Dating or Getting Married, When It Comes Down to It, Is All About Fate

"Shen Qi, you're a real scoundrel." After three cups of Red Star Erguotou, Sun Erxiong was a bit tipsy. "For the freshman Advanced Algebra final exam, I asked you to make the questions easy, but you made them so difficult!"

"Didn't you change half of the question later?" Shen Qi felt wronged and drank a glass of Erguotou to quench his thirst.

"Luckily I only changed half of it, otherwise it would have all failed!" Sun Erxiong slammed his fist on the table.

"What is the pass rate for Advanced Algebra among the first-year students?" Shen Qi asked.

Sun Erxiong: "It was exactly fifty percent. Later, I lowered the scoring standard and technically raised it to a passing rate of seventy percent."

"It was a technical error on my part, I'll punish myself with a drink." Shen Qi downed a glass of wine, accepting the punishment; the wine was 55 proof.

The students all drank, so the teacher couldn't refuse; Professor Sun is a respectable person and cares about his reputation.

"You... you can really drink... the legendary two jin?" Sun Erxiong had already drunk nearly a jin of baijiu, and his speech was slurred and thick with incoherence.

"You can drink more than me. You're a big, strong man from Northeast China, a true gentleman nurtured by the black soil." Shen Qi filled Sun Erxiong's glass.

"You're trying to provoke me, aren't you... I'll slash you to death..." Sun Erxiong made a slashing motion, but missed. Professor Sun, who couldn't tell east from west, slashed in the wrong direction.

"Professor Sun, we had a great time drinking tonight. Let's pay the bill. Go back and get some rest. I have a flight back to my hometown early tomorrow morning," Shen Qi said.

Given the situation, we have to retreat. If Old Sun really drinks himself into unconsciousness, who can carry his 200-plus-pound body?

"Check... check, waiter, check!" Sun Erxiong pulled out a card.

"This is a meal card for faculty and staff of Yenching University." Shen Qi was both amused and exasperated; Old Sun's alcohol tolerance was truly embarrassing.

"You two are a perfect couple, a pair of geniuses. If you get together, the first person you should thank is me, Old Sun... I've provided you two with a little love nest..." Sun Erxiong muttered, slumped over the dining table.

"Where are the golden couple? Where are they?"

"Stop pretending, Shen Qi... the whole department knows you two are dating..."

"My poor daughter, she's twenty-six this year... and still no boyfriend." Sun Erxiong said, his voice breaking with sadness.

"In first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, it's normal for girls to get married later. My older cousin back home is thirty and still not married," Shen Qi comforted her.

The drinking went awry. It was supposed to be a celebration for the completion of a research project, but now the project leader is almost in tears, while the students are comforting the professor.

Shen Qi helped Sun Erxiong and escorted him all the way to his doorstep.

Sun Erxiong's wife opened the door to greet him and warmly invited Shen Qi to stay at her home for tea and casual conversation.

Sun Erxiong's only daughter was in the living room keeping him company. But to call it keeping him company was a bit of a stretch; Miss Sun didn't say anything. She was busy playing mobile games and would occasionally glance at Shen Qi.

"Shen Qi, you're a math genius. Old Sun often talks about you at home, saying you're his most outstanding student," Mrs. Sun praised Shen Qi affectionately.

"Actually, I'd rather be an ordinary person," Shen Qi said modestly, shaking his head.

"Have you finished your research? Go home and spend some quality time with your parents." Mrs. Sun admired Shen Qi's composed demeanor.

"The research project has come to a temporary halt, but in the field of mathematics, we must keep running just to stay in the same place." Shen Qi's relaxed conversation also revealed a hint of seriousness.

"The Red Queen hypothesis." Mrs. Sun nodded with a smile; she was also a teacher, teaching biology.

"Didn't Xu Mo say that?" Miss Sun finally spoke, looking surprised.

"Xu Mo?" Shen Qi said he had never heard of this scientist.

"Yes, it's my husband." Miss Sun waved her phone in front of Shen Qi; the phone screen showed a handsome cartoon character.

"This husband is fake, a virtual character!" Mrs. Sun glared at Miss Sun. "When are you going to bring me a real husband? You're not in a hurry, but I am!"

"They're pressuring me to get married every day, it's driving me crazy!" Miss Sun slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and ran away.

Reaching the bedroom door, the 170-pound Miss Sun turned around and smiled, winking at Shen Qi: "Shen Qi, you look a lot like Xu Mo, and you're both scientific geniuses."

