It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

However, the situation on the European continent was also turbulent at this time. Louis XIV was still young, and the Bourbon dynasty was nominally ruled by the Queen Regent, but the actual power of the country was firmly in the hands of Louis XIV's godfather, who also served as prime minister—incidentally, he was also the Queen's lover.

Although the young Louis XIV lacked the ambition of Emperor Kangxi, and Mazarin was not as foolish as Oboi, Mazarin's autocratic rule still aroused dissatisfaction among the nobility and the people.

They were particularly outraged by Mazarin's relentless pursuit of victory in the war, including using state revenue and taxes to advance funds to financiers. This practice greatly harmed their interests while allowing the financiers to make huge profits.

And so the civil war broke out.

This protracted war not only caused internal turmoil and chaos, but also shook France's fundamental strength and attracted foreign covetousness.

The entire territory was plagued by war and famine. Everywhere were displaced people who could not survive, as well as numerous armed gangs that were soldiers in name only but were actually bandits.

In such an environment, it's difficult for anyone to guarantee their own safety, and Isaac Newton was no exception.

Despite his intelligence and skill in disguising himself, a chance act of charity led to him being betrayed by the vagrants, resulting in him losing all his money and identification documents, and joining the ranks of the vagrants he had once sympathized with.

Even among the refugees, Isaac Newton's charisma remained striking, making him stand out starkly from the hopeless crowd around him.

This sense of being out of place helped him. A young man named Albert Lee, who happened to be passing by, noticed this oddball. After learning that the man was a stranger who had been robbed because of his kindness, he sympathetically and warmly invited him to be his guest.

The two spent the next period of time happily, sharing their insights and perspectives on the world with each other, and engaging in pleasant conversation.

As he left, Isaac Newton, reluctant to part, pointed to his newborn friend Abel Lee and swore an oath:

"I have nothing to repay you with, but I swear that if I have a daughter in the future, I will marry her into your family so that our families can be on good terms."

Chapter Four Must Be Criticized

The story of the two men is now finished.

Li Cheng silently looked at the other party, hoping to gain Newton's trust.

However, Newton wasn't entirely off guard; the story was simply too bizarre. Even though there weren't countless online novels in this era, she still felt something was amiss.

Newton frowned and asked, "Is everything you're saying... true?"

Li Cheng shook his head and said, "Why would I need to lie to you?"

Seeing that Newton remained skeptical, Li Cheng realized he needed to make a bold move to gain his trust.

He stood up, giving Newton complete freedom, and then, under the other's bewildered gaze, he said, "Sorry to bother you, just pretend I was never here."

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and left.

This is supposed to be a reliable strategy from the information-saturated 21st century... Li Cheng's actions appeared calm and collected on the surface, but inside he was panicking.

Fortunately, Li Cheng succeeded. The young and naive Newton was dispelled by his bold actions and believed what he had said before.

"Wait a moment."

Newton spoke as he watched Li Cheng's retreating figure.

"what's up?"

Li Cheng didn't stop; he felt he still needed more practice.

“I said stop! And I believed you!”

Newton shouted.

Li Cheng then stopped, turned around, and silently looked at the other person.

“Listen carefully, just like you said, I have no responsibility or obligation for what you’re talking about.”

Newton slowly got up from the ground: "But your family did help my father out of personal feelings, not because of that... promise. In short, I'm simply very grateful and intend to help you. Do you understand?"

...Is this an attempt to save face?

Li Cheng nodded and said, "Understood."

"Good that you understand."

Newton crossed his arms and nodded, saying, "For this reason, I'll let bygones be bygones. However, I still need to test you first. You can stay here until then."

Hmm? An assessment? What kind of assessment?

My fabricated identity is so blatantly fake that it's impossible to find out anything.

"What kind of assessment?"

Li Cheng asked directly.

“A comprehensive assessment.” Newton raised his fair chin and said in a proud tone, “Since you really want to be my fiancé, you must meet the corresponding conditions.”

fiancé? !

???

Please, I just wanted to freeload off my savior, who the hell wants to be the British version of me? Besides, weren't you just resistant and acting like you'd rather die than comply? How come you changed your mind all of a sudden?

Unaware of Li Cheng's ever-changing expression, Newton was engrossed in his own world.

Which young man is not prone to falling in love, and which young woman is not prone to yearning for spring?

This quote from Goethe's novel reflects the sentiments of young men and women in feudal times and propelled him to international literary fame.

Meanwhile, Miss Newton was trying to fit the image she had imagined onto Li Cheng.

[First, he absolutely has to be tall and handsome... he barely meets my requirements. However, his clothes are too tattered, full of holes; he'll look much better after changing.]

[One must be knowledgeable... Being able to conceive of universal gravitation shows considerable intelligence; in this respect, they pass.]

[A title is also necessary... I'll have to figure that out myself. Donating some money should be enough to get me a baronial title, just barely enough.]

[His personality... is too awful and frivolous! He must be corrected! Just now, he actually... he spanked me! Is that a place you can just touch like that? Even if he really is my fiancé, he shouldn't be so casual!]

Looking at Miss Newton, who was sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding, sometimes gritting her teeth, and sometimes inexplicably grinning, Li Cheng felt uneasy. He had no idea what she was thinking and was very worried that he had given himself away.

No, we can't go on like this, we're too passive... Li Cheng patted his stomach and interrupted, "Um, is there anything to eat? I'm a little hungry."

[All you do is eat, points deducted.]

