The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

Chapter 110 Anyway, it can be cooked

On Wall Street, a place teeming with financial giants and business prodigies, countless people dream of achieving instant fame and financial freedom, while just as many others fail miserably and are forced to leave in disgrace. Yet, one after another, there are always those who follow.

In 2005, Zhou Yanruo had been here for five years. She didn't come to "strike it rich." She had come to New York to study against her will, choosing finance as her major. Her scores on the national college entrance examination in China weren't even high enough for undergraduate admission. With such qualifications and a weak foundation, studying was indeed difficult. Five years had passed, and she still hadn't graduated.

But she didn't regret it. That person's dream was here, and she would stay here. That person wanted to become like Bart, so she wanted to enter the financial world and become a member of that circle. She gritted her teeth and persevered, to fulfill the unfinished wish of the person who was no longer with her.

The first month of the lunar calendar has passed. The United States does not follow the lunar calendar or solar terms, but regardless of how the weather is recorded, it should be springtime now.

In the evening, braving the biting cold of sleet, Zhou Yanruo hurried to her rented apartment.

Today is the first day Zhou Zihang will tutor her, so she can't be late, especially since he's coming to her home to teach her. It would be too impolite if Zhou Zihang had already arrived before she got home.

If she hadn't been delayed a little while buying groceries at the small market near the bus stop, she would be home by now.

This small market is run by an elderly couple. The wife is Chinese, from northern Jiangsu, and is practically a fellow townsman of Zhou Yanruo. Every time she pays, the wife will round down a few cents for her, which saves her a lot of money over time.

When I saw the proprietress earlier, her eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying, and it looked like she had been crying for a long time.

The proprietress held Zhou Yanruo's hand and told her about how her only son, Edward, had been brutally beaten by several black thugs the night before, and that Edward was still unconscious in the hospital.

Zhou Yanruo had met Edward a few times. He was a fair-skinned boy of about seventeen or eighteen, who would blush when he spoke and was very shy. She couldn't understand how Edward could have gotten into trouble with some thugs and been seriously injured.

The proprietress kindly reminded Zhou Yanruo, "Amaya, you need to be careful. Those thugs often hang around in the 26th ward. As a girl, you'd better avoid that area. Don't be afraid to take a detour; nothing is more important than safety."

Zhou Yanruo knew that words of comfort would be futile at this moment, but she still tried her best to say some words of reassurance to the landlady.

When paying, she didn't ask the shop owner to round down the amount; instead, she paid the whole number and thanked her. Then, she left the market carrying a large bag.

The large bag contained five apples, three potatoes, two tomatoes, two cucumbers, and ten eggs.

She thought to herself that Dr. Zhou was coming to her house today, so she should buy some fruit to show good hospitality. She also bought extra vegetables, just in case Dr. Zhou wanted to stay for dinner and she had nothing to offer him; that would be very impolite. She didn't want her oversight to embarrass the matchmaker, Brother Cai, or make him think she was inconsiderate.

Zhou Yanruo had just returned home and taken off her coat when the doorbell rang.

She thought to herself, "That was close! I almost got back late. I would have been so embarrassed if Dr. Zhou had turned me away."

The door opened, and sure enough, it was Zhou Zihang.

Zhou Zihang, already tall and imposing, wore a long navy blue trench coat, its buttons and belt neatly fastened, over which he wore a light blue shirt and a matching tie. He stood handsomely at the doorway, a smile on his face.

"Dr. Zhou, hello! Please come in." Zhou Yanruo stepped aside to let Zhou Zihang in. "Have a seat, I'll get you a glass of water."

Zhou Zihang entered and looked around. It was a small apartment of about twenty square meters. There was a small bathroom near the entrance, and opposite it was a small bar counter with a microwave and an induction cooker on it. Directly opposite the door was a single bed, with a small desk and a chair at the head of the bed.

As Zhou Zihang took off his coat, he said, "No need to pour water, I'm not thirsty."

Zhou Yanruo took Zhou Zihang's coat and hung it on the clothes rack at the corner of the bed.

"Thank you, Dr. Zhou, for taking the time to help me. My foundation is weak, so it may take some effort." Zhou Yanruo's voice was timid.

Zhou Zihang sat down at the desk, looked Zhou Yanruo straight in the eye, and said, "You've already reached the stage of preparing your graduation thesis. Hang in there a little longer. Don't be afraid, I'll help you."

"Yes, I will try my best," Zhou Yanruo said. "There's only one chair at home, so I'll pull the desk out a bit and sit on the bed."

"Don't move, I'll move it." Zhou Zihang moved the desk out, leaving enough space for one person to pass through.

Zhou Yanruo handed her thesis outline to Zhou Zihang, then sat down on the bed and watched him review it.

After carefully reviewing the outline, Zhou Zihang said, "These won't do; you need to prepare them again."

He then revised the outline for Zhou Yanruo, providing detailed guidance on the structure and main arguments of the paper.

He also pointed out the research direction and emphasized that the paper needs some supporting parameters and relevant case studies as evidence.

“That’s enough for today,” Zhou Zihang said. “In the next few days, follow the points I’ve listed to collect information and find relevant cases for reference.”

More than two hours had passed by the time Zhou Zihang finished explaining these points.

Zhou Yanruo said, "Dr. Zhou, it's late and you haven't had dinner yet. Why don't you grab something to eat before you leave?"

"No need, I'm not hungry." As soon as she finished speaking, her stomach started growling.

They both laughed awkwardly.

"I'll go cook, you sit down for a bit. Oh, right, there are apples at home, let me wash one for you."

Zhou Yanruo first washed an apple and handed it to Zhou Zihang, then took a small pot, filled it with more than half a pot of water, and placed it on the induction cooker.

"You can cook?" Zhou Zihang asked, tossing the apple back and forth between his hands.

"I'll just do it casually, as long as it's cooked through."

Zhou Zihang stood behind Zhou Yanruo, watching her "cook".

The water boiled quickly. Zhou Yanruo washed the potatoes, but didn't peel them. She cut them into large chunks and threw them into the boiling water to cook.

When the time was almost up, I poked the potatoes with chopsticks; they were cooked through. Then I added a piece of butter and some salt. That completed the meal.

Wash the tomatoes, cut them into chunks, sprinkle with white sugar, and the dish is ready.

Zhou Zihang frowned and said, "Is this what you call cooking? It is indeed cooked."

Zhou Yanruo blushed, embarrassed, but stubbornly replied, "This is a Western cooking method."

Zhou Zihang said, "Oh? So you can cook Chinese food?"

Zhou Yanruo replied in a low voice, "Of course, they're pretty much the same. Just omit the butter and add some soy sauce."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zihang couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That's right, you've discovered the essence of both Chinese and Western cuisine."