Chapter 60: A Beautiful Story

Xia Fangfei found two classmates to help move all her belongings from the dormitory downstairs, and after waiting for about 20 minutes under the gaze of people coming and going, she finally saw Di Ye drive over in a Jinbei Van.

"We agreed you'd come pick me up at 3 o'clock, and now it's already 3:30. What were you doing?"

"Giving a lecture to some professors in our institute. To get revenge for their evil habit of dragging out class, I dragged mine out for over ten minutes just now, letting them taste what it's like to sit on pins and needles."

Xia Fangfei couldn't keep her stern face anymore; she smiled, stepped forward, and patted Di Ye a few times. The two classmates were also amused; one questioned if he had it backward, while the other asked what subject he was teaching the professors.

"It's nothing important, just explaining some new knowledge to a few professors so they know how smart I am. That way, I won't have to attend class in the future and will get full marks on exams directly."

"Talking nonsense again. Hurry up and help me move my luggage to the car; I still have to tidy up later, otherwise I won't be able to live there tonight."

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time."

Under the envious and jealous gazes of her two classmates, Xia Fangfei boarded the Jinbei Van and headed with Di Ye to the Xueyuan Xiaoqu outside the Beimen, preparing to begin their shameless cohabitation life.

Xueyuan Xiaoqu is right across from Beimen Street; it is small in scale, with only eight buildings, each with two units. The room Di Ye rented is Room 401 in Building 2, with an area of about 70 square meters, which is enough for two people.

Xia Fangfei was very much looking forward to their cohabitation life and had already come over to tidy up several times, not only purchasing many daily necessities but also doing some simple renovations, such as putting up wallpaper and changing furniture.

Di Ye first moved some light, miscellaneous items upstairs, then finally carried a large bag of books, huffing and puffing as he moved into the room, before collapsing onto the sofa to play dead, watching as Xia Fangfei stuffed them one by one onto the newly bought bookshelf, and asked: "Do you have many courses this semester?"

"Not many, only 7 courses. Why?"

"I'm going to Pengcheng to do a computer project, and the Dean has already agreed that I don't need to attend classes this semester. Do you want to go together? If you do, you can skip these 7 courses and come back to school for individual exams at the end of the term."

Xia Fangfei was greatly surprised, turned her head, and reminded him: "I'm from the Foreign Languages Institute; I'm not under your Dean's jurisdiction."

"I can list you as accompanying family and have our Dean help handle your Dean."

"Why would your Dean help you?"

"Don't worry about why; in any case, this matter is nine times out of ten going to work, and I can find someone to help you get a Hong Kong travel permit, so we can go play there for a few days."

Xia Fangfei was somewhat tempted, but also a bit reluctant; she looked around the newly decorated room and said: "What about this apartment?"

Di Ye stood up, walked to the balcony to look at a row of bonsai, and said: "We aren't going to Pengcheng until next month, so we can live here for ten days or so first, and we'll have to come back from time to time. When we're away, Huang Ya will help you look after these plants."

"She isn't going to Pengcheng?"

"She doesn't want to leave Yuncheng."

Xia Fangfei had always liked traveling, and now she was completely moved. While continuing to put books on the shelf, she imagined the carefree life of being together, but a moment later she suddenly remembered something and said: "I have to go to Beijing for an interview next month; my dad helped me arrange it before the Spring Festival."

Di Ye remembered she had once said she wanted to interview at a public institution under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and asked: "What specific unit?"

Xia Fangfei had been having too much fun lately and couldn't remember the name of the unit, so she said somewhat uncertainly: "It seems to be called the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges."

Di Ye knew nothing about this unit and only felt the name sounded quite high-end, so he asked: "If you pass the interview, do you want to stay in Beijing to work?"

Xia Fangfei held an English magazine, thought about it seriously, and then said: "If you live in Beijing for more than 6 months a year in the future, I'll work there, otherwise forget it."

Di Ye couldn't help but laugh and bargained: "6 months is too long, will 3 months do?"

"Are you thinking of finding two more and arranging them in four cities, rotating them throughout the four seasons?"

"You're really smart."

"You're really good at dreaming! In a while, I'll call Huang Ya over and let you taste what a 'mixed doubles' match is..."

Just as Di Ye and Xia Fangfei were flirting, Dean Fei was frowning and holding a meeting with several professors in a small classroom in the main teaching building.

"Shaosong, you have the best relationship with Di Ye. Tell us, does he really want to stay at this school for further studies?"

