However, she quickly dismissed this minor interlude from her mind.
Serie returned to the Sweet Dream House with light steps, and Lynette, Yuki, and Jared were indeed still waiting for her.
"Sorry, sorry, I borrowed a book on the way!" Serie's face brightened with a radiant smile.
Lynette watched her return, a customary smile appearing on her face: "It's fine, it's good that you're back, let's go."
The group prepared to leave the living area.
However, Serie keenly caught a hint of something unusual—Doctor Lynette's smile seemed a bit shallower than usual, and the depths of her eyes, which always held warmth, seemed veiled by a subtle, imperceptible mist.
The aura she exuded, like warm sunlight, also seemed to have receded a bit, revealing a faint… sense of distance?
Or perhaps, she was preoccupied?
"Doctor?" Serie looked up at Lynette with concern, "Are you… alright? You seem… a bit tired?"
She chose her words carefully; her intuition told her that Lynette's mood seemed off, but she was completely at a loss.
Lynette's smile remained composed: "I'm fine, don't worry."
Her voice was as gentle as ever, but it lacked some of its usual warmth.
Serie looked at Yuki, who was fiercely battling a tiramisu next to her, with a mix of doubt and belief.
Yuki's cheeks were puffed out from eating, and her mouth was stained with cocoa powder and cream, like a little raccoon that had successfully stolen food.
"Yuki," Serie whispered, "Did something happen to the Doctor… just now? Why do I feel like she's not very happy?"
Upon hearing this, Yuki struggled to swallow the cake filling her mouth.
Her cheeks were still puffed out, and she looked blankly at Lynette, following Serie's gaze.
She blinked her large eyes, observed for a few seconds, then very confidently waved a cream-stained hand, mumbling indistinctly with food still in her mouth: "Huh? Is she? Isn't Doctor Lynette fine? Ah!"
As if suddenly remembering something, she looked enlightened and pulled another donut from the paper bag in her arms, stuffing it into her mouth.
Chewing and mumbling, she naturally concluded: "Oh! I know! It must be that the ice cream the Doctor wanted to buy sold out, and she didn't get her favorite treat, so I wouldn't be happy either! *Hiccup*~"
Yuki nodded earnestly, accompanied by a satisfied little burp, then buried herself back into her battle with the dessert, as if solving this world-class problem had consumed a lot of her calories, and she needed to replenish them quickly.
Serie was momentarily speechless and did not disturb Yuki's great endeavor further.
The group soon parted ways at the elevator entrance.
The Control Bureau's residential area had strict Level classification, with A, B, and C and D classes located in different zones.
Doctor Lynette's floor was higher up.
Serie held the paper bag of desserts Lynette gave her and said goodbye politely: "Goodbye, Doctor, thank you for the dessert!"
Lynette merely nodded slightly, returning a somewhat faint smile, then turned and left.
Her retreating figure seemed to carry a subtle, imperceptible hint of loneliness more than usual, causing that tiny bit of doubt in Serie's heart to resurface, but it still left her clueless.
Upon reaching the corridor of the C and D class employee residences, Serie and Yuki also bid farewell to Jared.
Finally, only Yuki remained, leading Serie.
"Here, this is your room!" Yuki stopped in front of a door and used her access card to unlock it for Serie, "Before, your eyes weren't convenient, but now you can take a good look!"
As the door slid open, the sensor lights automatically came on, casting a soft glow.
Serie curiously stepped into this space she had lived in for some time but had never truly seen.
The room was not large, a standard single room, but it was neatly arranged in a refreshing, minimalist urban style.
The walls were a soft light gray, and the floor was covered with dark composite flooring.
A comfortable single bed was placed against the wall, covered with plain bedding.
Opposite the bed was a thin, wide-screen TV embedded in the wall.
By the window, there was a simple desk and an ergonomic chair.
In the corner was a small, open wardrobe, with a few Control Bureau uniforms and casual clothes Lynette had bought for her hanging inside.
A small, independent bathroom was also partitioned off in one corner of the room, with frosted glass doors revealing equally simple and modern facilities inside.
The entire space had no superfluous decorations; it was highly functional, reflecting the efficient and practical restrained style of the Control Bureau.
A fluffy golden retriever doll sat foolishly in the center of the bed.
Its warm, Silly appearance added a touch of life to this somewhat chilly room.
After bidding Yuki farewell, Serie placed the paper bag on the table and poked the golden retriever doll with her finger: "Why aren't you happy?"
"Speak!" She snapped at it again, annoyed.
Unlike her carefree witch avatars, in this Control Bureau, the only thing she could safely scold was this doll Lynette had given her.
At this moment, this silent fellow naturally became Lynette's scapegoat.
The doll, of course, did not respond.
Serie buried her face in its soft fur, taking a deep breath—it still carried a faint jasmine scent that Lynette often used.
This scent helped her calm down slightly.
Forget it, she shook her head, her gaze falling on the bulging paper bag on the table.
Since things were as they were, she might as well eat a few small cakes first.
At the same time, in Lynette's room.
Compared to Serie's place, her space was ridiculously large.
It was like a small duplex apartment, even having stairs leading upstairs, with an unknown number of floors.
She hadn't kept any of the desserts she bought for herself.
As soon as she entered the door, she went straight into the study.
She took a deep breath, her gaze falling on the two photos next to the computer.
One was a photo of her and another girl; the girl's features resembled hers by seventy or eighty percent, but she was clearly much younger.
The other was Serie.
Lynette had casually snapped it during their last meal.
In the photo, Serie looked blankly at the camera, a few grains of rice comically clinging to the corner of her mouth.
Lynette's lips unconsciously curved into a smile, but that hint of amusement quickly faded.
She pulled open a drawer and took out a small medicine bottle.
In the trash can by the desk, many similar empty medicine bottles were already piled up, their small openings forming a layer.
She skillfully poured out a pill and swallowed it dryly.
A familiar, jasmine-flavored bitterness spread in her mouth.
Soon, she opened her eyes again.
Her cobalt blue eyes seemed deeper and brighter.
"Let's start working," she whispered to herself.
Serie had the same idea; she opened the borrowed book and began to search for euphoria rose.
She quickly found the file for euphoria rose.
Lines of cold and restrained descriptions, mixed with a large amount of information, flooded her mind like a tide.
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