Xie Kefu emerged wrapped in a bath towel, his face flushed red. He walked with small, bashful steps, as shy as a male favorite being favored by Empress Katerina for the first time.
He thought he would see an Empress with fiery eyes, or an overbearing and icy Empress, or perhaps an Empress who was just as nervous as he was.
But what he saw was... a diligent Empress?
Katerina sat sternly before the computer, pen in hand as she busily scribbled across draft paper. She was utterly focused, looking as if she were taking some major exam.
Xie Kefu was slightly dazed. This wasn't how he had imagined the scene at all.
What happened to the promised lovey-dovey stuff? What about the romantic atmosphere he had waited so long for? How had she gotten busy again?
Unable to resist, he walked behind the computer and peeked at the screen.
"The sixteen branches I mentioned in my lecture—someone has eliminated eight of them!" Katerina said excitedly. "I'll verify the calculations while I have time. Wait a moment!"
"Eight?" Xie Kefu was startled. "The International Mathematics Summit really is full of experts! Who helped you eliminate them?"
"Guess. You know this person."
"I know them?" Xie Kefu was bewildered and suspicious. "It hasn't even been an hour since the lecture ended, has it? Eliminating eight branches in such a short time... Ordinary scholars couldn't possibly do that. Could it be someone on Deng Puhe's level?"
"Tang Jiang."
"Tang Jiang?" Xie Kefu was dumbfounded. "Fuck, then wouldn't that mean..."
"When I gave the lecture, I even looked over the entire audience and didn't see Song He. I thought he hadn't come to listen!" Katerina exclaimed in shock. "It turns out he did—and his level is actually this high!"
Xie Kefu silently moved