Zhao Yi saw Xu Chao waiting for him as soon as he got off the car at the entrance of Yanhua University.

There was a young woman with Xu Chao, her long hair draped over her shoulders, dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt. She seemed quiet and refined, but her expression was unusually flustered, as if she was too nervous or shy to meet his gaze.

"Let me introduce you, this is Qian..."

Xu Chao had barely started speaking when the woman interrupted, "It’s Teacher Qian!" He was left in a state of confusion, awkwardly offering Zhao Yi a sheepish smile.

Zhao Yi, feeling puzzled, stroked his face, thinking, ’Have I recently become handsome? Even the female teacher I just met can’t bring herself to look at me?’

"Just call me Teacher Qian."

"The name is not important! I’m here to take you." She said, turning and heading straight into the university gate.

In confusion, Zhao Yi followed after her.

On the way, Xu Chao offered some explanation in a hushed voice, "Don’t take it to heart, women are sometimes inexplicable. Teacher Qian Hong is not usually like this, she is generally gentle..."

"What did you call her?"

"Qian Hong?"

Zhao Yi’s mouth fell open as he gazed at the woman’s retreating figure, suddenly envisioning himself calling her ’Dad’."

That’s right!

She even said she would help me understand the importance of love!

Zhao Yi laughed.

Qian Hong clearly heard Xu Chao’s words, turned her head and shot him a fierce look, but still shied away from meeting Zhao Yi’s eyes.

She had been ’roped in’.

Usually the weekends were her rest days, but due to Zhao Yi’s explosive lecture, many teachers were busy at the university. Claiming not to feel well, she stayed in the teachers’ apartment and didn’t go out.

The teachers’ apartment was located within the university grounds.

Luo Zhijin had asked for her assistance in meeting Zhao Yi, and she had no choice but to agree. She wasn’t bedridden, after all. It was certainly doable to go meet someone at the gate and walk a few steps with them.

So, reluctantly, Qian Hong came.

She had initially instructed Xu Chao not to reveal her name, preferably not even her surname, but Xu Chao ended up spilling the beans anyway.

Zhao Yi hurried to catch up with her and called out from behind, "For the greater good ..."

"It’s Teacher Qian!"

Qian Hong halted abruptly and corrected him emphatically.

"Okay, okay, Teacher Qian, I want to ask ... where are we going?"

With her face flushing, Qian Hong realized that she had misinterpreted before she answered calmly, "We’re going to see Professor He." She conscientiously introduced He Mingcheng to Zhao Yi.

He Mingcheng had worked at Yanhua University for more than thirty years. His personal achievements aside, his significant contribution to the educational development of Yanhua University spoke for itself. He was over seventy years old now, still serving as the Dean of the School of Information, and respected by everyone for his continued dedication to frontline education.

The two of them chatted as they walked.

Zhao Yi found the intonation of Qian Hong’s speech quite pleasant. The only oddity was her constant insistence on being referred to as ’Teacher Qian’.

"Call me Teacher Qian!"

"The online nickname is quite casual, just call me Teacher Qian!"

"Teacher Qian ... "

Emphasizing it once would have been fine, but doing so repeatedly felt somewhat ’intentional’.

Zhao Yi felt like Qian Hong was ’taking advantage’.

Thankfully, Yanhua University wasn’t that big. After a short walk, they arrived at the faculty building. There were only four blocks, all six-story old buildings. They didn’t take up much space and were located right next to the basketball courts, cafeteria, and library. The entire setup looked like it was built within the university.

Zhao Yi followed Qian Hong to the building where they met Professor Luo Zhijin.

In his forties, just over five feet tall and somewhat skinny, Luo Zhijin looked quite youthful. He came over and shook Zhao Yi’s hand, "I’ll take you up."

Then he turned to Qian Hong, visibly confused, "Qian Hong, it doesn’t look like you’re unwell at all. It’s just... laziness..."

With an awkward smile, Qian Hong responded, "I am feeling a bit off today."

"You wait here for a while. Take Zhao Yi around the school later," ordered Luo Zhijin, then leading Zhao Yi upstairs.

