Tang Xiaoli stood at the entrance of her lab with singed sleeves and the expression of someone who had already rehearsed her apology but was not sorry at all.
"The formula was ninety eight percent stable," she announced to the small crowd gathered outside.
"What happened to the other two percent?" asked a passing disciple.
"The other two percent happened very suddenly."
Lan Yue sat on a garden bench and listened to Tang Xiaoli explain herself to the sect safety committee, which consisted of two very tired instructors and one very done janitor. The explanation involved a lot of hand gestures and the phrase "thermodynamically unexpected" more than once.
She was not really listening.
She was pressing two fingers to her lips and staring at the stone path like it owed her money, replaying the staircase in her head for the forty seventh time.
Zhao Lingxi's mouth had been warm.
