Outside the stadium.
A short, somewhat youthful-looking young man sprinted down the road with a shoulder bag on his back. Judging by his unsteady steps and the bags under his eyes, he presumably had not slept well the previous night.
However, whatever the reason, he had already missed the entry time and was naturally stopped by security at the entrance to the gymnasium.
"Student, the gymnasium isn't open to the public these next couple of days. Go play basketball somewhere else."
Looking at the security guard blocking his way, Ji Mo anxiously explained.
"I'm not here to play basketball. I'm here to attend the lecture!"
The guard exchanged a strange look with his colleague standing nearby, then gave him an odd stare.
"Attend the lecture? It started two hours ago. You're late."
"Brother, please, just let me in."
The guard held out his hand.
"Where's your invitation?"
"Invitation?" Ji Mo froze for a moment. "What invitation?"
"Guests entering the venue all have invitations. We can't just let anyone in," the guard said impatiently. "If you don't have one, stop wasting time. Even if I let you through here, you won't get past security later. The people standing guard inside aren't from the university. Pleading won't help. Don't waste your time."
"...I-I'm Academician Lu's student!"
As soon as he said those words, Ji Mo's cheeks inevitably reddened.
After all, this so-called "student" was not the sort officially registered in any records. It was merely a verbal promise, and honestly, the word needed quotation marks.
If the situation had not been so urgent, he would not have wanted to invoke Lu Zhou's name.
But now, he could not worry about that.
"You?" The guard at the entrance glanced at him, his expression clearly disbelieving. "What year are you in?"
Ji Mo said