Chapter 1246

The doorbell rang, pulling lan back from his thoughts. He got up, walked to the door, and opened it to find a delivery person holding a bag of food.

lan took it and placed it on the dining table. He glanced up toward the second floor before setting out the meal. Then he went upstairs to get Eleanor.

She was staring at a screen, completely engrossed in a string of data, so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice him standing in the doorway.

Under the warm glow of the desk lamp, Eleanor rested her chin on her hand, completely immersed in a sea of numbers. Her profile was soft, a few strands of hair falling forward, her brow slightly furrowed.

The scene overlapped with lan’s memory of that quiet girl reading in the library.

The emotions stirred by his recollection washed over him again. He took a deep breath, schooling his features, and raised his hand to knock twice on the doorframe. The sound startled Eleanor, and she turned to look at the doorway.

“The food’s here. Come eat something first,” lan said.

Eleanor glanced at the time. She had been working for half an hour without realizing it. She stood up and walked toward the door, casually tucking her long hair behind her ear.

So natural, so casual, yet she carried an invisible air of distance.

Downstairs, Eleanor saw the neatly arranged dishes on the table. She got up to pour two glasses of water.

They sat across from each other, a silence settling between them.

They ate in silence. Eleanor didn’t have much of an appetite. The meal came with two small bowls of soup; she finished one and barely touched anything else.

lan ate with her until she was done, then he put down his utensils. “Go get some rest. I’ll clean up p>

“Close the door on your way out,” Eleanor said calmly over her shoulder as she headed upstairs again.

“Don’t stay up too late,” lan called after her.

Eleanor’s steps paused for a fraction of a second. Without turning back, she simply hummed in acknowledgment.

lan cleared the table, wiped it clean, and glanced at his watch. He took the trash out with him as he left.

The next day, Eleanor felt much better. With the chip issue resolved, she needed to get back to her best as quickly as possible.

Joslyn returned early in the morning and made her breakfast. After eating, Eleanor headed to the lab.

She worked until five in the

afternoon. When she got home, she was greeted by the sound of her daughter’s cheerful laughter. The sound stripped the tiredness right out of her.

Under the warm light, the sight of her little girl chasing around the room made everything else fade away.

Eleanor looked at her daughter. It felt like just yesterday she was so small, yet somehow, she had grown taller without her even noticing.

For any parent, every small bit of their child’s growth is a source of pride and joy.

That night, Evelyn Goodwin cuddled up to Eleanor and whispered, “Mommy, can you invent a medicine that makes people never get old? I never want you to leave me p>

Eleanor’s heart tightened. “Why do you say that, sweetie?” she asked softly.

“I don’t want Mommy to get old,” Evelyn said sadly. “I want you to be young forever p>

Eleanor sighed softly. For a moment,

she had worried that she had

somehow hurt her daughter or made her feel insecure. But her answer er feel

was a relief; it was just a sign of how

much her daughter loved her.

Eleanor hugged her daughter tightly. “Okay,” she cooed. “Mommy will see if she can

find a medicine for immortality p>

Three days later, Eleanor received a call first thing in the morning. The chip had arrived on schedule.

It was being sent directly to the state-of-the-art research lab on the top floor of Meridian Dynamics. The facility had the best testing equipment and environment in the country, making it the perfect place to verify the Helios chip’s performance.