It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Li Cheng was startled and began to reflect on whether he had been too casual in front of Annie. He resolved that he must never let his guard down just because she was a bit of a goofball and expose his inner thoughts on his face.

Halfway through her story, Annie noticed the men around them who were getting in the way, so she leaned down and whispered in Li Cheng's ear, "You're not trying to pick me up, are you? Let me tell you, we only pretended to be lovers last time because we had no other choice. We're just good brothers. If you get any funny ideas, you'll be struck by lightning!"

What the hell are you trying to seduce? Can't you at least have a little awareness of your own existence?!

The brown, tousled hair tickled his ear, and Li Cheng dodged to the left, his face darkening as he said, "I don't want to!"

If I could choose a few lovers, Annie would be an absolute no-go! Putting aside the possibility that a silly girl like her might give birth to a silly child, a girl as energetic and curious as her would definitely have an extremely strong sex drive. She might be able to do the work of three people during [beep], and even if she's physically strong enough to handle it, it would still consume a lot of her energy!

But if you deliberately control the frequency for the sake of your health and the harmony of your relationship, and she's not satisfied, you might even end up being cuckolded! Who would want a lover who's like a timed cuckold? Unless you're really just playing around.

—Wait a minute, who's the kind of scumbag who picks his lovers?! Just dealing with Newton and Lavoisier is a headache enough, okay?

As he was lost in thought, Annie looked at Li Cheng with suspicion: "You really don't want to? Then why were you so attentive today?"

"I didn't think about it at all."

Knowing he had been too obvious, Li Cheng immediately used a feigned retreat tactic, pretending to get up and leave: "And do you want the new script or not? If not, I'm leaving."

"Yes! I want it!"

Annie quickly grabbed Li Cheng's arm, pressed him back into the wooden chair, and then said with a grin, "I was just joking, don't take it to heart—so where is your script? Where is it?"

If we're talking about the most famous playwright after Shakespeare, it has to be Molière from France. Molière excelled at various satirical comedies, almost mocking the incompetent aristocracy, hypocritical monks, and the greedy emerging bourgeoisie.

But the biggest problem is... Molière is still alive and well, enjoying his later years in France. Isn't copying his works blatant plagiarism?

So he could only choose plays by relatively minor playwrights... Li Cheng hadn't decided which one to choose yet, so he casually said, "The script is still in my room, I'll have someone bring it to you later."

"Good good!"

Annie's lips curled up wildly. She patted Li Cheng's shoulder forcefully and said, "Don't worry, we won't take advantage of you for nothing. Consider this script as your investment. Every time this play is performed, you'll get a share of the profits."

Li Cheng didn't care about the small amount of money: "There's no need. Just consider it a friend helping out. Besides, your current financial situation has only just recovered, right?"

"That won't work."

Anne said seriously, "Let's keep things separate. Writing a script isn't just a favor between friends; it's real, hard work—I've written one myself, and I know how troublesome it is."

Seeing this, Li Cheng knew he couldn't refuse, so he nodded and agreed: "That's fine too."

After successfully bribing Annie with the script, he worried that the topic of probing Newton's attitude might be overheard by the onlookers, so he made another excuse: "The air is too stuffy, shall we go for a walk?"

"No problem, I'll show you around here for a bit."

Anne turned her head and cupped her hands into a megaphone, shouting at the stage, "Listen up, I'm taking Mr. Banana for a walk around the area. Don't slack off, keep rehearsing!"

"Don't worry, boss!"

"It's okay if you don't come back today, just wander around a bit more."

A group of people who loved watching the drama agreed with glee—they thought the two were going to have a romantic chat.

......

The rectangular stone bricks of the theater are quite old and have been trampled on for a long time, so walking on them is uneven.

Annie was enthusiastically rambling on and on, while Li Cheng listened casually until she pointed to a seat and said, "I've specially set up a few seats here. If Newton comes, you can sit here. You won't have to worry about Newton's view being blocked by the people in front of him anymore—she used to dislike watching plays because her view was easily blocked."

Humiliating the cow today (1/1)

"I'll definitely find a way to bring her over if I get the chance."

Seeing a suitable opportunity presented itself, Li Cheng casually asked, "Speaking of which, how did you and Newton meet before?"

"I don't remember the specifics very well."

Anne scratched her head: "I guess I just thought, this blonde little girl is so young, yet so smart, maybe hanging out with her will make me a little smarter too..."

Hoping that intelligence can flow from high to low, right? Unfortunately, intelligence doesn't quite conform to the laws of physics.

Anne continued scratching her head, "It just so happens that Newton doesn't usually talk to people much, she's rather aloof, and even if someone approaches her, she's too lazy to respond. So after a while, no one bothered to bother her, and I was the only one who persistently took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her—and we gradually became familiar with each other, but I don't remember exactly how we became familiar."

"After we got to know each other better, I took Newton around with me whenever I had the chance. She changed a little, at least she wasn't as aloof as before, and her relationship with other classmates improved a bit—just a little."

It's a classic story about a proud, arrogant genius heiress who is ignored by her classmates and a lively, clueless classmate who is the only one who keeps trying to talk to her. The book is titled "The Genius Heiress and the Clumsy Me".

The book mainly tells the story of a clueless protagonist who gradually teaches a genius heiress with zero social skills how to interact with others, helping her gradually change her personality, make more friends, slowly open her heart, and ultimately the two get together...

It's a pity someone was born the wrong gender, otherwise I probably wouldn't have had a chance.

Li Cheng continued to complain internally.

