Chapter 45
The end of the semester not only includes final exams, but also a farewell banquet.
After finishing their exams, graduating students go their separate ways, and roommates who have lived together for four years go their separate ways, making it difficult to reunite. Recently, restaurants near the school have been doing brisk business, mostly with farewell banquets held by senior undergraduates and third-year graduate students.
Therefore, Zhao Yi and Sun Er were not surprised at all when they ran into Yan Jiusheng at the entrance of Lai Kao Bar.
Sun Er glanced at the people around Yan Jiusheng and greeted them, "Senior brother, are we here for a farewell banquet?"
"Yes." Yan Jiusheng was already a little sad about leaving school, and seeing his classmates of half a year made him even more heartbroken. From the beginning of his master's program, he had been worried about whether he could graduate smoothly. Now that he had graduated on time, he didn't seem as happy as he had imagined.
At the end of last semester, Professor Yan said that if he couldn't write an article, he might have to postpone his graduation. This time, however, Professor Yan was very satisfied with the paper and told him he could use it directly as his graduation thesis. In other words, regardless of whether it gets accepted by *Science*, he can graduate smoothly.
This was something he had been eagerly anticipating, but now he felt a little reluctant to part with it. His strict and upright mentor, his harmonious and loving classmates, the six months of fighting side by side, and even the two and a half years of sitting in the office in solitude—all of these things were now hard for him to let go of.
After exchanging greetings, the two groups found their reserved tables and sat down. The tables in the barbecue area were also occupied by students who had come to have a farewell banquet.
Seeing the sadness on Yan Jiusheng's face, his roommate Peng You patted him on the shoulder: "You should be happy to graduate smoothly, what's there to be sad about?"
The other two roommates also offered words of comfort. In their view, Yan Jiusheng had finally found a way out of his predicament. He had been following Yan Wang (a notorious troublemaker), and graduation seemed a distant dream. Now, Yan Wang had shown leniency, and he could finally graduate smoothly. Surprisingly, he was even reluctant to leave. Privately, everyone felt that Yan Jiusheng had been manipulated by Yan Wang.
Naturally, no one said anything unpleasant at the dinner table. Everyone started by reminiscing about their first year of graduate school, and then moved on to their recent graduation theses. Although they were all published in Q2 journals, everyone still joked and complimented each other.
Seeing that Yan Jiusheng remained silent, Peng You asked him, "I've never heard you mention it before. Which journal did you publish in?"
"Uh..." Yan Jiusheng's face turned red. In the past three years, he had published the fewest articles among the four present. How could he have the nerve to say he was submitting to "Science" in front of them?
Professor Yan's "boost" had long since worn off, and Yan Jiusheng had been deeply mired in self-doubt these past few days. What audacity! He actually dared to submit to *Science*! This was probably the most self-aware thing he had ever done in his life…
Seeing that Yan Jiusheng was stammering and unwilling to answer, Peng You guessed that he was probably embarrassed because it was published in some low-quality magazine in the third or fourth district, so he considerately changed the subject. Yan Jiusheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to the harmony at this table, the atmosphere at Zhao Yi's table was quite tense.
"Where did I say something wrong? What else is Yama if not exploiting you!" After a couple of drinks, Du Ji's voice rose. "Do you think that by fawning over him, he'll take care of you? Look at your senior brother, how many articles has he published in the past three years?"
From their freshman year, Zhao Yi and Sun Er were consistently recognized as the top two students in their grade, while he, the perennial third-place student, had accumulated a lot of resentment. In their senior year, when they took the postgraduate entrance exam, he successfully passed, and his advisor was known for his good temper. Meanwhile, Zhao Yi and Sun Er barely passed, and their advisors were none other than the infamous "King of Hell" whom everyone avoided like the plague. This contrast made him secretly smug for a long time.
Since they would be going to different schools and wouldn't see each other again, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind.
Zhao Yi was about to pour wine and Sun Er was about to pour soup on Du Ji's face when a loud "Wow!" startled them so much that they stopped in their tracks.
At the barbecue restaurant, everyone stopped what they were doing and made a sound, all looking in the direction of the "Wow!"
