It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

But it was already quite an achievement; Miss Newton was very thin-skinned.

If their relationship hadn't deepened during this period, and if she hadn't developed a competitive spirit towards Darlene, whom she disliked, she would never have made such a gesture of asserting ownership in front of outsiders.

However, since Darlena had at least offered some perks this time, Li Cheng gave her a polite smile and said, "I'm sorry, I think we can talk here. There's no need to go to Lord Darlena's villa."

what? !

Darlena was stunned, as if she didn't understand how she had lost.

She didn't feel frustrated; instead, she felt a sense of sudden realization.

No wonder this seemingly important person was willing to follow Newton to this godforsaken place, and was willing to invest heavily in setting up a factory, diligently and conscientiously staying in her territory to help govern it.

After all that fuss, it turns out the two of them got together.

After realizing what had happened, a feeling of disdain arose in her heart.

You're a lolicon! Pshaw!

Seeing the somewhat disdainful look in Darlene's eyes, Li Cheng couldn't help but twitch his lips, sadly realizing something—if Miss Newton really was so small and refused to grow any bigger, then this nickname of "lolita complex" would probably accompany him for life, and perhaps even be recorded in future generations.

[Note: These were all Li Cheng's internal monologues.]

In 1999, two blonde, blue-eyed little girls were discussing something.

Girl A pulls out a photo: "Did you know? Our great-great ...grandpa was a lolicon! Look, this is a portrait of our great-great-great-great-grandma."

Girl B leaned closer: "Let me see... It's actually real? How embarrassing! Should we just hide this portrait forever and never let anyone know about it?"

Girl A shook her head: "Give up, it's no use."

Girl B asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Girl A sighed, "Because my great-great-great-grandmother's picture is already in textbooks!"

Girl B exclaimed in shock: "What?! Does that mean the whole world will know that our great-great-great-great-grandpa is a lolicon?"

Girl A nodded: "Yes, yes, I just learned it from the textbook."

------

"How long are you going to stand there in a daze?"

A prompting voice snapped Li Cheng out of his reverie.

He focused his attention and found that the hall was quiet. The woman in the red dress who had been sitting on the opposite sofa had also disappeared without a trace, which puzzled him greatly.

"Where is that Darlena person?" Li Cheng asked.

"They've already left. Since you were spacing out, I've already made arrangements for you."

Newton raised his face slightly: "She is willing to sell the operating rights of the coal mine, but she needs to receive a certain percentage of the profits each year. In addition, she needs to consider the price in detail and will decide after some time."

Li Cheng thought it was quite suitable and praised, "Well done!"

"Humph~"

Newton snorted coldly, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

Seeing this, Li Cheng couldn't help but rub her soft, smooth head, and then said, "So, how about I leave this matter to you? You get tired of just reading and doing research all day. Why not change your mood and go out and meet more people?"

"what?"

Newton was stunned for a moment, and asked with some confusion, "Why did you think of entrusting it to me?"

Actually, Newton had always been a great help, but the initial goal of the soap factory was to achieve financial freedom and avoid relying on Newton, so of course, Newton couldn't be involved; the textile factory job was a bit more important, and mistakes couldn't be easily made, so Roy was more experienced; the ether factory, cough cough cough...

In contrast, the coal briquette furnace factory was more casual, since its main purpose was to develop Newton's territory. The preliminary preparations had already been completed, and this coal mine acquisition was an opportunity.

Li Cheng casually offered an excuse: "Nominally, this is your territory, so of course you have to manage it. Besides, someone has to take care of it if I'm not around."

Incidentally, the original Newton served as Master of the Royal Mint and even objectively promoted Britain's reform from the silver standard to the gold standard. Theoretically, his work ability is not a problem. I just don't know how this Luo version is... It should be fine, probably.

After thinking for a moment, Newton nodded and said with a very serious expression, "Leave it to me, I will do it perfectly."

Li Cheng smiled and nodded: "Okay."

After making the commitment, Newton felt the first thing to do was to find a few people to help him, so he shouted, "Lurengar!"

Li Cheng was about to say that she couldn't hear him when he called, but Lu Renjia suddenly popped his head out from around the corner of the hall with a fawning smile on his face: "I'm here, what are your orders, Lord?"

The housekeeper, who should have been guarding the female knight's door, suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaving Li Cheng amazed.

Staring at the cheap housekeeper for a full half minute, Newton recalled her achievements over the years, but found that he couldn't find any results. In the end, he chose to give up: "It's nothing, you can go now."

"Understood, my lord."

So Lurengar ran back to Dideri's side in an extremely humble manner; she had just happened to go downstairs to get something.

Seeing Newton's serious and proactive attitude, Li Cheng left the hall with a sense of relief, preparing to go to his study to continue writing... well, I mean, to diligently complete today's work and write a classic masterpiece.

However, when he arrived at the study door, he found that the door was different from when he left; it was slightly ajar, as if someone had gone in.

???

A bad feeling rose in Li Cheng's heart. He slowed down his movements and gently and slowly applied force to the door, trying not to disturb the people who might be inside.

As he did this, the door was slowly pushed open, revealing the entire study—a person was sitting in the seat behind the desk, head down, secretly doing something under the desk.

