?


    It wasn''t until she had walked away from him that she found her way again, slowly regaining her once radiant sparkle.


    Thinking about how he had ultimately let this woman slip through his fingers, Murray felt his fascination with her reced by a deep regret.


    Grace, standing nearby, watched the changes in the man''s expression without a word, calmly taking his hand.


    Murray looked at her, puzzled.


    Grace smiled, "Since we''re here to celebrate, and we''ve brought a gift, it''s only right to hand it over personally."


    With that, she led Murray forward, "Roseanne, congrattions! I wasn''t sure what you''d like, so Murray and I picked this out together. We hope it brings yourb endless sess and fruitful results."


    "Thank you." As the saying goes, one does not p the hand that''s offered in friendship. Roseanne calmly epted, her gaze lingering on Grace without sparing Murray a second nce.


    Murray''s hand at his side clenched into a fist.


    Carlson and Arkle took this opportunity to step forward with their congrattions.


    Clutching his item a bit tighter, Carlson, not as eloquent as Grace, awkwardly presented his gift, "Congrats. This is avender sachet; it''s not much, but my mom made it. You can hang it anywhere to help refresh the mind and keep bugs at bay."


    He brought three sachets.


    Not just for Roseanne, but Mamie and Scales got one each too.


    As he handed them over, he felt a bit nervous, worrying his gift might seem too modest, yet he couldn''t afford anything fancy.


    Surprisingly, the trio didn''t show any signs of disdain; in fact, they seemed quite pleased.


    Mamie examined hers with curiosity.


    Inside the sachet werevender and other herbs whose names he didn''t know. The scent was strong at first but had an excellent refreshing effect. As he took in more of the aroma, it softened, bing more rounded.


    It was magical!


    A simple herbal sachet, yet it hadyers of scent, much like top and base notes.


    "Thank you, we all really like it," Roseanne said, examining the sachet, impressed by the hand-embroidered exterior.


    Hers featured a white cat,


    Mamie''s had a golden cicada, and Scales''s depicted three stalks of wheat.


    To show her gratitude, Mamie


    personally poured Carlson a ss of water, "I don''t think I properly


    thanked youst time for picking up


    my stuff. And now for this gift,


    just get you a ss of water


    swne


    Carlson quickly waved his hands, a blush creeping onto his cheeks, "No, no need to be so formal, it''s nothing fancy..."


    "Ever heard the saying, it''s the thought that counts?"


    That made Carlson''s face turn even redder.


    To ease the awkwardness, he coughed lightly, "...Can we take a look inside yourb?"


    Scales, having stored away the sachet, led the way, “Let me give you a tour."


    "Thank you."


    As Scales guided them through,


    exining and asionally


    demonstrating how to use the smart


    systems, Carlson and Arkle''s expressions went beyond shocked.


    A private independentboratory...


    UMS


    Just the name alone was enough to stir the soul.


    The further in they walked, the more they saw, the greater their excitement grew.


    On theb benchesy an array of precision instruments, all marked


    with dates from thest two years or newer, some of which Carlson


    recognized only from scientific


    journals.


    If he remembered correctly, each of these instruments could go for around a hundred thousand dors. And in thisb, he had already counted three!