Chapter 43: Genius

2:00 PM, the fourth day of the first lunar month, Yuncheng University faculty residential area.

Di Ye drove his Audi to the gate of Liu Shaosong's courtyard and saw an elderly man with graying hair walking with Liu Qingqing. He parked the car, took a case of Moutai out of the trunk, and greeted them: "Director Fu, Qingqing, Happy New Year."

"Brother Di Ye!"

Liu Qingqing was nearly 3 years old and already had a certain memory. She ran over with her short legs wobbling. Di Ye hurriedly put down the case, went up to pick her up, and spun her around, asking with a smile: "Has Qingqing been a good girl today?"

"Very good."

"That's great. Shall we do a lift-up?"

"Okay!"

The elderly man was named Fu Chuanyi, Liu Shaosong's father-in-law, who had served as the Director of the Academic Affairs Office at Yun University before retiring. Seeing Di Ye and Qingqing so close, he felt he looked familiar and said: "I think I've seen you before. You're Shaosong's student, right?"

"Yes, my name is Di Ye. Professor Liu is my Thesis Advisor."

Fu Chuanyi looked at the Audi, then at the cardboard box on the ground with the Moutai logo, and asked with a frown: "What are you here to see Shaosong about?"

Di Ye was busy teasing Qingqing and didn't notice his expression, so he said casually: "I'm here to wish Professor Liu a Happy New Year, and by the way, ask him to help look at my graduation thesis."

Fu Chuanyi's face turned cold, and he said in an unfriendly tone: "Shaosong doesn't need students like you coming to wish him a Happy New Year. You should go back."

Di Ye was slightly stunned, feeling that he had misunderstood his intentions. Just as he was about to explain, Liu Shaosong walked out of the house. Seeing the cardboard box on the ground, he said with a smile: "Di Ye, the gift you brought this time isn't as elegant as the last one. It's a bit tacky!"

"Then should I go back now and swap the Moutai for some cut-out discs?"

"Don't, I'll reluctantly accept it. I'll save it for when Qingqing grows up and gets married."

"Professor Liu is truly far-sighted and deeply loves his daughter."

"You really should fix that habit of misusing idioms."

Liu Shaosong and Di Ye chatted and joked for a moment, then picked up the box of Moutai himself and asked: "How is that compression software of yours coming along?"

"The software and the thesis are both finished. I brought them with me this time. I'd like Professor Liu to help me see which journal would be best to submit to."

"Finished so quickly? Come, come, come with me to the study."

Liu Shaosong had Di Ye hand Qingqing over to Fu Chuanyi, then hurried him off to the study.

Seeing this, Fu Chuanyi was somewhat confused. He carried Qingqing back into the house and asked Fu Wenjing, who was sketching in the living room: "Wenjing, what's the deal with that student just now?"

"Di Ye is the best student in the Computer College. Shaosong says he's a genius with limitless future achievements. It's a pity he applied for a postgraduate program at Jinling University and will soon be flying the coop."

Fu Wenjing said sarcastically while smudging her sketchbook with a pencil: "Dad, you care so much about talent, wishing all the good students would stay at Yun University. Why don't you hurry up and think of a way to keep him?"

Fu Chuanyi took a box of building blocks and put them on the sofa for Qingqing to play with. He sat by the coffee table, watching her while explaining: "Wenjing, I insisted on having Shaosong come to Yun University because I do have selfish motives, but it's also for his own good. Tsukuba University is, after all, not a top-tier school like Stanford University or MIT. If he went to teach at Qing-Bei-Fu-Jiao, he wouldn't get such good treatment as he does now."

Fu Wenjing said nothing and continued to draw.

Seeing this, Fu Chuanyi continued his deduction: "Once Shaosong came to Yun University, he was an Associate Professor. This year he will be evaluated as a full Professor, and then he will serve as the head of the Computer Science Department. When Fei Xianghui retires in 1999, he will have a great chance to compete for the position of Dean of the Computer College. His future prospects are far better than being an ordinary professor at Qing-Bei-Fu-Jiao."

Fu Wenjing let out a hum and complained: "You only know how to care about Shaosong; why don't you consider my career prospects? I studied fashion design, and in this dump of a place called Yuncheng, I can't do anything. I can only teach children how to draw in kindergarten. If I were in Beijing or Pujiang, I could at least have a proper job."

"Sigh, you two are a married couple; isn't Shaosong's success your success? If you feel you have nowhere to apply your skills, I'll pay for you to open a clothing store."

"A clothing store and fashion design are not the same thing at all! You're always like this, favoring men over women..."

Just then, Liu Shaosong walked out of the study. He didn't notice the father and daughter arguing and walked excitedly to the landline, picked up the receiver, dialed a number, and said: "Dean Fei, are you free now?... Di Ye has finished writing the compression software... Yes, the thesis is also done. I've taken a rough look, and there are no issues... Good, I'll wait for you."

Fu Chuanyi pricked up his ears and listened for a while, his curiosity piqued. After Liu Shaosong hung up the phone, he asked: "Why did you call Fei Xianghui over?"

"Di Ye wrote a high-quality thesis and doesn't know which magazine to submit it to. I asked Dean Fei to come over and offer his opinion."

Fu Wenjing glanced at her father and deliberately stirred the pot: "Shaosong, is Di Ye planning to stay at the school for a combined master's and doctoral program, or is he going to Jinling for his postgraduate studies?"

