It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Li Cheng wiped away his cold sweat and continued to press, "So what exactly are you thinking?"

"Forehead......"

Annie tensed up immediately, lowering her head with a worried expression. Her forehead was so furrowed that her eyebrows were clenched into a large, dark mass, and she muttered under her breath, "Two stepmothers..."

Even someone as carefree as her was somewhat stunned by the news, and for a moment didn't know how to react...

Li Cheng casually added from the side, "There might be more than two..."

"There are more than two?!"

Annie was startled, and a scene flashed through her mind.

Having achieved great fame in Little Hollywood, she returned to London with honors and money, only to find her father at home, embracing several mature women, beaming with pride, and saying to her:

"Let me introduce you. This is your stepmother A, this is your stepmother B, this is your stepmother C... I know you're having a hard time accepting this yet, but first, please bow to ladies A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. You should get along well from now on."

The thought of having to greet unfamiliar aunties when she went home gave Annie the urge to settle in Lincoln and never return to London.

Chapter 226 Best Friend Plan v2.0 Emergency Enhanced Version

Annie clenched her fists and pounded them hard and fast on her head, whether to help her think or to try to erase the memory, it was hard to tell. If it was the latter, the force was a little too light.

Li Cheng coughed lightly and said, "No rush, no rush, take your time, you can do it."

As the saying goes, sharing your unhappiness with others can halve your suffering.

He felt much better now.

Just then, Annie, who had been frantically hammering herself, suddenly paused: "I understand."

Huh? That's a bit fast.

Is there some kind of survival philosophy unique to idiots?

Li Cheng held his breath, looking at Annie with a mixture of surprise and anticipation.

"I'm not going home!"

Anne seemed to have grasped the universal truth: "As long as I don't go home, I won't have so many worries, and I won't have to worry about how many people will be my stepmothers."

Hey! This is just running away! Hang in there! Don't give up on yourself!

Li Cheng exclaimed in shock, "Are you fucking serious?"

"I'm serious, and I don't think there's anything wrong with my line of thinking!" Despite her predicament, Annie actually started to analyze things methodically. "Look, as long as I don't go home, even if my dad finds a hundred stepmothers, I won't have to worry about it, right? I won't have to deal with them!"

"No."

Li Cheng asked in shock, "Didn't you even consider objecting?"

Why the opposition?

Annie scratched her head, puzzled, and said, "Although I don't really like having so many stepmothers, I don't have to object, right? As for how my dad wants to explain it to others, which one is his legal wife and which one is his mistress, let him worry about that himself."

After hearing this, Li Cheng began to ponder why.

Children dislike stepmothers largely because they are afraid of being bullied, and secondly because they cannot accept the presence of a new mother.

But Annie is already an adult and capable of living independently, so she doesn't need to worry about being bullied by her stepmother.

Given this, the only remaining reason for opposition might be some melodramatic plot involving a fight over the family business. But Anne doesn't seem particularly interested in the family business, and frankly, she wouldn't be able to maintain those businesses that require management...

Therefore, it is estimated that when the family property is divided in the future, Mr. Stoller will likely allocate most of the cash and fixed assets to her, and the remaining assets will be distributed separately.

As for reasons such as her being unable to accept the psychological trauma she suffered from her deceased biological mother... well, let's just say no one would consider that. It's more plausible that she's illiterate and can't count to two.

They've gone far away.

In conclusion, although most of what Annie said today was unreliable, Li Cheng still gained some insights.

How can we minimize Newton's anger?

One approach is to address the threat posed by Lavoisier, preventing her from feeling any potential threat. This can be done from two angles.

1. Enhance Newton's sense of security, while subtly reducing her rejection.

2. Make Lavoisier Newton's second best friend.

This is "Bestie Project 2.0," an emergency enhanced version that adds an emergency patch to the first version, allowing Lavoisier to become Newton's best friend.

Although the second point may seem absurd at first glance, it would probably be a good thing for Newton, a recluse with few friends, to have a close friend with the same level of knowledge and with whom he could freely discuss his experiments and conjectures.

As for the gap between chemistry and physics... the research of these disciplines in this era was still shallow, and the cost of learning them was not high. Therefore, many scientists were often all-rounders, but they just did not achieve anything. Lavoisier's physics foundation was not bad, and he had already read through the textbook "Fundamentals of Mechanics".

perfect!

Although this plan sounds a bit shady, considering how to get the two girls to get along harmoniously, it's something Li Cheng managed to come up with in order not to be completely shady.

I don't go to hell, who goes to hell?

In order to avoid becoming a heartless scumbag who abandons girls, the only option is to use a seemingly despicable plan to become a scumbag who has women on both sides.

Li Cheng adopted a martyr's expression, nodded solemnly, and then fell into deep thought.

The only problem... is how to convince Lavoisier.

Imagine that scene.

Li Cheng: Please, in order to become my lover, you must first become Newton's best friend!

Lavoisier: ?

Just thinking about that scene made Li Cheng's face contort in disbelief.

I guess I came here for nothing... No, not entirely for nothing. At least I successfully bribed Annie, gradually winning her over with sweet talk. And the plan isn't impossible; what if the two of them really hit it off?

In short, anything is possible!

------

After bribing Anne, subtly probing Newton's possible reaction, and completing "The Best Friend Project 2.0," Li Cheng left the Little Hollywood Theater and inquired with a coachman about Lincoln's most famous theaters and restaurants, essentially preparing for the worst.

