Li Zheng was not fond of large gatherings, as the more people who gathered, the more the conversation tended to become superficial and end up as a formal type of "team building" activity.
Yet, having just cleared up matters regarding his paper, and with everyone exhausted from the ordeal, it was inevitable that he would bleed cash at least once.
After all, eating in the cafeteria or eating out, it was all just eating, and it was also a good opportunity to thank Ou Xingzhuo for fixing the computer.
Lin Moming, however, was making it more complicated by asking Li Zheng whether Lin Yujing should join them. Li Zheng immediately declined because, on one hand, he wanted to preserve the dining experience for others, and on the other, as the only couple there, it would feel like a host couple hosting a grand banquet, which was very uncomfortable.
Around four o’clock, outside the west gate, at the hot pot restaurant, they went all out and occupied two large tables.
Li Zheng had also attended dinners before. In order to study comfortably in the evening, he would invariably stay away from alcohol, only drinking with Old Li when he was exceptionally happy.
But this time... he truly underestimated Tu Yikou...
Tu Yikou didn’t force anyone to drink; it was just that he seemed to be enjoying his drink especially.
Cup after cup, the more he drank, the more he seemed to have, not only did he not talk drunken nonsense, but he actually made more sense the drunker he got.
On his left, he conversed earnestly with Mo Nian about ridiculous past events, and on his right, he discussed graphics cards with Ou Xingzhuo.
He could tell a joke that made Lin Moming laugh her head off and recite a poem that made Chang Keqing concede defeat.
Whenever the conversation got vigorous, he would down a cup of alcohol, then contentedly "ah" a little and comfortably pour himself another.
In such an atmosphere, everyone inexplicably started craving alcohol.
Before they knew it, aside from Chang Keqing, everyone had poured a drink for themselves.
Among them, Lin Moming was the most enthusiastic.
"Wow wow wow..." Lin Moming vigorously lifted her arm, gulping down the beer she poured for herself, unable to stop swallowing, "My old classmates always drank sneakily without including me... hehe..."
Just as she was about to grab her glass, a hand suddenly fell from the sky and snatched the beer bottle from above her head.
"Minors are not allowed to drink," Chang Keqing stated coldly.
"Oh come on, just one cup."
"Not even one cup is allowed, haven’t you studied biology?" Chang Keqing shook the beer bottle severely, "Drinking as a kid will turn you into a big fatso."
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"Huh???"
"Once alcohol enters the bloodstream, it stimulates the immature gonads of children, leading to excess secretion of progesterone, yes, just like the substance we use for experiments. This excessive progesterone makes your body think you are carrying a baby, starting to absorb nutrients crazily. But since you aren’t actually pregnant, no baby will ever come out, so this process just continues indefinitely, eventually leading you to become a very, very fat person," Chang Keqing explained earnestly, nodding and passing the glass over, "Of course, if you want to become a heavyweight judo, discus, or weightlifting athlete, now would be the time to start drinking."
"Ummm..." Lin Moming shuddered in fear, "Now that you mention it... those massively overweight people I saw on the streets in Magnesium Country, is it because they drank as kids?"
"Of course."
"You better not be fooling me because I don’t understand... I’ll ask someone else." Lin Moming then turned to look at Li Zheng, "Is that really what Sister Keqing said?"
Not at all!
But for the sake of the child.
"Umm... more or less," Li Zheng took a sip from his glass, "Adults’ organs and gonads have fully developed, so that’s not a problem for them, but even so, one shouldn’t drink too much. Drinking too much will make you end up like Mo Nian."
Mo Nian, unexpectedly named, frowned.
But seeing Lin Moming’s earnest gaze, he shook his head: "Worse is my sister, who drank with me. Now she looks just like me, with even more facial hair."
"Ummm..." Terrified, Lin Moming quickly pushed aside the beer-filled cup and poured herself a full cup of juice with pulp, "My classmates are really pitiful... I guess I’ll wait until I’m mature like Sister Keqing before I drink..."
"Speaking of Keqing..." Li Zheng immediately stood up, toasted across the table, "During both the research phase and the subsequent processing, Keqing has contributed the most and worked the hardest. It’s an honor to know you, and I will learn much from you."
