What the Heck

"Shen Qi, it seems you're the popular choice to be squad leader; the will of the people cannot be defied!"

The counselor became a probationary member of the Communist Party at the age of 18 and has been a member for nearly 10 years. He has a particularly high level of political awareness, which is reflected in his words and deeds.

Shen Qi shook his head and waved his hand, continuing to politely decline, "No, no, no, I'm just one of the masses, one of millions of ordinary people. I really can't bear the responsibility of being the squad leader."

"Shen Qi, be the class monitor!" the students shouted in unison.

"My administrative skills are limited, classmates!" Shen Qi was in a difficult position. He had only ever been a squad leader with one stripe since he was a child. Suddenly, he was asked to be the class monitor, the class monitor of the most core major in the Big Mathematics Department. The burden on his shoulders was too heavy.

"This has nothing to do with administration or anything like that. The main thing is that you need to have high moral character. By the way, Shen Qi, aren't you a model student in your province? Your moral character is excellent, absolutely fantastic! With you as the class monitor for our Mathematics Department's XX grade, the students will be at ease, I will be at ease, the department leaders will be at ease, and the school leaders will be even more at ease." The counselor spoke fluently and was very suitable for the position.

Zhou Yu'an added, "Yan University can rest assured, the country can rest assured, the grassroots can rest assured, and the central government can rest assured even more. Shen Qi, stop acting and hurry up and take the oath of office, Squad Leader Shen!"

"This... is still not appropriate?" Shen Qi pushed him away three times in a row.

Zhou Yu'an was about to collapse. "Shen Qi, you're such a damn actor, a drama queen, a seasoned drama queen! Do you think you're Cao Cao, thrice declining the offer to become the King of Wei? Stop refusing, boss, just give in, Squad Leader Shen!"

"Just give in, Sergeant Shen!"

"Just give in, Sergeant Shen!"

"Just give in, Sergeant Shen!"

The crowd shouted "Three-in-a-row!" and almost knelt down to kowtow.

Even Ou Ye, a girl who is usually expressionless, couldn't help but tremble her lips slightly; she was probably smiling.

"Counselor... this?" Shen Qi looked at the counselor helplessly and asked tentatively, "Then I'll give it a try. If I don't do a good job as class monitor, you can remove me anytime."

"It's settled then!" The counselor waved his hand and announced that Shen Qi would be the class monitor of the XXth grade of the Mathematics Department.

Before he even started his studies, he was already a minor official, which was quite different from what Shen Qi had expected. Ah, that's how things are in this country; even a technical whiz has to handle administration. He'll just have to take it one step at a time.

After that came military training. The new college students took off their jeans, put on green military uniforms, and received the baptism of soldiers.

"Attention! At ease! Sit down!" the military training instructor shouted. "Mathematics Department, sing the military song!"

Shen Qi took the lead and shouted, "One Two Three, like a song!"

Thirty-odd male students from the Mathematics Department sang in unison. "Green barracks, green barracks, you taught me!"

They called it singing, but it was no different from arguing.

The team opposite them was an all-female army, and they were just as capable as any man. "The sun sets in the west, the rosy clouds fly, the soldiers return to camp after target practice, return to camp!"

Mathematics Department: "One, one, one, one, one, hand over a steel rifle to me!"

Women's Army: "Misola Misola, Lasomido Lai!"

The male Mathematics Department students got into a fight with this all-female team, and the two groups started singing military songs at the drop of a hat.

In fact, they were all freshmen from the School of Mathematical Sciences. There weren't many girls in the School of Mathematical Sciences; the five departments together formed a team of more than twenty female soldiers.

The Mathematics Department only contributed one female student, Ou Ye, who stood out in the group and fainted while singing.

The girls exclaimed in alarm, "Report! Ou Ye has fainted! She must have heatstroke!"

The Mathematics Department boys across the way stopped singing military songs and anxiously looked towards the female soldiers. Their class beauty had fallen—this was a serious matter.

Ou Ye the only girl in the Mathematics Department. Regardless of whether she is ugly or beautiful, she has to be the class beauty to uphold the reputation of the Mathematics Department.

Shen Qi jumped up and reported to his instructor, "Report! Our female soldier Ou Ye has collapsed. I must immediately provide her with humanitarian aid!"

"Approved!" The Mathematics Department instructor ran over to the female soldiers' unit and joined them in resuscitating the unconscious Ou Ye.

Ou Ye's skin was already pale, but now it looked even more bloodless.

After emergency treatment by the instructors, Ou Ye regained consciousness.

"Hey, are you alright?" Shen Qi squatted down and asked Ou Ye.

"No." Ou Ye shook her head, clearly something was wrong.

"Are you from our side?" the female soldiers' instructor asked Shen Qi.

Shen Qi replied, "Yes, I am Shen Qi, the class monitor of Ou Ye's class."

The instructor gave the order, "Shen Qi, carry Ou Ye to the infirmary. She needs to rest. After you get her there, return to your unit immediately."

"Yes!" Shen Qi carried Ou Ye on his back and moved towards the infirmary.

"You're so light, Ou Ye, do you weigh 90 pounds?" Shen Qi carried Ou Ye without any difficulty. She was about 1.67 or 1.68 meters tall and weighed less than 90 pounds, quite thin.

Ou Ye said weakly, "87 jin (43.5 kg)."

"Oh, have you been feeling better lately?" Shen Qi asked.

Ou Ye's voice was barely audible. "The usual."

