Chapter 76

The main venue of this academic exchange meeting is still in Exxon.

Actually, it is more like a social gathering. Besides being able to meet various big guys that you don’t normally meet, the overall atmosphere is very joyful and relaxed.

The younger students just treated it as an outing, while the juniors and seniors who had some experience were busy introducing people and making small talk, preparing for their future jobs after graduation.

What these students talked about most was, of course, the Imperial Institute, which seemed out of their reach. The recent enrollment and the return of the institute's director were both hot topics.

"This is the first time that the graduate school has open enrollment in all these years. Only one senior from our school was selected. How many people from your school were selected?"

"It's very strange. I used some of my family's connections to find out that the enrollment has ended, but the quota has not been filled. There is a vacancy..."

Yael and Adelaide walked through the room in silence, heading straight for a lecture by a famous instructor, and chose seats in the middle of the first few rows.

"Five minutes to go."

Yael glanced at the time and wanted to open his computer to check the messages, but thinking that there were many people talking at this time, he decided to close his eyes and wait for the show to start.

"Hey? The one two rows in front of me seems to be..."

"Is this true?! Holy shit, I actually mumbled?!"

The appearance and name of the S-rank male insect crown are public. All students know about the existence of Yell, but most of them can only watch from afar.

After noticing that he was sitting in the venue, everyone around him fell silent so as not to disturb His Majesty's rest.

"Shut up, stop making noise... Let's sit a few rows back. I can't stop talking and it might disturb His Majesty..."

Instead, Yael twitched his ears uncomfortably, opened his eyes and glanced around the podium.

"Why is it suddenly quiet? Did it start early?"

Thanks to him, Adelaide's ears became much quieter, and the sound he heard became lazy.

"No, you were discovered. All the seats around us are empty."

Before Yael could react, an old but still energetic scholar walked in and looked around the venue.

The seats in the venue were almost all occupied, with a circle of space in the middle, which was particularly eye-catching. When the scholar saw the male insects surrounded in the circle, he paused.

"Classmates..."

He cleared his throat and without wasting any words, he directly opened a suspended light screen in mid-air and began to explain the topic he was going to teach today.

“——”

Not long after the lecture began, the back door of the conference hall slid open silently, and a group of scholars walked in, sat in the back row and began to observe the class.

The leader was the director of the Imperial Research Institute, followed closely by President Norman, and then there were scientific research giants in various fields, most of whom could appear in textbooks.

"I came to observe the class right after the meeting. Is there something urgent that needs to be done?"

After sitting for five minutes, a scholar frowned in confusion, looked at the calm Norman, and asked in a low voice.

But before Norman could open his mouth, a scholar next to him leaned over and whispered to him.

"Haven't you heard? The graduate school has left one spot open for this year's enrollment. No matter how outstanding the student is, they will not accept any more students... There's a hidden story behind this!"

The scholar who asked the question at the beginning looked at Director Mod's focused expression and expressed his confusion.

"But what does this have to do with class observation? In the past, we just had to walk around a few times and there was a formal exchange meeting to be held later, so there was not much time to waste on topic lectures!"

Norman's mouth twitched a little, and he ignored these bugs.

In front of students, they are all respected scholars, but secretly they are like old naughty children. They either nag and act old-fashioned, or they want to comment on everything. It is really... inappropriate.

But besides him, there should be a few other bugs who know the reason behind it——

Why did they stop exploring the outer planets and return to their home planet? Why did they suddenly start recruiting students openly? And why did they rush over to attend the lecture right after the small meeting?

All just to take a look at his former students.

Norman couldn't help but follow Director Mod's line of sight and look at the male insects sitting upright in the front row, and for a moment he felt mixed emotions.

...Who would have thought that the student was His Majesty Yael? This really made things difficult.

"Silent."

There was a whisper in his ear, which greatly affected the viewing experience. Maude frowned and scolded in a low voice.

With a gloomy expression, he looked at the scholar who was speaking passionately on the stage. After a while, he shifted his gaze to the round back of the head in the front row and snorted.

In the middle of the lecture, Yael turned back as if he had sensed something, but the last row was empty, with nothing in it.

Strange, I seemed to hear a familiar voice just now.

