Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

Seven dishes are not enough for three people to eat, since it's impossible to eat only dishes and not rice.
But with Miss Yuan's arrival, the situation changed completely. She was as good as three people, and she even skipped lunch to prepare for this dinner, which was the highest respect she could show to Lin Mo's culinary skills.

"Great, great! It tastes fantastic! In our local dialect, it's called 'Wairi Gude'!"

After the meal, Miss Yuan slumped in her chair, patting her belly rhythmically as she spoke.

Three people:
"No, we've already come upstairs, how could you still chase after us?" Liu Ruyan wiped her mouth and said helplessly.

Miss Yuan rolled her eyes at him: "How novel! Besides my cousin, do you two have anywhere else to stay?"

Don't think I'm stupid; I'm actually incredibly clever!

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan was speechless, but upon closer reflection, Yuan Meng's words made sense. It seemed that apart from Zhao Yun's place, she had nowhere else to go. She couldn't very well hide back in the boys' dormitory with Lin Mo just to get a bite to eat.

Going to a hotel room just to get a meal is ridiculous; it's no different from being bored and having nothing better to do.

To be honest, Liu Ruyan really underestimated Miss Yuan's intelligence. Since the two of them weren't home, she was probably just here to eat alone.

As for who to guard against, isn't it obvious?

Of the seven dishes, the four that Lin Mo brought back had already been completely eaten. Zhao Yun's two dishes and soup were still a bit less, but if there were one more person, it would be difficult to have enough to eat.

"Alright, alright, by the way, Sister Yuan, how's things going at the studio today?" Lin Mo began to change the subject.

Upon hearing this, Miss Yuan sighed: "It's the same as before, so boring. But the class monitor and Director Wang have already finished their papers. We originally wanted to go to your restaurant for lunch, but we didn't go because we were worried that Xiaoyue's paper wasn't finished yet."

Their latest work is out, but Xiaoyue's will be out soon too. Once she finishes writing it tomorrow, we'll be completely free. The weather's warming up, it's time to find a place to have some fun.

I was almost suffocating from being cooped up like this. By the way, cousin, has anything interesting happened at your police station lately?

"Our bureau?" Zhao Yun was taken aback, then said helplessly, "We're all just investigating cases, there's nothing interesting about us, especially in our criminal investigation department. But there is one routine dispute in another department that's quite interesting!"

Upon hearing this, Miss Yuan's eyes lit up: "Oh? What is it? Tell me!"

"It's nothing much. We handle some criminal cases, and most of the other police officers deal with trivial matters between residents. But something interesting happened a couple of days ago. A woman was tricked by her best friend into divorcing her husband and leaving with nothing."

Less than two months later, her best friend married her husband. The woman was furious and went straight to her best friend to beat her up. Then her ex-husband sided with her best friend, who was also her current wife, and beat up her ex-wife. Tsk tsk tsk, her face was all scratched up. So brutal!" Zhao Yun said with a look of admiration.

Even though Lin Mo and the other two didn't witness it firsthand, they could picture it in their minds just from Zhao Yun's account—it was so dramatic!
"No way... this is so exciting?" Miss Yuan exclaimed excitedly, squatting down on the chair.

Zhao Yun nodded: "Of course it's true. It's all over our bureau. They even fought in our bureau."

To put it simply, the ex-wife complained to her best friend that her husband's monthly salary of 17,000 yuan was too low, saying that it wasn't even enough for her to buy a handbag. Her best friend replied that they couldn't live on less than 20,000 yuan a month.

Now that my ex-wife's sister is divorced, her best friend has taken her place. When my ex-wife's sister confronted her, her best friend said that she has a job and earns 3,000 a month. Together, they make 20,000 a month. It's because my ex-wife's sister is unemployed.

The ex-wife's sister also listed a series of the man's shortcomings, such as not cleaning, not doing housework, only playing video games all day, and not caring about his wife.

As a result, my best friend said, "You don't have a job, but I do. Besides, I like doing housework, and I can also play games with my husband. Now my husband cares about me more."

It's no surprise that this ex-wife's sister was set up by her best friend; we all find it outrageous!

Lin Mo shook his head upon hearing this: "Tsk tsk tsk, she almost got to live a good life. This best friend is so loyal, she directly saved this guy from dire straits."

"No, are there really people this stupid? Is this ex-wife regretting finding out her husband is good, or can't accept her best friend marrying her ex-husband?" Liu Ruyan asked, engrossed in the conversation.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun chuckled lightly: "What's so special about this? Most of the police officers at the police station handle cases like this. They've seen it so many times that they're already numb to it. There are quite a few people like this."

