He thought everything was fine until he finished his thesis defense. Apart from his counselor constantly bothering him to stay in school, he had no worries and was just waiting to graduate.

Who knew that on the eve of his defense, his advisor would call him to his office again, this time with a very firm attitude, not allowing him to make excuses and insisting that he must come.

When Shan Guanwen arrived, he found that his teacher, Gao Long, who was always eager to leave work, was already waiting in the counselor's room to take him there.

"Professor Gao, you're here." Shan Guanwen greeted him. He harbored resentment towards Gao Long, but no matter what, he had learned something from him in the lab, and Gao Long could be considered his mentor.

The counselor sat between the two, smiling before speaking: "Student Shan, the reason I called you here today is still about what will happen after you graduate."

"Don't talk to me anymore. My opinion won't change. I've already made it clear to the other person. Teacher, one must be honest. If I agree to stay at school today, and someone else approaches me tomorrow with better offers, I will still break the agreement."

Shen Heng taught him these words. He couldn't speak them as fluently as Shen Heng, but even though he stumbled over them, he still managed to express the meaning clearly.

"Shan Guanwen, it hasn't been easy for the school to nurture you. In these four years, your subsidies and scholarships must have amounted to several thousand yuan, right? Now the school needs you. How can you abandon your alma mater for some petty gains outside?"

The counselor's words, delivered with a combination of politeness and firmness, left Shan Guanwen utterly ashamed.

"The subsidies and scholarships are all provided by the government," Shan Guanwen said weakly.

He is most afraid of being called heartless.

"If you didn't have the backing of Yenching University, how could the country possibly give it to you?"

The counselor's words left Shan Guanwen speechless.

Gao Long, standing to the side, said, "Hey, I know Shan Guanwen. He's not a heartless person. Right, Guanwen, you can stay in our lab from now on. Now that things are more open, our lab said there's one spot for studying abroad next year. I won't give it to anyone else, I'll try my best to get it for you so you can go abroad for further studies. How does that sound?"

Shan Guanwen didn't believe a word Gao Long said.

He would say this whenever he wanted me to do something, and then immediately change his attitude after I finished doing it.

The counselor added, "Student Shan, look how sincere your advisor is in trying to keep you here. Why don't you reconsider?"

"I'm sorry, but I stand by my decision."

Teacher Gao's words only strengthened Shan Guanwen's resolve not to stay at the school.

Are you sure you want to work at that small factory?

The counselor's expression changed when he saw that Shan Guanwen was an unyielding person.

Seeing that they were planning to take a hard line, Shan Guanwen got up to leave.

Don't you want your graduation certificate anymore?

Gao Long's words made Shan Guanwen stop in his tracks. He looked at Gao Long and asked, "Teacher Gao, what do you mean by this?"

"You haven't defended your thesis yet. If you don't pass, you won't get your diploma. Without a degree, do you think any factory will hire you? Are you willing to accept that?"

He thought he understood Gao Long just by looking at the text, but today he realized that he had underestimated Gao Long.

"Threatening me with my diploma won't work. I believe in my graduation project. If you try to maliciously prevent me from graduating, I will definitely report you to the school!"

Even clay figures have a bit of spirit, and Shan Guanwen was furious at that moment.

“You’re not good at writing papers. I have a hundred ways to shut down your defense so the school can’t find any fault with it. Judging from your paper, this matter is actually very simple. As long as you stay at the school and stay in my lab, all the problems will be solved. Besides, if you have signed a contract with that small factory, the school can pay the penalty for breach of contract for you.”

After Gao Long finished speaking, the counselor immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, you may think the penalty for breach of contract is too much, but for the school, it's a very easy issue to resolve."

"Impossible!" Shan Guanwen increasingly felt that Shen Heng was right; some corners of this society were still very dangerous.

"Then you can just wait to get your graduation certificate!"

Gao Long's attitude was also very tough.

Shan Guanwen slammed the door and left, only to realize later that he had acted too impulsively.

He studied hard for four years and endured so much under Gao Long's command, all for that graduation certificate.

He was never good at handling these kinds of things, and now he felt like the sky was falling.

Dan Guanwen had no choice but to go to the factory to find Shen Heng after thinking about it all night.

Shen Heng will be graduating in half a year. He doesn't have any classes now, and his graduation project is with Professor Jian Shao. Professor Jian Shao is very hands-off with him, and Shen Heng is now focused on the factory.

"Shen Heng, I have to break my promise to you last time."

"Breach of contract?" Shen Heng had been working so hard, his hair had turned white, and now Shan Guanwen wanted to break the contract. "Are you asking for trouble? Have I been too kind to you?"

Shan Guanwen pushed up his glasses, lowered his head, and even looked a little aggrieved: "I'm not the kind of person who breaks promises, I'm just in trouble."

"Don't give me that look. Tell me what's wrong."

Shen Heng propped his feet up on the table, pointed to the sofa on the side, and gestured for Shan Guanwen to sit down and speak slowly.

Shan Guanwen sat stiffly on the leather sofa and said, "My teacher came to me and said that if I don't stay at the school, he won't give me my graduation certificate. I've endured Gao Long's wrath for so many years just for this certificate."

Shan Guanwen came from a poor background, and going to university was a chance for him to transform himself.

Shen Heng looked at Shan Guanwen with incomprehension: "You're just planning to spend your whole life working under Gao Long, doing all the work for him, all for a worthless certificate?"

"I......"

Shan Guanwen doesn't have that much courage to just let go.

"Okay, I'll figure out a way to get you the diploma."

What's your idea?

"You don't need to worry about that, you wouldn't understand anyway. Just focus on preparing for your graduation defense. Go back, don't overthink it. Come visit the factory more often when you have time, don't waste your brain on other things."

Shen Heng chased and persuaded Shan Guanwen away, tapping the table with his finger: "Damn, he's something else. He doesn't talk much, but he's got a lot to say."

Shen Heng, who was from the School of Mechanical Engineering, didn't know anyone, so he went directly to Jian Shao and asked him if he had any ideas.

Jian Shao has seen this kind of thing before. Schools sometimes use special methods to attract talent, but it's hard to say about something as obvious as Gao Long's.

"I've heard of Shan Guanwen too. The teacher across the street from my house is from the Mechanical Engineering Department. Hey? I'll ask him for you when I get back. He seems to have told me that Professor Gao gets his awards every year thanks to this student. There's competition, and with competition, there might be some brave souls."