It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

?

Can we not bring that up again?

Li Cheng was filled with regret. If he hadn't just woken up and been a little groggy, he wouldn't have forgotten that Louise had appeared in the house.

In short, Louise's pure heart must never be tainted...

He paused for a moment, then straightened his face, revealing a very serious expression: "Louise, what you saw this morning was all a misunderstanding. For your own well-being, you'd better forget about it as soon as possible..."

Li Cheng wasn't lying, because Louise was no longer a five or six-year-old girl; she had simply been overprotected and lacked some common-sense understanding of the world.

"Hmm?" Louise blinked.

"Hmm (↗) Hmph (↘)." Li Cheng shook his head.

Louise's dark eyes darted around for a moment.

My brother seems reluctant to tell me. Oh well, I'll ask Dad when we get home. He'll definitely know.

So she obediently nodded and said, "Okay."

Li Cheng nodded with great satisfaction.

......

I arrived home just in time for lunch. Today's lunch is pan-fried trout. The snow-white fish meat turned into an enticing light yellow after being pan-fried in olive oil, and at the same time, it exuded the aroma of the fish's rich unsaturated fats.

Paired with a glass of fine wine aged for many years (a special for adults, Li Cheng; lemonade for Newton and Louise), it makes for a simple yet enjoyable lunch.

Newton, drawn out of his reverie by the aroma of fried trout wafting through the house, leisurely emerged from his room to eat.

However, unlike usual, since it wasn't Li Cheng who made Newton despondent this time, she didn't intend for everything to go unpunished. Instead, she kept staring at Louise with ill intent, as if she were an evil doctor examining some kind of experimental material.

"Well......"

Finally, Louise could no longer bear Newton's harassing gaze. With a frightened whimper like a startled rabbit, she moved from her seat to behind Li Cheng, where she now felt the safest place.

What do you want to do?

Upon seeing this, the righteous messenger Li Cheng put down his tin cup; the still, deep red surface of the water mirrored his upholding of justice.

"I am angry."

Dr. Newton, not to be outdone, raised her fork, the gleaming silver tip reflecting her unwavering determination.

“But that’s not Louise’s fault, why are you glaring at her?”

The righteous Li Cheng, adopting the stance of an elder brother, declared with a heroic tone, "If you have a problem, come at me! Don't scare Louise!"

"elder brother......"

Louise was moved to tears, wiping her eyes while secretly watching Newton's reaction.

Stupid Li Cheng! Wicked Li Cheng! I was being magnanimous this time and didn't intend to cause him any trouble, yet he still went against me!

On Dr. Newton's side, seeing that Li Cheng actually spoke up for Louise, he was furious. He wished he could rush up and kill Li Cheng like a trout, so that the other party would know that Dr. Newton was not someone to be trifled with.

Unfortunately, evil is no match for justice for the time being, so Newton can only grit his teeth and glare at Li Cheng, trying to kill him with his focused gaze.

However, after glaring at Li Cheng for a while, she seemed to remember something, and turned her azure eyes to Louise, as if to say fiercely, "And you, don't think that hiding behind this idiot will work!"

Chapter Seventy-Four made a decision

After lunch.

Although Newton returned to a state of mind as if nothing had happened after that threatening stare, Louise was left with psychological trauma.

For safety, she followed Li Cheng almost step by step, like a little red tail.

Li Cheng felt this wasn't a solution. At the same time, he remembered that he had forgotten to explain Louise's background to Newton yesterday. He thought that perhaps he could resolve both issues at once, since Newton was a reasonable person... well, maybe.

"Louise, go find Freya and play first."

So he left the nervous Louise to Freya, who was tending to the flowers in the yard, and went straight to the study on the second floor.

Knock knock knock—

"Come in."

Newton's somewhat arrogant voice came from inside the door.

So Li Cheng pushed open the study door and saw Newton sitting behind a light-colored wooden desk specially made for her height, engrossed in reading Bette's "Mysteries of Nature and Art," with a small black booklet serving as a notebook beside her.

—Ever since her casually jotted-down, cringeworthy quotes were read aloud, she developed the good habit of using a notebook.

Upon seeing Li Cheng enter, a hint of displeasure flashed in Newton's azure eyes: "What are you doing here? Do you know you're disturbing my reading?"

She still harbored resentment about what had happened before.

Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he said to himself, "I told you in detail about Louise's background, but I forgot about it yesterday."

Then he stepped forward, stood in front of Newton's small wooden table, and recounted everything that had happened the day before, except for the part about Veronica.

"Um......"

After listening attentively, Newton pondered for a moment, then suddenly blurted out a startling question: "Li Cheng, have you taken a liking to Louise? Do you want to do something very perverted to her?"

???

Li Cheng was shocked: "Louise is only 14 years old!"

"I'm only 16 years old too."

Newton, who usually considers himself an adult, seemed completely unconcerned at this moment, using his own age as evidence: "That little girl named Louise is only two years younger than me, which is enough to show that you would have perverted thoughts about women much younger than you."

