Chapter 2253: Late Autumn in Golden City (Seventeen)

Chapter 2227: Late Autumn in Jincheng (Seventeen)

August to September is the season for Atlantic salmon to migrate in the estuary. The dining tables of the upper class on the East Coast are always full of this attractive bright orange. In addition to raw salmon fillet, pan-fried salmon, herb salmon salad, Italian Tuscan salmon are all common dishes, as well as seasonal vegetables with salmon.

The large dining table in Rodriguez Manor is only used for banquets of six or more people. The last time it was used was the last supper of the wizards. It took some effort to clean the smell left by the moose meat, but in the end Merkel did his job well, and so did the chef.

Schiller could clearly see the surprised expression of Lex who followed Merkel to the large dining table in the restaurant.

Lex looked at Schiller and asked, "Professor, is the definition of simple meals different in Gotham and Metropolis? Do I need to go back and change into formal clothes?"

"No, absolutely not." Schiller shook his head and sat down at the main seat, while indicating the first seat on the right with his hand. Lex sat down with obvious trepidation.

The reason was simple. He was only wearing a shirt, not even a formal one. His coat was a long trench coat that Merkel had put away. He had no tie or bow tie, and he was trying to button his sleeves to prevent the metal edge from scratching the marble tabletop.

Schiller was still wearing a dark suit. The only difference from the day before was the dark pattern on his tie. Lex observed carefully and found that this was indeed Professor Schiller, not any other Schiller.

He knew that this professor was so strict that he had some obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even the most disheveled thorn in the grade would tidy up his appearance before entering his office to prevent himself from being pierced by an umbrella - this is the hottest campus legend at Gotham University, and Lex thinks it is not just a legend.

He felt a little confused. If Schiller just invited him to a simple meal, then Rodriguez Manor must have a small dining table for two people. If it was relatively serious, then this professor would not joke about such things or use some misleading language. What was going on?

When Merkel brought the dishes, Lex felt a little relieved, because it didn't look like the amazing dishes at the luxury banquet. The appetizer was raw salmon flower with seaweed and tartar sauce, the soup was dried orange pumpkin crab claws, the main course was puff pastry rolls with cream spinach sauce and fried salmon, and there was also vinaigrette salad and pickled sour cherry cheese chiffon cake roll.

This is actually a very homely dish. It's hard to say which cuisine it belongs to. It can be put together in three ordinary Western restaurants. The soup and the main course are steaming, and it can be clearly identified that the edible value is greater than the ornamental value.

After Schiller picked up the knife and fork, Lex tied the napkin and picked up the tableware, but he still couldn't say that he was completely relaxed, because he didn't know what Schiller wanted to talk to him about.

Talking alone with this professor was stressful, so he was the first to point out that if there was a problem with the thesis, they would communicate by email.

Many Gotham University students said that they never thought that communicating by email would be so convenient and efficient, because if they gave up this written method and went to meet with Schiller, they would need a week to recover from their psychological trauma.

Lex has begun to consider turning down work after the next week. He can't say that he is not guilty at all. There are indeed some shortcuts on his way to graduation, and he has a strong premonition that he will be scolded.

So he spoke first.

"Professor, I have to admit that graduation season is difficult for everyone. Professors have a lot of things to do, and so do students. Often after a busy period, we all feel very tired."

"In fact, if we prepare early and put a lot of work in the process of learning, maybe all this will not happen, what do you think?"

Lex talked while cutting vegetables in an orderly manner, and put food into his mouth to chew in the intervals between breaths. The whole person is a capitalized Western dining etiquette manual.

"Don't be nervous, Lex." Schiller obviously read his emotions from this body movement and said, "Although I continue to pay attention to your studies and regret that I have not played a greater role in this process, we don't have to talk about this all the time."

Lex was even more confused. He paused for less than a second, looked up at Schiller's expression at a very fast speed, and then said, "I agree very much. I don't mean to take up your rest time to discuss professional knowledge, but I was a little busy some time ago. There were some formatting problems in the forms submitted to Professor Freese, so I was unable to discuss my topic with you in more depth at the last minute of graduation. This is indeed a pity."

"You submitted all the design drawings and forms to Victor. How long did it take to organize them?"

"About a week." Lex cut off a piece of salmon meat and replied, "During the creative process, the carrier I used changed a little, so the charts in some drawing software needed to be exported and printed. The software was not very easy to use, so there were some errors in the order, which delayed some time."

"But Professor Freese is quite tolerant. He asked me to submit the parts that have been sorted out first. While he was reviewing, I could sort out the other parts and make revisions and submit them. This greatly improved our efficiency."

