Qiao Huaiyao took the promotional flyer but didn’t respond, “Sorry, I just came to have a look and don’t intend to join any clubs.”
“Ah… that’s a pity. Do you have any thoughts about part-time guitar teaching?” a student asked, raising an eyebrow. If he couldn’t join the club, being a teacher wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head, “My skill level isn’t high enough to be a teacher.”
The student was stunned, slowly widening their eyes, looking hesitant and somewhat dumbfounded.
What? What?! What!!!
Before they could regain their senses, Qiao Huaiyao had already walked away.
Qiu Shufeng couldn’t help but say, “Study God, I feel like you play the guitar very professionally.”
Although he wasn’t a professional guitar expert, he could still distinguish whether someone played well or not.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and said, “My brother taught me well.”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Shufeng teased, “Oh my, always mentioning your brother in just three sentences. Do you talk like this to your partner too? Your partner must be so jealous.”
Qiao Huaiyao casually replied, “No, they wouldn’t be.”
How could someone be jealous of themselves?
During the conversation, Qiao Huaiyao took quite a few photos.
The sky was constantly changing.
Every cloud visible was different.
Qiao Huaiyao directly sent the photos he took to Bai Jinyan.
At this time, there was no immediate reply; his brother was probably starting his class.
Not receiving a response didn’t deter Qiao Huaiyao from wanting to share the scenery he saw with Bai Jinyan.
Wang Zhan, upon seeing this, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Love is indeed intoxicating. Even the academic genius falls in love like this?”
A person with a reserved and distant personality, someone not fond of speaking, was actually actively sharing photos with others.
Yu Luofan patted him on the shoulder, “Love, my friend, is something you, a single guy, don’t understand.”
“Thanks for the personal attack in front of me,” Wang Zhan replied, then jokingly twisted around and pinched his neck, “Choke you!”
After sending the last photo, Qiao Huaiyao put away his phone.
He didn’t linger outside the dormitory building for long and said, “I’ll head back now.”
Qiu Shufeng responded, “Okay.”
After this afternoon class, there were no more classes.
There was plenty of free time.
Qiao Huaiyao hadn’t planned to go out.
In the bathroom, steam filled the air, and the sound of water stopped.
Qiao Huaiyao changed into his pajamas and walked out while drying his hair.
He found dozens of messages on his phone.
Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback, thinking something had happened. He quickly picked up his phone and realized that these dozens of messages were all from Bai Jinyan.
Each reply was a comment on the pictures Qiao Huaiyao had sent earlier.
Bai Jinyan: [This one looks great.]
[Looking at clubs?]
[Any that you like?]
…
Bai Jinyan had replied late to Qiao Huaiyao’s previous messages.
Qiao Huaiyao squinted and replied, [I was just taking a shower earlier. Didn’t sign up for any clubs, just passing by.]
Bai Jinyan: [I’ve booked my flight for the day after tomorrow.]
Qiao Huaiyao was momentarily stunned, then quickly typed, [The experimental results are out? What time do you land? I’ll come pick you up.]
Bai Jinyan: [The results will be out tomorrow. I’ll let you know when I land once I find out.]
[Okay.]
Initially, the estimated time was between two days and a week.
Now, the results would be out in five days, which was already quite fast.
Qiao Huaiyao put the towel back in the bathroom and sat on the sofa, making a video call to Bai Jinyan.
Bai Jinyan answered quickly. Seeing him wearing a hat, Qiao Huaiyao asked, “Are you still outside?”
“Yeah,” Bai Jinyan said, walking out of the corridor. “Just finished class. Heading to the lab in a bit.”
“So urgent?” Qiao Huaiyao glanced at the time. “You’ve been going to the lab for several days in a row?”
“Better to go early and finish early,” Bai Jinyan replied, seeming evasive about the latter part of the question. He continued, “When it’s crucial for the experiment, I might stay in the lab and not come back tonight.”
The signal in the lab was not good, and there would be delays in receiving messages.
When he wasn’t busy, Bai Jinyan would stand outside the lab and chat with Qiao Huaiyao.
Qiao Huaiyao understood from his words that staying in the lab wasn’t as simple as it seemed. He might work all night and even into the next evening, making it more troublesome.
Qiao Huaiyao hugged the pillow and lightly tapped on the pattern, “Don’t worry, take your time.”
Bai Jinyan chuckled softly. Not in a hurry? How could he not be in a hurry? If the results were out a minute earlier, he would see Qiao Huaiyao a minute earlier.
Qiao Huaiyao glanced at the meal delivery message, which confirmed that the food would be delivered on time. He said, “After eating, take a nap. Don’t rush into other things.”
Today, there were no experiments in the afternoon, regardless of whether there were classes or not.
Ensuring sufficient sleep and conserving energy was important.
Bai Jinyan whispered, “Alright.”
Bai Jinyan didn’t stay much in the dormitory. When choosing the accommodation, he didn’t opt for a single room but let the school arrange it.
Four-person dorms with bunk beds weren’t too crowded, and during class time, there was no one in the dorm.
Bai Jinyan lay down after eating.
He didn’t end the video call.
With his eyes closed, Bai Jinyan continued talking to Qiao Huaiyao.
Qiao Huaiyao noticed the change in the video angle and guessed that Bai Jinyan was about to rest, so he also lowered his voice.
