With his suspicions confirmed, Xu Ren was so excited his heart nearly leaped into his throat. "Teacher Ji-"
He instinctively started toward Ji Ting, only to stop short at a piercing beep.
An officer from the State Security Bureau came in through the door, his tone calm but firm. "Please place your belongings on this counter for a routine inspection."
Ji Ting's security clearance was exceptionally high, so after receiving notice of the lecture, the university had worked with the State Security Bureau to install screening equipment at the entrance. Everyone entering had to be scanned.
Xu Ren froze for a moment, then understood and promptly placed his backpack, phone, and other belongings on the counter.
After carefully checking everything, Zhang Jian and his colleague removed an inconspicuous folding knife from his keychain. "Everything else is fine. Please collect this knife from the department office upstairs when you leave."
"Of course!" Xu Ren nodded hastily.
Once the State Security Bureau officers had left, he clenched his fists and turned around. At the sight of Ji Ting again, his eyes instantly reddened. "Teacher Ji, I-I thought you'd forgotten me..."
"Of course not. We're friends." A gentle smile had just appeared on Ji Ting's face when a trace of confusion followed. "Are you still studying here?"
"Yes! I got into the doctoral program!" Xu Ren nodded vigorously, gratitude shining in his eyes. "Oh, and the advisor who plagiarized my paper and that Director Wu were both fired. Wang Jianming even spent six months in prison."
"That's good." Ji Ting nodded, sounding relieved.
Xu Ren still couldn't contain his excitement. "Teacher Ji, how come you're giving a lecture at our university? When I saw the announcement, I thought it was an academician with the same surname. I never dared imagine you'd come yourself.