Six cents ans

Chapitre 19

Saint-Mei blinked. Liming looked away and took a bite of his bread. Liming didn't seem to be joking.

What exactly happened? Shengmei wanted to ask for clarification, but she couldn't utter a word.

In an instant, Shengmei froze, and for some reason, she couldn't open her mouth.

Saint-Mei strained her jaw and finally opened her mouth. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she realized that the words that came out of her lips were completely beyond her control, utterly contradictory. "What are the registration procedures?"

Since that day, Saint-Mei has often felt puzzled by herself. She is cautious about everything, afraid that she might do something without realizing it.

After Christmas, Liming tried to be intimate with Shengmei several times, but Shengmei refused each time. Shengmei worried that if Liming held her in his arms, something would surge out of her body, and she would regret it then.

A few days later, Shengmei received a kidney donation card with a phone number on it, and below the number were the following words:

If you are a suitable candidate for kidney donation, please contact us using the number above.

Kidney donation card

Saint-Mei held the donation card between her thumb and forefinger from the diagonal and looked at it several times, both horizontally and vertically.

When did I go through the procedures to donate a kidney? I have absolutely no recollection of it. It does seem rather strange.

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of news and reports about organ transplants, which is unbelievable. I never used to pay attention to these things, but these past few days I've suddenly encountered them everywhere. Perhaps there has always been a lot of information related to transplants, but I wasn't interested and therefore ignored it. But why have I suddenly started paying attention to these issues recently?

Saint-Mei simply couldn't understand it.

Winter has passed, and a new year has arrived. Temperatures are rising, and cherry blossoms are in bloom.

One day in mid-June, as soon as Liming got home, he hugged Shengmei tightly and cheered, "We did it, Shengmei! We passed!"

"It passed? Passed in what way?"

Li Ming excitedly told the astonished Sheng Mei, "It's 'Nature'!"

An excited Liming picked up Shengmei and spun her around in the air. But Shengmei still didn't understand.

"Wait a minute, explain what exactly happened first!"

"My paper has been accepted by *Nature*! I received the acceptance letter today, see! Didn't I tell you before that I was determined to publish in a top-tier academic journal?" Hearing this, Shengmei remembered that it was indeed true. Back then, when Liming was working on publishing in a top-tier, world-renowned academic journal, he had mentioned *Nature*.

“So that’s how it is…” Saint-Mei finally began to understand the “seriousness of the situation.”

Section 47

"Yes! How about that? Isn't your husband amazing? Aren't you happy for me?"

"marvelous!"

Saint-Mei hugged Li-Ming tightly, intending to offer a word of congratulations.

But then, another sentence escaped his lips: "So cute, Liming. It seems you really are the man I've been searching for!"

Saint-Mei was startled and covered her mouth.

"Silly girl, Saint Mei. Aren't we already married?"

"I'm confused," Li Ming said. Sheng Mei quickly shook her head.

"No, it was that just now..."

"What's the matter?"

"I love you!"

Saint-Mei hurriedly broke free from Li-Ming's embrace.

Those weren't my own words. Something just took control of my mouth!

Saint-Mei suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. A sudden, overwhelming fear gripped her body. Something sticky and unsettling clung to her, writhing inside. Saint-Mei desperately wanted to strip off everything and run away. But Li-Ming embraced her again. Saint-Mei's body stiffened in his arms; she trembled uncontrollably, sweating profusely.

A week has passed, and it's time for the pharmacy department's regular open lecture.

The Department of Pharmacy has sixteen lectures, with four of them rotating among the lectures each year. This year, Li Ming's lecture will also be participating.

On the day of the public lecture, Liming planned to go to the pharmacy department to help with the slideshow during the professor's presentation. Shengmei casually suggested, "Can I come with you?"

It was a sunny day. The weather was the same when I first met Liming; the sky above the pharmacy department building was a boundless blue.

Professor Ishihara's lecture was scheduled for the first session of the afternoon. Rimei and Seimei entered the lecture hall ten minutes early. While Rimei was setting up the slides, Seimei paced back and forth in the classroom, occasionally gazing out the window at the scenery. Seimei felt her actions lacked a sense of reality; she wasn't even sure if her feet were actually moving forward alternately as she walked. Seimei had a strange feeling, as if her body had separated from her consciousness.

"Our bodies are home to a large number of parasites."

