QT: Against My Will

260 5.3.0 – His Intellectual & Her Genius – The Sleepless Elite’s Wife

° Her instructors thought that even if Xue Bi learned martial arts, she wouldn’t be able to execute the things she learned in real life. Most normal people wouldn’t. In case the situation got serious, her parents put her under training that consisted mainly of what to do if she was kidnapped.

° “It’s my responsibility as their owner. I can’t neglect my dog’s rights.” After giving her dogs a treat, Xue Bi walked towards the chem lab, “Why did I sign myself into this? I don’t want to come in contact with explosive liquids, cancerous toxins, and dangerous x-ray radiation.”

° “We need it for our computer simulations,” Lu Kai stated simply. It was determined that his health was not good. But here he was, still striving and living. His parents gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted. Luxurious life and crowded parties were not for him, so he persuaded his dad to let him go to school for regular kids. You know, to experience new things with kids his age. He did not expect to gain permission to enter every school in the state, universities included...

° Kids his age were out of the question; they were on entirely different wavelengths, so he decided to stick to universities. So what did he actually study? Everything. He stayed awake all night reading books from various school libraries without sleep, just to pass the remaining time.

° The administrators contacted his father, fearing that he was going to kill himself if not stopped. Lu Kai had a tough time controlling the new thoughts and corollaries to what he studied. Once a person was no longer limited by preconceived ideas, the person could go beyond basic learning.

° The accumulated knowledge often clashed against each other, which caused him to suffer from nightmares because of his ‘3D mind-modeling’ abilities. Honestly, it wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world. It was like having a virtual laboratory in his head that worked on overdrive. His parents and brother stepped in and prohibited him from reading books and tried to occupy him in other ways, like finding friends or a potential wife for his brother.

° “I poured my blood and sweat into BiBi16,” Xue Bi pulled a cardboard box out of her bag, “I hope the protective electromagnetic field would work out this time. She should survive through the high currency.”

° “She won’t survive all the strains...BiBi17, maybe.” What did Lu Kai see in this weirdo, loner, and outcast? Everyone in her life started to edge away from her since she was no longer a normal-grown-up. Besides the celibate life she led, her eccentric behavior was a slow descent into mental illness. What more, she didn’t seem to care at all. He realized he could learn from her, and maybe, one day, they could figure out the world together. “I thought of an idea of how to harness zero-point energy.”

° “What?! Seriously, you have to be kidding, right?! No, no. Wait. Let’s consider it to be real.” Xue Bi looked at him approvingly as if meeting another fool of her kind, “That technology would never see the light of the day because it would disturb the power and hierarchy of this world. Yes, chances of you getting killed by the government are high... The death would be worth it though...”

.....

° Everyone knew that crazy people were dangerous... They might do anything. And Xue Bi, this mad scientist, was a part of this cult. She had her way of having fun. Speaking about being spoiled, she tested her materials in all possible ways. That would include creating small earthquakes in the middle of the night in her laboratory, which she received as a birthday gift from her father.

° After returning from one of their breaks, Xue Bi stopped at her steps suddenly, “Lu Kai, you look nothing like your brother.”

° “Zu Kai?” Rustling the chicken nest on his head, Lu Kai looked at his brother that stood before the laboratory, then back at his simple black turtleneck and jeans, “What are you doing here?”

° “I heard you’re smoking.” Zu Kai, a man in his late twenties, stood there in a tailored suit that was dyed in a shade of bleak grey, his perfectly chiseled and stoic expression brought out a type of superiority that often prevailed in a higher rank of society. His gaze switched to Xue Bi, whose father controlled 70% of all the oil in the country. It was no surprise that his parents wanted to match her with him. “She has a bad influence on you.”

° “Ehm...” Xue Bi blinked innocently, coughing to her palm, “Brocon... Ehm... spotted.”

° “...Pfft...” Lu Kai covered his mouth, “Says a Daddy’s girl.”

