My Mirror Image by Maybe Not (Candice And Alex’s)

Chapter 0362

The laboratory was a large flat which had been modified. It was about a hundred square meters. With the flashlights of two cell phones, the only illuminated area was around the table.

Everywhere else was still dark.

Candice's breathing sped up. She clutched the coat Alex had thrown to her, trying to calm herself down.

Outside the door, Yondu shouted once, then there was no more sound as he probably went off to find a locksmith.

Candice heard her own voice, saying dryly. "Thank you." She did not look up.

Alex stood beside her, glanced down at her, and made a noncommittal sound.

The light from the cell phones overlapped, illuminating enough for Candice to see the area in front of her. She did not dare to look elsewhere. The surroundings were too dark, making the light around them seem stark.

Candice did not like the strange and abrupt feeling, it made her feel uneasy.

Bang—

There was another sound at the door, very slight. In the silence Candice was highly focused and she caught the sound instantly. Her palms were sweaty, and she reflexively looked at Alex. Alex shook his head at her, then stared at the door.

The sound continued two or three more times and then disappeared completely. Candice spoke to Alex in a whisper. "Was it Yondu who came back?"

A hint of seriousness flashed in Alex's black eyes. "I'll go check."

He turned to leave, but Candice grabbed his sleeve. He stopped and looked back at Candice, who was sitting down.

Unlike Candice, Alex had always had good eyesight, so he could clearly see that her face was pale and the nervousness in her eyes.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his tone, which he himself did not notice, softened a bit, as if coaxing her. "I'll be back soon."

Candice didn’t let go. She fell silent for a moment, then stood up slowly. "I'll go with you."

Grabbing Alex's sleeve had been almost instinctual. In such an environment, Candice's brain could not react in time. She just subconsciously moved towards a safer place.

She turned to pick up her phone but found that it had died due to low battery. Their bright spot of light dimmed a lot, making the illuminated area even smaller.

Candice froze and felt Alex's hand move. He pulled the corner of his shirt that she was holding out of her hand.

Then, his warm palm turned over and clasped her hand.

There was a very thin callus on Alex's fingertips, and it happened to brush against Candice's little finger.

Alex did not mind. He whispered, "Aren't we going over to take a look? So bring your phone."

The distance from their position to the main door was not far, but there were quite a few tables in the laboratory, and each table had Mr. Franklyn's models on it. The light from the phone cast eerie

shadows from the models.

Alex walked quite slowly as he held Candice’s hand, as if he was matching her pace.

Candice lowered her eyes and looked at their clasped palms, her expression somewhat complicated.

However, before her feelings could last long, there was a sound at the door. Yondu was outside shouting. "The locksmith is here. Just wait there, don't move. Don't knock over the models!"

Soon after, there was a rustling sound at the door. Candice's heart finally calmed down, but she still held her phone tightly.

The locksmith Yondu found was quick, and the lock was opened in less than half an hour.

When the door was opened, Candice squinted.

"You didn't knock over any of the models inside, did you?" Yondu's first concern after opening the door was about this. He glanced inside and remarked. "How did the circuit breaker suddenly burn out, and only on this side? This has never happened in so many years..." Yondu finally focused on Candice and Alex. "Are you two okay—"

Before he could finish, Yondu stopped abruptly. He looked at Candice and Alex holding hands and immediately changed the subject.

"I guess you two are fine."

Only then did Candice react. She cleared her throat, broke free from Alex's hand, and asked Yondu calmly. "Where is Mr. Franklyn?"

"He was called by Mr. Lambert to look at a project proposal. Mr. Lambert's laboratory is nearby, so I came over to find you guys, but who knew..." Yondu rambled on, talking about the circuit breaker again.

Candice frowned, obviously thinking about something else.

Alex had been silent. He looked down at his hand that Candice had let go of, feeling the warmth still lingering in his palm. He looked up at Yondu. "Are there any surveillance cameras here?"

"Pardon?"

"The circuit breaker tripping shouldn't be a coincidence. When you came over, did you see anyone?"

Mr. Franklyn's laboratory was in a converted old house in a small alley. Yondu and Candice had lamented that besides the inconvenience of living there, it was not possible to find a second place in the entire Solaris with such low housing prices.

Upon hearing Alex's words, Yondu immediately retorted without hesitation. "Impossible. Who would play such a prank for no reason? Besides, this place is far from the city, and there are hardly any neighbors. Moreover, who could have passed by just now? Mr. Franklyn went out, so it's impossible for him to have unplugged the circuit breaker in his own laboratory, right?

"Oh my, you two are just overthinking it. To be honest, the circuit breaker has been used for seven or eight years from what I know. It's normal for it to malfunction due to aging. Maybe you guys just had bad luck."

As Yondu spoke, he went inside with the flashlight to check the models. Then he scratched his head and came out to tell Candice.

"However, we definitely won't be able to get the information that Hanley wanted today. Come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to check again."

Candice and Alex exchanged a glance, agreeing tacitly not to mention the circuit breaker incident again. They said goodbye to Yondu and returned to the hotel.

Sawyer had not followed them to the laboratory. He was still in the car dealing with some documents. When he saw Alex and Candice coming down, he greeted Alex. "Mr. Elysian."

"Did you see anyone coming down just now?" Alex asked.

Sawyer thought for a moment. "Mr. Franklyn, I think."

"Only Mr. Franklyn?"

"Yeah, he seemed to be in quite a rush. Is something wrong?"

Alex's expression darkened slightly, but returned to normal quickly.

At Sawyer’s words, Candice looked up. The house was old-fashioned, with only one staircase leading down. It had a total of six floors, and Mr. Franklyn's laboratory was on the third floor.

If someone had passed by, Sawyer would have known.

She felt a bit puzzled, but before she could think of anything, she heard Alex's indifferent voice. "Let’s go back to the hotel."

Candice glanced at him, wanting to say something but hesitated. In the end, she lowered her gaze and got into the car, heading back to the hotel. Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

Candice kept thinking all the way back. She had a nagging feeling that this had not been an accident.