After some time, taking advantage of an opportunity to return home for an exchange project, she took two weeks off from school, planning to come back to unwind and adjust her emotions.

She didn’t hide her condition from her mother.

Even though she knew that telling her mother would make her worry, the long-standing good parent-child relationship meant that she wouldn’t keep these things from her mother.

The doctor’s advice was to communicate more with others, chat more to release her emotions, and if possible, get out more.

And it was for this reason that today, her mother brought her here.

Chen Rui had not failed to try and interact with others more. She had a clear understanding of her condition, and the doctor greatly acknowledged her positive attitude, but some things are indeed beyond subjective control.

Since she had been studying away for a long time, she hadn’t kept in touch with many friends from college, and at this point in time, there wasn’t anyone she could arrange to meet.

Either they were also studying abroad, or if they were in the country, they were definitely busy with their studies.

Besides, there was another thing that continued to trouble her... she couldn’t carry on conversations with others.

This feeling was something she only realized after analyzing and summing up the situation. It was hard to detect it when actually communicating with others.

Specifically, how to say... the topics others discussed often seemed uninteresting to her, and unconsciously, she couldn’t keep her attention on what others were saying.

The people she talked with could vaguely sense her state; over time, when talking without any feedback, the other party would feel exhausted too, so such conversations often ended unpleasantly.

She had also tried to lead the topics herself, but when she started talking about things she was interested in, though she spoke enthusiastically and engagedly, she would often be surprised to find the listeners yawning, their thoughts drifting elsewhere.

The things she talked about did not interest others.

After a few attempts, she realized there was indeed an unspeakable barrier in her communication with others.

This experience caused her considerable distress.

For instance, when her mother and her mother’s friend were chatting about gossip in the small town, she forced herself to listen, yet her thoughts unknowingly drifted to the Big Bang in the universe.

Her rational mind told her that to improve her anxiety, she needed to try to integrate into their conversations, but physically it was difficult to achieve.

This constant back-and-forth made her even more uncomfortable, and she sighed slightly.

At this moment, Li Younan came out with the noodles.

To her surprise, it wasn’t boiled noodles, but a bowl of meaty noodle salad that looked quite firm, served on a large platter with beautiful presentation, and a perfectly fried, golden yellow egg.

Li Younan said, "We’ve finished the boiled noodles at home, so I simply made a Chinese-style meat sauce pasta using the Italian pasta method. Give it a try."

Chen Rui had never seen such noodles, yet it stirred her appetite.

She nodded and said thank you, then began to eat with her chopsticks.

The freshly made handmade noodles and the industrially pressed boiled noodles were worlds apart in texture, the fragrance of wheat mixed with a hint of egg aroma, indicating that eggs were added.

The sauce used for the noodle salad was fried by Li Younan herself, with a rich and bouncy meaty aroma.

The egg was also perfectly fried, with a thin, crispy layer just on the egg white, while the yolk inside was semi-liquid and gooey.

Chen Rui ate very engrossedly, her slow and deliberate noodle-eating seemed very elegant.

Unbeknownst to her, when she finished the large plate of noodles, she looked up to find the three of them staring at her.

Her face blushed slightly, and she put down her chopsticks, saying, "What’s up?"

The three of them said in unison, "Nothing, nothing."

The reasons they looked at her naturally varied slightly.

Her mother was simply happy, as her daughter hadn’t had much of an appetite at home these past few days and couldn’t eat much of anything; seeing her daughter’s good appetite today, she was naturally pleased.

Li Younan, looking at Chen Rui, did so with the eyes of a chef. Seeing her cooked dish completely finished gave a chef a strong sense of satisfaction.

And the reason Li Younan’s mother looked at Chen Rui was much simpler; she just felt a little envious... the noodles looked delicious, and she intended to have her son make her a bowl tomorrow.

After the meal, Li Younan cleared the dishes and took them to the kitchen.

Chen Rui thought for a moment and followed him inside.

Li Younan was washing the dishes when Chen Rui walked in and said, "Let me help you."

Li Younan chuckled softly, "No need, you go sit outside."

Chen Rui said nothing, just silently moved to stand next to the sink.

At this moment, Li Younan put the bowls and pots just used into the sink and turned on the hot water, preparing to squeeze dish soap.

Chen Rui quietly stood by the fresh water sink and said, "You hand me the washed dishes, I’ll rinse them here with clean water, it’ll be quicker."

Seeing Chen Rui’s insistence, Li Younan wasn’t pretentious either and let her help him.

The few bowls didn’t take much time.

Li Younan used hot water to wash off the grease, handed them over to Chen Rui, who then rinsed off the soap bubbles with running water, and they placed them into the nearby disinfection cabinet.

Chen Rui asked, "I heard from auntie that you quit your job."