Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Xiao Xiaoxiao had excellent vision. Following the direction of Liang Ke’s finger, she turned her head and flatly refused: “I’ll add anything else, but not cilantro.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s expensive,” Xiaoxiao said. “Running a business isn’t easy; I have to control costs.”

“It’s only a few cents,” Liang Ke argued.

Xiao Xiaoxiao remained firm: “Money is money. Profiteers win through the details.”

Zhao Pu was curious—he wondered exactly who had provoked Liang Ke enough for her to personally orchestrate a “frame-up.” He stood up, took a casual stroll around the room, and returned.

“Well?” Liang Ke asked.

“No go,” Zhao Pu shook his head, then asked: “How do you have the guts to sabotage your own leader?”

Just then, a three-tier food trolley glided over, stopping at M’s table. The chef began skillfully slicing the roast duck.

Xiao Xiaoxiao pointed it out to Liang Ke: “Go ahead, show me how you’re going to roll a ‘cilantro roast duck’ for her. Besides, is this how you pursue someone? Even if there’s no love, there shouldn’t be hate. If you don’t like her, give her to me.”

“I do like her,” Liang Ke said, being sincere for once. “That’s why I can’t stand M pestering her for no reason. Our Dr. Shu is meant for great things; I don’t want to see her wasting time dealing with a shameless academic hack.”

Xiao Xiaoxiao teased: “Ooh, ‘Our Dr. Shu’.”

Zhao Pu joined in: “Ooh, ‘Our Dr. Shu’.”

In unison: “‘Our Dr. Shu‘.”

Liang Ke used both hands to cover their mouths simultaneously.

“Stop it, a message just came in.” Zhao Pu broke free to check his phone. Five minutes later, he looked up and offered Liang Ke a sincere apology: “You were right to worry. This M, the ‘giant’ of Materials Science, is indeed a scumbag.”

Xiao Xiaoxiao asked: “Who is M?”

Zhao Pu introduced him: “That one over there. Pot-bellied, well-dressed, 48-year-old ‘young scholar’ who thinks he’s witty even though nobody’s laughing. Works at the same place as Liang Ke.”

“What did he do?” Xiao Xiaoxiao snatched Zhao Pu’s phone, covering her mouth as she read. “Is this verified?”

“Eighty percent sure,” Zhao Pu said. “It’s a gossip resource sponsored by the friends at our institute. Their parents and grandparents are mostly academic royalty. Director Zhang Zhang’s nephew is the leader of that group. M even visited his house during the New Year.”

Xiao Xiaoxiao said: “OK. If even one of these is true, this guy is a real piece of work.” She turned a pitying gaze toward Liang Ke: “In your Research Institute, the only things that are clean are the two stone lions in front of the gate.”

Liang Ke asked, confused: “We have lions?”

“Never mind. You don’t even read Dream of the Red Chamber; what a waste of a good brain. Fourier only taught you transforms; did he never tell you to read widely to enrich yourself?” Xiao Xiaoxiao lowered her head to eat, taking revenge for the “lesson” Liang Ke gave her at the noodle shop.

“What’s with you? You’ve only been moved out for half a month and you’re already lecturing your ‘mother’? Is our fifteen-year bond as light as a feather?” Liang Ke asked.

Hearing this, Xiao Xiaoxiao looked up from her plate and gave Liang Ke a wicked smile: “Oh, I have feelings—do you dare to respond to them?”

“…”

Liang Ke was infinitely embarrassed. She sucked on her juice so hard she choked. Xiao Xiaoxiao reached out to pat her back, but Liang Ke instinctively dodged. In doing so, she knocked over Zhao Pu’s glass. Red wine spilled across the tablecloth, creating a total mess.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Zhao Pu said, smoothing things over for the Calico. “Actually, Xiaoxiao means that M has a questionable lifestyle. He uses his position for corruption. His current wife is his third—she was a graduate student of his at G University.”

“No wonder the kid is so young,” Liang Ke said thoughtfully. Xiao Xiaoxiao ignored her and called the waiter to change the soiled cloth.

