Chapter 253: You Won

Two days passed in busyness, and before long it was the first Saturday after the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

"Finally finished the model section."

Xu Xu Qingzhou put down his pen; after days of effort, he had helped Professor Zhao and the team draft the basic model, though more data would still be needed to refine it.

The next step was analysis—to see if the data could reveal flaws in the experiment.

"Phew~"

Xu Xu Qingzhou stretched, stood up, and walked to the window with a glass of water to admire the view.

Brilliant sunlight streamed in from the balcony, pooling in a corner of the living room, where Er Miao lay curled up, its tail gently swaying.

【Downstream Pillar】: Heh, still offering comfort? For this project, your Xu Shen has two million in funding—even if it fails, his pockets are still full.

Read! {

Soon, Song Song Yaohua, who had just claimed she'd nap for twenty minutes, shuffled out in slippers.

Xu Xu Qingzhou leaned back on the sofa, rubbing Er Miao's plump body, and after a while heard the cat's soft purring.

Xu Xu Qingzhou guessed a heavy rain was coming soon—it was time to cool down. At night, he had to drag that broken fan into the bedroom just to sleep, but no matter how much it cooled, it couldn't stop summer's relentless heat.

Er Miao protested, having intended to fight for its feline rights, but it was too slow—its spot had already been taken by the newly awakened two-legged creature.

"Can't sleep," Song Yao said, frowning.

This dumb cat really knows how to enjoy itself.

【Heartfelt Gratitude】: Brother, nowadays these people just grab the funding and slip a little extra into their own pockets—it's ridiculously easy.

By Saturday, it had been four straight days of blazing sun.

"."

"Mm," Song Yao replied with a single syllable.

Maybe sharing a life is just like this.

Sister, if you won't cooperate, it's making things really hard for me.

She was even colder than usual, making Xu Xu Qingzhou wonder if she'd already seen through his little scheme.

Saying this, Xu Xu Qingzhou picked up Er Miao and tossed it aside.

Outside, heat rose in waves; inside, it was cool.

The diversity of humans online was on full display—seeking attention or even provoking insults was perfectly normal.

After deleting most of the comments he disliked, Xu Xu Qingzhou nodded in satisfaction, put down his phone, hooked his finger under Er Miao's chin, and glanced toward the master bedroom—couldn't see inside, but heard faint rustling.

"And then?" Since Xu Xu Qingzhou had seen her twice with her fur standing on end, Song Yao had changed her habit of grooming her hair before leaving the bedroom.

【Tasting the Flavors of Life】: The proof is in the pudding—old ginger is the spiciest. Professor Stewart—I've read several of his papers; he's definitely an expert in number theory.

As he smoothed out her tangled hair, Xu Xu Qingzhou smiled: "Like back in the dorm—when I went to study, Kong Xian and the others would never play games, because they felt guilty."

It's good to compete with a genius—it makes me almost feel sorry for Kong Xian.

Song Yao decided she couldn't keep slacking off; she slipped out of Xu Xu Qingzhou's lap, pulled a book from the nearby table, and while reading, tucked her bare feet into his lap.

Of course, there were exceptions.

【Daytime Comet】: Xu Shen, stay strong—we've got your back forever.

Song Yao paused her turning of pages, then quickly resumed, nodding coolly: "Mm."

【Heartfelt Gratitude】: Exactly—earning three thousand a month while worrying about someone else's two million. 【Loves Plain Water】: The undergrad rate on Weibo is clearly low, buddy—you're a nine-leak fish? Do you think project funding is yours to spend however you like? Two months in, the living room looked even more crowded than before; household items had quietly multiplied, adding more warmth to daily life.

Looking at it now, it really had the feel of home in Wutong Community.

Gained twenty thousand followers.

【Light Rain】: Why do I feel this guy's deliberately provoking insults? Xu Xu Qingzhou squinted, blocked, muted, and deleted comments—though he didn't care about these idiotic remarks, out of sight meant out of mind; in his own comment section, he wouldn't let anyone bully him.

Xu Xu Qingzhou glanced at the heat waves outside and felt the moment had come; he sighed as if by accident: "Summer's here—the weather's getting hotter."

Xu Xu Qingzhou glanced at Song Song Yaohua, who wasn't taking the bait, then added: "It's so hot at night now, I can barely sleep."

In the sunlight, Er Miao lifted its head, saw Xu Xu Qingzhou sitting on the sofa, and climbed off the floor.

"It's all because you're a freak."

!.

After all, if you want to argue with this kind of person, you have to follow them first.

Xu Xu Qingzhou smiled and shook his head, pulled out his phone, and decided to check his Weibo.

【Silent Carp】: Don't panic—Johns Hopkins is still verifying; they haven't officially announced proof of the Polignac Conjecture.

After his sigh, Xu Xu Qingzhou turned back and lay down on the sofa.

"Meow~"

The cicadas' song was close, making Er Miao tilt its head; once it confirmed the little creatures were far away, it drooped its head again and basked in the sun.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

Outside, cicadas chirped; the sunlight filtering through the balcony glass shifted slightly eastward, and Er Miao closed its eyes again to bask.

The comment section under his last Weibo post was also lively, since someone had posted the same image.

【Found a Good Deal】: Xu Shen, the Polignac Conjecture's been scooped! Attached is a screenshot of Professor Stewart's Twitter homepage.

Compared to the daily sunbathing, it now preferred to curl up on its two-legged owners—these two-legged creatures knew how to pamper cats.

"And then? They probably gave up," Xu Xu Qingzhou shrugged. Now, even old Kong looked at him with clearer eyes—no longer subtly challenging him like at the start.

Many others chimed in agreement below.

Private messages still read 99+.

No matter what, the arrow was on the string—it had to be shot.

He realized some fans had already noticed Professor Stewart's announcement that he'd proven the conjecture.

Confirmed—this girl sleeps like a wildcat. Look, in just ten minutes, her fur's already standing on end.

【Sustained Firepower】: Well, it's over then.

Perfect.

This wasn't thanks to that broken fan—it was because Song Yao had left her bedroom door open, the AC running, finally lowering the temperature in the living room too.

He'd laid the groundwork for so long—he couldn't be shut down by one "mm" from Song Yao.

Xu Xu Qingzhou continued: "It's already this hot in June—July and August will be worse."

Seeing the girl still didn't react, Xu Xu Qingzhou changed tactics, pinching her soft thigh and suggesting: "How about I come sleep in your room tonight to cool off?"

Song Yao reacted—she looked up at him with the expression of someone staring at an idiot.

(End of Chapter)