Professor Ishihara began his lecture, his tone exactly the same as before. Following the professor's instructions, Rimei switched through the slides one by one. Half of the images were ones Seimei had seen at the last lecture, only replaced with different data where new discoveries had been made. Seimei stared intently at the slides, listening carefully to Professor Ishihara's explanation. Compared to when she was in university, her understanding of the lecture content was much deeper. Even with the latest data, Seimei could understand its meaning. The professor's explanations were quickly absorbed by her brain. Moreover, this feeling was less about understanding the unknown and more about awakening forgotten knowledge. Even Seimei herself was surprised; she hadn't expected the lecture content to be so easy for her to understand.

A short while later, the slideshow ended, and the classroom lights were turned back on.

After Professor Ishihara finished his explanation, he repeated his unchanging line: "...So, if you have any questions, please..."

At this moment, Saint-Mei's right hand began to move.

When Shengmei came to her senses, the hand was already raised high. The fingers were stretched straight out, and the arm was still close to the ear, a gesture like that of a primary school student raising their hand.

For a moment, Professor Ishihara was stunned. Several students turned around and looked at Seimi with curious eyes, while Rimei, who was tidying up the slides behind Seimi, looked extremely embarrassed.

“…Alright then, please, the one over there.” Professor Ishihara gave a wry smile and pointed to Seimei’s seat.

Saint-Mei stood up. The wooden chair clattered. As she stood, Saint-Mei thought: I must be dreaming. She didn't know when, but Saint-Mei started talking. But she didn't know what she was saying.

"In your speech, you mentioned that the host cell nucleus has made the mitochondria its slaves. Indeed, besides IRNA and RRNA, mitochondrial DNA only records a very small amount of the genetic code for a subset of enzymes related to the electron transport system. Therefore, mitochondria cannot survive independently. You explained that this is because the cell nucleus has taken away the genetic information that should have been stored by the mitochondria. However, is it too hasty to conclude that mitochondria have become slaves to the cell nucleus based solely on this? Can we consider this issue from the other side? I mean, mitochondria also actively send their genes into the cell nucleus." It's possible. Currently, we haven't obtained the complete sequence of the cell nucleus chromosome. Perhaps important genes that mitochondria secretly deliver into the nucleus are hidden in locations we haven't yet analyzed. What if these genes encode proteins that allow mitochondria to manipulate host genes at will, or encode some unknown nuclear transport receptor? This would completely reverse the relationship between the host and mitochondria. Undeniably, this hypothesis is valid. In other words, could we also consider this: perhaps in the near future, mitochondria, which were originally parasites, will turn their hosts into slaves?

The classroom was completely silent; everyone was motionless, except for the low rumble of the projector's cooling fan. Professor Ishihara, facing this direction, listened in utter astonishment.

A gust of wind blew outside the classroom, rustling the leaves. Inside, some students cracked their necks, others coughed, and a commotion arose. The professor scanned the room. When he spotted Li Ming, he immediately fixed his sharp gaze on him, as if to say: What on earth is going on here?! The students erupted in a cacophony of voices.

Seimei slowly sat down, straightened her back, and smiled as she looked at Professor Ishihara.

"Ah, well, that is indeed a good question." The professor smiled awkwardly, coughing incessantly. It was clear he was unsure how to handle the question. Saint-Mei cast a disdainful glance at him.

The professor noticed Saint-Mei's gaze, coughed loudly as if in anger, and began to stammer his reply. However, what he said was mostly irrelevant: "It is indeed possible to think in reverse like that, but such an idea is too unrealistic. No researcher has yet come up with such a thought..."

Professor Ishihara never articulated his own viewpoint until the very end. What conclusions would be drawn if we connected Seimei's ideas with current research findings? What were his own thoughts on this? Even these most basic questions that must have been addressed during the Q&A session were deliberately avoided by Professor Ishihara. In terms of both mental agility and foresight, Riki was far superior.

It seems I wasn't wrong about him after all. There's only one person who truly understands mitochondria—Liming. Liming is the one I'm pursuing. "Me"?

Saint-Mei suddenly raised her head.

She could move again. But in that instant, Shengmei's body began to lean forward. Fortunately, she unconsciously braced herself on the table, preventing herself from falling headfirst; her forehead was just a hair's breadth away from hitting the table. Who am I?

Saint-Mei felt as if her heart had fallen into a dark abyss.

That day, Saint-Mei and Liming walked out of the house together.

As usual, Shengmei got up on time, prepared breakfast, and enjoyed it with Liming. Fried eggs and grilled salted fish, a pure Japanese meal, were served outside. The faint morning light shone through the gaps in the clouds. On their way down the stairs, the two met a young couple who lived on the second floor and nodded to each other slightly.

"Then I'm off to work." With that, Li Ming got into his car.

Saint-Mei smiled and waved to Li-Ming in the driver's seat. Then, Saint-Mei got into the car she had bought at the beginning of the year. She placed her handbag on the passenger seat and started the engine.