At this, Chang Keqing, who was about to pass her drink to someone else, suddenly froze in place.
Here it goes again!
It just suddenly became awkward!
No wonder he didn’t bring his girlfriend...
Was this all to get me drunk...
No way, I’m not that kind of person!
After a fierce internal struggle, Chang Keqing forceably pushed the drink towards Wu Shu, her expression completely stiff as she said, "Understood."
The atmosphere suddenly grew a bit chilly.
But everyone understood; true to Chang Keqing’s style, even at this point, she still maintained her cool older sister image.
Wu Shu quickly took the cup, swaying it as he smiled at Li Zheng, "I’ll drink it, as a way to apologize for today, when I messed up with the advisor’s issue."
"It’s not your fault..."
Just as Li Zheng raised his hand, he was too late to stop Wu Shu, who downed his drink in one gulp and arrogantly inverted his glass without spilling a drop, leaving Li Zheng no choice but to drink his in one gulp as well.
Meanwhile, Ou Xingzhuo, sitting next to Wu Shu, looked on with great concern.
"You... should drink less..."
"Haha, I’m happy!" Wu Shu said, reaching for the bottle to pour himself another.
"What are you happily doing..." Ou Xingzhuo raised his hand to stop him.
"Ah, you don’t know, but Li Zheng has made me see my supervisor’s true face. From now on, I’ll just teach myself."
"Tsk..." Ou Xingzhuo frowned with annoyance, "Drink yourself to death!"
The onlookers were inwardly shocked by their banter. Was something amiss here?
The most stunned was Shi Yang, who, after a few drinks with Tu Yikou, had entered a wild state and bluntly asked, "Have you two gotten together or not? Li Zheng and Lin Yujing are practically expecting a child…"
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned awkward.
Wu Shu was relatively fine, merely flipping his bangs and shaking his head.
Ou Xingzhuo’s face turned red, and he complained to Shi Yang, "Like you’re one to talk..."
"I’m popular, okay?" Shi Yang swayed his glass and sighed, "Sometimes I think, maybe... I should just settle for Yi Yun. If I start talking, it’s certain."
Hearing this, Wu Shu, Ou Xingzhuo, and Li Zheng simultaneously "Pfft!"
"What, you don’t believe me?" Shi Yang glared, and that was badass. He grabbed his phone to send a WeChat message.
"No, no, no!" Mo Nian hurriedly intervened, "Never call a girl after drinking."
However, it was too late. Shi Yang was already furiously typing a WeChat message.
"Yi Yun, are you free tonight? The first author of ’Nature’ invites you out."
Shen Yiyun seemed to be quite free as well, responding instantly, while Shi Yang arrogantly set up the speakers.
"You’re drunk, right? Idiot."
"Why all the talk." Shi Yang replied, seemingly very manly, "Just tell me if you’re coming out or not."
Shen Yiyun: "Impossible, Shi Yang. All the girls at the Chemistry Institute, including PhDs and graduate students, have sentenced you to death already. Listen to sister’s advice, pretend to be mute in front of girls, and maybe you’ll have better luck."
"......"
Thud—Shi Yang’s phone fell to the ground.
He looked at Li Zheng with a face full of grievance, "Why... I thought being the first author on ’Nature’ would be very sexy... Even now, girls still won’t accept me..."
"Look on the bright side." Li Zheng consoled, "She only mentioned your mouth. Maybe there’s hope for your face."
"Yeah." Wu Shu raised his glass in agreement, "You’re quite cute when you don’t talk. Aunts probably like you this way."
"I don’t want aunts; I want sisters."
"Uh..." Wu Shu patted Chang Keqing, "So, what do you think..."
Chang Keqing looked Shi Yang up and down and did not speak, only letting out a very sincere sigh.
"I... I’m going to the restroom..." Shi Yang wiped his eyes and stood up, clutching his phone, "I... I can wait... Just as long as Yi Yun gains more weight, gains more... As long as I wait until she’s heavy enough... She won’t have any choice but me."
Having said that, he rushed to the restroom.
Although his logic was bizarre… it oddly made some sense.
It was like guarding a tree stump waiting for a rabbit—the idea of waiting for Yi Yun to gain weight also seemed like a desperate form of mental consolation.