At this point, Annie paused, then brandished her fist and threatened, "So you know now, you can't even think about dating me—it's not easy for Newton to fall for someone, you absolutely can't betray her, or I won't let you off the hook!"

When the conversation got to the point, Li Cheng jokingly said, "Well, let me make a hypothetical scenario—just a hypothetical scenario—what do you think Newton would do if I secretly dated you behind her back and she found out?"

Chapter 225 One stepmother, two stepmothers, three stepmothers...

Upon hearing this question, Annie quickly turned to look at Li Cheng, her eyes filled with shock—I treated you like a brother, and you actually plan to date me?!

"I already said it's hypothetical, don't you understand? Hypothetical!"

Li Cheng was a little annoyed. He had emphasized it for a long time, but this idiot was still just making his own associations and completely ignoring his assumptions.

"Assuming..."

Anne finally broke free from her own associations and began to consider the problem.

Li Cheng appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he waited anxiously.

If we were to rank those who know Newton best, Li Cheng would estimate that the top three would be Freya, Anne, and himself. However, the problem is that the head maid has been firmly on Newton's side for a hundred years, so this question can only be asked of Anne.

I think...

After a long period of contemplation, Anne raised her head and said with absolute certainty, "They'll probably be very angry!"

Anyone who discovers their boyfriend is cheating on them with other women will be angry; that's obvious.

Li Cheng was not surprised at all and continued to ask, "And then?"

"Then?"

Annie thought she had finished answering and had just breathed a sigh of relief when Li Cheng pressed her for an answer, and she started scratching her head: "What, then?"

"So, after you're angry, what happens next?"

Li Cheng was quite patient, just like Mr. Stoller; he had almost gotten used to it.

"And then what?"

Anne frowned deeply: "How should I know? I'm not a worm in Newton's stomach."

?

Even though he was somewhat prepared, Li Cheng was still stunned with anger: "No, you didn't know you were thinking for so long just now???"

Didn't I just answer you that 'Newton would be angry'?

Anne showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "You're acting strange today, asking such pointless questions. If you really want to know, why don't you ask Newton himself? Is it so hard to ask him something casually when you have a spare moment?"

Sister, is this a question you can ask the person directly? Why don't you go to your father and ask him, "If I weren't your biological child, what would you do?" and see what happens?

Try it and you'll die!

To find that Annie had used such a method to avoid this sensitive issue, Li Cheng was momentarily unsure whether she was truly naive or just pretending. He could only sigh inwardly and decisively choose to give up.

"Then let's ask another question."

Li Cheng decided to use a roundabout approach, namely, "I have a friend"—and coincidentally, he actually does have such a friend now, only needing to slightly modify the situation.

And most importantly, this friend has intricate connections with Annie, so she has no choice but to answer.

"Ahem, Miss Anne."

Li Cheng casually picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground and used it as a microphone, asking in a tone similar to that of a CCTV reporter: "What are your thoughts on Mr. Stoller seemingly looking for a stepmother for you?"

Most people would probably ask, "What are you doing holding that broken stick? Are you out of your mind?" But Annie wouldn't ask that, because she herself often does it...

"I don't care, my dad can find whoever he wants."

Annie held her head in her hands, looked up at the sky, and walked with an extremely arrogant posture: "So what if I have another stepmother? I'm all grown up now, even if I don't like her, can't I live outside?"

Ever since she accidentally bumped into a housekeeper at home last time she went back, she had been somewhat prepared.

"Oh, really?"

Seeing her so open-minded, Li Cheng's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He switched from CCTV reporter mode to tabloid reporter mode and began to embellish the story: "But I seem to have recently heard that Mr. Stoller isn't satisfied with just finding you a stepmother..."

"what???"

Annie was so startled that she slipped and almost fell on her bottom, barely managing to maintain her balance only thanks to her great flexibility.

After regaining her balance, she immediately rushed to Li Cheng, grabbed his shoulders, and started shaking him: "Really? How did you know?"

"Private channels, inside information."

Li Cheng maintained a confidential attitude, resolutely refusing to disclose the personal information of the concerned passerby—a basic quality of a tabloid reporter.

Anne stopped swaying back and forth, a vague feeling of unease creeping over her: "Why doesn't even her own daughter know anything about this?"

Li Cheng countered, "Do you think he'll discuss this with you?"

That makes some sense...

That's one way of putting it.

Annie still felt something was off: "But last time I went home, we only saw one auntie."

"That's a routine."

Li Cheng, a professional commentator who once verbally predicted the favorite team to win the championship ("If you don't win, I'll do a handstand and wash my hair"), began to analyze: "Your dad first tries to get you to accept one, then throws out another, and finally asks you which one you like."

"At this point, you probably don't want to choose either one, and even if you really don't care, you can't say it out loud, right? So you can probably only answer something like 'Both are pretty good'."

"Then here comes the crucial part: your dad can then smoothly say, 'I think so too. How about this, from now on, they'll both be your stepmothers...'"

???

Annie was deeply shocked by this tactic, but unfortunately, due to her limited education, she could only utter a simple exclamation: "Holy crap!"

Seeing this, Li Cheng silently prayed for Mr. Stoller's forgiveness in his heart, and then continued, "I only revealed this information for the sake of our brotherhood, so please don't expose it."

"rest assured!"

Annie was so moved she almost cried. She immediately vowed, "Don't worry, even if I'm kicked out and have to live on the streets doing acting to make a living, I will never betray you, my good brother!"

"It can't be that bad..."