Chapter 787

November 15.

Xu Qingzhou spent a week developing the large model to address seismic adaptability issues for Longwan, and on Saturday, he finally had time to rest.

Living room.

Xu Qingzhou lay lazily on the sofa; across from him, the TV broadcast a Premier League match: Manchester City vs. Chelsea.

“Professor Xu, want to go?”

“No, today I just want to be a completely idle, lying-down good-for-nothing.”

Xu Qingzhou firmly rejected Song Yao’s request.

“Professor Xu~”

Song Yao squealed in a high-pitched voice, “We haven’t gone shopping in ages, and the weather is so nice.”

Women are naturally gifted at shopping, and Song Yao was no exception.

“There’s the Xia National Football Association Cup final this afternoon.”

“Am I more important, or is watching the match?”

“Watching the match.”

“.”

Song Yao’s Qilin arm could no longer be contained.

“Hmph, men. You used to say how much you wanted to be together, and now you won’t even go shopping with me.”

“Freud said human desire instinctively craves continuous novelty; when a partner loses novelty, even deliberate efforts to please—like role-playing—only breed boredom.”

Xu Qingzhou wore an expression of detached indifference to worldly fluctuations.

“Really?”

Song Yao expressed skepticism.

“Of course.”

“Big brother~”

Pfft, liar—you’re still enjoying this.

Watching Xu Qingzhou lazily raise an eyebrow, Song Yao secretly sneered.

“The game’s starting.”

“Xu Qingzhou.”

Song Yao realized she needed conventional methods; she stared coldly at the lazy man before her, “I’ll count to three. Three, two—”

“I’ll go change clothes.”

Xu Qingzhou sprang up swiftly.

Holding out until she reached the third number was his last shred of defiance.

He surrendered—but not completely.

Twenty minutes later, the two got into a white Wrangler.

Today was their private time; Liu Bin and the others would provide distant surveillance and stay far away.

Xu Qingzhou drove toward the nearby mall, while Song Yao used her phone to plan their return to Rongcheng, asking him: “Are we going back on January 26?”

The Lunar New Year falls at the end of January this year.

Xu Qingzhou pondered, then murmured: “Actually, I want to visit the CFQS-T project. Although tokamaks remain dominant—with 70% of fusion devices being tokamaks—stellarators offer irreplaceable advantages in safety and steady-state operation.”

In the future, multiple technological pathways must proceed in parallel to diversify the risks of fusion commercialization.

The principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket never fails.

“Go back a week early?”

Song Yao thought for a moment, then decided to return early herself: “I still have vacation days left—I might as well go back early to spend time with my parents.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll book the tickets then.”

Twenty minutes passed; the two arrived at Chang’an Tianjie.

Song Yao wrapped herself tightly in layers, wearing a white knit cap—looking slightly clueless.

Xu Qingzhou couldn’t resist reaching over to pinch her cheek, but she swiftly swatted his hand away with a sharp “slap.”