Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

The code stretched out forty-seven lines on the screen.

Li Chen deleted the redundant loop in line 32 and recompiled the code.

by.

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping towards the bottom right corner of the screen.

5:41.

Forty-nine minutes remaining.

He stood up, walked to the water dispenser in the corner of the lab, filled a glass with water, took two sips, and put it down.

The phone screen lit up briefly.

Group 302 message.

[Wang Qiang: Li Shen, what's for dinner? The cafeteria has sweet and sour pork ribs today.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Don't ask anymore, he definitely ate with his senior.]

[Chen Mo: Based on the data from the past fourteen days, the probability of Li Chen having dinner with us is 7.14%. That is, only once in fourteen days, and that was because Yan Xi's student council meeting lasted until 9 PM.]

[Wang Qiang: So we're the backup plan?]

[Chen Mo: To be precise, it's the substitutes. Substitutes only get playing time when the starting lineup is unavailable.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Chen Mo, can you please stop using data to hurt us?]

Li Chen did not reply.

He put his phone back on the table and sat down again.

The code on the screen was still lit up. He didn't continue typing.

Another program is running in my mind.

What should we eat for dinner?

Yan Xi attended a two-hour meeting at the student council at noon, and her lunch was a sandwich brought up by Leng Qingge.

Sandwiches are not high in calories or protein.

She has an hour and a half of routine approval work to do in the afternoon.

Using your brain a lot consumes a lot of energy.

They need hot, soupy, and easily digestible food.

He mentally reviewed the restaurants within a three-kilometer radius of the school.

The cafeteria is excluded.

If you go to the cafeteria at this time, the line at the window can stretch from the first floor to the second floor.

Yan Xi doesn't like being stared at in crowded places.

The spicy hot pot stall near the school gate is excluded.

She ate it twice last week, and she'll frown if she eats it again.

He tapped his fingers twice on the table.

There is a newly opened congee shop outside the East Gate.

He glanced at the menu when he passed by last week; it had preserved egg and lean pork congee and shrimp congee.

Yan Xi doesn't eat preserved eggs.

She never said it, but once when he was serving her food in the cafeteria, her gaze shifted away as the spoon passed over the preserved egg and tofu.

Shrimp congee.

He took out his phone, opened the food delivery app, and searched for the restaurant.

Four point eight stars.

The comments mentioned that the congee base was thick and the shrimp were freshly cooked live shrimp.

Place your order.

Notes: Do not use chopped green onions or cilantro. The porridge should be warm, not scalding hot.

Estimated delivery time: 6:25.

He glanced at the time again.

5:53.

Thirty-seven minutes.

I can't continue working on the code.

He saved the file and turned off the compiler.

On the table was a stack of papers that Professor Liu had given me last week.

He glanced at the title of the top article three times, but not a single word stuck in his head.

He simply closed his laptop and started packing his things.

Zip up the backpack.

I tidied up the draft paper on the lab bench and put it in the drawer.

Push the chair back.

The air conditioner is off.

The lab lights went out as he walked to the door, leaving only the emergency indicator light glowing green in the corner.

He stood in the corridor.

Five fifty-eight.

too early.

He leaned against the wall and took out his phone.

The last message in Yan Xi's chat box was sent at noon.

[Yan Xi: Busy this afternoon.]

Two words.

He did not reply.

Because he knew that when she said those two words, she didn't mean "Don't come looking for me," but rather "I'll be busy until 6:30."

He scrolled through his WeChat Moments.

Yan Xi's WeChat Moments post is about the ancient town.

"mine."

The accompanying photo shows his profile as he looks down at his phone and smiles in a teahouse.

He looked at the photo for another three seconds.

Six and two.

He came out of the laboratory building; it was already dark outside.

The nights come quickly in January.

It gets completely dark by 5:30, and even the streetlights seem to struggle after 6:00.

He walked along the main road toward the student union office building.

The wind blew in from the north, slipping through the collar of my sweater and into my clothes.

He zipped his jacket all the way up.

When I arrived at the entrance of the student union building, the lights on the first floor were still on.

Warm light shone through the windows on the second floor, revealing the conference room.

Only one window on the fifth floor was lit.

The easternmost door.

The Chairman's Office.

He stood downstairs and looked up.

There was no one in the window, but the light was on, which meant she was still there.

My phone vibrated.

The takeout has arrived.

He walked to the takeout cabinet by the door and took out an insulated bag.

I weighed it in my hand; it was heavy enough.

I opened it and took a sniff; the fresh aroma of shrimp seeped out through the foil lid.

The temperature is just right.

He carried the insulated bag in his hand and pushed open the door of the student union building.

The officer on duty on the first floor knew him.

"Li, classmate."

"Um."

"Chairman Yan is still on the fifth floor."

"I understand, thank you."

He got on the elevator.

The lights in the fifth-floor corridor were voice-activated, and his footsteps triggered the first one.

The white light flashed in segments, like guide lights on a running track.

I walked to the office door.

The door was ajar.

He pushed the door open a crack.

Yan Xi sat behind her desk, her left hand supporting her forehead, her right hand swiping on the touchpad of her laptop.

Three documents were laid out on the table, each marked with annotations on sticky notes of different colors.

She was wearing a dark gray knit sweater today, with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms.

Her hair was pinned back with a black carbon pen.

The phoenix hairpin is not on her head.

It's placed next to the pen holder on the corner of the table, together with the fountain pen.

She didn't notice him.

Li Chen stood at the door for five seconds.

There was a faint line between her eyebrows, caused by staring at the screen for long periods of time.

There is a red mark on the pad of my left index finger, left from pressing the pen cap for a long time.

He knocked on the door twice.

Yan Xi shifted her gaze from the screen.

0.5 seconds.

The line between his eyebrows has loosened.

"Come in."

Li Chen pushed open the door and placed the insulated bag on her desk.

Shrimp congee.

Yan Xi glanced at the insulated bag.

"I didn't say I wanted porridge."

"The sandwich you ate for lunch didn't have enough calories."

Yan Xi's finger stopped on the touchpad.

How did you know what I ate for lunch?

"Leng Qingge posted on WeChat Moments with the caption 'Serving the Chairman like a slave.'"

Yan Xi's lips twitched slightly.

"I'll fire her sooner or later."

Li Chen opened the insulated bag, took out a bowl of porridge and a spoon, and placed them in front of her.

As soon as the foil lid was lifted, hot air rushed out.

"Eat first."

Yan Xi didn't move.

"I still have two documents to read."

"Eat while watching."

"The porridge will spill on the documents."

Li Chen moved the three documents to the side, making room in the middle of the desk.

"Not anymore."

Yan Xi looked up at him.

Li Chen's expression was very normal, as if he were stating a physical law.

She picked up the spoon and scooped up a mouthful of porridge.

The shrimp were whole, shelled, and curled up on the surface of the porridge.

The porridge base is thick, and the rice grains are cooked to a semi-dissolved state.

No scallions, no cilantro, just the right temperature, not too hot to burn your tongue.

She took a second bite.

Where is this store?

"Outside the East Gate, it's newly opened."

"You went to buy it?"

"takeout."

"What notes were added?"

Li Chen sat in the chair opposite her.

"It's nothing."

Yan Xi put down her spoon and picked up her phone.