That's Life

Citing and plagiarism are different concepts. Every researcher has experience citing sources, and as long as you cite the source, no one will cause you trouble.

Plagiarizing someone else's thesis for a graduation project is a very bad behavior, and its consequences are more serious than fabricating data.

He Yuming has run into trouble. Muller is a common surname in Germany, just like Zhang is common in China.

Andre Muller is similar to Zhang Guohua in China; even if they share the same name, who would guess that Andre Muller was Shen Qi's advisor when he studied at Princeton?

He Yuming hadn't even considered this possibility beforehand; what a coincidence!

"He Yuming, you actually plagiarized someone else's article and shamelessly claimed that you completed it independently! It's outrageous, shameful, and hateful!" Lu Guozhen and Sun Erxiong stomped their feet in anger; they had almost been fooled by He Yuming.

He Yuming trembled with fear; his previous confident and dashing demeanor had vanished completely.

"I was wrong, I was really wrong, please give me another chance, teachers!" He Yuming was exposed by Shen Qi on the spot, and he had nothing to argue about, so he simply admitted his mistake and confessed in hopes that the teachers would have mercy on him.

After venting his anger, Shen Qi calmly said, "He Yuming, there's something I don't quite understand. You went to great lengths to find a German paper from decades ago, which shows you have a lot of patience. You said you got a perfect score on your college entrance exam in math, which shows you're a smart person, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten into Peking University."

"Can't a smart and patient person write a decent undergraduate thesis if they calm down?"

"Our School of Mathematical Sciences doesn't have overly strict graduation requirements for undergraduates. As long as you can clearly explain a basic mathematical problem, that's fine. We don't require you to solve the Millennium Prize Problem or work on key national research projects."

"He Yuming, please tell me, what is your motive? With this effort, you could write a decent original article yourself, using the same method to find my advisor's long-lost thesis." Shen Qi wanted to understand the senior student's true thoughts.

"Cleverness can backfire, and no one escapes the wrath of Heaven." He Yuming's nose stung with tears, and he deeply repented. "Plagiarism is a serious violation of school rules. I was very wrong. I not only plagiarized, but I also lied."

"I'm not very familiar with Professor Qian. I made up the story that we often had in-depth academic discussions. I was too playful, too playful. I didn't start looking for research materials until the end of April. By then, it was too late, so I took a chance... and copied a little bit."

"I didn't know German before, but I learned it in the last month or two. I was flipping through German dictionaries, using translation apps, and looking for German math materials. As you three teachers know, most math articles, regardless of the language they are written in, don't have a lot of textual descriptions, but rather mathematical formulas. I don't need to master too much German vocabulary and grammar; I can just guess with the dictionary." He Yuming finished explaining the entire violation and awaited punishment.

"Classmate, you're so talented! You're learning German to find materials right now." Shen Qi discovered that this kid was quite a prodigy. He Yuming copied Muller's articles, but if he were to copy Müller and Mandelbrot, Shen Qi might not be able to find any flaws.

Old Sun couldn't help but interject, "He Yuming, you're a bit too clever for your own good. You almost fooled both me and Old Lu. If you just write a solid thesis, you might even get an award for outstanding graduate thesis!"

"The thing I, Old Sun, hate most is deception. He Yuming, there's nothing more to say. You can continue your fifth year of university! I hope you can repent and remember this lesson."

Sun Erxiong rebuked emphatically, then also looked for problems within himself. "When students make mistakes, we teachers cannot shirk our responsibility. While Professor Qian is abroad on a visit, I will be in charge of your graduation project design, He Yuming. I will personally guide you and supervise you to behave and do things honestly during your fifth year."

"This, this... do I really have to do five years of college?" He Yuming was filled with regret.

At reputable universities like Yenching University, if you fail the first defense, you have a second defense.

If the second debate continues and fails...

This situation is very rare, unless the examiner and the student have a deep-seated hatred for each other, or the student is so bad that the thesis is so terrible that the examiner can't help at all.

