Chapter 774

"Hey, Jason, you're finally here!" Little Slicker sat in his seat, waved at Jason, then pointed to the seat beside him and said, "Hurry! I saved a good spot for you. This is the front row, super close to the teacher. You can see the blueprints clearly!"

"Oh, right, I'm coming." Jason was a bit dazed. He put down the burrito in his hand, and Little Slicker took it. As soon as he touched the burrito, he said, "Uh, why is it a bit cold? But it doesn't matter, you know I don't like eating things too hot. But why did your breakfast take so long? It's been almost an hour, right?"

"Um, I..." Jason said, stammering a little, "While I was eating breakfast, I ran into a professor, that Professor Shiler."

Little Slicker made an expression of surprise and said, "Did he give you a hard time? He didn't freeze you into an ice cube, did he?"

Jason shook his head and said, "Not at all. We had a pretty pleasant chat. Um, but just before I left, he suggested I change my major."

Little Slicker opened his eyes wide and said, "You don't want to learn auto repair anymore? We agreed to invent a car together..."

"Of course." Jason sat down, wrapped his arm around Little Slicker's shoulder, and said to him, "I'm a very loyal guy."

Little Slicker brushed his hand away and said, "Come on, Jason, don't I know you? Actually, you don't like auto repair at all, right? Yesterday during class, I saw you secretly falling asleep."

"That's not it." Jason said, looking troubled, "But he said psychology could answer some of my questions, the ones I told you about before, those strange and bizarre questions..."

"Oh, you mean questions about why people are poor or rich, where money comes from, and things like that?" Little Slicker scratched his head and said, "I've never studied psychology, so I don't know exactly what it teaches, but that professor shouldn't be lying to you, right?"

"That's what I think too. Before, he told us that the courses here would interest you more, and it turned out to be true. Plus, he has no reason to specifically lie to me."

"Then are you planning to go?" Little Slicker asked. He said, "I'm not trying to stop you, but I think that subject might be very difficult. Can you really understand it?"

Then, Little Slicker looked left and right, lowered his voice, and said, "I heard that even Bruce Wei En had to retake his class. You'll definitely get scolded really badly!"

Jason shivered and said hesitantly, "That's true. If Bruce Wei En really is Batman, then he must be very capable. If even he can't graduate, can I really do it?"

"And there's another problem." Little Slicker said very seriously, "Right now, there's no such major in the technical school. Where are you going to transfer to? Are you going to the main academy? But there are many students from out of town at the main academy. You don't know them at all. Maybe they'll give you a hard time..."

Jason's face became even more hesitant. Just then, the whole class heard two coughs from the back of the seats. Everyone sat up straight, not daring to whisper to each other anymore.

Shiler sat down and picked up his lecture notebook. Before the teacher started speaking, he stood up, pointed to the two seats in the front row, and said, "You two, sit apart. Don't think I didn't see you chatting just now."

Little Slicker and Jason, who had been pointed out, both winced and hurriedly moved to the two ends of the row to sit down. Little Slicker gave him a look, meaning, "See, I told you he's not easy to deal with."

Jason shrugged and deliberately made a face, and both of them laughed.

Soon, the morning class was over. Little Slicker felt he had gained a lot; combining today's knowledge, he finally understood yesterday's difficult points. Jason also gained a lot; he slept very soundly and even had a big feast in his dream.

At noon, when it was time to eat, before leaving, Jason saw Shiler standing in the back row of seats, waving at him. Jason waved at Little Slicker and said, "You go eat first, I'll be over in a bit."

He walked up and asked, "Professor Shiler, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Nothing much. What are you planning to eat for lunch?" Shiler walked out while tidying up his things. Jason followed behind him, scratching his head, and said, "Just the usual stuff from the student cafeteria. I want a big burger and a bowl of bean soup..."

"Eating that stuff all the time isn't healthy. Let's go, I'll take you to the faculty restaurant. You'll like the lamb ribs there." Shiler walked quickly toward the door. Jason hesitated for a moment and said, "Isn't the faculty restaurant for teachers? It wouldn't be very good for me to go in..."

"It's fine, teachers often bring students there too." Shiler looked back at him and said, "Do you know? There's a dish there that's famous all over Cat Getan, better than the one at the most famous Italian restaurant in the North District. It's traditional Italian steak with roasted vegetables..."

"The steak is cooked to the perfect doneness, and it still leaks juice when you cut it. The best part is the roasted vegetables; there's no broccoli in it, which I don't like. All the other vegetables are delicious. Do you like broccoli?"

Jason's face scrunched up, and he said, "No, that's too terrifying. It's the worst-tasting vegetable in the world."

"It seems we have a lot in common in this regard."

The two chatted as they arrived at the faculty restaurant. Actually, it was closer than the student cafeteria.

The faculty restaurant had a completely different style from the cafeteria. It was closer to an outside restaurant, with luxurious decor and quite a lot of taste. The dark brown floor was steady and stylish, the wine-red velvet curtains and the dark red round wooden tables and chairs complemented each other, and the gleam of the metal tableware echoed the lighting.

More importantly, the faculty members eating here had a kind of temperament Jason had never seen before. It was rare to see this kind of temperament in Gothamites, but he had to admit, he liked it here. There was an atmosphere here that made people feel at ease.

