parasitism eve

Chapter 8

"Please don't take this to heart, it's such a small matter!" Asakura smiled.

"Show me your most recent research data."

Asakura nodded happily.

Generally, in university science and engineering departments, researchers supervise students. Students typically determine their experimental content based on the research topic of their supervising researcher. The same applies to pharmacy departments. Liming's Physiological and Functional Pharmacy Lecture supervises ten fourth-year undergraduate students annually. Besides the professor, Liming's lecture group includes one associate professor, one lecturer, and two assistants, each responsible for supervising a fourth-year student. This year, Liming is supervising two fourth-year students. The students have now completed their preliminary tests and can finally focus on their experiments. However, both of Liming's students want to pursue graduate studies, so they won't be able to come in August. The master's entrance exam is held on the last day of August. Asakura entered the graduate program through this exam. Because she frequently received guidance from Liming during her senior year, she continues to work on the same topic in her graduate studies. Now a second-year graduate student, Asakura will graduate this year. She has already secured a job at a large pharmaceutical company, and her current task is to collect data for her master's thesis.

"It seems the MOM19 index has indeed risen." Asakura handed the printed data to Rimei, reporting the week's experimental results to him. During her senior year and graduate school, Asakura wasn't very familiar with conducting experiments, but recently, her intuition and application skills had been performing quite well, and her reports were well-organized, clear, and concise. This allowed Rimei to immediately grasp the experimental situation clearly.

"In addition, the cells you transfected last time have now multiplied significantly. I have already subcultured them—those with added vitamin A receptors."

Asakura's casual remark really startled Toshiaki.

Could it be that Asakura has already noticed those cells?

Liming glanced at Asakura's expression. But just then, the lab door suddenly opened. It was the fourth-year students. They were all stunned when they saw Liming.

"Good morning!" Liming greeted them casually, and then chatted with them. Liming missed an opportunity to find out the truth about Asakura regarding the cell matter.

Perhaps it was because of the good start from meeting Asakura earlier, a little while later, all of Liming's colleagues arrived, bowing and offering their condolences. Thankfully, no one burst into tears.

"Why are you here so early? You should get some rest!"

These words were spoken by Professor Rikuo Ishihara, who taught the lecture series to Riki. While Riki appreciated his concern, he declined the suggestion to rest at home.

"If I don't come to school, I actually become quite depressed."

"Really?" The professor frowned worriedly. "Don't push yourself too hard!"

That evening, after everyone had gone home, Liming casually walked into the culture room and turned on the incubator.

Liming pulled out a stainless steel plate. Just like last night, the culture dishes and flasks containing Saint-Mé cells were still there, untouched. On the top of the flask was the word "Eve," handwritten by Liming himself, named after Saint-Mé—Christmas Eve.

After the primary culture of Saint-Mei's hepatocytes began, Liming came here every night to observe the cells. Around two or three in the morning, after most of the students had gone home, Liming would leave his house to see the cells one last time. He didn't want to be discovered, so he never turned on the lights after entering the room, only using the sterilization lamp in the aseptic workbench for illumination. The blue-white light filled the room. Liming pressed his eyes tightly against the microscope lens, intently observing the world inside the flask. Liming suddenly thought: Using a microscope alone in a dimly lit room in the dead of night—Saint-Mei must find that terrifying! She couldn't even bear to watch murder scenes in TV dramas. If any insects flew into the house, Saint-Mei would always yell and tell Liming to catch them. Because of this, Liming had never explained the details of his experiments to her. Not long after their marriage, Saint-Mei naively inquired about the research, and Liming happily told her the general steps of the research and some conclusions that had been converted into data. However, Liming tried to conceal other specific procedures, such as dissecting mice, culturing cancer cells, or E. coli. He felt he couldn't frighten Shengmei, because she couldn't even handle small things like injecting mice. So Liming was always extra careful when he went home, afraid of leaving any smell of laboratory animals on him. But now, Shengmei's cells were being placed in a culture flask like this.

