When The Sun Goes Down

Chapter 1.1: Destined To Meet

70 Years Later: 2015,

Jiao Tong University, Shanghai.

Skies rumbled and lightning flashed outside the Greenhouse. Mu Lan regarded the dark clouds with a frown, before turning her attention back to the test tube in her hand.

With the clippers in her other hand, she slowly cut the upper part of the stem of the tiny plant in the test tube. Her pager beeped and she scowled, her concentration interrupted. Her pager beeped again, and she ignored it this time, intent on taking out a plastic zip pouch and sealing the plant in it.

"Sara!" she called out to her assistant, as she neatly labeled the pouch and noted the date and time.

The sound of footsteps alerted her to the arrival of her trustworthy assistant, Sara Wu. She's a young woman in her late 20s, who's hoping to land the position of Assistant Professorship in the University someday and is working on her PhD Thesis. And working under a scientist of Mu Lan's caliber has taken her a step closer to her goal.

"Give this sample to Dr. Li for testing," said Mu Lan, calmly.

Sara smiled back, assuring. "Sure, Doc." She left without wasting another moment. As she hurried out of the Greenhouse, the automatic Aluminum doors closed behind her.

Left all alone, Mu Lan finally collapsed into the foldable metal chair, as she looked out at the dark and swirling clouds in the sky through the glass paneled walls of the Greenhouse, and slowly removed her gloves and face mask. It's been a month since she returned to China at the call of her father. And she still struggled to accustomize herself to life here. Thankfully, work provided a welcome distraction.

25 year old Mu Lan had previously worked in ICRISAT, India, for the last three years as a Resident Researcher in Genetical Resistance of Agricultural Crops. Working in the World's Best Research Facility for Agricultural Crops was a dream come true for Mu Lan, who's majored in Agricultural Engineering with a minor in Agricultural Genetics from John Hopkins University cum laude.

The shift from US of A to India hadn't been that difficult for Mu Lan, as her adoptive mother Aunt Zifu is a Chinese Diplomat who served as an Envoy in Chinese Embassies across the world, and even in India.

Hyderabad, where ICRISAT is located, had been a whole new and wonderful experience for her. And she loved new experiences. Globetrotting with Aunt Zifu made her appreciate life's intricacies.

[ICRISAT: International Crop Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics is an international organisation which conducts agricultural research for rural development, headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) with several regional centers (Bamako (Mali), Nairobi (Kenya)) and research stations (Niamey (Niger), Kano (Nigeria),Lilongwe (Malawi), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)). It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organisations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller Foundations. Since its inception, host country India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organisation operating in the Indian territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.
Source: Wikipedia]

Coming back to China had been a wake-up call to Mu Lan, reminding her of the part of her life that she desperately wanted to forget: her biological family. Her personal life is messed up, but Mu Lan had put all of that behind her, striving for success in her professional life.

But how long could one hide away from their origins?

Aunt Zifu is the elder sister of Mu Lan's biological father, the Chinese Foreign Minister. And she'd adopted the five year old Mu Lan before she's left China for the last time. Mostly she'd served in USA, Singapore, India, and is now in England.