Li Jian Gao ultimately refused Zhang Chunlei's suggestion firmly.
Not only that, but he felt he couldn't attend tomorrow's meeting either.
It wasn't that he wanted to compete with Zhang Chunlei for people.
Rather, he feared these professors' enthusiasm might scare the child away.
As for whether it was inappropriate not to attend the meeting...
Zhang Chunlei, who was the first invited to present at tomorrow's meeting, dared to ask for leave. So, he, merely sitting there listening, naturally had no reason to be timid.
Anyway, it was just a conference for the School of Mathematics from several universities in the Central Hua Region; the scale of the meeting wasn't too high, so it shouldn't be a big problem.
Before falling asleep, Li Jian Gao was still thinking this.
...
"Bang bang bang..." The next morning, the knocking at the door startled Li Jian Gao awake from his deep sleep.
Subconsciously picking up his phone tossed aside, he saw it was only 6:30 AM!
Li Jian Gao felt very unhappy.
Having been occupied with the day's unexpected events until after two in the morning, and now he wasn't allowed to sleep in?
But the person outside the room clearly had no awareness of not disturbing others and kept knocking.
Li Jian Gao got up, walked to the door, and peered through the peephole—it was Professor Liu from Huaxia University of Technology.
Upon opening the door, before he could even start to complain, he saw Liu holding freshly bought fried dough sticks and soy milk, his smile quickly turning to surprise: "Why is it you? Didn't you say the kid was staying here last night?"
"Huh?" Li Jian Gao scratched his head, recalling that last night at dinner, these professors did indeed inquire about the child's room.
"The kid fell asleep in my room last night, so I came here to sleep. What are you doing here so early..."
Before Li Jian Gao could finish speaking, Liu, looking like a thief scanning his surroundings, pushed Li Jian Gao into the room and promptly closed the door.
"Well, the room change is for the better. Let me tell you, Professor Li, you have to help me this time. I thought about it all night and feel I probably can't beat Zhang. Zhang is indeed a good friend who truly helps when needed. But he doesn't hold back when it comes to competing for benefits. Here's what I think: Zhang has to present first at today's conference anyway, so I simply won't go.
"Later you take me to the kid, talk to him properly, then I'll take the kid to meet his mother, and have a brief chat with the parents about the advantages of Hua University of Technology in the morning. After the meeting ends at noon, you ditch the others, and I'll invite the whole family to join you for lunch. What do you say?"
"Oh..."
"Huh? You're all here? What are you doing in this room so early in the morning instead of preparing for the conference? Wait, Professor Li, you're here too? Where's the kid?"
...
Ten minutes later, Li Jian Gao was certain.
Last night, of the six professors who gathered together, except for Professor Xu, who was truly honest, each of the others was crafty.
Zhang Chunlei, Liu Jie, Chen Xujing, Wang Ming, Qian Zhenghai—they had all already gathered in what was originally Qiao Ze's room.
At that moment, they were staring at each other, big eyes to small.
"I mean, Zhang, we could let it slide, but you're the first one to present at today's conference. Isn't it too much that you're not attending the conference?"
"I've already asked the organizing committee for leave because I'm not feeling well, a bit of an adjustment to the local environment. So I've had my presentation moved to the afternoon the day after tomorrow. I'll be the closing speaker."
"Hey, look at this mess, we're all respectable people; we should at least save some face, right?"
"That's well said, Qian. Why don't you go ahead and get ready for the conference."
"I'm different from you guys. At my age, I don't have the energy or drive to scramble for projects and promotions. I just want to teach students quietly, to be a good mentor. What do I need a face for? I'm telling you, I've already given notice that I won't be attending the following sessions. I really don't care, I'm not afraid of offending anyone, but as for you guys..."
"Heh heh..."
"Heh heh..."
"Ah... you guys..." Zhang Chunlei sighed, looking up to the sky.
Li Jian Gao silently watched the big shots engage in their verbal jousting but was already imagining the faces of the conference organizers.
Good grief...
In the Central Hua Region, professors from several of the most influential 985 universities had all collectively requested leave—what kind of conference would this be?
"Alright, everyone, listen to me. Since it's come to this, why don't I ask Ms. Lu if she's free later, and then we can take Qiao Ze to visit her. But one thing, everyone please hold back a bit, let's not scare her... okay?" Li Jian Gao said with a wry smile.
"Don't worry, Jian Gao, we are all sensible people; we won't do that!"
I hope so...