Chapter 236 My Dad Wants to See You!
Li Chen remained silent.
She went back to the counter and pushed the chicken wings towards him.
"Tell me the steps."
Li Chen glanced at the state of the marinade.
"First, pan-fry until both sides are slightly browned, then pour in the cola. Reduce the sauce over medium heat."
Yan Xi nodded. "Sugar content?"
Li Chen: "The cola is sweet enough, no extra sugar needed."
Yan Xi: "Why can't Wang Qiang eat?"
Li Chen paused. "His emotions were too volatile today; would eating sweets tonight aggravate his excitement?"
Yan Xi looked at him.
Li Chen added, "Also, he's been sitting for long periods lately memorizing vocabulary, and eating too much oily food at night makes it hard for him to sleep."
Yan Xi then hummed in agreement.
Li Chen smiled. "I got it right?"
"reluctantly."
"It's barely correct."
He turned on the fire and poured in the oil.
Yan Xi stood by and watched, without interfering.
Li Chen put the chicken wings into the pan, and as soon as the oil sizzled, she took a half step back.
Li Chen immediately turned the pot handle slightly.
Yan Xi saw it.
She didn't say anything, but simply moved her water glass half an inch closer to his hand.
Li Chen's phone vibrated while he was frying chicken wings.
His hands were oily, so he didn't touch them.
Yan Xi picked up his phone.
Wang Qiang is on the screen.
[Brother Chen, Lin Duo asked me which building my elective class is in this afternoon.]
Yan Xi opened the app directly and handed it to Li Chen.
Li Chen glanced at it. "Make him tell the truth."
Yan Xi is typing.
【to be honest.】
Wang Qiang replied very quickly.
But I wanted to say something further away, so it wouldn't seem like I couldn't go to the library.
Yan Xi held her phone up to Li Chen's face without any expression.
Li Chen almost laughed out of anger.
"Tell him that if he lies, his phone will be confiscated for two days."
Yan Xi is typing.
[Lying, the phone was used for two days.]
Wang Qiang replied instantly.
I'm telling the truth.
Zhao Zixuan then chimed in on the group chat.
[Sister-in-law, are you next to Brother Chen? This tone doesn't sound like Brother Chen; it's too menacing.]
Yan Xi didn't even look at it and immediately locked the screen.
Li Chen flipped the chicken wings over. "Aren't you going back?"
"He's not important."
Li Chen couldn't suppress the urge to smile.
"If it's not important, why are you still concerned about Wang Qiang?"
"He's affecting your dorm environment."
Li Chen laughed out loud.
Yan Xi looked at him. "What are you laughing at?"
"I laugh at how reasonable your advice is."
Yan Xi picked up a red pen and circled another word on his paper.
"Delete this one too."
Li Chen could no longer laugh.
Yan Xi poured the cola into the pot and set a 15-minute timer.
As Li Chen finished finishing, she suddenly asked, "Who are you planning to team up with for your project?"
Li Chen stopped his hand.
He hasn't thought about that yet.
"Wang Qiang won't do," Yan Xi said first.
Li Chen: "I didn't mean to pull him."
Wang Qiang now even has to entrust his own love life to others.
Let's not mess with the project anymore.
"Zhao Zixuan won't do either."
Li Chen nodded. "He's not suited for technical work."
"Chen Mo is fine."
Li Chen looked at her.
Yan Xi said, "He has strong note-taking skills. Although he has problems expressing himself, he can organize data effectively."
Li Chen thought for a moment.
indeed.
Chen Mo's usual piles of outlandish spreadsheets, if viewed from a different perspective, become readily available skills.
Li Chen had never seriously considered forming a team before.
He is used to doing things himself.
But a project is not an assignment, and one person may not be the best.
Yan Xi looked at him. "You don't like to trouble others."
Li Chen did not deny it.
"It's not a hassle," Yan Xi said, "it's a division of labor."
Li Chen looked down at the sauce in the pot.
He knew Yan Xi was pushing him again.
It's not about pushing him away from her.
It's about pushing him to learn to stand in a bigger place.
He turned off the heat and took the chicken wings out.
"Then I'll ask Chen Mo tonight."
Yan Xi picked up a piece, but instead of eating it, she held it to his mouth.
Li Chen was stunned.
"Taste it."
He lowered his head and took a bite.
It's a little hot.
But he didn't dodge.
