Bian Ziyuan stood there somewhat awkwardly, holding a laptop in one hand and Space Box in the other.
Although Mei Ziqing was indeed a beautiful woman, and as Mei Yiqiu's assistant, she held a very high position in the laboratory, having a meal with her was probably something the young employees dreamed of. Under normal circumstances, Bian Ziyuan would have gladly accepted, but today he had something to do, and it was something he absolutely could not let Mei Ziqing know about.
Um... that...
Bian Ziyuan stammered, his usually proud ability to respond suddenly gone, like a student being scolded by a teacher in the office, who clearly had a lot of complaints and reasons in his mind, but couldn't say a word.
Mei Ziqing laughed and patted the young man on the shoulder like a professor, saying, "Alright, alright, I just came to pick up some things, so I won't join your men's gathering."
Bian Ziyuan felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. With the pressure gone, he suddenly had a breakthrough and knew how to speak, " Uncle Yu Yu's place isn't suitable for a beautiful lady like you. How about I invite you to dinner alone sometime?"
He thought Mei Ziqing would refuse, but to his surprise, Mei Ziqing generously said, "Okay."
Bian Ziyuan said, "There's a pretty good restaurant called 'No Words, No Speech ' on Yangtze River Road, and next to it is a Ruhua Bar '. The owner's cocktails are the best in Wuzhong, but I heard she's not often there, so you have to try your luck."
" Ruhua Bar?" Mei Ziqing seemed a little surprised. "Ah, I've heard of it. Isn't it in Liuying Lane?"
"Oh, they moved a long time ago," Bian Ziyuan said. " Liuying Lane was demolished; I heard it's going to be redeveloped into a classical garden."
Mei Ziqing said, "Then when you're lucky, treat me to a drink at Ruhua Bar. I'd really like to try the owner's cooking!"
After saying that, he headed towards his office.
Bian Ziyuan watched her retreating figure and shouted, "Then it's settled!"
Mei Ziqing turned around with a sweet smile and made an OK sign with her hand.
Something flickered in Bian Ziyuan's mind; his breath hitched, and his heart pounded. Only after Mei Ziqing's figure disappeared down the corridor did he shake his head violently, blaming himself:
What are you thinking! He is Professor Mei's chief assistant and has already achieved considerable success in his independent academic field. If he were to leave Mei Laboratory, he would be a respected scientist anywhere.
In addition, this Japan beauty is probably not young. Although she is single, she is definitely not Bian Ziyuan could possibly covet.
Mei Ziqing's age has always been a mystery.
When Bian Ziyuan first met her, he thought she was only a few years older than him, perhaps graduating two or three years earlier. But later, he heard from the senior staff in the lab that Mei Ziqing had been working with the professor for many years before he arrived. They met at an academic exchange event in Japan, where the professor was invited to give a lecture at Waseda University, and Mei Ziqing was already a doctoral student at Waseda University at that time.
By that calculation, Mei Ziqing must be at least thirty-five or thirty-six, possibly approaching forty, but she always looks like she's in her mid-twenties.
The lab has more men than women, and many of the researchers are older single men who have some inappropriate thoughts about Mei Ziqing, often making lewd jokes behind her back.
This was the first time Bian Ziyuan had such a clear thought. He felt he should find a girlfriend; after all, he was at the prime of his life, and relying on his penis to solve problems all the time wasn't sustainable. However, he was a homebody with almost no social activities, and having been out of school for over two years, all the girls he found attractive were already taken.
Perhaps you could find one in the Dream Guide game!
This thought suddenly startled him. The Dream Guide game was actually just a dream; everything in the dream was created by himself based on his memories—it was all fake. To find a woman to date in a dream—wasn't that just delusional?
But that wasn't all he was thinking. He genuinely believed he could find a girlfriend in the Dream Guide —one of those real gamers!
According to the underlying rules of the game set by the professor, each player creates an independent world that is not connected to others, so it is impossible for him to find other players now.
But Kronos can.
He can see all the players' dreams. Unlike the piles of data that Bian Ziyuan sees in the background, Kronos sees living people and scenes. It's not difficult for him to find a perfect girl; the only problem is how to bypass the rules set by the professor and connect the two people's dreams.
Bian Ziyuan walked and thought, only to find that his thoughts were drifting further and further away.
"Your self-heating hotpot is overheated." Old Yu noticed his dazed and dejected look. "What's wrong? Did you get possessed? Why don't you go back to your hometown and visit a grave?"
Bian Ziyuan said, "No, that's not true. I'm just lost in thought."
"Thinking about women?"
"Where would I find a job?"
Old Yu said, "Come on, I've crossed more bridges than you've walked roads. Your worries are written all over your face!"
Bian Ziyuan blushed and said, " Uncle Yu, you have the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils of Sun Wukong!"
" Sun Wukong's eyes are for seeing demons, I can't see that. I can only see people, I can see into their hearts."
The old man and the young man started drinking and chatting.
Mei Ziqing made a point of saying goodbye before leaving. Bian Ziyuan wiped his greasy mouth, hurriedly stood up to see her off, and only returned after escorting her to the gate.
Old Yu watched coldly, and after he sat down, he said, "Oh dear, I was going to play matchmaker for you, but..." He shook his head, "This old man doesn't have that ability, and you two aren't worthy!"
Bian Ziyuan said, " Uncle Yu, you're overthinking it!"
Old Yu said, "Look at your face, it's all red!"
Bian Ziyuan said, "That's from drinking."
Old Yu said, "Why is it yellow again?"
Bian Ziyuan inspiration and said with a smile, "It's wax to keep out the cold!"
Old Yu hearing "hetushu. com. com," Lao Yu suddenly leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and, like a bandit, said coldly, "Sunbathing, sunbathing."
Bian Ziyuan's expression turned serious, and he said, "A delicate pagoda, facing Qingzhai and backed by the sand!"
The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter at the same time.
Old Yu loved listening to opera, especially model operas. He would hum a few lines every now and then. Bian Ziyuan often spent time with him and gradually learned to hum along.
Old Yu got excited and started drinking and singing; the effects of the alcohol quickly kicked in.
After playing a skit about "Taking Tiger Mountain" with the book, Bian Ziyuan that it was almost done and went to disconnect from the internet, since there was no one in the lab anyway.
He connected the twisted-pair cable from the underground server room to his laptop, turned it on, put the Space Box on Old Yu, and then fell asleep next to the computer.
The effects of the alcohol kicked in, and he quickly drifted off to sleep.
Unlike his previous dreams, the first person he saw in this dream was Mei Ziqing. To be precise, only the face was Mei Ziqing, while the body... well... he probably saw it in some adult film.
Even stranger, he dreamed of two " Mei Ziqing " at the same time. One was doing something indescribable with him, while the other was just watching and Tushu them from the sidelines.