My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 295 Lying Down

Chen Zhuo had just taken one step when the wind made him squint.

His shirt was already thin, and after sweating profusely in front of the blackboard, the cold wind made the damp fabric stick to his back like a block of ice.

He shrank his neck, put his hands in his pockets, lowered his head slightly, and walked out of the shadows of the door.

Sam was right behind him.

Sam's situation looks the worst.

His oversized hoodie had just dragged on the ground, soaked with beer and some kind of dirty water, and now clung heavily to his waist. A gust of cold wind sent a chill down the spine of this burly man weighing over two hundred pounds.

"Damn Boston."

Sam hunched his shoulders, crossed his arms, and rubbed the goosebumps on his arms as he walked toward the street.

His teeth were chattering slightly, making a soft, clattering sound.

Allen silently turned up his collar, trying to block the cold wind blowing down his neck.

David walked last, casually closing the tavern door behind him.

Once the door closed, the oppressive gazes and fervor inside were completely shut out behind that door.

The streets were empty.

In Cambridge at a little past five in the morning, the streetlights had just been turned off, and the sky was tinged with a hazy blue light; the sun had not yet fully risen.

The shops on both sides of the street were all closed, except for a traffic light at a nearby intersection that was flashing at a fixed frequency.

A few early-rising pigeons were pecking at something on the edge of the sidewalk. Hearing their footsteps, they fluttered and flew to the road sign next to them.

"Let's take a taxi first."

David walked to the curb and glanced at the empty street.

"There should be early morning taxis around this time."

Four people stood side by side on the curb.

Their current appearance is hardly respectable.

Chen Zhuo's hair was a bit messy, and there were several streaks of white chalk dust on his cheek and chin. The cuffs of his shirt were dirty and black.

Needless to say, Sam reeked of a sour, alcoholic odor, his trousers were covered in gray and white mud stains, and Allen's eyes were bloodshot, with heavy eye bags as if he had been punched.

Although David didn't roll on the ground, his bespoke suit sleeves were covered in chalk dust.

A gust of wind blew by, and the four people standing by the roadside looked like a row of homeless people who had just escaped from a gang shootout.

After a while, a pair of yellow car lights appeared at the end of the street.

A Ford Crown Victoria taxi slowly drove up, its vacancy indicator light on the roof lit up.

Sam's eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled his hand out of his hoodie pocket and waved it vigorously at the car.

A taxi pulled up.

The car gradually slowed down. The driver, a middle-aged Black man wearing a baseball cap, lowered the window slightly and glanced at the four people on the roadside.

My gaze lingered for a second longer on Sam's wet clothes and Allen's bloodshot eyes.

then.

The driver rolled up the window expressionlessly and floored the accelerator.

A plume of white smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, and the yellow taxi suddenly accelerated in front of them, kicking up a gust of cold air, and drove straight through the intersection without even stepping on the brakes.

Sam's hand, which was waving in mid-air, froze.

Why is he running?

Sam stared at the departing taillights for two seconds, stunned.

"Look at yourself now."

Allen suddenly spoke up from the side.

"If I were driving the early morning shift and saw a person standing on the roadside who reeked of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, and whose clothes were dripping with dirty water, I would also step on the gas."

"The stains on my clothes are beer and bathroom water, not blood!"

Sam retorted irritably.

"The driver couldn't smell the difference from inside the car."

David said calmly.

Chen Zhuo stood to the side, listening to their conversation. He wanted to laugh, but he pursed his dry lips, swallowed his laughter, and simply looked quietly at the other end of the street.

Five minutes later, a second taxi appeared.

This time, David didn't let Sam wave. Instead, David took a step forward and raised his hand to signal.

The car slowed down and pulled over.

The driver was a fat white man.

He stopped the car, looked at David through the glass, and then at the three people behind David.

The chubby driver shook his head, pointed to the meter in the car, made a handover gesture indicating he wouldn't be picking up passengers, then turned the steering wheel and drove away.

"This is the second one already."

Sam rubbed his hands together, then jumped up and down a couple of times because he was so cold.

"If I stand here in this cold wind for another ten minutes, I'm afraid I'll freeze to death on the streets of Boston."

David sighed.

He put his hand into his suit pocket.

When the third taxi appeared around the corner, David no longer simply waved.

He pulled a green fifty-dollar bill from his pocket.

He held the banknotes between his index and middle fingers, raised his wrist, and gently shook it twice in front of the oncoming taxi.

With a slightly abrupt braking sound, the tires made a soft screech as they rubbed against the road.

The taxi came to a smooth stop in front of David.

The car window rolled down, and the driver leaned out, a somewhat professional smile plastered on his face.

"Where to, gentlemen?"