However, it seems that the ex-wife's sister has both reasons: she can't accept her best friend being with her ex-husband, and she also has her own reasons for not being able to live with him.

After all, she left with nothing in the divorce. Before, when they got married, her husband earned money for her. Now that he doesn't give her money anymore, she has to go out to work, but she can't make a living.

But it must be said, her best friend is quite shrewd. She orchestrated a situation where her ex-wife's sister left with nothing, and now all the money is hers—a perfect, one-step solution.

Upon hearing this, the three of them had their worldviews completely shattered. They had only ever heard of such things online before, and thought they were just jokes. They never expected that it was actually true.

"Cousin, is your company hiring? I mean, the kind of job where you don't have to do anything all day, just sit there and watch the fun!" Miss Yuan rubbed her hands together excitedly, as if she'd found a new direction. Zhao Yun rolled her eyes at her: "No, our bureau doesn't need any more security guards. If you're interested in working as a cleaner for free, I could recommend you!"

Miss Yuan:
"Never mind what I said!"

Just kidding, she's incredibly clever. How could she possibly become a cleaner, especially for free? That would be working for free!
Lin Mo shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself that Ms. Zhao Yun was still too young. Working as a cleaner? He was afraid that Miss Yuan would use poop to plaster the walls, and that would be quite a scene.

After having some fruit after the meal, the three of them left. Miss Yuan carried her large bowl, which contained Dongpo pork and stir-fried beef rice that she had specially reserved.

It has to be said that Miss Yuan's large bowl is truly a magical artifact. If she traveled back to ancient times, she wouldn't starve to death with just this bowl.

On the contrary, Liu Ruyan was a little frustrated after returning. There was nothing she could do. She thought she was smart, but she didn't expect to be outsmarted by Miss Yuan.

"Alright, Sister Ruyan, when it comes to food, Sister Yuan has an extremely high culinary acumen. It's normal that you can't compete with her. Why are you comparing yourself to her?" Lin Mo comforted her with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan sighed, "Indeed, fools are the bane of experts. I've certainly witnessed it this time!"

Lin Mo:
Although it may sound harsh, once the realm of fools unfolds, even the wise are no match for them; it's a matter of mutual restraint.

Just as a man's IQ is equivalent to Einstein's when he has a cigarette but no lighter, Miss Yuan's IQ can rival Gauss's when she's struggling to get a stutter.

The two washed up quickly and rested. Liu Ruyan still had plenty of energy, but Lin Mo couldn't keep up. He had been working all day, doing physical labor, so of course he was tired.

The next day, at noon, the last day of April, at the studio.

"Xiaoyue, keep going! Hang in there! Perseverance is victory! You can do it!"

"Xiaoyue, hang in there, grit your teeth and hang in there!"

"As Captain Long's old comrade Zhang once said, if you want to have something you've never had, then you must do something you've never done!"

"Commander Wang also said that between wanting and getting, there are two more words: doing! You can do it!"

Inside the studio, Lin Mo and the others huddled around He Xiaoyue's workstation, the atmosphere inside was very oppressive and tense.

It was also accompanied from time to time by the sound of keyboard typing.

At this moment, He Xiaoyue was sitting in front of the computer with her mind focused. Sweat was on her forehead, her messy hair was stuck to her forehead, her eyes were red, there were dark circles around her eyes, and she had deep eye bags. It was obvious that she hadn't rested well recently and looked like she was about to burn out. To put it simply, she was about to turn into a relic.

But now it was the final moment of her thesis, and today was the deadline for submitting it; she couldn't delay any longer.

Finally, encouraged by everyone, He Xiaoyue typed the last period and then slumped into her chair.

The next second, cheers erupted throughout the studio.

Miss Yuan: "Goal!!! Awesome, awesome!"

Squad leader: "Xiaoyue, you did it! You turned the tide and saved the day!"

Wang Chu and Chuan Mei stood guard like demon kings, with two ceremonial cannons firing behind them, sending confetti flying through the studio.

Lin Mo quickly handed over an iced cola and said with a smile, "Here, have a sip and replenish your energy!"

As we all know, people feel tired after intense mental work, and at this time, replenishing sugar is crucial.

Meanwhile, the others were already huddled together, and anyone who didn't know better would think that the Chinese national football team had made it to the World Cup and won the championship. The scene was quite spectacular, with drums and firecrackers going off everywhere.

Those people watching from the sidelines were even more nervous than He Xiaoyue herself, fearing that she wouldn't be able to complete the task. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.

Of course, it's also because, from this moment on, their little group has some free time again.

(End of this chapter)