Haha! So satisfying!

Zhang Yuan wondered if his father really had that many female fans. That didn't seem right. His father never socialized, and had only gained a little recognition after winning first prize. Could the country be promoting him heavily?

He smiled and said, "It's not like you think... I'm leaving Earth soon. When would I have time for that sort of thing? Your sister should focus on getting along with your brother-in-law."

"Leaving Earth?" Han Ziyue drew out the words, her face showing a hint of shock. "Could it be... you're one in five hundred thousand too?"

Zhang Yuan nodded.

"I'm so mad!"

Han Ziyue pouted, her hopes dashed. "So that's why you don't think ten million is a big deal! I was thinking of latching onto a rich guy, but it turns out you've already donated your entire fortune. You might even be poorer than me..."

Hearing her state so bluntly that she'd been hoping to "latch onto a rich guy," Zhang Yuan couldn't help wondering if girls these days were really this forward.

She bobbed her little head and seemed to mutter to herself, "Sigh, I hope I'm not expected to pay for this meal. It's not like I can't..."

"You'll have to think of some way to make up for my empty, disappointed heart. You could come back to my dorm and fix my computer. Astronauts ought to know how to repair things, right?"

Zhang Yuan paused. "Don't worry, I can afford one meal. As for fixing things—fixing a computer..."

Was there some sort of hidden meaning behind "fixing a computer"?

Seven in the evening. Office building.

"Professor Wang, Zhang Yuan is quite talented, and he's good with words. I think we could consider having him help me with some administrative work aboard the ship. His background is a good fit, too... Especially for research on the history of the new civilization. We need people like him."

"How could we do that?"

Professor Wang refused in a righteous tone. "Highly intelligent people should be doing academic work. Putting them in management would be a waste of time!"

The middle-aged man, who looked like a soldier, smiled. "We still have to consider what he wants. What kind of research can you really get done on a spaceship?"

Wang Zhong thought for a moment, then sighed. "Ma Tao, just look out for the kid a little. There's no need to give him special treatment. If we're going to build a new civilization, we can't let things go wrong from the start. The smaller the environment, the easier it is for all kinds of messy unwritten rules to take hold. We can't set that kind of precedent!"

Captain Ma sighed. "You're right."

"Not going into administration might be a good thing, actually. He'll have plenty of time to spend in cryosleep. At least... he might get to see the new sun in the year 3000."

He spoke slowly, as though reflecting on something. "Like our predecessors as captains, we'll probably die of old age along the way. We won't get to see the future homeworld."

The journey was long—three thousand years. No one knew if the spaceship would reach its destination.

"Good luck to you all!"

"I hope so."

After seeing Captain Ma off, Wang Zhong finally had some time to settle down and do a little work of his own.

Professor Wang was getting on in years. He couldn't think as quickly as young people, and he'd fallen behind in how fast he could learn new things. But he could still read some of his students' papers.

He was reading the paper Zhang Yuan had sent him.

His brow furrowed, then relaxed.

What to make of this paper?

First, it had the common beginner's mistake: it was too wordy. Some obvious conclusions didn't need to be belabored at such length, as if he were afraid people in the field wouldn't understand.

The structure was also a little problematic. The main and secondary points weren't very clear, and the central theme wasn't sufficiently emphasized.

Of course, these were only minor issues, not major flaws. They could be fixed in a day or two.

Setting those problems aside, the proof was logically clear, and the process of dividing it into cases and proving each one was quite rigorous.

He'd tried to find a flaw, but found himself at a loss for where to begin.

"Beautiful work!"

After spending three hours reading the entire paper, Wang Zhong was more and more pleased with his grand-student.

As a mathematician, he thought the proof was excellent. It had a satisfying, exhilarating quality to it.

That kind of appreciation for mathematical beauty was something every renowned mathematician ought to have.

However, since this wasn't his area of expertise, he had no way of knowing whether the paper was valuable or publishable.

"Every field has its specialties. I can't tell whether this is innovative or not."

He'd check it for plagiarism first.

Professor Wang uploaded the paper to a specialized platform, and a number appeared on the webpage: "Paper Similarity: 2.33%"

A perfectly acceptable similarity rate.

The similarity came from the paper database's algorithm. Certain technical terms were bound to overlap a little with other papers.

After writing some comments for revision, Wang Zhong stood up and stretched, preparing to consult some experts in informatics or mechanical engineering.

One advantage of being older was having students everywhere, spread across all kinds of industries. Professor Wang had a wide network of contacts and knew experts in almost every field.

"Oh, it's already ten. Never mind."

Thinking it would be rude to disturb people during their rest, Wang Zhong simply sent an email asking people in the field to evaluate the paper.

"Professor Wang's student wrote a paper and sent it to me. Is it in mechanical engineering?"

"A recent undergraduate graduate?"

Lin Wenda greatly admired the elderly man, who was over eighty and still working on the front lines. It was rare for him to ask for help reviewing an undergraduate's paper, so Lin Wenda had to give it some attention.

However, Lin Wenda had a project of his own to work on and couldn't spare much time to review the paper amid his busy schedule.

He casually forwarded it to his students, asking them to take a look first. If it was something ordinary, there was no need to waste his time on it.

In his mind, they were already graduate students. Looking over an undergraduate's paper should be easy for them.

"...The teacher's always like this, making me do this kind of boring stuff. Editing a paper... Please don't let it be some amateur's work that I'll have to rewrite from scratch."

Wang Lili was watching a movie with her boyfriend when the message suddenly came in. She couldn't help muttering under her breath.

Life as a graduate student was just this miserable. She often had to help her teacher with odd jobs.

Her advisor was already a good one. He only gave her tasks that were part of her job. There was no running errands or mailing packages, no arbitrarily delaying students' graduation, and no sordid stories about using his position for favors.

Anyway, once she got through this period, it would be over.

"If I go on to get a doctorate, I'll have to be worked like a dog for so many more years!"

Just thinking about it made her not want to study anymore.

But for the sake of her future, she'd just have to endure it.

She casually opened the paper, and when she saw its title and the author's name, Zhang Yuan, Wang Lili suddenly lit up with joy.

Haha!

So satisfying!