Why are you saying it's like I did some really weird thing to you...? Li Cheng completely forgot about secretly pinching Newton's foot last night. He said speechlessly, "Can't you think straight for once?"

"You're the one with abnormal thinking."

Newton raised his eyebrows and analyzed logically, "Would a normal person do something that would offend a nobleman just because of a strange little girl's capricious request? I think you are clearly a pervert who has shameless thoughts about Louise!"

"Damn, that analysis makes so much sense. No wonder she's Miss Newton who lives at 221 Baker Street..." Li Cheng looked shocked, then struggled to explain, "I'm really not a pervert, I have my reasons."

Newton pressed further: "What's the reason?"

Hmm, what reason should I come up with... Li Cheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "I have no choice but to tell you. Actually, this was something Princess Veronica secretly ordered me to do."

Newton not only didn't believe it, but instead gave it a disdainful look and said, "Li Cheng, do you think I'm an idiot?"

"..."

Seeing this, Li Cheng could only sigh: "Okay, I was just kidding you, but the real reason is not something you should hear."

"Is there anything I shouldn't hear?"

Newton scoffed, "Are you suggesting that you didn't tell me for my own good?"

As she spoke, she proudly raised her small golden head, revealing her swan-like, smooth, white neck: "Li Cheng, let me tell you, I am already an adult, and I am also the youngest graduate of Cambridge University, the discoverer of universal gravitation, and even the Royal Society of London has considered nominating me as a fellow."

"Nothing needs to be decided by others for me!"

Coupled with that series of explanations, Li Cheng felt that Newton's statement was particularly convincing at this moment.

Yes, although Newton was only 16 years old, although she often got angry when people called her a child, although she always said one thing but meant another, although she often did very childish things... um, that doesn't seem very convincing all of a sudden...

In short, unlike Louise, she was already an adult capable of handling many things.

He suddenly fell into thought.

Originally, Li Cheng didn't want to tell Newton about Veronica in detail, as he felt that Newton should focus on his academic work.

He also never intended to bother Newton with business matters, even though Newton was also a very good businessman, or at least a very good accountant and financial analyst.

But now it seems that Li Cheng was too presumptuous. He made the same mistake he once told Louise, which was to say "it's for your own good."

So, from Newton's perspective, what exactly constitutes happiness?

Anyway, it's definitely not that he kept everything from her.

Perhaps if Newton's mother had told him, "I married that old man who is about to die so that I could leave you a large inheritance in the future," Newton might not have hated his mother—as for whether that would have led him astray, let's leave that aside for now.

"sorry."

Having figured things out, Li Cheng sincerely apologized, saying, "I've kept many things from you, and I want to tell you everything."

"?!"

Newton was startled. She hurriedly reached out and pressed her hand to Li Cheng's forehead, asking worriedly, "Are you alright? If you're not feeling well, I'll have Freya call a doctor to come over."

???

Putting aside why you think I'm sick, are you trying to kill me by hiring doctors in this day and age?!

Did you know that in his past life, Charles II was killed by a group of quack doctors who used sausage-making methods? It was originally just a minor stroke, but they managed to kill him with a whole bunch of enemas, stomach pumping, bloodletting, spices, and hot compresses!

Li Cheng, his face darkening, slapped Newton's hand away and said, "Is it strange that I apologize?"

“Very strange.”

Newton nodded very seriously: "Because you are a liar and a pervert who spanks people at the drop of a hat, and you never apologize."

"Very well, so this is how you see me..." Li Cheng's lips twitched: "Okay, that was my fault. Let's not talk about the past. Now, let me tell you why... Well, this matter has to start with Hope."

------

at the same time.

Veronica, who had been busy for an extra half day because of Anderson's matter, was finally able to get a moment's rest.

She sat at her desk, dressed in a light, sheer nightgown, closed her eyes, listened to the cicadas chirping outside, and quietly enjoyed the rare tranquility.

Just then, she seemed to remember something, opened her eyes, and then picked up a black book from the table.

The Great Eastern Expedition

This is another book that Li Cheng sent to Veronique along with his letter.

Because the previously sent novel, "Domineering Love," with its provocative title and content, received no response whatsoever, Li Cheng suspected it might be due to the content not suiting Veronica's taste. Therefore, he prepared a completely different novel.

His thought process at the time was as follows.

[At first, I thought Veronica, with her domineering CEO vibe, would definitely like this style, but I was wrong.]

[But think about it carefully, what's the most common color used by macho men? Pink! So isn't it perfectly reasonable for Veronica, known as the Iron Princess, to yearn for a prince charming and a romantic love story?]

With this in mind, Li Cheng produced the book "The Great Eastern Expedition".

The story is a fantasy novel, and the main plot revolves around a powerful knight of the wrath who falls in love with a commoner girl and refuses to accept the Pope's call to join the Crusades.