Vacation

Today is Thursday. At noon, Shen Qi sent a notice in the center's WeChat group. "To celebrate the center's major breakthrough in physics research, the entire center will have a half-day off. Everyone should rest well, relax, and prepare for even greater challenges in the future."

Cui Xiaoyi: "This reason for taking a holiday is amazing! We have to give it a shout-out!"

Xiao Junlong: "If Director Shen wins the Nobel Prize in Physics, our center may have to take a six-month break. We look forward to that day."

Shen Qi: "We have the afternoon off, and we'll have a dinner gathering tonight. Sang Tian, please book a place with a nice environment and high-quality service. The average cost per person should not be less than 666 yuan. This team building activity is for everyone; those who are absent will bear the consequences themselves."

Sang Tian: "I'm giving a huge shout-out to the principle of 'no less than 666'!"

Everyone: "We're giving a huge shout-out to Director Shen!"

For an academic research department, making significant academic progress is of paramount importance.

Success is a cause for celebration, and this joy should be shared with all the staff at the center.

Shen Qi has created a good atmosphere in the team; everyone works hard when they need to and plays hard when they need to.

At 2 p. m., Shen Qi secretly inspected the various rooms in the center and found that most of the employees had gone on holiday, with only two remaining.

In the Mathematics Room, Ma Chaofan was engrossed in calculating mathematical formulas, while in the physics lab, Yang Ding Tian was completely absorbed in watching the experimental equipment in operation.

Shen Qi noted down the names of these two people. If everyone was excellent and a genius, then the most diligent among the excellent should receive better treatment.

Sang Tian, a former online novelist, often says that authors who update frequently don't necessarily become gods, but authors who become gods are often those who update frequently.

Shen Qi agreed with this point, but he found that the female writers who often said this were the ones who slipped away the fastest.

Whenever he finishes a project or achieves a milestone in his research, Shen Qi chooses to take a break.

In his daily life, Shen Qi mostly interacts with highly educated people. His girlfriend is a PhD, all his researchers are PhDs, his students are doctoral students, his friends are famous professors, and he also has deans, university presidents, and academicians.

Shen Qi's job nature dictates that his social circle is like this.

During his holidays, Shen Qi avoids anything related to his major; he just relaxes and has fun.

Shen Qi wanted to find something interesting and relaxing to do, so he logged onto the Yanda intranet, searching for something interesting.

The most active groups on the intranet are various clubs and associations. Yenching University has hundreds of clubs and associations, more than 90% of which are student clubs, with a small number of faculty and staff clubs as well.

The intranet was flooded with recruitment and activity information from various clubs, some of which were so imaginative that Shen Qi was amazed.

The most famous student club at Yenching University is the Mountain Eagle Club, which is also one of the most famous clubs in Mountain Eagle Club University and even in China. The club's main activity is mountaineering, while also engaging in some outdoor adventure activities.

Among the faculty and staff associations, the Outdoor Sports Association and the Female Professors Association are the most popular.

"The Mountain Eagle Club and the Outdoor Sports Association aren't for leisure; they're for risking your life. The Female Professors Association requires female membership and a senior professional title or above, so I'm not qualified."

Shen Qi continued browsing the information and found an interesting student association called the "Yanjing University Stray Cat Care Association," or "Cat Association" for short.

The Cat Association's mission is to reduce the number of stray cats on campus through peaceful means, improve the quality of life for stray cats, mitigate human-cat conflicts, and promote knowledge about stray cat protection and rescue.

The Cat Association posted numerous adorable cat pictures on its official WeChat account and released a new message: "This afternoon at 3 PM, we will hold our regular meeting in the Arts and Humanities Building. We will be showing the documentary 'Cute Pet Growth Chronicle,' which tells the stories of several litters of kittens from birth to adulthood. A serious reminder: this film contains excessively cute content, be careful not to be overwhelmed by cuteness! New members, old members, and non-members are all welcome to participate, and please recommend it to each other."

"That's quite interesting." Shen Qi arrived at the lab and said to Yang Ding Tian, "The Cat Association is organizing an activity at 3 o'clock in the Arts and Humanities Building. Come with me."

"A boring activity." Yang Ding Tian shook his head and decided not to go.

