359: Chapter 359: Let's Get Lively

Walking out of the courtyard, Xiao Yu stood at the gate, watching the last batch of guests leave.

The evening breeze carried the scent of New Year's fireworks; sure enough, people had started setting off firecrackers in the villa area, seemingly to send off the professors.

The camphor tree at the entrance swayed gently in the evening breeze, rustling, while the light from the red lanterns fell onto the concrete ground, adding a touch of New Year spirit.

Zheng Ming was the first to walk out.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to Xiao Yu—it seemed like an apology—but he quickly swallowed it back.

He turned and walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped, looking back at the second floor.

The lights were on inside that window; it was clear that Jiang Zhe was bent over, tidying things up.

Although he didn't understand what Jiang Zhe was doing, he still bowed gently in Jiang Zhe's direction.

Celestial Master Zhang followed behind him. When he reached the courtyard gate, he also stopped, turned around, faced the direction of the second floor, pressed his palms together, and bowed deeply. This was the respect a disciple owed his mentor.

No one present thought anything was amiss.

He straightened up without a word and, together with Zheng Ming, disappeared into the night, blending in with the group of professors from the capital.

Academician Zhang put on his black trench coat, looked back at Professor Chen Runzhi and the others in the living room, and smiled: "Although tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, I have a video conference in the morning, so I have to rush back to the hotel first. If you're free tomorrow, come find me at Shanhai Hotel. Professor Ouyang, Old Chen, Old Wu, Old Guan, come visit us when you have time and show us around Su City."

Professor Chen Runzhi tucked his hands into his padded jacket and said with a smile: "Old Zhang, I'll see you out."

"No need, the car is waiting at the gate." Academician Zhang waved his hand, pushed open the door, and walked out. The door closed, and he disappeared into the darkness.

Lin Chen followed behind, carrying a canvas bag in his hand.

As he reached the courtyard gate, he suddenly turned back and asked: "Xiao Yu, when will the live stream replay be available? Ever since your brother exposed his identity, the authorities don't seem to allow ordinary fans to edit videos of you and Jiang Zhe, and the scholars who are qualified to edit and post them are too slow to get things done."

Xiao Yu was stunned. Only then did she remember that, overnight, the number of recorded videos of her brother online had indeed decreased significantly. They had been restricted by the Security Bureau; only Jiang Zhe's relatives and those professors and scientists from state institutions were qualified to handle Jiang Zhe's recordings.

Besides that, one could only go to Wang Shulin's company to watch the replays.

"Maybe at night. I'm going to hang out with Professor Ouyang, Professor Chen Runzhi, and the others for a bit later."

"Don't stay up too late, remember to get some rest early." Lin Chen nodded: "Send me a copy once it's edited; I'll take it back for our director to see." After saying this, he laughed himself, "He definitely won't believe it, but I'm going to make him believe it."

Xiao Yu laughed too.

Lin Chen turned and left, waving his hand with a touch of ease.

Professor Hans and his two foreign colleagues left together.

They were staying at a hotel in the city and had called a taxi.

The three of them stood at the villa entrance, and Professor Hans said to Xiao Yu in accented Chinese: "Please tell Mr. Jiang Zhe that today was the most important day of my ten years in China. I only hear many of these concepts in a truly serious academic circle."

"I will!"

Xiao Yu nodded and watched the three of them get into the car.

The car lights turned on, and they slowly drove out of the villa area.

After seeing everyone off, Xiao Yu, Professor Ouyang, Old Chen, Old Qian, Old Liu, and the others walked around the villa area together.

Ouyang Baili found it a bit strange: "There were so many reporters this afternoon, why are there none left by the evening, not even a passerby? I had prepared so many lines that I haven't even said yet!"

Old Liu, the geologist, pointed with a wink at the plainclothes officers standing like pines a hundred meters outside the villa area: "Look, look over there!"

Ouyang Baili, Old Wang, Old Qian, Professor Guan, Li Mo, and the others looked into the distance.

Sure enough, a group of men in black stood at the further exit, and everyone understood immediately.

So it was the Security Bureau!

...

As time passed.

Around eight in the evening, of the more than twenty scholars, only eight remained: Ouyang Baili, Guan Jingming, Li Mo, Professor Wu, Professor Chen Runzhi, Qian Mingyi, Professor Wang Shouren, and Professor Liu Guangyi.

Jiang Zhe walked down the stairs, looked at them, and said: "The guest rooms have been prepared for everyone."

The eight of them looked at each other and did not decline.

Xiao Yu then led the eight of them to settle into the guest rooms on the first floor and the side bedrooms upstairs.

The villa was large enough to accommodate all eight of them.

The quilts were new, the pillows were soft, and everyone found their place.