° “I’m here to drag you two to today’s client’s birthday party,” said Zu Kai, unaffected, “No objections allowed.”

° Xue Bi, “?...”

° Lu Kai, “?...”

° Xue Bi scrunched her eyes at Lu Kai, “Hey, stop copying my expression.”

° “I can’t help it.” Lu Kai sent his brother a provocative grin, “You are way too good at being a bad influence.”

° “Lu Kai, you don’t have to.” Zu Kai rubbed his temples. Having these two attend a party together was like playing with a ticking bomb. “If Xue Bi doesn’t want her laboratory to be confiscated, she’ll need to attend as my girlfriend.”

° “As if...” Xue Bi immediately took out her phone to call home. She walked towards the restroom hastily while holding the leashes of her dogs, “MOM, I FEEL SO BETRAYED!”

° The dark circles under Lu Kai’s eyes became more apparent; his expression darkened, “Since when did you succumb to our parents’ pleas?”

° “Since today.” Zu Kai watched the leaving figure, “Keeping a permanent shield who hates touching as well doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Tilting his head, he avoided the upcoming fist, “I know you like her, so let me borrow her for a bit. I’ll return her the next morning.”

° When Xue Bi returned from the restroom, the sight shocked her senseless, “Hey...”

° The two brothers punched and kicked the other in a spit of anger, not caring about their injuries at all.

° “If you don’t want to be shredded to pieces, then STOP!” Xue Bi shouted out. Her dogs, as if receiving a signal, started to bark loudly at the two men that were fighting it out on the floor, ready to tear their limbs apart.

° “Stop fighting! I don’t want to euthanase my dogs because they killed two humans!” She had a hard time restraining the violent dogs; this caused the two to separate.

° Zu Kai took a package of wet wipes out of his suit pocket and started to clean his hands. Did Lu Kai notice that he began to like the same woman as him? Probably. Did he hold back when they fought? No. His younger brother didn’t want to be treated like a sick person.

° “The constant wars in the past had to screw up male’s genes, which would answer why most are so aggressive.” Mumbling under her nose, Xue Bi unlocked the door to her lab, “Do it outside and stop dirtying my floor.” Letting her dogs inside and hearing no response, she glanced at Lu Kai, “What are you waiting for? Research costs money.”

° Picking himself up, Lu Kai staggered into her lab, “You have to be in a bad mood.”

° “I hate when somebody uses threats against me,” Xue Bi closed the doors and handed him a first aid kit, “Does it hurt?”

° “No,” Lu Kai answered, “You went against my brother.”

° “Only because my parents can afford it,” Xue Bi grabbed a few books out of her bookcase, “If I were a lowkey student, I would be licking his boots right now. Mom told me that he’s investing in power reactors... my element. Also, thanks for defending my dignity. It was very nice of you.”

° Lu Kai felt butterflies in his stomach; his body started to heat up. He came to care about her more than words could say. “You heard?”

° Xue Bi scanned his body, nodding, “My hearing is very sensitive.”

. · · — · ???· — · ·

° But as if fate wanted to dabble with their comfort, Lu Kai’s body started to deteriorate rapidly while Xue Bi couldn’t depend on anyone anymore, not even her own family, who was under the impression that everything was for her own good. In the end, they offered her to Zu Kai on a golden plate.

° “Why didn’t you tell me that you are dying?” asked Xue Bi while sitting before Lu Kai’s hospital bed, her tone unhappy as she attempted to peel an apple. Giving up, she peeled a banana instead, “And for how long did you try to hide it from me?”

° “My insomnia suddenly worsened,” chewing on a banana, Lu Kai glared at the man standing behind Xue Bi. He disliked the sight of them together more than anything, and he couldn’t say a thing about it. To do so would put his friendship and brotherhood at risk, and that was something he wouldn’t do, simply because he was dying. Pity was the last thing he wanted from Xue Bi and Zu Kai. Throwing the peel into the bin, he switched the subject to something else.