"It sounds like a perfect match."

"Always like this, professor."

During this period, Schiller discovered a characteristic of Lex, that is, he can always lead the topic to a substantial direction that he has a lot to say without leaving any trace. He has behaved like this in Schiller's group meetings before, and no one can find any problems.

The topics he mentioned are often related to the theme, and his words are meaningful. It is easy for people to listen patiently and spend a long time unconsciously until they suddenly realize that it is time to end the conversation. It must be said that this is a very wonderful communication experience.

Lex Luthor is a speaker who can perfectly guide the audience to listen to him, just the opposite of Batman.

Schiller began to be curious. Did he practice this skill in the fight with those shareholders? Or is it actually his talent? This is a higher-level talent than perfect expression, almost close to manipulation.

Schiller decided to give it a try.

"I think you are right to prioritize Victor's studies, which will leave more time for the two of us."

"I sent the final draft of the paper to your email about two weeks ago. In your reply, I received your approval. Perhaps there are still some details that can be adjusted."

"I don't think we need to take up more of our spare time to talk about this." Schiller put a piece of fish into his mouth and said, "This is a rare private time. How do the dishes taste?"

"Very good, professor, I can't say I like them very much, because I don't know what I like to eat. I just know that they taste very pleasant and may have good nutritional value."

Lex smiled and scooped up some Tang said: "When the salmon season comes, usually in the fall, the way to consume protein becomes more pleasant. The taste of fish is completely different from other red meats. They taste with a natural flavor."

"Do you prefer it raw or cooked?"

"Cooked fish pieces with butter and vanilla." Lex gave a very specific answer and said: "I am not a fanatic seasoning lover, but there is a reason why spices have existed for such a long time in human history and become an indispensable part of our diet. In short, they taste good."

Lex and Schiller both smiled. Schiller got the answer he wanted. This was natural and did not seem like a skill learned later.

In fact, it was very difficult to take the initiative in the conversation with Schiller. The conversation always developed into Schiller asking others to answer.

Because Schiller had an innate oppression in the conversation, it was a kind of concentration born from autism and a temperament with some neurotic components, which made people feel that he was moody and there was a deep meaning behind every word.

Listening and understanding will gradually become difficult, and it will take more time. It is difficult to analyze whether Schiller affirms certain words from his expression and posture. This completely unfathomable feeling will make people lose all the sense of security that anchors themselves.

Once the self is unbalanced, it will inevitably fall into a low position. The conversation will always develop into Schiller asking others to answer, because under this shaky sense of insecurity and the huge pressure of falling into the water at any time, they are unable to express themselves and are more eager to complete the task.

So it is rare to hear someone say what they like or dislike in front of Schiller, because it takes courage and determination to express feelings. Ordinary people will lose everything in a conversation with Schiller within three rounds, and then fall into the dialogue trap of eager to come up with a satisfactory and correct answer to Schiller.

In the conversation with Schiller, it is relatively difficult to maintain self-esteem, because if there is something that Schiller cannot control, then perhaps it is this temperament that brings pressure to others, which comes from his root pathology and is difficult to control freely.

But in the conversation just now, Schiller was inconsistent. He first mentioned his studies, but immediately said not to take up his personal time, which would make people confused.

Once they began to reflect on whether there was something wrong with them, causing the topic to fall into a contradictory situation, then the one-sided situation was irreversible.

When they were lost in thought, Schiller immediately threw out another question, which was to ask about the taste of the dishes. This was a deliberately simple question, and people would always instinctively answer well.

Because they were still uneasy about the previous topic, they often couldn't say anything after a perfunctory general answer - they were busy thinking about where they were wrong.

Then they would come back to their senses belatedly and want to add a few words to make themselves seem less perfunctory, but at this time Schiller gave another multiple-choice question - raw or cooked?

This question came too quickly, not giving them time to experience their feelings, so they could only make a choice with reason.

They would think that I might have missed it once, or even twice, because I gave a perfunctory answer and behaved very impolitely when it came to taste, and Schiller might have lost his patience.

So they would instinctively speculate, not focusing on their own preferences, nor thinking about the reasons for their choices, but wanting to choose the right one, or the one that Schiller liked.

Then, a few great detectives would start to use behavioral analysis to speculate whether Schiller liked raw or cooked salmon, and through extremely perfect reasoning, give a correct answer for Schiller.

And once Schiller began to accuse him of being hopeless for this "correctness", he would feel very aggrieved, constantly arguing and lamenting how perfect my reasoning was and how correct my answer was.

Schiller found that he could no longer recall, and his blood pressure began to rise again.