Having vented her anger, Shi Lan was in a good mood, especially when she received a call from Cheng Hao that evening, asking if she would take on a proofreading job.

Shi Lan had been saving every penny these past few days, not wanting to owe Cheng Hao too much. Having work meant having income, and she was so short of money that she wanted to stretch every penny to its limit. She was unwilling to give up such an opportunity, so she immediately agreed without hesitation.

The next day, not long after Shi Lan got up, Cheng Hao came looking for her.

"This job is a bit urgent, are you sure you can handle it?"

Handing the USB drive to Shi Lan, Cheng Hao was a little worried. Shi Lan's decision to take the postgraduate entrance exam was very sudden. She had missed many classes because of her leave of absence. He was afraid that she would waste her already tight study time for a little money. If she failed the exam, it would be a huge loss.

Shi Lan smiled and said, "Sure, why not?" She held the USB drive up with her palm facing up and gently tossed it, saying, "Once it's done, I'll bring it to you."

Cheng Hao hesitated for a moment, but seeing her relaxed and calm expression, he couldn't bring himself to say what he had been thinking about all night.

“Alright,” Cheng Hao had other things to do, so he turned to leave. As he took a step, he added, “If you’re too busy, just let me know and I’ll take care of it for you.”

Shi Lan waved her hand at him and said, "If I say it's okay, then it's okay. Go ahead and do what you need to do."

Seeing her impatient look, Cheng Hao shook his head and stepped into the elevator.

After closing the door, Shi Lan sat down at the computer, inserted the USB drive, and soon the files appeared on the computer's external hard drive.

As the sun slowly climbed higher, Shi Lan's dark eyes were fixed intently on the screen, her fingers flying across the paper like butterflies. The sun reached its zenith and then slowly set. Shi Lan remained seated at the table, the stars and moon twinkling in the sky, and the characters on the white screen continued to flash.

As the lights of every house gradually went out and her finger joints began to stiffen, Shi Lan rubbed her stiff and sore neck and stood up.

As a result of sitting for too long, her buttocks and legs went numb, and she stumbled and sat back down.

Shi Lan paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Having lived a life of luxury in the previous world for so long, she was no longer used to such intense busyness. Back when she was a student, she could sit from early morning until night and still be full of energy, going to the cafeteria with her classmates to get food, water, and play volleyball. Now, after only a short while, her legs were already weak.

Shaking her head helplessly, she propped herself up on the table and ate the leftover stir-fried bok choy and half a bowl of rice from last night.

At this moment, she missed Tianguo terribly, especially the sweet and crunchy honey fruit sesame candy, the refreshing and crispy cucumber cake, the soft and sweet red bean paste cake, and her favorite honey-roasted lamb chops, as well as all sorts of delicious soups and stews...

With images of delicious food running around in her mind, Shi Lan finished her meal with a tasteless gusto, tidied the table, and then sat down at the computer.

She planned to finish it as soon as possible. The document wasn't large, and it was written in plain language. It was just a matter of proofreading for typos. At her speed, she could probably finish it in two or three days. Then she could take the payment and improve her meals.

Shi Lan imagined all sorts of delicious food, which cheered her up, but then she lowered her head and got busy again.

Soon, two days passed, and Shi Lan took the USB drive to the bookstore and handed it to Cheng Hao with a nonchalant air.

Cheng Hao was somewhat surprised and blurted out, "So fast."

Shi Lan waved her hand and said, "I'm always this efficient."

Cheng Hao looked at her and said, "That's fast enough. I'll take on this kind of work for you next time. Don't complain about being tired."

Shi Lan was overjoyed and quickly said that she wouldn't.

Cheng Hao chuckled, put the USB drive in the drawer, glanced out the window, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Shi Lan shook her head. She had been busy with this since last night and hadn't even had a sip of water before bringing it to him.

Cheng Hao grabbed the phone key from the table and said, "Come on, I'll treat you to dinner."

Shi Lan blinked and said, "You wouldn't be thinking of using the meal money as payment, would you?"

Cheng Hao was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "What are you thinking? Do you think I'm that kind of person? Besides, if I dared to renege on your money, our teacher would be chasing after me and beating me up!"

Hearing that there was money to be made, Shi Lan felt relieved and started to joke with him.

“My dad is a top-level expert and scholar. Even if others want him to do something, he thinks it's a waste of his energy.”

Cheng Hao smiled good-naturedly and opened the door. "Yes, yes, yes, it's my honor to be hit by the teacher."

Shi Lan smiled and walked out.

Cheng Hao shook his head and followed Shi Lan out of the bookstore.

The bookstore is located next to the road, and because it is close to the school gate, most of the surrounding street-facing shops are restaurants.

There were many restaurants here, and Cheng Hao, familiar with the place, led her to a Sichuan restaurant with a very small storefront but a lot of people.

Cheng Hao must be a regular at this restaurant. The busy waiters greeted him with smiles and asked if it was the usual. Cheng Hao nodded and ordered stir-fried bullfrog and dry-fried tea tree mushrooms. The waiter nodded, then gave Shi Lan a meaningful smile before turning and leaving.

Shi Lan was puzzled by her gaze and turned to Cheng Hao, asking, "Why is she looking at me like that?"

Cheng Hao naturally wouldn't say that this was the first time he had brought a woman to dinner, he only said, "I guess it's because you're pretty that I took a second look."

Shi Lan glared at him, not believing his nonsense at all.

She slept less than six hours in the past two days. This morning, after finishing her work, she just washed her face and came out. How naturally beautiful must she be to be so exhausted and still look so gorgeous?

Cheng Hao smiled and said, "It's true."

Shi Lan opened her mouth, as if to say that he was just flattering her.

The waiter filled the table with trays, and Shi Lan pursed her lips, but ultimately, she felt obligated to help him and didn't complain anymore.

Cheng Hao handed her the chopsticks, "Try it."

Shi Lan picked up a slice of meat wrapped in chili oil and vegetables, and slowly chewed it in her mouth.

Cheng Hao, holding his chopsticks, widened his eyes and waited for her to swallow before asking expectantly, "How was it? Delicious, right?"

Shi Lan nodded, and without bothering to comment, she took another bite.

Seeing that she was enjoying her food, Cheng Hao smiled and started eating as well.

In no time, the two of them had cleaned up the four dishes, the soup, and the two bowls of rice, leaving everything spotless.

Stepping out of the restaurant, Shi Lan patted her stomach contentedly, thinking to herself that the original owner of this body really had no luck with food. She had lived here for so long and had never eaten out even once. It was just the cafeteria, the cafeteria, the cafeteria. What a waste of resources.

After dinner, Shi Lan thought that since she had nothing else to do, she might as well go to the school to find some more materials. Cheng Hao wanted to take her there, but he received a call that something urgent had come up at the bookstore and he needed to deal with it.

Shi Lan vaguely understood the gist of it and quickly waved her hand, signaling him to hurry up and go.

Cheng Hao could only nod in acknowledgment and hurriedly rushed back.

Shi Lan slowly walked along the street toward the school gate.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, the sunlight was so bright it was almost blinding, and the stuffy air made one's mind foggy. After walking for a while, Shi Lan's eyelids began to droop, and drowsiness washed over her like a rising tide, wave after wave.

Shi Lan rubbed her eyes, trying her best to go to the library to get the materials before going back to sleep. Unexpectedly, a roar like that of a wounded mother beast came from afar, and a figure crashed towards her like a train engine. Shi Lan's drowsiness vanished instantly. (To be continued.)