Shen Qi looked at the central mascot, who was as fat as a pig. "Then lend me your cat. It'll die if it gets any fatter. I'll take it out to lose weight."

"Oh, take it." Yang Ding Tian agreed to lend the cat.

The cat sat on the computer desk, staring intently at the crystal lattice parametric diagram on the screen, seemingly lost in thought.

Shen Qi picked up the cat and left. "What are you pretending for? Like you can understand crystal lattice parametric diagrams?"

Cat: "Meow!"

Shen Qi asked the cat, "Then let me ask you, what is the relationship between the lattice parameter increment and the impurity concentration in the zinc-doped γ -Titanium Aluminum Alloy system?"

Cat: "Meow!"

Shen Qi: "You answer every question with 'meow,' what do you know besides eating and sleeping?"

The cat stopped meowing; it had nothing in common with Shen Qi.

Shen Qi and the cat arrived at the Arts and Humanities Building. The Cat Association had set up a sign in a prominent place, Shen Qi quickly found the Cat Association's activity location.

A huge poster hangs at the entrance of Arts and Humanities Building, featuring several litters of kittens posing adorably.

Several girls at the entrance were wearing matching white T-shirts with the words "Yanda Cat Association" printed on the chest.

People arrived one after another, most of them young, seemingly undergraduates, mostly girls, with a few boys.

The girls wearing white Cat Association T-shirts were responsible for checking the identities of visitors, checking them via WeChat, and having them scan a QR code to sign in.

Shen Qi, carrying the cat, arrived at the entrance of room 201 and asked a staff member of the Cat Association, "I'm not a member of the Cat Association, but I love cats. May I participate in today's event?"

"Welcome... Wow, you orange cat, you're quite plump." Several girls from the Cat Association were attracted by Shen Qi's cat and started to tease it, leaving Shen Qi feeling neglected.

This male orange cat became exceptionally docile upon seeing the female college student, allowing her to pet and tease it as it pleased, displaying a comfortable and contented expression.

"Besides showing promotional videos, does our Cat Association have any other interesting activities?" Shen Qi asked, trying to make his presence known.

The girl continued to tease the cat, "Yes, we do. We feed cats, treat their illnesses, observe and study their habits, help stray cats find reliable owners, and so on."

Shen Qi then asked, "What I mean is, besides cats, are there any interactions between people?"

"What do you mean? You came to the Cat Association just to pick up girls?" A girl became wary, scrutinizing Shen Qi's face. After a moment, she realized something was off. "Uh, aren't you... who... who... who!"

Shen Qi introduced himself, "I am Shen Qi, and I work at the Shen Qi Mathematical and Physical Research Center."

"Professor Shen! Welcome, welcome! Please come in!" The Cat Association staff led Shen Qi into the activity room and guided him to a seat.

Shen Qi placed the cat on the table and observed for a week. There were cats and people in the activity room, with more girls than boys.

Shen Qi, this orange cat, is a heavyweight. Sitting here, it looks down on all the other cats, looking down on all living beings.

The cats were of all colors—white, black, and more—and they huddled up, afraid to approach the orange cat.

Cats are not social animals; they have a strong sense of territory. Shen Qi discovered that his orange cat acted like a grandson in the lab, but liked to act like the Boss after they came out.

Afterwards, the Cat Association played a promotional video, "Cute Pet Growth Chronicle," which the humans watched with great interest, while the cats dozed off.

Shen Qi watched the promotional video with a relaxed mood. This was exactly the kind of relaxing environment he wanted—spending time with the undergraduates watching cats was a great way to unwind.

As he watched, Shen Qi became interested in the habits of felines. He upgraded his Biology to level 5 and then casually upgraded his History to level 5 as well.

At this point, all ten of Shen Qi's subjects in the system have been upgraded to level 5 or above.

After the promotional video finished playing, Shen Qi chatted warmly with the members of the Cat Association, inquiring about their studies and lives.

The Cat Association members come from various departments of Yenching University. As it is a student association, it does not accept faculty or staff members as members in principle.

Because of the orange cat named Laplace and its owner's special status, Shen Qi was admitted as an honorary member of the Yenching University Cat Association.