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

The next day at 10 a.m.

Doorbell rang.

Li Chen went to open the door.

An old man was standing outside the door.

Gray Zhongshan suit.

cloth shoes.

His back was very straight.

His hair has turned completely white.

But his eyes were brighter than those of someone in their seventies.

Li Qingcang.

He was carrying a cloth bag.

It's bulging inside.

Judging from their shape, they look like several jars.

"grandfather."

Li Qingcang glanced at him.

He looked me up and down for two seconds.

"You've lost weight."

Then go around him.

Enter the door.

Change shoes.

Shen Ruolan came out of the kitchen.

"Dad, why are you up so early?"

"The bus is at 6:30, and there's a traffic jam."

Li Qingcang placed the cloth bag on the shoe cabinet.

They pulled out three earthenware jars from inside.

"The pickled radishes from your Aunt Zhang. The sauce your Uncle Xiao Han sent. And the dried hawthorns I made myself."

"dad--"

"The dried hawthorn is for that young girl." Li Qingcang walked into the living room. "Young people like sour things."

Li Chen stood in the entryway.

The old man prepared three things before leaving home. One of them was specifically for Yan Xi.

When he made this judgment.

Yan Xi came out of the guest room.

She changed her clothes.

Off-white turtleneck sweater.

Her hair was tied in a low ponytail.

She wasn't wearing the phoenix hairpin.

There was nothing on his ears.

A neat and tidy appearance.

Li Chen recognized this situation.

She was wearing a stylish shirt when she met Li Mohan.

That's "formal".

Today's outfit is "proper".

A level somewhere between reserved and relaxed.

She is controlling the variables of first impressions.

Li Qingcang stood in the center of the living room.

He turned around.

The two faced off.

Yan Xi paused for a moment.

Very short.

Then I continued walking.

"Hello, Grandpa."

Li Qingcang looked at her.

He didn't say anything.

The old man squinted.

My gaze moved from her face to her hands.

Then move to her standing position.

Finally, it landed on the fingers she had placed at her side.

three seconds.

"Standing upright," Li Qingcang said.

Yan Xi didn't move.

"What have you trained in?"

"I studied ballet for two years when I was little. Then I stopped."

"No wonder, it has a stable center of gravity."

Li Qingcang's gaze softened.

Walk towards the sofa.

"Sit down, don't stand."

Yan Xi glanced at Li Chen.

Li Chen nodded.

The two of them sat down together on the sofa opposite each other.

Li Mohan came out of the study.

"dad."

"Hmm." Li Qingcang glanced at him. "Don't leave your shirt collar open. It's inappropriate."

Li Mohan lowered his head.

He quietly buttoned up the second button.

Shen Ruolan came out carrying a tea tray.

The teapot contained aged white tea that Li Chen had prepared last night.

The first brew was already discarded.

Li Qingcang took the cup and took a sip.

"The water temperature was one degree different."

Li Chen: "..."

Yan Xi's gaze lingered on Li Chen's face for half a second.

His lips didn't move.

But Li Chen sensed that she was holding back.

Li Qingcang put down his teacup.

He looked at Yan Xi.

"You're in the architecture department."

"Yes."

How many old houses have you seen?

Yan Xi thought for a moment.

"I have visited more than forty Ming and Qing dynasty relics in person."

"So far, I have only seen the East Hall of Foguang Temple and the Main Hall of Nanchan Temple, both from the Tang Dynasty."

Li Qingcang's eyebrows twitched.

"Did you go to Foguang Temple?"

"During my sophomore summer vacation, I went with my advisor's group."

"The bracket set where the beams and pillars meet. Did you notice the eccentricity of the third tier of the bracket set?"

Yan Xi's expression changed.

Li Chen recognized that expression.

This is a state she only adopts when discussing her professional field.

Pupils slightly dilated.

High level of concentration.

"We've noticed. The third jump's fin is off by almost 1.5 centimeters. It's not a problem of component aging. It's an adjustment made during the original construction. It may be related to the uneven distribution of the upper load."

