During the midday break, Li Qiao greeted Shang Yu before heading to Renhe Laboratory.
On the third floor, Li Qiao pushed open the door of Academician Jiang’s research room.
At that moment, several researchers wearing white lab coats were gathered around Academician Jiang, discussing various research reports animatedly.
Li Qiao didn’t disturb them, a glance out of the corner of her eye was enough to see Lian Zhen sitting at a research station looking at his mobile phone screen.
She considered for a moment, then walked over and called out softly, "Senior Brother Lian."
Because Li Qiao was standing at his oblique rear, her gaze swept past and inadvertently caught a glimpse of a photo on Lian Zhen’s mobile phone.
It was a half-body photo of a young girl with beautifully curved, peach-blossom eyes and an elegant, poised demeanor.
Hearing the call from behind, Lian Zhen hurriedly placed his mobile phone face down on the desk.
He slowly stood up and greeted Li Qiao with a gentle smile, "Junior Sister Li, it’s you."
Li Qiao glanced at the fast-food box he had placed aside and casually pulled a chair over to sit down, "Have you finished eating, Senior Brother?"
"Yes, I just finished," Lian Zhen also sat down and discreetly slid his phone into a drawer, "What brought you here today?"
Li Qiao didn’t beat around the bush and directly presented her suspicion about Guan Mingyu’s condition, to which Lian Zhen nodded thoughtfully, "The possibility you mentioned is indeed there, but the control of chemical agents is very strict domestically. Could it be possible that she accidentally came into contact with or consumed some chemical products by mistake?"
Lian Zhen’s suspicion wasn’t without reason.
However, Li Qiao shook her head gravely, "It might not be something she came into contact with herself, and if so, she should remember it."
Moreover, she had checked Guan Mingyu’s files, and these years she had been living with Guan Mingchen. If it had been accidental consumption, Guan Mingchen would not have been symptom-free.
Upon hearing this, Lian Zhen’s expression stalled, and he cautiously ventured, "Do you mean someone might have done it deliberately... "
Lian Zhen didn’t finish his sentence before falling silent.
Li Qiao then lowered her eyelashes, "It’s just a guess."
Plainly speaking, it was a deliberate poisoning.
For a time, the atmosphere became quite heavy.
If it were poisoning, that would be rather troublesome.
There had been similar cases of human poisoning domestically that had attracted widespread attention.
The problem lies in, if it truly was poisoning and the poisoner couldn’t be found, that would make the rapid analysis of the chemical components impossible.
The delay in time would be greater as well.
Here, Lian Zhen and Li Qiao remained silent, pondering strategies, when less than ten minutes had passed and Academician Jiang also dismissed the group of researchers who had come for consultation.
Academician Jiang took a sip from his thermal mug and, upon seeing Li Qiao, quickly fetched Guan Mingyu’s medical records, "Qiaoqiao, Lian Zhen, come here."
Then, the three of them crowded together to discuss the test results and various possibilities.
As time ticked away second by second, Li Qiao became immersed in the academic discussion, forgetting the time.
It wasn’t until three-thirty in the afternoon, when someone came to remind Academician Jiang about a meeting, that Li Qiao glanced at the computer screen and realized that the midday break had long since passed.
She leaned back in her chair lazily, rubbing the sore angle of her forehead.
At that moment, Academician Jiang picked up the documents from the desk and took a couple of steps towards the door, then stopped and turned to Li Qiao, "Qiaoqiao, could you step outside for a moment?"
Li Qiao nodded to Lian Zhen as a gesture and then followed Academician Jiang into the corridor.
Outside the research room, Academician Jiang patted the files in his hand and appraised Li Qiao’s weary eyes, "You’ve got a good idea of the situation, haven’t you?"
Li Qiao nodded, "Yes."
Academician Jiang’s eyes flashed with shrewdness as he motioned toward the direction of the research room, "Well, you saw, everyone is quite interested in that young lady’s condition.
From the perspective of experimental research, it indeed warrants putting effort into exploring.
So, what’s your take on it? You can’t just provide a case study for the lab and then wash your hands of it, right?"