Just like his parents.

Xiangli Yao had heard that sentence be spoken more times than he cared to remember, though his reply was always the same. "Like them, but not a clone of theirs."

It was something he truly believed in. While his shadow continued to follow in the footfalls of his parents, his heart and mind weaved together a new path, his and only his, completely different from theirs. And he was happy with it. Life at Huaxu Academy was not what he expected, but it left him buzzing with a strange kind of excitement, the type that makes one look forward to waking up the next day and starting a new project.

Every morning, there was work to do. As the Principal Investigator, busy days were nothing new nor surprising and, more often than not, those rare moments of respite were spent in the Archives or in his own office, where he continued his research on Automata Mechanics.

However, it was always pleasant when you, one of his more excentric colleagues, came to visit. Unlike Xiangli Yao, you preferred working outside, often taking endless strolls through the city to clear your head, finishing reports in the most random and, quite frankly, absurd places — such as rooftops or the Academy's balconies, orrrrr even on the railing of bridges. Strange.

But, despite your little weird habits, habits that Xiangli Yao had come to see as common and endearing behaviour, he was always looking forward to seeing you burst in with that constant infectious excitement of yours, rambling about anything and everything.

And now was no different either. "Alright, alright, slow down," he chuckled, holding up his prosthetic arm to gently shush. "I can't follow you when you're talking so fast. So, start over, what did you find this time?"