*

This exchange meeting will last for a whole day, and each lecture will be condensed to about half an hour, making it convenient for students to quickly understand the latest scientific research results and explore areas of interest.

Yael had already selected the ones he was interested in beforehand, and by the time they finished listening, the half-time break had already begun.

I followed the crowd to an exchange hall and found a seat at a long table to wait for the afternoon session.

Soon volunteers brought fruit plates and snack plates. Yael picked up an apple and took a bite, then discussed the previous topic with Adelaide.

"...I heard that Director Mod from the Imperial Research Institute is also here this time."

Hearing this suddenly, Yael was stunned for a moment, and then he saw Adelaide gestured in front of him.

Sure enough, a group of scholars walked in, and the insect leading them looked very familiar.

"Disperse! Don't crowd! If you have any questions, please ask them at the general meeting later...!"

This textbook-level scholar caused a commotion, but they were quickly dispersed. Director Mod had a dark face throughout and kept this expression as he entered the inner hall.

"He still looks very fierce."

Yael coughed softly and ate the apple in two or three bites. "But it doesn't affect his reputation in the academic world. He is welcomed by many people wherever he goes."

Adelaide glanced at him.

Speaking of popularity, S-rank males are the heavyweights that cause chaos wherever they go.

It was just because he was used to keeping a low profile that the school had done a lot of ideological work in advance, forcibly suppressing the students' curiosity and desire to explore, so that this person could live a dull daily life.

"After all, they are only here for a short while, so there is no need to set rules and restrictions on students in advance. It is normal for them to cause chaos."

Yael took out a tissue and wiped his hands, pretending not to understand what he was saying, "Where were you just talking about..."

He wanted to continue with the previous topic, but he vaguely sensed a pair of eyes examining him, which was particularly obvious among the vague glances.

Although there was no ill intention, Yael still frowned and looked back in the direction of the sight - the inner hall?

Adelaide had already seamlessly taken over the topic, but halfway through her statement, she noticed that the male insect was a little absent-minded, "…What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Maybe it was just an illusion.

Yael retracted his gaze, thought about what the female insect had just said, and continued the discussion from a different angle.

At this time, in the inner hall.

Aiko looked at his mentor strangely, thinking that he was coughing again, and poured a cup of hot water and handed it to him.

"teacher?"

Maude took the water with a sour face and waved his hand to signal him to step back. Then he remembered that he was almost caught peeping just now, and his face darkened again.

"Little bastard, you've become so sensitive after just one level up... By the way, did you bring those things with you?"

He mumbled a few words and asked Eco evasively. Only after hearing the affirmative answer did his expression look a little better.

"Teacher, that quota..."

Echo said with some embarrassment, "I will be going back to explore other planets soon. This exchange meeting may be my last chance. Do you want me to go and test the waters first?"

Maud's eyes glared and he looked like he was going to get angry, but he finally held back and thought for a long time with a sullen face. He waved his hand in annoyance and said, "Let's wait and see. There's still time!"

"Well, you take a good rest, I'll go get some information first."

Aiko sighed silently, said something briefly, and quickly walked out of the inner hall through the side door.

…

Students around me came and went, and many sat down to discuss the lecture content in a low voice, but they basically stayed close to each other, sitting two or three seats apart to rest.

"Why is the snack plate in front of you... so high?"

Adelaide caught a glimpse of something on the table, and suddenly his eyes fixed.

There were originally only a few snacks placed on the snack plate as decoration, but the small plate in front of the male insect was filled with snacks as high as a mountain, many of which were even brand-name items.

"I don't know. Was it specially delivered by volunteers?"

Yael looked confused. After comparing his position with other insects, he suddenly felt that he was conspicuous. Those who knew him thought he was attending an academic exchange meeting, while those who didn't thought he was receiving new supplies.

His face was solemn. He grabbed a handful of snacks from the mountain and put them in his pocket. He also gave two handfuls to Adelaide. Only then did the small plate look normal again.

"...We can actually switch positions."

The pockets on both sides of the white coat were stuffed and looked a little funny. Adelaide was silent for a moment and suggested helplessly.

"I'm tired and don't want to go."

