Chapter 239 Casual Chat!

Li Chen slowed down his chopsticks a little.

coming.

"It's good," he said. "My schedule is more stable than before, and my meals are more regular than last semester."

Yan Zhen looked at him. "Compared to before?"

Li Chen did not avoid it.

"She used to cut back on lunch time when she was busy, sometimes just having a cup of coffee for half the day. Now I keep an eye on her."

Yan Zhen's expression didn't change, but his chopsticks paused for a moment.

"Did she ask you to keep an eye on her?"

She won't admit it.

Yan Zhen glanced at him.

Li Chen continued, "But if I deliver it to her, she'll eat it."

Yan Zhen was silent for two seconds before picking up some food.

"She's been like this since she was little."

Li Chen did not answer "from childhood".

He knew that some things were not for him to comment on casually.

Yan Zhen then asked, "Did you go to the beach during winter break?"

"Um."

"Is she seasick?"

Li Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Yan Zhen knew more details than he had thought.

"I felt a little seasick," Li Chen said. "I put on a seasickness patch and sat at the stern of the boat, and I felt better later."

Yan Zhen frowned. "She didn't ride a boat very often when she was little."

Li Chen nodded. "She was a little nervous before she first boarded the ship."

Yan Zhen stopped holding the cup.

"Did she tell you that?"

"Um."

This time, Yan Zhen's gaze towards him changed slightly.

Li Chen knew what he was looking at.

Yan Xi is not someone who would easily say "I'm nervous".

The fact that she can speak means that she has let her guard down.

Yan Zhen asked, "Would she say these things to you?"

Li Chen didn't make his statement completely.

"Occasionally."

Yan Zhen lowered his head and drank his tea, remaining silent for a long time.

Li Chen picked up some food but didn't urge him.

He suddenly understood the purpose of today's meal.

It's not a trial.

It wasn't a warning either.

Yan Zhen wanted to know some details that Yan Xi wouldn't tell him on her own initiative.

But he couldn't bring himself to ask Yan Xi.

He didn't want Luo Yun to know that he was asking.

That's why I called Li Chen over.

Upon hearing this conclusion, Li Chen actually felt more relaxed.

Yan Zhen is not the head of the Yan family.

Right now, he's just a father trying to find out how his daughter is doing.

Yan Zhen put down his cup. "Is she comfortable spending the New Year at your house?"

"It's a habit," Li Chen said. "My parents both like her very much."

Yan Zhen snorted. "You don't need to tell me that."

Li Chen almost lost his composure.

That tone sounds a bit sarcastic no matter how you look at it.

He wisely refrained from praising Li Jia too much.

"She was a little nervous at first," Li Chen said, "but she relaxed later. She even cooked fish for my grandfather on the third day of the Lunar New Year."

Yan Zhen raised an eyelid. "She's cooking fish?"

Steamed sea bass.

"Is it edible?"

Li Chen said earnestly, "My grandfather said it's okay."

Yan Zhen stopped using his chopsticks completely.

He knew how weighty the compliment "okay" carried when it came from Li Qingcang's mouth.

Yan Zhen stared at him. "Did your grandfather really say that?"

"Um."

Yan Zhen's expression was complex.

There's a bit of pride in her.

I'm a little annoyed.

Li Chen could guess it.

Yan Xi doesn't cook much at the Yan family home.

When she arrived at the Li family, she not only cooked for them, but also gained Li Qingcang's approval.

This is a double blow for Yan Zhen.

Li Chen decided to try to salvage the situation.

"She prepared for a long time before she made it. She asked my grandfather and also learned how to cut ginger from my mother."

Yan Zhen's expression softened a little.

"Is she willing to learn?"

"willing."

Yan Zhen said in a low voice, "She hated the kitchen the most when she was a child."

Li Chen paused, his hand holding the chopsticks still.

Yan Zhen seemed to have no intention of elaborating, and picked up some food after finishing his sentence.

Li Chen did not press further.

After a while, Yan Zhen suddenly asked, "What have you been busy with lately?"

The conversation shifted from Yan Xi to him, and Li Chen immediately adjusted his approach.

"Project application," he said. "Yan Xi helped me review the materials, focusing on algorithm applications."

Yan Zhen looked at him. "She helped you?"

"Um."

"She's an architecture student, can she help you with the algorithm?"

Li Chen: "She looks at logic and expression."

