As the two of them walked out of the building, the sunset blazed like fire in the sky.
The original directive was restored, and the delivery location for the contraband was hidden within the transport path. It was encoded as two numbers, indicating latitude and longitude.
The final pinpoint location showed that the items were in the underground parking lot of the trade center across the border checkpoint.
All departments mobilized together and achieved a big success.
Old Zheng pulled Xie Dingyuan aside, genuinely praising him: “You’re one incredible reinforcement!”
Xie Dingyuan just smiled without saying a word.
“Which university are you from? I’ll get the agency to send a letter of commendation over; you could even earn extra conduct points at the end of term, and a national scholarship is definitely within reach.”
Xie Dingyuan, “Linnan No. 1 High School.”
“Alright, I’ll let them know to—” Wait! Hold on…
“Linnan No. 1 High School… isn’t that a secondary school?” Old Zheng mumbled in confusion.
By the time he realized, Xie Dingyuan had already walked off side by side with a young lady, leaving him watching their backs.
They actually looked quite well-matched…
The thought sprang up suddenly, startling Old Zheng, who quickly rebuked himself. What are you thinking? With Old Xie’s age, he could be her uncle.
Inappropriate! Very inappropriate!
…
Xie Dingyuan said, “Let me take you out to eat.”
Having not eaten all day, with only a sports drink in between, Jiang Fuyue was already starving.
“Alright,” she agreed readily.
Xie Dingyuan took her to a private dining restaurant where each dish was small in portion but exquisitely presented and incredibly tasty.
Jiang Fuyue was especially fond of the jade dumplings. They were perfectly shaped, just the right size, with a deep and varied green that was pleasing to the eye.
Taking a bite, she tasted the freshness of green tea and the sweetness of fern root powder, with a faint hint of cilantro’s sharp flavor.
Since she liked it, she didn’t hold back and took a few more bites.
But the man beside her kept frowning as he watched.
This time, however, Xie Dingyuan held his tongue, remembering his last experience: two remarks that had darkened Jiang Fuyue’s expression still lingered vividly in his memory.
Though he still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what went wrong, he knew it was best to accumulate experience.
Sometimes, just knowing what to do is enough—you don’t always need to know why.
Just like in the field of physics, understanding “gravity” doesn’t mean you have to explore its origin; that’s a matter for astronomy.
Xie Dingyuan knew Jiang Fuyue wasn’t fond of hearing him talk, so without knowing the cause, the best approach was—
Talk less around her!
Such is the mind of a scientist—frank and straightforward, but also logically sound.
But just because he stayed quiet didn’t mean Jiang Fuyue wouldn’t ask—
“Is there something wrong?”
Xie Dingyuan: “?”
“Otherwise, why are you frowning at me?”
His face remained impassive and reserved, but his neck quickly flushed, and his ears turned a faint red.
Yet Jiang Fuyue’s curious gaze was locked on him, her almond-shaped eyes clear and bright.
Xie Dingyuan coughed lightly to mask his discomfort, clenching his fist. “I… noticed you seem to really like this dish.”
Jiang Fuyue nodded. “Is there a problem with that?”
“Fern root powder is rich in trace elements…”
Jiang Fuyue knew this, but couldn’t understand why he was bringing it up. “So?”
“Uh, you had a sports drink this afternoon…”
“?”
Xie Dingyuan: “Your trace element intake today has exceeded the daily limit.”
Jiang Fuyue’s lips twitched: “…”
Once again, an awkward silence settled over them.
The man was a bit flustered: Did I say something wrong again?
After they finished eating, Xie Dingyuan paid the bill and then offered to drive Jiang Fuyue home.
To be precise, they both went home.
Jiang Fuyue asked, “How did you know which building I live in?” And you even came inside.
Xie Dingyuan replied, “I checked.”
“There are so many rooms. Weren’t you worried you’d get the wrong one?”
“Intuition.”
In this layout, the room Jiang Fuyue lived in happened to be Xie Dingyuan’s bedroom as well.
“Well, your intuition is pretty accurate.”
A subtle smile played on Xie Dingyuan’s lips, light and faint, almost invisible in the night.
Perhaps even he didn’t notice it himself.
As Jiang Fuyue stepped out of the car and shut the door, the man suddenly spoke—
“Are we friends now?”
She paused, “Is that really important?”
It wasn’t the first time he’d asked her that.
She didn’t quite understand his persistence and attachment to the question.
He nodded, “It is.”
Jiang Fuyue thought for a moment. “I guess so.”
His brows furrowed for a moment, and then he answered seriously, “It would sound better without the ‘guess.’”
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
In the end, Xie Dingyuan still didn’t hear a firm “Yes” from her.
But on second thought, “I guess so” would do.
Better than “not at all.”
Yes, Professor Xie’s standards were that low.
…
When Jiang Fuyue entered her home, she immediately heard her grandmother’s commanding tone—
“And while you’re at it, take the seeds out of the tangerines. A grown adult still needs me to teach you basic things—I don’t know how you get through life every day.”
Han Yunru bowed her head and softly replied, “Yes, Mom,” as she took the fruit plate to the kitchen.
“Mom,” Jiang Fuyue called to her.
“Yueyue, you’re back.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“When did you go out today? You didn’t even have breakfast. Did something urgent come up?”
“I had to rush out, so I couldn’t let you know.” But on the way to the Customs building, she still managed to send a message to Han Yunru.
Upon hearing this, her grandmother gave a cold huff: “You’re a young lady now. Coming home this late without any sense of decorum.”
After finishing with Jiang Fuyue, she turned back to lecture Han Yunru, “And you, too—what kind of mother are you? Letting your daughter run wild like this; can’t you control her?”
