Lately, Xu Kaiqing had been spending all his time in the lab.
If it weren’t for Yan Zhenfeng showing up and chattering in front of him, he wouldn’t have known that Jiang Fuyue had won gold medals in two competitions and published a paper in PRL.
“Oh,” Xu Kaiqing responded calmly.
That’s it? Yan Zhenfeng was a bit stunned.
“Aren’t you… surprised?”
Xu Kaiqing gave him a look as if he were a country bumpkin. “Shouldn’t she be winning gold medals? What’s there to be surprised about?”
Uh…
Yan Zhenfeng said, “But at least it’s something to be happy about, right?”
“Two subject competitions are enough to make you happy? So when she wins a Nobel Prize, are you going to faint with joy?”
Yan Zhenfeng: “….”
A Nobel Prize—just how confident was Xu Kaiqing in Jiang Fuyue?
“Um, Teacher, actually, besides updating you, there’s another reason I came here today.”
“Hm?” Xu Kaiqing looked up, pausing his adjustments to the equipment.
“I had the admissions office send a direct-admission notice to Jiang Fuyue’s high school…”
Xu Kaiqing’s eyes brightened.
He’d always wanted to bring “Chou” to Q University, but hadn’t managed to convince her. Now, it was official, and he couldn’t be happier.
He even looked at Yan Zhenfeng approvingly and praised him, “Well done!”
Yan Zhenfeng was stunned.
Did teacher just… compliment him?
It didn’t add up…
When he published in SCI, the professor criticized his grammar in the introduction; when he won the national award for physics research, the professor complained his tie was crooked. Praise was almost unheard of—criticism was the norm.
And now, just because he sent a direct-admission notice to Jiang Fuyue, he got a rare compliment?
“Why so silent?” Xu Kaiqing turned off the instrument and looked at him.
“T- Teacher, are you… feeling well?”
“I’m fine.”
Yan Zhenfeng swallowed, “How about mentally?”
Xu Kaiqing raised an eyebrow. “?” What kind of stupid question is that?
“Just checking if you might have a fever…”
“Tsk! Are you implying I’ve lost my mind?”
Yan Zhenfeng’s scalp tingled as he shook his head firmly. “Absolutely not!”
“Then say what you need to say!”
“The computer science school wants to compete with the physics school for Jiang Fuyue!”
Xu Kaiqing was taken aback. “What?! Say that again!”
Yan Zhenfeng repeated himself.
Bang!
Xu Kaiqing slapped the table. “Outrageous!”
“Exactly! It’s unreasonable!”
“How could such an exceptional student only be wanted by two schools?”
“Uh, right… What?”
“Only two schools? That’s way below her level!” She’s “Chou”! She’s at the pinnacle of any field she touches!
How could only two schools be after her?
Xu Kaiqing continued, “No, I need to talk to the deans of a few other schools…”
Yan Zhenfeng: “?” Maybe he had come to the wrong person after all.
…
When Qin Libin saw his colleague return looking lost, he raised an eyebrow.
“What happened? Did Old Xu agree?”
“He… called the deans of the other schools…”
Qin Libin’s face lit up. “Good idea! If we can’t convince Jiang Fuyue directly, we can at least stop other schools from trying to poach her.”
“No…” Yan Zhenfeng shook his head.
“?”
“The professor called them to brag. He made sure to emphasize every aspect of Jiang Fuyue’s brilliance…”
Qin Libin had a bad feeling.
Sure enough—
“Now all the deans want to add options for Jiang Fuyue to choose from, all within their schools.”
“Isn’t this just encouraging them to compete for her? What is Old Xu thinking?”
“Teacher said that with more schools competing, it’ll be all the more satisfying when he finally gets her.”
Qin Libin: “?” What kind of twisted logic is that?
“Is he certain Jiang Fuyue will choose the physics school?”
“I asked him that question, too. He said, ‘No.’”
Qin Libin: “?”
So now, not only hasn’t the computer science issue been solved, but other schools have jumped in, too?
…
Meanwhile, back in Linhuai, the entrance to No. 1 High School was bustling as ever.
In the morning, most of the students arriving were boarders from other districts, even other provinces.
As for the day students, like Jiang Fuyue, Ling Xuan, and Zhong Ziang, they usually arrived in the afternoon since they lived close by and didn’t need to set up dormitories.
At 2 p.m., in the Ling family villa.
Zhou Qin carried a cup of naturally cooled tea to the study on the second floor. The door was slightly ajar, so she didn’t think much of it and pushed it open.
“Husband, Ah Xuan is ready. When should we…”
Her voice trailed off as she saw her husband hurriedly put away a photo in a safe. Ignoring this, she smiled and finished her sentence: “…head out?”
The man got up, moving around his desk, standing tall and looking calm. “We can leave now.”
“The tea…” Zhou Qin hesitated, handing it to him.
Ling Qingzhou waved her off. “Just leave it there.”
Zhou Qin set the tea on the desk, then took his arm with a gentle smile. “Let’s go. Ah Xuan is waiting downstairs.”
“Mm.”
Today was the first day of school, and, as usual, no matter how busy he was, Ling Qingzhou would always make time to take his son to register.
“Dad.”
“Mm.” Ling Qingzhou nodded slightly. “Did you bring everything?”
“Yes, I did.”
The family of three set off.
At the same time, the Yi family’s car was also heading to No. 1 High School.