The guy was still yelling "Wow!" and his tablemates, seeing everyone looking at them, felt embarrassed and gave him a hard slap: "What are you yelling about so loudly? Just say it if you have something to yell about!"
"Look!" The person turned their phone to show their deskmate, "Four students from our school have published articles in Science and Nature!"
For a moment, shouts of "Wow!" echoed everywhere.
From a distance, everyone could see that the person's phone screen was the campus platform, so they all took out their phones and sure enough, they saw four unread in-app messages from the campus platform.
"Great news! Yan Jiusheng, a third-year graduate student at our university, has published a paper in Science as the first author!"
"Great news! Zhao Yi, a senior student at our university, has published a paper in Nature as the first author!"
"Great news! Our senior student, Sun Er, has published a paper in Nature as the first author!"
"Great news! Ji Zhixing, a sophomore at our university, has published a paper in Science as the first author!"
The fact that a message that could have been sent in a single in-system message was split into four separate messages shows just how proud and elated the school is. Of course, having four papers published in top international journals at once is indeed very exciting and something to be proud of!
It's worth noting that even top universities like Yenching University and Tsinghua University only publish an average of 16 papers per year in *Science* and *Nature*. Better 985 universities are considered quite good if they publish four or five papers a year, while lower-ranked 985 universities often only manage one paper every two or three years.
For example, Guangling University only had one paper in Science and one paper in Nature in the past five years, but now it has published four papers in one go! And they are all regular journals!
When the principal received the news, he was so excited that he almost had a stroke. He immediately ordered the office to send a group text message to all the students to share this amazing news, and also ordered a batch of large red banners to be hung up!
Peng You and his two roommates stared wide-eyed at Yan Jiusheng: "You really got published in Science?!"
Yan Jiusheng stared blankly at the message on his phone. Was it really about him? He had just submitted his work last week. Doesn't it usually take a month or two to find out the results?
Hearing Peng You's question, he looked up blankly and said, "I don't know either..."
“You…” Peng Youjue was speechless. He simply searched the official website of Science himself and opened it. He found that the website had just updated the cover and table of contents of this week’s issue, and Yan Jiusheng and Ji Zhixing’s names were prominently listed!
Peng You's eyes widened, and he shoved his phone into Yan Jiusheng's face: "Look! You really won, and so did Ji Zhixing!"
Meanwhile, Zhao Yi and Sun Er also found their names on the Nature website. While excited, they were also a little confused – how could their manuscript have been accepted so quickly? Switching to a different page to check the submission status, it truly had already changed to "Pleted ept!"
Dugi stared at the messages on his phone, unable to look up for a long time. Impossible! Impossible!
With trembling hands, he opened the Nature website... and saw the names of Zhao Yi and Sun Er with great reluctance, and the corresponding author was Yan Anjin.
So, before his graduate studies have even officially begun, he's already been overshadowed by Zhao Yi and Sun Er again...?
When three students from one restaurant had their work published in top-tier journals, the owner of the barbecue restaurant came out to congratulate them and gave both tables a free meal.
Dugi was too ashamed to stay any longer and left, cursing angrily in his heart.
At school, Ji Zhixing had just finished his theoretical mechanics exam and was immediately surrounded by people congratulating him as he left the exam hall. Only then did he realize that his manuscript had already been approved.
Yan Jiusheng lacked confidence and dared not check the submission status, Zhao Yi and Sun Er were busy with final exams, and Ji Zhixing knew that the review process was long and there was no need to rush to check. So, all four of them learned about the successful publication from other people.
That very day, the university president couldn't wait to gather Yan Anjin and the four students for a group photo—a glorious moment in the history of Guangling University! And considering the timing, it's almost time for this year's college entrance exam takers to fill out their applications; what excellent recruitment material this is!
Ji Zhixing looked at the five big red flowers and mentally complained about the principal's taste. This was too discouraging!
The principal cheerfully picked up a large red flower, intending to tie it to Yan Anjin, but Yan Anjin calmly glanced at it, then awkwardly laughed and skipped over him, tying it to Yan Jiusheng instead. Ji Zhixing and the others hadn't yet developed Professor Yan's keen eye for hidden dangers, so they had no choice but to resign themselves to being bound up with the big red flower.