During the vigil, after seeing Saint-Mei's face in the coffin at the apartment, Liming came here to observe "Eve." At that time, Liming was immersed in a strange illusion—Saint-Mei seemed to have split apart, with fragments of her body scattered everywhere. That's right, Saint-Mei wasn't just a body and cells! Both of her kidneys had been transplanted to other people.

"I'm sorry, but we have regulations that prevent you from meeting with transplant recipients."

This is what the woman on the other end of the phone answered yesterday.

Li Ming didn't know what to say, and remained silent for a few seconds while holding the receiver.

"How could this happen?! I beg you, just take a look..."

Li Ming's pleas were rejected.

"What you are doing will hurt the patient's self-esteem. I'm very sorry, but our hospital does not accept requests from donor families to meet with transplant patients."

Liming was so excited after receiving a letter from Oda, who was in charge of coordinating the transplant, that he called the Municipal Central Hospital. The letter was very polite. It said that Seimei's kidney had been transplanted to two patients, one of whom, a fourteen-year-old girl, was doing well after the surgery and expressed her deep gratitude for the organ donation. It ended with a note: "Please feel free to contact us if you need any assistance."

Saint-Mei's kidney is alive! It has awakened in another person's body! The thought pained Liming. It would be best to meet the transplant recipient! Perhaps he could find a trace of Saint-Mei in that person! However, in the end, Liming could only helplessly put down the receiver.

Section 21

Upon closer reflection, the hospital's approach was correct. Allowing donor families and transplant patients to meet often led to disputes over money. Moreover, if the transplanted kidney did not survive, a psychological barrier could easily arise between the two parties. Therefore, it was better for everyone to remain strangers and avoid adding unnecessary troubles to their future lives. However, despite saying this, Liming was unwilling to accept it.

He wanted to feel Saint-Mei's presence. But now, her body had turned to ash—to satisfy his desire, there was no other way but to observe liver cells like this. The apartment without the coffin was too dark. Although it was early summer, it was chilly inside. Yes, back to the lab! That's what Liming thought at the time: once he started working again, he wouldn't have to run to the university in the middle of the night to look at cells. He could use the breaks between work to meet with Saint-Mei. That way, he could spend more time with her.

Liming took the flask out of the incubator and placed it under the microscope. Then, he turned on the light and brought his eyes close to the lens.

He turned the knob with the middle finger of his left hand, focusing the image. Soon, the shape of the cell appeared before his eyes.

The cells, star-shaped with some protrusions, adhered to the bottom of the flask. A dozen or so of these cells huddled together, filling Liming's field of view. Liming moved the microscope stand from side to side, expanding the field of view to other parts of the flask. Because several growth factors required for primary culture had been added to the culture medium, "Eve's" condition had not deteriorated and it remained vibrant.

After observing for a while, Li Ming suddenly felt that the condition of the cells was a bit strange, and his eyes widened abruptly.

The number of cells is increasing!

Unlike cancer cells, liver cells do not proliferate incessantly. Their own inhibitory mechanisms prevent them from dividing into a necessary number only when required, a mechanism cancer cells lack. Therefore, if cancer cells are cultured in a flask, only serum is needed for nutrition, and within a few days, they will divide and proliferate to fill the flask. To continue culturing, a thinning process is necessary: the cells are removed from the flask, and a small fraction is extracted and reintroduced. This is subculture. However, for liver cells, whose proliferative capacity is inherently weak, culturing them requires not only serum but also factors that promote proliferation to prevent death. Even so, liver cells do not divide and proliferate as vigorously as cancer cells. Generally, they die within a few weeks at most. But here, the situation changes.

Saint-Mé's hepatocytes were not evenly distributed in the flask: some areas were very dense, like islands, while others were sparse. This only occurs after the cells have proliferated.

