Chapter 221 Data Modeling!
9 PM. Room 302.
Wang Qiang lay on the bed, holding his phone, his expression like that of a child who had just opened a birthday present.
He has been holding this position for forty minutes.
"She replied to me."
Zhao Zixuan leaned down from the top bunk. "What did she say?"
"I asked her how long it would take for the book to arrive after the system set a reminder, and she said there was no rush, and she didn't actually need it this week." Wang Qiang rolled over, "Then she sent an emoji."
"What kind of expression is that?"
"A cat held up its little paw and said thank you."
Chen Mo's pen never stopped.
"The record shows that the target's use of cute emojis in response to the participant's practical help signals acceptance of social interaction, but not yet reaching the emotional level. The choice of emojis leans towards childish cuteness rather than mature ones, indicating that she has chosen a relatively safe stance in the conversation."
"Old Chen, can you shut up?" Wang Qiang buried his face in the pillow. "You're making it sound like I'm being experimented on."
"You are being experimented on." Chen Mo said expressionlessly.
Li Chen sat at his desk.
His phone lay open on the table. The screen was lit. Yan Xi's chat window was open.
He had just sent the screenshots of Wang Qiang and Lin Duo's chat.
[Yan Xi: He talks too much.]
Li Chen switched back to group 302 and glanced at the screenshot Wang Qiang had sent.
Six messages. Wang Qiang sent six in a row. Lin Duo replied with two.
[Li Chen: Which sentence is superfluous?]
[Yan Xi: Points three and five. In point three, he explained the technical principles behind the arrival notification. She doesn't need to know how the database works. In point five, he said, "Don't hesitate to contact me anytime," which sounded too formal, like customer service.]
Li Chen turned around and glanced at Wang Qiang, who was still grinning foolishly.
"Wang Qiang."
"Um?"
"When you chat with her in the future, don't send a message longer than twenty characters. Reply to each of her replies. Don't send a message if she doesn't reply."
Wang Qiang sat up. "Why?"
"You're sending her three times the amount of messages she does. You're filling your insecurities with information overload. But for her, that's just stress."
Wang Qiang looked at the six messages he had sent on his phone.
"I'm just afraid of awkward silences..."
"A cold silence is safer than a warm one." Li Chen turned back to the screen.
My phone vibrated.
[Yan Xi: Tell him to go to the second floor of the cafeteria tomorrow at noon. At the pork rib hot pot window. Don't deliberately look for her. If you run into her, just nod. Don't talk much. Don't sit next to her.]
Li Chen went through the instruction in his mind.
The strategy is clear: frequency control.
The first contact was accidental—a pen fell into a hat. The second was a coincidence—borrowing a book from the library. If the third contact is also intentional, it becomes a pattern. The human brain can anticipate patterns. After this anticipation, the next step is vigilance.
Therefore, the third step is to subtract.
He exists, but doesn't get close. He lets Lin Duo notice him on her own without pressure.
"Let's go to the second floor for lunch tomorrow. Pork rib hot pot."
Wang Qiang's eyes lit up. "Go find her?"
"I'm not going to see her. I'm going to have dinner. If you see her, just nod. Don't sit down or talk to her."
Wang Qiang's expression froze.
"Then what should I do?"
"Have a meal."
"Just a meal?"
"Let's eat."
Zhao Zixuan slid down from the top bunk. "Brother Chen, are you sure? Isn't this a wasted trip?"
"It's not a lie." Li Chen's gaze fell on the phone screen. "Yan Xi said so. Trust her."
Zhao Zixuan opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.
Room 302 has never won against Yan Xi.
Chen Mo turned a page of his loose-leaf notebook. "Li Chen's strategy has been completely outsourced to Yan Xi. His role has shifted from 'decision-maker' to 'local executor.' And Yan Xi—"
"Old Chen." Li Chen didn't even turn his head.
"Um?"
"She told you to stop analyzing me in the dorm. She said your sampling was biased. After 10 pm, my behavior patterns would become systematically distorted due to sleepiness. Your conclusions would be inaccurate."