Across the ocean, the editors-in-chief of Science and Nature were speechless for a long time after seeing their rival's weekly issue.
They all assumed the journal had received only two papers related to protective gels, and to ensure the journal's absolute leading position in this emerging field, they rushed to skip the usual procedures and submit their papers directly to this week's issue. Unexpectedly, there were still some that slipped through the net…
The news that Guangling University published four papers in top journals such as Science and Nature at the same time naturally made the news. Many people still remember Ji Zhixing's name, so the related news clicks surged and quickly became a trending topic.
"Haha, I didn't see Ji Zhixing at first glance, but I saw four big red flowers. It's quite festive."
"I remember he was only a sophomore, how come he's already published a paper?"
"They were able to solve problems that even PhDs couldn't solve last year, so what's so surprising about them publishing papers?"
"When I saw the title, I thought it was a professor who published the paper. I didn't expect it to be four students. When did Guangling University become so strong?"
"Huh, all four of these papers are on the same topic. What is protective gel? I've never heard of it."
"The corresponding author is 'Yan Anjin,' and all four of them should be students of this supervisor, so the protective gel must be this supervisor's project."
"Four of my students published articles in top journals at the same time. This professor's academic level is simply phenomenal!"
"Is he a master's supervisor? I don't know what his main research area is, but I plan to take the postgraduate entrance exam next year and I'd like to apply to him."
The online discussion about the thesis topic cooled down after a while. However, from that day on, the phrase "protective gel" swept across all media channels like wildfire.
Huaxia's independently developed high-performance new material protective gel
This new material will revolutionize our lives in the next 10 years!
Cutting-edge technology: A university professor leads a four-person team to create a revolutionary new material!
Another cutting-edge technology! A perfect combination of classical physics and polymer chemistry principles gives birth to a protective gel!
"A Super Amazing Protective Gel That Will Make You Rethink Science"
Shocking! World's largest arms dealer sends 60-person team to China for this kind of material.
...
Various traditional and new media outlets are vying to report on the same new material, and this phenomenon has naturally attracted a lot of attention.
"Oh my god, clicking on this one leads to protective gel, clicking on that one also leads to protective gel, is this stuff really that powerful?"
"Last night's 'News Broadcast' dedicated eight minutes to reporting on this kind of material. Isn't that impressive?"
"Hahaha! This is the first time I've ever seen such unserious footage on the evening news. Hammers smashing watermelons, arrows shooting at balloons, and even eggs being thrown..."
"This is also to prove how superior the protective gel's protective performance is. However, I was still surprised that watermelons, balloons, and eggs were all unharmed. It's truly cutting-edge technology!"
"If the news isn't exaggerated, then this is practically a life-saving artifact!"
"I feel that even if it can't protect me from dying when I jump five floors in one breath, it can at least help minimize the damage."
"Hurry up and produce protective suits! I can't wait to try all sorts of extreme sports!"
"If there were such soft armor, many parents would be able to let their children play freely without worrying too much about getting hurt."
"If we can promote the widespread use of one of these items, then we won't be so afraid of accidentally causing an accident when we help an elderly person who has fallen."
"I just hope that all major mobile phone manufacturers will follow suit quickly and change the material of their phone casings!"
"Did nobody notice the Martin Company mentioned at the end of the news report? That's one of the world's largest arms manufacturers!"
"I've seen it, but I don't know how it will develop."
"No matter what, having this material in our country's hands will definitely only benefit us, not harm us!"
...
When students at Guangling University see news like this, in addition to sharing the same sentiments as many netizens, they also feel a unique sense of pride—the material was entirely developed by their school's professors and students!
Ji Zhixing was already a prominent figure at Guangling University, and these news reports only made him shine even brighter. Yan Anjin's reputation, on the other hand, changed significantly. People no longer called him "King Yama" but respectfully addressed him as "Professor Yan."
However, after taking the "Mathematical Methods of Physics" exam, most students in the Physics Department immediately reverted to their previous opinions, unanimously feeling that the title "King of Hell" was more suitable for him.
Many people complained about the difficulty of the exam as soon as they left the exam hall. As soon as they got to the dormitory building, they couldn't wait to throw the "Mathematical Methods of Physics" book, which they no longer needed to study next semester, into the trash can.
