I failed a course, and the system became my study supervisor.

Chapter 100 Elaine and Christmas
Christmas in the United States is slightly different from New Year in China.

In China, every New Year, the streets and alleys are bustling with people, creating a lively and festive scene.

But in most parts of the United States, the time around Christmas is very quiet. Many people choose to stay at home and spend the holidays with their families. Stores and restaurants close early.

As international students living in a foreign country, Xu Ling and Yi Lian faced such a cold and lonely life.

The excitement belongs to others and has nothing to do with you.

This is Xu Ling’s inner feeling.

For a moment, Xu Ling couldn't help but miss his college life.

Although my three lively roommates can be noisy sometimes, they at least make the dormitory full of life.

"Xu, how are you going to spend Christmas?"

On Christmas Eve, Elaine said to Xu Ling with some hope.

"I'm Chinese, but on Christmas, I'll just stay in the dorm alone."

Xu Ling said lightly.

"When you're in the country, do as the Romans do, do you understand?"

Elaine scolded.

"That's also staying alone in the dormitory."

Xu Ling's tone remained unchanged.

"Then why don't we spend time together?"

Elaine asked tentatively, her eyes lighting up.

Spend it together? How?
Xu Ling was a little confused, but when he thought of the empty school and streets, he nodded for some reason.

It doesn't seem so bad to have someone to accompany you?

As for how to live together?

Elaine invited Xu Ling to her dormitory to see her cooking skills.

Since Xu Ling and Yi Lian were already doctoral students, their dormitories were private, just like renting their own apartment. Cooking and having parties were allowed.

In the evening, Xu Ling followed Elaine to her dormitory.

According to Elaine, the ingredients have all been prepared.

Xu Ling was full of anticipation, he really wanted to know what Elaine would do.

Could it be the legendary salt-baked giant snails?
However, when he saw Elaine's cooking process, he realized that his expectations were in vain.

Elaine took out four pieces of bread and spread butter on each of them with a fork.

I cut up some more vegetables and spread them on the bread slices.

Finally, Elaine took out some salmon slices from the refrigerator and spread them on the bread slices.

After completing this series of operations that left Xu Ling dumbfounded, Elaine asked in a serious manner:

"Want some yellow mustard?"

"Well...let's have some then."

Xu Ling was speechless.

"Wine?"

Elaine continued to ask.

"Hmm...have some too."

Xu Ling had nothing to say.

After a while, Elaine's "cooking" was over.

A "sandwich" bread, a pair of knife and fork, and a glass of wine were placed in front of Xu Ling.

Xu Ling finally couldn't help it and asked in surprise, "Elaine, is this how you cook? You didn't even turn on the fire, and you didn't even heat the food."

"Why not call it cooking? Didn't I make the food?"

Elaine ignored Xu Ling's meaning.

Am I wrong? Cooking doesn't necessarily require heating food?

Xu Ling couldn't help but doubt himself, after all, he had never cooked before.

"Don't worry about it. Can you try it first to see if it tastes good?"

Elaine couldn't wait to say.

After all, they were the ones hosting the meal, so Xu Ling didn't bother about whether to cook it or not. He cut off a piece of the dish with a knife and fork, and put the vegetables and salmon in it.

Maybe it was because of the cold weather, the bread was a bit hard, and the texture was a bit strange when paired with vegetables and salmon, but fortunately the taste was not too bad.

"good."

Xu Ling gave a symbolic compliment.

Unexpectedly, Elaine took it seriously and said excitedly, "I knew I was good at cooking!"

Ok……

Is this a cultural difference?

I don't know if words like "okay" or "not okay" mean something similar to "not okay" in Chinese.

Xu Ling patted his forehead to express his helplessness, but did not correct her so as not to spoil Elaine's mood.

But after dinner, I don’t know if it was because of the alcohol or something else.

Xu Ling felt inexplicably hot.

In addition, he was a little close to Elaine, so Xu Ling felt very uncomfortable for a moment.

"You make delicious sandwiches."

After a long silence, these words came out of Xu Ling's mouth.

"Thank you."

The atmosphere became even more awkward.

"Otherwise, if there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

Xu Ling couldn't stand the weird atmosphere anymore and stood up first.

"Hmm? Are you leaving? You can stay tonight."

After saying this, a rare hint of shyness appeared on Elaine's face.

In just a moment, Xu Ling felt his skin burning hot and his head a little dizzy.

Staying over night?
A single man and a single woman alone in a room?
Countless beautiful fantasies flooded into Xu Ling's mind.

But in the end, reason prevailed over Xu Ling.

It's not the right time yet, I'm not ready yet.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay. I need to go back and chat with my parents for a while."

Xu Ling said it very tactfully.

But in fact it is far-fetched.

"No, tell me the truth, why don't you want to stay?"

Elaine immediately understood what Xu Ling meant, but it was a little difficult to understand.

"I don't think I'm ready yet, for love, for these things."

Xu Ling answered sincerely.

Although he has graduated from university, Xu Ling actually has little idea about this aspect and even has a fear of the unknown.

He doesn't know what love is like.

Therefore, he didn't dare to stay.

"Okay, I can wait until you're ready."

Elaine did not continue to embarrass Xu Ling.

What puzzled Xu Ling was why Elaine came up with such an idea.

Is it admiring yourself?

Or are you simply too lonely and need someone to accompany you?
The correct answer is, both.

Xu Ling's mathematical ability is comparable to Elaine's, which is very attractive to Elaine.

Add to that the cold festive atmosphere, and then, after the meal and the drinks, wouldn't it be natural for something to happen?
It’s a pity that such a good thing happened to Xu Ling himself.

Without staying any longer, Xu Ling left Elaine's dormitory.

As the cold winter wind of Los Angeles blew, Xu Ling's heart gradually calmed down.

Foreigners just need to be more open-minded!

……

The Christmas holiday that follows is about fifteen days in total.

Xu Ling was not idle. He chose to work on his thesis in the laboratory, and if he was interested, he would design some small experiments himself.

Elaine sometimes comes to the lab and does the same thing as Xu Ling.

However, the two of them were in perfect tacit agreement and did not mention what happened on Christmas Eve, as if it had never happened.

Therefore, there was no awkwardness between the two of them.

Since most people were not in the laboratory, there were naturally no projects during this period, and Xu Ling lived a very peaceful life.

However, the peace was soon broken again.

It was a call from China, from Yang Chaojie.

(End of this chapter)