Miss Newton gave Li Cheng a disapproving look, which made Li Cheng even more uneasy.

However, Miss Newton then thought of Li Cheng's tattered trousers (referring to jeans), the Channel separating France and England, and how he had nowhere else to go yet still insisted on finding her, surely hoping for help along the way...

Miss Newton, who had automatically imagined a major drama unfolding in her mind, stepped forward and took Li Cheng's hand, trying her best to show a gentle and caring attitude. Unfortunately, her heart was not broad enough and she lacked persuasiveness.

She said, "The journey must have been tough, you must be starving."

Li Cheng, who was completely bewildered: "?"

------

Newton's house was located in the center of the estate; it was a stone castle that was neither too tall nor too short.

Inside the castle, in a hall that was neither too big nor too small, there was a long black wooden table that was neither too long nor too short. Since it was dinner time, several dishes were laid out on the table: cold duck, hot potato soup, and white bread.

Newton and Li Cheng sat facing each other on either side of a long table, with maids standing beside them waiting for instructions.

Faced with this situation, Li Cheng rested his chin on his hand, lost in deep confusion.

Dude, this isn't right. I remember Newton was at most a middle peasant in history, but why does he look so much like the evil landlord class... No wonder he was so hard to fool earlier, he was worried I was trying to scam him out of money and feelings!

Rumble—a sound came from my stomach.

Li Cheng temporarily put his doubts aside and began to eat his dinner.

Lacking seasoning, the cold duck meat was completely tasteless, even having a faint bloody smell. The potato soup had a rough and strange texture, more like a lump of paste than potato soup. The white bread, which Li Cheng had initially given up hope on, actually had a subtle, pleasant aroma despite some of the crust not being properly removed.

The taste wasn't particularly good or bad, but Li Cheng was hungry and didn't care, so he started chewing the food in large bites.

If Newton were a proper aristocrat, he would certainly have been criticized for 'lacking dining etiquette'. Fortunately, Miss Newton's eating habits were exactly the same as Li Cheng's...

"Miss, the hot water is ready."

Halfway through dinner, a maid hurried into the hall.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Besides, I haven't finished eating yet."

Newton put down his bread and said to Li Cheng, who was leisurely drinking digestive tea, "Hot water shouldn't be wasted. Since you're so free, go take a shower first."

Although he really wanted to say that you shouldn't shower half an hour after a meal, Li Cheng held back... As the saying goes, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Once I, Li Cheng, find the opportunity to be financially independent, you little flat-chested thing will suffer. Put it on the tab for now.

Li Cheng slowly stood up.

"Oh, right."

Remembering something, Newton said to Li Cheng, "After you've washed up, come wait in my room."

???

Li Cheng's eyes widened, and he twisted his body, almost twisting his ankle.

Holy crap, this is moving way too fast! She's already telling me to get all clean and wait for her. Or... or does this mean she's also testing me in that area?! The customs of this world are so wicked! So shameless! They absolutely have to be criticized...

Chapter 5 might be the battle wheel.

With excitement, Li Cheng quickly finished his bath and, guided by the maid, found Newton's boudoir.

Although it was supposed to be a boudoir, the room contained only some simple furniture and decorations. The only thing that could be considered valuable was the bookshelf in the corner. If no one had told him, Li Cheng might have even thought it was a guest room for him.

There are some books on the bookshelf, not many, mainly in mathematics and astronomy.

Next to the wardrobe was a full-length mirror. Li Cheng walked to the mirror, and his reflection appeared in it—he was a tall and handsome young man with long, fiery red hair. His facial features had some Asian characteristics, but his deeper cheekbones also gave his features a European three-dimensionality.

Li Cheng guessed that this body was a gift from that man with a perverse sense of humor, created by modifying his appearance from his previous life.

He's barely half as handsome as I was in my past life, but why is he red-haired? Shouldn't the standard for protagonists be blonde...? Li Cheng looked in the mirror, pondering the deeper meaning behind his red hair.

But then he shifted his focus and began to think about the future, with both worries and expectations.

“Lies can only last for a while, and they will be exposed sooner or later,” he muttered. “What I need to do is to show enough benefits before I am exposed, so that even if I am exposed, it will be much easier to find excuses. At worst, I can just break off relations.”

As for how to obtain the benefits... Li Cheng tapped his forehead, which contained a head full of "cheat codes" from nine years of compulsory education. The knowledge within, spanning several eras, was enough to enable him to accomplish great things; the only questions were when and how to use it.

[By the way, the more exciting the performance, the better; there's an extra reward.]

Li Cheng had the last joke from that quirky man deeply etched in his mind, but he couldn't think of a good solution.

"Forget it, let's not think about that for now." Li Cheng put those thoughts out of his mind. "What's important now is to criticize this vulgar custom of making men wash themselves clean while waiting. It must be severely criticized!"

The eagerly awaiting moment...

Because he was extremely bored, Li Cheng pulled out a black-covered book, "Speculations on the Sun and Moon," from the bookshelf and began to read it. He was grateful to that quirky genius for providing the all-powerful translation, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to understand it. He probably wouldn't have been able to understand it even if he had a high level of English proficiency, because it was actually written in Old English.

Li Cheng originally intended to read this book casually for entertainment, but he unexpectedly discovered something interesting.

Newton was a diligent and studious person, but she was clearly not very careful about protecting her books. This book is covered with her scribbles—some of which are reading notes, but others are just random ramblings.