Chapter 1338

Maria was stunned. She hadn't meant it that way, yet Austin seemed to take her words seriously. In her moment of hesitation, he fastened his seatbelt and retorted, "Forget it if you don't dare."

This jabbed at her self-esteem. "'Who said I won't?" she challenged. Austin ignored her and started the car.

Thinking he was angry, Maria hurriedly said, "Mr. Fike, I don't care about the Russell family! My brother-in-law is Secretary Rollins. Why would I be scared? I'll go beat her up right now! Will you treat my niece if I do?"

Austin looked ahead, unconvinced. To him, she was simply a volatile woman. "We'll see," he replied, accelerating away.

Maria watched the car disappear, yelling, "Mr. Fike, wait! I'll do it!"

Austin was deeply committed to his experiment. After work, he went straight to the research institute. However, the person he saw upon entering the lab was completely unexpected. Recognizing the figure in a lab coat, he stepped forward, accusingly, "You?! Didn't you say you quit?!"

"Huh? When did I say that?" Lily replied, eyebrow raised, feigning ignorance.

"Of course you did! You said we shouldn't continue this experiment; you said you were pulling out!" he snapped. He was conflicted. He wanted Lily's past data, yet doubted her capabilities and didn't want her there.

Under his questioning, Lily pondered for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. "Then let's just say I regret it!"

"What?! How can you go back on your word?! Do you know what it means for a gentleman to keep his word?!"

Austin was speechless. 'This woman is unreasonable!' he thought. She smiled indifferently. "Really? I'm afraid I'm not a gentleman. I'm a woman." She shrugged, turning to examine the test tubes and computer data.

Austin approached her. "If you don't like this experiment, why did you come back? Did Professor Thompson send you? You don't understand medicinal herbs; even if you do, it's superficial. You've researched for so long, yet to no avail. You…"

As he ranted, Lily suddenly turned and poked him. "You're so noisy!"

He was momentarily shocked. Regaining his senses, he tried to continue, but no sound came. A wave of fear washed over him; he couldn't speak. He dug in his ears. 'Did I suddenly become deaf?' he wondered. He could hear the lab sounds, just not his own voice.

The area Lily poked felt numb. It was strange. Could it be the mute acupressure point from TV and novels? No, that's impossible! Even if it were real, how could Lily know? Such a thing was unheard of. He'd studied for years and never encountered anything like it.