The Interim Decision-Maker
Threats and inducements had always been the decision-maker's unrivaled prerogative.
After devoting himself to academia for so many years, how could Fu Qian not understand that?
Unlike Miss Wen, that unscrupulous capitalist, he had never intended to get something for nothing from Dean Cas's trusted right-hand woman.
In fact, in his view, Professor Lisha had spent all day racking her brains without finding a solution. She deserved to take a break and clear her head.
"'You owe me a favor' doesn't sound like an empty promise, does it? Tell me how you plan to repay me."
Unfortunately, Professor Lisha had already come to regard this demigod, despite his short time at the academy, as every bit as cunning as Cas—especially after their recent academic expedition.
So even though the offer of a favor sounded much more appealing, she still eyed him suspiciously and made her own demand.
"Simple. Your project seems to have hit a bottleneck lately."
Fu Qian glanced toward the depths of the tower.
"...You could say that, but I've already made some progress. What are you getting at? You're not going to finish it for me, are you?"
Caught off guard by his pinpointing her predicament, Lisha reflexively tried to explain. Then she suddenly stiffened, looked up, and asked in a somewhat resistant tone.
"Relax. How could I be so disrespectful to academia?"
Fu Qian waved away Lisha's concerns and smiled heartily.
"Although we made the discovery together, you've devoted yourself to studying it these past few days, so you're obviously in a better position to speak on it."
He wasn't just saying that to be polite. Although Professor Lisha had hit a bottleneck, Fu Qian had never thought it was courteous to barge in on someone else's project.
As an academic willing