Just like how the meeting between Sato and Ming ended within a blink of an eye, the first week of semestral examinations was over just like that. Sato had two papers this week, of which, both posed no difficulty to him. Rather, the event that happened on Monday haunted him every night in bed.
In the day time, Sato would be deeply buried in books so as to keep his head preoccupied. At night, while trying to sleep, the thoughts would slowly creep back into his head. It even lead to him having numerous sleepless nights before his second paper. Luckily enough, Gray was always there by his side to take care of him. The general decided to work from home throughout the week and worked by his side. The company given to Sato deeply moved the young man. How lucky was he to have such a loving boyfriend?
There was one thing that did turn around his mood slightly. And that was, the Underwater Highspeed Railway Project. The private visit to the Underwater Railway construction site promised by Gray's mother was scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
That day, Gray entrusted Sato to his mother and the pair left in the private car driven by Melanie's personal bodyguard. Melanie knew that the young man was not in his usual and knew that she shouldn't overstep boundaries. Rather, she kept the mood light and talked about the UHRP. Sato listened engrossed as he got some in-depth information that was never released to the public.
"At one point, two years ago, there came a point where we almost had to shut down the entire operation," Melanie told Sato top-secret news, "There was a section in the railway that had faulty and compromised materials. As a result, severe leakage of seawater became a problem in that portion. At that time, if the leakage had worsened into a seawater outburst, the entire project would have been compromised. Thankfully, the Lead Engineer and his team found the error rather quickly and the project was halted for repair in no time."
"Oh no, seriously? If you do not mind me asking, but what was the cause for faulty materials? Was it due to the resultant pressure from the neighbouring sections? Was it as a result of the manufacturers for the materials?" Sato inquired further.
"Neither," Melanie dismissed the two scenarios given by Sato and continued to explain, "After further investigation and calculations, the engineers came to the conclusion that the problem laid with the misalignment between the connective points on each steel pillar. This caused a leakage of seawater that was worsened with the pressure underwater."
"Oh…" Sato raised his eyebrows in realisation. There were indeed many scenarios that the young man did not consider. He was always interested in Error Management in Mechanical Systems and so, this was right up his alley.
Seeing that Sato was extremely intrigued by the project, it made Melanie very satisfied. A hardworking and curious boy was welcomed in many cutting edge technological companies. These traits, especially the curiosity aspect, was very hard to be trained into employees. It was something inborn and depended greatly on a person's personality.
Melanie also trusted the young man as much as he trusted his son. She knows that Gray's judgement of people was as keen as hers. For him to be obsessed over Sato, it meant that this young man was truly something else. And from the many interactions with the twenty one year old, she herself had confirmed her doubts on Sato's personality. When a person is faking, there would always be minute slip ups no matter how skilled one was in masking their true personality. Sato was genuine to the core and was probably why his son fell in love with him in the first place.
As such, the project's secrets were all revealed to the curious young man. She trusted the boy enough and knew that if nothing went wrong, eventually, Sato would be integrated into her family.
The pair of mother and 'son in law' soon reached the entrance to the construction site. The guards immediately allowed the black vehicle to pass through the moment they saw the car plate number. Stopping the Madam of the Tobion Family would be the same as shouting in front of the police station that you had murdered someone. As they got through, Ash got to see the inside of the construction. Rather, the entire place now looked even grander and lusher than the outside. Beside the roads that lead to the Railway Station, were evergreen trees that coated the surrounding in a deep green colour. The pavements were tiled with rough dark stone slabs that contrasted with the grass on its side. The station itself looked extremely futuristic, with clear glass that allowed for people to see the inside of the building at a closer look. The roof of the station was wavelike, very fitting for the purpose of the station.
As they got off the car, the guards that were stationed in the construction site had already lined up to greet the Madam and her companion. Even though they were curious as to who Sato was, no one made a noise and had their heads bowed facing the ground. Melanie brought Sato into the station where the Head Engineer, Jaden Masoko was waiting patiently by the sliding doors. His hand was cusped together politely as he greeted Melanie and Sato.
"Ah?" Sato didn't really know how to react. He bowed back respectfully to the Head Engineer that he had idolised over the past two years. Never would Sato have imagined that the Engineering god would be the first to bow and greet him. Sato quickly greeted in reverence, "My name is Sato Takahashi. I have always been a big fan of your works, Mr Masoko. I..I have read every paper that you have written before and being able to meet you today has been a dream come true for me."
"Hahaha, it is an honour to have Mr. Takahashi appreciate my works." Jaden didn't exactly know how to react now either. He knew that the person accompanying the Madam of the Tobion Family must also be high profiled. To know that Sato was actually a huge fan of his work, it made Jaden conflicted as he didn't know how to answer back. In the end, he came up with a formal answer.
"No, no, there is no need to address me so respectfully. Just Sato is fine." The young man quickly shook his hand in disapproval. Sato felt very uncomfortable that his idol was being so respectful.
"Ah… Then may I address you as Mr. Sato? Any further would be going against my professionalism."
"That is fine, that is fine." Sato relented, while Melanie smiled at the scene in front of her.
When the small details were finally settled, the trio and Melanie's bodyguard entered the gantry way that led towards the underwater railway platform.