By the time Ji Mo returned to the Yanshan University International Mathematics Center, the evening glow had settled along the horizon, and night seemed ready to fall.
He was just about to pack up his things and return to the dorm when his good friend Meng Fei, the chubby boy, reached out and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Ji-ge, where did you disappear to? I looked all over for you and couldn't find you. We've already finished dinner."
Ji Mo shook his head.
"It's fine. I'll grab something outside later. I saw plenty of places to eat on my way back."
With that, he grabbed his backpack and started to leave, only for the chubby boy behind him to catch hold of him.
"Hey, wait, wait! You haven't told me what you went off to do."
Pulled to a stop, Ji Mo paused briefly before replying.
"Oh, you mean that? I went after Academician Lu."
"After Academician Lu? And what happened once you caught up with him?"
"I asked him to take me as his student! I want to learn mathematics from him!"
Meng Fei couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead at his friend's habit of acting on whatever popped into his head. Looking pained, he asked,
"...And he agreed?"
Ji Mo shook his head honestly.
"No."
"I told you," Meng Fei said, shaking his head. "He's an academician. He builds planes and rockets and attends top-level conferences. Where would he find the time to mentor a high school student?"
Ji Mo nodded and continued, "...But."
Hearing that "but," Meng Fei faltered and stopped talking to ask,
"But what?"
Excitement gradually lit up his eyes. The boy in the baseball cap clenched his fist and said, brimming with determination, "But he promised that if I win a gold