The two weeks of military training passed quickly. That weekend, at Su Wanwan's insistence, Han Feng unusually decided to invite a few people to his home for a barbecue. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was ten o'clock in the morning, and the guests should be arriving soon. Han Feng had just taken the marinated beef out of the refrigerator.

Just then, the doorbell rang on time. Su Wanwan rushed in first, carrying two bottles of red wine. "Young Master Han cooked himself! We're in for a treat today!" She placed the bottles on the island counter and looked around curiously. "Where's the others?"

"Wang Hao went to the backyard to start a fire, saying that it needs to be grilled over charcoal to taste good." Han Feng continued processing the ingredients without looking up.

Su Wanwan leaned closer and lowered her voice: "I heard you invited Liu Mengran?" Her eyes sparkled with gossip.

Han Feng paused, the knife in his hand still. "She contributed significantly to the company's projects in Europe; this is a token of my gratitude."

"Oh~" Su Wanwan drawled, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, "Just a thank you?"

Her words were interrupted by the doorbell. Han Feng wiped his hands and went to open the door. Liu Mengran stood outside, the sunlight casting a soft glow on her features. Today, she was wearing a simple white t-shirt and light-colored jeans, her hair casually tied in a ponytail, making her look more youthful and energetic than usual.

"I'm not late, am I?" Liu Mengran smiled and held up the fruit basket in her hand.

Just as Han Feng was about to answer, a tall figure stepped out from behind Liu Mengran. Liu Xiaoran, wearing a dark gray shirt, nodded with an awkward smile: "Sorry to bother you."

Han Feng raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly and stepped aside to let the two in. Su Wanwan's eyes widened when she saw Liu Xiaoran, and she quietly tugged at Han Feng's sleeve: "Why is he here?"

"I asked him to come," Liu Mengran explained after hearing this, glancing at her brother somewhat embarrassedly. "He heard that Han Feng was treating everyone to barbecue, so he insisted on coming along."

Liu Xiaoran was a little embarrassed: "Eating alone on the weekend is so boring."

"Welcome," Han Feng said briefly, taking the fruit basket. "The backyard is all ready. You can go ahead, I'll get some more ingredients."

Su Wanwan pulled Liu Mengran to the backyard to find Wang Hao, leaving Han Feng and Liu Xiaoran in the kitchen. An awkward silence filled the air.

"Do you need any help?" Liu Xiaoran suddenly asked.

Han Feng pointed to the vegetables on the counter: "Could you help me wash them?"

The two worked together seamlessly in the kitchen, neither of them speaking.

"Captain, your knife skills are quite good," Liu Xiaoran suddenly said, watching Han Feng slice the beef into even, thin slices.

"What's up, kid?" Han Feng rolled his eyes and replied. "Don't tell me you, as a reserve member of the Longyuan Special Forces, can't use a knife. I haven't forgotten how you almost injured Iron Tower during the assessment."

Liu Xiaoran's lips twitched, as if the topic he had chosen was too far-fetched.

"Let's go, don't keep them waiting. We can talk about it after we eat." Han Feng picked up the prepared platter of ingredients. Liu Xiaoran grabbed her things and quickly followed.

On the lawn in the backyard, Wang Hao was frantically adjusting the charcoal fire, his face streaked with soot. Su Wanwan sat on a recliner nearby, laughing so hard she almost fell over, while Liu Mengran thoughtfully handed her a wet wipe.

"Our head chef has finally arrived!" Wang Hao exclaimed, seeing Han Feng as a savior. "This charcoal fire was so hard to control!"

Han Feng put down the ingredients and skillfully adjusted the position of the charcoal fire, immediately stabilizing the flames. "The temperature is just right." He picked up the tongs and began grilling the meat.

Liu Xiaoran silently stood on the other side of the grill and, imitating Han Feng, placed a few slices of beef on it. Ten minutes later, while Han Feng's grilled meat slices were golden and tempting, Liu Xiaoran's were already as black as charcoal.

"Brother..." Liu Mengran looked helplessly at the dark, indistinct thing.

Liu Xiaoran blushed deeply and explained, "Uh... I miscontrolled the heat."

Su Wanwan suppressed a laugh and whispered to Wang Hao, "No wonder he's such a blockhead; even his barbecue attempt is so 'precisely' unsuccessful."

Han Feng suppressed a laugh and handed Liu Xiaoran a skewer of grilled meat: "Eat first, I can manage."

The afternoon sun was warm but not scorching, and everyone sat around a picnic mat on the lawn enjoying their food. Su Wanwan then brought out her game console and confidently challenged everyone, but after completing one round, she lost three games in a row to Liu Mengran.

"This is unbelievable!" Su Wanwan stared at the "Game over" message on the screen, looking at Liu Mengran in disbelief. "You seem like such a good girl, how come you're so good at games?"

Liu Mengran smiled sheepishly: "I used to be home alone a lot, and when I was in a bad mood, I would play games to pass the time."

While flipping the grilled meat, Han Feng interjected, "Who knew Liu, the campus belle, was a gaming genius?"

"Oh my!" Su Wanwan and Wang Hao exclaimed in unison, their eyes darting back and forth between Han Feng and Liu Mengran. "You know them so well, huh?"

Liu Mengran's ear tips turned slightly red as she lowered her head and took a bite of the grilled meat. Han Feng pretended not to hear, focusing on brushing sauce onto the meat slices, but almost burned a batch because he was distracted.

As the party drew to a close, Wang Hao left early because he had an early class the next day, and Liu Mengran volunteered to stay and help clean up. Su Wanwan had already disappeared when she heard that there was cleaning to do, and Liu Xiaoran was sent to take out the trash, leaving only Han Feng and Liu Mengran in the backyard.

"I'm very happy today." Liu Mengran put the tableware into the basket. "Thank you."

Han Feng stared at Liu Mengran in front of him, somewhat mesmerized.

"The European company..." Liu Mengran continued, breaking the brief silence, "The framework is complete, and it's already operational. I'll be going to Qiqihar in a while; Qin Chuan said he wants to build a new energy plant there."

"Qi City?" Han Feng recalled the gene laboratory Chen Feng had mentioned, as well as the list of internal personnel that Lin Zhengguo was secretly investigating.

“That’s right,” Liu Mengran replied. “We’ve decided to continue production of Silicon Crystal Technology domestically; the specific plan is already finalized.” Liu Mengran finished putting away the last set of tableware, looked up at Han Feng, and asked, “What’s wrong? You look a little serious.”

Han Feng quickly adjusted his expression: "It's nothing, are you going by yourself?"

"He's definitely going with President Qin. This trip is just to inspect the site." Liu Mengran tilted her head to look at him, seemingly trying to read something from his unfathomable eyes. Just then, Liu Xiaoran returned, carrying three boxes of ice cream.

"Bought from a convenience store," he explained briefly, handing a box to his sister.

Han Feng wondered to himself: The factory site is located in Qiqihar, and the gene laboratory is also located in Qiqihar. Is there any connection between them?

"Han Feng." Liu Mengran called out to Han Feng, who was still in a daze, "Next time... can we have a barbecue together again?"

Her eyes shone brightly in the twilight, and Han Feng felt a soft touch on a tender part of his heart.

"Of course." Han Feng nodded. "You're welcome anytime."