Min takes the call.

  "This is James. Is this Min Ye speaking?"

  "Alec James?"

  Alec James is one of Min's classmates from the past, and his sudden call leaves him rather puzzled. Could it be an invitation to a reunion? But it's a workday…

  "Min, I saw your latest LinkedIn post about your new paper in Einstein Cross! Congratulations! Your self-study must be paying off. But why a German journal? Have you emigrated?"

  "I have no interest in emigrating again... yeah... maybe... Anyway, what about you? How have you been lately?" Keeping the thought "That wasn't my paper" to himself, Min tries to steer the conversation elsewhere.

  After chatting with James, Min learns that his old friend is doing well too — he has successfully completed his hospital internship and become a fully qualified medical professional. Though the pay isn't spectacular, it's still far more than what Min currently earns. If this call had come three months ago, Min might have lamented the disparities and injustices of life. But now, he simply offers his congratulations. Since meeting Xi P, his future prospects seem boundless — there's no need for envy or admiration.

  "Should I invite some classmates over to celebrate your success?" James asks.

  "Ah, no need. I've rented out part of my place to someone else — it's not suitable for a party." Min quickly declines. He prepared this excuse long ago; it is not only convincing but, in a sense, factual.

  "Don't worry, we'll be quiet. It'll be a surprise!"

  ***

  Min hangs up the phone, expressionless. He now wishes he could dig a hole and shove Xi P into it. This might be the most perilous exposure crisis to date, and it's all due to an utterly unreasonable reason!

  After hearing of Min's conversation, Xi P's mood sours as well. If it involved journalists or the like, he'd have contingency plans ready. But this situation falls outside every scenario he'd anticipated.

  "This classmate of yours is... very unreasonable. So unpolite. You told him this isn't suitable, yet he still coming." After a long silence, Xi P finally utters these words.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Nodding, Min sighs again: "Well, that's precisely why he's my friend: birds of a feather flock together. Whatever. But complaining won't change anything. Let's focus on figuring out how to handle this instead."

  "Logically speaking, they should arrive within a month. That means we only need to be on guard for about a month."

  "And they're unlikely to come after 10 PM — I'm asleep by then. They wouldn't want to wake me up just to surprise me. Similarly, they probably won't show up before 7:30 AM."

  "Obviously, they won't come to my house during working hours or immediately before / after them. While they can lurk outside my door and jump out when I return, the real chances of them arriving between 8 AM and 6 PM are extremely low."

  "So, they have a total of 4.5 hours a day they might show up. That's slightly better than I thought. There are 26 days left this month. 26 multiplied by 4.5 hours equals 117 hours. That means they could appear anytime within the next month's 117 hours. I feel like cursing."

  Suddenly, Xi P, who has been listening quietly, speaks up to correct him: "You miscalculate. You don't work on Saturdays and Sundays, so you have 11.5 hours a day you might encounter them. 11.5 times... 8 equals 92 hours. 18 times 4.5 equals 81 hours. 92 plus 81 equals 173 hours. You can curse now."

  After saying this, Xi P gazes expectantly at Min's face, wondering how he will react.

  Min, who has just started to swear, stops abruptly. He shoots Xi P a surprised look and murmurs: "You calculate fast."

  "And then for the next 173 hours, I will have to be covered, at all times, by that full-body suit, baking like a meatstick till dead on the ground, becoming glorious research material."

  The study slowly slips into silence. Neither of them speaks for a while, their minds racing for solutions.

  "I have an idea. Since they won't come at night, I can choose to sleep during the day, and active at night." Xi P adds, "Besides, that's more... biologically consistent."

  Min's eyes light up at the suggestion. Although it would delay Xi P's studies and their academic collaboration significantly, it is a viable solution. After all, they wouldn't need to keep this up forever. Progress wouldn't necessarily stall completely either, as with Xi P's intelligence, self-study isn't totally out of the question...

  "Yes. That's good. But if we do this, you absolutely must stay awake tonight."

  "At least it's easier than... making me stay up during the day, like when we started all these."

  After discussing some specifics, the conversation concludes. The final plan is to keep only a short window every day for Min and Xi P's shared activities; all items that don't look like Earth-made products will be stored back in the shed and brought out at night for use. Min will also need to prepare some earplugs, otherwise Xi P's night-time activities will surely wake him up.

  Stretching his back, Min gets up and heads towards the study door, casually remarking: "Okay, now I'm going to make dinner."

  This remark prompts Xi P to spring up and intercept Min. After a moment to gather his thoughts, he says as solemnly as he can manage: "There's something I feel I must tell you. As you know, you're an omnivore, while I'm a carnivore."

  "...You mean I accidentally put plants in your meal yesterday?"

  "No, that's not what I mean... I mean, that thing in your kitchen, ra, the vacuum cleaner. Could you turn it up a bit when you cook? Please? Also, I don't need to eat that many times per day..."