A Little Interlude on the Road

After leaving the school, Lin Ran went to the post office first, packed up her thesis and mailed it out, keeping a copy for herself.

He chose to submit his paper to the Journal of Symbolic Logic, which is the official publication of the Association for Mathematical Logic and is the undisputed world's leading journal in the field of mathematical logic.

The Sitopan conjecture is an "unsolved mystery" in their own territory, so applying it here is a perfect match, a good fit for their expertise.

Once this step is done, the next process is the same as when he submitted his first book to a newspaper. All he has to do is wait for the journal editor to find his paper and review its format.

This step is often the most tedious and mysterious part of the entire submission process.

Why?

Because technical editors who are usually responsible for the initial review may not have a high level of academic expertise, their main task is to act as "format police": check whether your paper is formatted according to the rules, whether the reference format is correct, and whether there are any obvious grammatical errors or common sense mistakes.

Only after confirming that there are no major problems will it be handed over to the real "academic judge"—that is, an academic leader or senior researcher in the field—for external review.

These judges, who review papers, are basically doing it out of love; it's an extra job they dedicate to academia without pay.

Therefore, when your manuscript will be selected depends entirely on when the big shots have the time and the mood to choose you.

"System, it's time for you to shine..."

As Lin Ran walked back to the villa, she tapped the system, urging it to activate its power, prioritize her paper, assign a good editor, and expedite its review.

Passing by a fruit shop, he reluctantly bought a large slice of watermelon.

Having eaten too many cheap watermelons in my past life, even now that I have money, I still feel a pang of regret every time I buy one.

"Other systems can do it? Why can't you? You need to step up your game!" Lin Ran said, munching on a watermelon as she hurried along, while frantically trying to manipulate her own system.

It's only 5:30 in the evening, the setting sun and evening breeze are gentle and clear.

On the way back to the villa, he would cross a small river. Every time he passed by, he would pause for a moment to enjoy the river breeze, admire the scenery, and find inspiration for his writing.

However, there was an unexpected turn of events today.

Lin Ran noticed a tall woman by the river, her back to him and facing the water. She seemed to have been standing there for quite a while, motionless, like a wooden statue.

"Hmm, judging from this... could it be that she's thinking of jumping into the river? Is she heartbroken? Or has she gone bankrupt?" Lin Ran took a bite of watermelon, considering whether she should step in and be a hero if the other person really did jump.

But before he could make a decision, the other party took action first.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..."

"pity……"

Hearing the singing in her ears, Lin Ran sighed. The watermelon in her mouth no longer tasted good. "Go to a karaoke bar or a music classroom to practice singing, sister. Why come to the riverbank and pretend to be a melancholy, artsy young woman? I even had to think of my acceptance speech."

Well, all that worrying for nothing.

Despite the criticisms, it must be admitted that the singer sang exceptionally well, with a superb voice, rich emotions, and an ethereal quality, comparable to a professional singer.

A free open-air concert—why not listen?

So Lin, the bystander, simply leaned on the railing, munching on watermelon while treating it like a private riverside concert, listening with great interest.

The song ended.

Lin Ran clapped her hands in a very accommodating way: "Great, 100 points!"

The woman, bathed in the gentle glow of the setting sun, turned around instinctively upon hearing the noise, her brows furrowing slightly, a hint of displeasure at being disturbed in her expression.

Black hair, red eyes, and big waves.

Lin Ran was stunned for a moment when she saw the other person's face.

"Wow! It's this person!"

According to the script in his memory, this big shot shouldn't have appeared yet, right? How come it's been refreshed here ahead of time? Sure enough, the real world doesn't follow the script and is full of unexpected Easter eggs.

The woman's crimson eyes lingered on Lin Ran's outstanding appearance for three seconds before she turned away expressionlessly, completely ignoring Lin Ran and leaving only the back of her head in the background.

"..."

Tsk, ignoring themselves?

Lin Ran touched her face, which she inherited from her mother, casually threw the leftover watermelon rind into the trash can, turned around and left without a second thought.

A forced relationship is never sweet, and an unnatural encounter is awkward.

I am, after all, a great writer with principles. They clearly don't want to be bothered, so I can't just pay them to do something, can I?

