"Pleasure Doing Business with You"

Although it was a mess, Vita could genuinely sense the pleasant... treacherous atmosphere around her.

In short, Vita, who has returned to her human identity as "So," quite likes this atmosphere.

"Yeah, I think it's pretty good too." Liu Bai didn't refute Vita, after all, he knew what it would be like without his original timeline. "I'm going to cook, Rita, is there anything I can help you with?"

"They've arrived..."

Su looked at the messages in the group chat in her room, then leaned back on the sofa, the shadow of her hair covering half of her face.

After a moment, Su's deep voice slowly rang out.

"Kevin, the 'Phoenix Project' can begin now... Kevin?"

"Huh... what?" Kevin, who was wearing an apron and cooking instant noodles, turned his head blankly. "How many eggs do you want?"

"..." Su twitched the corners of her mouth as she smelled the "cheap and delicious" aroma that wafted into her nose.

"Who asked you how many eggs you wanted! I was talking about my teacher's wife! And why are you cooking instant noodles so late at night! Do you think you're still a high school student studying all night?!"

"Ah... I considered my appetite, so I ordered six bags, for flatbread..."

"I meant Master's wife! Not her appetite!"

"Master's wife... um... Su, I think you're acting silly right now."

In Sue's eyes, Kevin revealed a strangely wise expression.

"My brain is now telling me that connecting to your brain will make me less intelligent."

Chapter 579 "A Pleasant Cooperation"

Good morning, Liu Bai.

The next day, as soon as Liu Bai entered the office with Alisa and Natasha, they saw Einstein idly eating chocolate in a corner.

"Good morning, Einstein... um." Liu Bai had just finished greeting him when he suddenly realized something was off. "Einstein?"

"Hmm~?"

"You dyed your hair?"

"Eh... I was found out?" Einstein —or rather, the Einstein of the Previous Era —chuckled as he casually flicked his bangs, which should have been red hair. "A bet's a bet."

A bet is a bet, and you have to accept the consequences?

What does "accepting the consequences of a bet" mean?

Before Liu Bai could figure out what was going on, the seemingly civilized Einstein stood up from behind the desk, unceremoniously took the chocolate from the table, and then smiled and gave Liu Bai a thumbs up.

"Good~"

"What a huge loss..." Einstein from the Previous Era clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "Was there something wrong with my performance? You think you did a pretty good job."

"Hmm..." Liu Bai rested his chin on his hand, "The performance itself is fine, it's just... not quite right?"

They didn't have that old married couple vibe.

Yes, if his relationship with Rita is like that of a newlywed couple, then his relationship with Einstein is more like that of an old married couple.

It's really hard to describe this feeling. Liu Bai was able to recognize it purely out of instinct; he just felt something was wrong.

There is absolutely no logical reasoning involved.

"Oh... can I take that as a difference between us from birth?"

The Previous Era Einstein —let's call him "pre- Einstein" for now—had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Or is this a special connection that comes from communicating at close range?"

There's definitely a lot of tension in those words.

But why do you always blurt out everything, Einstein?

Liu Bai looked at Einstein, who was enjoying his spoils, somewhat speechless.

Einstein, holding a box of chocolates, found a chair and sat down leisurely.

It's precisely because it's another version of myself that there's a need to give it a little push.

However, Einstein also realized that this version of himself from Previous Era possessed characteristics of both her and Tesla —though most of the time she was more relaxed and carefree.

Hmm... Surprisingly, despite being a combination of two weirdos, this person is quite normal.

As expected, Dr. Tesla was the most useless.

"So, what brings you two here?" Liu Bai quickly changed the subject.

"I'm pregnant."

"Oh... cough cough? What? I... I didn't hear you clearly."

Watching Einstein leisurely stuffing chocolate into his mouth, Liu Bai felt his own mind starting to go haywire.

"Just kidding." Einstein rested his head on his hand, smiling as he looked at Liu Bai. "Liu Bai, your expression just now was really interesting... So why did you also look like your brain had been shaken, Miss Raven?"

"Me? Am I?" Natasha took a breath to steady herself. "Dr. Einstein, you must be mistaken."

"... This joke is really not funny." Liu Bai also sighed.

To be honest, this was all so sudden, I wasn't prepared at all, but I do feel a little... disappointed?

It turns out that all my previous thoughts about preparing for this were just nonsense...

"I just suddenly wanted to see your reaction, Liu Bai, and it was just as interesting as I expected—and there was an unexpected bonus."

Natasha: "..."

