Chapter 58: Academician Wang, Whose Smile Won

You've been handling everything for the junior disciple since the start of term—how could you not know, while we would?

Hearing Wang Yaqin's words, the several senior brothers and sisters beside her also rolled their eyes in annoyance.

Their shock was no less than Wang Yaqin's; if they had initially come just to watch the excitement.

So now, when they look again at Li Mingyang's work in his hands, their expressions inevitably turn serious.

"Junior brother, could you have reached this level when you were in graduate school?"

Zhou Li is the second senior brother in the lab, senior only to Wang Yaqin, and beside him is the lab's youngest member, Ma Long.

Ma Long, like Li Mingyang, has just entered Teacher Wang Qiang's tutelage this year, except that Ma Long is pursuing a doctorate.

Li Mingyang, however, is an undergraduate, and he's not even 18 yet; although they all joined at the same time, there's no need to say who the "old monster" is.

After hearing his senior brother's words, Ma Long also couldn't help but show a slightly bitter smile.

"Senior brother, your words are a bit dismissive; no matter what, I can barely be called a genius, alright?"

"If I didn't have this level in graduate school, do you think I could have entered the teacher's door?"

"The junior disciple's engine this time, although still somewhat short of my graduate‑student level, at least reaches the level of my undergraduate graduation project."

"Even just that is already enough to be a blow, alright!"

"I originally thought I was already a genius among ordinary people, but after four years of effort, compared to the junior disciple…"

"At most it's been a little over a month; even after the college entrance exam, the junior disciple studied ahead during the break."

"But altogether it won't exceed four months—four months versus four years…"

As he said this, Ma Long's expression completely collapsed, and even Zhou Li's eye twitched uncontrollably.

"Comparing people to people really makes you angry!"

At that moment the two shared an unprecedented tacit understanding, almost simultaneously blurting out the same sigh.

Wang Yaqin, standing beside the two, also heard their remarks and sigh, and couldn't help but add a sentence of her own:

"I think we'd better get used to it, because I have a feeling that before long this junior disciple of ours will truly be able to stand with us in the lab."

The two seniors' sighs were no less felt by Wang Yaqin; in fact, her own feeling was even stronger.

After all, before this she was the undisputed elder sister of the lab.

And the reason she could hold that position wasn't just her seniority; most importantly, her strength was unquestionably strong.

She had almost opened a noticeable gap with the other lab members.

But even so, when faced with Li Mingyang, a true genius, Wang Yaqin couldn't help but doubt life!

At the same time she deeply understood why Teacher Wang Qiang, when facing them, almost always wore an exasperated "wish iron could become steel" expression.

They originally thought this was merely the teacher's oppressive education, after all they considered themselves already outstanding compared to their peers.

But now it seems……those words the teacher said before were hardly not sincere!

……

"Nice! Awesome! It's finally done, and there's no data difference at all from my design draft."

"Even if there were, it would be only a minuscule amount, practically negligible!"

By the time evening came and the outside sky had darkened, Li Mingyang, immersed in a day's work, looked at the silver‑white engine he had finally assembled before him.

Unable to contain his inner joy, he shouted out in celebration right in the lab.

"Senior sister, could you come over and take a look…"

After the cheering, Li Mingyang quickly calmed down, wanting the senior brothers and sisters beside him to give him some pointers.

But when he turned his head, he was surprised to discover that, at some point, the entire third floor of the lab was left with only him.

The senior brothers and sisters who had been standing nearby watching the fun had long since vanished without a trace.

"Where are they? Could they have gone to eat?"

Looking at the darkened sky outside, he pulled out his phone to check the time—it was already past 8, almost 9 p. m., a time when the lab being empty is normal.

"Forget it, I'll leave it here for now and have the senior brothers and sisters give me advice tomorrow."

He unconsciously rubbed his stomach; he hadn't felt it while immersed in the experiment, but now, snapping back to awareness, Li Mingyang felt his five viscera were about to rebel.

……

But Li Mingyang didn't know that shortly after he left, his teacher, whom he had barely seen in the month since school started, hurried to the lab.

"Is this the engine you said the junior disciple made himself?"

Looking at the miniature engine on the third‑floor lab bench, Wang Qiang's eyes were full of surprise.

This engine's level is apparent at a glance; it's not exactly a high‑end product.

Any graduate student with a bit of skill could make it, but that student still needs to have some skill.

And this student of mine……from first touching this major to now, at most it hasn't even been four months, right?

"Are you sure this engine was made entirely by the junior disciple on his own, with no help from you—whether in theory or hands‑on work?"

After receiving an affirmative answer to his question, Wang Qiang finally couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a big smile.

The corners of his mouth were almost splitting back to his ears.

"Not easy! Really not easy! After all these years, I've finally found a true‑meaning genius student."

"And what's more, he's such a disciplined, hardworking genius student! My mantle has at last found an heir!"