After all, in a sense, this should be considered his first date with Lavoisier.

Then he returned to the small detached house and, as agreed, took Lavoisier, who had already tidied himself up, to the theater to see a play.

Of course, it wasn't the Little Hollywood Theatre that recently closed for renovations, but another well-known theatre in Lincoln, which was also the fastest to recover from its decline. In just half a month, it started having its actors perform according to the new London script.

It's no wonder Anne was worried. The quality of the actors was evident. Even though both were given temporary training, the performance at this grand theater was noticeably better than that of Anne's own team.

However, Anne wasn't in dire need of income. On one hand, she didn't have much pressure to make a profit, and on the other hand, the mere fact that she caused the Lincoln riots was enough to attract a certain audience.

After the performance, the stage curtain slowly fell to the actors' synchronized singing, marking the end of the play. The audience erupted in applause and cheers, still immersed in the story.

After that, Li Cheng took Lavoisier to a restaurant that was said to be very good and full of exotic charm.

He was dumbfounded when he arrived at his destination.

This is a Chinese restaurant.

Even the signboard is written in Chinese characters, emphasizing its pretentious nature.

The problem is that the dishes have absolutely nothing to do with Chinese cuisine. The only rice dish is an extremely expensive rice pudding called Rice Pudding, a cooking method he had never heard of in his previous life as a pure-blooded Chinese.

Although the incongruity was overwhelming, Li Cheng resisted the urge to turn around and leave, and instead took Lavoisier's hand and entered the dining room.

They went to the theater, ate at a restaurant, took a walk and chatted... Apart from shopping because they didn't have enough time, the two spent the afternoon like a real couple.

This was also a new experience for Li Cheng, as he had never been on a proper date before.

After all, Newton was a shut-in, and for some reason, the two skipped the dating stage and went straight to the point.

After their meal, the two returned to their villa to rest for the night. The next day, in addition to the activities mentioned above, they also went shopping. So, they went to the theater in the morning, had lunch, went shopping in the afternoon, and went home to sleep after dinner... in separate beds.

After spending two days purely eating, drinking, and having fun, with only the occasional visit from Principal Smith, Li Cheng felt that was enough.

Putting aside the fact that there are still a lot of things waiting for him to deal with in the territory, if he doesn't come home on time as agreed this time, the little guy will go berserk.

So, during their walk after dinner that day, Li Cheng gazed at the gentle and lovely Lavoisier beside him. The setting sun shone on her impossibly beautiful profile, making it seem as if it were bathed in a holy glow.

Lavoisier noticed Li Cheng's gaze, turned to him, and smiled: "Is there something you need?"

Li Cheng remained silent, and Lavoisier didn't ask any more questions. The two maintained this CG-like, beautiful scene for several minutes before he finally broke the silence:

"Let's go back and pack our bags. We're leaving tomorrow."

Chapter 227 Learning from the Ox's Strengths to Control the Ox

This was something that had been agreed upon beforehand. Although Li Cheng also wanted to rent a house in Lincoln City for Lavoisier to live in, he decided to let the two meet first.

Lavoisier nodded slightly, then said, "Actually, even if you hadn't brought it up, I was planning to bring it up today anyway."

"why?"

Li Cheng was startled, thinking that Lavoisier was about to launch a tense standoff.

“Because I was very curious about what kind of person Newton was,” Lavoisier said.

"That scared me to death..." Li Cheng breathed a sigh of relief: "No need for that. If you want to know, I can tell you."

“It’s very necessary—if you have a girl you like, and she doesn’t dislike you, but she rejects you because of another guy,” Lavoisier said quietly, “wouldn’t you be curious about who that guy is and want to meet him in person?”

Li Cheng thought about it. Although he would probably curse that bastard in his heart, he was indeed curious about that person and wanted to see what the other person was better at than him.

At the very least, I have to see if he's more handsome than me.

Li Cheng nodded honestly: "I'm curious."

“Right,” Lavoisier smiled. “That’s why I really want to meet Newton and find out what kind of perfect woman you like so much—is she stunningly beautiful? Gentle and considerate? A skilled communicator? Eloquent?”

"Then you might be disappointed."

Li Cheng couldn't help but smile as he recalled the little bean sprout's daily behavior: "Newton is not a perfect woman. In terms of appearance, she is the cute type, with an average figure that can't compare to you at all; her personality is not only not gentle, but also willful and prone to tantrums; in terms of communication, she doesn't even like to leave the house, and she is very particular about the topic of her height."

Even as he went on and on about Newton's shortcomings, Lavoisier gave a wry smile.

too difficult.

Love usually begins with the other person's strengths, attracted by their excellent qualities such as beauty, knowledge, or witty conversation. However, whether the relationship can last depends largely on whether one can tolerate and accept the other person's weaknesses.

No one is perfect; everyone has flaws. Newton had flaws, Li Cheng had flaws, and Lavoisier certainly did too.

Being able to openly display one's flaws to the other person without reservation, while thoroughly understanding their strengths, is something only two people who can stay together for a long time can do, and it also means that their relationship is unlikely to change over time.

Why do many newlywed couples who seem to be in love break up?

It wasn't until they started living together after marriage that all the shortcomings and flaws that both parties had tried so hard to hide during their courtship were completely exposed and could no longer be concealed, leading to a discrepancy between their outward appearance and their pre-marital image, which in turn caused them to accumulate disappointment.