Li Ming realized that he had been too careless to only notice now. The proliferation rate seemed to be increasing day by day. Could he have made a mistake? Could the cells proliferating be fibroblasts mixed in with the proliferators?

Liming confirmed the cell morphology once again—yes, these were definitely liver cells! He also examined the other flasks and petri dishes, and they were indeed undergoing division and proliferation. Moreover, because there were so many cells, the petri dishes were already extremely crowded. If subculturing wasn't done, the cells would soon die, Liming thought; this was quite interesting.

As ordinary liver cells, "Eve" surprisingly possesses a proliferative capacity comparable to cancer cells! This could be due to abnormalities in genes associated with cancer cells. However, considering that Shengmei's liver is not cancerous, the only explanation is that this cell type is extremely rare. A strange mutation, yet to be discovered, must have occurred within the cell! Establishing a cell line should also be relatively easy. With this in mind, Liming immediately turned on the lights of the sterile workbench and lit the gas lamp. Then, he took trypsin and culture medium from the refrigerator and placed 15 ml pipettes, along with their packaging, into the workbench. Finally, he gently placed the culture dish containing the cells in. Sitting at the sterile workbench, Liming began the work of recovering the cells. It was necessary to clone these cells! Liming suddenly became extremely interested in "Eve."

Uncertainty arose, and Li Ming could even incorporate this into his research topic—"mitochondria"! Countless questions swirled in Li Ming's mind regarding this type of cell: Are there any morphological changes in mitochondria? Is β-oxidase induced? Will vitamin A receptors be discovered? Is the phosphorylation of EGF receptors excessively high? If there are changes in mitochondrial morphology, is this related to cell proliferation? If so, why?

Saint-Mei's face reappeared before Li Ming's eyes.

Saint-Mei smiled at him. A bright, cheerful smile.

Large eyes, slightly arched eyebrows, soft cheeks, and lips with a pale red sheen even without lipstick—everything about her was so beautiful and captivating when she smiled! Liming loved Shengmei's smile; just thinking about it made him feel as if he could immediately hear her clear, melodious voice. Liming recalled their first meeting. Shengmei, who didn't usually drink, had some beer that day, and her face was flushed. Even so, her smile was still so lovely. At that time, Liming was talking incessantly about his research, and Shengmei listened with great interest. This remained unchanged even after they began dating. Shengmei's simple desire to understand him won Liming's affection; however, on the other hand, Shengmei was also somewhat jealous of Liming's experiments. Whenever Liming returned late from experiments, Shengmei would vent her loneliness and frustration at him. Shengmei was indeed pitiful, but Liming couldn't express to her his unspoken yearning for success. The two colleagues, Saint-Ming and Leigh, were completely different in their love for Saint-Ming and their obsession with research; it wasn't a simple matter of choosing one over the other—until the very end, Saint-Ming never understood why research was so essential to Leigh. But now, things are different; Saint-Ming and the experiment have become one!

Li Ming was struck by a strange realization. Using these cells as research subjects meant he could be with Saint Mary's Union!

As he performed the limited dilution of the cells, Liming suddenly felt a surge of warmth throughout his body. He felt as if Shengmei was calling to his body. Although he couldn't see the transplant patient, at least the cells here were still there! Dealing with these cells was like being with Shengmei. He had to take meticulous care of them! He had to do everything he could to prolong their lives and extract meaningful data from them! Shengmei would surely be happy that way. After their marriage, Liming often came home very late, not giving Shengmei enough care. Now, he wanted to pour all that unfulfilled love into the "Eve" before him.

After making up his mind, Li Ming began working on the next petri dish.

"Parasite Eve"

Chapter Five

"Shengmei's father is a doctor? I'm so envious!"

Friends often say that.

Friends who visit Saint-Mei's home are always amazed by its spaciousness and lavish decor. A grand piano sits in the living room, and large wooden bookshelves are adorned with charming music boxes and French figurines. Saint-Mei's mother enjoys baking, and Saint-Mei often shares cakes and cookies with her friends.