Li Qingcang nodded. "I noticed it when I went there thirty years ago. I asked an old carpenter there. He said that the eccentricity was intentional. It was the way craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty did things. They didn't pursue absolute symmetry, but rather the balance of forces."

Yan Xi leaned forward slightly.

"You spoke with the carpenter?"

"We chatted for ages. I even drank a whole pot of his wine." Li Qingcang picked up his teacup. "You're working in heritage preservation?"

"I plan to take the postgraduate entrance exam. This is my research direction."

"Good direction." The old man took a sip of tea. "There are many people doing construction now, but few doing preservation. Demolition is fast, but preservation is slow."

Yan Xi didn't respond.

But Li Chen noticed that her fingers had loosened on her knee.

She had been clenching her fingers.

It's loose now.

Li Qingcang put down his teacup.

Turning to Li Chen.

"And you? What project have you been working on lately?"

"Professor Liu's research in machine learning mainly involves running models and writing paper frameworks."

"How late did you finish coding?"

Li Chen hesitated for a moment.

"It depends—"

"He used to write until 2 a.m., but recently he's been writing until 11 p.m. earlier."

Yan Xi said from the side.

Li Qingcang glanced at her.

"What business is it of yours regarding his schedule?"

"Tube."

"Can you control it?"

"There are other ways when you can't control them."

Li Chen wanted to explain.

Yan Xi's foot bumped into him under the table.

Li Qingcang stared at Yan Xi for two seconds.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't a polite laugh.

The lines at the corners of her eyes are all pressed together.

The kind that's relaxed and flowing.

"Okay, as long as you can keep him in check, that's fine. He's just like his dad; if you don't keep an eye on him, he'll go all out."

Li Mohan sat beside him.

His lips moved slightly.

He didn't say it.

Shen Ruolan gave him a look.

He swallowed his words.

"Xiao Yan."

Li Qingcang suddenly shouted.

Yan Xi sat up straight.

"Can you cook?"

"I know a little, but not much."

"What about what he did?"

Li Qingcang pointed at Li Chen.

"Not as good as him."

Yan Xi answered quickly.

But his tone was so flat that it had no inflection.

"He learned from you; I didn't have a teacher."

Li Qingcang's gaze lingered on her face.

This time it stopped for longer than before.

It lasted about four or five seconds.

Then the old man stood up.

Heading towards the kitchen.

"I'll cook lunch, don't touch anything."

Shen Ruolan followed behind.

"Dad, there's something in the fridge..."

"I'll see for myself."

Li Qingcang walked into the kitchen.

Open the refrigerator.

I bent down and flipped it over.

Li Chen and Yan Xi sat in the living room.

Li Mohan was also there.

"Your grandfather."

Yan Xi's voice was very soft.

"Um."

"He just asked me if I can cook, not to test my culinary skills."

Li Chen looked at her.

He was asking...whether I was willing to learn.

Li Chen rubbed his fingers against the sofa armrest.

She was right.

The sound of a cleaver hitting the cutting board came from the kitchen.

The rhythm is steady.

Uniform.

The spacing between each cut is almost the same.

Yan Xi listened for two seconds.

"Your grandfather held a knife in his right hand."

"The point of force exerted by my wrist is two centimeters lower than yours, so the angle at which the knife falls is more oblique."

"You figured it out from the voice?"

Yan Xi glanced at him.

No reply.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Li Chen took it out.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Li Chen!! Isn't your grandfather a Jeet Kune Do master?! You said that before?! You were just bragging!!]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi stretched out her little finger.

She hooked his arm.

He didn't look down.

But the fingers tightened.

In the kitchen, Li Qingcang glanced back towards the living room.

The two young men sat side by side.

They are very close.

But they weren't deliberately stuck together.

His hands were hidden behind the sofa cushions.

He lived for over seventy years.

You don't even need to look to know what kind of action it is.

Li Qingcang turned around.

Pick up the spatula.

The oil in the pan is at the perfect temperature.