---- Chapter 12 Jody POV: The airport was a chaotic symphony of rolling suitcases, garbled announcements, and snippets of a hundred different conversations. | found a relatively quiet spot near the arrivals gate, my mind still buzzing with the new data from the lab. | had promised Dr. Chaney | would pick up his nephew, but a solution to a nagging problem in my polymer model was suddenly crystallizing in my thoughts. | pulled a notepad and pen from my bag, the urge to capture the idea too strong to ignore. The world around me faded away as | began to sketch, my pen flying across the page. Diagrams, equations, and chemical structures filled the paper, a frantic, beautiful dance of logic. | was completely lost in my work, in the elegant, predictable world of science where everything had a solution if you just looked hard enough. | don't know how long | was there, hunched over my notepad. When | finally looked up, blinking, the crowd had thinned considerably. The arrivals board showed that the flight from Stanford had landed over an hour ago. A jolt of panic shot through me. |' d been so absorbed, | had completely forgotten why | was here. | scrambled for my phone, my heart pounding with guilt. | had to call him, to ---- apologize. But as | scrolled through my contacts, | realized with a sinking heart that Dr. Chaney had sent me the information in a text, and in my haste, I' d never saved the number. | was stranded, having failed the first simple favor anyone had asked of me in my new life. "Excuse me, are you Jody Campbell?" Acalm, warm voice cut through my rising panic. | looked up to see a man standing in front of me, a small, amused smile on his face. He was tall, with kind, intelligent eyes and a relaxed posture that immediately put me at ease. He was holding out a bottle of water. "lm Evander Estrada," he said. "My uncle sent me a picture. | figured the woman furiously scribbling chemical formulas in the corner was probably you." My face flushed with embarrassment. | took the water, my fingers brushing against his. "| am so sorry," | stammered. "| got caught up in a problem |' ve been trying to solve, and | completely lost track of time." "Don' t apologize," he said, his smile widening. His gaze dropped to my notepad. "Is that a new approach to strengthening cross-linked polymer chains? That's brilliant." He wasn' t just being polite. He actually understood. He pointed to a section of my diagram. "But have you considered altering the covalent bond angle here? You might get even ---- better elasticity without sacrificing durability." He took my pen and, with a few deft strokes, modified my drawing. And just like that, the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. It was elegant, simple, and utterly perfect. | stared at the revised diagram, my mind reeling. "You' re... you' re a chemical engineer," | said, stating the obvious. He laughed. "PhD from Stanford. Specializing in polymer science. Looks like we' re going to be colleagues, or as my uncle would say, you' re my senior. | guess that makes you my 'shijie' 2" he said, using the Mandarin term for a senior female peer in an academic setting. It was a small detail, but it showed a level of cultural awareness that was both surprising and charming. The drive back to the institute was a blur of excited conversation. We talked about everything from quantum mechanics to the ethical implications of our research. It was like finding a missing piece of myself | didn' t even know was gone. Here was someone who spoke my language, who saw the world through the same lens of scientific curiosity. His mind was as sharp as his wit, and for the first time in years, | felt like | was talking to an equal. When the taxi pulled up to the research facility, | felt a pang of disappointment that the conversation had to end. "Thank you, Evander," | said, turning to him. "For the water, and for solving my equation. | really enjoyed talking to you." ---- "The pleasure was all mine, shijie," he said, his eyes twinkling. "| have a feeling we' re going to be great partners." As | watched him walk towards the guest housing, a genuine, unforced smile spread across my face. Partners. | liked the sound of that. It felt solid, respectful, and full of promise. It was everything | had been missing.