What, You're the Famous Welt "Sit-up" Yang?

Before evening even arrived, three—no, two—no, only Li Ming had drunk himself into a muddle. The other two were not that bad, though. Seeing Li Ming get into the spirit, they accompanied him for a few more drinks. Raiden, especially, seemed to suddenly become sad over something and then gave up on himself, downing two large bottles.

Li Ming and Himeko were both dumbfounded. When the sky grew late enough, the group prepared to part ways. They had only just met, after all. Who knew what each of them was thinking?

Li Ming sobered up as soon as he finished drinking. There was no sign that he had just looked like Kogoro Mouri after a binge, sprawled there like a dead pig.

But since it was getting late, Himeko took a cab and left. Li Ming kept staring wistfully in the direction she had gone, and Raiden asked resentfully, "Ming, did you already know that Miss Himeko?"

Raiden no longer called him Mr. Ming because they were no longer quite so unfamiliar with each other. Still, he was clearly resentful inside. Not only had he failed to get any gossip, he had also spent quite a bit of money, though Li Ming had paid the tip. Li Ming finally snapped back to his senses. "Ah, no. I've just heard of her."

Raiden narrowed his eyes at Li Ming. You expected me to believe that?

But Li Ming clearly did not want to say more, and Raiden had nothing else to say. Why was he asking so much anyway?

Raiden led Li Ming around in circles until they finally returned to the apartment. Then, beneath the convenience store, they spotted that red-haired girl again. Himeko had a basket hooked over her arm, filled with bread and other things. In one hand, she held a bottle of beer, and in the other, a bottle of milk.

After looking at them for quite a while, Himeko sighed, put down the beer in her hand, and finally placed the milk in the basket.

This made Raiden and Li Ming curious. Li Ming was more concerned with the fact that Himeko apparently lived nearby, while Raiden was more concerned with why she had put down the beer when choosing between beer and milk.

Of course, neither of them rashly went over to greet her. But when Himeko later entered the apartment building, the two were genuinely shocked. They had never expected Himeko to live in the same apartment building as them.

Li Ming and Raiden then entered the convenience store as well, intending to settle their own dinner. But when Li Ming checked out, somehow that bottle of beer had ended up in his shopping basket.

Raiden noticed it but said nothing. Li Ming's actions had him rather confused now.

"All right, if anything comes up, just do as usual and knock on my door. As for you and Miss Himeko... well, I think what you need most right now is some proper rest. Those dark circles under your eyes aren't handsome."

Raiden smiled and teased Li Ming before returning to his own room. He had taken leave from his advisor to come here these past few days, and he had not worked on his thesis at all.

Just thinking about having to work on his thesis later made Raiden's head hurt.

After Li Ming returned to his room, he took a shower and collapsed onto the bed. He had not slept all night and had drunk so many bottles of alcohol. Anyone would be unable to hold on.

Meanwhile, Himeko, who had returned to the apartment and was standing in the elevator, found herself in a difficult position. She had also realized that Li Ming and Raiden lived in the same building as her. But she did not think of it romantically. She was only fifteen, after all. What, fifteen-year-olds could attend university? Had they never heard of a genius beautiful girl?

Don't ask. That was simply this girl's setting.

Two grown men had come over to drink with her. No matter how normal it seemed, it was still not normal, right? One must always be wary of others.

But what puzzled Himeko today was that Li Ming seemed to know her, while she had no impression of him at all. He was unwilling to admit it, too. And although he was from Shenzhou, he knew who she was. Had he recognized her after reading her papers? It did not seem like it.

"Forget it. I'll go say hello tomorrow."

She could not be bothered to think any further. She reeked of alcohol now, and her father seemed to have said he was coming. Hopefully he had not arrived yet. Otherwise, she was done for—her usual image would be completely ruined.

She quietly opened the door and peeked inside. Her father was not there. Time to slip away.

"Himeko, mm, you're back. I just made curry rice. Hurry and try it." Ryusuke Murata came out smiling, carrying a plate of curry rice. But when he saw Himeko, he caught a scent.

Ryusuke Murata folded his arms and watched Himeko, who was tiptoeing suspiciously toward the bathroom, then caught a faint smell of alcohol.

"You went out drinking?" Ryusuke frowned. He had not known about this, but he was not in a position to say much. Ever since his wife died, he had not had much time to spend with Himeko.

"Just a little, just a little! I ran into some friends today, and I was happy!" Himeko gestured with her fingers to show the tiniest amount and stuck out her tongue cutely. She had clearly been caught and was looking for an excuse. Friends she had only known for one day still counted as friends, right? That was what Himeko thought.

He had originally taken leave to come check on his daughter because she had been at Caltech for so long and he was a little worried. Besides, she had always been obedient and had never caused trouble before. Forget it. She should be able to handle things herself.

Ryusuke was still comforting himself with that thought when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait, this is the Americas. Where did you get alcohol?"

By instinct, Ryusuke felt that some unknown wild boar had set its sights on his precious cabbage.

Himeko twitched her lips, her gaze drifting. "Uh, well... one kind person. Uh, no, two kind people! Ahaha..."

Himeko scratched her head, her eyes repeatedly darting toward Ryusuke's face. At the slightest sign of trouble, she would make a run for it.

A father knew his daughter best. The moment Himeko moved, Ryusuke knew what nonsense she was about to spout. Seeing her expression, he knew she was about to lie, so he hurriedly waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it. I can't control that much. But after I leave, be more careful yourself. Come to school with me tomorrow."

