The lunch was very plentiful, and Shi Jing couldn't help but rub his stomach as he smelled the aroma of the food.

She ate early in the morning, but the few oranges she ate weren't enough to fill her up. Now, the smell of food makes her hungry again.

Rong Yu couldn't help but find it a little funny to see her like this.

"Since you like to get up early and eat early, you can prepare some snacks to eat around noon. The desserts I brought today should be pretty good, would you like to have something to tide you over first?"

Shi Jing actually had snacks in the refrigerator, but she hadn't taken them because she thought it was almost time to eat. Hearing Rong Yu's words, she got up and got the dessert box. She didn't take many; she took two desserts and one for herself and Rong Yu.

"Have one too."

Rong Yu chuckled and obediently accepted it.

Shi Jing wasn't in the mood to watch TV anymore. She took a bite of the soft, chewy pastry and casually started a conversation: "How is your advisor's family doing now?"

She remembered that when she went to Dingdu during the National Day holiday, Rongyu's wife seemed to have been injured. The old lady was old and recovered slowly, so she wondered how she was now.

"Master's wife is alright now. But since she suffered a broken bone, she needs to be more careful in the future."

Shi Jing nodded to indicate that he understood.

Rong Yu's mentor was an exceptionally talented individual, from whom Rong Yu had benefited greatly. Although Shi Jing didn't know him personally, he occasionally gleaned some insignificant information from Rong Yu's interactions. The mentor was an elderly gentleman who placed great importance on research, dedicating almost all his time to research projects in recent years. Only in the last six months, after his wife's injury, had he slightly reduced his project commitments for her sake.

"Then you'll be busy again soon," Shi Jing judged based on his past experience.

After finishing a pastry, she watched Rong Yu eat, finding him incredibly handsome. Such a beautiful man, yet he devoted all his energy to his work.

Tsk tsk, what a waste of beauty!

Shi Jing's words were purely an appreciation of beauty; she didn't actually think the other person shouldn't focus their energy on work.

She's as beautiful as jade.

"Brother Yu, have you started dating anyone?" Shi Jing suddenly asked.

Rong Yu looked slightly surprised and delighted, his voice a little low and hoarse: "No... I'm single."

"Tsk, if you don't find a partner in college, it'll probably be even harder to find one in graduate school."

"......"

Rong Yu sighed almost imperceptibly, slightly disappointed.

He looked at Shi Jing and said, "...You should find someone you truly like before you start dating."

“Your studies must be quite demanding, you should prioritize your studies,” Rong Yu said earnestly.

“That’s true,” Shi Jing said.

She thought of Tao Yue, the only girl in her dorm who was in a relationship. Tao Yue's boyfriend was her high school classmate. The two were rivals, but they secretly became boyfriend and girlfriend in their senior year, thankfully without affecting their studies. However, the boy chose a university in the south, and the two began a long-distance relationship, spending a lot of time talking on the phone every day.

Shi Jing wasn't particularly interested in romance. She figured it was better to spend time reading than dating. At least getting good grades would allow her to complete the system's tasks and earn money.

"Dating takes up too much time, I'd better stay single."

"......"

"Ahem." Rong Yu coughed lightly, not continuing the topic. "You guys have your final exams coming up soon, right? Have you made any plans on where you'll spend the New Year?"

“You know my family situation. I’ll be either in the capital or Dingdu by then. Anyway, I have houses in both places, so it’s convenient.” Shi Jing said, thinking that her house in Dingdu hadn’t been renovated yet. She would definitely be going there before the New Year, so she made a note of the house renovation and planned to have Miao Chen arrange it in advance.

"Then let's celebrate the New Year in Dingdu?" Rong Yu suddenly suggested.

"Huh?" Shi Jing was somewhat surprised.

Rong Yu calmly suggested, "I'm not busy right now, so I'll help you prepare some New Year's goods. You can celebrate the New Year there, which will save you the trouble of traveling back and forth between the two places."

Shi Jing hadn't made a decision yet, but he thought it wouldn't be bad to spend the New Year in Dingdu.

Now that she doesn't need to attend extra classes like she did in her senior year of high school, she can't afford to miss this year's annual meeting. It would be too rushed to come back and prepare for the New Year after the meeting.

"Great. Are you spending the New Year in Dingdu too?"

"Hmm." Rong Yu's situation wasn't much better than hers.

"Then I'll come visit you during the New Year," Shi Jing said cheerfully.

"Okay." Rong Yu smiled and agreed, looking quite happy.

The three of them ate lunch together. Shi Jing went upstairs right on time to wake Qi Shuang, but no one answered the door. When he opened the door, he found that Qi Shuang was not asleep. She was sitting at her desk, engrossed in reading a printed copy of the script "Moon Shadow".

She knocked on the door again and called out to her.

"Xiao Shuang, let's eat first."

Without the door obstructing her view, Shi Jing's voice was clear. Qi Shuang snapped out of her reverie and put down her script only when she realized Shi Jing was calling her: "I'm here. How did your chat go?"

"What are you talking about?" Shi Jing asked, puzzled. Seeing that she had stopped moving, he urged her again, "Hurry up, let's finish eating first."

"Tsk, so clueless about romance." Qi Shuang clicked her tongue softly.

"What?" Shi Jing didn't hear her murmur.

"It's nothing, I'm here." Qi Shuang quickly replied, standing up from her seat. "Come on, I'm hungry again."

"Huh? You ate so much this morning, and you're hungry again so soon?"

"I've been hungry for so long, of course I need to eat more delicious food to soothe my stomach~" Qi Shuang said coquettishly, tugging at Shi Jing's sleeve.

Shi Jing couldn't do anything with her, so she rolled her eyes at her, and the two went downstairs affectionately.

Qi Shuang is a cheerful girl, and Rong Yu, although not exactly outgoing, is steady and reliable. The three of them get along quite well when they are together.

Rong Yu had to drive in the afternoon, and Shi Jing and Qi Shuang simply didn't like drinking alcohol, so none of the three drank alcohol, but instead drank freshly squeezed juice.

At this moment, the three of them filled their glasses with juice, and Shi Jing raised his glass and said loudly, "Let's clink glasses, may the future be better and better!"

Shi Jing was very happy for Rong Yu, thinking that he was able to get rid of his adoptive parents who were like a living hell.

"It's getting better and better!"

"cheers!"

The three of them clinked glasses in celebration, all in very good spirits.

"Let's eat! Don't be shy, eat as much as you want!" Shi Jing laughed heartily as he greeted the two.

"Don't worry, I won't hold back at all~" Qi Shuang replied loudly.

"Mmm." Rong Yu wasn't as lively as Qi Shuang, but she happily agreed.

The three of them enjoyed the meal to the fullest. Shi Jing and Rong Yu hadn't seen each other for a while, but after spending time together today, they felt no awkwardness at all; on the contrary, their relationship had become even better.