I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"Yeah, didn't you already know?"

"I know, but you two are living together, and none of her family cares? Didn't they come and break your legs? Or is she not a local, but someone who goes to university here?"

I remember there's an information technology university near you, right? Is she studying there? What's her major? What year is she in?

As Chen Jianwen looked into the kitchen, he lowered his voice and asked a series of questions.

"Uh..."

Chen Shuo scratched his head, thought for a moment and said, "She doesn't go to school, and she doesn't have any family."

"What do you mean?" Chen Jianwen looked a little confused.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like.” Chen Shuo continued scratching his head. “She’s an orphan, and then she dropped out of school, um… anyway, she didn’t have much education, so she’s not very cultured.”

"..."

Chen Jianwen fell silent. He had initially thought that the kid had met a college student at the information university near his home, and then gradually brought her home. But now, it seemed quite complicated.

After a long pause, he asked in a low voice, "She's an orphan, so how did you two meet?"

"That's how we met."

"What do you mean you just met her like that? Did you pick her up off the street?"

"What are you saying? Where am I supposed to find a whole person alive? Yeah, well..."

Chen Shuo didn't know how to answer. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that she was the kind of person who offered herself up, which was much easier than picking her up.

"Anyway, she was an orphan and had a hard life. I felt sorry for her, so I bought her some food and offered her yogurt. Later, I found out that she was an orphan and homeless, so I took her in."

Chen Shuo was making up lies, half true and half false. Although there were some discrepancies, the actual situation was roughly the same and relatively consistent with objective facts. Regardless of whether the old man believed it or not, he believed it anyway.

"Homeless orphans look like that, pretty, fair-skinned, and delicate. Who are you trying to fool?" Chen Jianwen scoffed, not believing it at all.

Believe it or not, everything I'm saying is true.

"Bullshit."

"What are you two whispering about? Go wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Wu Yulan came out of the kitchen and saw the father and son whispering to each other. She looked at them suspiciously for a moment and then urged them to hurry up.

"They're here, they're here."

Chen Jianwen stood up, then gave Chen Shuo a barely perceptible smirk and muttered, "You're just fooling your old man."

Chen Shuo pretended not to hear, kept his head down, and went to wash his hands. Anyway, what he said was basically the truth.

I shouldn't have said these things in the first place, but I don't know what came over me today. In the past, when the old man asked that string of questions, I would have nodded and given perfunctory answers, then tried to arrange for her to have the identity of a college student majoring in some field, just to get by.

But today I'm thinking of revealing some information about her to my family, and giving her a background story, for the future.

Chen Shuo felt that he had only regarded her as a passerby in his life before. Once she fully integrated into human society, the two would go their separate ways, she would go to find her own life, and he would continue to live his own little life.

But now, letting her leave is definitely out of the question. She's practically delivered herself to our doorstep, and she still wants to run away? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Chen Shuo admitted that he had some ulterior motives towards the other person.

A man and a woman living alone in the same house every day, eating and sleeping together, would be hard to believe if you said they didn't have any ulterior motives.

"Hurry up, why are you taking so long to wash your hands? Are you removing the hair from those donkey hooves?"

Seeing that Chen Shuo hadn't come out for a long time, and with the sound of rushing water, Wu Yulan continued to urge him.

"Here it comes, here it comes. What do you mean by removing the hair from a donkey's hooves? That's for pigs."

"Then let's have pig's trotters." Wu Yulan handed over a pair of chopsticks. "Eat quickly."

"Ah."

Chen Shuo took the chopsticks and sat down. He looked at the dishes on the table and couldn't help but sniff the aroma. Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the meal was exceptionally plentiful.

I wish I could bring my cat, the little girl, over to try it. She's such a glutton, she'd definitely enjoy it.

Chen Shuo almost had the urge to call her over via WeChat, but then he changed his mind and canceled.

I wonder if she's eaten yet, probably not. I also wonder what she's doing right now.

Are you playing on your phone watching videos? Or busy cooking for yourself?

Thinking of the cat-eared girl at home, and imagining her sitting or standing, Chen Shuo's lips unconsciously curled up, making Wu Yulan frown.

"Why are you grinning like an idiot while you're eating?"

"Huh?" Chen Shuo was taken aback. "Did I laugh?"

“Yeah, you were laughing like an idiot just now,” Chen Jianwen nodded from the side.

"......"

Chen Shuo opened his mouth, feeling like he might be possessed. "Did I laugh? But I didn't realize it at all."

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the food on the table: "Mom, you made so much food, we definitely can't finish it all, right? How about I give you a bag so I can pack half of it up first, and then we can eat the rest?"

"Who are you taking this back for? You?" Wu Yulan asked.

"No, I just wanted my girlfriend to try your cooking."

"Will she be able to eat it if you take it back? You two don't even live together."

"We can eat even if we don't live together. I'll invite her out for her tomorrow."

