Chapter 90: I

Just as Xu Qingzhou closed his eyes to rest for a moment, Song Yao’s voice came to his ear: “Have you noticed something off between Jiahui and Guo Ziyang?”

Xu Qingzhou opened his eyes, surprised: “You noticed too?”

“I’ve been with Jiahui for three years—I’d notice even small changes,” Song Yao nodded. “Look, when she buys things, she automatically hands them to Guo Ziyang. It’s become a habit, even more than with me.”

“What?” Xu Qingzhou waited for her to continue.

Song Yao, seeing Xu Qingzhou watching her, rephrased: “More skilled than any couple I’ve ever seen.”

“I asked Guo Ziyang—he admitted it,” Xu Qingzhou no longer hid it, briefly recounting what had just happened, then added: “But I advised him to hold off revealing his feelings, lest he scare Jiahui.”

“Didn’t know you, Dog Head Strategist, were this sharp,” Song Yao conceded.

Xu Qingzhou’s forehead was lined with black veins—he wasn’t sure if she was insulting him or complimenting him.

“Back we go!”

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But soon, Song Yao seemed to recall something, her expression turning serious: “I’ve thought of something very important.”

“You’re awesome!” Kong Xian gave a thumbs-up.

“Hmph, I’m just happy for my good friend. Honestly, I really don’t want to date right now.”

“Really? No other dirty thoughts?” Song Yao narrowed her eyes.

He planned to try.

For instance, linear algebra, inseparable from quantum mechanics, used in quantum superposition, measurement of observables, and so on.

“Knowing Jiahui, she’s obsessed with pairing couples—even fabricates rumors about you and me—and she can analyze every love-hate drama with ease. But when it comes to herself, she’ll definitely pull back.”

Currently, the undergraduate math curriculum is no problem; much of the graduate material is also familiar.

After listening to Zhai Ziqiang’s description, even Xu Qingzhou felt a pang of sadness and couldn’t help saying: “Old Xu, keep pushing—maybe she and her boyfriend won’t leave you completely unheard.”

Seeing Song Yao had already dragged her mom into it, Xu Qingzhou surrendered: “I’m just curious about our high school classmates’ situations.”

Xu Qingzhou noticed Kong Xianbo and Zhai Ziqiang were both still in the dorm at this hour—he found it surprising.

“Worried Brother Yang might do something drastic,” Zhai Ziqiang glanced at Xu Zhengyang’s bed.

The Cramér conjecture was the first mountain Xu Qingzhou encountered in mathematics.

Xu Zhengyang’s lips twitched; he clutched his chest, face grim.

Just then, the guy suddenly sat up on his bed, eyes blazing: “You all say licking someone makes you a lickdog—but what if—”

Doing academic research is like climbing a mountain—the summit is always there, but each mountain has different height and difficulty. When the researcher pushes through thorns and overcomes obstacles, he stands atop the peak, enjoying the admiration from those below.

Xu Qingzhou felt offended.

“Young brother,” Wang Wei greeted him with a smile upon seeing Xu Qingzhou. “Come take a look!”

At 7 p.m., night had fallen; the campus, noisy by day, now lay quiet.

For example, functional analysis, studying infinite-dimensional spaces like Hilbert spaces and function transformations upon them, as well as calculus tools like the Schrödinger equation used to describe quantum system dynamics.

Xu Qingzhou smirked.

“No.”

The two subtly dropped the subject.

Zhai Ziqiang had no reply; he sighed inwardly—this was university? So expensive.

!.

His goal was to first go through all graduate-level theoretical mathematics, then gradually integrate it with physics and begin participating in physics research.

He took a shower, lay on his bed, and read materials on the Cramér conjecture. “No.”

“I never thought—I ended up just another clown,” Xu Zhengyang stared blankly at the ceiling. “Died before even achieving success,” Zhai Ziqiang commented.

On Sunday morning, Xu Qingzhou first went to the lab to perform function analysis on the new data collected by Wang Wei and the others.

In the dorm, Xu Qingzhou and the two others stared at each other, stunned.

Of course, after climbing one mountain, you’ll find an even higher one waiting.

“I’ll lick a hundred girls!”

“Pfft~ Self-delusion!”

Ding~ Xu Zhengyang’s phone screen flickered.

Xu Qingzhou dropped Song Yao off at her dorm; when he returned, Room 101 was unnervingly quiet.

Xu Qingzhou shook his head, silently reciting: Lock your heart, shut love out—dating is too troublesome. Better to focus on research, and meet up with a few close friends for leisure.

It was simple: Xu Zhengyang had recently hooked up with a senior. Just as he fell head over heels, believing he’d found true love, she delivered a crushing blow.

Zhai Ziqiang looked at Xu Qingzhou, puzzled: “Brother Zhou, you seem experienced.”

“At least, it’s not the best time to break the window paper.”

Xu Qingzhou glanced left and saw Xu Zhengyang lying on his bed, lifeless, expression numb, as if his soul had been drained.

Xu Qingzhou was familiar with these areas—even could be called an expert—but only in these. Mathematics was a vast field; he still needed systematic study.

Song Yao looked away, then quickly turned back to Xu Qingzhou: “I promised your mom I’d keep an eye on you. Isn’t it natural for me to check on your situation?”

Fortunately, everyone’s attention quickly shifted to Xu Zhengyang.

“Why are you all here?”

“What’s up?” Xu Qingzhou dodged—he’d slept late last night and been out all day; now that he sat down, sleep rushed over him.

Song Yao was optimistic: “I’m rooting for them—they complement each other perfectly. Maybe they’ll actually have a sweet romance.”

Xu Qingzhou didn’t know how to explain, so he turned the tables: “Are you jealous?”

“I’m not! You’re crazy! Impossible!”

Seeing her expression, Xu Qingzhou muttered: “Are you developing a crush?”

“Again, something about women,” Zhai Ziqiang sighed dramatically. “It started a week ago—Brother Yang was at a club activity—”

“Why are you asking about Zhang Yuxin?”

Song Yao’s expression grew slightly unnatural, but she quickly recovered, glancing coldly at Xu Qingzhou: “Isn’t it you who’s developing a crush?”

As she spoke, she seemed to harbor a quiet longing and anticipation.

“Finally… gone mad.”

“Old Xu, study instead. Love is too deep—you can’t handle it,” Kong Xianbo sighed beside him. Old Xu really wasn’t a person.

Xu Qingzhou leaned over—the data was for sample b36.

In the office, Ren Xiaoling was also there. Seeing Xu Qingzhou arrive, she stood up and poured him water.

“Thank you.”

Xu Qingzhou smiled his thanks; she’d clearly adapted to lab life since their last meeting—no longer as anxious as before.

(End of chapter)