Shiler brought Jason to the front desk and said, "I have a reservation. This is one of my students. I brought him here for a meal. Please register us. Oh, and let the waiter take our order later; I have another guest."

The waiter at the front desk nodded, smiled, and said, "Alright, Professor. Is it okay if I take your order in ten minutes?"

Shiler nodded and then led Jason to sit down. As they passed the tables and chairs, Jason's head kept turning, feeling very curious about everything here.

When the waiter brought the water glasses and napkins, Jason squirmed a bit awkwardly in his chair and said, "Professor Shiler, is it really okay for me to sit here? I see everyone else is..."

"Don't worry about the others. They are here to eat, not to look at you. If you really feel uncomfortable, you can try saying hello to them."

Jason shook his head vigorously, but he still curiously sized up a table of guests nearby. When an elderly lady opposite him met his gaze, she smiled at him and nodded.

Jason hurriedly turned his head away and covered his mouth with his hand. Shiler smiled and said, "No need to be nervous. That's Mrs. Pins. Opposite her is Professor Andre from the main academy, a professor of materials science."

Jason took a deep breath, turned his head back, and said, "Hello."

Professor Andre had a full beard. He stroked his beard, turned to Shiler, smiled, and said, "He's not afraid of you, but he's afraid of us. It seems your prestige still needs improvement."

"Stop talking." Mrs. Pins also said with a smile, "If his prestige improves any further, no one will dare to come to school!"

The three of them laughed together, but Jason didn't know what they were laughing at. He lowered his head, fiddled with the corner of his clothes, and then said to Shiler, "I don't know why, but I always feel like the language people use here isn't English..."

"Can't you understand the words we're saying?" Shiler asked.

"No, I just feel like the way you talk is different from what I usually hear. I don't know how to put it, but I always feel a bit awkward." Jason said, rubbing his hands.

"That might be because you're hungry." Shiler gently tapped the bell on the edge of the table with his finger. The bell made a crisp sound. The waiter closest to them turned and said, "Professor, please wait a moment."

After a while, he came up with the menu. At this time, Victor walked over, sat opposite Shiler, and said, "Sorry, I'm a bit late. Two students in their graduation season wanted to ask for leave for an internship. I had to confirm their opening reports first, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to finish their theses in time."

"It's fine, we're just ordering." Shiler took the menu, ordered a few dishes, and then handed the menu to Victor. After Victor finished ordering, he handed the menu to Jason. He looked at Shiler and asked, "Why did you bring him here? Doesn't he have class this afternoon?"

"The practical operation class this afternoon isn't too important. Anyway, he didn't listen to a word all morning."

"Uh, I did listen!" Jason said immediately. Shiler looked at him and said, "Oh? Really? Then what did the teacher talk about this morning?"

"Um..." Jason tried hard to recall and said, "Talked about... probably... uh... the wheel transmission system?"

"That was yesterday's lesson." Shiler shook his head and said, "But it doesn't matter. Not everyone has to learn how to fix cars. For example, I don't."

Victor shook his head and laughed twice, saying, "That wasn't your attitude yesterday. Who was it that said in the office yesterday that if every child in Cat Getan could learn to fix cars, this would be the next Detroit?"

"Is that so? I don't remember. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night... Alright, Jason, look at the menu. Is there anything you like? Once you've ordered, give it to me." Shiler changed the subject.

"Oh, I don't really understand these words, and I don't have anything I particularly like to eat. As long as there's meat, it's fine."

Jason returned the menu to Shiler, who then handed it back to the waiter. Before long, steaming hot dishes filled the table, including roasted lamb ribs, Italian roasted steak, Spanish paella, creamed spinach, pea soup, and so on.

Jason didn't feel hungry at first, but after these dishes he had never seen before were served, he immediately felt ravenous.

However, he didn't rush to eat, but instead observed the movements of Shiler and Victor.

Seeing them put on their napkins and pick up their knives and forks, Jason followed suit. Although it was his first time in such a restaurant, one couldn't tell at all that he was a child from the slums; instead, he looked like he had received that kind of etiquette education in a church school.

Victor gave Shiler a look, and Shiler nodded gently. Then, Victor asked, "How is Bruce's thesis coming along? I see you've had a headache these past few days."

Shiler sighed, used his fork to separate a piece of lamb rib, and said, "The punctuation and formatting are fine now, but there's a new problem. I hope he doesn't expand too much on things unrelated to the theme, but he just likes to write like that."

"I finished correcting one, and the second one is the same. I really don't know whether to say his thinking is too active or he's just not focused at all."

"How many times has the one he handed in last week been revised? I remember, it must be five times, right?" Victor picked up a piece of mushroom and put it into his mouth, saying, "Those students who are going for internships have only just written their opening reports. I really doubt they can hand in their theses on time before graduation."

Shiler put down his fork, made a cross on his chest, and said, "God bless, I hope there won't be more than ten more delayed graduations this year. If this continues, the classroom won't be able to hold them."

Jason listened to their conversation while eating. He found it very novel; this was a topic he had never heard of in Cat Getan.

He thought, learning, reading, writing a thesis, graduating—would these words really appear in his life?

Could he really one day not have to worry about his next meal, but instead sit in a classroom and focus on reading?

This was truly crazy, Jason thought. He used to think that Cat Getan had too many lunatics, and if they were gone, this place would be half better.

But today, he felt that he was a bit crazy too.