Jiang Wanqing thought that Professor Xue would definitely be eager to know the detailed design of the research project, but she did not expect that the time would be so fast that it was set for Tuesday evening in the school's large lecture hall, and even the presenter himself was notified at the last minute!
The huge lecture hall was packed, with some people even sitting on small stools in the aisles, all having come specifically to hear about the event.
What should have been a happy occasion turned into a nightmare when Jiang Wanqing entered, finding the main characters looking rather grim in their own ways.
Professor Xue was not as excited as he was yesterday; a shadow of gloom hung over his face. When he saw her coming, he waved to her.
"Wanqing, come sit here."
His shout immediately drew everyone's attention to her.
She walked over confidently, sat down, and greeted Professor Xue.
On the other side, Yuan Zhong, now disguised as Chen Zhong, stared at her with venomous eyes, his face extremely ugly. He probably hadn't expected Professor Xue to force him into this situation so quickly, without giving him any time to react.
She returned a meaningful smile, then turned to speak to Professor Xue.
"Now I know why you're so calm. It's my fault for not looking at the experimental data you gave me, and he beat me to it. Compared to your meticulousness and unique insights, it will soon be revealed how capable this Chen Zhong really is."
"Then I suggest you give him an award as encouragement," Jiang Wanqing suggested.
"Yes, that's a good idea. Otherwise, it would seem like I, an old man, am bullying a young person. As long as he is truly capable, even if his experimental data isn't as meticulous as yours, I will definitely not overlook him."
Professor Xue was a man of his word, but he wouldn't tolerate deception. He'd probably already compared his own experiments with Yuan Zhong's, and with that comparison, he'd naturally formed a preliminary judgment. Jiang Wanqing smiled slightly, waiting for the show to begin…
Several professors nearby glanced at their watches, whispered a few words to each other, and then turned to talk to Professor Xue.
"It's almost time. Let's have Chen come up on stage. Everyone is eager to hear his specific thoughts on this novel topic."
Professor Xue nodded and turned to find someone to inform Chen Zhong, who was waiting in line.
"I'll go, Professor, please have a seat," Jiang Wanqing said.
"Okay, then go ahead. Tell him not to be nervous. Everyone just wants to hear his thoughts while they're still fresh in everyone's minds. They're not going to eat him alive."
"Um."
Jiang Wanqing smoothed her clothes, got up and walked towards Yuan Zhong, her smile never fading.
As soon as she approached, the other party went into a defensive stance, which made her chuckle.
"What, are you scared now? You were so good at bragging when you were doing it. Now go up on stage, as Professor Xue said."
She admitted that she was a little excited and proud. In her past life, she had silently supported him from behind, but in the end, he took the credit and honors and then turned around and despised her.
She has a new life now and doesn't want anything from him, but she enjoys watching him make a fool of himself.
"You were the one who egged Professor Xue on, weren't you!" he gritted his teeth.
"Does it matter? I don't need to explain to you. You wouldn't believe me anyway. Go up on stage, Chen. Everyone is waiting to hear your eloquent speech."
As she spoke, Jiang Wanqing gave Yuan Zhong a hard shove, forcibly pushing him onto the stage.
Someone immediately filled in for him; it was Guo Xueyun. She crossed her arms and spoke with disdain.
"You still have the nerve to come here? Aren't you afraid that Chen Zhong will overshadow you and become Professor Xue's prized student?"
It would have been fine if she hadn't come up on purpose, but the way she said it, with such pride, immediately sparked Jiang Wanqing's imagination.
Looking at the man on stage, and then at Guo Xueyun beside him, could it be...?
She took a breath and tentatively asked, "If I remember correctly, Teacher Guo also knows Yuan Zhong, right?"
Upon hearing this, Guo Xueyun froze on the spot, her arrogance slowly turning into fear, before she forced herself to calm down.
"You... what are you saying? I don't understand!"
This reaction makes it clear that there's definitely a connection between them," Jiang Wanqing sneered.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Teacher Guo will have to pay the price for his actions sooner or later. Now please shut up. You want to watch the show? Then watch it slowly. You'll be satisfied."
Jiang Wanqing gave a forced smile and patted Guo Xueyun's shoulder, clearly feeling her trembling slightly.
"you……"
Before she could refute, Jiang Wanqing had already returned to her seat.
Before Yuan Zhong spoke, Professor Xue first presented him with a first-place award, which was met with thunderous applause in the lecture hall, and voices of envy and admiration rose and fell.
"We're all students, how come they're so amazing? I'm so envious..."
"You either have a brain from birth, or you really..." a student shook his head.
After the awards were presented, it was time for the speeches, and everyone stared expectantly at the person on stage.
Jiang Wanqing could clearly see cold sweat beading on his forehead, and he swallowed several times.
"H-Hello everyone, I am... Chen Zhong." He started to tremble as he spoke.
Guo Xueyun, sitting in the audience, was even more nervous than him, frowning and inhaling deeply.
"I...I am very grateful to Professor Xue for giving me first place in the competition..."
Professor Xue raised his hand to interrupt: "Enough with the nonsense, let's get started."
Ha, I was trying to waste time rambling on and on, but I didn't expect the old professor to be so straightforward.
"The topic I...I'm going to talk about is..."
Before Yuan Zhong could say two words, his tongue started to tie itself in knots. His mind went blank. He was nervous and scared, but the real reason was that he had nothing to say.
For a full three minutes, he couldn't utter a single word related to his professional topic, and Jiang Wanqing noticed that the professors next to her were already getting impatient.
"What's wrong with this kid?" one professor shook his head. "His mental fortitude is lacking."
Jiang Wanqing looked up at the stage and saw that Yuan Zhong was showing signs of fainting. It seemed that he wanted to use a scheme to avoid this. She raised an eyebrow.
"Chen, don't be afraid. I know you'll be nervous and afraid you might faint. With the professor's permission, I arranged for medical staff to be there for you in advance. They're watching over you from below the stage."
If you dare to pretend to be unconscious or dead, then you'll be exposed in public!
Yuan Zhong clenched his fists, his resentful gaze almost piercing through Jiang Wanqing's mind.
"What's wrong with him? He was so spirited during the competition, he didn't seem timid at all, why is he so nervous today?"
"Look at Professor Xue's expression... there might be something else going on."
"ah?"
Professor Xue waited for a while, but Yuan Zhong still didn't speak, so he stood up directly.
Are you too nervous to speak, or is the research topic not even your own work?
These words caused an uproar. Yuan Zhong's expression changed drastically, and his breathing became visibly rapid, but he quickly retorted.
"It's...it's nervousness. I came up with the topic myself!"
"Okay, I understand you're nervous. Let's do this then. I'll ask you a few questions about your topic. You should be able to answer those, right?"
"I……"
Professor Xue's calm tone only highlighted Yuan Zhong's panic and guilt.
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