271: Campus trip

In this study session, the senior and junior students seemed to have forgotten the time, until Tang Zhenyi's pen dropped to the ground with a "patta" sound as she propped her head up.

The senior and junior students woke up simultaneously, their bodies straightening abruptly.

Lin You, looking refreshed, glanced at Tang Zhenyi not far away, who looked utterly drained, as if her body had been hollowed out.

Lin You then picked up his phone and checked the time—

01:53

?!

Is it that late?!

Lin You quickly called out to the dazed Tang Zhenyi to get up and prepare to leave. Going back to the dorm at this hour would be a bit much for their roommates, so Lin You and a slightly more awake Tang Zhenyi walked towards their residence in the community.

On the way, the two also chatted about Teacher Hu Xian.

"Teacher Hu Xian? I've taken her classes before. She's actually considered our senior, having completed her bachelor's, master's, and doctorate consecutively at our university. After graduating, she pursued advanced studies abroad for two years, and then returned to our School of Mathematics to teach."

Lin You secretly compared, wasn't that just like Sister Yin, both a senior and a teacher?

"How is Teacher Hu Xian? Is she easy to get along with? I just received an invitation from Teacher Hu Xian today to join her team for the Mathematical Modeling Competition."

Then, Lin You carefully explained the situation.

"You joined Teacher Hu Xian's Mathematical Modeling Competition team? I remember when I was an undergraduate, Teacher Hu would occasionally lead teams. At that time, I even heard that Teacher Hu Xian won a national first prize as an undergraduate, and she was so frustrated about not getting the Higher Education Press Cup that she decided to lead students to participate in the Mathematical Modeling Competition. Of course, leading students to win a national first prize or even the Higher Education Press Cup also counts as teaching achievements and performance, so Teacher Hu Xian might not necessarily have any obsession; what I heard was just a rumor."

"Sister, when you were an undergraduate, Teacher Hu Xian was already a teacher? Then wouldn't she be over thirty? But she looks so young."

If one graduates with a doctorate smoothly, they'd be over 28, and after two years of advanced studies abroad, they'd be 30. And Sister Tang Zhenyi is already in her second year of graduate school, which means Teacher Hu Xian is almost 35?

"Junior, you're too presumptuous! Are you trying to say Teacher Hu Xian is old?"

"Not at all, older people are more caring."

"You're still saying you're not talking about being old?!"

The senior and junior students walked and chatted, purely gossiping.

Back at the apartment in the community, Lin You stayed in the largest master bedroom, and Tang Zhenyi stayed in the second bedroom. After both showered in the master and public bathrooms respectively, Lin You greeted Tang Zhenyi before going to bed.

"Sister, I think you can buy some goji berries at the pharmacy tomorrow to steep in water."

After speaking, Lin You immediately closed and locked the door.

Less than two seconds later, Lin You's door was pounded with "bang bang bang."

"You explain yourself clearly! Are you saying I'm weak?! I'm telling you, I'm not weak at all!"

The next day.

Lin You still woke up on time. Compared to other kings of cramming, Lin You's physical fitness allowed him to continuously and persistently cram.

He bought three breakfasts from the cafeteria, first leaving one for Sister Tang Zhenyi in the apartment. Since there was a microwave, Lin You wasn't worried about the breakfast getting cold. After sending a message to Tang Zhenyi, he went downstairs towards Qu Qinghuan's residence on the other side of the community.

Ten minutes later, Lin You, in front of Qu Qinghuan, looked at the mercury thermometer that had been measuring for five minutes.

"Exactly 37°C, excellent. Congratulations, Sister Qinghuan, you can go study well now."

Evidently, Qu Qinghuan had already measured her temperature herself before Lin You arrived this morning and had already changed into her casual clothes. Her backpack in the living room was also packed with all her study supplies, ready to go.

Qu Qinghuan smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Lin You. Although you're a bit disrespectful to teachers, your tone and attitude are fierce, and you peeked at... my clothes, and you didn't message me before coming into my house, but... you're quite good at taking care of people."

The more Lin You listened, the more something felt off. Is Sister Qinghuan complimenting him?

Where was he fierce? He's had this attitude for so many years, don't talk nonsense with your eyes open, it's hard for handsome guys. Sometimes, look for your own reasons: has your resilience grown over the years, and have you seriously dealt with pressure?

Lin You grumbled to himself, but on the surface, he just shrugged.

"No choice. As Sister Qinghuan's only reliance in Nandu City, it's nothing for me to take on a little more."

Qu Qinghuan pouted, "Actually, I know Xie Xingmeng and Li Qingbo are also in Nandu City..."

Lin You clutched his chest and took two steps back, his face showing three parts shock, three parts pain, three parts helplessness, and three parts disappointment.

"Heh, I originally thought... sigh, in the end... it was misplaced trust."

Qu Qinghuan looked at Lin You, thinking he was being dramatic, but she was also worried and confused, afraid that Lin You was genuinely sad and overthinking... "Oh, I was just kidding! Look, I didn't even tell them I came to Nandu City, I only told you!"

Lin You gave a bitter smile, "That's because you got into Nandu University for graduate school. If you had gotten into Dongda University, you would have gone to Xie Xingmeng, and if you got into the University of Finance and Economics... uh, skip the University of Finance and Economics..."

Qu Qinghuan had no choice. She already liked Lin You as a student; he was good at studying, diligent and motivated, interesting, and had good character. In all aspects, he was a likable young man.

Fair enough, her words just now were a little bit excessive, especially after Lin You had just nursed her back to health.

"Then I'll let you pat my head, okay!"

Tsk! Do you think I'm very willing to pat your head?

...A few minutes later, Lin You contentedly sat at the dining table, eating breakfast and looking at the stray hair he had ruffled on Qu Qinghuan's head. He felt that... today was another day full of hope.

After eating, Lin You left first. Qu Qinghuan tidied up at home for a while longer, and then both headed to the Library separately.

Today, Lin You had planned his studies: in the morning, he would still read literature and complete progress bar tasks, and in the afternoon, he would activate Comprehension to study knowledge related to mathematical modeling.

As for the evening, the team had scheduled an online practice session, and Lin You planned to return to his residence in the community. The practice session used specialized video conferencing software; while not as effective as in-person, it was still quite good.

Lin You had lunch with Du Zhaoyu and dinner with his roommates.

It was like he wanted it all: studies, competition, love, and friendship!

During his studies and breaks, Lin You chatted with his good friends and informed them about participating in the Mathematical Modeling Competition. Everyone expressed support and understanding, among them... Little Mengmeng: "If you're busy, then I'll come to your university to find you."

Xiao Yi: "I haven't even been to your university yet. Can I come to your university to try your cafeteria?"

Lin You began to feel a little panicked, starting to think about how to respond.

Lin You suddenly remembered sending Wang Chun and You Xinyue off on the school bus last night, and a thought flashed through his mind... Nandu University has several campuses; going to the New Campus also counts as coming to our university!

It just so happened that Wang Chun and You Xinyue always found it inconvenient to take the school bus here, so it would be perfectly reasonable for him to occasionally go to the New Campus, a two-way journey between teammates.

Lin You: "Drum Tower is too small, there's nothing much to see. I might have to go to the New Campus in my sophomore year, and I haven't been there yet either. How about next Tuesday (Friday), we go visit our university's New Campus together?"

After sending the messages, Lin You quickly received replies.

Little Mengmeng: "Okay."

Xiao Yi: "I'll listen to you~"

In the Library, under the cold air conditioning, Lin You wiped away non-existent sweat.

Indeed!

Nandu University is still too small!