David didn't waste any words. He opened the passenger door, got in, and casually tossed the fifty-dollar bill onto the dashboard.

Sam felt like he had been granted a pardon. He pulled open the back door and was the first to climb in. Chen Zhuo and Allen followed suit and sat in the back.

The moment the car door closed, the cold wind outside was completely shut out.

The heating in the carriage was on full blast, making it almost scalding hot.

When the skin, which was originally frozen stiff, came into contact with this warm air, the pores instantly opened up.

A mixture of cheap car air freshener, chalk dust, and old leather odors filled the cramped space.

The three people in the back row were huddled together.

The car started and drove smoothly forward.

The two casual words we exchanged while bickering on the roadside vanished the moment we sat in the warm carriage.

After sensing signals of safety and warmth, the brain ruthlessly severed the last nerve that was used to maintain consciousness.

Exhaustion overwhelmed them like a tidal wave.

Allen leaned against the car window, his head bobbing up and down with the car's swaying, his eyes half-closed.

Chen Zhuo sat in the middle, his back against the slightly sunken car seat, his gaze fixed on the back of the passenger seat in front of him, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

The silence lasted for about two minutes.

Suddenly, a loud and drawn-out sound of intestinal peristalsis echoed in the carriage.

Glug glug glug~

The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet environment.

Chen Zhuo turned his head and looked at Sam sitting on his left.

Sam opened his eyes, reached out and rubbed his round belly, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

I'm hungry.

Sam's voice sounded weak.

When a person is extremely tired, they are often followed by an extremely strong feeling of hunger.

The intense mental exertion completely depleted their body's glucose reserves.

"If I don't eat something, I suspect I'll faint before I even get to my hotel bed."

Sam looked at David in the front row.

David turned his head and glanced at the miserable state of the back row.

"driver."

David looked at the driver next to him.

Are there any fast food restaurants nearby? Anything is fine.

"There's a drive-in restaurant that's open all night, just two blocks ahead."

The driver, seeing the fifty dollars on the dashboard, answered very enthusiastically.

"Let's go there."

Less than five minutes later, the taxi stopped on the side of the road.

This is a typical American budget restaurant, with its red and blue neon sign buzzing in the dim morning light.

The four people pushed open the car door and got out.

Pushing open the glass door of the restaurant, the brass bell above the door rang out with a clear, crisp sound.

The restaurant was warm, filled with the rich aroma of fried bacon and toasted bread, as well as the smell of black coffee that had been brewing for a long time.

There were only two or three tables of customers in the restaurant, who looked like truck drivers or plumbers who had just finished their night shift.

A slightly plump middle-aged waitress in a pink uniform was wiping the bar with a rag when she heard the bell and turned around.

She looked at the four people who walked in.

The waitress's gaze lingered on Sam's dirty clothes for a moment, then on Allen's open collar and the white ash on Chen Zhuo's face.

She didn't ask any more questions; she'd seen all sorts of customers at this all-night restaurant.

"Please sit wherever you like."

She pointed to the rows of seats by the window.

The four of them walked to the innermost seat and sat down.

Chen Zhuo and Sam sat on one side, while David and Allen sat opposite them.

The waitress came over, threw several mimeographed menus on the table, and then took out an order book from her apron pocket.

"What would you like to order?" she yawned.

Sam didn't even look at the menu.

"Two of the largest National Breakfast Set Meals, double bacon, double fried eggs, sausage, baked potato chunks, and a large iced Coke, no ice."

Sam rattled off a long list of high-calorie names.

Allen glanced at the menu and pushed it aside.

"A slice of buttered toast, a large pot of black coffee, and a few extra packets of sugar."

David ordered a simple sandwich and hot tea.

After the waitress finished writing down the names of the three of them, she turned to look at Chen Zhuo, who was sitting at the very back.

Chen Zhuo held the somewhat sticky menu and scanned it with his eyes.

"A double cheese and beef burger."

Chen Zhuo looked up at the waitress.

"Another large order of fries, please."

He paused for a moment, as if thinking about what else he needed.

"And a vanilla milkshake."

Chen Zhuo added.

The waitress noted down the names of the dishes, glanced at Chen Zhuo, and seemed to find it strange that this thin Asian boy covered in white ash ordered so many high-calorie items, but she didn't say anything and turned to hand the order to the kitchen.

No one spoke while waiting for the food to be served.

Sam rested his hands on the table, his chin on his arms, and closed his eyes to relax.

Allen leaned against the glass window, watching the street outside gradually brighten.

Chen Zhuo placed his hand under the table and gently massaged his right knee, which was feeling a little sore.

Soon, the food was served.

On the plate were sizzling bacon and golden fried eggs.

