On how PhDs become human evil

Lifting his head from the hot spring, Bai Jie rolled his eyes at the half-baked tough guy in front of him and said irritably, "I can understand if Tsukasa Kadoya is here, but why are you here too?"

“Not only me, Philip came too, but that guy passed out because he soaked in the water for too long during the day. He’s really useless.”

How dare you, a half-baked tough guy, criticize others?

"Well, although I'm here for fun, I'll only be staying for two or three days. I'll just soak in the hot springs and then leave. It won't interfere with your Cecilia strategy, so don't worry."

"If you dare to interfere, I'll knock you out, dress you in women's clothing, and throw you to Akiko."

Are you a demon?

"I could say I'm the embodiment of the devil now, or maybe it wouldn't be wrong to call me a devil?"

Bai Jie, the embodiment of all evil in this world, faced Zuo Xiangtaro with a warning expression and eyes that seemed to imply that he would make his words come true if he dared to interfere.

The thought that his photos in women's clothing might fall into the hands of that devilish Akiko made Shotaro readily admit defeat; he didn't want his reputation to be ruined.

"Fafner? Are you there?"

Suddenly, Cecilia's voice came from the other side of the bamboo barrier not far away.

"What? You've figured it out so quickly?"

"More than that, there's something I'd like you to do."

"What is it?"

"Call me 'Mom' and let me hear it."

What should I do if Bai Jie suddenly wants to play the Ansai waist drum?

P.S.: Update

P.S.: I was wondering why I couldn't get on the update ranking even though I update five times a day. Turns out, you need 500 average subscriptions to be on it, and I only have 200. Oh well. But looking at those updates on the ranking with up to 50,000 words, I think if I made it, I could totally crush them.

Section 154, Chapter 16. Otto: I've proposed marriage for you.

Early the next morning, in the restaurant, Bai Jie pushed open the door and came to the table, calling out to Jiao Feng, who was busy at work, "Jiao Feng, give me a serving of today's special apple rice."

"Okay, Doctor—what happened to you, Doctor? Why do you have such big dark circles under your eyes? And you look so haggard..."

Suddenly, as if realizing something, Horn Peak leaned close to Bai Jie and whispered, "You wouldn't have... Take care of yourself, Doctor."

Grabbing his horns, Bai Jie said with a dark face, "What are you thinking? I couldn't sleep all night because Cecilia kept me up. If that were the case, how could I have gotten up at seven in the morning? Hurry up and make me breakfast!"

“I think I’ve heard something that can’t be ignored.” Someone sat down next to Bai Jie. “Horn Peak, give me a special apple rice bowl as well.”

Looking at the person who had come, Bai Jie mustered a little strength to speak: "It's you, Kal'tsit. Are you sober from last night's drinking?"

Who else could be sitting next to Bai Jie, besides Kal'tsit, the retired emperor of Rhodes Island (laughs)?

"Don't underestimate my alcohol tolerance. I look like I've had a lot to drink, but I'm only a little dizzy. It's much better than you, who can't hold your liquor after just five bottles of beer."

"Um... I just don't like drinking alcohol; it makes my brain sluggish."

"That's why I said you're still far from being a leader... Have you explained everything to her?" Kal'tsit was naturally referring to the matter between Bai Jie and Cecilia.

For Kal'tsit, both of these people were people with whom she had a very close relationship.

Bai Jie was the person she recruited to Rhodes Island; he was her junior and also the person she loved.

Cecilia is her best friend, as well as Bai Jie's godmother and her mother-in-law.

She had always been concerned about the taboo relationship between the two of them, and even considered developing a drug to erase memories so that their relationship could start from scratch.

He pinched his thigh to clear his head, then pointed to his dark circles: "I said I made things clear, but I didn't sleep all night because of it. She was like a walking encyclopedia, asking this and that endlessly."

"Did she even mention that you're her son?"

“Otherwise what? This is something that can’t be avoided no matter what.” Bai Jie sighed. “But now we’ve settled this matter. Cecilia said that no matter what happens in the future, for now, she and I are just bodyguards and bodyguards. Let history decide how things will develop.”

"So you're saying we should just keep going with the current momentum?" Kal'tsit laughed. "Isn't that great? You can create your own history, and that will put your mind at ease."

"I guess so, but considering that my past self will reappear in two or three years, things aren't completely over yet."

Bai Jie came into this world in 1996, and he has five years left to prepare before his past self arrives.

Whether it's preparing to deal with the Second Herrscher, preparing to deal with one's past self, or preparing for what happens after one's departure.

"Well, there are still five years to go, let's take it slow. The most important thing now is to fill our stomachs and then go to sleep."

“You’re right, Doctor, health is the most important thing.” Horn Peak brought out two plates of apple rice that exuded a refreshing aroma from the kitchen.

"Horn Peak's Special Apple Rice, please enjoy."

...

After finishing breakfast, Bai Jie returned to his room and found that Cecilia was already up.

Upon seeing Bai Jie return, Cecilia laughed and said, "How strange! You got up earlier than me. Did the sun rise in the west?"

