The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

"The mountains and rivers are safe and sound, and the smoke of daily life is as usual."

But you got to gaze upon it as you wished.

Children, sleep soundly in your dreams.

Like the one you love so deeply…

Old Ye's fingers paused lightly on his knee.

The old man slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly ahead, as if he had seen something.

The song is like a river, flowing from the war-torn years of decades ago, passing over those faces that can never return.

Old Master Ye suddenly sat up straight!

Like a silent boundary marker.

But when the line "And I will love the world you love" was sung, Ye Lan saw her grandfather's lips tremble slightly.

Grandma burst into tears!

Ye Lan panicked.

She never expected that this song would bring her parents to tears.

In her memory, her grandparents never shed a single tear.

Whether the family faces hardship or a loved one passes away, they always remain calm and composed, unfazed even in the face of adversity.

But now, they're actually crying?

"Grandpa! Grandma! I... I won't let go!"

Ye Lan hurriedly turned off the music, rushed to her parents' side, and was so anxious that tears were almost in her eyes:

"It's all my fault! I shouldn't have put that in! Don't cry..."

"Silly child."

Old Ye gently patted the back of her hand, his voice a little hoarse, but with a smile:

"We weren't made to cry by the song."

Ye Lan was stunned: "Then..."

The old lady wiped her eyes, reached out and pulled her granddaughter to sit down beside her, and sighed:

"Lanlan, do you know that your grandpa and I went to your grandpa Huang's house this morning?"

"Grandpa Huang?"

Ye Lan's heart tightened: "What's wrong with Grandpa Huang? He's always been in good health!"

Old Master Ye paused for a moment, then slowly said:

"Old Huang... is sick."

"Grandpa Huang is sick? What's wrong?"

"The doctor said it's anorexia nervosa."

The old lady chimed in, her voice full of heartache: "Your Grandpa Huang used to be such a spirited man, but now he can't eat anything and relies on IV fluids and medication every day to stay alive."

"He can't even swallow a few bites of his favorite oil-splashed noodles anymore."

Ye Lan's eyes widened: "How could this happen so suddenly..."

"I'm getting old, and I've developed some health problems, plus I experienced some stress recently."

Old Ye waved his hand, unwilling to elaborate on the details of his illness.

"It's heartbreaking to see your grandfather like this now, all of us old comrades-in-arms."

The living room fell silent.

Looking at the undisguised worry on her grandparents' faces, Ye Lan suddenly remembered something:

"Grandpa, I know someone who cooks incredibly well!"

"Oh?"

"that is……"

Ye Lan struggled to find the right words: "It's just the most ordinary kind of dried noodles from the supermarket, but the way he made it is better than any noodles I've ever eaten in my life."

"It's no exaggeration to say that it tastes even better than what the chefs at state banquets make!"

"Could you perhaps ask him to try it on Grandpa Huang?"

The two elders laughed after hearing this.

That smile contained doting, helplessness, and a kind of tolerance that said, "A child is just a child."

"Silly child."

The old lady patted Ye Lan's hair: "What kind of chef can't your Grandpa Huang's family afford now? Famous chefs from all over the country are lining up to cook for him."

"We've tried everything—the rarest delicacies, the finest medicinal cuisine—but nothing works!"

Old Ye sighed, "The root of the problem isn't cooking skills. Your Grandpa Huang, it's that grudge he can't get over."

"Don't even mention oil-splashed noodles, even if you brought him dragon meat from heaven, he still wouldn't be able to eat it."

Ye Lan opened her mouth, as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back.

Also.

What kind of social standing does Grandpa Huang's family have?

What kind of chef haven't I seen?

Ji Bai's cooking is delicious, but it's just home-style cooking, and it's not so easy to deal with anorexia.

Besides, it's too abrupt to call someone over to cook for someone else out of nowhere.

Besides, that kid has a strange temper; if he doesn't want to, it could lead to unpleasantness.

Wouldn't that just cause trouble for that brat?

It also made him a laughingstock.

Forget it.

Ye Lan lowered her head and remained silent.

But the image of that bowl of plain noodles kept popping into my mind.

The broth was clear and glistening, the scallions were bright green, the eggs were golden, and the noodles smelled wonderful...

She sighed softly.

That bowl of noodles was indeed the best thing she had ever eaten in her life.

……

at the same time.

Ji Bai Research Institute, a detached small building, living room.

Ji Bai lay sprawled on the sofa in a "奆" shape.

She sank into the high-end custom-made soft sofa as if she had no bones.

On the left is a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola, half of which has already been drunk.

To the right is a huge bag of Lay's potato chips, tomato flavor, with a few crumbs scattered on the coffee table.

Directly opposite, the 100-inch 8K high-definition TV was playing his carefully collected "borderline girl compilation" on a loop.

Those long legs, that tiny waist, those high heels, and what a background they have...

hiss!

If the outside world knew that the great mathematical genius and father of superconductivity was currently watching a compilation of beautiful women on TV and laughing like an idiot, it would probably shock scientists around the world.

At the corner of the corridor, several security guards who had just finished their shift leaned against the wall, taking turns drinking water in the rest pavilion by the courtyard wall.

They are all highly skilled individuals selected from various units, each possessing unique expertise. If placed outside, they would be capable of carrying out high-risk missions single-handedly.

But at this moment, the same expression was written on the faces of all of them.

suffocated.

"Ugh!"

A guy with a buzz cut unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, tilted his head back and gulped down half of it, then let out a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong? Did your boyfriend dump you again?" A dark-skinned man next to him laughed.

"Bullshit! I just feel like this job is incredibly frustrating."

"Who can argue with that?"

Another man, wearing tactical gloves, chimed in, his voice low: "I've been a security guard for almost ten years, protecting ministerial leaders, academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and ambassadors abroad. This is the first time I've encountered someone like this!"

"He never leaves the dorm, does nothing but eat and lie around, or just stare at the TV and laugh like an idiot. I'm starting to wonder if I came here to be a dorm supervisor or a security guard."

"Before I came, my superiors told me that this was a national strategic asset, and that we had to protect it at all costs. They said the mission was glorious yet arduous. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep for half the night. But when I got here, all I saw was... this?"

"Spending all my time watching suggestive videos with some nerdy guy? If my old comrades told me, they'd laugh at me for wasting my talents."

"It's not that I find it tiring, it's just that I feel... it's not worth it."

The third sighed, "If he spent all his time in the lab doing research, it would be worth it even if we stood guard until our legs were swollen. But all he does every day is useless nonsense!"

"That's right. A female celebrity came in the other day, and came out after two hours with red eyes. Who knows what happened?"

The more they talked, the more outrageous it seemed, their faces full of doubt: "That's it? I could do that too."

Just then, Secretary Li's voice suddenly came from behind, not loud but authoritative.

"Shut up, all of you! Anyone who doesn't want to work here, write your resignation right now!"