“We live in an apartment. My dad teaches at a high school, and he’s always saying he has no money,” Zhijia said irritably while eating freshly made cookies.

Shengmei quickly tried to comfort her: "Look at what you're saying! Doesn't Zhijia have a lot of games at home too? Besides, you have an older brother!"

“These things are completely insignificant, they have no class whatsoever!” Zhijia shook her head, then added, “The Shengmei family is still the best!”

Shengmei has many friends, and she feels happy when she's with them. Even after entering middle school, she maintains contact with most of them. Among them, Zhijia and Shengmei were in the same class in the first and second years of middle school, and they often visited each other's homes. Shengmei and Zhijia have different personalities and hobbies, but for some reason, they get along very well. Zhijia often uses the word "bourgeois" to express her opinion on Shengmei's grand and luxurious house. She learned this word in history class. Shengmei knows that Zhijia doesn't mean any harm when she says it; it's just a heartfelt expression of admiration. So, Shengmei isn't angry about such "sarcasm." Perhaps inheriting her mother's interests, Shengmei has recently shown a growing love for baking. She often bakes cakes with her mother, and she's also very interested in making dolls and sewing beanbags. In addition, ever since her father bought her a copy of "Anne of Green Gables" for her birthday last year, Saint-Mei's enthusiasm has been unstoppable. Now, she has bought the whole set of books and read them from beginning to end many times.

“Shengmei, no matter how you look at her, seems like a lady from a well-to-do family!” Zhijia always says this. “If I had grown up in a family like yours, I might have also developed a liking for things like baking.”

After finishing the cookies, the two started drinking orange juice through straws.

"However, I wish I could run as fast as you!"

Shengmei recalled seeing Zhijia run the 50 meters in PE class today. Although Zhijia wasn't tall, she had excellent athletic ability. Especially in sprinting, she was among the best in the entire grade. She had participated in city-level competitions several times. She was always an active participant in the school's annual autumn sports meet. Zhijia's arm swing was very powerful. During inter-class relay races, she often effortlessly left the boys from other classes behind; Zhijia's heroic figure was very eye-catching on the track.

"Don't try to run like me. The more you run, the thicker your legs will get, and no boy will like that!" Zhijia joked.

"No way! Zhijia is so cute, she'll definitely find a perfect husband!"

Section 22

"Come on! The word 'cute' is used to describe girls like you, Shengmei. Didn't you learn that in your Chinese class?"

Zhijia made a gesture of looking up at the sky and howling, then suddenly put her face close to Shengmei in a serious manner.

"W-What are you going to do?"

Saint-Mei was taken aback.

"Now, we will begin taking your statement! You may remain silent, but everything you say may be used against you in court. Please answer my questions truthfully!"

"Go ahead and say it!"

What type of guy do you like?

"ah?"

Saint-Mei truly didn't know how to answer this sudden question. She looked around nervously and lowered her head in embarrassment. When she swallowed and secretly glanced up again, she saw a mischievous look on Chi-Chi's face.

Perhaps Shizumi couldn't hold back any longer, because Chika's tightly closed lips trembled slightly. Finally, Chika suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hate!"

Zhijia laughed so hard she almost fell over. "You don't need to be so nervous!"

"But……"

"Shengmei must like your dad's type, right?" Zhijia barely managed to control her laughter.

How so?

"Definitely! Gray hair, charming, and reassuring. With a father like that, his daughter must have excellent taste."

"That's not what I thought..."

"To be honest, the Shengmei family is just like something out of a TV show: a steady father, a gentle mother, and a lovely daughter. Your family could be the subject of an indoor drama!"

"Stop talking about this, I'm getting embarrassed!"

Saint-Mei blushed and waved her hands repeatedly. To change the subject, Saint-Mei raised her voice.

