It turned out that what Liu Chen had heard was just hearsay.
Liu Chen was currently squatting behind the bushes, watching Professor Jiang Demin, who had only two strands of hair left on his head, meticulously parted into a middle split, standing with his back to him by a tree.
Ignoring Professor Jiang Demin's personal appearance, Liu Chen couldn't help but wonder if this guy was actually having a secret rendezvous.
As it turned out, Liu Chen's guess was wildly off the mark. Jiang Demin was indeed waiting for someone, but it wasn't a romantic interest. It was a man holding a dagger, trembling as he walked towards him step by step.
The man was wearing a cotton jacket that looked somewhat faded. It seemed to have been washed so many times that it had pilled at the cuffs. He was wearing a pair of light-colored jeans, and whether they were originally dark blue or light blue was truly hard to tell.
The moment Liu Chen saw him, he felt as if he was seeing himself from a few years into his past life. Back then, he had worked himself to the bone. His short-sleeved shirts in summer had faded from washing, and he hadn't bought a new winter coat since 2007. He often wore arm warmers under his down jacket to prevent the cuffs from wearing out.
'Hidden mission triggered: Save Jiang Huai. Mission success rewards a hidden lottery ticket. Mission failure deducts 1000 lottery tickets.'
Just as the man was about to reach Jiang Demin from behind, Liu Chen circled around to the other side of the bushes, positioning himself to face the man, and stood up.
"Ahem!"
Liu Chen's sudden appearance, accompanied by two coughs, startled Jiang Demin so much that he trembled all over. The two strands of hair in his middle part were shaken into a diagonal fringe to the right.
Liu Chen also got a clear look at the front of the young man in the yellow cotton jacket standing behind Jiang Demin.
He was a thin, young man.
He had a rather delicate appearance, wearing a pair of small, black-rimmed glasses. However, the lenses looked a bit scratched and weren't very bright. Beneath the glasses were a pair of heavy eye bags, which were darker than the boy's eyes.
Startled, Jiang Demin reflexively reprimanded, "Student, you suddenly popped out and scared me. What if you give me a heart attack, how will you take responsibility!"
As he spoke, Jiang Demin's gaze fell on the brand logo on Liu Chen's jacket shoulder, and his scolding softened.
"Besides, it's still cold. Why aren't you wearing a scarf, child? If you catch a chill, your parents will be so worried!"
After saying this, Jiang Demin smoothed his two strands of hair, returning them to their middle-parted state, and then turned around.
"Oh no! I'm going to die! Jiang Huai, why are you standing here silently, trying to scare me to death? Let me tell you, if I die from fright, your grandparents will weep to death!"
"I have something to do for now. We'll talk about what you said next Saturday."
With that, Jiang Demin, in his shiny leather shoes, left the small grove between Liu Chen and Jiang Huai.
As soon as Jiang Demin left, the small grove fell silent.
For some reason, the midday sun suddenly became fierce, penetrating the dense canopy of the trees in the grove. Through the gaps between the leaves, sunlight streamed down, casting onto Jiang Huai and Liu Chen's faces.
Liu Chen: Fortunately, I applied sunscreen this morning.
Just as Liu Chen was contemplating how to start the conversation, he saw the young man named Jiang Huai opposite him slump to the ground as if all his strength had been drained.
"You saw."
Jiang Huai didn't ask if Liu Chen had seen anything; he stated it as a certainty.
Liu Chen pursed his lips and looked at Jiang Huai, who was not much younger than he had been in his previous life.
"You are at one of the top universities in the country. And while the grove might seem secluded, it's not far from the nearby roads. If you hadn't succeeded in one blow, he would most likely have struggled for survival.
In that case, you would definitely be charged with premeditated murder, and the person you wanted to kill would be sympathized with by the public as a victim."
Liu Chen's words seemed to be the last straw that broke Jiang Huai's resolve. As he loosened his grip, the dagger hidden in his sleeve fell to the ground. Jiang Huai ignored the fallen dagger, covered his face with both hands.
Gradually, the silent crying turned into soft sobs, followed by hiccups from crying so intensely.
Perhaps it was because of Jiang Huai's crying, but several students who had finished their lunch and were preparing to return to their dormitories curiously peered into the outer edges of the grove upon hearing the sounds.
Upon seeing Liu Chen and the boy sitting in front of him, crying uncontrollably with his face buried in his hands, the curious students shook their heads and retreated from the grove.
Three male students, walking while discussing what they had just seen, passed by with their backpacks on.
