Chapter 552

After finishing the call with his family, Xu Qingzhou also focused his attention on the paper in front of him. At noon, he made do with some cold noodles and continued to work.

Time passed quietly. When the sun hung in the southwestern sky, the clicking sound of the keyboard in the living room stopped.

Xu Qingzhou let out a long breath, rubbed his temples to relax his fatigue, swished the window open, and leaned back in his chair to take in some fresh air.

Although it was only May, the temperature was already quite high, and the air was filled with heat.

"It should rain in a while."

Xu Qingzhou muttered, relaxing, but his thoughts gradually drifted away.

Now, 60% of the second paper is done, and it should be finished by the end of May. Carson and the others' progress is about the same, mid-June at the latest.

Finally, he can return to the country. After staying in a foreign land for two years, he still feels that domestic life is more comfortable.

He reached out and hooked the chin of Er Miao, who was squatting at the corner of the table.

The lazy cat squinted its eyes, enjoying the service of the humble biped.

The sound of a door opening came from afar.

Song Yao carried a bag of vegetables home and saw the person and the cat sitting foolishly, "You... hmm?"

Most of the work for the investment analysis project had already been done, and now there was only some finishing work left, so she hadn't been that busy during this period.

"Breathing fresh air."

"Can't you go outside, or take a few more steps to the balcony?"

"Sitting here has the same effect."

"Lazybones."

Song Yao pursed her lips in disdain, carried the vegetables into the kitchen, and then walked over in her slippers to ruffle Xu Qingzhou's hair. This person had just gotten a haircut yesterday; the short hair pricked her palms, feeling tingly and numb, and it was most comfortable to ruffle at this time.

Xu Qingzhou squinted his eyes, also enjoying it quite a bit. He ruffled Er Miao's head, and Song Yao ruffled his head.

Song Yao told Xu Qingzhou about what happened this afternoon, "Professor Nick from the Business School brought a friend over to visit, someone from Castle Investment, who wants to invite me to work there with an annual salary of 5 million."

"5 million? A big move..."

"Looks like I don't need to worry."

The two chatted nonsense for a while, then Song Yao pulled her fingers out of Xu Qingzhou's hair and turned to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

They say the height of one's hairline is consistent with the height of one's academic achievements; the professors in school really don't have much hair... many even look completely bald.

Fortunately, Xu Qingzhou currently has no trend of hair loss.

"Worry about what?" Xu Qingzhou asked, feeling baffled. He closed his laptop, not giving Er Miao a chance to dance on the keyboard, and followed Song Yao into the kitchen.

In the kitchen.

"Worry about you becoming a bald guy; if that happens, I'll really despise you."

"Absolutely impossible."

Xu Qingzhou said with a dark face.

Song Yao washed her hands and had already tied on her apron, ready to show off her skills.

Xu Qingzhou picked up a bitter melon and expressed some disdain: "This thing is bitter as hell."

"If it wasn't bitter, why would I buy it?"

"..."

That seems to make some sense; I am speechless.

Xu Qingzhou washed the pot and filled it with water.

Song Yao also took out the pork belly, blanched it in the pot, and continued, "Summer is here; you should eat some bitter melon to reduce internal heat, especially you."

"If I remember correctly, the day before yesterday, it was someone who tackled me."

Xu Qingzhou helped Song Yao recall.

"Shut up."

Song Yao bumped Xu Qingzhou away with her hip and started washing the rice to cook.

Xu Qingzhou helped wash the vegetables and peel the garlic, then had nothing left to do.

Soon, the sound of chopping vegetables rang out in the kitchen.

Xu Qingzhou leaned against the door frame, looking at the girl's beautiful figure, and couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.

School Beauty Song was wearing high-waisted jeans today, with a white shirt on her upper body, and an apron tied around her slender waist, highlighting her beautiful figure even more. At the same time, her high ponytail swayed with the motion of chopping vegetables.

Extremely tempting.

