It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

"Don't worry, how about this?" Li Cheng comforted him. "Although I can't remember right now, can you leave me a way to contact you? I'll contact you when I remember, okay?"

"Yes, that's another way."

Lavoisier seized this glimmer of hope and rallied her spirits. She quickly wrote down an address and handed it to Li Cheng: "Please contact me as soon as you remember, thank you!"

--------

Li Cheng was in high spirits as he watched Lavoisier leave.

Some things still require professionals. Once his factory is established, if he wants to conduct further research and innovation, talents like Lavoisier will be indispensable.

Just as Li Cheng was leisurely making future plans, he caught a glimpse of a large group of muscular men walking towards the lake. They were all well-developed muscles and looked like formidable opponents. Judging from their furtive glances and the way they occasionally asked passersby for directions, they were probably looking for someone.

Li Cheng silently made a judgment, guessing who had caused the trouble. Most likely, a fight had broken out, and the other party had brought their men to confront him.

However, just as he was about to observe from the sidelines, he suddenly noticed that among the group of muscular men was a skinny, blue-haired male student who looked somewhat familiar.

...It seems, it seems that the other person is the boy named Moore from the library earlier.

???

Li Cheng was immediately stunned.

So this whole bunch of muscle monsters came looking for me? No need, friend, really no need. I didn't cause you any physical harm. Could you at least go through the proper channels and file a complaint against me with the school...?

Li Cheng tucked the borrowed book under his arm, trying to slip away as an ordinary student before the other party noticed him.

The wind is strong, let's get out of here...

However, the lakeside was quite empty, and the group of people were deliberately looking for someone. Li Cheng was spotted by the blue-haired boy after taking only a few steps.

"That's him, don't let him get away."

As soon as those words were spoken, a large group of people turned their attention to Li Cheng, instantly locking onto the suspicious target.

Li Cheng was truly terrified this time. He didn't care about anything else and ran straight down the main road.

"Chase the one that's running away!"

The blue-haired boy leading the group shouted, and the group began chasing after Li Cheng.

The road along the lake was a straight line, and Li Cheng, who had initially taken the lead, had managed to create a considerable distance, making it temporarily impossible for those behind to catch up. However, he was too focused on the blue-haired boy's movements and, without paying attention, bumped into someone. Although he didn't fall, it did slow him down a bit.

As luck would have it, the person they bumped into was Anne with brown hair.

She was in a great mood after finding a classmate who worked for the municipal government to help her copy a report. She planned to go to the library to find Li Cheng and see what he was up to.

After noticing that it was Li Cheng who bumped into her, Annie asked in confusion, "Li Cheng, why are you running so fast? You bumped into me."

Li Cheng said succinctly, "Someone's going to hit me, run!" and then he sprinted forward.

Anne asked in bewilderment, "Someone hit you? But this isn't your first time in Cambridge..."

She was halfway through her sentence when she saw a large group of muscular men chasing after her. She gasped and took off after Li Cheng, even gaining the upper hand in the process.

"Hey, explain yourself! What exactly did you do?! Why are they chasing you?!"

Anne followed behind, asking loudly.

"It's mainly my damn sense of justice that's to blame—anyway, let's shake them off first. You know this place well, so lead the way."

Li Cheng didn't have time to explain.

Chapter Twenty: Foolish Humans

To avoid five or six burly men, Li Cheng ran as fast as he could.

His heart pounded, pumping blood to every part of his body; his adrenal glands secreted blood frantically, forcing his muscles to squeeze out their last bit of potential... Every organ in Li Cheng's body was working at full speed, helping him run better.

However, at this tense moment, Li Cheng heard a hearty laugh coming from beside him.

"Haha, this is quite interesting."

Li Cheng turned his head in shock, only to find that the person who said these words was actually Annie.

Although she was being chased by people behind her, Annie showed no fear on her face. Instead, she wore a genuine smile and radiated a joyful emotion.

It was as if she wasn't a victim caught in danger, but rather a player enjoying a game called being chased.

"Are you serious?" Li Cheng couldn't help but exclaim.

"Don't you think it's interesting?" Annie asked seriously. "This is the first time I've ever encountered something so interesting!"

Li Cheng was speechless, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

However, despite all that, Annie was very serious about running away; in fact, it was precisely this seriousness in running away that made her find it interesting.

"left!"

"right!"

As an oddball who often wandered around the school instead of studying properly, she was indeed familiar with the structure of Cambridge.

After following her through several winding alleys, Li Cheng was surprised to find that the number of people chasing him was gradually decreasing, and after passing through a thicket of trees, there were none left.

Beneath the lush trees, a black dog whose name it didn't know was leisurely dozing. When it saw the two humans suddenly appear, it merely glanced at them casually, at most glancing a few more times at the dog tag hanging on Li Cheng's waist, before barking twice.