"Probably another student rejected by Liu Chen, tsk. No wonder I was wondering before, with Liu Chen being so pretty, why no one asked her out. Turns out they were all confessing in secret?"
"Wow, look at that guy crying so hard. Liu Chen must have rejected his confession very sternly."
"Well, Liu Chen already has a boyfriend, and he's the ace of our computer science department. If someone were to confess, she'd have to reject them sternly!"
"Sigh... Speaking of which, I also want to confess to Liu Chen. Not to steal Senior Yu Ren's thunder, but purely so that when I'm old, I can tell my kids that their dad confessed to the campus beauty back in the day."
"Hmph... I want to too!"
"Who doesn't? But I really don't want to cry like an idiot in front of Liu Chen..."
This last sentence silenced the three walking companions.
At this moment, Jiang Huai finally regained his composure, clenched his fists slightly, wiped the tears from his face, then stood up, picked up the dagger from the ground, and put it back into his sleeve, preparing to leave.
"Please wait a moment."
Liu Chen couldn't help but call out to the student who seemed utterly disheartened.
"Actually... if there were a way, would you prefer Jiang Demin to let you graduate, or would you want Jiang Demin to resign?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Huai stopped in his tracks, turned around, and began to silently observe the student in front of him, whose attire suggested a very well-off background.
Glancing at the brand logo on Liu Chen's arm, Jiang Huai didn't recognize it, but he wasn't foolish. Jiang Demin's attitude had changed so noticeably after seeing the clothes the female student was wearing, clearly indicating it was an expensive brand.
In the year 2010, before the advent of platforms like X某书, most people weren't aware of the vast number of luxury brands through influencer marketing.
"I, I've made up my mind. Even if it's only one semester left, I'm not pursuing a doctorate anymore. If you have any way to get that guy surnamed Jiang laid off and stop harming the younger students, I'm willing to cooperate."
After saying this, Jiang Huai seemed to have lost his most important vitality. He had given up on his doctoral studies, which he had been pursuing.
He remembered how spirited he had been when he transferred from a 211 university's master's program to a doctoral program at Shuimu University. At that time, he felt he was on the highway to success!
But soon, he realized that choosing to pursue his doctorate under Jiang Demin had marked the beginning of his bleak future.
Normally, universities provide stipends for doctoral students, totaling 15,000 yuan a year, just enough to cover tuition. He figured he could manage by working part-time during vacations. So, despite being in Beijing, he thought he could make do if he was frugal.
However, ever since he started his doctorate under Jiang Demin, Jiang Huai had never received any money. Not only was there no salary for projects within the university, but he didn't even receive a penny for doing some outside work for Jiang Demin.
But Jiang Huai endured. He desperately wanted to complete his doctorate, land a high-paying job, and ensure his grandparents could live comfortably in their old age.
Yet, after enduring these hardships, constantly squeezing in part-time jobs to scrape together tuition and living expenses on steamed buns for three and a half years.
Jiang Demin actually told him that before graduation, he needed to present a gift worth over 10,000 yuan as a token of appreciation, and only then would he be allowed to graduate.
Ten thousand yuan. He had worked two jobs every day during the winter break just to save up enough for living expenses this semester. Two days ago, he had called his grandfather, and his grandfather had coughed throughout the conversation.
But he didn't dare to ask his grandfather if he was sick or if he should go to the town clinic.
Because Jiang Huai knew what was the point of saying any of that?
Could he send money to his grandfather, or could he immediately travel back home to take his grandfather to see a doctor?
He couldn't do anything.
"With only one semester left, you still need to finish your doctorate. If you're short on money, I can lend it to you first, and you can repay me after you find a job."
After all, he had been studying for three years at Shuimu University. As long as he wanted a job, there were countless companies willing to hire him.
Hearing Liu Chen's words, Jiang Huai was momentarily stunned. This was the first person who had willingly offered to lend him money since he began his academic journey.
"If you need me to do something, as long as it can get Jiang Demin removed as a doctoral supervisor, I'll do it even without money. My name is Jiang Huai, and this is my phone number."
Jiang Huai assumed Liu Chen was worried about his timidity and reluctance to get involved, so he reiterated that he would actively participate in anything that could bring down Jiang Demin.
Liu Chen looked at the honest Jiang Huai, who repeatedly emphasized that he didn't want money, and sighed.
"Student Jiang Huai, no, I'm serious. My name is Liu Chen, and I'm a freshman who enrolled last year. I have a roommate who is your junior, Qin Cancan. Do you remember her?"