Potatoes were sliced and then cut into thin shreds.

Whether it was talent or because she had received Wang Xiaping's true teachings, in terms of knife skills, Song Yao had long been able to leave Xu Qingzhou streets behind.

Song Yao also noticed Xu Qingzhou, who was standing there like a door god, and after finishing the shredded potatoes, she started shooing him away: "What are you standing here for? Get out."

This person's eyes were strange; she suspected something was wrong.

"You have a misunderstanding about me." Xu Qingzhou looked at Song Yao's guarded expression, like she was looking at a thief, and as he left, he wore a heartbroken expression, as if he could do something just by being in the kitchen.

Although he had actually thought about it.

Although they were both at home, he always felt that changing locations would provide a different experience.

"Heh."

Song Yao didn't believe this guy's words at all; she had long since seen through this old lecher.

Er Miao was again squatting eagerly at the kitchen door, peering through the glass door. For Er Miao, the kitchen was also a place of longing... always wanting to sneak in when the bipeds weren't paying attention.

For example, it used to like going to the bedroom very much and even learned to pull the door handle. After going in a few times in a row, it lost interest in the bedroom.

Unfortunately, the kitchen door handle was heavier; it could only be said that its full strength couldn't overcome it.

Xu Qingzhou hugged Er Miao to the sofa and turned on the TV, switching through several channels, but there was nothing good to watch. In the end, he dug out *Friends* to watch while eating.

After a while, the sound of stir-frying could be heard from the kitchen.

"Tsk tsk, smells good!"

"Wash your hands!"

"I just washed them..." The young man who had just been watching TV had already slipped into the kitchen and pinched a piece of twice-cooked pork into his mouth.

Song Yao was a bit helpless. She paused and reminded him, "You need to practice your cooking skills, otherwise how will you eat soft rice in the future?"

"I at least got 30% of Mom's true teachings."

Xu Qingzhou defended his cooking skills. He vaguely remembered that a few years ago, it was he who despised Song Yao's cooking skills; how the tables have turned.

"Don't disturb my cooking."

"Fine."

But before leaving, Xu Qingzhou still couldn't help but pinch the girl's butt.

"Xu Qingzhou!"

Someone took off running.

10 minutes later.

Song Yao came out of the kitchen wiping her hands, looking at the young man staring at the TV. Xu Qingzhou had already gotten smart, presumably pretending not to see her, so her "death stare" lost its deterrent power.

She said, "I'm counting to 3."

Xu Qingzhou walked over honestly and was beaten a few times by Song Yao.

The sunset hung on the horizon, and the orange light spilled down from the southwest, dyeing the banks of the Charles River the same orange-yellow.

Xu Qingzhou shoveled his food, thought of another thing, and said, "When the project concludes, I want to treat the members of my research group to a meal."

Speaking of this, he felt a bit ashamed; other research groups would at least celebrate occasionally, but they seemed to have been busy the whole time.

The experiment being able to have its current results was inseparable from the efforts of Carson and the others.

"Chinese food?"

Song Yao was holding a bowl of seaweed soup; she had already finished eating—to be precise, she had shoveled half a bowl to Xu Qingzhou.

Now that she was free, her long-cherished weight loss plan was back on the agenda, especially regarding white rice.

Xu Qingzhou nodded and said, "Yes, I want to let them taste Sichuan cuisine; the Sichuan restaurants around here aren't authentic."

Sichuan cuisine changes flavor even when it goes to Kyoto, let alone in the United States across the Pacific. He had once gone to eat it with friends, and it wasn't even as good as what he made.

"Yeah, I'll prepare well when the time comes."

Song Yao nodded. As the hostess, she was already considering what dishes she could make for the gathering. She used to hate cooking fumes, but now she felt a sense of accomplishment when making something delicious.

After eating, Xu Qingzhou cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them, while Song Yao walked in her slippers to wash her feet... so as not to have a smell when playing with that guy...

(End of chapter)