In the following days, Cheng Che's life returned to its usual routine of going between home, work, and home.
I attend classes during the day and dedicate my free time to tennis training.
The progress bar for [ Return of Serve Iron Wall Pack ] has been pushed to 95%, and only a few thousand more are left to complete the 100,000-receive-ball training.
Once this bag is completed, his serve return ability will reach a new level.
The [ Tactical Brain Pack ] is also being developed in parallel; this pack doesn't rely on physical strength, but on digestion.
Cheng Che spends an hour every day studying the tactical system provided, from baseline rallies to net volleys, from singles strategies to doubles coordination. With each set of tactics he digests, the tennis map in his mind becomes clearer.
Back in the courtyard that evening, he wrote supplementary models for his thesis.
The professor from the mathematics department replied to the email, saying that his piecewise function model was clear and suggested that he supplement it with more sample data to further improve the reliability of his conclusions.
The third day, during break time.
Cheng Che was sitting in the last row of the lecture hall when his phone vibrated.
It was a message from Qin Lie.
[ Qin Lie: The visa and foreign card applications are both in the process. Wilson is very cooperative, and everything should be completed the day after tomorrow. The flight is booked for the 26th; get ready.]
Cheng Che replied with an "okay".
Tonight is the premiere of " North Star ".
He thought for a moment and then sent a message to Wang Zheng.
[ Cheng Che: Tonight is the premiere of " North Star," please support it!]
[ Wang Zheng: Don't worry, Godfather! It's already booked. The three of us will be there on time tonight!]
[ Wang Zheng: Zhou Hao said he's going to turn on the live comments and spam the chat while I watch.]
[ Wang Zheng: Li Yuan said he's going to screenshot your picture and make it into an emoji.]
Cheng Che smiled as he read the replies.
He put his phone away, packed his bag, and left the school.
Instead of going straight back to the courtyard, he rode his bicycle to a nearby shopping mall.
In the supermarket on the basement floor, he bought skewers, various vegetables, tofu skin, enoki mushrooms, ham sausages, and a box of marinated chicken wings and beef.
He quickly calculated in his mind that this amount of food was enough for him to have a meal of fried skewers.
Back in the yard, I had just laid out the ingredients on the table to prepare them when there was a knock at the door.
Cheng Che was taken aback.
Who would come so late at night?
He walked over and took a closer look at the electronic lock camera on the door.
On the screen, Su Miaoyin stands at the gate of the courtyard, wearing a loose white knitted sweater, her hair loose over her shoulders.
She was holding a box in her hand, her head slightly tilted, as if she was hesitating about something.
Cheng Che opened the door.
When Su Miaoyin saw him, she took the box out from behind her and handed it to him.
"I wish your first TV series will be a huge hit on its premiere," she said.
Cheng Che took the box and glanced at her.
Is this even a valid reason to give a gift?
He smiled and put the box away.
"Come in."
Su Miaoyin breathed a sigh of relief and followed him into the courtyard.
The two entered the living room, Su Miaoyin urged him to open the box and take a look.
Cheng Che placed the box on the coffee table and unpacked it.
Inside is a pair of black sports headphones. They are very lightweight and have an ear-hook design, making them suitable for wearing during exercise.
"I see you playing tennis and running a lot," Su Miaoyin said, "And it's not boring with headphones on."
Cheng Che picked it up and examined it. The headphones were well-made, and the ear hooks were made of soft silicone, which felt very comfortable to the touch.
"That's good," he said. "Thank you."
Su Miaoyin gave a silly smile.
Then she saw the marinated meat and various skewered vegetables on the table, and her eyes lit up.
"You want to make fried skewers?"
"Um."
Can I eat it?
Cheng Che glanced at her and shook his head. "No."
Su Miaoyin's expression froze for a moment.
Her lips drooped slightly, and her eyes began to well up with tears.
Cheng Che hurriedly added:
"I'll give you some if you help me skewer the vegetables."
Su Miaoyin's expression instantly vanished.
She glanced at Cheng Che sideways, a smirk playing on her lips.
Cheng Che breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: This woman's face is just like the weather in June, changing in an instant.
Su Miaoyin was secretly pleased with herself.
She's not as good as Yan Ruanning at singing, but when it comes to acting, well, she's just as good.
The two washed their hands and started skewering the vegetables.
Cheng Che was in charge of skewering the marinated meat, while Su Miaoyin was in charge of rolling up the vegetables and bean curd sheets.
She sat opposite him, her movements were quite skillful at first, but she slowed down after skewering a few pieces. The enoki mushrooms kept falling apart, and the tofu skin rolls were crooked and twisted.
She looked down at the crooked bean curd roll in her hand and frowned.
Cheng Che reached out and took the stick from her hand, rolled it up again, folded the two ends inward, and then threaded it onto the skewer.
The movements were quick and efficient.
Su Miaoyin watched his movements, then lowered her head to continue stringing her own string.
After she finished stringing one, she put it on the plate next to her, slowly arranging the items on the plate neatly, mixing them with the ones Cheng Che had already stringed.
She didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth remained turned up.
After the two finished skewering the food, Cheng Che set up the fryer, poured in the oil, and started frying.
Once the oil reached the desired temperature, a sizzling sound filled the kitchen.
The aroma of fried skewers wafted out, filling the entire courtyard with that smell.
Su Miaoyin sat on a stool by the kitchen door, watching him fry.
She watched for a while, then stood up, walked over to him, and peered into the pot.
"Is the chicken wing cooked?"
"Wait one more minute."
"Was this tofu skin fried for too long?"
Go back and sit down.
Su Miaoyin took two steps back, but didn't go back to sit. Instead, she leaned against the kitchen door frame and looked at him.
After frying, the two of them arranged the fried skewers on a large plate and placed it on the coffee table.
Cheng Che turned on the TV and switched to the streaming platform for " North Star ".
Su Miaoyin opened the beer and poured two glasses.
The two sat directly on the floor, with sofa cushions under their bottoms, and fried skewers and beer in front of them.
The television screen lit up, and the theme song of " North Star " began to play.
Cheng Che picked up a skewer of chicken wings and took a bite. Su Miaoyin also picked up a skewer of enoki mushrooms, took a bite, and narrowed her eyes.
"Tasty."
"Good."
The two ate while watching the opening theme song end, and then the scene switched to the main content of the first episode.