"Alright, stop talking and get some rest." Shen Qi took Ou Ye to the infirmary, handed her over to the doctor, and then returned to his team.

During the month-long military training, the freshmen got to know each other better. Shen Qi, as the class monitor of the Mathematics Department, established good relationships with the 35 boys and 1 girl in his class.

Squad Leader Shen is in charge of all sorts of miscellaneous things: posting academic information in the class group, raising funds for team building activities, organizing people to participate in the school sports meet... These are all administrative tasks.

The discussion revolved around technical aspects, such as which company's mathematical analysis textbook was the best, whether functional analysis truly inspires fear, and the ultimate mystery of Infinite Series. Shen Qi exchanged ideas and explored these topics with his students.

It's easier for boys to communicate, as they all live in the same dormitory building, and visiting each other's rooms is a common occurrence.

The male students in the Mathematics Department of Yenching University are not bookworms; they are not much different from ordinary college students, except that they have a better foundation in mathematics.

They discussed mathematical analysis and Analytic Geometry, and they also played video games together. Shen Qi and his four roommates, plus one boy from the next room, were rarely matched when playing together.

No one can beat five male students from the Mathematics Department of Yenching University who understand Lanchester's equations, unless they are professional gamers.

Lanchester's linear law is used in a five-player game: only destroy towers, don't kill anyone, we lose kills but push the crystal, victory!

Lanchester's square law was used in a five-marksman game, focusing on killing without destroying towers. We beat them 88-0, making them call us "daddy," and then they surrendered in humiliation.

Shen Qi hadn't played games in a long time, but on a whim, he applied the Lanchester equations to the game and became an absolute god.

If the opposing team knew that all their opponents were from the Mathematics Department of Peking University, and that these Mathematics Department students had won national finals medals or even gold medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad, they would probably be convinced of their superiority. Another possibility is that they would report them.

The male students in the Mathematics Department quickly became friends.

The female students in the Mathematics Department are somewhat lonely. Ou Ye, the only female student, doesn't even have roommates from the same class. She shares a dormitory room with three female students from other departments.

One night after the National Day holiday, the sky was overcast with no moon or stars.

Shen Qi arrived at the girls' dormitory with a book in his hand. He called Ou Ye and asked Ou Ye to come downstairs.

A white figure slowly floated down the stairs. She wore a loose white long-sleeved T-shirt that reached her knees, and her waist-length straight black hair was swept down to her chest, obscuring her face.

Ugh~

I couldn't tell if it was the wind or some strange bird chirping, but it sounded particularly mournful.

"Holy crap... what the hell!" Shen Qi was startled. He held up the English version of "Algebra Guide" and retreated repeatedly, silently chanting in his mind: Before the four great gods Gauss, Euler, Newton, and Archimedes, all demons and monsters are ashes!

A white figure swayed in front of Shen Qi, brushing aside half of her long hair to reveal half of her pale face. "It's me."

"Damn it, Ou Ye!" Shen Qi recognized the woman in white and put down the evil-suppressing manual, <Algebra Guide>, complaining loudly, "What are you doing dressed like this in the middle of the night, Ou Ye?"

Ou Ye a sly smile, "Hehe, just finished showering, air-drying."

"Don't laugh, you're not allowed to laugh. You're the only girl I've ever met whose smile is uglier than her tears." Shen Qi composed himself and handed the English version of <Algebra Guide> to Ou Ye: "Is this the book you were looking for?"

Ou Ye took the book and nodded. "Yes, it's not easy to find in China."

"Don't lose it, I'm telling you, I brought this book back from England last year," Shen Qi reminded him. "This 'Algebra Guide' is an internal textbook of the Mathematics Department at Oxford University. Andrew Wiles is one of the editors. He mainly studies Elliptic Curve, but he is also very accomplished in number theory; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to prove Fermat's Last Theorem. Take a look at this book; it will be helpful to you."

"Okay." Ou Ye nodded.

"Ou Ye, could you wear your hair in a braid and show your face when you go out at night from now on?" Shen Qi suggested, explaining, "With your appearance, you could go straight to the set of The Ring without needing any makeup."

Ou Ye: "I'll try my best."

"And one more thing," Shen Qi added before leaving, "Professor Sun asked me to pass on a message to you: you must attend all the basic courses for your first year. Don't skip them, understand?"

Ou Ye: "Hmm."

"Then why did you skip Fatty Sun's Advanced Algebra yesterday?" Shen Qi asked. "As our class monitor, I have to remind you, Ou Ye, even I don't skip class, so why are you skipping it? Are you better at math than me? It's only been a few days since the start of the semester, where is your sense of discipline? Ah, Ou Ye, do you even have any sense of organization?"

"I..."

Ou Ye hesitated for a moment, then explained, "My period started yesterday."

"Calculation Ji also gets her period..." Shen Qi stopped mid-sentence. Calculation Ji is a woman too, of course she gets her period, it's understandable. Oh well, this won't happen again.

The two parted ways, and the night passed without further ado.

The following day, first-year students from the Mathematics Department and the Department of Scientific and Engineering Computing attended class together.

Both departments belong to the School of Mathematical Sciences; the former focuses on theoretical research, while the latter focuses on application.

The curriculum for the first two years is exactly the same for both the Mathematics Department and the Science and Engineering Computing Department. Students must earn enough credits for compulsory general education courses such as Marxist Philosophy Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, Military Theory, College English, Computer Science, and Physical Education.