Chapter 106 - 77: Shen Yan’s Gratitude
But in Gu Ming’s eyes, Chen Lin’s calm and composed demeanor held an entirely different meaning.
’Is this the composure of a genius?’
He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm. "Ahem, so, shall we start on the remaining two subjects today?"
"Alright, no problem," Chen Lin replied crisply.
The two went to the conference room next door again.
The procedure was identical to the day before. Gu Ming spread the two remaining exam papers—Differential Geometry and Manifold—out in front of Chen Lin.
Chen Lin picked up his pen and immediately began to write.
Having learned from the previous day, Gu Ming didn’t even bother with scratch paper this time. He simply sat down across from Chen Lin, opened his laptop, and pretended to read a paper, all while carefully watching him solve the problems from the corner of his eye.
It was a moment of pure appreciation.
In the conference room, only the steady scratching of pen on paper echoed, like a stable and harmonious symphony.
Time flew by in a state of extreme focus.
4:05 PM.
Less than two hours had passed since the exam began.
Chen Lin slowly set down his pen and gently pushed the final, completed exam paper to the center of the table.
"Professor Gu, I’m finished."
At the sound of his voice, Gu Ming immediately shut his laptop and hurried over. He picked up the two exam papers, not even bothering to ask a pointless question like, "How do you think you did?"
’He could guess the outcome with his eyes closed.’
He looked at Chen Lin, his eyes filled with anticipation and eagerness, and moved directly to the next step. "Chen Lin, when are you free next? I think... we can start discussing your graduation thesis. I can use this time to properly guide you, teach you how to choose a topic, write a proposal, and properly complete an academic paper."
’Graduation thesis?’
Chen Lin quickly did the math in his head.
According to his plan, his research on the Monge-Ampère equation still needed two more days to complete.
Today was the 21st, which meant the earliest he could be completely finished was the evening of the 23rd.
So, after a moment’s thought, he replied, "Professor Gu, how about we aim for the 24th? I’m free all day."
"The 24th?" Gu Ming paused, then immediately nodded, a knowing smile spreading across his face. "Sure! No problem! The 24th it is! Young people need to balance work and rest, after all. It’s good to relax for a couple of days after finishing your exams!"
He had clearly misunderstood, assuming Chen Lin wanted to rest for a couple of days before starting on his thesis.
Chen Lin didn’t bother to explain, simply smiling and nodding in response.
.....
.....
Chen Lin bid farewell to Professor Gu Ming and left the conference room.
As he walked out of the School of Mathematics building, the warm afternoon sun poured down, stretching his shadow long across the ground.
He took a deep breath of the campus’s unique air, a mixture of fresh grass and earth, and felt completely refreshed.
The five major course assessments had been even easier than he’d imagined.
All told, the two days of exams had taken him less than five hours in total.
’Now, I just need to spend two more days nailing down the core of my graduation thesis. Once that’s done, I’ll have pretty much finished all the requirements for graduating early.’
’Then, apart from learning the conventions of academic writing from Professor Gu, I can dedicate most of my time and energy to preparing for the company launch.’
Chen Lin was in high spirits, mulling over what to treat himself to for dinner, when the phone in his pocket suddenly buzzed twice.
He pulled it out and saw a WeChat notification pop up on the screen, causing the corners of his mouth to lift into an irrepressible smile.
It was from Shen Yan.
Shen Yan: [I’m back in Jinmen.]
Shen Yan: [Are you free tonight? I’ll treat you to dinner.]
Chen Lin stared at the two short, direct lines on his screen. He recalled Shen Yan mentioning on WeChat a couple of days ago that her team, which included Li Zihan, had their trip to the Imperial Capital extended.
They were originally scheduled to come back on the 17th.
As it turned out, Academician Liang Tianshi had personally stepped in and convinced the leadership of Huaqing University to grant the top-performing teams from the modeling competition a valuable three-day opportunity for an academic exchange on the Huaqing campus.
During those three days, not only were they given guided tours of the Huaqing University campus, but several renowned professors from the departments of mathematics and computer science were also specially arranged to give them a few public lectures packed with valuable insights.
When Chen Lin had heard Shen Yan talk about this on WeChat, he couldn’t help but marvel at the situation.
’That Mr. Liang has truly poured his heart and soul into discovering and nurturing the country’s next generation of talent. He really spares no effort.’
His thoughts returned to the present. Chen Lin was not the least bit surprised that Shen Yan would make good on her promise to treat him to dinner.
From what he knew of her personality, her mind was always on her studies. In her daily life, she was always direct and never bothered with empty pleasantries.
Still, the smug satisfaction Chen Lin felt was very real.
’Having Shen Yan invite him first gives him the perfect excuse.’
’After this meal, I can justifiably ask her out again under the pretext of returning the favor, right?’
’One thing leads to another, and before you know it, we’ll basically be dating, won’t we?’
’Perfect.’
Chen Lin thought gleefully as his fingers flew across the screen.
Chen Lin: [Sure.]
The reply came back almost instantly.
Shen Yan: [Where are you now?]