Being watched by him, Yun Li didn’t seem as confident demonstrating, “Pick off the head, then divide it into several pieces of appropriate length.”

Fu Shizhe mimicked Yun Li’s actions and asked, “Is this right?”

Seeing Yun Li nod, he nestled into the sofa, placed the vegetable basket on his lap, and began to pick the vegetables slowly.

The heating was on in the house, and after a while, he seemed to feel a bit warm, straightened up, and took off his jacket, looking for a place to put it.

Upon seeing this, Yun Li stood up, “Let me find a place for it.”

Fu Shizhe hummed in acknowledgment, continuing to focus on his task.

There was no spare space in the living room, so Yun Li took the jacket to the room and found a hanger for it.

It was the trench coat from last time. Yun Li moved closer, the faint smell of tobacco and citrus on it, probably from the laundry detergent.

Just about to hang it at the door, Yun Li thought better of it and stacked her coat on top of Fu Shizhe’s.

It was as if, from the very beginning, they were meant to be together.

The pot was also boiling now, and several people gathered around the table.

Fu Zhengchu popped open a bottle of sparkling wine, pouring a glass for both Deng Chuqi and himself. Fu Shizhe and Xia Congsheng had to drive, and Yun Li had a cold, so none of them could drink.

Fu Zhengchu said, “Uncle, look at this gift you’ve brought.”

Yun Li smiled, “It also serves as my way of hosting you guys.”

“Li Li, I was just looking at your kitchen, and you seem to have every cooking utensil there is,” Xia Congsheng said while eating, “A hot oil pan, a frying pan, even a thick omelet pan.”

Yun Li responded, “A food blogger has to have everything, but some were also bought before, which I had my mom send over.”

Fu Zhengchu asked, “Then why did you want to become a food blogger, Li Li? You’re pretty and seem like you could be a beauty blogger too.”

Yun Li thought for a moment, “Actually, I’m quite clumsy, so I keep doing things over and over until I feel it’s perfect.” She then added somewhat shyly, “Later, my brother suggested that since I make it look so good, I might as well record videos and post them online.”

She looked at Fu Shizhe, “If you guys want to learn how to pick vegetables, I’ve also made a video about that.”

“…”

Considering Yun Li was under the weather, they didn’t let her clean up after the meal. Deng Chuqi and Xia Congsheng tidied up the table a bit and left the dishes by the sink for the uncle and nephew to wash.

Fu Shizhe walked to the kitchen, and Fu Zhengchu followed, placing a hand on Fu Shizhe’s shoulder, “Uncle, they’ve left us two to wash the dishes together.”

“It makes it seem, seem,” Fu Zhengchu paused, dizzily adding, “like we’re a loving couple.”

Fu Shizhe: “…”

The three in the living room: “???”

Deng Chuqi sighed, “Xia Xia, your brother seems drunk.” She picked up the empty bottle of sparkling wine and said, “This wine is 14 degrees. I didn’t even notice.”

Xia Congsheng: “…”

Worried Fu Zhengchu might hurt himself, Yun Li went to the kitchen to call him out, “Fu Zhengchu, why don’t you come sit in the living room for a bit?”

Fu Zhengchu refused without a second thought, “No, I want to wash the dishes with Uncle.”

Yun Li helplessly said, “Uncle’s not washing anymore, you should come out with him.”

Fu Zhengchu insisted on staying in the kitchen, “Uncle’s not washing dishes anymore, leaving me all by myself. Uncle’s unreliable.”

“…”

Xia Congsheng couldn’t stand it anymore, “Uncle, help me get him out.”

Fu Zhengchu protested, “Why are you forcing me!” Though somewhat drunk, his actions weren’t forceful. He was half-pushed, half-pulled out of the kitchen.

Deng Chuqi said, “You guys watch him, I’ll go wash the dishes.”

Yun Li quickly said, “No need, just leave them there.”

Deng Chuqi pouted, “What are you saying? You expect to do it yourself?”

While they were still talking, they didn’t notice Fu Zhengchu sneak back into the kitchen, starting to ramble to Fu Shizhe, “Uncle, two of my girlfriends broke up with me after meeting you.”

Fu Shizhe: “…”

After a night of drinking, things finally reached a climactic point. Deng Chuqi, having had a few drinks herself, didn’t pay much attention to Yun Li and went straight to the kitchen door: “Did your Uncle steal your girlfriend?”

“Not exactly, they said,” Fu Zhengchu seemed a bit melancholic, “they were afraid they weren’t strong enough and might give in later on.”

“…”

“Without self-awareness, Uncle wouldn’t like them.”

“…”

Noticing Yun Li’s gaze, Fu Zhengchu continued, “Don’t you believe me? You can ask Uncle. Uncle, tell us, do you like,” Fu Zhengchu’s thoughts were a bit scrambled, “men?”

Fu Shizhe seemed to have gotten used to this, his tone indifferent: “Find somewhere to lie down.”

Fu Zhengchu persisted: “First tell me, do you like women or men?”

Fu Shizhe, busy washing dishes, ignored him.

The alcohol was taking its toll, and Fu Shizhe had no intention of indulging him. Until the others left, Fu Zhengchu kept counting the number of girls from their school days who had a crush on Fu Shizhe, and then started counting Fu Shizhe’s trophies.

Before leaving, Yun Li took Fu Shizhe’s coat out for him, and he casually put it on.

