A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 66: Double-standard Sims
Chapter 66: Double-standard Sims

Seeing that it was a video call from Smis, Arix quickly answered without delay.

”Good afternoon,” Sims greeted, his eyes shadowed with dark circles. Despite his exhaustion, he forced a smile for his favorite little Moon Pie.

”When was the last time you slept?” Arix asked with a mix of concern and reproach as she looked at Sims on the virtual screen.

”Not long, just two days,” Sims immediately explained, seeing that Arix was unhappy.

His explanation only made Arix’s expression darker.

”Is the Chemistry Department busy again?” Arix asked, her face serious.

She knew firsthand how demanding the Chemistry Department could be. When things got busy there, it was like people were treated like beasts of burden.

Although Arix was just asking, she was already certain of the answer.

Sims opened his mouth to respond but couldn’t find a way to argue. Finally, he admitted with a sigh, ”Yes, it’s very busy. Recently, the insectoids have been aggressively attacking the Alliance’s borders for some unknown reason. Although the casualties aren’t high, the demand for potions has been increasing.”

”I’m going to ask my instructor for leave right now. Wait for me,” Arix said, starting to head out of the dormitory. She suddenly paused and turned back to Sims, asking, ”By the way, should I bring my cousin along?”

”You mean Varden? No need. He came here last night,” Sims said, then turned the screen to show Varden, who was busy working nearby.

In the video, Varden’s hair was messy, and his dark circles were so pronounced that even his glasses couldn’t hide them.

But when he heard Arix’s words, Varden still took a moment to look up. He looked at Arix and said, ”Yeah, thank you for wanting to assign me more work, I guess?”, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

His glare scared Arix a bit, and she quickly turned off the opticomputer.

She patted her chest, still feeling nervous. She was glad she hung up fast, or else Varden might have crawled out of the screen to hit her.

In the Chemistry Department, Varden looked at the suddenly dark screen and shook his head with a mix of frustration and amusement. ”Varden, be gentle with girls, would you? Or you may be alone for the rest of your life,” said Sims.

He saw his beloved Arix looking scared, and he immediately felt sorry for her and complained to Varden.

”Grandpa, does she look scared to you? She’s clearly feeling guilty,” Varden replied, looking helplessly at his grandfather. It seemed like his grandpa favored Arix so much that he almost thought Arix was his real granddaughter.

”Even so, be nice to Moon Pie. She’s suffered too much when she was a kid, after all. You should be more gentle,” Sims said, looking at Varden as if he didn’t understand.

”Then what about cousin Jane? She’s also a girl. Why don’t you treat her gently?” Varden retorted, staring straight at Sims.

”Jane is an exception. Look at her. Does she seem like a girl to you? As a child of our family, she doesn’t study potions and instead went to other department. And not just any department, but the Mecha Combat Department! She’s like a wild tiger, always fighting,” Sims said through his grifted teeth.

Before meeting Arix, Jane was his ideal apprentice, but she insisted on joining the combat department.

”They’re both girls. Why make exceptions? Grandpa, you’re being unfair,” Varden said with disdain.

”You cheeky boy, are you itching for a beating? How dare you talk to your grandpa like that?” Sims glared at him.

”...,” Varden chose to stay silent. He didn’t want to provoke his grandpa any further.

Seeing his grandson back down, Sims snorted in satisfaction. ”Arix should be here soon. I’ll go meet her. You keep making potions,” Sims said, his tone softening. Then he happily walked out of the Chemistry Department.

Varden watched his grandpa leave and rolled his eyes. Then he focused on making potions.

Outside the Chemistry Department, Arix peeked inside cautiously, afraid of being caught by Varden. After a while, she didn’t see any sign of him and felt relieved. She patted her chest again and walked inside.

”You’re here!” Sims said, looking up from helping a chemist with potion problems. He spotted his beloved Arix and greeted her warmly.

”Grandpa Sims! Long time no see. Did you miss me?” Arix said with a big, playful smile.

”Of course I did! From now on, just call me Sims. It sounds closer,” Sims replied, walking over and gently patting Arix’s head with a kind smile.

”Okay,” Arix nodded obediently. Then she continued, ”Would you take me to the potion room? I want to start making potions right away.”

”Alright, alright. It’s still the same little room from last time. I’ve always kept it for you,” Sims said, feeling even more pleased with Arix’s diligence.

He stroked his chin, thinking once again how he wished such a wonderful girl could be part of the Brant family. He’d even trade his grandson for her; He would agree in a heartbeat!

...

The pharmacy room was still the same as when Arix last visited. It was filled with medical ingredients, making the spacious room feel small and cramped.

Arix stood at the door. She looked at the room packed with medical ingredients and felt like she couldn’t breathe.

After taking a deep breath, Arix adjusted her mindset. Then she asked Sims for a list of potions that needed to be made.

She spent the entire afternoon making potions, not stopping until it was dark. It was only when Varden came to knock on the door that Arix stopped her frenzied potion-making.

”Time for dinner,” Varden called, knocking on the door.

”Coming,” Arix replied, glancing at the door.

When she looked down and put the potions away, Arix noticed that her clothes and hands were stained with colorful medical ingredients.

She looked like a forest witch with her dirty and messy appearance.

Arix felt a bit distressed and scratched her messy hair. After thinking for a while, she decided to leave it as it was. She would clean up later when she got back.

However, when she saw Varden outside, Arix felt better.

The elegant and noble young guy now looked like a mess too. He looked like he had stayed up several nights, with a face full of exhaustion.

Not only that, but his training clothes were also dirty. He looked like he could start begging if given a bowl.

Arix couldn’t help but laugh at the image in her mind.

”Varden, let me give you a mat and a carton. You’ll make a lot of ’money’ looking like this,” Arix laughed heartily.

At first, Varden didn’t understand. When he did, he almost started a fight with her.

”Arix, you asked for this,” Varden said, raising his hand with a fierce look.

Arix’s eyes widened, thinking her cousin was finally going to smack her. She was about to beg for mercy.

Then she heard a click.

Varden had used the photo function on his opticomputer to take a picture of her.

”Hey, that’s not fair,” Arix thought, just as she was about to use her opticomputer to take a picture of Varden too. But Varden’s cold voice interrupted her.

”Think about it. Who’s faster, you taking the photo or me emailing it to everyone in our family?” Varden said, like a villain boss, with a cold smile.

’The whole family? What a ruthless plan!’ Arix couldn’t help but remember the day she returned and everyone in the family took turns gossiping about her.

Arix swallowed and lowered the hand with the opticomputer. She was about to smile apologetically but was interrupted again by Varden.

”Wait, don’t smile yet. I still need to eat,” Varden said, looking away in disgust.

Arix’s smile froze. In her mind, a tiny version of herself angrily beat up Varden, venting all her frustration. She felt much calmer afterward.

Then she said coolly, ”I won’t take any pictures if you delete yours. We can still be good cousins, or it will be all-out war.”

Varden, seeing it was wise to stop, snorted and deleted the photo in front of Arix.

Arix finally relaxed. She and Varden then walked ”lovingly” to the dining hall, swallowing their pride.