"I was tormented by you all night. You were so tired that you fell asleep, but I couldn't sleep at all because you were holding my hands and feet." Bai Jie said irritably, "I've already eaten breakfast, and now I'm going to take a nap. Don't bother me anymore."

"Good, good, my lovely son."

"I already told you, can we please not bring this up again!"

"Hee hee hee!"

Bai Jie felt that Cecilia had changed a lot compared to yesterday, and seemed... more human?

Yesterday, Cecilia was still that task fanatic who only knew how to obey orders. Although she wasn't as rigid and inflexible as a robot, her emotions were still quite limited.

But Cecilia actually teased Bai Jie today?!

(Finally... is there a glimpse of the future?)

Watching Cecilia's retreating figure as she left the room, Bai Jie smiled with relief. If Cecilia was moving closer to the Cecilia he remembered, it meant that he had indeed taken effective action.

The price to pay is a pair of dark circles under my eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'm going to sleep too, I'm so sleepy..."

Bai Jie slept soundly until nightfall, not even waking up when Cecilia came to call him for lunch. He truly slept like a log.

Because of this, the two almost missed the supersonic transport plane that was returning to Destiny. Although Bai Jie could call Otto to send another one, he couldn't expect the pilot to fly back and forth all the time. Bai Jie still had that much conscience.

————————————————————————

Three days after the hot spring trip ended, Bai Jie, who was doing research in his laboratory, was called to Otto's office.

As soon as he entered the office, Bai Jie, sporting dark circles under his eyes, said, "You have ten minutes to finish what you have to say, Otto. My research is at a critical juncture, and I'm afraid I'll make a mistake if I delay."

"I am very sorry to have interrupted your experiment, Dr. Fafnir, but this involves two important matters, so I urgently called you here. Please forgive me."

Otto smiled apologetically.

"First of all, there's the Babylon Laboratory. You mentioned wanting to join, right? The laboratory has now been initially established in Siberia. Although it will take another two or three years to become fully operational, you can move in now if you wish."

The Babylon Laboratory, the birthplace of the Second Herrscher. When Bai Jie said he wanted to join there, he hoped to find the Second Herrscher who had not yet awakened, or to nip her in the bud when she was just emerging and her abilities were not strong. Now, this laboratory is finally about to be built.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Jie said, "Let me know when it's officially operational. There's no point in going now."

“Okay, I understand. As for the other thing... actually, Cecilia brought it up with me the day before yesterday.”

Upon hearing Cecilia's name, Bai Jie froze, but what Otto said next brought him to a standstill.

“Cecilia said she hopes to marry you and asked me to propose on your behalf. The Shaniat family just agreed, so I asked you how you plan to arrange the wedding.”

P.S.: Update

P.S.: My hands are shaking, but there are still two more chapters to go. Please give me some votes and tips to encourage me!

Section 155, Chapter 17: Cecilia: Would it be beneath you to marry me, Cecilia?

He kicked open the door to Otto's office, activated the [Cyclone] and [Bird] memories to fly into the sky, and then activated the [Accel] memory to gain super speed. Bai Jie rushed back to the Shaniat family home in one breath, kicked open the door without any mercy, and barged into Cecilia's room.

Inside the room, Cecilia was unusually skipping training and combing her hair when Bai Jie's intrusion startled her so much that she dropped the comb on the floor.

Still shaken, Cecilia looked at Bai Jie and said coquettishly, "What's wrong? You suddenly barged in and scared me to death."

"You scared me half to death! Suddenly you say you want to marry me? What are you doing?!"

"Ah! That...did Bishop Otto tell you?"

When the topic of marriage came up, Cecilia readily admitted it.

"So why do you suddenly want to marry me? Besides, I'm your future son. Are you sure you don't have a problem marrying me? Can you really accept it?"

"But you also said that the future me fell in love with you, and you accepted the future me. Besides, I've never treated you like a son. Right now, you're older than me."

It's not that kind of problem! If we get married, the issues will be really serious!

Logically, Siegfried should have married Cecilia, and they would have had Kiana and adopted Bai Jie, who traveled from that time, in 1996.

But if Cecilia and Bai Jie get married, then it's questionable whether Kiana will even appear. Moreover, if she adopts the Bai Jie from the past, then the situation becomes "I'm my own father," which is ridiculous!

"In short! This marriage is not going to happen! I'm going to have Otto annul this engagement right now, it's outrageous!"

"So... you want me to marry Siegfried?"

Cecilia's words struck Bai Jie like a thunderbolt, leaving him frozen in place.

Inside the room, a cool breeze blew in through the window, ruffling Cecilia's beautiful white hair. Cecilia had stood up at some point, her eyes fixed on Bai Jie's back.

"Answer me, are you planning to watch me marry someone else?"

Cecilia repeated her question.

"Fafner, I'm asking you one last time, do you want to see me put on a wedding dress, wear a wedding ring, and in a church, make a vow to another man that I'll spend my life with him?"

Are you willing?

How could Bai Jie possibly agree to that! How could he possibly watch Cecilia be kidnapped by that bastard Siegfried!

Of course he wanted to be the one standing with Cecilia, to personally put the wedding ring on her finger, and to hear her say "I do"... Of course he wanted to.