"Let's not talk about me. By the way, Zhijia, tell me about yourself! I still don't know what type you like!"

"Me? Let me think about it."

Zhijia's tone suddenly turned serious. She crossed her arms and looked deep in thought. Zhijia's feelings were truly fickle. The quiet and reserved Shengmei somewhat envied Zhijia's lively side. Zhijia thought for a full thirty seconds. Finally, she smiled and said, "Maybe it's still the kind of person who will always care about me."

"oh……"

Saint-Mei smiled and nodded.

Shengmei consistently achieved excellent grades. Throughout her three years of junior high, she participated in the school's brass band. Upon graduating from junior high, Shengmei, who had never attended any tutoring classes, was admitted to one of the top high schools in the county in terms of college entrance rates. Zhijia, on the other hand, worked incredibly hard in her final year of junior high and ultimately gained admission to the same high school as Shengmei. Shengmei noticed that Zhijia was someone who worked diligently in secret but didn't like to show it outwardly. The high school they attended not only emphasized academics but also strongly encouraged a wide range of extracurricular activities. Many students participated in various interest groups and clubs. Zhijia, like in junior high, joined the track and field club; Shengmei, again, participated in the instrumental music club. High school life was enjoyable. Between studying and extracurricular activities, Shengmei read many interesting books. After finishing *The Tale of Genji*, she challenged herself to read the English version of *Anne of Green Gables*. Time passed, seasons changed, but Shengmei always felt that this school life would never end. So, that summer in her second year of high school, when Shengmei saw the piece of paper the teacher handed out, she exclaimed in surprise. It was a thin sheet of B5-sized fiber paper. Excess ink from the printing process had left horizontal lines next to the characters. A college application survey form!

After school that day, Shengmei was packing up her instruments after brass band practice when Zhijia ran up. She stood at the door, carrying a school bag and a shoulder bag in one hand, peeking inside while gently waving her other hand in greeting to Shengmei. Zhijia's hair was still a little damp, suggesting she had just finished a track and field activity and taken a shower. Zhijia had stopped by on her way home. Shengmei smiled and waved back, gesturing for her to wait a moment.

"What are you planning to do, Shengmei?" Zhijia asked.

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet."

Shengmei shook her head dramatically. The lingering sunlight streamed in through the window, landing near Shengmei's hand. Unlike the scorching midday sun, this was merely a dying glow; the clock showed 6:30. Unbeknownst to them, the basketball team practicing in the gym behind the building had already quieted down. The two of them pedaled their bicycles side-by-side on their way home. The streets that ran through the residential area were deserted, as if they hadn't woken up yet. Neither of them spoke, having missed their chance to strike up a conversation. Shengmei felt a little awkward; she pedaled at the same pace as Zhijia. "I finally got used to high school life, and now I have to make other plans. It's overwhelming!"

Saint-Mei finally decided to break the silence and spoke to Chi-Chia with great enthusiasm, “All I think about all day is the brass band.”

However, Zhijia simply rode her bike silently, her eyes fixed on the distance, paying no attention to Shengmei's words. Shengmei glanced at Zhijia, then followed her gaze forward. The two had already left the residential area and were riding along a straight country road. Dusk was falling, and the surroundings were gradually enveloped in the deep blue night. Tiny stars peeked through the clouds.

It was at this moment that Zhijia suddenly blurted out, "I want to be a doctor in the future!"

Shengmei stared at Zhijia in surprise. But Zhijia didn't look at Shengmei; instead, she gazed at the vast sky ahead for a long time.

Zhijia's mother passed away that spring. Shengmei wasn't entirely sure, only that she'd heard her mother seemed to have a heart condition. Although caring for a sick person and handling the funeral arrangements were troublesome, Zhijia always maintained a calm demeanor in front of Shengmei, remaining cheerful and witty, getting along very well with her. What was Zhijia thinking during that time? Shengmei had no idea. That night, Shengmei couldn't sleep.