Sure enough, when people are drunk, they'll say anything.

"As expected, people will say anything when they're drunk."

38.

If Chongming were to fill out a form detailing his understanding of Meng Lanjian, he could fill half a page just by talking about her eating habits.

Meng Lanjian always claims that she's almost not picky about food, except for cabbage, but in reality, she dislikes a lot of things. She doesn't eat half of the scallions, ginger, and garlic; the other half includes shallots and onions. She can tolerate the taste of ginger and garlic, but she'll pick them out if they're in her dishes. Furthermore, she can't stand any seafood-flavored products. She can eat fresh seafood, but seafood-flavored instant noodles will make her avoid them like the plague. She won't eat bok choy with hot pot, and the sight of sesame sauce will trigger her immediate irritation.

So what does Meng Lanjian like to eat? She loves fruit; there's never been a fruit she doesn't eat. She eats oranges in a particularly amusing way. Once, Chongming came back from the restroom and saw her biting into an orange segment, sucking out all the juicy pulp like she was drinking jelly. Only after the bright yellow flesh had dried out did she peel off the thin membrane and eat the flesh alone. She also loves broccoli. Because she loves it so much, she always carefully tilts the broccoli head to one side before slowly eating each floret. When Chongming first saw her eat broccoli like that, he thought this junior was a victim of some cult.

For all these reasons, Meng Lanjian was the slowest person to eat that Chongming had ever seen.

Every time there was a lab dinner, everyone would be scrambling for food, but she would eat slowly and leisurely until even her senior sister Hui couldn't stand it anymore. She would pile up a small mountain of food on her plate and let her eat by herself happily.

The day before the Institute of Nuclear Energy's year-end banquet was a private dinner organized by Zhong Shiqing's research group, and his former students would also be attending. Xue Xiang drove Lan Jian and Chong Ming from the laboratory, and when they arrived at Zhong's residence, the banquet had already begun. In front of Meng Lan Jian's seat was a bowl of cold dish mixed with sesame paste. Chong Ming subtly moved the dish to Xue Xiang's side, but Xue Xiang was busy discussing aged wine with Old Zhong and didn't notice.

On the contrary, it was the teacher's wife who saw this scene while serving dumplings with her senior sister. She walked to the edge of the Lanjian River and teased, "Your senior brother has improved since last year!"

Because they were all students under Zhong Shiqing's tutelage, and because the older generation's usage of language was a mix of northern and southern dialects, when they were with Zhong Shiqing, they would often hear his wife use terms like "senior brother" and "senior sister" to distinguish them from the students in other labs.

The old radio in the living room was playing traditional opera. Lan Jian, who had already returned to Beiluan for vacation at this time last year, was puzzled and asked in a playful operatic tone, "Why do you say that, Master's wife?"

“Last year…” The master’s wife glanced meaningfully at Chongming, “Those few unruly senior brothers, when they found out that the junior brother had found a girlfriend, insisted on making him sit with Huang Yi’s daughter so that it would be easier for him to pick up food. He avoided it like the plague and went straight to the study to play chess with Old Zhong.”

Zheng Xuerou is Professor Huang Yi's daughter, a fact that is no secret at the Institute of Nuclear Energy. Lan Jian, having not heard about Chongming and Zheng Xuerou's past for a long time, felt awkward about directly addressing the topic as an outsider. Instead, she tried to distance herself from Chongming in front of her professor's wife, saying, "Chongming also has times when he suffers in silence? I thought he was the only one who lectured us 'kids'!"

"Among his senior brothers and sisters, wasn't he the youngest?" The master's wife patted Lan Jian's shoulder. "But now you are the real youngest, and he's starting to act like a senior brother. That's good."

The professor's wife remarked a few words before being called away by her senior classmates at the other end of the long table. The Zhong family boasts a thriving graduate program, with some even having secret relationships that blossomed into marriage. Old Zhong had no rules...

It was agreed that students in the same lab couldn't date, and the professor's wife was very happy to find out, thinking it was good to keep the good stuff in the family.

Tonight, the expression on Master's wife's face was very similar to that of five or six years ago when she first learned that a pair of senior brothers and sisters were getting married. She looked at Lan Jian and Chong Ming with a smile, and even when Chong Ming handed Lan Jian a tissue, she would cover her mouth and laugh.

Lan Jian, suppressing his questions and embarrassment, dared not whisper to Chongming in public. However, his teacher's wife's gaze was so obvious that even the oblivious Xue Xiang noticed her blatant stare fixed on Lan Jian and Chongming.

Xue Xiang, who was closest to his teacher's wife, couldn't help but tease, "Teacher's wife, I think you're acting like a matchmaker again because you can't stand seeing anyone single in the lab, aren't you? Chongming just got a single person and you're already eyeing our junior sister?"

"Xiangxiang, you don't understand. I find it pleasing to the eye whenever there are handsome men and beautiful women sitting together. In my opinion, Chongming and Lanjian are the most well-matched couple in your group. The youngest of the youngest, paired with the youngest, doesn't it make me laugh?"

"Then you wouldn't know, Professor's wife, our lab has a marriage alliance with Professor Huang." Xue Xiang pointed to Chongming, "This guy almost became her son-in-law," then pointed to Lanjian, "This guy is doing well with her student."

"Boss!" Chongming stopped Xue Xiang, who had just had a few drinks and was starting to talk nonsense, "When did you become so gossipy?"

"I'm not being nosy, didn't you tell me this yourself last time?"

Upon hearing this, Lan Jian finally had a reason to look at Chongming in front of everyone. He remained calm and composed, raising his glass to clink with Xue Xiang's, saying, "Sure enough, when people are drunk, they'll say anything."

He was talking about both himself and Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang understood perfectly well, and immediately changed the subject with a laugh.

At the fellow disciples' gathering, Zhong Shiqing was always the first to finish eating. He would give everyone a red envelope, with the ones for the younger students who came with their senior brothers and sisters being thicker, and Lan Jian's being thicker as well. His teacher's wife explained with a smile, "Your teacher said that since you weren't here last year, he wanted to make up for last year's one for you too."

Lan Jian thought his teacher's wife had mistaken him for someone else, "But I came back for Chinese New Year last year..."

"Ahem!" Chongming coughed a few times, interrupting Lanjian. Lanjian turned her head to look at him, and he winked at her forcefully.

Lan Jian then realized that the red envelope she received from Chongming at the sect's year-end banquet after the Spring Festival last year was given to her by Chongming.

The teacher's wife didn't know what had happened, but when Chongming coughed, coupled with Lan Jian's sudden realization, the quick-witted woman instantly guessed the cause and effect, and her face once again lit up with joy. She tapped Lan Jian, "You are a lucky one."

Lan Jian smiled slightly, but she held it in. The sound of her heart pounding like a deer hitting a wall drowned out the background noise. Some people were eating sunflower seeds, some were talking about the current situation, some were playing with children, some were counting red envelopes, and some couldn't suppress their laughter and almost burst out laughing.

@Teacher's Wife: How could Xiangxiang, that idiot, understand the joy of shipping couples?

@Xue Xiang: Madam, did the rumors about me and my labmate start from you?

@Teacher's Wife: Lan Jian poured wine for Chongming. My goodness, after she poured it for him, she even glanced at him. Her eyes were like a galaxy filled with stars... (The following is a short essay of 500 words omitted).

@Author: "Love Story of the Nuclear Research Institute", co-author: wife of the director of the Nuclear Research Institute.