Upon hearing Qin Cancan's name, Jiang Huai's face broke into a slightly shy smile.
"I remember. Student Qin Cancan is also very diligent. However, student Qin Cancan's family is local, so her advisor also grabs her to do private work during holidays and breaks."
Qin Cancan is local?
Liu Chen recalled their conversations and her accent. Hmm... her Mandarin was exceptionally standard.
"So, I want you to record some evidence of your advisor, such as misappropriating student subsidies, irregular operations in experimental projects, or making you do private work for him..."
After saying a mouthful, Liu Chen handed Jiang Huai a voice recorder and a hidden camera. Finally, Liu Chen pulled out over ten thousand yuan and gave it to Jiang Huai.
Seeing the money, Jiang Huai immediately took two steps back, creating distance between himself and Liu Chen, and waved his hands repeatedly. "I, I can't take your money, Junior Liu Chen. You, aren't you afraid I'll run off with this stuff?"
Seeing Senior Jiang Huai's anxious demeanor, Liu Chen couldn't help but reassure him, "Senior Jiang Huai, you need to have confidence in your qualifications! Even if you give up on your doctorate, a computer science talent with a master's degree can easily earn a hundred or two hundred thousand a year in Alibaba or Tencent after five or six years.
Besides, this money is for you to give to Jiang Demin. Just say you borrowed it from a relative to lower Jiang Demin's guard, so we can get closer to him and record his evidence.
Use the rest of the money to buy two winter outfits. After you graduate, I plan to recruit you into my company. You need to take care of your health and work hard then."
Hearing that it was related to the plan, Jiang Huai finally accepted the money Liu Chen handed him.
He accepted it, but Jiang Huai felt as if he were dreaming.
At this moment, Liu Chen finally heard the system's mission completion sound.
'Mission to save Jiang Huai completed. Received one hidden lottery ticket, sent to system backpack.'
"You said you want to recruit me into your company? But... I seem to have heard that your company is, is in the food business?"
Liu Chen, who had just received the hidden lottery ticket, replied with a cheerful mood, "What, who says we can't adopt a technologically managed approach in our food factory? Alright, alright, I'm going back to eat. When you feel like you've collected enough, or if you encounter any difficulties, just send me a QQ message."
Jiang Huai nodded vigorously. "Okay, I'll definitely work hard!"
Liu Chen looked at Jiang Huai, who seemed eager to find Jiang Demin immediately, and cast three good luck charms on him.
"Then, Senior Jiang Huai, I'll leave it to you. Keep it up!"
"Keep it up!"
Liu Chen and Jiang Huai parted ways and left the grove. Liu Chen returned to his dorm room to eat his boxed meal. Fortunately, the system's boxed meals had a warming function; otherwise, the food would have been cold by now.
In the following days, Liu Chen began attending classes for the second-year students in the Food Science department. This led to a surprising observation in the first-year classes: Liu Chen, a model student who always sat in the front row, participated actively in class.
He was actually skipping class!
And not just a few classes, but all of them!
Xiong Wan, sitting in the middle-to-back rows of the classroom and waiting for the teacher to arrive, asked her boyfriend, Jiang Gao, who was sitting next to her.
"For someone like Liu Chen to skip all his classes, won't the school penalize him?"
Jiang Gao shook his head.
"Apparently not. Our Shuimu University advocates for open freedom and exploration. As long as you pass the final exams and can convince each professor, there won't be any penalties."
Xiong Wan heard this and felt a little regretful. In her opinion, if the school could issue a public reprimand or even expel him for skipping class, that would be truly good news for the new year.
However, thinking about her own likely failure in the upcoming final exams, Xiong Wan felt that a more lenient approach was good, as it at least provided her with room to maneuver.
With this thought, Xiong Wan couldn't help but start inquiring about her boyfriend's father.
"Honey, is your dad still busy lately?"
Upon hearing Xiong Wan ask about his father, Jiang Gao puffed out his chest with pride.
"I heard he's trying to secure a big data course related to the Zhonghua database. He's been very busy lately, and I rarely see him at home. If he gets this project, it'll probably keep him busy for years."
Xiong Wan nodded upon hearing this.
"That's quite important. Is it going smoothly?"
Jiang Gao hesitated for a second. In reality, he wasn't entirely sure if it was going smoothly. However, seeing his girlfriend Xiong Wan's admiring gaze, he boasted,
"With my dad taking charge, how could it not be smooth? Don't worry!"