"I wanted to throw it away as soon as I left the exam room. If I wasn't afraid of the King of Hell seeing it, why would I have put up with it for another 10 minutes!"
"Hey! I never want to see that thing again in my life!"
"I feel like throwing up if I look at the cover any longer, throw it away!"
Within ten minutes, the large trash can downstairs in the dormitory was filled with books of "Mathematical Methods in Physics" with blue-green covers.
For students, Yan Anjin is formidable, and her protective gel is incredibly effective. However, realistically, exams are their lifeline, and Yan Anjin, who holds their lifeline in her hands, is nothing short of a devil.
After finishing their exams and returning to their dorms, everyone naturally scrolled through their phones for a while to relax their minds, which had been tormented by the math and physics methods exams.
Then, many students saw the "King of Hell" they had been complaining about all the way through on their mobile phones. They were about to be swiped away, but the "500 million yuan" in the headline kept them there.
At this moment, the school forum was in an uproar, with everyone discussing the CCTV interview with Yan Anjin that had just gone viral and become a trending topic.
"500 million! 500 million in exclusive patent licensing fees! My goodness! I wouldn't even dare to dream of something like this!"
"Heavens above! Earth below! He's made so much money in just six months! Professor Yan is awesome!"
"So it was Huaxia Technology Group that funded the purchase of the patent. They're really rich and powerful!"
"It's because this new material is worthwhile; its applications are so wide, ranging from daily life to national defense and military industry."
"One undergraduate from a second-tier university, two graduate students from second-tier universities, and one student who almost had to extend his studies—with this kind of background, even the King of Hell could produce something worth 500 million yuan. Suddenly, I feel that it's acceptable for him to be a bit strict."
"Holy crap! Did I just hear that right? The King of Hell is going to give Ji Zhixing and the others over 20 million each?"
There was considerable confusion surrounding this number both at Guangling University and online.
Yan Anjin handled the 500 million yuan patent fee as follows: According to tax law, 20%, or 100 million yuan, should be paid as personal income tax; of the remaining 400 million yuan, 200 million yuan was kept for herself; of the other 200 million yuan, 100 million yuan was given back to Guangling University, and the remaining 100 million yuan was divided equally among the four students.
In modern society, money has a greater influence on people's hearts than academic achievements. As a result, the King of Hell, who was originally seen as a sinister figure by the students of the Physics Department, suddenly became radiant and auspicious! Almost everyone wanted to become a disciple of the God of Wealth.
Therefore, when a CCTV reporter asked Yan Anjin what the requirements were for accepting graduate students, everyone listened attentively.
Yan Anjin replied, "Personally, what I value most is the 'mathematical physics method' as a research tool..."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Countless students from the School of Physics burst through their dormitory doors and rushed downstairs.
Next to the trash can, the dormitory supervisor happily packed up the textbooks, cardboard boxes, and other items she had collected with plastic rope, loaded them onto her tricycle, and was about to ride to the recycling station.
As they ran, everyone stretched out Er Kang's hand, shouting, "Auntie! Have mercy!"
For a time, many students from Guangling University and other schools who planned to take the postgraduate entrance examination were inquiring about Professor Yan's work style and research direction.
Of course, some questions were also directed at Ji Zhixing.
Ji Zhixing joked, "Aren't you afraid of graduating late?"
“I’d rather delay graduation for a lifetime!” Zhang Biao said with absolute certainty, and the other students behind him shared roughly the same thought.
Nowadays, only a minority of people study for academic purposes; most people pursue postgraduate studies to leverage a higher degree to earn a higher salary.
According to salary data released by MyCOS last year, the average starting salary for master's degree graduates in first-tier cities was 6,503 yuan, while it was even lower in second- and third-tier cities.
Taking first-tier cities as the standard, and taking into account promotions and salary increases, the income of a master's student in their entire life is less than what Ji Zhixing and his colleagues earn in half a year of working on a project.
So what's there to be afraid of about graduating late! If it could be like this every year, I'd gladly extend my studies forever!