Yan Xi frowned. "Still biting when it's hot?"
Li Chen swallowed. "You fed it."
Yan Xi looked at him for two seconds.
"Being sweet-talking is useless."
Li Chen: "Then what's useful?"
Yan Xi took the plate away.
"Write another version of the project division of labor."
Li Chen: "..."
He knew it.
The two sat down to eat.
Yan Xi only ate two chicken wings, and gave the rest to Li Chen.
Li Chen looked into her bowl.
"not enough."
Yan Xi: "I ate this afternoon."
Li Chen didn't believe it.
"What did you eat?"
Yan Xi slowly drank the water.
Li Chen understood.
"Whole wheat bread again?"
Yan Xi put down her cup. "I added milk."
Li Chen looked at her.
Yan Xi also looked at him.
The two people stared at each other for three seconds.
Li Chen got up and started rummaging through the food bags.
Sure enough, there were also eggs and tomatoes.
He washed the pot again.
Yan Xi didn't stop her.
She simply picked up her phone and sent a message.
Li Chen's phone lit up.
Don't use too much oil.
Li Chen looked down at the screen, then at her.
"You're right here."
Yan Xi: "That way you can execute it faster."
Li Chen was convinced.
He made her tomato and egg soup.
Yan Xi drank half a bowl, and her brows and eyes relaxed a little.
Li Chen was finally satisfied.
After dinner, Li Chen wrote out the initial draft of the project division of labor.
He included Chen Mo in the data organization and document structure, and listed himself as the model designer and main implementer.
After Yan Xi finished reading, she clicked on Chen Mo's entry.
"Make it clear to him beforehand. Don't let him include you and me in the project case studies."
Li Chen remained silent.
This reminder is absolutely necessary.
Chen Mo is capable of doing such a thing.
My phone vibrated.
Wang Qiang sent a screenshot.
His conversation with Lin Duo was normal.
Lin Duo asked about the building she was choosing, and Wang Qiang told her the truth.
Lin Duo replied: "It's not far from the library."
Wang Qiang sent a string of ellipses.
[Brother Chen, does she want me to go?]
Li Chen looked at Yan Xi.
Yan Xi held the red pen between her fingers and thought for two seconds.
"Let him go after class, but don't let him sit across from her."
Li Chen relayed this.
Wang Qiang replied: [Where should I sit?]
Yan Xi: "Three seats apart in the same row."
Li Chen sent it over.
Wang Qiang: [My sister-in-law even controls where we sit?]
Zhao Zixuan: [You disagree?]
Wang Qiang: [I'm impressed.]
Chen Mo: [Spatial distance control is precise down to the seat level.]
Upon seeing this message, Yan Xi finally replied to the group chat.
[Chen Mo, are you free tonight?]
Group 302 fell silent instantly.
Chen Mo took three seconds to reply.
【Have. 】
Yan Xi: [Li Chen has a project that might need your help.]
Chen Mo: [Me?]
Zhao Zixuan: [Old Chen, are you joining the production team?]
Wang Qiang: [What about me?]
Yan Xi: [You memorize vocabulary words.]
Wang Qiang: [Received.]
Li Chen looked at the group chat and laughed so hard his shoulders felt light.
Yan Xi put her phone down and got up to tidy up her computer.
"I'm gone."
Li Chen stood up as well. "I'll see you out."
She did not refuse.
As they walked downstairs, a cold wind blew, and Yan Xi put her hand into his pocket.
Li Chen grasped it.
Thank you for today.
Yan Xi looked up. "What are you thanking me for?"
"project."
You wrote it yourself.
"Did I make the chicken wings myself too?"
Yan Xi's eyes crinkled slightly.
"Otherwise what?"
Li Chen looked down at her.
"Then next time I'll teach you how to make braised pork."
"Saturday," Yan Xi said. "Don't forget."
"I can't forget it."
She walked to the girls' dormitory building and suddenly stopped.
"Li Chen".
"Um?"
"Leave the supervising teacher section blank for now on the project application form."
Li Chen asked, puzzled. "Why?"
Yan Xi pulled her hand out of his pocket.
"I've found someone more suitable."
Before Li Chen could ask who it was, Yan Xi's phone lit up.
She glanced at it, then quickly closed the screen.
But Li Chen had already seen the note.
It's Yan Zhen.
Yan Xi looked up, her tone calm.
"My dad wants to see you tomorrow night."