"Miss Natasha, don't be nervous. Dr. Einstein is very open-minded," Einstein continued with a joking smile.

Natasha just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear...

"Einstein, don't make this kind of joke around, it could cause an earthquake."

"Don't worry, and Dr. Einstein thinks that even if there is an earthquake, it will only happen near you, Liu Bai. Nobody will do anything to me."

Einstein seemed to be in a particularly good mood—she was certain that Liu Bai wanted to have a child.

Although he seemed a bit conflicted, this is very much in line with the mindset of a new father.

As long as you seize the opportunity, getting pregnant is not difficult.

But now that I've said that, Liu Bai will probably be more cautious about safety measures in the future, right?

"You two really know how to make people feel like they're being fed dog food—by the way, I just got here yesterday and I heard that Mobius has reached base. That guy has had it pretty tough."

The former Einstein had a half-smile on her face.

"But perhaps it's even harder for you as the head of the household?"

The former Einstein was mostly provoked by another version of herself; to be honest, she was the kind of person who wasn't in a hurry.

"It seems like they directly turned Mobius from a little girl into a mature woman?"

"Ahem, can we talk about something serious?"

Liu Bai sat down in the main seat with an embarrassed expression.

"For example, Armed Dolls, the Moonlight Throne, and things like that."

"It's serious business..." Xian Einstein was standing next to me, smiled with interest. "By the way, it's confirmed that we'll have a holiday next week, right? Do we get one too?"

"... Of course it can be."

How did Einstein know about this when no official document had been issued yet?

"How about we—you, me, and Dr. Tesla— go back to Britain for a trip? To relive those days."

"Aren't the others going?" Liu Bai couldn't help but think that Edison and the others wouldn't have let this go if they knew about it.

"How would Dr. Einstein know about other people's schedules?"

Einstein said it, but his ambiguous smile said it all.

So, everyone's going, right?

It was truly unexpected, yet not unexpected at all.

"Okay, but is our old lab still there?"

"Of course it's still there, it's just been sealed away for historical reasons."

Or rather, even if it were truly gone, Otto would have someone rebuild it on the spot after learning about Liu Bai's itinerary.

"If we have enough time, we could stay there for a few more days."

"..."

Doesn't this statement sound a bit ominous?

"Okay, if there's still time after Rita's session, then of course it's no problem."

Liu Bai thought about these people and realized he really couldn't refuse.

(I feel like once I agree to this, I'll be in a "the more debts, the better" mentality...)

Liu Bai inexplicably had a premonition about this matter.

After that, Susang and the others will probably be looking for me next week...

"By the way, is Dr. Einstein coming?" Einstein asked Einstein.

"Hmm... we'll see when the time comes." Former Einstein pondered for a moment. "Speaking of which, shouldn't we go back to work now? Being late on my first day at Schicksal's is a bit of a bad influence, isn't it?"

"Nobody cares about that kind of thing, but there's some truth to it." Einstein stretched, stood up with the box of chocolates in his arms, and said, "We're off to work now. See you after work!"

"Excuse me, are you Miss Vita?"

"Oh, so you two are...?" Vita tilted her head as she looked at the two burly men blocking her way.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Sue, and his name is Kevin."

"Oh... Is there anything I can help you with?" Vita glanced at Su and smiled.

Another version of myself... Is this someone looking for trouble?

"Also, what's wrong with Mr. Kevin's face?"

"He tripped and fell while walking, don't worry about it." Su glanced at Pighead Kevin, her expression calm. "As for the matter... there is indeed one thing that I absolutely need you to handle."

"Please tell me~ If it's something I can do, I'd be happy to help~"

"Then I'll be frank—please become our master's wife!"

"I see... oh? Huh?"

Vita's previously composed smile froze.

"Could your teacher be Lord Liu Bai?"

"Master's wife is a diviner!" Su clapped from the side.

Vita, trying her best to maintain a smile, forcefully suppressed the urge to kick the male version of herself in the face.

"... Excuse me, why me?"

"Of course it's because you, Teacher's Wife, look like the kind of woman who only gets close to Teacher for impure motives," Kevin chimed in.

"... Is this how you ask for help?"

Smile, smile.

There's no need to get angry about this.

"Although what you said makes a lot of sense this time, shut up." Sue turned around and glared at Kevin, then looked at Vita with a gentle expression. "Please don't take these words to heart."

"..."

Vita's eye twitched.

No matter how cunning a woman is, she'll feel like she can't hold back when two huskies jump on her face!

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kevin, Mr. Su, this joke is not funny at all."