CIATB Chapter 264 It's them again?
Chapter 264 It's them again?
"Professor Yan, I—"
"Don't explain to me! If you don't want to study anymore, tell me now and I'll get you expelled! But if you still want to study—tomorrow! Show up in the classroom!"
Zhang Yan rubbed his temples.
"Tomorrow morning?"
"Mechanical Design Fundamentals class tomorrow morning at 8 AM! Try being late!"
The phone hangs up.
Zhang Yan stood on the balcony, looking at the words "Call Ended" on his phone screen.
Nie Qingcheng's voice came from behind.
"Who?"
He turned his head.
She sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket, her hair disheveled, her eyes not fully open.
"School teacher".
"What did you say?"
"They asked me if I was still in school."
Nie Qingcheng was stunned for a moment.
Then he laughed.
He laughed so hard he almost fell over, and the blanket slipped off his shoulders.
"Nie Qingcheng".
"Ha ha ha ha--"
"Have you laughed enough?"
She covered her mouth, laughing through her tears.
"You...you, someone with nuclear fusion technology...getting a call from your teacher urging you to attend class...hahahaha—"
Zhang Yan closed the balcony door, went over and pulled the blanket up for her.
"Get up and have breakfast."
"No." She looked up at him, tears of laughter still clinging to the corners of her eyes. "Unless you kiss me."
Zhang Yan lowered his head and tapped her forehead.
"stand up."
"Not really."
"Then how do we determine that?"
Nie Qingcheng hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him down.
Long.
When she loosened her grip, the tips of her ears were red.
"That's more like it."
……
The next day at 7:40 a.m.
Zhang Yan stood in the corridor of Jiangda College.
It has been almost two months since I last came here.
The corridor is still the same corridor.
The competition notice from last semester is still posted on the wall, and next to it is a newly added A4 sheet of paper titled "Mechanical Design Course Schedule".
Several students who were passing by saw him and looked a little dazed.
"That person is... Zhang Yan?"
"Is he still in school?"
Zhang Yan ignored the stares and sat down on a nearby bench.
He didn't go to the classroom.
Because Professor Yan said "show up in the classroom," but didn't say I couldn't come to the office first.
The office door was open.
Professor Yan sat inside grading papers, his reading glasses perched on his nose, his red pen scratching loudly on the paper.
Zhang Yan knocked on the door frame.
Professor Yan looked up.
The old man's expression went through three stages the moment he saw him—surprise, anger, and then a sigh of disappointment.
"Come in."
Zhang Yan went inside and sat down in the chair opposite him.
"Professor Yan—"
"Don't call me." Professor Yan slammed down his red pen. "I've been teaching for thirty-two years, and I've never seen a student like you."
Zhang Yan remained silent.
Do you know your attendance rate?
"...I'm not sure."
"Eleven percent," Professor Yan said, emphasizing each word. "Last in the entire department."
"The registrar's office has asked me three times... is this student still registered?"
Zhang Yan finally showed a hint of embarrassment.
That's really going too far.
No matter what, he's still a freshman in college.
No matter how many mechs he had, how many monsters he had killed, or how close he was with military bigwigs—he genuinely skipped school classes.
"I'll make it up to you."
Professor Yan stared at him for five seconds.
He took off his reading glasses and rubbed his temples.
The anger subsided considerably, leaving only helplessness.
"Zhang Yan, I know you're not an ordinary student."
Zhang Yan paused slightly.
"I showed your course design, which you submitted last semester, to several professors in the department."
Their unanimous assessment was...that it was beyond the scope of the curriculum.
"It's not beyond your freshman year curriculum, it's beyond your master's degree curriculum."
Professor Yan looked at him, his tone complex.
"Your level definitely doesn't require attending classes."
"But university... how should I put it, it's not just about learning knowledge."
He paused for a moment.
"Forget it, there's no point in explaining these grand principles to you."
Zhang Yan did not refute.
Professor Yan's tone shifted, becoming more serious.
"I called you here not only to scold you, but also because of something else."
Zhang Yan looked at him.
"Next Wednesday, a group of scholars and students from Japan will be coming to our college for academic exchange."
Zhang Yan's eyes flickered slightly.
"The Land of Cherry Blossoms?"
It's them again?
"Hmm." Professor Yan's expression wasn't good. "Three professors and seven graduate students from the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Japan Institute of Technology."
"They came under the guise of friendly exchange."
He paused.
"But they came once last year."
Zhang Yan waited for him to continue.
"Last year..." Professor Yan's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, "They brought several doctoral students and did a joint technology demonstration."
"We sent five students, and they were completely dominated and humiliated throughout the entire process."
He lowered his voice.
"We didn't lose because of a lack of skill, we lost because of a lack of attitude."
"Their condescending attitude from beginning to end—as if communicating with us was an act of charity."
"When our students finished their presentations, their professors laughed on the spot."
"It wasn't that kind of friendly smile."
Zhang Yan leaned back in his chair.
"Again this year?"
"A new group of people, but the same tune."
"They sent an email before they came, listing a bunch of conditions—requiring us to provide our lab, to visit our key projects, and to co-author papers."
Professor Yan gave a cold laugh.
"Joint authorship means taking our data and putting their name on it."
Zhang Yan's expression didn't change much, but he lightly flicked the armrest of the chair with his finger.
"You want me to go?"
"I want you to take charge and make things happen," Professor Yan said directly. "You don't need to give any speeches or publish any papers."
"Go to the scene and see what's going on. If they dare to do what they did last year..."
He looked at Zhang Yan.
"You'll show them what a difference really is."
Zhang Yan remained silent for a few seconds.
The land of cherry blossoms.
He recalled the three warships that had been sunk at sea.
He recalled the Soryu-class submarine whose sonar cables he had severed.
I remembered the "Wakasa" ship, which fled at full speed in terror.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly.
"OK."
Professor Yan's eyes lit up.
"Next Wednesday at 9:00 AM, Mechanical Engineering Auditorium."
"You've got it."
"I've got it."
Zhang Yan stood up, walked to the door, and then paused.
"Professor Yan."
"What's wrong?"
"I will attend class this week."
Professor Yan was taken aback.
Then he snorted through his nose.
"You'd better be."
Zhang Yan left the office and walked to the end of the corridor.
He took out his phone.
I sent a message to Nie Qingcheng.
"The school has an event next week where people from Japan are coming to exchange ideas."
Ten seconds later.
reply.
"The Land of Cherry Blossoms?"
"Yes. In the mechanical field."
There was a five-second silence on the other end. Then a voice message came through.
Nie Qingcheng's voice turned cold.
"It's that same group of people again."
She had absolutely no liking for Japan.
"What are they doing here? Trying to cause trouble?"
Zhang Yan typed: "Academic exchange. But I heard they utterly humiliated us last year."
Voice messages are answered instantly.
There was a hint of coldness in his voice.
"And what about you?"
"I'll go take a look."
It quieted down for a moment.
Then a text.
"Should I send someone to cause trouble?"
Zhang Yan's lips twitched slightly as he read the message.
"No need, I'm fine on my own."
They sent an emoji.
A cat sits with its legs crossed, captioned: "I'm rooting for you."
Zhang Yan lock screen.
Enter the classroom.
I sat in the last row.
The student in front of him turned around, glanced at him, and looked like he'd seen a ghost.