[At the Luofu Research Institute]
Zandar had no interest in reading the data in front of him. His gaze kept drifting toward Matthias nearby.
A few system hours ago, Eric's Jade Communicator location had suddenly disappeared from the Luofu.
Matthias was at a complete loss.
But he couldn't ask the other Xianzhou officials to confirm it.
The moment he asked, they would ask him in return, "Why do you have that lord's location? Does he know about this?"
When the way you learned a secret is itself a secret, the only thing you can do is keep silent.
Matthias believed Eric didn't know about it.
He lived in constant fear that one day the truth would come out, and that the father he respected would reprimand him.
His nerves were stretched so tight that he overlooked certain details.
For example, why had Eric never changed his Jade Communicator?
Or why, whenever Eric traveled, he always posted pictures and updates from his daily life?
It was simply to reassure his subordinates.
He had long since silently accepted that their behavior was gradually crossing the line.
Zandar looked at Matthias.
The young man wore a worried expression and kept refreshing the page on his screen.
The scholar looked back ahead.
The data report before him had been sitting there for who knew how long.
It suddenly occurred to Zandar that he, Matthias, and his student's subordinates were no different.
They all suffered from severe separation anxiety.
Just then, Matthias suddenly let out a long sigh of relief.
Zandar turned toward the sound.
The young man's brows relaxed, and joy appeared on his face.
The scholar immediately understood.
His student had returned.
He took out his long-distance communicator and invited his student and Jingliu to dinner.
Eric did not reply immediately.
A moment later, he asked whether Zandar would mind if there was one more guest.
After agreeing, Zandar casually mentioned Matthias as well.
The two quickly settled on a time and place.
The scholar put away the communicator, stood up, walked over to Matthias, and showed him the messages on the screen.
The young man cried out in surprise and repeatedly thanked him.
Zandar waved his hand, said his goodbyes to everyone ahead of time, and left the institute.
His residence was near Eric's home.
Knowing his preferences, his student had specially chosen a Western-style manor for him.
He passed the fountain, crossed the courtyard, walked past the statues, turned through several winding paths, and finally reached the main building.
Zandar entered through the front door and reached the reception hall half a minute later.
He casually removed the wide-brimmed felt hat from his head and hung it on the nearby coat rack.
Then his gaze paused for a moment.
Zandar remembered something from long ago.
In his journal, before the Stellar Computer was officially delivered, he had visited his teacher together with Eric.
Teacher and student, separated for decades, met again.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
No one expected Eric to be the first to break the silence.
The fifteen-year-old boy took the initiative to greet the teacher.
He shook hands with him with complete familiarity, as though they had known each other for years.
The boy smiled politely. His tone was warm without making anyone uncomfortable.
"Professor Zandar always talks about you..."
When introducing himself, he deliberately borrowed Zandar's surname.
The teacher's eyes widened. He looked at Eric, then at Zandar, and asked uncertainly, "He is... your son?"
It was the first time Zandar had ever seen his teacher so shocked. Smiling, he nodded.
The emotions that had been surging within him gradually settled.
The teacher looked dazed for an instant.
Only for an instant, before Eric snatched away his cane.
Holding the cane in one hand and supporting the teacher's arm with the other, Eric led him inside.
The three talked from the reception hall to the back garden, then made their way to the lakeside.
The reason was simple. The teacher wanted to show Eric the flowers he had carefully cultivated.
After looking at the flowers, he led them to the lake to look for schools of fish together.
Zandar slowed his pace and followed behind the teacher and Eric.
He stared at his teacher's back, his eyes flickering.
His teacher... was no different from any other elderly person.
It was as though he was afraid Eric would get bored, afraid the younger generation wouldn't want to visit again after leaving, so he eagerly brought out every interesting thing he owned.
The three of them crouched by the lake with pieces of bread in their hands. Afraid of startling the fish, they lowered their voices as much as possible while guessing where they might appear.
From time to time they broke off small pieces of bread and tossed them into the water, waiting and waiting, but the fish never came.
Eric stepped beside the teacher and helped him to his feet.
The teacher stood there for quite a while before finally speaking.
"Next time. The boat has been sent for repairs. You'll definitely be able to see them next time. There's also a little foal in the stable..."
Zandar frowned and interrupted immediately.
"No. He has a bleeding disorder..."
The teacher shook his head.
"Eric, you don't have your protective gear here."
"Next time."
The group returned to the main building and had afternoon tea together.
Eric was still thinking about the foal the teacher had mentioned. He kept asking where the stable was and repeatedly promised, "I just want to take a look..."
Unable to refuse, the teacher raised a hand and pointed.
Eric immediately took off his suit jacket, removed his bow tie, casually tossed both onto the sofa, and hurried outside.
The teacher watched Eric's departing figure with a smile.
Only after he had completely disappeared from sight did he look away.
"Where did you find him?"
Zandar quietly told him the story of how he had met Eric.
When he reached the part where Eric had asked him to give him a name, the teacher raised an eyebrow and couldn't help praising him.
"What a clever child."
They had only met once.
But once he had given him a name...
A childless Zandar would naturally pay attention to Eric, and their relationship would naturally grow closer.
It wasn't a brilliant trick. Both the teacher and Zandar saw through it at a glance.
"Yes." Zandar understood this perfectly well. He didn't care about his student's motives, nor did he think he was being used. Instead, he felt gratified. "At least it shows... he won't be easily deceived."
After they finished talking about Eric, Zandar handed over the experimental data for the Stellar Computer.
The teacher put away his smile, let out a soft sigh, set down his tea, and accepted it.
Zandar sat upright, naturally clenching both hands into fists and resting them on his trousers.
The clock ticked away, making who knew how many rounds.
The teacher's expression became colder and colder.
Zandar unconsciously clenched his fists tighter as his emotions rose and fell with each passing second.
The teacher put down the report and rubbed his brow.
When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with exhaustion.
The teacher asked softly, "What is it that you want to hear?"
Without waiting for Zandar to answer, the teacher closed his eyes for a moment before harshly rebuking him.
He did not receive the answer he wanted.
In his teacher's eyes, he had become a villain dragging the universe into the abyss.
Zandar was shocked and furious.
Perhaps the teacher's anger had yet to subside, or perhaps those words had exhausted him. His chest was still rising and falling violently.
"I can't stop you."
After saying that, the teacher picked up the cane at his side and stood up.
The next moment, they heard a horse neigh.
Both of them widened their eyes.
Zandar looked toward the jacket and bow tie lying on the sofa, and the anger in his heart flared even higher.
He ground his teeth and said, "That's right..."
"He wasn't even going to ride the horse, so why did he take off his jacket?!"
Zandar let out a cold laugh, rushed through the reception hall, and sprinted outside.
"The one who could stop you..." the teacher murmured, "...can't even understand your experimental data."
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