He Yuming plagiarized the paper; this is a matter of attitude, so there's no need for a second defense. He'll study for another year and we'll see how he performs.

"We've already given you a chance by not expelling you outright, He Yuming. You've been given a demerit. Go back and reflect on your actions. We hope to see an original graduation thesis by this time next year," Lu Guozhen concluded on behalf of the college.

He Yuming left the defense in distress, his momentary lapse of judgment leading to a grave mistake.

In the afternoon, Shen Qi, Lu Guozhen, and Sun Erxiong took on the roles of doctoral dissertation defense examiners, while two doctoral students from the School of Mathematics participated in the defense.

Some daring undergraduates are willing to play with fire, but once they reach the doctoral level, no one dares to act recklessly.

The two doctoral students, who were honest and conscientious, had no problems with their dissertations and performed well in their on-the-spot defense, and passed smoothly.

One of the doctoral students is Li Zhenqiang, Shen Qi's undergraduate classmate.

"Li Zhenqiang, Li Bo, congratulations." Shen Qi chatted with Li Zhenqiang after the meeting. In their undergraduate class, Li Zhenqiang was the fourth to obtain a doctorate in mathematics, second only to Shen Qi, Ou Ye, and Zhou Yu'an, who were all Princeton PhDs.

"That's life. Most of the time, life arranges our lives, rather than us controlling them," Li Zhenqiang said with deep feeling.

Shen Qi laughed and said, "Hey, you passed your PhD defense in mathematics, right? I feel like you got a PhD in philosophy?"

"I never participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad, and I didn't apply for mathematics as my first choice in college. I was assigned to the Mathematics Department. I never thought I would become a mathematics PhD. That's life." Li Zhenqiang had a very repressed undergraduate life, but the extreme repression led him to achieve some success.

"Regret it?" Shen Qi asked.

"It's no use regretting it now. I'll have to rely on math for the rest of my life," Li Zhenqiang laughed.

"Come to my department, it's a better fit for you." Shen Qi always tries to poach talent whenever he sees them; he can't resist doing so.

Li Zhenqiang immediately agreed, "Since Boss Shen thinks so highly of me, I will gladly accept and report to your office in November."

"Qiang, you've been at Yenching University for so many years, you know the place well. You can come and report to me as soon as you get your doctorate. Why do you have to wait until November?"

Li Zhenqiang explained, "I'm getting married in September, going on my honeymoon in October, and registering for marriage in November. Isn't that perfect? Before September, I have to prepare for the wedding and there are a lot of things to do, so I might as well register after the wedding."

Shen Qi was quite surprised. "Oh, you're getting married soon? Congratulations, double happiness!"

"Actually, I'm already married. I just got my marriage certificate yesterday. I started school late, I was 20 when I went to university, so I'm almost 30 now. My wife is a year older than me. She said she wanted to get married a few days ago, and I gritted my teeth and went to get the certificate." Li Zhenqiang took out his phone and showed Shen Qi his marriage certificate. "Boss Shen, you must come to my wedding."

The girl in the marriage certificate is quite dignified; her looks in the ID photo are a perfect 75 out of 100, and that's no exaggeration.

Shen Qi patted Li Zhenqiang on the shoulder. "Your wife is more than a match for you. Don't worry, I'll definitely be at your wedding. Don't say anything more, just get on with the wedding preparations. Congratulations again, Li Bo! I never expected you to be the first one in our class to get married. You're the real winner in life!"

"Boss Shen, do you have a mistress outside?" Li Zhenqiang looked around and asked in a low voice.

"Small?"

"Yes, little one, you know what I mean."

"No." Shen Qi shook his head.

"Then why aren't you married yet? You're rich, powerful, and well-connected; you're respected, famous, Ou Ye is devoted to you. You two have a house, and you meet all the requirements for marriage. It's unreasonable for you not to get married."

"Marriage is the grave of love."

"That's an old, tired excuse. Are you afraid of marriage?" Li Zhenqiang waved and left.