“Li Li, I’m saying, you look good.” Before he could put on his clothes properly, Fu Shizhe directly grabbed Fu Zhengchu, who was lunging towards Yun Li, and dragged him outside.

After getting Fu Zhengchu out the door, he still tried to talk to Yun Li through the door crack. Fu Shizhe blocked him, only half of his face visible through the gap, his hair messed up by Fu Zhengchu’s grabbing.

His eyelids drooping, he softly said: “Get well soon.”

Then he closed the door.

After they left, the house became much quieter. While brushing her teeth, Yun Li took out her phone, opened her chat with Fu Shizhe, and typed, “Did you guys get home okay?”

After a moment’s thought, she deleted the message.

Never mind.

The next day, the package from Yang Fang arrived. The courier had sealed it tightly, and it took Yun Li some time with an art knife to open it successfully. The robot and the envelope were wrapped in several layers of old newspapers.

It had been nearly two months since she last went home.

Thinking of her mother, Yang Fang, who probably packed it with great care to avoid any damage that might upset her, Yun Li felt she shouldn’t stay away from home in a huff for so long.

It took her a while, but Yun Li made a video of her refurbishing and repairing the robot. For some reason, the video got recommended and hit a million views on the same day.

Repairing the robot wasn’t particularly difficult; it just needed a part replaced. Yet, she was especially proud of it, trying it out in her room. It had been so long that Yun Li was a bit rusty at controlling it.

She took it to the grass downstairs and set up the camera to start controlling it with the remote.

The robot moved shakily, like a cumbersome hippo, tipping over this way and that.

In less than three seconds.

A white figure sprinted over.

In the blink of an eye, it snatched the soccer ball in front of the robot.

The robot also toppled over as a result.

The video ended with Yun Li chasing the dog to get the ball back, with the robot in front of the camera still flailing about, seemingly trying to get up.

The ball was retrieved, but Yun Li looked quite disheveled.

Although Yun Li tagged the video as a technology and crafts video, everyone unanimously considered it a comedy.

When Deng Chuqi visited her over the weekend and saw the video, her first reaction was: “Li Li, this robot kind of resembles you.”

There might be some truth in the saying that pets resemble their owners. After watching the robot for a while, Yun Li developed a special affection for it.

“Hey, did you see Xia Congsheng’s Moments? They seem to have a family gathering today.” Deng Chuqi shouted from the balcony, “Their family is super…”

Yun Li waited for the next part.

“Super freaking crowded.”

“…”

Yun Li opened her Moments and saw Xia Congsheng’s post, which wasn’t long ago, featuring a large group photo.

The photo included more than twenty people against a plain matte wall background, all dressed in formal attire. Fu Shizhe stood in the middle, wearing a tie, his shoulders fitting perfectly, staring at the camera. Two middle-aged men and women seated in front of him bore some resemblance to his features.

Xia Congsheng’s caption read: This year, my great-aunt said she wanted her birthday to be fancy.

Seeing the seating arrangement, it must have been Fu Shizhe’s mother’s birthday tonight.

Yun Li: “This dinner looks so serious.”

Deng Chuqi said, “Xiaxia mentioned to me that Fu Shizhe’s parents are both professors at XiFu Sci-Tech University. They seem more like they’re in their twenties than Fu Shizhe does, always up for fun.”

“…”

Seeing Yun Li still staring at the photo, she said with a grin, “A family of scholars. After getting married, both your father-in-law and mother-in-law would be reasonable people. Think about it seriously.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Yun Li glanced at her and hesitated for a long time before zooming in on the photo.

“See this girl next to him, isn’t she a bit too close to Xiaxia’s Uncle?”

In the photo, Xu QingSong stood to the left of Fu Shizhe, and a long-haired girl stood on the right, her arm touching Fu Shizhe’s.

After a closer look, Deng Chuqi recognized the person in the photo: “Xiaxia has posted her several times before. They practiced piano together; she was Fu Shizhe’s niece. Don’t overthink it. Xiaxia said her Uncle is very proper, and usually hangs out with boys.”

“Hang out with boys?”

Yun Li repeated, feeling that wasn’t a good sign either.

“I’ve met this Lin WanYin too, tall and thin, speaks like she hasn’t eaten.” It was clear Deng Chuqi didn’t think highly of the girl and didn’t want to continue the topic.

The name directly hit a sensitive spot for Yun Li.

She always remembered that name, and also the over a hundred unread messages.

She couldn’t help saying, “Last time, I accidentally saw Xiaxia’s Uncle’s phone. She sent him over a hundred messages.”

Deng Chuqi didn’t understand: “Who sent who?”

“Lin WanYin sent them to Xiaxia’s Uncle, but they were all unread…”

“Then you should be even more relieved. Look, Xiaxia’s Uncle isn’t even interested in reading her messages.”

“…”

Deng Chuqi raised an eyebrow, impatient with Yun Li’s dawdling, and bluntly said, “Li Li, last weekend when I came to take care of you, you told me you wanted to have children with Fu Shizhe.”

Yun Li: “…”

Her face flushed with shock: “How could that be!”

“Don’t you like Xiaxia’s Uncle? If you don’t, maybe Xiaxia’s Uncle will end up having children with Lin WanYin.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Li almost stood up: “That can’t happen, that would be incest!”

Deng Chuqi was speechless: “Then there’s Lin WanYin who sent over a hundred messages, maybe even tens of thousands before. Check your phone, how many have you sent?”