"Alright, alright, aren't you ashamed? What kind of behavior is it to serve someone leftovers? If you really want her to taste Mom's cooking, bring her home next time."

"Okay then."

Seeing that Chen Jianwen kept giving him meaningful glances, Chen Shuo didn't insist anymore and nodded helplessly. Then, remembering something, he turned to look at the few boxes of mooncakes in the corner of the living room and said, "I'll take the mooncakes my dad got from school later. Anyway, neither of you will eat them."

"Don't you also not eat mooncakes?"

At this point, Wu Yulan realized, "Is it for your girlfriend again?"

"Hmm." Chen Shuo nodded. She probably had never eaten mooncakes before, and he didn't know if she liked them.

"Tsk, you're always thinking about her no matter what you do."

Hearing this, Chen Shuo was stunned. Yes, why was he thinking about her no matter what he did?

Upon thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed, as if a strange emotion suddenly welled up in his heart, but he didn't dare to confirm it for a moment.

After a long while, Chen Shuo licked his dry lips and said with some distress, "Dad, Mom, I think I might have fallen for her."

"Huh? You've fallen for someone? Your girlfriend?"

Wu Yulan was taken aback and couldn't help but frown. "Are you alright? Should I take you to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Qingshan Hospital for a checkup?"

"Here, have some wine to sober up."

Chen Jianwen poured Chen Shuo a glass of his Dream Blue. They've been living together for almost two months now, and you're saying you've fallen for her? Isn't that crazy?

Chapter 41 I Have a Friend

He picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp, feeling the unique burning sensation of the baijiu. For some reason, music started playing in Chen Shuo's head.

Love came too fast, like a tornado... How did I suddenly fall for her? It felt a bit unexpected.

Although I would occasionally feel a flutter in my heart or have wild thoughts, it was mostly driven by physiological instincts; to put it bluntly, I just wanted her body.

But now it seems to have become psychological; of course, the body will still crave it, and there's no way to avoid it.

Chen Shuo buried himself in his rice, feeling a bit confused and disoriented. He picked up the wine bottle, filled it up, and continued drinking.

Seeing him drink so naturally and smoothly, Chen Jianwen finally couldn't help but feel sorry for him. His eyelids twitched with heartache, and he snatched the bottle from his hand and hugged it to his chest. "Drink less. This wine is not good. Eat more food and go back as soon as you finish eating."

"Dad, why are you being so stingy? It's just a couple of sips of your drink."

"You call this two sips? Look at what you've given me to drink." As he spoke, Chen Jianwen pointed to the bottle, which was only half full and swaying inside, making him even more distressed.

"I'm your son. Is alcohol more important than me?"

"Alright, you two, can you shut up for a bit? Old Chen, you too, he only drank a little of your wine, look at how heartbroken you are, like it's tearing your flesh out."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Wu Yulan interrupted them, saying, "What a mess! To have two such idiots arguing over a little bit of cheap liquor. I don't even know what's so good about that stuff."

"How can I not feel bad? This wine is expensive."

How expensive can it be?

“…”

Chen Jianwen realized he had misspoke and hesitated for a moment, about to say it wasn't that expensive, but Chen Shuo beat him to it, "It is quite expensive, more than a hundred yuan."

"Over a hundred?" Wu Yulan glanced at the bottle and couldn't help but click her tongue. "This lousy bottle of wine actually costs over a hundred, while a bottle of cooking wine only costs five yuan."

"Mom, this isn't cheap liquor. Besides, how can this be the same as your cooking wine?"

"At least cooking wine can be used for stir-frying, but what can this lousy wine do besides making you smell like alcohol? Alright, hurry up and eat your food."

"Oh..."

Chen Shuo gave an "oh," glanced at Chen Jianwen, accepted the old man's grateful look, and then buried his head in his food without saying another word.

A little over a hundred yuan was already a bit hard for my mom to accept, she thought it was expensive. If I told her the truth and said the wine cost over a thousand yuan, she would definitely explode.

There's no way around it; my family isn't wealthy, and spending over a thousand yuan on alcohol is really a bit reckless.

Who can blame me when my dad is a history researcher?

It is well known that those who study history share a common trait: poverty.

The most famous example is Sima Qian. Back then, his family was too poor to pay the ransom, so he was cut in half and went from being an official to a family of eunuchs.

After the meal, Chen Shuo helped clear the dishes and took them to the kitchen. He checked the time; it was past eight in the evening. Feeling that there was nothing else to do, he picked up a few boxes of mooncakes from the corner of the living room and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm leaving now."

"Hmm, bring your girlfriend home to meet us when you have time," Wu Yulan's voice came from the kitchen.

We'll talk about it later.

"What do you mean 'we'll talk about it later'? Just bring her along next time you come over and have her come over for a meal."

"okay, I get it."

Chen Shuo hesitated for a moment, then agreed and turned to go downstairs.

It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and a full moon hangs high in the sky.