"Okay!" Seeing that her father was not going to pursue it, Himeko quickly agreed. As long as he did not pursue it, that was enough. Tomorrow's matters could wait until tomorrow. Li Ming was from Caltech anyway.

Early the next morning, Li Ming went through his usual morning workout. But today, he also had to meet his advisor. It would be ridiculous if he had been at Caltech for a year and still did not know who his advisor was.

After casually tidying himself up, Li Ming ran next door and knocked on the door. Raiden poked his head out, looking utterly haggard.

"No, what did you do last night? You look awful."

"What is it?" Raiden rubbed his eyes. He had stayed up all night grinding away at his thesis, and his eyes were full of bloodshot veins.

"Come on, let's get breakfast?"

"Forget it. I didn't sleep at all last night. I should go back to sleep. I'm not like you—I can't stay up all night and still be bouncing around the next day."

"Sleep? How can you sleep at your age? Do you have a girlfriend? Do you own a house? Do you own a car? How can you sleep?" Li Ming tried to awaken Raiden's fighting spirit with a triple interrogation.

The result was that Raiden's fist clenched. He nearly could not hold himself back from sending Li Ming on his way. In the end, Raiden still refused. Left with no choice, Li Ming could only go search for some hidden gem of a restaurant by himself.

He suddenly missed the old days when he could look online whenever he could not find a good restaurant.

If he searched online now, most of the results were specialty shops or big-name places. Li Ming glanced at his tiny wallet. Thanks, but no thanks. In the end, his breakfast solution was to buy a box of cereal from the convenience store downstairs and call it a battle won.

After packing up, Li Ming set off. But as he went downstairs, he ran into an awkward situation: he happened to meet Himeko and her father.

Short tousled brown hair, brown eyes, a tall and well-built figure, and a white long coat that did not make him look thin at all. Anyone who did not know better might have thought he was Himeko's boyfriend. But Li Ming recognized at a glance that he was probably her father.

Why? Please. From the moment Li Ming greeted Himeko, that man spent more time looking at him than at Himeko. Were they boyfriend and girlfriend? Li Ming did not buy it.

More importantly, Li Ming could feel that man staring at him with an intensely burning gaze, as if he wanted to carve him up. Yet it was not jealousy. It was more like the irritation of seeing a pig root around his family's cabbage.

That left Li Ming somewhat baffled, but one thing was certain: this was definitely Himeko's father.

"Hello, sir. My name is Li Ming." Li Ming hurriedly greeted him. No matter what, he would strike first.

"Ryusuke Murata. Hello." Ryusuke nodded coldly. He was usually quite gentle, but when he saw Li Ming, gentle? Hmph. Was this brat worthy? He clearly had a poor impression of Li Ming.

The main reason was that Himeko had always handled things so well. Then suddenly, this man appeared, seemingly on rather good terms with Himeko. How could Ryusuke tolerate that?

But as they walked along, Ryusuke began to notice something off.

Was this brat following them the whole time?

From the moment they left the apartment, he had noticed Li Ming walking behind them. But he said nothing. Maybe they just happened to be heading in the same direction.

Then he discovered that Li Ming had followed them all the way to California Institute of Technology. Ryusuke could no longer hold back. "Hey, are you chasing her that closely? Let me tell you, Himeko is only fifteen. Even if you want to pursue her, wait until she's an adult. Put away all those little thoughts of yours right now, understand?"

He just did not know the way. Was it wrong to follow Himeko? Ryusuke's sudden roar left Li Ming utterly dumbfounded. He could only nod. "Okay, okay, yes, yes, yes. Right, right."

Himeko covered her mouth beside them and giggled. Only then did Li Ming realize something was wrong. Wait, he was not here to pursue Himeko. Why was he acting so timid? Though before learning her age, he had entertained a few thoughts. But when he found out Himeko was only fifteen...

Hm? Wait, fifteen? What?

Seeing the shock in Li Ming's eyes, Himeko smiled smugly. She had naturally seen through his thoughts. "Dad, you misunderstood. But, hehe, this girl is..."

"Sorry, goodbye!" Li Ming gave Himeko no chance to gloat. He immediately checked a nearby street sign, asked someone for directions, and left.

Himeko was so annoyed that she bared her teeth, but—

He walked all the way to a place that looked like a church. Its design resembled a confessional, and even the sunlight shining inside gave him a feeling of purification.

When Li Ming knocked and entered, a handsome older man with brown hair and brown eyes was frowning over the documents in his hands. He wore a gray casual suit and had a very tranquil air about him. Seeing Li Ming enter, he asked, "Student, what can I do for you?"

"Ah, I'm looking for Professor Lieserl." Li Ming glanced around. Lieserl was supposedly a female professor, but after scanning the whole office, he found no one else. "Is Professor Lieserl not here?"

"Oh, Professor Lieserl is on vacation. If you need anything, you can come to me. I'm filling in for her." The brown-haired, brown-eyed man smiled, looking quite kind.

Only then did Li Ming focus on the handsome brown-haired, brown-eyed man before him. He bowed slightly and extended his hand. "Hello, Professor. I'm Li Ming, a new student in mechanical engineering, here for further study. I hope you'll guide me in the future. But may I ask your name...?"

The brown-haired, brown-eyed man smiled. "I'm also a professor at this school, Welt Yang. You can call me Welt."

Li Ming felt as if someone had forcibly washed his brain with water.

What! You're the famous Welt "Sit-up" Yang?