…

The commotion at their table was significant. M spotted Liang Ke immediately, his gaze turning sharp. He smiled at Shu Qingchen and said: “Your little researcher certainly cares about her leader. She followed us all the way here.”

“Liang Ke?”

M feigned a helpless, wronged smile: “Yes. Such a good girl, though she seems to have some misunderstandings about me. Not very friendly.” As he spoke, he personally rolled a wrap of duck meat and placed it gently on Shu Qingchen’s plate.

Shu Qingchen frowned, then turned around to follow M’s gaze.

Liang Ke happened to be standing up. She met her eyes—at first with a bit of guilt, but then she figured she hadn’t done anything wrong, so why be guilty? She decided to smile.

“Don’t smile like that. It’s awkward and stupidly cute; I can’t look,” Xiao Xiaoxiao critiqued.

Liang Ke said: “You just said you had feelings for me.”

“That was then. I’ve realized that whenever you face Dr. Shu, your CPU overheats. You lag, you act like a moron, and there’s no limit to it.”

Zhao Pu added: “Dr. Shu doesn’t look very happy. Maybe you should go over and explain.”

He regretted it as soon as he said it.

Because Liang Ke actually went over to that table. She greeted Shu Qingchen, exchanged pleasantries with M, and then casually dumped the roast duck roll M had made for Shu Qingchen back onto M’s own plate—exactly like a waiter clearing away leftovers.

M was thoroughly enraged. It wasn’t the duck being dumped; it was his precious dignity.

Before Shu Qingchen could speak, M stood up. He was 173 cm tall and weighed at least 200 pounds, but he was a remarkably agile fat man.

Fortunately, Shu Qingchen was faster. She stepped between them and commanded Liang Ke: “Come with me for a moment.”

Liang Ke knew she was dead meat, but she still made a face at M and mouthed: Professor M, excuse us, haha.

Shu Qingchen turned to look at her. The Calico stopped her mischief like she’d been hit by an electric shock and obediently followed the Big Shot out.

…

“Why are you following me?”

Liang Ke tilted her head: “You told me to ‘come out with you for a moment’.” Seeing a storm brewing, she quickly told the truth: “Xiaoxiao bought a new car and asked me to come try it out.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” Liang Ke said, looking as if she had a clear conscience.

“She asked you to test a car, and you decided to provoke Professor M while you were at it?” Shu Qingchen followed up.

“Not exactly,” Liang Ke said. “I just can’t stand him. You have no idea what kind of person he is. I’m worried about you.”

“There is no need for this kind of ‘worry.’ Go and apologize to Professor M,” Shu Qingchen said.

“Apologize to him?” Liang Ke pointed at her own nose, a sense of grievance pooling in her eyes.

Shu Qingchen looked at her, her gaze softening slightly. “At the very least, you were rude on the surface. If you want to look out for me, please do your own job well and don’t interfere in other matters.”

In the distance, a man and a woman were loitering suspiciously near a luxury car, looking over with worry.

“Liang Ke is getting lectured,” Zhao Pu said.

“Yeah, the leader looks furious,” Xiao Xiaoxiao said. “But Liang Ke looks worse. Oh boy, the kitten looks like she’s going to cry.”

Zhao Pu balled his fists, urging nervously: “Don’t just stand there! Go save her!”

“How?”

Zhao Pu gave Xiao Xiaoxiao a hard shove.

Xiao Xiaoxiao stumbled forward a few steps, decided this was a good tactic, and performed a spinning fall right into Liang Ke’s arms.

Liang Ke was startled and helped her steady herself. “Whoa, careful!”

“Oh, thank you!” Xiao Xiaoxiao acted as if she had just noticed Shu Qingchen. She smiled and greeted her: “Ah, the leader is here too? Please continue, Zhao Pu and I will wait a bit longer.”

Shu Qingchen said: “No need. We’re finished talking.”

“We are not!” Liang Ke protested.

Xiao Xiaoxiao sensed the Calico was about to cause more trouble, so she firmly grabbed Liang Ke’s arm and dragged her away: “The leader said it’s over, so it’s over! Why are you being so stubborn?”