive, Kal'tsit.)

Chen smiled slightly and said, "I'll be taking wedding photos with Bai Jie tonight. I'll send you one then. Are you satisfied? Goodbye!"

After saying that, Chen didn't give Kal'tsit any time to say anything more and pulled Bai Jie away from the medical department.

"boom--!"

Kal'tsit crushed the test tube in her hand with force, cursing Chen hundreds or thousands of times in her mind.

So what if you have wedding photos? You just got a head start! So what if you get married? I have hundreds of people here! I refuse to believe I can't even poach a small portion of them!

----------------------

At the Shaniat home, looking at the completed marriage application in her hand, Cecilia let out a long sigh as if she didn't know what to say.

"While I'm happy that my Fafnir has found a girl to settle down with, Chen, don't you think your relationship is progressing too fast?"

“Because if we drag this out, some people might take advantage of the situation, so I think it’s better to strike first,” Chen said, putting his arm around Bai Jie’s. “What do you think, Fafnir? Are we getting married tomorrow?”

"No, no, no! That's way too fast! We just met yesterday and we're getting married tomorrow. Even a whirlwind marriage wouldn't be this rushed! Don't we need to prepare beforehand? And most importantly, we need to build up our relationship!"

Bai Jie's meaning is very clear: in the eyes of outsiders, Chen and Bai Jie are strangers who have only met for two days. What kind of strangers would get married on the third day of meeting? Even the most open-minded Americans wouldn't!

Squeezing his brow, Bai Jie said, "Anyway, let's put the marriage on hold for now. Anyway, the application is already filled out, and I can't run away from it, so why are you in such a hurry?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Let's start as a couple. Everything should be done step by step. We can talk about settling down after we've been dating for a few years.

“Hmm, that would be fine.” The first to answer was not Chen, but Cecilia. “Although it’s a bit rude to say this, we don’t know what kind of person you are, Chen. I’m really not comfortable entrusting my son to you like this.”

After thinking for a while with his chin in his hand, Chen nodded and said, "Okay, I agree."

P.S.: Update

P.S.: My application to sign a contract was rejected, which really upset me. Anyway, I'll try again with 100,000 words. If that still doesn't work, I'll just have to rely on my passion to keep writing.

Section 38, Chapter 14: Doctor: Little sister, your brother is here to beat you up again!

Location: Far East Branch, St. Freya Academy, Airport

Looking at her watch repeatedly to confirm that the scheduled time was approaching, Himeko Murata turned to Theresa beside her and voiced her doubts: "Theresa, what is headquarters thinking? Why did they suddenly remove me from my captain position? And send a greenhorn with no captain experience."

Logically speaking, this dismissal is highly unusual.

First of all, the Far East Branch recently experienced the Third Honkai Impact, and now is the time to use people to deal with the aftermath. As one of Schicksal's most outstanding commanders, Himeko Murata can be said to be the most important talent in the Far East Branch at present.

Then came the reasons for her dismissal. The headquarters stated that "Himeko Murata repeatedly abused her position by driving the Hyperion to banquets" and "repeatedly drove under the influence of alcohol during work hours."

What kind of ridiculous excuse is this?! She's so old and still unmarried, is it wrong for her to go on blind dates? Is it wrong for her to drown her sorrows in alcohol after a failed blind date? She used to do this all the time at headquarters, and back then they didn't say anything, did they? Why are they investigating now?!

Not only Himeko, but Theresa was also very puzzled by this transfer, especially since it was an order personally given by her grandfather, Bishop Otto. This made Theresa wonder if there was a deeper reason behind it.

"Fortunately, the new captain is someone I know, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Someone you know?"

“Yes, he’s my nephew, and Kiana’s brother,” Theresa said with a smile. “I haven’t seen them since I left headquarters. I didn’t expect them to both come to the Far East branch. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or inevitable.”

Theresa was really happy. She had been away from headquarters for several years and had always cared about her best friend's children, especially Bai Jie.

Back then, Siegfried took Kiana away, and she also left. Cecilia also died in the Second Honkai Impact, which left White Knight all alone. Theresa has always felt guilty about this.

Fortunately, both Kiana and Bai Jie have now arrived at the Far East Branch, and the brother and sister who have been separated for several years can finally reunite.

"boom--!"

A sudden burst of strong winds erupted from above, and a powerful upward spiral of air continued to rise. In the sky, a black floating warship was slowly descending, with the three large characters "Fafner" engraved on its side.

It was Bai Jie's Fafner private jet!

The Favreau landed smoothly at the airport, and at the same time, the bridge doors opened, and two figures jumped off the deck.