Of course, no one was delusional enough to think that this project would be the standard, but following Yama, or rather, Yama the God of Wealth, is definitely the right thing to do!
On the other side, the principal was heartbroken as he looked at the check for 100 million yuan. Ten years! Ten years wasted! Yan Anjin's project, which took only half a year to complete, could bring the school back a full 100 million yuan. If he could have done the same for the previous ten years, how much would the school have received? The principal couldn't help but keep calculating and calculating until he almost had a heart attack.
After Professor Yan returned to the university, Ji Zhixing, Yan Jiusheng, Zhao Yi, Sun Er, and others went to his office together. They were unaware beforehand that Professor Yan planned to share the patent fees with them, and they were quite surprised when they saw the news.
The four fellow students nervously gathered together to discuss the matter and unanimously agreed that given their contribution to the project, they shouldn't take the money, or at least not that much.
Professor Yan still appeared unapproachable and stern, but Ji Zhixing and the other three knew what a wonderful teacher he was. Precisely because of this, regardless of the contribution rate, if they were to accept the money, they would be putting Professor Yan in an unjust position!
The postgraduate education system in China is roughly equivalent to an "apprenticeship system," where students learn knowledge from their supervisors and work for them. Generally speaking, conscientious supervisors will at least give students some subsidies or even a share of research funding, but it is not uncommon for them to give no money at all.
The fact that Professor Yan would give a quarter of his personal patent royalties to his students is unprecedented, and it is safe to say that such a move will certainly provoke a lot of dissatisfaction in the academic community.
Oh, you're so generous, it makes us all look like misers! Originally, there was no trouble between teachers and students, but with such an example stuck in our minds, how could we not cause some trouble?
Yan Anjin naturally thought of this as well, but he did not intend to change his mind. He said, "I hope to take this opportunity to start a new trend in the distribution of benefits in university scientific research."
Most conflicts between graduate students and their supervisors stem from an imbalance between effort and reward. Yan Anjin believes that most students' contributions to their supervisors' projects actually deserve more recognition. However, many students are constrained by a hidden model of exploitation that is commonplace, and they don't even believe their work is valuable. The lack of positive feedback and the resulting imbalance in self-perception are the root causes of many graduate students' perfunctory and half-hearted approach to their studies.
Yan Anjin doesn't consider himself an education expert, and the most effective way he can think of to encourage students to study is to promote the reform of the distribution model of scientific research benefits in universities.
Ji Zhixing and the others stood with their hands clasped, deeply impressed by Professor Yan's teaching style and ethics. Yan Jiusheng, who had spent the most time with him, even wept bitterly.
To outsiders, Yan Jiusheng was simply unlucky; Professor Yan's flight had barely taken off when his ticket expired. Meanwhile, Zhao Yi, Sun Er, and especially Ji Zhixing, were on the verge of meteoric success. Unexpectedly, Ji Zhixing cut off his own path to advancement.
Yan Anjin has been accumulating research papers for ten years, and now that she has no shortage of funding, she will soon be starting her next project, and Ji Zhixing has been invited again.
However, after careful consideration, he decided to refuse.
"I'm sorry, Professor Yan, I can't participate in your next project."
Yan Anjin said knowingly, "Because of the zero-gravity seat project?"
"Yes." Ji Zhixing nodded.
In fact, Ji Zhixing had been thinking about what Xue Hua said when he left the club during this time. Putting aside any subjective malice, his resentment was not incomprehensible.
The Zero Gravity Seat project belongs not only to him, but also to Lin Lang, Xu Dongyang, and all the members of the Zero Gravity Club. Everyone has pinned their future, dreams, and prospects on this project, and his multitasking is clearly inconsistent with everyone's wholehearted dedication.
Even if he can complete more experimental tasks than the members every day, there is still a difference between being distracted by two things and being fully committed.
Yan Anjin didn't say much. He understood this sense of responsibility and morality: "Go ahead, I'm still your teacher. You can ask me anytime if you have any questions."
After the news spread, some people didn't understand, some felt sorry, and some praised it, while the members of the Zero Gravity Club were naturally overjoyed.
A note from the author:
The figure of "500 million" is based on the patent transfer fee of Professor Bi Yusui of Shandong University of Technology a few years ago.
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