Goodbye, I'm going home to play with my cute little maid.

In the warm glow of dusk, the boy strolled leisurely home along the path, his hands behind his back. Meanwhile, by the river, the woman with black hair and red eyes continued practicing her singing, absorbed in the flowing water, as if the little incident from earlier had never happened.

……

The Lin Residence.

"I'm back!"

"Young Master Ran, welcome home! You must have had a long day!"

As if it were a pre-programmed procedure, as soon as Lin Ran stepped into the entrance hall, the little maid greeted him with a bright smile, took his schoolbag and put it aside, and then thoughtfully took off his school uniform jacket and hung it on the rack.

"Don't you miss your handsome, talented young master?"

"I want to!"

Hearing Lin Ran's teasing, Mingmei nodded without hesitation, her big eyes blinking, her sincerity so genuine that no one could doubt her.

Faced with such an obedient little maid, Lin Ran felt an overwhelming tenderness in her heart. Suddenly, she reached out and picked Mingmei up by the waist, even spinning her around in place.

"Wow!"

Akemi gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Whose little maid is this? How come she's so well-behaved and cute? Ah! She's mine!" Lin Ran hugged her, laughing with unusual joy.

"Young...Young Master?" Mingmei tilted her head back with both hands, looking at the handsome face so close to hers, her cheeks flushed.

Lin Ran looked down at the shy, submissive maid in his arms, feeling quite pleased. He deliberately bounced her around and laughed, "Hmm, it seems Sister Mingmei has been eating well lately; she's gained a little weight."

After lingering in the entryway for a while, the two finally separated and headed to the living room. Lin Ran lay down on the sofa, looking around, and asked, "Where's Xiao Ai? Hasn't she come back yet?"

Akemi straightened her maid outfit, which the young master had messed up, and shook her head to explain, "Not yet. I was going to pick her up after school, but Shiho sent me a message saying that she went out to play with her classmates and will be back later."

"Um……"

Lin Ran already knew what had happened.

The arrogant loli ultimately couldn't escape joining the group of people who court death, but she probably enjoys it herself, since she has an aptx4869 as her experimental guinea pig.

In the past, if Ai didn't come home this late, Akemi would definitely worry, but now that Ran-sama is around, her concern for her sister has dropped sharply, and she has already run into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

After all, no matter how big the world is, the young master's belly is the biggest!

Lin Ran sprawled on the sofa like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams. After lying there for a while, she wandered into the kitchen to help peel onions and break garlic.

"Young Master Ran seems to be in a good mood today?"

"certainly."

Lin Ran tossed the peeled garlic into the blender, clapped her hands, and said, "I finished my thesis, and by the way... well, I saw some interesting scenery."

He recalled the black-haired, red-eyed woman by the river, a playful smile playing on his lips. Meeting some "acquaintances" ahead of time seemed to make the world a little more interesting.

"Interesting scenery?"

As Akemi chopped the vegetables, she tilted her head curiously.

"It's nothing, just a not-so-friendly passerby." Lin Ran smiled and didn't say anything more.

The atmosphere was as warm and inviting as ever during dinner.

Mingmei's cooking skills have become increasingly refined over this period of time, and Lin Ran ate to his heart's content. At the dinner table, he casually mentioned his paper submission, which drew another round of admiring praise from the little maid.

"Young Master is so amazing! He can write books and study mathematics!" Mingmei looked at Lin Ran with bright, sparkling eyes, as if he had done something earth-shattering.

Facing such a devoted maid who is completely devoted to him, Lin Ran felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

"Oh, not at all, it's all to earn money to support my family!"

Upon hearing this, Mingmei immediately put down her chopsticks and waved her hands hastily, "Young Master Ran, I can eat a little less! Really! I'll only eat... just two meals a day from now on!"

Seeing her adorable expression, as if she wanted to immediately cut back on food and clothing to ease his burden, Lin Ran couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Silly girl, I was just kidding. Your young master is now a billionaire, more than enough to support you and Zhibao. Just eat in peace, and it's good that you're plump and healthy."

He pinched Mingmei's slightly chubby cheeks; they felt wonderful to the touch.

"Young Master!"

"Hahaha~"