That foolish human dog actually hung my toy on its body!

There were no more muscular men; what had just happened felt like a dream.

"How was it? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Annie put one foot on the flower bed by the roadside and proudly boasted, "Every day when I take a walk, I think about how I should escape if someone chases me. I never thought I would actually use it today."

Although he didn't know what was so great about it, Li Cheng still gave a thumbs up and sincerely praised, "Amazing."

"Hmm~"

Anne nodded approvingly, then led the way up the stairs: "Come on, let's go upstairs and rest for a while. They probably don't know we're here..."

......

The two went up to the second floor and found an empty room to hide in.

This is a truly empty room, the kind with absolutely no furnishings, which is why the door is unlocked.

After confirming that no one was watching, Li Cheng locked the door from the inside.

After doing all that, he was suddenly overcome with exhaustion and could only lean against the wall to stand up straight—the side effects of his strenuous running were kicking in; he felt his feet were screaming and his calves were a little numb.

Anne was even more exhausted. She looked around the empty room but couldn't find anything to sit on, so she simply plopped down on the floor and gasped, "I can't take it anymore, I'm exhausted, I need to rest for a while."

Seeing this, Li Cheng propped himself up and advised, "You can't sit down right after strenuous exercise. Stand for a while before sitting."

Annie waved her hand dismissively, saying, "It's alright, it's alright, I'll just sit for a while, nothing will happen."

Li Cheng offered a roundabout solution: "If you sit down right after running, your legs will cramp up—if you don't believe me, touch your calves, aren't they a little stiff?"

"Huh? It seems there really is some truth to that."

Annie reached up and pinched her calf; it did seem a bit stiff, so she tried to stand up. But she failed twice; she only lifted her bottom slightly before sitting back down.

"I can't take it anymore, I'm so tired, let me sit down for a while," she exclaimed.

Li Cheng had no choice but to give up trying to persuade him.

Suddenly, Annie remembered something and said to Li Cheng, "By the way, why were those people chasing you?"

Because I dared to climb Mount Everest... Li Cheng mumbled, "There was someone making too much noise in the library, and my sense of public duty prompted me to go up and ask him to be quiet. I didn't expect him to actually call someone to beat me up."

"That's all?" Annie asked, puzzled.

"Hmm." Li Cheng looked up at the sky.

Anne was furious. She slammed her hand on the floor and said, "These people are awful. I'm going to find my friends and settle accounts with these inconsiderate people."

“No, no, it’s not that serious…” Li Cheng quickly stopped Annie and changed the subject at the same time, “By the way, do you know the leader of the people who were chasing us earlier? The one with blue hair, tall and thin.”

Annie scratched her head: "There are so many people at school, how could I possibly know them all?"

"Too."

Li Cheng nodded and then asked, "Shall we rest for a while and then go back?"

Anne had indeed forgotten what had just happened and readily agreed, "Sure, let's rest for a while and then go home. Let them take their time looking for it."

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the heavy breathing of those who had just finished exercising remaining.

After catching his breath, Li Cheng recovered considerably. He glanced at Annie beside him and noticed that she seemed to have recovered to some extent as well.

He let out a soft "hmm" in his mind... This seemed like a good opportunity—an empty room, an environment where they could be alone...

Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, this is just a very proper chat opportunity.

Li Cheng called out, "Annie."

"Ok?"

Annie responded and turned her head towards Li Cheng, a look of confusion appearing on her previously idle face.

Li Cheng asked cautiously, "I've heard...you've considered proving yourself to Mr. Stoller?"

Where did you hear that?

Anne exclaimed in surprise, "This is a secret I told Newton in bed, and I've only ever told her this!"

Wow, I'm suddenly really curious about what else happened back then... Li Cheng tried to focus his scattered thoughts: "It was out of curiosity that I asked Newton."

"Never mind, it doesn't matter anyway, I'll just tell you."

Annie paused, a displeased expression on her face: "I do have some thoughts about it, after all, my dad only has me as his daughter, which leads to people often telling him, 'Why don't you consider having a son?' It really annoys me."

No, no, no, I don't think it has anything to do with whether you're a woman or not... Li Cheng didn't dare to say it out loud, but echoed, "Indeed, how can we discriminate based on gender?"

"Right, you think so too, right?"

Anne wholeheartedly agreed: "Look at the plague in this city, it was only thanks to the Third Princess's leadership that we survived. The useless king and prince have long since disappeared."

"If the Third Princess can do it, why does my father insist on having a son? Is it because I'm not good enough?"

Chapter Twenty-One: Insert and Remove

Upon hearing the title "Third Princess" again, Li Cheng felt a slight curiosity about this woman, but there were more important matters to attend to at the moment.

He suppressed his doubts and asked, "What are your plans?"

Annie's previously enthusiastic tone immediately cooled down, and she awkwardly scratched her face: "...Not yet."