Discover the end

Míngzé had called in sick for a few, and yet here he was. The soft beeping of his car being accepted sounded and the doors opened. If anyone asked him how he could be here and sick at the same time, he'd just have to show the bandages covering his arm. Surely they would understand. But it was exactly the reason why he was also here. It was proof of the dangers tied to affinities. If they could conflict things like burns seemingly out of nowhere, how could anyone be in favor of them.

With one arm folded over his chest he walked through the hallways. By now he knew them fairly well so he had tucked his cane away, the bright lights enough to guide him.

“Remember to stay quiet,” he muttered softly and it almost looked like he was talking to himself. People already had a low opinion of him here, so Míngzé did not care if it sank even lower. As a response however, he could hear a satisfied yawn. The pup refused to stay at home when he was about to leave so he left Míngzé with no other option than to take him with him. So far it was small enough that no one would notice immediately and it was sleeping anyway.

As he reached his destination in the lab, he saw the silhouette of the man he was looking for. He was easy to recognize even for him, with his tall posture and head of dark hair. “Yèxīn?” Míngzé asked just in case. If anyone was able to help him get answers, it was someone who worked here. Sadly enough, his options of who he could confide in were limited.

The heat from the pup against his chest was almost uncomfortable, even when it was not that warm. In this weather it should be a welcoming warmth, but Míngzé tried to ignore the warmth to the best of his capabilities. The creature had done nothing wrong, although its whole existence was a mystery to him.

It shifted against him when Míngzé stood still. He never went to work with the idea of making friends, because at this point he knew this was not the right place. All these scientists were— anything but not socially capable. Which makes sense if they like locking themselves up in a lab.

This Yèxīn was clearly the same as anyone else but Míngzé only heaved a breath and shook his head. Those other people had been worse. “Affinities, what can you tell me about them?” There was no reason for him to beat around the bush if the other spoke to him like that.

“I know you guys research them, so you must know a lot.” Míngzé could feel his heart start beating faster simply talking about this. While everything felt like one big nightmare, he no longer could convince himself that was all it was. “How do people awaken them for starters.”

For a moment Míngzé stared at the other in surprise, before that surprise was pushed aside by annoyance. That was it. All these scientists were exactly the same insufferable creatures. No wonder this was the only place they could work at. They truly deserved each other.

Doing their dirty work. Once again it became clear that was all he was good for, because of course these guys wouldn’t want to get their hands dirty. That was all beneath them. Even asking a simple question was too much to ask.

“You’d rather waste your time on doing my chores? Because trust me, you’d lose an awful lot of your precious time.” Why did he even work here when it seemed all he was allowed to do was keep his head low, doing his stupid chores and say ‘yes sir’ to everything. The creature inside his jacket noticed his rising irritation and also started moving some more.

“No, if I’d wanted to get educated I’d go to school instead of asking one of you.” Míngzé rolled his eyes in annoyance. This was out of necessity, not genuine interest. “But we all know how they glorify all of it.” Like they would ever discuss the matters he was interested in. “And I doubt they know if it is possible to get rid of one,” he added in his frustration. Because of course they wouldn’t. Why would you get rid of a blessing?

Ever since he started working here, he never had the feeling anyone appreciated what he did. He often felt more like a dog they could order around. The job itself was anything but fulfilling, but he’d at least hoped to have some nice colleagues. Jokes on him.

Míngzé kept his jaws locked as he gave the other an unamused look. It was not even the words he spoke, but how he said it that rubbed him the wrong way. All he wanted was to understand a bit more about affinities and given it was precisely what his colleagues specialized in, he thought they would want to help. Looks like he was wrong.

“I’m well aware,” he said through gritted teeth. Míngzé had never planned to bring that part up. As he folded his arms, a sharp pang of pain surged through it, causing him to catch his breath. Immediately lower his left arm as he tried to keep his expression neutral.

Míngzé raised his eyebrows as Yèxīn started talking again, shocked by the nerve this man had. “You’re right, I’ll definitely need all three of those if I stay here any longer.” Míngzé shook his head as he rubbed his eyes. Making rash decisions was never a good idea, but he’d toyed with the idea for a while now, even if he was not in a good position for this. “Goodluck with whatever the hell you guys are doing.” With those words he turned around and took his leave. Somewhere deep down he already knew he would not be returning here.