Yan Zhen didn't speak.

Li Chen thought for a moment, then added, "She's also urging me to find teammates."

Yan Zhen finally showed some interest. "Do you usually do it alone?"

"It used to be."

"And now?"

She said the project wasn't like an assignment; it required division of labor.

Yan Zhen tapped the desktop.

"She's right."

Li Chen looked up.

Yan Zhen said calmly, "Being able to do something doesn't mean you can accomplish something."

This statement isn't harsh, but it sounds like the experience of an elder.

Li Chen nodded seriously. "I've got it."

Yan Zhen glanced at him. "Don't just memorize, do it."

"Um."

The private room was silent for a few seconds.

Li Chen thought the topic was over, but Yan Zhen asked again, "Have you found a supervisor yet?"

Li Chen shook his head. "It's not decided yet."

Yan Zhen picked up his teacup. "Xiao Xi told you to empty it first?"

Li Chen paused, his fingers moving slightly.

How did you know?

Yan Zhen didn't answer, only asking, "Who did she find out?"

Li Chen didn't hide anything. "She hasn't told me yet."

Yan Zhen looked at the tea noodles, as if he had thought of something, and his expression became somewhat subtle.

Li Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Yan Zhen knows the person Yan Xi found out about?

But he didn't ask.

If Yan Zhen wants to speak, he will.

Yan Zhen put down his teacup. "She rarely acts on impulse."

Li Chen nodded.

He knew this all too well.

Yan Xi may have casually handed him a glass of water, but she probably had already calculated the water temperature, distance, time, and the condition of his throat.

Yan Zhen said, "The fact that she's willing to investigate for you means she thinks you can do it."

Li Chen looked down at the soup bowl in front of him.

These words warmed his heart even more than if Yan Xi had directly praised him.

Because that's what Yan Zhen said.

Yan Zhen doesn't like to speak softly.

When he said, "Yan Xi thinks you can do it," he was actually telling him that he agreed with Yan Xi's judgment.

Li Chen looked up. "I will do it seriously."

Yan Zhen stared at him.

"I'm not doing it for her to see."

"I know," Li Chen said. "It's just doing what I should do."

Yan Zhen's expression finally looked a little better.

Halfway through the meal, Yan Zhen suddenly asked, "Has she been wronged?"

Li Chen stopped using his chopsticks.

This question is too direct.

His directness was unlike Yan Zhen's usual way of speaking.

Li Chen did not answer immediately.

Yan Zhen looked at him. "Tell the truth."

Li Chen thought for a moment.

"have."

Yan Zhen's eyes darkened.

Li Chen continued, "Regarding your relationship with Auntie, she still occasionally thinks about the past."

Yan Zhen's fingers tightened slightly.

Li Chen did not evade the question.

"But this isn't because someone recently wronged her; it's something that happened in the past."

"Now she's willing to talk a little, willing to go home, willing to accept red envelopes, and willing to learn to cook with her aunt."

Yan Zhen lowered his head and didn't say anything.

Li Chen knew these words were unpleasant to hear.

But since Yan Zhen asked, he couldn't just report the good news.

If he only says Yan Xi is good, then this meal will have been a waste.

After a long pause, Yan Zhen asked, "Did she tell you about her birthday?"

Li Chen paused for a moment.

"I mentioned it once."

To be precise, it was he who heard it at the time.

But he didn't say he was "eavesdropping".

Yan Zhen closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

"She still remembers it."

Li Chen looked at him but offered no words of comfort.

Comfort is too weak at times like this.

Yan Zhen didn't need his comfort.

Yan Zhen picked up his teacup but didn't drink it.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Have you been treating her well lately?"

Li Chen looked at Yan Zhen.

This is a very common question.

When Yan Zhen asked the question, the private room suddenly became extremely quiet.

Li Chen did not say "okay".

He said, "I learn every day."

Yan Zhen looked up.

Li Chen continued, "She doesn't like people making promises they can't keep. I don't want to give you a bunch of nice-sounding assurances either."

"All I can say is that I'll make sure she eats, I'll take care of her when her hands are cold, and I'll accompany her wherever she wants to go. I won't force her to talk about things she doesn't want to. And I'll remember what she's willing to say."

Yan Zhen kept looking at him.

After Li Chen finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea is a little hot.

He didn't dodge.

Yan Zhen suddenly laughed.

"You little brat."