Until the breathing sound from Bai Jinyan on the other side gradually stabilized, there was no more sound of speaking.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and didn’t end the video call, but switched to a voice call.
In mid-October, the temperature dropped suddenly.
The temperature at night went below freezing.
Unfortunately, the Experimental Data Analysis class was scheduled for the evening.
Qiao Huaiyao picked a thicker coat before going out.
The basic grading for the PPT assignment submitted earlier had been done.
During class, the PPT presentations would be sorted from highest to lowest based on the basic grading, and the students would present their PPTs.
The Experimental Data Analysis class could be considered as a selective course for the professor’s experimental class.
If you didn’t do well in Experimental Data Analysis, you couldn’t even reach the threshold of the experimental class.
“Everyone’s assignments have been uploaded to the computer. Following the list sent in the group…” The teacher opened the list and said, “Qiao Huaiyao, come and present first.”
Qiao Huaiyao was seated in the middle and at the back. Upon hearing this, he put down his pen and walked down the steps.
The teacher smiled and said, “I heard about you coming to our school before the military training even began. Now I finally get to see you in class.”
Teachers from departments other than the Admissions Office would also pay attention to the admissions.
Moreover, after this student enrolled, she would be his teacher.
Certainly, she would pay extra attention.
Before Qiao Huaiyao could speak, the teacher continued, “I’ve seen your PPT, it’s very well done. Let me discuss with you. I have a class for the second-year students later. Can I borrow your PPT to show them?”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and said, “Sure.”
“Great.” The teacher stepped back, giving up her position in front of the computer. “Come on, go ahead and present.”
The teacher tapped her fingertips on the desk and said, “Everyone, pay attention. This PPT is very important. Your senior students didn’t get this treatment.”
The PPT for the experiment was created by the person who had conducted the experiment and had more details than what others could provide by studying the experiment.
Qiao Huaiyao opened the PPT and noticed that the data on the computer was clear, but it looked a bit blurry on the projector.
The teacher was standing below the podium and also noticed something was off as she looked up, “Hey, this…”
She reached out and pulled the curtain, but it didn’t change the clarity of the projection.
“It’s a new one for this semester, and it doesn’t look broken. What’s going on?” The teacher frowned and sent a message for repairs while muttering to herself.
Before she could ask Qiao Huaiyao not to proceed until it was fixed and then continue, Qiao Huaiyao began presenting using the blurry PPT.
The original material on the computer was set to play automatically in the PPT.
The teacher paused her typing as she saw this, and she hadn’t asked them to memorize it in advance…
But seeing Qiao Huaiyao’s smooth presentation, the teacher didn’t ask him to pause. She crossed her arms, looking attentively at him. Qiao Huaiyao wrote on the blackboard with chalk, adding the main relevant data for each part as he progressed in the explanation. He didn’t look at the PPT, but the content he discussed on the blackboard matched the sequence of the PPT slides. With Qiao Huaiyao’s perfectly timed pace, he spoke smoothly, neither rushed nor slow, without the expected pauses for thought. By the time this PPT was finished, he had already written most of the content on the blackboard. Qiao Huaiyao put down the chalk and solemnly concluded, “The data report on the T-20Y research is now complete.”
“Well done!” Qiu Shufeng, as Qiao Huaiyao’s number one fan, was the first to applaud without hesitation.
Wang Zhan, realizing he was a step slower in praising, widened his eyes in surprise and silently cursed to himself, ‘Damn!’ He quickly followed suit, applauding vigorously, determined to drown out Qiu Shufeng’s clapping.
One person started clapping, and the rest of the students followed suit.
Someone in the back row whispered, “The way he explained it made me feel like I understood.”
“Me too…”
…
The teacher raised her hand to calm them down, saying, “Alright, everyone, settle down.”
As she spoke, the smile on her face never wavered.
With a scorecard in hand, she had been grading based on the students’ performance while presenting. She would add or deduct points at different points based on the mid-performance. When encountering problematic areas, she would suggest revisions for the students to make on the spot.
Qiao Huaiyao…
The teacher silently marked a perfect score and said, “Qiao did an excellent job. Next is Qiu Shufeng. Who is the next student?”
The teacher hesitated a bit before deciding whether to have the next student present. Would the difference between them be too significant?
“I’ll do it,” Qiu Shufeng said, raising his hand.
The teacher nodded and said, “You’ll present in the next class after the screen is fixed. For now, let’s…”
She wanted to say they would continue with the lectures, but she had already finished grading the PPT corrections before coming, so she didn’t ask the students to bring their textbooks.
Looking at the few students who had books on their desks, she said, “Let’s start with self-study. Familiarize yourselves with the PPT you’ve made and strive for a good grade in the next class when you present.”
The front rows were filled with students, while the middle and back had fewer.
In the row where Qiao Huaiyao sat, there were only four of them, so they had enough space and weren’t crowded together.
Qiao Huaiyao sat on the edge of his seat and just opened his notebook when he sensed someone leaning towards him.
Because it was from within the seats, he thought it was Qiu Shufeng and didn’t look up.
Qiao Huaiyao casually asked, while writing two words, “What’s up?”
Before he could finish speaking, a hand extended in front of him.
Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback.
He clenched his fist, then loosened his fingers when the palm was turned upward.
A strawberry candy quietly rested in his palm.
Qiao Huaiyao suddenly looked up, only to see Bai Jinyan with a slight smile, saying, “You did a great job in your presentation. Here’s a reward.”