In class, when Su Mucheng secretly passed Qiao Ze a Bluetooth earpiece, and then stood up her textbook to hide her phone behind it and started playing a variety show video that Su Mucheng had not easily found.
Just to convince Qiao Ze that there really were adults in the world who couldn't solve quadratic equations, Su had even spent 28 yuan to become a member of the video software.
Ten minutes later, Qiao Ze had gained some new insights.
A piece of paper was then pushed over, with elegant handwriting that read, "I didn't lie to you, did I?"
Alright, this was the first time Qiao Ze received a note during class. After some thought, he simply drew three exclamation points on the paper and pushed it back.
Note passing was quite fun.
It made Qiao Ze feel that Su Mucheng was a pretty good friend.
"See, our 'sickness' is pretty much the same, it's just that yours is a bit more severe than mine!"
"Hmm!"
"So, now we are 'sick friends,' right?"
"Yes!"
"Then shall we have lunch together at the canteen? To celebrate our official 'sick friendship'."
"Li said that he wanted to take me out for lunch this noon."
"Li?"
"A math professor at the school."
"Can't we go together?"
"Let me ask him."
"Okay!"
...
However, this note didn't make it out, as suddenly a large hand from behind reached over and intercepted the note.
Su Mucheng subconsciously looked back and realized that at some point, Professor Ma had already stood right behind them.
Huh?
Shouldn't the professor be lecturing at the podium?
She turned around and craned her neck to see.
Oh, there was a problem written on the blackboard, and it seemed like everyone was burying their heads in trying to solve it.
Alright, Su Mucheng was a bit annoyed with herself for having put the book up in a way that blocked her vision.
Having been too engrossed in the conversation, she hadn't noticed that Ma had stealthily walked down from the podium.
She then gave a glare at the three schoolgirls sitting in the row in front of her, feeling betrayed that they hadn't given her a heads up.
...
Ma Wanxiang glanced at the content of the note, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Are students these days so abstract?
Maybe this was a sign of him finally coming around?
He had wanted to talk to Qiao Ze alone originally, but considering that Qiao Ze had finally managed to interact normally with a classmate, and a female one at that, he gave a positive response.
"Sure, then just go directly to the Xiyuan Staff Canteen at the west gate of the campus. I'll go there now and wait for you in a small private room on the second floor."
...
When Qiao Ze showed up with Su Mucheng, it gave Li Jiangao a really big jolt of astonishment.
Li Jiangao had teaching duties for undergraduates, but his course on "Modern Algebra" wasn't encountered by students until their junior year, and it included a lot of Group Theory content.
But he recognized Su Mucheng.
It couldn't be helped, this girl was quite famous at the Xilin University of Technology School of Mathematics.
She could be said to be the first girl in the past decade of the school to rank first in the basic mathematics class's grades.
Add to that her pretty appearance, and she naturally attracted a lot of attention.
During last year's freshman assembly, she had even given a speech as the freshman representative.
There are very few people in this world completely immune to looks after all.
Most people still judge by appearances.
"Hmm, Su Mucheng?"
"Hello, Professor Li," Su Mucheng greeted Li Jian with a cheerful and warm hello.
"You know me?" Li Jian asked with a smile.
"Haha, not really, but Qiao Ze told me about you. Right, Qiao Ze?" Su Mucheng tilted her head towards Qiao Ze and playfully shook his arm.
"Yes!" Qiao Ze nodded passively, but showed no resistance to Su Mucheng's somewhat intimate gesture.
This made Li Jian's eyelids twitch uncontrollably.
Of course, it wasn't out of jealousy or envy, it just felt strange—was this little girl too discerning?
"Hehe, Uncle Li, Qiao Ze and I are close companions in illness, please take good care of us in the future!" Su Mucheng bowed cheerfully to Li Jian.
"Companions in illness?" Li Jian couldn't help but laugh, feeling better, he made a joke: "Alright, alright, sit down, let's eat. But I do have something to discuss with Qiao Ze, so don't mind if it affects the exchange between you two 'companions in illness,' okay?"
"No worries, Professor Li, I only brought a mouth to eat with at noon."
...
Soon, the waiter brought the food, and Li Jian directly laid out the reason why he had called Qiao Ze over today.
"Qiao Ze, I thought about it a lot last night, and since you want to work on that proposition, I think you should be supported. However, I've calculated that if we really want to make something of this proposition, it will require a significant amount of research funding.
I spoke to Dean Xu about this matter this morning; funding is quite tight at the school now, so it might be difficult to get a large amount for you to start this project.
Dean Xu's suggestion is to start with theoretical research. If your paper is accepted, he can find a way to allocate more research funding to support more applications. What do you think?"
Qiao Ze looked at Li Jian seriously and said, "I think it's our project. You'll help me, right?"
"Yes, of course. But..."
"Then let's start with theory."