"10:30:12 local time, the error is within the acceptable range, so it seems I shouldn't be late." Blake brushed his bangs, which had been ruffled by the wind during the descent, and looked at Theresa and Himeko. "It's been a long time, Aunt Theresa, you are as beautiful and charming as ever."

"Absolutely! Theresa is the cutest in the world, no exaggeration!" Hearing her nephew's praise, Theresa proudly straightened her posture and smiled with a proud expression.

His gaze shifted to Himeko beside him, and Bai Jie stepped forward, squatted down and gave her a standard hand kiss. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Himeko Murata. I am Fafnir Schariac. As a captain, I am still a newcomer, and I hope that you, as my senior, can help me a lot."

With her cheeks slightly flushed, Himeko looked at Bai Jie, who was about the same age as her, and stammered, "Oh... sure... feel free to ask me if you don't understand anything."

“Speaking of Fafnir, who’s this next to you? Your adjutant?” Theresa looked at Chen, who had jumped down with Bai Jie.

Before Bai Jie could introduce him, Chen stepped forward and introduced himself: "Ms. Theresa, hello, I am Chen, and my current identity is Fafnir's bodyguard and protector."

“Fiancée?! Fiancée?!” Theresa stared at Chen and Bai Jie in horror. “Fafner, I remember you’re only 22 this year, right? Are you planning to get married so early?”

"No way! Chen, didn't I already say we're just dating for now? When did we become engaged?"

"You're going to get married sooner or later anyway, aren't you? Or are you trying to back out now that you've already signed the application?"

As Chen said this, he gave Bai Jie a subtle glare, and under the pressure of that gaze, Bai Jie immediately cowered.

(I clearly said I would try my best to establish a manly authority... This damned conditioned reflex!)

As a good man of the new century, Bai Jie felt that he could not be suppressed by Chen forever and that it was necessary to establish his dignity as a man, otherwise how could he regain his husbandly authority in the future? But unfortunately, the physical instinct formed by the countless times Chen had scolded and ordered him in the past made him obediently listen to Chen.

Bai Jie: I don't want to be henpecked!

Of course, Bai Jie and Chen didn't know that while they were flirting (?), Ji Zi was already silently shedding tears in her heart.

(Why are all the good men I meet already married?! When will I ever find someone?!)

"Alright, alright, let's put your lovey-dovey stuff aside for now. Let's find a place to sit down first; standing like this isn't appropriate. I'll also introduce you to St. Freya Academy." Theresa clapped her hands to break the awkward silence.

----------------

"What, a new captain is coming?"

Kiana looked surprised when she heard the news in the cafeteria of St. Freya Academy.

"Himeko was doing a great job as captain, so how come there's a new captain now?"

"I don't know either, I just glimpsed it when I was helping Himeko-sensei carry her homework—Kiana, you don't eat vegetables!" Mei said as she put some of the vegetables from her lunch into Kiana's lunch.

Seeing the extra green in her lunch, Kiana's expression immediately fell: "No, Mei! How am I supposed to handle the afternoon's combat training if I don't eat meat? And why are you giving me green peppers?!"

"Kiana, eating more vegetables is good for a balanced diet. Eating only meat and not vegetables will cause great harm to your health," Fu Hua said seriously, adjusting his glasses as he stood next to Kiana.

"Class monitor... alright, I'll eat it."

With great reluctance, Kiana picked up the dripping green pepper, and as if giving up on herself, shoved it into her mouth and swallowed it without even chewing.

Then, Kiana knelt down.

"Ughhh... I never want to eat green peppers again." Kiana, sprawled on the dining table, uttered these final words.

Just then, Theresa brought Bai Jie and Chen into the cafeteria.

"My dear niece, why are you lying down again? Did you eat something bad?"

"Huh? Aunt Flo, what brings you here...."

Kiana stopped mid-sentence, and Mei, sitting opposite her, also stood up as if facing a formidable enemy, both of them looking at Bai Jie, who was following Theresa, with wary expressions.

They remembered clearly that back in Changkong City, it was Bai Jie who severely injured the three of them, and Kiana was even on the verge of death.

"Headmistress, who is this person behind you?" Mei asked cautiously.

"This is my nephew Fafnir, and also the new captain of the Hyperion. From now on, you'll be colleagues, so remember to get along well."

Stepping out from behind Theresa, Bai Jie took Mei's hand and gently kissed it.

“I am Fafnir Schariac, nice to meet you, Miss Raiden Mei.”

Looking at Fafnir's gentle smile, Mei and Kiana couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.