Last night, Shengmei wrote a letter to Zhijia, whom she hadn't contacted in a long time. For some reason, she suddenly felt a strong urge to reconnect with old friends, anything at all; she just wanted to regain something trustworthy. Although the letter was filled with trivial matters, Shengmei hoped it would serve as a starting point to re-establish frequent correspondence with Zhijia.

After starting the engine, Shengmei checked the contents of her bag again. The letter she had sent to Zhijia was still inside, and she hadn't forgotten her licenses either. Shengmei subconsciously took out her license book and double-checked the documents inside. Her kidney donation card was neatly tucked between her driver's license and her Japan Automobile Federation membership card.

Shengmei started her car. Liming's car followed closely behind. On the road in front of the apartment building, Shengmei turned right, and Liming turned left, each going their own way. Liming's figure appeared in Shengmei's rearview mirror; he was waving at her. Shengmei drove on.

It took her about five minutes to cross the residential area and reach the wide main road. The morning street scene was the same as usual; although the road was somewhat busy, the traffic flowed in an orderly fashion. She had passed this place countless times and knew it all too well. Soon, a gentle downhill slope appeared ahead, and the traffic picked up speed, with most cars reaching fifty or sixty kilometers per hour. The road curved slightly to the right.

Through the windshield, Shengmei saw an endless sky ahead.

The traffic light ahead of the bend turned yellow, and Shengmei's view suddenly disappeared.

Section 48

"Parasite Eve"

Chapter Twenty

"Mariko is sleeping."

The nurse who brushed past Anqi Zhongde in the corridor said this to him. In response, Anqi nodded slightly.

Visiting hours will be over in a little while. Despite Anqi's best efforts, it was already this late in getting away from the company to the hospital. Lately, Anqi would always rush over to sit in Mariko's hospital room for a while before hurrying back to the company to work overtime.

In truth, Anzai sometimes wondered: what had he come to the hospital for? Mariko was still in a state of withdrawal. Anzai tried everything to communicate with Mariko, but all his efforts were in vain. However, on the other hand, it was undeniable that a sense of giving up had naturally arisen within him. Even before Mariko was hospitalized, he rarely spoke to his daughter; now, suddenly wanting to talk to her was incredibly difficult! So, why had he come here at all?

Was it merely out of a father's duty?

Anqi didn't want to think this way. But he also found that being with his daughter made him much more mentally exhausted than when he was at work. Anqi could no longer understand his own feelings.

Anqi opened the door to the ward and peeked inside. Sure enough, just as the nurse had said, Mariko was lying on the bed, snoring softly.

To avoid disturbing Mariko, Anzai gently closed the door and quietly sat down beside Mariko's bed.

Mariko was sleeping peacefully with her face turned towards Anzai.

Anqi stared at her face. It had been a long time since he'd looked at Mariko face-to-face like this: her slightly parted lips, her closed eyelids, the long, thin eyelashes extending from them, her still somewhat childish nose, and her cheeks flushed slightly from a low fever. Only now did Anqi realize how much his daughter resembled his deceased wife. When Mariko was born, relatives all said she looked like her mother; at that time, he hadn't really noticed, but today, upon closer inspection, the resemblance was striking. What had he been doing all these years?

Such a thought welled up in An Qi's mind. He hung his head, covered his face with his hands, and felt very depressed.

At that moment, Mariko groaned.

"Ah...ah..."

Anqi looked up in surprise.

Mariko's expression was one of great pain. Half-asleep, perhaps dreaming of something terrible, Mariko kept waving her arms repeatedly, seemingly trying to break free of her restraints. She struggled painfully, her groans growing louder.

"Mariko, what's wrong?"

Anzai stood up and tried to reach out and hold Mariko down. However, Mariko resisted fiercely and broke free from Anzai's grasp.

Are you alright, Mariko?

Mariko let out a near scream, and then her legs began to kick wildly. Anzai seemed helpless in the face of this sudden incident.

"Don't come any closer!" Mariko mumbled in her sleep. "I hate it... don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

"Mariko, pull yourself together, wake up!"

Anzai pressed down hard on Mariko's body, determined to wake her from her dream as quickly as possible. To control Mariko's episode, Anzai tightly gripped her wildly flailing limbs, shouting her name loudly. Suddenly, Mariko's body jerked up.

The immense rebound force pushed Anqi aside. Anqi landed on his bottom on the floor, staring in surprise at Mariko on the bed.

What happened?

Mariko's lower abdomen bounced like a shrimp, and her body trembled incessantly. This movement was not under Mariko's control and looked very unnatural.