It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Not at all surprised, in fact, it was more surprising that it was planned... Li Cheng wore an expression of 'I knew it'.

Annie's eyebrows shot up, and she glared at Li Cheng with her eyes wide open: "What's with that weird expression? Don't you believe me?"

Li Cheng complained, "Before you can convince others, shouldn't you first demonstrate convincing capabilities? How about starting by coming up with a plan?"

"Uh..." Annie opened her eyes wide and retorted, "I just didn't have a chance."

Li Cheng pressed aggressively: "You think you'll succeed just because you have a chance?"

Anne retorted, not to be outdone: "Of course!"

"Alright then." Li Cheng revealed a smile he had been planning for a long time. "I have an opportunity here, would you like to give it a try?"

"?!"

Annie's eyes widened suddenly, and she looked at Li Cheng with some shock: "You......."

Although she hadn't figured it out yet, her intuition told her that she might have been tricked.

“An opportunity, a chance for you to demonstrate your strength to your father and others, and for them to change their opinion of you and even their actions.”

Li Cheng held up a finger and waved it in front of Annie. His seductive tone and actions were like those of a devil from the deepest abyss, constantly tempting mortals to fall: "And this only requires a few small conditions."

Anne: "......."

Seeing that the other party remained silent for a long time, Li Cheng took the initiative and said, "If you believe me, why don't we talk?"

After thinking for a long time, Annie finally managed to blurt out, "Don't try to trick me..."

Li Cheng said, "Wait a minute, let me tell you my terms first."

"What are the conditions?"

Annie initially hugged him warily, but then, as if remembering something, she loosened her arms: "Oh right, you're a lolicon, and you're after Isaac."

You're the one with a lolicon complex! Your whole family are lolicon complexes! Watch out, Newton might jump up and bite you! Besides, Newton is already 16 years old, okay? That's already in the category of a teenage girl! Although her development is a bit disappointing, she is definitely a teenage girl!

Li Cheng's lips twitched, ignoring Anne, and said, "I've heard that a kind of gathering called a cultural salon has recently become popular in London."

Upon hearing this, Annie felt she had figured it out and immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "You want me to take you?"

"No, no, no, it would be inappropriate for a man like me to go with so many rich girls." Li Cheng waved his hand, then pointed at Annie with his index finger: "I hope you will go."

“Me?” Annie was taken aback, then her expression suddenly turned strange.

She sized up the mysterious red-haired man in front of her, then asked, "Hey, Li Cheng, you're not actually a plant my dad hired, are you?"

Li Cheng looked down at himself: a neat fur coat, leather shoes, and an 85-point appearance. If he wasn't exceptionally brave, he was at least a promising young man.

He wondered, "Do I look like a shill?"

“The tone is very similar.” Annie nodded affirmatively. “Especially when he was waving his finger at me just now, it was very similar.”

"alright."

After thinking about it, Li Cheng felt that it would be troublesome to explain all those roundabout things to Annie.

He gave up resisting and said bluntly, "I won't beat around the bush with you. I'm planning to mass-produce and sell that thing called soap. Do you want to cooperate?"

“What is soap?” Anne asked.

"...?"

Li Cheng swallowed back all the words he wanted to say, staring intently at Annie as if he were examining some unknown rare creature.

"Don't look at me like that." Annie scratched her head awkwardly. "Let me think, let me think... Oh, I remember now, it's the one Isaac gave me a bath yesterday, right!"

She slapped the floor, suddenly realizing, "Oh right! That's sure to sell well! Why didn't I think of that sooner!"

Li Cheng suddenly felt very tired.

Then Annie suddenly became excited again: "Li Cheng, you're pretty good, kid. You actually thought of me for such a good thing—not bad, not bad at all. I'll put in a good word for you with Isaac later!"

"No, I told you it was a misunderstanding."

"What?! You like me?!" Annie exclaimed in surprise, shaking her head rapidly. "No way, Li Cheng! Although you seem quite capable, we've only known each other for two days. This isn't appropriate!"

God doesn't like you! If I had any feelings for you when we first met, they've completely died down now! Just like a human can't be in heat with a female gorilla, I can't be in heat with you either!

Li Cheng remained calm and unmoved by Annie's idiot behavior: "Alright, so should we cooperate or not?"

Anne, as if she had forgotten what she had just said, replied, "Of course I agree. It sounds very reliable, and besides, I won't lose out."

"Alright, there's a basis for cooperation."

Li Cheng crouched down, bringing his eyes level with Annie's: "At crucial moments, you must follow my instructions and not make decisions on your own."

Annie readily agreed, "Sure, as long as you don't cheat me."

"Okay, then listen to me..."

Li Cheng began to explain his plan in detail, including how to promote it, select materials, choose the location, and use the channels, as well as the purpose of asking her to attend the cultural salon. He explained everything to Annie clearly, even including some of his future plans.

Whether Annie understands it or not, you have to explain it to her; this is the most basic form of sincerity.

......

After listening to He Cheng's plan.

"I never expected this, Li Cheng! You really are a genius!" Annie slapped her thigh, excitedly trying to stand up. "Then what are we waiting for? I'll go back and tell my dad right now..."

