Chapter 38

Zhang Yuan had doubts in his heart. ‘Does dad really have so many female fans? It can’t be. He doesn’t use social media at all. It’s only after winning the award did he gain some popularity. Could it be that the nation was vigorously promoting him?’

He said with a smile, “It’s not what you’re thinking… I will be leaving Earth soon so how can I possibly have time for all these. You should get along with your soon-to-be brother-in-law instead.”

“Leaving Earth?” Han Ziyue dragged her words and a slight surprise could be seen on her face. “Don’t tell me you are one of the half million volunteers?”

Zhang Yuan nodded his head in response.

“Gosh, I feel so angry!”

Han Ziyue pursed her lips as her expectations became deflated. “So that’s the reason why you didn’t place any importance on that 10 million yuan prize money. I originally wanted to live off a rich man, but I hadn’t expected you to have given all your assets. You might even be poorer than me…”

‘Are girls nowadays so open-minded and unrestrained to directly reveal her desire of living off a rich man?’

Her little head swayed left and right while muttering to herself. “Sigh, don’t tell me I have to pay for this meal… It’s not like I can’t, but…”

“You’ll have to make up for my crestfallen emotions. How about heading back to my dorm to repair my computer? I believe astronauts should at least know how to repair stuff, right?”

Zhang Yuan was momentarily stunned. “Rest assured that I can still afford a meal. As for repairing your computer…”

If he remembered correctly, it seemed like there was some sort of hidden meaning behind repairing a computer?

…

7 in the evening, inside an office building.

“Teacher Wang, Zhang Yuan is considered a very good talent, and he’s good with his words. I think he should consider following me to do some administrative work after he boards the spaceship. His major is also very suitable… Particularly, the New Civilization Historiography needs such new talents.”

“No way!”

Professor Wang straightforwardly rejected him. “Smart people should engage in academic work. It’s a waste of time dabbling in management!”

The middle-aged man, who had the appearance of a soldier, laughed. “That will depend on his wishes. What kind of scientific research could be achieved when it’s carried out in a spaceship?”

Wang Zhong thought for a moment and sighed. “Ma Tao, you’ll just have to slightly care about that boy. There’s no need to give him special attention. The initial ecosystem of the spaceship cannot be tampered with if we wish to build a new civilization. The smaller the ecosystem, the easier it is for rules to be bent. You cannot start that trend!”

Captain Ma sighed and said, “You’re right.”

“In fact, it’s good that he doesn’t dabble in administrative management. He would have more time to spend in hibernation. At the very least…. He might be able to witness the new sunlight 3000 years later.”

He said slowly, while seemingly lamenting over some past memories. “Our captains would probably pass away on the journey to our new home. They would not be able to witness the new planet we would be living in.”

It was a long journey of 3000 years, and no one knew if the spaceship could reach its destination.

“I’ll wish you guys the best of luck!”

“We will need it.”

…

After sending away Captain Ma, Wang Zhong finally had time to rest and start on his work.

Professor Wang was slightly older in age so his mind was now incomparable to those younger scientists. His speed of learning new knowledge had also dropped considerably. However, it was not a problem for him to read through some student’s thesis papers.

He was currently reading the thesis Zhang Yuan had sent to him. While reading it, his brows would alternate between a frown and a relaxed state.

How should he comment on this paper?

First and foremost, there were a lot of mistakes that beginners would usually make—it was too wordy. Some obvious conclusions were led to by many long lines of text, as if fearing that the industry-related reviewer would not understand what they wrote.

There was also a problem with the structure. The primary and secondary segment was not clearly distinguished. There was no main topic that the writer wanted to highlight.

Of course, these were only problems related to how the writer wrote it and they weren’t really a big issue. It could be corrected in just a day or two.

After eliminating these minor problems, the entire proof logic was very clear and the classification proof was very comprehensive.

He wanted to find if there were any loopholes but unexpectedly, he could find none.

“It’s a pretty good paper!”

After spending three hours reading through the entire thesis, Wang Zhong became even more satisfied with Zhang Yuan.

As a mathematician, he felt that the whole mathematical demonstration process was very good. There was this refreshing feeling while reading the thesis, as if he had drunk to his heart’s content.

This sort of appreciation for math was a quality every famous mathematician ought to possess.

However, because the topic was not within his field of studies, it was unknown if it was valuable or publishable.

“Different people major in different fields. I don’t know if there is any innovation for this paper. Let me check its repetition rate first.”

Professor Wang uploaded the paper on a platform for professionals and a number soon appeared on the screen. “Repetition Rate: 2.33%”

It was a very acceptable rate.

The reason for the repetition rate was because of the algorithm calculation of this library. It was inevitable for professional terms to be repeated.

After he wrote a few suggestions for revision, Wang Zhong stood up from his seat, did a few stretches, and was about to consult some experts in informatics and mechanical engineering.

One advantage of being old was that he had students all over the world in different industries. Hence, Professor Wang had a wide range of contacts. He basically knew experts from every industry.

“Oh, it’s already 10 pm. Forget it then.”

After thinking about it, he was unwilling to disturb someone during their rest. In the end, he had only sent an email to an industry expert to comment on the paper.

…

“Professor Wang sent a thesis paper his student wrote to me? Could his student be in the field of mechanical engineering?

“Is it an undergraduate he just accepted?”

Lin Wenda greatly admired Professor Wang who was still fighting on the front lines despite his old age. It was rare for someone to consult him on an undergraduate paper but regardless, he still had to give Wang Zhong some face.

However, Lin Wenda was currently doing a project right now; it was hard for him to spare time out of his busy schedule to review this paper.

So, he forwarded the paper to a student under him for her to look through it first. If it was ordinary, then there was no need for him to waste his time.

Based on his thoughts, it was easy for a postgraduate student to look through an undergraduate’s paper.

…

“Gosh, my teacher is always like this. He always makes me do such boring tasks. Don’t tell me this paper was written by a newbie and he wants me to re-edit it completely?”

Wang Lili was currently watching a movie with her boyfriend when she suddenly received the email. When she realized the content of the email, she could not help but complain in a low voice.

The life of a postgraduate was very difficult as they often had to help teachers with their chores.

Her mentor was already considered the better ones out of the lot. The work he passed to her was all within her field of studies and there were no physical labors such as running errands or sending express deliveries. There were also no such things like delaying his student’s graduation or any ridiculous incidents of asking for sexual favors.

In any case, it would be over once she tided over this period.

“When I study for my Ph.D. in the future, I will still have to slog for so many years!”

Just the thought of it made her feel like quitting her studies.

However, she had no choice but to slowly suffer for the sake of her future.

When she opened the paper and saw the topic along with the name ‘Zhang Yuan’ written under the author’s column, she was suddenly elated.

Haha!

How refreshing!