Liu Shaosong remained neutral and said ambiguously: "Dean Fei, I think he has the intention to stay, otherwise he wouldn't have come to present his 'treasure' right after school started. But he also has doubts about how much support Yun University can provide, otherwise he wouldn't be paying out of his own pocket to go to Pengcheng to research a Browser."

A professor beside him was smoking and asked: "Dean Fei, regarding the matter of opening up the Internet, have you actually communicated with the Yuncheng Posts and Telecommunications Bureau?"

Dean Fei was also smoking and smiled bitterly: "I called Director Duan of the Posts and Telecommunications Bureau to consult him. He said that currently, only two companies in the country can provide Internet access technology: one is the American company Sprint, and the other is AsiaInfo. But Sprint actually outsources to AsiaInfo, and AsiaInfo is currently doing projects for Liaosheng and Hangcheng, so they are short-handed. Even if we signed a contract now, we would have to wait until May or June for them to come to Yuncheng for construction."

"How much funding is needed to set up this Internet access?"

"About five."

After stating the price, Dean Fei had a sudden inspiration: "Shaosong, Di Ye earned over a million in just one winter break; his business ability is very strong, and he understands network technology. What do you think about us supporting him in starting a school-run enterprise to do this Internet access project?"

Liu Shaosong originally thought this idea was too outrageous, but upon second thought, he felt it was a good idea and said: "Di Ye's sister works at the Posts and Telecommunications Bureau; I reckon he should be interested. I'll go ask him later."

"Go ask as soon as possible."

At this moment, a professor who had gone out to buy cigarettes returned, placed several packs on the desk for everyone to take, then asked about the discussion content and said with dissatisfaction: "To let a genius like Di Ye run a school-run enterprise—I can't believe you all thought of that! Old Fei, stop messing with those crooked paths; hurry up and think of some serious ways to persuade Di Ye within these few days. Otherwise, once the postgraduate entrance exam results come out, it will be hard to persuade him. You have to know that the Computer Science Department of Jinling University is ranked in the top three in the country, while we don't even have a chance at the top 30!"

Dean Fei threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, picked up a pack of cigarettes, and while unwrapping it, said: "I can only think of two serious paths. First, give him independence; let him choose his own research topics starting from his master's studies, and we won't interfere. Second, give him special status; as long as he produces excellent academic results, he can graduate early. What do you all think?"

"Jinling University can offer the same conditions."

"Then what do you suggest we do? We are a university, not a private enterprise; we can't give him bonuses or shares."

"How about giving him an apartment? Those newly built faculty housing buildings will be completed in July."

"Di Ye has plenty of money; he can even buy a villa in Fengyue Garden. Would he care for a house in the school without property rights?"

Liu Shaosong had always maintained a neutral stance, but at this moment, he was infected by the enthusiastic discussion of his colleagues and participated unconsciously, saying: "I think material rewards have very little attraction for Di Ye; he wants more spiritual support. It would be better to give him a title starting from his master's studies, such as Lecturer. That way, when he graduates, he can be directly evaluated as a Professor and stay at the school—killing two birds with one stone."

Dean Fei was slightly stunned and said: "A graduate student serving as a lecturer—there shouldn't be any precedent for this in the country, right? And lecturers need to participate in teaching activities, giving classes to Undergraduates..."

The professor who had just bought the cigarettes was impatient; he interrupted Dean Fei, pointed to the diagrams Di Ye had drawn on the blackboard, and said: "With his ability to explain the TCP/IP Protocol just now, there is absolutely no problem with him giving classes to Undergraduates; he won't be misleading the students."

Dean Fei waved his hand and clarified: "I'm not afraid of him misleading the students; I'm afraid he'll think it's a waste of time and won't be willing to teach Undergraduates. Besides, evaluating titles isn't something I can decide; it has to be approved by University President Song."

Several professors felt this made sense, so they circled back to discuss the previous two conditions and finally reached a conclusion: let Di Ye go directly to a doctoral program, choose his own topics, provide sufficient funding, and as long as he can publish 5 SCI papers, let him graduate.

After the meeting, Liu Shaosong reminded him privately: "Dean Fei, I think the requirement of 5 SCI papers is too low; Di Ye might be able to finish it in a year. Will you really apply for a doctoral degree certificate for him then?"

"If Di Ye can really publish 5 SCI papers in a year, what does it matter if I give him a doctoral degree?"

Dean Fei didn't care at all and said: "Do you know Cao Xuetao from the Second Military Medical University? When he participated in his master's thesis defense in '89, because his performance was too excellent, he was directly granted a doctoral degree as an exception, and by '92, at only 28 years old, he was already a professor. It has always been told as a beautiful story. If Di Ye really has the strength, we can likewise make him a beautiful story!"