Although gnawing on books is a painful thing, it's the algorithm that Cheng Jinyang has been longing to learn.
Therefore, he decided to spend the whole weekend studying, not wasting a single second.
Then Xing Yuanzhi's ordered takeaway arrived. Smelling the aroma of the food, Cheng Jinyang started to hesitate again.
Well, mealtime doesn't count as wasting time, so he decided to eat first.
Putting the packaged bags on the dining table, he opened them. Four dishes and one soup, two meat and two vegetable dishes, dry pot cauliflower, shredded cucumber with scrambled eggs, stir-fried beef with pointed pepper, chicken stir-fried with seaweed egg drop soup. The appearance and fragrance were indeed enticing, making one's appetite soar.
Cheng Jinyang silently noted Xing Yuanzhi's dietary preferences, then saw her coming out of the kitchen with two bowls and four pairs of chopsticks.
"Public chopsticks," Xing Yuanzhi said.
Cheng Jinyang: ...
The so-called public chopsticks meant that he would use the public chopsticks to pick up the dishes into his own bowl first, then use his private chopsticks to eat from his bowl.
It sounds like a reasonable thing to do, after all, public chopsticks can prevent everyone from tasting each other's saliva in the dishes.
However, if you actually try it, you'll find it incredibly troublesome. Either you keep switching the chopsticks in your hand, putting them down and picking them up again, or you use the public chopsticks to transfer all the dishes into your own bowl beforehand, but then you can't "eat as you pick" anymore.
It goes without saying that for the past decade, Cheng Jinyang has always dined alone. This time, suddenly sharing a meal with a beautiful and eccentric girl from a prominent family made it difficult for him to eat.
Xing Yuanzhi ignored his unease and dined gracefully. However, as she didn't have a big appetite, she stopped after eating half a bowl of rice and said, "I'm full, help yourself."
Only then did Cheng Jinyang smile and start to pick up food directly.
Xing Yuanzhi poured out the leftover rice, washed the bowl, wiped the table clean with a disposable cloth, then sat beside him, watching him eat.
Cheng Jinyang felt uncomfortable under her gaze and quickly finished his meal, asking, "Why are you staring at me?"
Xing Yuanzhi actually wondered why this guy's bloodline could reach Ninth Grade, but of course, she wouldn't say that directly at the moment. She just smiled faintly and said, "I'm thinking about why the Cheng family of Shendu would consistently neglect you."
"Why?" Cheng Jinyang asked.
"Probably to set an example," Xing Yuanzhi replied.
"Hmm." Cheng Jinyang thought to himself, 'I've indeed been made miserable by that cheap old man.'
"You go and study the basics of the Iron Shooting Technique from that book on computational methods first. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I'll take you to our Xing family's laboratory to see if we can help you master your abilities as soon as possible," Xing Yuanzhi continued.
"Oh? Alright!" Cheng Jinyang nodded eagerly, "Thank you."
So Xing Yuanzhi took a shower and went for a nap. Cheng Jinyang finished his lunch, tidied up the scattered trash on the table, packed it up, and placed it outside the door. He then lay on the sofa to continue reading, feeling drowsy as the noon sunlight streamed in through the balcony, reminding him of how he had been frightened by A'zhi last night and had not slept well. Now, his eyelids began to feel heavy.
Scream, burn, cry.
Cheng Jinyang suddenly opened his eyes in the dream and immediately rolled out of his initial position instinctively. The direction of his roll was randomly chosen because he didn't have time to observe his surroundings—this was the result of numerous painful lessons in the past.
As he rolled out, he felt like he hit something, with a soft touch, carrying a slight warmth, more like... flesh.
Cheng Jinyang instantly stabilized himself and threw a punch at the other person, taking advantage of the recoil to step back. The other person, caught off guard, let out a painful scream when punched.
"A'zhi?" Cheng Jinyang stepped back and stood up, only to realize that the person he collided with and punched in his dream was actually Xing Yuanzhi.
"Cheng Jinyang!" Xing Yuanzhi saw his face clearly and her eyes immediately turned red. It was indeed you who infiltrated my dreams that night!
She quickly rushed towards Cheng Jinyang, reaching out to grab his wrist, using evident martial arts techniques. Cheng Jinyang dodged and grabbed her back. His martial arts skills were self-taught from the internet, not as sophisticated as Xing Yuanzhi's, but he had rich combat experience and decisive moves. Surprisingly, he took the initiative and seized her delicate wrist first.
The sudden restraint on the wrist made Xing Yuanzhi immediately turn around, using her shoulder to support his arm, executing a swift shoulder throw.
Light Body Technique, Hongyu!
Cheng Jinyang's weight suddenly decreased dramatically, causing him to lose balance, easily pulled off balance by Xing Yuanzhi, and then sent spinning in the air.
Falling heavily on his back, he endured the intense pain, bracing his left hand on the ground. With a sudden twist and shake of his arm, he broke free from her grasp and flipped over, delivering a swift sweeping leg kick, knocking Xing Yuanzhi down as well.
Losing her balance, Xing Yuanzhi lunged forward, but even as she fell, she managed to raise her elbow, intending to strike him with her body weight.
Heavy Body Technique, Ding Zhui!
Cheng Jinyang pretended to support her elbow with his right hand but then forcefully pushed it outward.
However, he couldn't push her away because Xing Yuanzhi had increased her weight again. Fortunately, Cheng Jinyang reacted quickly, using the resistance to his advantage and pushing himself outward to evade her elbow strike.
With the sudden increase in weight, Xing Yuanzhi's elbow strike would have easily caused the floor to collapse. If it had landed on Cheng Jinyang's chest, who knows how many ribs would have been broken.
Seeing that his opponent was not holding back at all, Cheng Jinyang also hardened his resolve. Pushing himself up with both hands, he quickly moved to the wall, reaching behind the window sill to retrieve a pistol.
He had traversed countless dream levels constructed in the home of his childhood sweetheart, Su Lili, so he was very familiar with the environment. Soon, more demons would break in, and if he didn't deal with Xing Yuanzhi and leave quickly, he would have to fight demons in this narrow environment, which posed too great a risk.
Cheng Jinyang quickly raised his gun, aiming at Xing Yuanzhi's chest, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger. Several bullets were fired, piercing through her chest and lung before she could activate her ability to reduce the weight of the bullets. Xing Yuanzhi groaned in pain, then collapsed to the ground, her legs giving way, followed by her upper body, soon forming a pool of crimson beneath her.
Cheng Jinyang didn't even look at her lifeless body, just quickly rushed to the bedside table, pulled open the drawer, and saw a box of 9mm bullets inside. He swiftly loaded his gun and then turned to open the closet door, retrieving a long sword from deep inside the closet, unsheathing it to confirm it was already sharp. When he turned back around, he saw Xing Yuanzhi sitting up, her face still pale from the sudden death, incredulously touching her chest where there were no longer any traces of blood or bullet holes.
Xing Yuanzhi... has been reborn? Is it like in the dream where he can infinitely resurrect here?
"Wait, don't shoot!" Seeing Cheng Jinyang aiming the gun again, her face turned pale as paper, she quickly raised her hands and shouted, "We can talk!"