The next few days were uneventful, with only Tang Ke visiting once. After sitting for a while, he took a painting by Dong Qichang, a famous calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, from the wall. Dong Qichang's calligraphy and painting were of exceptionally high quality, but his character was questionable. Duanmu Ci naturally did not appreciate him and therefore did not have a deep relationship with him. He only collected some of Dong Qichang's calligraphy and paintings, so it was not a problem for him to give away one of his works.

Tang Ke was overjoyed to receive it, thanking him repeatedly and saying things like "I will surely repay you handsomely." Duanmu Ci didn't care and just smiled it off.

But Tang Ke was sincere; he wasn't just being polite. He genuinely believed he would be rewarded handsomely. Because with such exchanges, there would be more contact. Wouldn't that provide an excuse to deepen their relationship? It wouldn't be wrong to make more connections with members of the Duanmu family.

He had a clever plan in mind.

...

...

A month has passed in the blink of an eye, the ice and snow on the Huangpu River are melting more and more, and the sound of ship horns coming from the port is becoming more melodious.

Haishan University is about to start the new semester.

As a world-class university, Haishan University naturally has many elite students. However, beyond the law and reason, there are also personal connections. Therefore, in addition to students who are admitted through regular entrance examinations, there are also some who get in through connections.

For example, a teacher with the compound surname Duanmu...

As a university with an enormous campus, Haishan University's gate is also uniquely designed.

It is hidden at the end of a tree-lined avenue that stretches for a hundred meters, with plane trees on both sides providing ample shade. Anyone who wants to enter the university must get out of their car and walk more than a hundred steps, passing through these trees planted before World War II, as if stepping into a piece of history.

This tree-lined avenue is also known by students as the "Sycamore Corridor," which was probably inspired by the Stanford Great Lawn.

Duanmu Ci was walking in this romantic "sycamore corridor" at this moment. In the cold winter wind, although the sycamore branches and leaves were scattered and lacked the romance of autumn and the prosperity of summer, they still stood tall, seemingly containing a vibrant vitality in the midst of decay.

Countless students carrying suitcases swept past Duanmu Ci, in groups, laughing and chatting. This reminded him of his own school days, of Yan Hui, Zilu, Zeng Shen… and even Confucius…

"Duanmu Ci!"

Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Turning around, he saw Professor Yan Zhigui. Duanmu Ci stopped and replied, "Good morning, Professor Yan!"

Yan Zhigui strode over and waved his hand, "Come on! I'll show you around!"

...

...

Haishan University is very large, so it has many academic disciplines—the School of Business, the School of Law, the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, the School of Foreign Languages, the School of Humanities, and so on. The Department of Chinese Language and Literature belongs to the School of Humanities.

The School of Arts is beautiful and perfectly suits its character. The main building, resembling a giant whale in the deep sea, subtly echoes the ocean in the distance. The designer's professional skills are undoubtedly top-notch and of international first-class standard.

Seeing that Duanmu Ci was staring at the building in front of him, Yan Zhigui said with some pride, "This building looks like a whale, so the students also call it the 'Whale Building.' I heard that the designer of this building is some Japanese firm called Gongshumo Construction. Hehe, isn't it beautiful?"

Gongshu Mo… So that’s how it is… Duanmu Ci smiled, “Yes, she is indeed very beautiful.”

Yan Zhigui did not lead Duanmu Ci into the "Whale Tower," but instead took him to a small building next door. "We discussed it a few days ago and decided to have you teach ancient Chinese literature, because this major can fully utilize your strengths of extensive knowledge and excellent memory. What do you think?"

Duanmu Ci naturally had no objection, "Okay."

In fact, Yan Zhigui and the others wanted Duanmu Ci to teach this major not only because Duanmu Ci was suitable for it, but also because the students in this major were very special.

First of all, a large portion of the students in this major are privileged children who got in through connections. They come here to study just to get a degree from Haishan University.

Another group consists of international students and exchange students. These students are genuinely here to study, but because they are foreigners, their studies are not as in-depth, making them easier to teach. Therefore, considering these factors, Professor Yan Zhigui decided to let Duanmu Ci work in the Chinese Classical Literature major.

However, it turned out to be a lucky accident.

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor, and an elderly man and a young man stepped out and entered an office. Yan Zhigui pointed to one of the desks and said, "This is your workstation."

It's quite big... Duanmu Ci's **** head.

There weren't many people in the office at that time. Only one middle-aged man was sitting in his seat flipping through a stack of documents. Hearing the noise, he looked up, then stood up and came over. "Professor Yan, is this your new colleague?" He extended his hand. "Hello, I am Qiu Duli, and I teach Yuan, Ming and Qing literature."

Duanmu Ci extended his hand to shake hands with him, "Hello, my name is Duanmu Ci."

Yan Zhigui said, "Very good, you guys get to know each other first, I'll go now, or I'll come back later."

Duanmu Ci escorted him to the door.

Next, it was time for some background information. Qiu Duli said, "There are four teachers in this office, including you and me, including the counselors for these specialized classes. The counselor is a woman named Su Wuyu, who teaches pre-Qin and Han Dynasty literature. There is also a male lecturer named Chu Xinsu, who teaches Wei and Jin Dynasty literature."

"What about his personality? What's his personality like?"

"Well..." Qiu Duli looked hesitant. "It's hard to say. It's probably two extremes. You'll know when you meet them."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!