Liu Shaosong was in high spirits at this moment and said with a smile: "Di Ye was just bragging to me that his postgraduate entrance exam score is at least 450. If he really can get such a high score, Jinling University will definitely let him do a combined master's and doctoral program, so there's no need for him to stay at Yun University."

Fu Chuanyi was a founding member of Yun University and had a strong sense of belonging and honor. Upon hearing this, he became anxious and said: "How can we just hand over such an excellent student? Shaosong, I see you have a good relationship with this Di Ye; try to persuade him to stay at Yun University for further studies."

"Dad, even if I wanted to keep him, I couldn't. With Di Ye's talent, there are few people in the Yun University Computer Science Department who can teach him, so it's better not to hold him back."

Fu Chuanyi was taken aback and asked skeptically: "Is he really that talented?"

"His talent is indeed very good, but it's a pity his mind is too scattered and he can't endure loneliness. If he focused on his studies, he might surpass me in two or three years."

Hearing him give such an assessment, Fu Wenjing was also surprised. She stopped drawing and said: "Shaosong, Di Ye is usually quite respectful to us. Why don't you keep him for dinner tonight?"

"Not today, maybe next time. He said he's very busy lately and has to leave soon."

"Alright then."

After Liu Shaosong returned to the study, Fu Chuanyi stood up from the sofa, walked to the window, looked at the Audi parked at the gate, and asked: "He's just a student, yet he drives an Audi. What does his family do?"

Fu Wenjing had been drawing and hadn't noticed how Di Ye arrived. Hearing this, she looked up, then continued to stir the pot: "Di Ye's family is very ordinary. This car has Jinling license plates; maybe someone from the Jinling University admissions office came and lent him the car."

Although Fu Chuanyi had been retired for several years, he still cared about teaching work and shook his head: "Postgraduate exam scores won't be released until the end of the month. Jinling University couldn't possibly have come to find him now."

"That's hard to say. Shaosong was so excited just now, which means the thesis Di Ye wrote isn't simple. Maybe Jinling University heard the news in advance."

Fu Wenjing was just talking nonsense to annoy her father, but Fu Chuanyi took it seriously. When Fei Xianghui arrived on his bicycle, he immediately went up to him and blamed him: "Professor Fei, how are you running this college? We finally have an excellent student, why didn't you get him recommended for admission in advance?"

Fei Xianghui was a thin, elderly man in his 50s who smiled bitterly and said: "Old Fu, recommending someone for admission isn't like press-ganging soldiers. If he doesn't apply, can I force him?"

"Then what should we do now?"

"I'll go see how his thesis is written first. If it's truly extraordinary, I'll find a way to keep him."

"Go, go quickly."

Fu Chuanyi had worked in academic administration for decades and had developed a good habit of never disturbing or interfering with academic work. Although he felt as uncomfortable as an ant on a hot pan, he still just paced in the living room and didn't go to the study to listen in.

Fu Wenjing was annoyed by his pacing, so she put away her sketchbook and mocked: "Dad, you only have one daughter like me; there's no second daughter to send off for a political marriage, so don't waste your energy."

Fu Chuanyi glared at her and said: "Nonsense! You and Shaosong fell in love freely; I didn't use you for any political marriage."

"If you hadn't created the conditions behind the scenes back then, would Shaosong have fallen in love with me?"

"That still required the two of you to have mutual feelings; I didn't force you to fall in love."

At this moment, Qingqing, who was sitting on the sofa playing with blocks, looked up and asked in a milky voice: "Mommy, what is falling in love?"

Fu Wenjing smiled, picked up her daughter, and said softly: "When Daddy and Mommy walk holding hands, that's called falling in love. Qingqing, shall we go out shopping and leave Grandpa at home to sulk by himself?"

"I don't want to be carried, I want to hold hands and fall in love with Mommy."

"Okay, Qingqing and Mommy will fall in love. Let's go."

After Fu Wenjing and her mother left, Fu Chuanyi turned on the television, sat on the sofa, and flipped through the channels back and forth to kill time; after waiting for about 2 hours, Di Ye walked out of the study, greeted him, and then drove away.

"Professor Fei, how is his thesis coming along?"

"It is written very well."

Fei Xianghui had previously passed a message through Liu Shaosong to urge Di Ye to stay at the university for further studies, which was merely a formality to avoid being criticized later for not valuing excellent students, but at this moment his attitude changed drastically; after brushing off Fu Chuanyi with a perfunctory remark, he said decisively: "Shaosong, come with me to see University President Song; we must do everything in our power to keep Di Ye at this university for further studies!"

"Alright."

Seeing that both of them had grave expressions, Fu Chuanyi became even more curious and asked: "Did he write a top-tier domestic thesis?"

Fei Xianghui hurried to the entryway and, while changing his shoes, said: "The thesis is not important; what is important is his talent and genius in the field of the internet."

Fu Chuanyi did not understand and chased after Liu Shaosong to ask: "What exactly is going on?"

Liu Shaosong's expression was somewhat complex; he sighed and remarked with emotion: "Dad, I said earlier that Di Ye could surpass me in two or three years, but I was actually wrong; he surpassed me in just one winter break. Whether he stays at Yun University for further studies or goes to Jinling University, he can only teach himself, because no one in the country can teach him."

Fu Chuanyi was completely petrified.