There Is No Need to Give Them Face, You Dope

Chapter 30: No Need for a Blockhead to Save Them Face

Zhang Yuan seemed to have heard Ye Kaifu's inner thoughts, suddenly raising his head and glancing around.

"Why do I feel like someone is calling me? Are you calling me?"

"No way! I'm reading a book," Ye Kaifu said hurriedly.

Zhang Yuan lowered his head again, and after a long while, he spoke with a suspicious look: "...Forget it, these papers don't seem to have much reading value. I've decided to go listen to this public lecture to switch up my train of thought. Are you coming?"

It was currently the season when various Olympic training camps were opening, and various public lectures at the university were open for free auditing.

According to Zhang Yuan's thinking, just finding something simple to pass the time would be enough...

Yes, that was it.

After reading papers for a long time, he would get tired; taking a short break would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Hearing this, a surge of wild joy erupted uncontrollably in Ye Kaifu's heart, like a sweet spring bursting forth in a parched desert.

Haha, he's finally going out... He's going to slack off, he really was just putting on an act!

"What are you laughing at? So happy?"

Ye Kaifu was lost in his own world and didn't answer.

"Hey! Are you going or not?"

Ye Kaifu quickly snapped back to reality, pretending to be serious: "Nothing, just got some dust in my eye. That... paper of yours is finished?"

Zhang Yuan sighed: "Not even close. I just finished reading the literature and organizing my thoughts. Going out to listen to a lecture is a good idea; once I get back, I'll have to start writing. Finishing it in one go will probably take many days."

Damn it, he's really going to a lecture?

Sigh, fine, listening to a lecture is better than staying in the dorm.

Ye Kaifu said: "Alright, I want to go listen too... I haven't attended a class at Xisha University yet. I don't know how good the teachers are, but there are quite a lot of beauties here."

"Are there many beauties?"

"Of course! You're the one who makes me bring you food every day, so of course you don't see them!"

Walking out of the dorm building, there was a strange feeling of returning to the human world.

Zhang Yuan took a few deep breaths.

The air was very fresh, slightly tinged with the saltiness of the sea breeze, and he could hear the distant cries of seagulls. These clever birds knew that where there were people, there was food.

Looking again, his vacation balance was down to only 12 days, and a subtle sense of urgency rose in his heart.

Time flies so fast!

Writing a paper is not just mental labor, but physical labor as well. Trying to write down the ideas in one's mind exactly as they are is a very exhausting thing.

The first thing to do is to organize one's ideas and understand what needs to be done. This part is actually very difficult, but fortunately, with the guidance of his father's articles, the difficulty had been reduced significantly.

The second is to read a large amount of literature to see if there are any articles in the same direction.

Like the topic Zhang Yuan was working on now—"Robot Kinematics"—there was simply too much literature: "Forward Kinematics," "Inverse Kinematics," and things like "Vector Method," "Screw Theory," and "Quaternion Method," etc.

However, the passion for writing a paper is often inversely proportional to the amount of literature read.

Why?

Sometimes, as you read, you discover that your idea has already been done by someone else, and it loses its value.

At other times, you suddenly realize that compared to other people's ideas, your own idea is just trash...

Therefore, producing a valuable paper is truly a very difficult thing. Finding something that no one else has thought of, which also has practical application value, is incredibly hard...

Fortunately, after a week of reading literature, Zhang Yuan had basically confirmed that his father's idea had not been written about by anyone else.

And the practical application value was highly likely to be more advanced than mainstream algorithms!

As for the specific level of innovation of this paper and which tier of journals it could be published in, he wasn't quite sure, as he had never mingled in this circle before.

Zhang Yuan only set one goal for himself: finish it completely before boarding the spaceship!

Turning the corner and entering the cafeteria, the two ate a couple of steamed buns and then hurried toward the classroom without stopping.

It was almost time for class, and the room was packed with people.

However, there was a strange phenomenon: the first three rows were empty.

Finding no other seats, Zhang Yuan reluctantly sat at the far left of the first row.

Ye Kaifu had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit next to Zhang Yuan.

According to long-standing classroom experience, courses where the first three rows are empty are either very "watery"—so watery that even top students can't be bothered to listen, such as "Literature and Life," "Law, Religion, and Human Order," or "History of World Civilization"...

Or they are so difficult that even the geniuses can't understand them; since listening is useless anyway, they just don't bother.

It could also be that... the teacher is a bit of a sadist!

They often make things difficult for students. People sitting in the front row risk being called on to answer questions, so everyone just votes with their feet and sits in the back.

Ye Kaifu frowned and said: "This shouldn't be... Teachers care about their face too... If they do this, the professor will be very unhappy."

Xisha University was considered a decent university, so the appearance of this phenomenon was indeed abnormal.

Zhang Yuan said expressionlessly, "Don't overthink it. The teachers have long since gotten used to teaching a bunch of blockheads. They don't need blockheads to give them face, as long as things don't go too far."

"Makes sense."

Just then, the sound of trotting footsteps came from the hallway, and a young, beautiful female teacher walked in.

"Sorry about that, this is my first time substitute teaching, so my teaching experience might be a bit lacking... My surname is Wang, and my name is Wang Lili. Everyone can call me Teacher Wang."

Her voice was cute and soft.

"Why don't you all move to the front? It's not good to leave those seats empty..."

Beauty is justice; soon, the male animals were stirring, voluntarily moving from the back to the first three rows, fully giving the beautiful teacher enough face.

Judging by her age, she was likely a graduate student.

Helping a professor substitute teach wasn't a big deal; it could consolidate knowledge and there was funding to be earned. Of course, for a graduate student to teach undergraduates, it was still a bit of a stretch, so this senior student must be among the best of her peers.

Seeing the scene of a large group of male students moving their seats, Ye Kaifu began to feel smug in his heart again.

Haha, your hindsight behavior is just too blatant!

What's the point of moving over now?

The teacher's favorability had long been maxed out by us two who sat in the front row from the start.

However, once he saw Zhang Yuan's soul-wandering, dead-serious expression, Ye Kaifu quickly calmed his inner emotions and stopped letting his imagination run wild.

A powerhouse is indeed a powerhouse; he isn't affected in the slightest by the teacher's beauty.

"It's no wonder. In the life of a powerhouse, there are only two words: 'study', and it won't be disturbed by the appearance of a beautiful female."

"Truly awesome!"