Yael leaned back in his chair, picked up a piece of chocolate from the plate, tore open the wrapper and put it in his mouth, frowning at the sweetness.

But this smell is quite familiar...

Before he could remember where this familiar feeling came from, he saw a figure hurriedly walking by out of the corner of his eye. The familiar freckles and thick-soled glasses made Yael suddenly stunned.

"I'm going to leave for a while."

Without thinking too much, he hurriedly said goodbye to Adelaide, followed the figure out, and walked out to the corridor on the side of the conference hall.

"Senior brother?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Aiko stopped moving, pushed his glasses, turned around, and smiled, "Long time no see, little brother."

"…Long time no see."

耶爾也不知道自己追上來幹嘛，也許潛意識也還是藏了一些懷念。

忍不住想要知道一些近況，關于一起做研究的師兄，還有莫德導師的。

他沉默了一會，還是主動開了口，簡單詢問了一下最新情況。

“一切都還不錯，就是之前莫德導師偏要去采集一種礦物，差點被守在旁邊的異獸咬斷一條腿，好險才救了下來。”

“不過那次實驗非常成功呢……很新奇的一個項目，大家都很感興趣，如果當時師弟也在就好了。”

艾科看向神情怔然的耶爾，眸底笑意漸深。

他故意賣了一下慘，而後開始熟悉的懷舊話術，一番忽悠下來，果然見到對面的雄蟲神色動搖。

“當年的事，我們都不知道具體情況，本來也不該多嘴問的，雖然遲了很久，現在你可能也不需要了——”

艾科倏地嘆了口氣，不再說那些話術，臉上的神色柔和下來。

“但是我還是想說，不管你有什麽困難，都可以向我們尋求幫助，這不僅是我和其他蟲的意思，也是老師的意思。”

耶爾瞳孔微縮，垂在身側的手顫了一瞬，下意識攥緊成拳。

側走廊的光線有些昏暗，只有接近出口的地方是一片大亮。

年輕雌蟲一邊身體倚靠在牆上，樣貌并不起眼，氣質卻十足溫文爾雅。

從前在實驗室時，也是艾科帶他适應和融入其中，那時匆匆告別，除了發了郵件給莫德導師，也發了另外一份給艾科。

“我知道……抱歉。”

想起那封真誠的長長的回信，耶爾眼眶微熱，深吸了一口氣，聲音有些沙啞。

“當時确實太突然了，我情緒崩潰，什麽都沒能處理好就跑了，讓你們擔心了。”

“我還好啦，最擔心的就是老師了。”

此時不賣慘，更待何時。

艾科推了推眼睛，笑眯眯地掀了自家老師的底，既然做了那麽多事就不要藏着掖着了，不然怎麽能挽回學生的心呢。

“當時你出意外不是半夜嗎，老師被叫醒後直接趕到手術室外，在外面守了一個晚上，一直到确認你安全了才放下心來。”

莫德所長的脾氣臭和臉黑是業內公認的，不管什麽時候都一幅很兇的樣子，但在實驗遭遇各種滑鐵盧時，又是無比堅挺從容的主心骨，

那天晚上，他還是第一次見到老師亂了陣腳的樣子，慌亂地拉這個護士拽那個醫生詢問情況，簽了病危通知書後臉色近乎慘白，在手術室外焦灼地走來走去大半夜，手止不住地顫抖。

耶爾怔怔地看着艾科，顯然是第一次聽說這些事。

那時候他昏迷了三天才醒過來，其實身體上的傷早就治愈了，只是精神仍然厭倦疲憊，不願意醒來，在病床上終日昏昏沉沉。

卻不知道有一位老者，一直在為他忙前忙後、痛苦自責，但到他醒來後又悄無聲息地隐藏到幕後，生怕再次刺激到他，只敢暗中觀察。

“後來你沒有好好養病，醒來才兩天就要走，老師收到那封郵件和休學申請後氣得要死，但那天還是去星港送你了。”

