Jiang Mian stood in a dark and surging blue light, looking up and gazing intently at the sea water with fine ripples.
The dome was as clear as dark blue crystal, and the entire thick, transparent fiberglass wall and the cold, smooth ground like a silver mirror complemented each other, completely dispersing Jiang Mian's shadow into a misty fog.
This is not an aquarium. Aquariums do not have such endless desolation. This is more like a super-giant prison, a burial place designed and built for control and imprisonment.
However, Jiang Mian still stared intently at the lifeless artificial sea water for a long time.
As long as he could remember, Jiang Mian had a stubborn preference for water. He liked to immerse his skin in water and feel the colorless and transparent ripples slowly engulfing his fingertips, palms, wrists... and more parts of his body. When he was young, he even tried to put his head into a sink full of water - and then he choked unexpectedly.
The afternoon temperature was hot and humid, and the sky was as blue as a bowl of melted gel, without a single cloud in it. His adoptive father Jiang Pingyang was awakened from his nap, and rushed over when he heard the noise. Seeing his adopted son committing such a suicide, he turned pale with fear, and hurriedly grabbed Jiang Mian's hair and collar, dragged the dripping boy into the study, and scolded him harshly for more than an hour.
That night, as a punishment, Jiang Mian had no food to eat. He could only curl up in bed with an empty stomach and cry.
When Jiang Mian grew up a little bit, read more books, and received more education, he completely understood Jiang Pingyang's overreaction that day. In fact, as the head of a research institute, Jiang Pingyang himself was a serious and sharp person. He claimed that he picked up Jiang Mian when she was still a baby in a coastal town. The role he played in Jiang Mian's life was closer to that of a strict teacher than a loving father.
But no matter what, he raised Jiang Mian, brought him into the research institute, and taught him how to be an assistant. Without him, Jiang Mian would have been dead by now. Therefore, no matter how old-fashioned and unkind he was, Jiang Mian owed him.
…Besides, Jiang Pingyang had passed away three months ago.
Jiang Mian pursed his lips, trying to control the heat rising from the depths of his eyes. He lowered his head, and even though there was no one around, Jiang Mian still blinked many times to cover up. He couldn't risk being discovered by his colleagues and expose his weakness in such an open place.
Right now, he has to be impeccable.
"Jiang Mian!" Someone called him from behind. Jiang Mian's heart trembled and he turned around quickly. His colleague Ted was walking towards him, calling his name, "Jiang Mian, you are here!"
Jiang Mian breathed a sigh of relief. After Jiang Pingyang left and the power transfer at the top of the institute was completed, his identity became extremely embarrassing. Ted was one of the few people who was willing to show kindness to him.
"Ted," he nodded stiffly, "what's up?"
"Let's talk while we walk," Ted pointed in a direction and asked with concern, "How are you doing recently?"
Jiang Mian lowered his head and smiled bitterly.
"How's it going... Fortunately, I'm not starving. How about you?"