After Shi Yang left, the mood heated up again, and when the atmosphere was right, Li Zheng proposed the idea of Wu Shu and Ou Xingzhuo joining Science Frontier.
Everyone naturally welcomed them—combining the Physics Queen and the ace network manager would perfectly complement the group’s weaknesses.
Wu Shu, having just ditched his supervisor, was more than happy to come.
Ou Xingzhuo, thinking he could spend more time with Wu Shu, reluctantly agreed in his bashful way.
Li Zheng immediately took the opportunity to set a schedule for Science Frontier’s biweekly activities. They could do anything they wanted, focusing on discussing learning, introducing their own areas of expertise, and of course, proposing ideas to work on together.
By the time Shi Yang returned, everyone was full and ready, clamoring to find a place for their first meeting to select the next topic.
Although Shi Yang was neither sufficiently drunk nor full, he surprisingly didn’t indulge in overeating but urged Li Zheng to settle the bill quickly and exited the hot pot restaurant with the others.
They had walked several hundred meters away.
The shop owner had just rushed to the door, shouting.
"Who the hell did this? So much of it, it’s blocked, completely blocked!!"
"There’s a sign that says do not flush, with a fine of 500, you still had to flush, how could you..."
"How the hell could you flush so much!!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Yang shouted, "Toilet brothers, run!!"
Then he ran off by himself.
"I knew it was you! You look exactly like someone who would do that." The owner yelled from afar, "Kid, you better not let me catch you!!"
Next time they had an event... they probably couldn’t come here anymore.
They would need to find a place with well-functioning drains where Shi Yang could hang out freely.
...
At six o’clock, a bunch of people entered the "special" workshop in the basement of the dormitory at the academy to continue their intense discussions, but the focus was not on the expected topic of discussion, but rather...
Sharing news.
It couldn’t be helped, with the topic of the papers fermenting over the past few days, the news had quickly spread beyond the campus, and the headlines were indeed incredible.
[Come worship the 19-year-old all-sciences genius!]
[All-subject competition champion, the core rocket engineer of Yellow 2, a freshman with a major publication in ’Science,’ they all have one name—Li Zheng.]
[The second Yuan Yuan emerges dramatically! 100% locally produced!]
[A group of cross-disciplinary geniuses appears, boosting general education!]
[A Ji University freshman, a fortuitous experiment, has started a whole new era in chemistry!]
Some of these news stories were exaggerated, others were plain, but overall, they were all praised, some even included evaluations by domestic professionals; the most outrageous claimed this achievement could nominate him for a Nobel Prize.
Looking at some of the excessively flattering reports, Li Zheng admitted it was time for him to accept some media interviews.
The true greats were the inventors of cryo-electron microscopy; he had only made some "inspiration-struck" attempts, although they indeed were somewhat breakthrough, they were far from a foundational academic leap.
On the other hand, these reports unanimously highlighted Li Zheng personally, at most adding "and his companions" in a few words, not to mention the names of the team members, even Zhou Yi was rarely mentioned.
In media studies, such star-making movements indeed attract more eyeballs, but it was really unfair to the others who also put in effort.
However, apart from Shi Yang, the others didn’t really have any complaints; from initiation to completion, Li Zheng handled it all and it was only right. The news reports couldn’t be as accurate as academic papers; it was fine as long as they were reputable within the circle, and they didn’t need to bother about these external matters.
As for Shi Yang, he had originally fantasized about his name being plastered in streets and alleys.
Plastered doesn’t sound quite right, spread around perhaps...
Now, his dream was shattered once again.
No academic star, no fan letters.
Li Zheng, Li Zheng, always Li Zheng...
At least they should mention the Toilet Brothers.
At such a time, friends, and even Li Zheng’s parents only learned about this from the news. Although it was exaggerated, those who knew Li Zheng could barely accept it.
The only one who couldn’t accept it was...
[Zhang Xiaoke: Ha!!! Master, you promised to take me to university to study and change departments.]
[But you completely ignored me!]
[You kept quiet and achieved greatness on your own!]
[Wuuu, if not for Master, who would study environmental engineering (throws book)!]
[Master, Master, please reply to me!]
[...]
[Master, I was wrong...]