Chen Mo pushed up his glasses.
He glanced at Li Chen's phone screen. There was indeed a message from Yan Xi.
[Yan Xi: Have Chen Mo take the data at a different time. Data taken at night is inaccurate. If he wants to conduct participant analysis, the sampling window should be between 9 and 11 AM. That's my opinion.]
Chen Mo finished reading and closed the loose-leaf notebook.
"She also has opinions on experimental methodology."
"She has opinions about everything." Li Chen stood up, took his thermos, and walked to the water dispenser.
The silver cup holder Yan Xi had given him was already attached to the bottom of the cup. Her name on the holder faced his palm. Every time he picked up the cup, he could feel those engraved marks.
"Brother Chen." Wang Qiang sat up straight on the bed. His expression suddenly turned serious. "When you and your wife first started out, was she the one helping you plan all this?"
Li Chen thought for a moment.
"no."
"She just sat me down and bought me a cup of milk tea."
The dormitory was silent for three seconds.
"So my sister-in-law is the aggressive type," Zhao Zixuan concluded.
"Lin Duo is a defensive player," Chen Mo added.
"Wang Qiang is the type who passively takes a beating," Zhao Zixuan continued.
Wang Qiang didn't refute it. Because it was indeed the truth.
My phone vibrated.
[Yan Xi: Have you drunk any water?]
Li Chen glanced down at the glass. It was just filled with water, but he hadn't drunk any yet.
He took a sip.
[Li Chen: I drank it.]
[Yan Xi: The sealing ring on the cup lid needs to be replaced. You turned the lid 15 degrees too far when you screwed it on. Its elasticity has diminished.]
Li Chen picked up the cup and twisted the lid.
It did indeed turn a little too much.
He didn't even notice it himself.
[Li Chen: I'll go change it tomorrow.]
Yan Xi: No need. I've already bought it. I'll give it to you tomorrow. I've measured the size. The inner diameter is 5.2 centimeters.
Li Chen's thumb paused on the screen for two seconds.
He placed his phone face down on the table. There was no reply.
It's not that I don't want to reply. It's that I don't know how to reply.
She measured her size. 5.2 centimeters. When was it measured?
He recalled that the last time Yan Xi took his cup to drink water, her fingers lingered on the edge of the lid for less than a second.
Just for that one second.
"What's wrong now?" Zhao Zixuan leaned closer.
Li Chen flipped his phone over so the screen was facing down.
"It's nothing."
"Then why are your ears red?"
Li Chen touched his ear.
It's hot.
Chen Mo's pen moved again.
"Record--"
"Old Chen."
Chen Mo glanced at him.
"From nine to eleven o'clock," Li Chen said. "That's what she said."
Chen Mo was silent for three seconds. Then he closed the loose-leaf notebook.
Wang Qiang yawned. "Brother Chen, I'll go to the pork rib hot pot stall tomorrow at noon. Just nod. No need to say anything."
"right."
"What if she initiates a conversation with me?"
Answer her questions directly. Don't elaborate. Don't ask questions in return. Once you've answered, continue eating.
Wang Qiang silently repeated it three times in his mind.
"Could I tell her that I checked the book for her, but it hasn't arrived at the library yet?"
Li Chen thought for a moment.
[Li Chen: He wanted to mention that the books hadn't arrived at the library yet. Is that alright?]
Yan Xi's reply arrived seven seconds later.
[Yan Xi: Sure. But wait until she sits down and starts eating. Don't say anything while she's in line. While she's queuing, her attention is focused on choosing food, so her information processing efficiency is low. Also, the physical arrangement of the queue will make her feel surrounded.]
Li Chen simplified this passage into one sentence.
"Wait until she sits down to eat before you speak. Don't say anything while she's in line."
Wang Qiang nodded.
"Brother Chen, what's wrong with your brains?"
Li Chen unscrewed the thermos and took another sip.
The water temperature is 60 degrees Celsius.
just.