Black coffee has a strong, bitter taste.

The waitress placed the double cheeseburger in front of Chen Zhuo, next to a large glass of vanilla milkshake with a red straw.

There are no special requirements for starting it up.

Sam picked up his knife and fork, cut the fried egg open, and the golden, half-cooked egg liquid flowed onto the plate. He rolled the bacon and egg together, stuffed it into his mouth in big bites, and chewed quickly.

Allen didn't even eat the toast. He tore open three packets of sugar, poured them all into the cup of black coffee, stirred it casually with a spoon, picked it up and took a big gulp. His brows furrowed because of the bitterness and excessive sweetness.

Chen Zhuo reached out and picked up the hamburger.

The hamburger bun was a little soft, and the cheese inside had melted and was dripping down the edge of the beef patty.

Chen Zhuo took a big bite.

The beef juices and the savory aroma of cheese spread throughout your mouth.

This pure combination of carbohydrates and fats is quickly converted into energy in the stomach and slowly travels to the limbs and bones.

He eats very quickly; after a couple of bites of his hamburger, he'll reach for some fries, dip them in ketchup, and pop them into his mouth.

After eating half of it, he bit the straw and took a big gulp of vanilla milkshake.

The sweet taste went down my throat, making my throat, which was a little gritty from inhaling chalk dust, feel much better.

Sam had already finished a plate of bacon. He picked up his Coke and took a sip, when he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Chen Zhuo across from him, who was focused on eating a hamburger.

Sam glanced at it twice.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Zhu swallowed the food in his mouth, noticed Sam's gaze, and asked a question.

"It's nothing."

Sam shook his head and picked up his fork to poke at the potato chunks on his plate.

Sam's expression was somewhat amusing.

"I just find it a little strange."

Sam said, chewing on a potato.

"Just now, when you were drawing those quotient spaces and algebraic truncations in front of that blackboard, you were like an emotionless machine. Now, watching you devour a cheeseburger and a vanilla milkshake, I realize you're still just a little kid."

Upon hearing this comment, Chen Zhuo did not react excessively.

He picked up a tissue and wiped the bit of ketchup from the corner of his mouth.

Thinking consumes a lot of glucose.

Chen Zhuo placed the tissue on the table and answered earnestly.

"If you don't replenish carbohydrates, your brain will work slower."

He picked up the milkshake and took another sip.

"And the vanilla milkshake at this store is pretty good."

Sam paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, his shoulders shaking with laughter. Finally, the laughter aggravated his aching back, and he gasped for breath.

Alan, sipping his coffee beside him, also gave a slight twitch of his lips.

After half an hour.

All the plates on the table were empty.

David went to the cashier to pay the bill and left a generous tip.

The four people walked out of the restaurant.

It was already bright outside, the sun hung on the eastern horizon, the sunlight was a bit dazzling, and the traffic on the streets began to increase. Boston ushered in a new day.

They walked to the intersection and flagged down another taxi.

This time, no one refused to pick them up.

The car first headed towards Cambridge, with its destination being the Harvard University Visiting Scholars Hostel.

Chen Zhuo sat in the back row by the window, watching the street scene recede into the distance and the shimmering waves on the Charles River.

The car stopped in front of the somewhat old-fashioned red brick building that served as the guesthouse.

Chen Zhuo grabbed his backpack and opened the car door.

He got out of the car, and before closing the door behind him, he stood on the sidewalk, turned around, and looked at the people inside through the lowered car window.

David, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at him.

There were no grand pronouncements.

Everyone was exhausted, too tired to say another word.

David looked at Chen Zhuo's tired face and gave a calm explanation.

"Go back, lock the door, draw the curtains, go to sleep, and we'll talk about it when you wake up."

Chen Zhuo looked at David and nodded.

"it is good."

The yellow taxi rejoined the traffic and quickly disappeared around the street corner.

Chen Zhuo turned around, carrying his bag, and stepped onto the steps in front of the door, entering the guesthouse.

The receptionist was dozing off, but Chen Zhuo didn't disturb him. He walked straight through the lobby and into the corridor.

Chen Zhuo walked to his room door, took out his room card, swiped it, went inside, and locked the door.

The room was dimly lit, with thin gauze curtains drawn.

He didn't take off his shoes, didn't unbutton his shirt, and didn't even wash his hands, which were covered in chalk dust and ketchup stains.

He walked to the bedside.

then.

Chen Zhuo fell straight down like a fallen log.

His upper body slammed onto the soft mattress, his legs still dangling over the edge of the bed.

The shirt, covered in gray and white stains, was rubbed onto the pristine white bed sheet.

The instant his face touched the pillow.

No transition is required.

Chen Zhuo's breathing instantly became steady and deep.