However, just as Annie stood up, a sudden, excruciating pain, as if being torn apart, shot through her leg. Caught off guard, she lost her balance, swayed, and fell heavily to the ground with a scream.

“Ah!” Annie exclaimed.

Li Cheng was also startled upon seeing this and quickly asked, "What happened?"

"Ouch... I think I'm getting a leg cramp."

Anne endured the pain and reached out to rub her sprained calf, finding that the muscles there were taut as one—making walking impossible, even the slightest movement would cause excruciating pain.

She said bitterly, "Damn it, why am I so unlucky!"

Li Cheng also went over to take a look and found that Annie's pants were very tight, and there was a noticeable bulge around them.

When you've just finished running, your muscles are in a tense state. If you sit down at this time, your muscles can't recover in time, and you're very likely to strain your muscles... With this scientific knowledge in mind, Li Cheng couldn't help but sigh.

Goodness, this flag is practically plug-and-play...

Just ten minutes ago, Annie was confidently saying that sitting for a while wouldn't cause any problems, but now she's getting cramps right there.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Mr. Stoller's Melancholy

Because of Annie's tendency to make promises she couldn't keep, the two were delayed for a while and spent another half hour in an empty room. When they finally met at the agreed-upon place, Newton had already been waiting for them for quite some time.

Despite the twists and turns, Li Cheng finally managed to connect with Annie... Li Cheng expressed his feelings.

However, if he had known Annie would be this out of touch, he wouldn't have messed around for so long.

......

It was noon.

The Stollers began their lunch today.

Compared to yesterday when there wasn't enough time to prepare, the dishes on the table today are undoubtedly much more plentiful.

A rich vegetable soup is made by carefully simmering various fresh vegetables such as lettuce, onion, spinach, cucumber, peas, and asparagus into a pot, along with cream and a small spoonful of flour.

There are golden balls made by mincing pork, adding egg whites to form meatballs, boiling them first, then baking them, and finally brushing them with a layer of egg yolk.

There are also the freshest partridges hunted early in the morning, plucked and gutted, brushed with a layer of black sauce made from currants, sprinkled with pepper, cumin, and nutmeg, and then roasted whole in an oven. Finally, the whole bird is served on the table as roasted bird... well, roasted bird made with extremely cruel methods.

Looking at the sumptuous meal, Li Cheng couldn't help but recall a famous joke from his previous life that described Britain's lack of culinary expertise: "The thinnest book in the world must be the British cookbook."

This statement is further supported by famous dishes such as fish and chips and stargazing.

However, in ancient times, when entertainment options were limited, unless resources were extremely scarce, wealthy and idle nobles would never have hesitated to put effort into their cuisine.

The first decline of British cuisine was mainly due to colonial expansion and the Industrial Revolution. Farmers flocked to the cities to work, land was abandoned, and the prices of various ingredients such as bread, vegetables, meat, and butter soared. At that time, the price of canned meat shipped from the United States was only half the price of fresh meat in Britain.

During this period, potatoes began to become a staple food, and under the dual pressure of lack of time and money, women were also forced to choose this food.

The second was during the two World Wars, when resources were extremely scarce, and food was mass-produced on assembly lines...

Oops, I've gone off on a tangent. Let's get back to the main point.

The atmosphere at the table was pleasant. Anne and Newton chatted and ate, Li Cheng occasionally chimed in, while Mr. Stoller listened quietly.

About fifteen minutes later, Mr. Stoller, who hadn't had much of an appetite that day, stood up. He told Anne to make sure Li Cheng and the others ate to their hearts' content, and then, leaning on his black cane, he was the first to leave the table.

Now is the time.

Watching the departing figure, Li Cheng winked at Annie.

Anne didn't notice at all. She found the spoon troublesome, and after her father left, she picked up her plate and gulped down the vegetable soup, leaving a few drops of indistinct white liquid on the table.

Newton noticed Li Cheng's strange behavior. Her cheeks were bulging as she held up a fork with a meatball stuck in it, chewing as she asked, "Li Cheng, why aren't you eating? This is delicious. My family doesn't even have such a good cook."

Never mind... let's talk about it after we finish eating.

Looking at the two unreliable people, Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he said wearily, "It's nothing, I just choked a little."

"Did you choke?"

Newton thought for a moment, then reached out and took Li Cheng's bowl. He stood on tiptoe, stretched out his arms, and tried his best to scoop a bowl of vegetable soup from the center of the table for him.

"Then have some soup, but eat carefully."

Li Cheng took the bowl with a mix of amusement and exasperation, feeling somewhat touched by the little boy's concern.

He looked up, and as the gurgling sound rang out, when he put the bowl down again, it was completely empty.

Li Cheng wiped his mouth, feigning relief, and said, "Phew, much better now, thank you."

"Small things."

Newton casually withdrew his gaze, his legs swinging rapidly under the table.

The Newton training plan was a complete success... Ugh, I told you a long time ago that there was no such strange plan!

----------------

Stoller has been troubled by something lately, and he's been frowning all the time.

After dinner tonight, just as he was still unable to figure out the problem and was about to go out for a walk to clear his head, the door was opened first, and a lively figure with brown hair appeared in the doorway.

“Daddy!” Annie called out enthusiastically.