那天艾科也跟着去了。

坐在等候長椅上的雄蟲一身黑色風衣，原本就身形瘦削，被風一吹後更顯得空空落落，有些淩亂的碎發下臉色蒼白倦怠。

那些謙遜溫和、聰慧敏銳的表象，因為失去了內裏充盈的血肉，好像泡沫一樣消失不見，只剩下一抹形銷骨立的剪影。

他沒帶什麽行李，好像臨時要出一趟門一樣，随意跨了個空癟的包……看起來就很不讓蟲放心。

耶爾沉默了一會，“你們也跟着上星艦了？”

“這倒沒有。”

艾科失笑，将後續的事情告訴他，

“本來想着你是雄蟲，不管去哪裏應該都有吃有住，覺得不用太擔心……後來再查才發現你去了艾塔爾，邊緣到不能再邊緣的垃圾星。”

垃圾星能有什麽福利制度可言，雄蟲過去那裏反而更危險，他們剛放下一點的心頓時又提了起來。

“那時候你不是去圖書館應聘了麽，老師就用了一點手段，打通了那邊的關系，以員工福利的由頭買了房子安置你。”

難怪。

他當時就疑惑，這看起來就窮掉底的圖書館，居然有閑錢分配員工福利，可以長期居住的同時還不用交房租。

原來一切幸運背後，都有一顆輾轉憂慮的心。

“……”

一時間沒有蟲說話，耶爾深吸了一口氣，一時間不知道該用什麽表情來面對艾科。

反倒是對面的雌蟲一臉看熱鬧的表情。

“哎，老師怎麽回你那封郵件的？是把你罵了一通還是怎麽樣，我好好奇啊！”

耶爾尴尬地低咳一聲，“咳，至今沒有回信，我還以為老師已經氣到把郵件銷毀了。”

所以他至今也不知道自己的學籍怎麽樣了，是正常辦了休學，還是被擱置許久成為了一筆爛賬。

“安心啦，老師應該也是不知道怎麽回你，不是故意不回的。”

想起偶爾離開實驗室，路過仍然亮着燈的辦公室時，他都能從門縫中看見老師正翻看關于耶爾近況的報告，神情沉郁。

那封沒有回複的郵件，其實已經被反複翻了很多遍，說不定還斟酌過各種說詞，只是過了這麽長時間，仍然還是一片已讀不回的空白。

除了憤怒、痛苦和自責外，應該還有很多不甘心吧。

那耀眼而驕傲的學生沒能健康成長，就以這樣慘淡的方式夭折了，不知道還有沒有重新起來的希望，對一名師者而言是更加漫長的自責和痛苦。

“別看老師又兇又冷漠，其實他一直記挂着你，這次招生雖然是照例吸收新鮮血液，但老師特意給你留着一個位置的。”

不過耶爾全程都沒來就是了，當時老師的臉那叫一個黑。

“我……不知道自己能不能适應，總覺得如果再出什麽事，會給研究所帶來很大的負擔。”

耶爾喉結滾動一瞬，有些艱難地低聲道。

這是他一直以來的顧慮，幸好當時項目已經到達尾聲，沒有耽誤什麽。

而現在不管怎麽說，他都已經離開那麽久了，不脫節是不可能的。

艾科愣了一下，沒有預料到他顧慮的是這些，聳了聳肩聲音輕快。

“放寬心好了，意外到來誰都料想不到的，能掌握當下，看清這一步要走的路和下一步要走的路，就已經很難得了。”

他并沒有将耶爾顧慮的問題放在眼裏，反正還有大把時間不是嗎。

說得再難聽一點，反正都是要死的，在死前至少随心而行吧。

“況且不是還有元帥的存在嗎？有他在一旁守着，肯定不會輕易讓師弟出事的。”

耶爾緩慢眨了眨眼，知道自己是一時陷入了死胡同，拐過彎去就好了。

“好。”

他倏地笑了笑，眉眼放松了些，“那我重新試試吧……希望今年的招生不要太嚴格。”

雖然艾科說一直留有一個名額，但不可能直接就讓他這麽回去的，必然要面臨各種考核，達到合格線才行。

莫德老師的嚴苛和吹毛求疵程度，他還在研究所的時候就已經深刻體會過了。

“那你到時候記得自己和老師說，我就不去做那個中間蟲了。”