It was just that there was one room short, so there wasn't enough for everyone to have their own room; finally, Old Guan and his student Li Mo decided to room together.

Professor Guan looked at Li Mo with a serious expression at the foot of the stairs: "Last time you slept with me, I was frozen awake in the middle of the night because you stole the quilt; and you even mistook me for your girlfriend and committed misconduct against my steel-like chest. This time, you sleep first; I'll watch you, then I'll sleep!"

Li Mo was so embarrassed he could dig a hole with his toes: "Oh, the ant pincers are ant pincers, the crab is the crab—that was when I had just broken up with my girlfriend and wasn't used to her being away."

"Forget it, forget it, let's sleep separately this time!"

"Hey, so annoying, I know, I know."

As time passed, it was nine o'clock in the evening.

The lights in the living room were dimmed, leaving only a warm yellow desk lamp on the table.

Xiao Yu finished cleaning up the dishes, wiped her hands, and walked to the stairs, seeing Jiang Zhe standing at the doorway of the master bedroom on the second floor.

He had put on the black trench coat she bought for her brother a month ago, a white turtleneck, blue jeans, white shoes, and a black scarf.

"Brother, you're wearing a trench coat at home? Aren't you coming down to join the fun tonight?"

Jiang Zhe looked at the innocent Xiao Yu and couldn't help but smile: "Hmm, just going out for a walk."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the master bedroom on the second floor, and the door closed gently.

Xiao Yu stood at the foot of the stairs and heard the click of the door lock.

She looked suspicious, looked down at her pink watch: 9:03 PM.

"That's not right, shouldn't Brother go out the front door for a walk?"

She knew her brother's physical fitness; maybe he wanted to jump down from the second floor to go for a walk.

Thinking this, she turned and went downstairs: "Brother, you go for your walk, I'm going to buy fried chicken and cola for the professors. They're probably so excited they won't be able to sleep tonight, I have to go chat with them."

Jiang Zhe's voice came from inside: "Hmm, go ahead, come back early."

Time passed, 9:30.

The desk lamp on the table was also turned off by Professor Chen Runzhi, and he and the seven people beside him enjoyed this cozy feeling.

Only the Spring Festival Gala on the giant screen was flickering in the living room.

The Spring Festival Gala was playing, the sketch comedians were working hard to deliver punchlines on stage, and the canned laughter came in waves.

The six professors and Li Mo sat around the sofa in various postures.

Professor Chen Runzhi lay comfortably in the corner of the sofa, his eyes fixed on the TV, but his gaze was unfocused.

He didn't seem to be watching the program, but was thinking about something else.

Ouyang Baili had just come out of the bathroom, wearing Jiang Zhe's large silver pajamas, his hair still wet, water droplets running down his neck.

The pajamas barely fit him, but the belly was a bit tight.

He walked over while wiping his hair with a towel, his fat jiggling with each step.

"These pajamas are nice, very comfortable to wear." He sat into Professor Wu's sofa, then leaned against Professor Wu's side, and twisted his shoulders.

Professor Wu rolled his eyes at him: "It's like this every time, every time you take a shower, you like to wipe the water on your body onto me!"

Ouyang chuckled.

Guan Jingming also complained: "Ouyang, you're really not shy about wearing little Jiang's clothes."

"It's my first time at little Jiang's house, but it feels like my own home." Ouyang Baili rested the towel on his shoulders, crossed his legs, and shook them leisurely: "I don't know why, anyway, staying at little Jiang's house feels especially comfortable, don't you think it's strange?"

A subtle flash also passed through Professor Wu's eyes: "Me too, I don't feel restrained, except for the first time I saw Jiang Zhe, that was a feeling of 'strangers keep out'. It didn't give me the feeling of a beast, but rather a feeling of being high above, impossible to look directly at."

Li Mo, who walked to the refrigerator and picked up a popsicle, raised his hand: "I suspect Jiang Zhe did something to us."

"Eating popsicles on New Year's, aren't you afraid of getting diarrhea?" Professor Qian Mingyi glanced at him.

"It's already New Year's, who cares about popsicles or not." Li Mo tore open the packaging and took a bite, "It's my honor to be able to spend the New Year in the same house as Jiang Zhe."

He brought out the melon seeds Xiao Yu had prepared from the kitchen: "Don't ruin the atmosphere, come, come, come, eat some melon seeds, eat some melon seeds!"

The sketch on TV was over, and it changed to an old song.

Several old professors nodded gently to the rhythm, keeping time, the atmosphere relaxed as if they were a family of eight.

Li Mo looked at this warm atmosphere and joked: "The eight of us men living a good life is more important than anything!"

As soon as these words came out, the seven people showed expressions of disgust and disdain.

