With that, lan naturally opened the passenger door of Eleanor's car and said, "We should get going."

"We'll head out, then," Eleanor said to Xavier, before getting into the driver's seat.

Xavier stood frozen in place as Eleanor's car pulled away, the morning sun casting a long, lonely shadow behind him. The calm expression he had maintained finally crumbled, replaced by a bitter sorrow. It felt as if an invisible hand had clamped around his heart, extinguishing the last flicker of hope. He was grateful for his best friend's help, but that gratitude was now tainted with an unspeakable anguish.

Some boundaries had suddenly become crystal clear. Some people were destined to be admired only from a distance.

He turned and walked back to his car, his desolate figure carrying the weight of a reality he was forced to accept. Once inside, he gripped the steering wheel, unable to bring himself to drive away.

After the second traffic light, a wave of irritation washed over Eleanor. She shot a cold glance at the man in the passenger seat, only to find that lan had fallen asleep. He was leaning against the window, the dark circles under his eyes and the deep-seated exhaustion in his features plainly visible.

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. She pressed her lips together, swallowing her annoyance.

Half an hour later, Eleanor pulled into the underground parking garage of the research facility. She parked the car and shut off the engine, deliberately making enough noise to wake the man beside her.

"Are we here?" lan asked, his eyes still hazy with sleep as he looked around.

"Get out," Eleanor commanded coolly.

lan rubbed his brow and opened the car door. As he watched her walk ahead, bag in hand, a faint smile touched his lips. She hadn't thrown him out halfway. Maybe that counted as progress.

Though brief, the nap seemed to have restored some of his energy.

The elevator ascended quietly to the third floor, where the lab's cafeteria was located. Eleanor picked up a tray and began selecting her breakfast lan followed a few steps behind. She chose a corner table and sat down. Just then, Smith arrived, and lan joined him at a different table.

After breakfast, Eleanor returned to her office, opened her laptop, and began writing up a report on her experiments from the previous night. She was scheduled to present her latest findings at a meeting later that morning. sŵnovels

At the ten o'clock meeting, Dr. Smith and his team filed in, followed shortly by lan. "El, please walk us through your discovery from yesterday," Dr. Smith said to Eleanor.

Eleanor nodded and stood before the projection screen. She clicked a few keys on her laptop, bringing up a series of data charts. Using a laser pointer, she indicated a specific image.

"As you can all see, this specific antibody, which we isolated from the donor sample, has a powerful inhibitory effect on malignant blood cells. In vitro experiments show that it can effectively reverse oveneighty percent of the diseased cells within seventy-two hours."

This wasn't new information to Dr. Smith or lan, but it was clear Eleanor had more

to say.

Her gaze swept across the room. "Through my recent experiments, I've discovered that this antibody acts more like a 'key.' It can precisely unlock the patient's own dormant or suppressed immune response mechanisms."

"What?" Dr. Smith shot to his feet, his voice filled with excitement.

Eleanor's eyes met lan's, which were shining with an intense, hopeful light.