見勸說目标達成，艾科也放松了些，笑眯眯地從口袋裏給他抓了一把糖，權當做久別重逢小禮物。

“先走了，等會會召開一場大的講座，由老師進行演講和回應提問，等結束後你去找老師就行了。”

耶爾點點頭，看着他轉身離開，才後知後覺地看向手心裏的糖——

如果他沒認錯的話，和剛才零食盤裏的是一個牌子。

……

召開交流會的時間是傍晚，拿到資格證的導師和學生都聚集在內，按照流程一項項往後，最後一個環節便是提問。

一開始氛圍極為熱烈，學生和導師都競相進行提問，但一到兩個小時過後，提問的聲音逐漸變少。

直到整個會場陷入一片安靜，莫德特地調大了擴音器的聲音，一連提問了兩遍。

“沒有蟲有問題了嗎？”

又稀稀拉拉有幾個學生站了起來，但因為問題比較簡單，回答只有一兩句話便又結束了。

莫德掃視了一圈會場，臉色逐漸有些臭了，板着臉又重複了一遍，“沒有蟲有問題了嗎？”

不僅是底下的學生一片茫然，連導師都竊竊私語起來，顯然不知道現在是什麽情況。

只有諾曼微嘆了口氣，決定等一分鐘後還沒有回應就上去救場。

“我有問題。”

一道清朗的聲音響起，打破了一片尴尬的凝視，無數道視線下意識看向聲音發出的地方。

耶爾輕嘆了口氣，将座位配備的微型擴音器別在耳後，在一片萬衆矚目中站起身。

無視了阿德萊德和其他學生驚訝的視線，他擡起眼，對上了莫德審視打量的眼神，輕笑一聲。

“我想問一下，帝國研究所現在還招生嗎？”

The students around were all stunned, obviously not knowing what was happening before their eyes.

But whether it was Director Mod or His Majesty Yael, they were not people they could afford to offend. After looking around, they lowered their heads and began to scream in the forum, trying to find someone who knew the situation and understand the situation.

[What's going on? The graduate school has already closed its enrollment. Your Majesty, are you trying to squeeze in...? ]

[Uh, this doesn't feel right. Your Majesty can go anywhere he wants with his status. Why do you ask this question now? Is there any special reason behind it?]

[Director Mod doesn't look too happy... He won't even give face to an S-rank male insect, will he? If the two of you start a fight, will this school still be able to exist?! (Scared)]

Eco, who was standing backstage, watched the scene with a smile on his face. He was obviously pleased with the scene. He caught a glimpse of his teacher's gloomy face and sighed.

...Being arrogant is not popular nowadays, so don't scare your junior brother who has finally taken a step forward back.

The insect standing under the spotlight remains the same as always, with its back straight and eyes clear, and its attitude is never humble or arrogant, and this does not change regardless of its rank.

Maud met Yael's gaze, his face dark and he remained silent for a while. The last bit of awkwardness in his heart also quietly dissipated, and he said in a deep voice, "Recruit."

A lot of crying.

Yael breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to say thank you and sit down without making a big deal out of it.

But Maud cleared his throat and explained to the confused insects in a deep voice:

"Let me introduce you to the proudest student I've ever had, Yael."

His voice suppressed the whispers in the conference hall, reverberating in the empty place and even causing a small echo.

Yael's pupils shrank slightly and he stood there in a daze for a moment.

The proudest...student?

Aiko was also stunned, then pushed his glasses happily.

The teacher is quite good at talking. I don't have to worry now.

But Director Mod's sentimentality apparently lasted only a second. The next moment, his face turned black and he started swearing.

"As for why it was once, you know it very well!"

"I'll transfer the project you're in charge of to your senior brother. Once you pass the assessment, you can go do chores for him. I'll upgrade you when I'm in a better mood. Really...!"

He frowned and banged the table loudly, obviously he had been dissatisfied with this for a long time. However, in the eyes of those who knew him well, he was not angry but seemed embarrassed.

But how will this end?

Norman sighed, having totally not expected this direction.

Yael looked somewhat helpless, and said softly, "Yes, teacher."

He stood under the bright lights, and suddenly felt a little dazed for a moment, as if the gears of fate were meshing precisely in an invisible way, slowly putting everything back on track.

And the unknown future is approaching irreversibly.