But Professor Chen Runzhi still felt something was wrong: "Hey, it doesn't feel right. I always feel like something is missing, my heart is uneasy."

Professor Wang Shouren beside him turned his head to look at him: "What's wrong? Not eating well? Not living comfortably?"

"No, none of that." Professor Chen Runzhi frowned, "It's just, I can't say, my heart feels empty, as if something is missing."

Ouyang Baili put down the towel and frowned too: "Now that you mention it, me too, I always feel like something is wrong."

Several people looked at each other; Guan Jingming suddenly sat up straight, a clear white light flashing in his glasses: "I know what's missing."

Everyone looked at him.

"Papers."

The living room was quiet for a second.

Then, as if they had been enlightened, the seven people simultaneously showed expressions of sudden realization.

"Right, right, right, it's papers!" Professor Chen Runzhi excitedly slapped his thigh. Huh, no pain. He slapped his thigh again; why still no pain?

Only then did he look down. A fair, fat leg was resting on Professor Wu and his own leg. Following the leg to its owner, he saw it was Ouyang.

Professor Chen Runzhi rolled his eyes at him: "I was wondering why I didn't feel anything when I slapped my thigh, it turns out your leg made my leg numb, move away, move away!"

"Hahaha!" Ouyang laughed, pulled his leg away, and sat cross-legged on the sofa.

"But after listening to Jiang Zhe's hypothesis, I feel uncomfortable if I don't write something!"

Ouyang Baili also echoed: "I also feel like something is missing from my hands; it turns out it's a stack of draft paper."

Professor Wu said: "The Observer Debt Hypothesis he talked about today is enough for me to study for a long time. Even if he doesn't give a lecture for half a month, I can still write a bunch of papers based on today's remedial class."

Guan Jingming nodded seriously: "That's true. If the several hypotheses he mentioned today are established, the entire future physics framework will have to be rewritten."

The more they talked, the more excited they became, almost wanting to hold an academic seminar in the living room.

Li Mo quickly waved his hand: "Hey, hey, hey, professors, big shots, it's New Year's, can you stop grinding? If you don't rest, I feel tired just watching you chat while eating a popsicle."

Professor Qian Mingyi smiled and said: "You certainly know how to enjoy yourself."

"You bet." Li Mo shook the popsicle stick in his hand triumphantly.

Just at this moment, the villa door was pushed open.

The cold wind, wrapped in the smell of firecrackers on New Year's Eve, surged in, and a trace of cold air struck, causing Ouyang, who was wearing pajamas, to sneeze.

A white figure walked into the living room happily: "Ta-da, ta-da, look, what am I holding?"

Xiao Yu stood in the center of the living room, her two little hands held high, each carrying two extra-large plastic bags.

The seven professors and Li Mo looked over in unison.

"Fried chicken, cola, barbecue!"

Xiao Yu put the two large plastic bags on the coffee table. The plastic bags rustled, and the aroma of oil and cumin instantly filled the entire living room.

"There's also skewers, chicken wings, fries, popcorn chicken, a family bucket, and so on!"

She listed the food as she took it out, and the things in the plastic bags piled up on the coffee table.

"And this, this is my favorite grilled gluten, and this, this grilled chives—Brother said since you are older, you should eat more vegetables."

She stopped halfway through, looking at the seven professors.

But soon she laughed again and changed the subject: "Anyway, it's a junk food gift package. It's New Year's, what's wrong with being a little unhealthy!"

Li Mo was the first to stand up, his eyes shining: "Xiao Yu, besides your brother, you are my god!"

"Go away, who's your god." Xiao Yu laughed and handed a box of fried chicken and a large chicken leg into his hand: "Eat your food."

The atmosphere in the living room suddenly came alive.

Ouyang Baili reached out to grab a cola: "This is good, this is good, I haven't had carbonated drinks for a long time."

Professor Wu on the side complained: "Is the large bottle of cola in the car for dogs to drink?"

Ouyang rolled his eyes at him: "Really ruining the mood!"

Guan Jingming took the skewers and plates handed by Xiao Yu and rarely showed a smile: "Xiao Yu is still the most thoughtful!"

"That goes without saying!" Xiao Yu straightened her chest proudly, then distributed skewers to the professors one by one: "Professor Chen Runzhi, yours, less spicy; Professor Qian Mingyi, yours, more cumin; Professor Wu, yours, this chicken wing is for you..."

"Stop with the 'Professor' this and 'Professor' that, call me uncle—no, too young, I'm almost 60; no, call me grandpa, no, too old..."

Professor Chen Runzhi took the skewers, took a bite, tasted the deliciousness, and patted his chest, saying: "Let's compromise, Xiao Yu, just call me brother!"

Xiao Yu was stunned, and then everyone on the scene laughed happily.