Chapter 68: Lick harder—maybe it

The translation of the paper “A Classical Description of Einstein Coefficients in Quantum Optics” proceeded smoothly, or rather, posed no difficulty at all—it was effortless. By Wednesday, Xu Qingzhou had already completed about two-thirds of it.

At 10:30 p.m., Xu Qingzhou opened the dorm door; Kong Xianbo and Zhai Ziqiang hadn’t returned yet, only Xu Zhengyang was inside, sitting on a chair in a daze, as if struck by some sudden shock.

Seeing Xu Qingzhou enter, Xu Zhengyang spoke with a melancholy tone, “Lao Xu, I’ve been dumped.”

“You ever dated?” Xu Qingzhou set down his things.

Xu Zhengyang choked on the remark, feeling even more stabbed—it was true, but you didn’t say it like that.

“I just suddenly felt… Dong Shan doesn’t really like me.”

“Look, lately when I asked her out, no matter what we did, she always brought her roommate. Who brings a friend on a real date? Don’t you think… maybe I’m not licking hard enough?”

He didn’t know Dong Shan well—only met her once at the first gathering, then once more at the school gate. Overall, his impression wasn’t bad; he couldn’t judge her character either way. Whether it worked out or not, it was just experience for Old Xu.

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Others’ attention was also drawn over.

Xu Zhengyang hesitated whether to reply, then turned and saw Xu Qingzhou clutching his kidneys—right then, he suddenly regained the motivation to keep licking.

“Yeah, my senior’s in his second year of grad school and has a project. He said if I have time, I could go check it out, do some odd jobs, just to gain some experience.”

With scarce opportunities, every guy in the other dorms kept watching the girls, all standing, waiting to pick seats after the girls sat down.

Kong Xianbo adjusted his glasses and smiled modestly, “Actually, nothing much—just wrote something casually.”

Unexpectedly, Xue Ying and Zhang Shuyi also sat beside them. Shen Yueqing didn’t particularly like Xu Qingzhou’s dorm, but since her roommate was here, she had no choice but to join this table.

A voice spoke—it was Shen Yueqing, who looked at the boy beside her and said slowly, “Classmate Liang Quanjie had already published two papers before entering university.”

Xu Qingzhou didn’t care much—he found a corner. Xu Zhengyang didn’t care where he sat. Zhai Ziqiang had no interest in girls at all.

He could only sigh inwardly: girls really shouldn’t be messed with.

September 13, Saturday—the 13-day military training at Jingda ended.

Now everyone’s eyes turned again to the tall, thin boy.

“Damn, awesome!”

Xu Qingzhou’s mind went blank—he wanted to shake Xu Zhengyang awake: You’re here to date, not to be a dog! Before Xu Qingzhou could speak, Xu Zhengyang muttered to himself: “At first, I analyzed it too—if she’s stringing me along, it’s because she likes me, otherwise why not string someone else along?”

People drank a bit, got slightly drunk, exchanged stories, complained about coworkers, ruled the world in a private room, then parted with “stay in touch,” only to plunge back into the fucked-up society and keep getting beaten down.

They’d just entered school, still dazed, hadn’t even gotten familiar with the campus, yet he was already involved in projects and publishing papers.

The girls didn’t drink alcohol—ordered several juices instead.

“So strong.”

Class One held a dinner, organized by Zhang Shuyi and Kong Xianbo.

After eating a while, a girl named Jia Changling looked at Kong Xianbo and asked curiously, “Kong Xianbo, I heard you’re co-writing a paper with a senior?” After months of summer drinking sessions, everyone had long abandoned their “never touch alcohol” stance; they agreed on one case of beer per table, refund if extra, top up if short. Some who’d hesitated to drink now silently nodded when they saw most others agreed.

At first, each table was quiet, but once beer and hot dishes arrived, the atmosphere instantly came alive.

Thirty boys, six girls.

In the end, Dorm 103 won, securing the last dorm spot; the other two tables instantly became “Arhat tables,” pitifully staring at the girls at Xu Qingzhou’s table.

Xu Qingzhou leaned back in his chair and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist—he reached over and realized the spots Song Yao had pinched were still aching.

“.” Xu Qingzhou regarded him with newfound respect—he’d never realized Xu Zhengyang had such a strong licking-dog potential. “Then just lick harder. Maybe when the feeling comes, it’ll soften.”

Xu Qingzhou finally understood—this guy had been acting so mysteriously all this time, clearly waiting for this moment.

“Yeah, I wrote a paper over the summer and showed it to a senior who graduated from the same high school. He thought it was okay, said if I revised it a bit, maybe I could submit it to a core journal.”

Watching the laughing classmates, Xu Qingzhou felt momentarily dazed—he’d once been at a gathering like this too, but by senior year, no one could gather anymore; some were busy, some had become enemies, and after graduation, forget it. Someone once said, class reunions are just about drinking and boasting—those doing well show off, those doing poorly quietly grieve, and some even play with broken shoes to make up for student-era regrets.

“Paper?”

“Not busy for now,” Kong Xianbo smiled faintly, then added as if casually, “The senior told me to rest well, and I’ll help out after military training ends.”

“Actually, it’s not that bad.”

Two large tables were pushed together, seating about ten or so per group.

!.

With Xu Qingzhou’s approval as the “Love Master,” Xu Zhengyang’s eyes lit up again—but then he saw Dong Shan’s message: “I’m going to shower first,” and the light in his eyes dimmed once more.

Everyone cast astonished glances, and an instant sense of urgency rose within them.

Kong Xianbo was internally ecstatic—this was what it felt like to show off? So satisfying! “Incredible,” Jia Changling said with admiration. “You’ve got military training and you’re writing a paper too—so you’re super busy these days, right?”

“Help out?” Xu Zhengyang frowned.

Some people really need to hit a brick wall before turning back.

Liang Quanjie smiled and shook his head, perfectly embodying the scholar’s aura: “Just one mid-tier paper and one core paper—nothing compared to the seniors and juniors from the Math Department.”

This was Class One’s first gathering; everyone showed up. At five p.m., the group headed en masse toward the restaurant.

One classmate immediately asked, “So, are you planning to join a project this freshman year?”

“Professor Zhang from our college asked me, but I’m still thinking about it. After all, I just entered university—I still want to experience college life first.”

Kong Xianbo quietly took a sip of beer, wanting to curse—he hadn’t even finished showing off when someone interrupted him, and worse, there was someone even more showy.

It felt like being mid-defecation and suddenly stopped.

(End of Chapter)