My little yellow... a literary manuscript!!!

Li Cheng was eager to know which audacious bastard dared to rummage through his drawer. But from his angle, all he could see was a single brown ahoge sticking up high, twitching excitedly.

To confirm the identity, Li Cheng slowed his pace and quietly moved to the vicinity of the desk to see who it was.

It's Susie.

The file on Li Cheng's E drive, which had been hidden in the drawer, was eventually found by Susie, who had inexplicably appeared in the study. She held it in her hands and read it carefully, word by word.

Perhaps because it was her first time encountering such a timeless classic, her dark eyes widened like a bull's, and a distinct blush rose on her healthy face. She was also muttering something to herself.

"Wow, that's amazing! You can do that?"

"I never knew there was such a way to play. The only two I ever heard about from my second uncle were [beep] and [beep]. City people really know how to have fun."

"I never imagined Li Cheng was secretly writing something so amazing. Could he have tried it all out...? Hmm? Does that petite lord usually play these kinds of games with Li Cheng? I'm a little curious. I should have just peeked in last time, instead of eavesdropping..."

It would have been better if he hadn't listened, because once he did, Li Cheng's blood pressure spiked.

By this time, Susie had flipped to the last few pages, and she smacked her lips with a hint of lingering interest: "How come it's over already?"

Li Cheng continued, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Before Susie could react, she nodded instinctively: "Beautiful, beautiful."

Li Cheng then asked, "You haven't seen it, have you?"

"I haven't seen it before, hehe."

Susie was about to nod again, but then realized something was wrong and stiffly turned her neck 90 degrees to meet Li Cheng's calm gaze.

"what!"

Susie screamed and frantically tried to stuff the stack of manuscript papers she was holding back into the drawer. But in her nervousness, her hand slipped and she accidentally dropped them all on the floor. She had to quickly crawl on the floor to collect them, and in the process, she even accidentally stepped on one of them.

Li Cheng remained expressionless throughout.

After putting the stack of manuscript papers back into the drawer, Susie awkwardly rubbed her hands together: "Li Cheng, let me explain."

Li Cheng didn't rush to cause trouble for her. Instead, he planned to find out what had happened first: "Weren't you at the construction site? Why are you back so early today?"

“The construction site isn’t as chaotic as it was at the beginning, so they don’t need me as much anymore.”

Susie said awkwardly, "I was getting bored, so I took an extra nap. I was thinking of asking you about the upcoming plans... Then I asked the maids where you were, and they said you'd been in the study all morning and were currently entertaining guests, so I thought I'd wait for you there, and then..."

"And then you went through my closet?"

Li Cheng countered with a question.

"..."

Susie knew she was in the wrong, but couldn't come up with a suitable reason, so she simply stopped explaining: "This was my fault, so I can accept any punishment you want."

Seeing that she was remorseful, Li Cheng's tone softened considerably: "Well, actually, just glancing at it isn't a big deal, and there's no need to punish her for such a small thing."

Huh? That's it?

Susie suddenly perked up; this feeling of surviving a disaster was all the more precious to her.

But before she could even feel happy, Li Cheng suddenly changed the subject, saying, "But can you explain what you were doing just now, talking to yourself and eavesdropping?"

Chapter 205 Three Rejections

Eavesdropping is an ancient and traditional practice.

As the saying goes, walls have ears. Many scandals in history were caused by eavesdropping, especially the numerous instances of mutual eavesdropping between the US and the Soviet Union, such as digging tunnels, repairing shoes, and sending national emblems.

But that was for confidentiality, so what is this of his, a secret?

After Li Cheng asked what the eavesdropping was all about, Susie's eyes began to dart around, trying to bluff her way out of it.

"Don't try to get away with this. You have to explain this clearly."

Li Cheng's eyes widened, and he grabbed the tuft of hair sticking up on her head, pulling it upwards forcefully: "And what's with that tuft of hair sticking up? How many days has it been since you washed your hair???"

In reality, there's no such thing as naturally occurring tufts of hair; all you get are filthy heads that haven't been washed for days.

Following Li Cheng's movement of tugging at her ahoge (cowlick), Susie's body involuntarily stood up from her seat, but this was not enough to stop Li Cheng from lifting her up unless she was taller than Li Cheng plus her arm.

Susie winced in pain as her ahoge (cowlick) was pulled: "Ouch, ouch, ouch... Stop pulling! Stop pulling! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Li Cheng then released his grip.

"Washing your hair in winter is such a hassle!"

Susie muttered as she tried to tame the tuft of hair sticking up on her head, but kept failing. Finally, she gave up and said, "Maybe I should just cut it off. I think short hair looks pretty good."

Li Cheng casually asked, "So you're that old scoundrel Nishio?"

Susie asked in confusion, "Who is that old scoundrel Nishio?"

Li Cheng said seriously, "He is an evil man who, for his own pleasure, forces multiple women in his works to cut their long hair short."

Susie crossed her arms and pondered, "It doesn't sound like a big deal... By the way, do you prefer long hair or short hair?"

I like them all.

"There must be one you like relatively well, right?"