Several hours later.
There came a knock at the door of the old courtyard house where Su Wen lived.
"Are you still in there?"
The young woman's cool voice carried through the door.
But no one answered her.
Jiang Menghan was somewhat worried, though no one could have seen it from her expression if it had merely been concern.
She thought for a moment.
Then took a key from the second old flowerpot to the left of the door.
She decisively inserted the key and opened the door.
After entering.
Jiang Menghan followed the stairwell to the second floor, where she heard Su Wen's faint snoring.
After fighting through an entire day and night.
He was truly exhausted.
Without even taking off his clothes, he had fallen sound asleep while hugging the blanket.
The air conditioner was set to 22 degrees.
After all.
Late summer in the Jiangnan Area was still somewhat hot.
The young woman sat by the bed and studied his sleeping figure.
For some reason.
A faint smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"Idiot."
She picked up the air conditioner remote Su Wen had left on the desk and silently adjusted the temperature to 26 degrees.
Then she gently tugged the corner of his blanket up, covering the places that were most likely to catch a chill.
Not long after.
Su Wen noticed an unfamiliar fragrance in the room.
He woke from his sleep.
He heard the faint sound of the range hood coming from the kitchen downstairs.
So he straightened his clothes and headed down the stairwell.
In the kitchen.
Jiang Menghan was cooking in an apron.
Two Jiangnan delicacies, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, had already been placed on the dining table:
One was West Lake Vinegar Fish, its rich sauce looking especially tempting.
The other was Longjing Shrimp, fragrant and clean in appearance, without too many mixed colors.
Smelling the fragrance that filled the dining room.
Su Wen immediately felt hungry and walked into the kitchen.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes.
Then asked the beautiful girl in the room:
"How did you get in?"
"Of course, because you allowed it."
The icy young woman lightly pointed at the old key on the kitchen windowsill, dusted with a little dirt.
Then answered in a cool, calm voice:
"You told me that, to keep yourself from being locked out, you put a spare key in the second flowerpot beside the windowsill."
Su Wen laughed awkwardly.
"I only told you because I was sharing a life habit. I really didn't mean anything else."
"Have you told a second person?"
"No."
"That's good."
A fleeting softness appeared in the young woman's cool words, though she quickly returned to normal.
Then she said simply,
"Soy sauce."
Su Wen silently took out the soy sauce from among the seasonings and handed it to her.
It was a brand-new bottle of soy sauce that had just been opened.
As an exemplary young man of the new era who dreamed of muddling through life, he naturally ate all his meals in the cafeteria. The soy sauce he had bought was purely decorative.
Who would have thought it would actually be used one day?
Touching.
Not long after.
The final dish, Dongpo Pork, was finished as well.
Sitting at the table, Su Wen realized it had truly been a long time since he had eaten anything so delicious.
He served the rice and placed it on the table, then watched Jiang Menghan take off her apron, hang it back where it belonged, reveal her graceful figure, and sit down.
Then he asked:
"Miss Jiang, when did you learn to cook? I remember that the zongzi you made in high school were absolutely horrific."
When Jiang Menghan heard him say that.
She rolled her beautiful eyes at him.
"I specially learned to cook so I could poison the food and kill a certain bastard who wouldn't answer his phone and made people worry."
Hearing the faint displeasure and coyness in her voice.
Su Wen smiled leisurely, picked up a piece of meat and put it in his bowl. He could not resist taking a bite, then said indistinctly,
"If food this delicious really has poison in it, then let it poison me to death."
Seeing him like that.
A faint smile appeared in Jiang Menghan's eyes.
"Is it really that good?"
"Of course. How about you come work as a chef at my place?"
Su Wen teased.
"I guarantee you'd be the head chef."
"In your dreams."
The young woman replied coolly as she looked at him.
"My father is preparing to return in the next few days."
"Professor Jiang? Compared to my parents, who have vanished to who-knows-where, Professor Jiang truly is a scientist worthy of respect."
Su Wen took two cans of Ice Cola from the refrigerator. He opened one first and handed it to Jiang Menghan, then opened the other for himself.
The young woman accepted it naturally.
The two of them had an extraordinary unspoken understanding in such matters.
Then.
She continued:
"My father's research operations are highly classified. I only found out recently that the ship he took, the Globetrotter, will soon return to Coastal Port."
Globetrotter.
One of China's highest-ranking relic research vessels.
Hearing that deeply familiar name.
Su Wen understood, and at the same time felt slightly relieved. He took a sip of cola, then said comfortingly,
"Professor Jiang will definitely return safely."
"You can't even guarantee a proper routine for yourself."
The young woman looked at him seriously with her beautiful eyes.
Su Wen knew she was worried about him.
So his tone became gentler:
"On the day it returns, I'll watch the live broadcast with you in front of the television."
"Mm."
She did not refuse.
Instead, she felt a little more at ease.
"Of course, I'll leave lunch that day to you."
For Su Wen.
The icy beauty's feelings needed to be looked after.
But he could not let food this delicious slip away either.
Several days passed.
Compared to the Westminster Equality Act proposed by the Duke of Bavaria, which had gradually been placed on the agenda by various nations.
Its popularity gradually returned to normal.
What replaced it was the steady advancement of civilized society by extraordinary individuals.
At the same time.
More discussions about "relic research" gradually appeared online.
In China, especially in the Jiangnan Area.
More than 70 percent of the headlines were promoting the Globetrotter's imminent return:
The Globetrotter research vessel achieved a major breakthrough and established a partnership with Aseia Life Technology.
The research team led by senior Professor Qi Ming made tremendous progress in paleobiological research.
Cambrian Explosion? Speculation on the origins of life and extraordinary evolution.
Those scientists researching extraordinary relics deserve to be remembered by everyone—this issue's biographical feature: Qi Ming, Jiang Xiuyuan.
At the same time.
The Meteorological Bureau began reporting on the super typhoon "Ewiniar," which had formed over the Pacific Ocean:
(According to the Yunzhou Meteorological Department, beginning at 9:00 local time, "Ewiniar" moved north-northwest at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour from a point approximately 30 kilometers southeast of the Yunzhou coast.
Perhaps this would become an "unprecedentedly dangerous typhoon" for the Coastal Port-Yunzhou region.
The Meteorological Department also predicted that the entire Yunzhou region might experience record-breaking winds, heavy rain, or rainstorms. At that time, a special heavy-rain warning might be issued for the entire Yunzhou region, urging the public to take shelter as early as possible.)
Eight days after the game began.
The future.
Arrived as promised.
Su Wen was helping the icy beauty wash vegetables.
Looking at the dark clouds covering the distance.
Jiang Menghan said worriedly:
"The Globetrotter planned its route in advance, accounting for the possibility that the hurricane's affected area would expand from Yunzhou to the coast near Coastal Port. It also changed course, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"Don't worry."
He looked calmly into the distance and said,
"I believe Professor Jiang will definitely return safely."
At that moment.
A mechanical prompt sounded from the unmanned central control area of Lighthouse 43 in the BHX District:
First optical path trial operation, commencing. No errors detected during self-inspection. All facilities in the unmanned sea-island shelter are in good condition. Preparations to meet the threat are complete. Repeat: preparations to meet the threat are complete.
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