Chapter 316 - 178: Tonight’s Grilled Kidneys Are Indeed Pretty Good

Chapter 316: Chapter 178: Tonight’s Grilled Kidneys Are Indeed Pretty Good

"The dinner invitation is currently in the assessment phase."

Lu Jia said, deadpan.

"Our current communications are primarily focused on the exchange of information and the collision of viewpoints."

Chen Zhuo raised an eyebrow and put down the skewer of pork belly in his hand.

"In plain English."

Chen Zhuo added coolly.

Lu Jia pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and pulled a small notebook out of his pocket.

"To review and analyze the senior’s semantic feedback, I’ve hand-copied our key conversations on WhatsApp, complete with precise timestamps, as a raw data record. Our current communications are primarily focused on the exchange of information and the collision of viewpoints."

Chu Ge and Wang Dayong were stunned speechless on the spot.

"You fucking hand-copied your WhatsApp chat logs into a math notebook just to get a date???"

Chu Ge’s eyes went wide as he stared at Lu Jia like he was an alien.

Lu Jia hesitated, then pushed the small, densely-filled notebook across the table.

"See for yourselves. Personally, I believe our exchanges have been quite profound."

Chu Ge snatched the notebook, and Wang Dayong leaned in to get a look.

Chen Zhuo didn’t move. He sat where he was, sipping his Jianlibao through a straw, waiting to hear Lu Jia’s love story.

Chu Ge cleared his throat and began to read from the notebook.

"Last night, 9:30 PM. The senior messaged: ’The weather is so stuffy today. Feels like it’s going to rain tomorrow. I don’t even feel like going to the library.’"

After reading the line, Chu Ge looked up at Lu Jia.

"That’s a pretty normal opener. What did you say back?"

Chu Ge looked back down and continued reading Lu Jia’s reply data.

"Lu Jia replied: ’According to the recent trajectory of the subtropical high-pressure system published by the China Meteorological Administration, and combining it with the historical precipitation probability distribution for the month of May, we can construct a weather prediction model based on a Markov chain. I just ran the simulation on my dorm computer, and the probability of rain tomorrow is 87.5%. I’ve attached my full derivation. Since the WhatsApp chat box isn’t good for displaying formulas, I’ve zipped it and sent it to your email.’"

When Chu Ge finished reading, the entire food stall seemed to fall silent for a second.

Wang Dayong nearly spat out the lamb in his mouth.

"What were you thinking?"

Chu Ge stared at Lu Jia in disbelief.

"She’s complaining to you about the stuffy weather, and you send her a Markov chain??"

Lu Jia frowned, retorting with self-righteous indignation.

"What’s wrong with that? She presented a problem, and I provided a solution in the most rigorous way possible. That’s a responsible attitude toward communication."

Sitting across from them, Chen Zhuo couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

He shook his head and looked at Lu Jia.

"Third Brother, if you really can’t find anything to talk about, you could teach her calculus. A Markov chain is a little too devastating for a girl who isn’t a math major."

Chen Zhuo said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"So, did the senior ever reply?"

Wang Dayong asked eagerly.

Chu Ge glanced down at the notebook, his expression turning priceless.

"She did. After two hours and four minutes. Seriously, you even wrote down the time?"

Chu Ge read aloud.

"The senior replied: ’Oh. Thank you. You know so much.’"

"See?"

Lu Jia’s eyes lit up.

"She praised me for knowing so much. That means she approves of my logical and analytical abilities."

Chu Ge buried his face in his hands in despair.

Wang Dayong sighed and clapped Lu Jia on the shoulder.

"Lu Jia, my friend... back in my hometown, we call that killing the conversation. When someone says ’Oh,’ it means ’I don’t want to waste my breath on you anymore.’"

Seeing Lu Jia’s stubbornly clueless expression, Chen Zhuo let out a soft sigh.

"It’s actually very simple."

Chen Zhuo placed his empty bamboo skewer on the edge of the table, lining it up neatly.

"When she complains to you about the weather, about not wanting to go to the library, her core need isn’t to actually know if it’s going to rain tomorrow."

Lu Jia asked humbly for guidance.

"Then what is her core need?"

"Emotional resonance."

Chen Zhuo leaned back in his chair, watching the blue smoke rise from the charcoal brazier.

"You just had to reply: ’Yeah, it is stuffy. I brought an umbrella. If it rains tomorrow, I’ll wait for you at the entrance of Classroom Building Two after class, and we can go get some sweet and sour pork ribs at the cafeteria.’"

Chen Zhuo paused after speaking.

"Or, even simpler, if she doesn’t have an umbrella, you go give her one. If she does have an umbrella..."

Chen Zhuo smiled faintly.

"You say you forgot yours."

Chu Ge, who had been listening on the side, was wide-eyed.

He turned his head and stared at Chen Zhuo as if he were a monster.

"Wait, Brother Zhuo."

Chu Ge swallowed hard.

"Aren’t you only twelve? Where do you get all these moves? With your level of emotional intelligence, keeping you in our two dorms is a complete waste!"

Chen Zhuo shot Chu Ge a cool glance.

"These aren’t ’moves.’ This is the optimal solution in behavioral logic."

Chen Zhuo picked up a freshly grilled skewer of meat.

"Besides, stop bringing up age. In terms of mental maturity, the three of you combined would probably still need to take two of my elective courses."

Chu Ge was choked speechless. He could only raise his bottle and tap it on the table by himself.

Wang Dayong, who had been quiet for a while, was now staring intently at the iron skewer of grilled lamb in his hand.

He turned the skewer over and over, then looked at the grill over the charcoal brazier, which was spitting sparks.

"’Fourth Brother’ just mentioned an optimal solution, and it made me think of something."

Wang Dayong pointed at the iron skewer in his hand.

"The thermal conductivity of this thing is too high. Look at this piece of meat—the outside is already charred and bitter, but the inside is just barely cooked through."

Chu Ge rolled his eyes.

"Dayong, we’re just trying to eat. Can you not get all technical on us?"

"No, I’m serious."

Wang Dayong perked up, suddenly energized.