[I’m definitely still happy for you (big teary eyes)]
[Master, pay attention to me...]
[Master, you’re the best, you don’t have to take me to study, every environmental engineer is talented, they speak so well, and they are nice people, no fear of unemployment, I love environmental engineering the most.]
[Just... just pay a bit of attention to me every now and then...]
[The master wouldn’t have blocked me, would he? (sobbing)]
[Sigh...]
[The sect reeks of meat and wine while the path is strewn with frozen corpses...]
[Master, do you still remember the disciple you took in at the Lake Ying Shore...]
[Afraid you’ve taken on new disciples and grown tired of the old...]
[Only the newcomers laugh, where do you see the old crying...]
The notifications wouldn’t stop chiming, and Li Zheng finally couldn’t bear it any longer and replied.
[Li Zheng: If you can’t stand the loneliness, why don’t you come to Yingpei to find me!!]
[Zhang Xiaoke: Ah! Master still remembers me! I... I didn’t dare to just come looking for you, fearing I would disrupt your studies, and have been waiting for you to call.]
[Li Zheng: Then keep waiting.]
[Zhang Xiaoke: No!! How about breakfast together tomorrow?]
[Li Zheng: Okay, bring your schedule and textbooks, I’ll make the arrangements.]
[Zhang Xiaoke: Great!! I can finally experience the joy of being totally governed by study again.]
[Li Zheng: Can’t you study on your own...]
[Zhang Xiaoke: I find it more motivating when Master arranges my studies.]
Such enjoyable moments of reaping the benefits of their hard work were fleeting, and right at the last moment before the academy closed, the Yingpei crowd bid farewell to Wu Shu, Ou Xingzhuo, and Shi Yang, and each returned to their own dorms reluctantly.
The trio from Room 403 was somewhat exhausted in body and mind, but they perked up immediately upon opening the door.
A half white-haired, yet surprisingly young-looking bespectacled big shot was busy at the computer in the living room, with a large suitcase standing next to him.
Although they had met him only once.
The three of them still remembered what Dean Niu looked like.
Seeing them return, Dean Niu immediately got up and came forward to vigorously shake Li Zheng’s hand.
"Congratulations, Li Zheng, congratulations to all of you!" Dean Niu said excitedly, "Sorry, I’m late."
The trio shuddered and quickly bowed in greeting.
"Dean Niu."
"Hello, Dean Niu..."
"Dean Niu, sorry to have kept you waiting."
Yang Jun also came out from the inner room, timid and afraid to speak.
"Why didn’t you tell us the dean was here?" Li Zheng glared as he interrogated.
Yang Jun timidly responded, "The dean asked me not to hurry... said to just wait."
"You’re really honest." Li Zheng looked at the neatly arranged desk, sighed helplessly, and slapped his thigh, "You don’t even pour a cup of water..."
"Ah, students should act like students," Dean Niu chuckled, lifting his hand slightly, "I first went to the Academic Affairs, I’m aware of everything. The most serious issues have been dealt with by Wang Xueli. As for our internal affairs at Yingpei, although it’s not quite the autumn settlement, accounts still have to be tallied."
As he was speaking, a knock came at the door.
A man, also dragging a suitcase and gasping for breath, forced a smile and said, "Dean, everyone, am I too late?"
The moment Li Zheng heard that clear voice, he perked up.
Turning around, he saw that it was none other than Zhou Xiao, who had been sent away by Zhang Shandong.
Just two weeks had passed, and he had darkened considerably, looking as if he had been countryside-bound, which was heart-rending.
"Not too late," Dean Niu smiled and turned to pack up his laptop, "I called Zhou Xiao back. From now on, he will be personally responsible for your project work. Any professors, equipment, or resources you need can go through him. He has as much authority in this respect as I do."
With that, Dean Niu picked up his suitcase again, nudging Li Zheng and the others towards the exit, "Come on, let’s grab some late-night snacks and talk over food."
Mo Nian nodded blankly, "Dean, the dormitory doors are already locked..."
"Ah, there’s a back door," Dean Niu patted the keys in his jacket and smiled, "I’m too old to climb walls anymore, otherwise, we wouldn’t need a back door."
With the atmosphere already set...
No matter how full they were, they had to steel themselves and go for that midnight snack!