"Hehe, thank you for the compliment." Shen Qi maintained a polite smile, but a chill ran through him.

"Huh?" Mrs. Sun gave a strange snort, then her face returned to its loving expression. "Shen Qi doesn't have a girlfriend yet, does he? What are your criteria for choosing a girlfriend? Actually, it's said that marrying a woman three years older is like finding a gold brick..."

"Yes, yes, we have some at home," Shen Qi replied.

"You're pregnant? Really pregnant?" Mrs. Sun asked, slightly disappointed.

"My flight is early tomorrow morning, so I won't bother you any longer." Shen Qi got up to say goodbye and went back to his dormitory to pack his luggage.

The next morning, Shen Qi flew back to Nangang City, where his parents picked him up at the airport.

The familiar Mercedes-Benz C-Class was not in the familiar place; instead, a brand-new Audi A8L was on display, with the top-of-the-line version costing over a million.

Shen Qi sat in the back of the black Audi and patted the leather seat. "Congratulations on Mr. Shen's business growing bigger and bigger."

"No matter how big the business gets, I'll still have to be Scientist Shen's driver," Shen Zhishan said with a laugh, starting the car and driving towards home.

"Dad, you've made a lot of money lately, haven't you?" Shen Qi asked.

Shen Zhishan: "What's the use of money? I have no money, I don't even have a salary card."

"Old Shen, you're getting too cocky. Wait until you have an industry the size of Boss Ma's before you start bragging like that!" Fan Yunxia scolded her husband.

"Small goal, small goal," Shen Qi chuckled.

"Hey, Shen Qi, why didn't Xiaoting come back with you?" Mom had a different area of focus; her memory was excellent. "Last winter break, you two came back together."

Shen Qi replied, "Xiaoting came back earlier this year."

"Oh, I see. How is that female student from your Mathematics Department feeling?" Fan Yunxia asked again.

Shen Qi shook his head. "She's been at home recuperating for over two months."

"Is that so?" Fan Yunxia said calmly, "For a girl, firstly, she needs a good personality, and secondly, she needs to be healthy. If she has these two qualities, everything else is easy to discuss."

Shen Qi looked out the window and muttered to himself, "For me, shared values are more important."

"Yunxia, don't worry about that," Shen Zhishan said as he drove onto the main road. "Do you know what your son really needs? He needs a female scientist."

"Both of us are scientists; this isn't suitable for starting a family. Daily life is just about the mundane things like food, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—it's that simple," Fan Yunxia disagreed with her husband's view.

"There's no point in arguing about this. How many young people these days know how to cook? They all order takeout on their phones. Dating or getting married, frankly speaking, it all comes down to two words: fate." Shen Zhishan turned to his wife and retorted, then said to Shen Qi, "Before you go abroad, bring your girlfriend home to meet us."

Fan Yunxia: "Old Shen, concentrate on driving! Red light!"

Back home, Shen Qi spent several days perfecting his application materials for studying abroad and submitted them to the designated receiving office at Princeton.

TOEFL score: 118.

GRE, V170+Q170+W5.5.

The three letters of recommendation came from Sun Erxiong, Lu Guozhen, and Director Long of the Mathematics Department at Yenching Big Mathematics Department.

He already holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Basic Mathematics from Yenching University.

Research experience: Participated in National Natural Science Foundation of China projects; published 8 papers during undergraduate studies.

He has athletic talent and has won the championships in the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter races at the Capital University Track and Field Games.

GPA is a bit special.

Shen Qi is currently pursuing a second degree in physics and has taken exams for more than a dozen physics-related courses.

Based on Yenching University's 4.0 algorithm, combined with the percentage grades and corresponding credits for each course, the calculated GPA is 4.0.

According to the USTC algorithm 4.3, the calculation result is 4.3.

That's the result anyway; Shen Qi couldn't have miscalculated. This is his GPA for his physics major courses.

Shen Qi calculated that his GPA for mathematics major courses was also 4.0, which is the standard for Yanda University. He only took one subject, Analytic Geometry, and got a perfect score of 100.

Because Shen Qi passed his bachelor's thesis defense in mathematics ahead of schedule, he was exempted from other mathematics courses.

There shouldn't be any major problems; eight mathematical papers can prove Shen Qi's mathematical abilities.

Shen Qi has written down all his achievements and submitted his application materials. Now all he has to do is wait for the offer from the Princeton Mathematics Department.