As Zhao Yi looked back, he mouthed three words at Qian Hong, "Give! The! Power!"

Annoyed, Qian Hong raised her small fist.

It was then that Xu Chao noticed something. He walked up and asked, "Do you know Zhao Yi?"

"No."

Qian Hong quickly shook her head in denial.

"Oh."

Xu Chao seemed satisfied with the answer, "So, it’s love at first sight. But Teacher Qian, Zhao Yi is just eighteen years old, still a high school senior ..."

"Spare time! Is that so!"

If it weren’t for her desire to maintain her image as a gentle female teacher, Qian Hong would have kicked him then and there.

Laughing, Xu Chao scampered away.

...

Professor He Mingcheng lived on the first floor.

When Zhao Yi followed Luo Zhijin inside, he saw a small, white-haired old man. Despite his age, he still looked quite spirited, practising calligraphy with a brush in his hand.

They waited at the side, not disturbing him.

After about three minutes, the old man looked up and said apologetically, "Sorry to have kept you waiting. When I start practising calligraphy, I always want to finish it all at once."

The old man was Professor He.

Showing off the finished calligraphy to Luo Zhijin and Zhao Yi, Professor He received immediate praise from Luo Zhijin, "Beautiful! This is very well done! It’s truly magnificent!"

Zhao Yi simply nodded.

He agreed that the calligraphy was nice but didn’t understand anything more than that.

Professor He narrowed his eyes at Luo Zhijin in dissatisfaction, "You know nothing about it and keep talking nonsense. We as educators and researchers can’t imitate those societal norms."

"Yes, yes."

Luo Zhijin, likely accustomed to such ’educational’ lectures, knew how to respond appropriately.

Only then did Professor He turn to Zhao Yi, "So, you’re Zhao Yi? A promising young man! I’ve read your paper. It is truly riveting. There are several points that I had never even considered."

He made a few comments, then went to make tea.

Luo Zhijin hastily went to help.

After serving the two of them and sitting down, Professor He’s question was a bit odd. He didn’t continue discussing the paper, but instead began asking about Zhao Yi’s family and schooling.

Then he asked a big question, "How do you see the development of our country in the next ten years? Speak in terms of development and technology."

This was a comprehensive question.

Zhao Yi thought for a moment before saying, "I think the next ten years will be an era of information explosion. With the rapid development of the internet, not only our country but people’s lives all over the world will change."

"For example, the rapid development of information transmission technology will make the smartphone people’s most frequently used tech product."

"For instance, online sales and e-commerce will become the mainstream way of selling goods, perhaps even surpassing offline sales."

"In terms of technology, our country needs to master core high-tech technologies, be able to independently produce high-tech products, and provide services like GPS on its own. Only if we control cutting-edge technology can we be proactive in global competition."

Zhao Yi casually said a few sentences.

He really spoke casually, without much deliberation. With memories of the next ten years in his head, in response to a freestyle question, there was simply too much to say.

If asked to envision the future, even considering just the technological aspects would take more than a day and a night.

Luo Zhijin was astonished to hear this.

Professor He nodded in amusement, "Smartphones, e-commerce, the times are developing too quickly." With a somewhat wistful smile, he said, "I’ve gotten old and can’t keep up."

"You’re not old!"

Luo Zhijin quickly chimed in.

Professor He stood up and asked, "Zhao Yi, would you be interested in being my student?"

Before Zhao Yi could reply, He took a few steps, spoke wistfully, "I’m over seventy, I won’t have energy to teach students anymore." Then he walked back slowly, seriously saying, "You’re a brilliant kind of student, even better than Zhongchen. The moment I saw him, I knew he’d accomplish something later. You, I can’t figure out."

He shook his head while staring at Zhao Yi.

"Who are you referring to when you mention Zhongchen?" Zhao Yi asked, puzzled.

"Yuan Zhongchen." Luo Zhijin answered, "He graduated a couple of years ago and seems to be working at a tech company now." While introducing him, his lip curled, as if he didn’t think much of Yuan Zhongchen or perhaps he didn’t understand why Professor He always praised Yuan Zhongchen.

Yuan Zhongchen’s teacher?

Looking at the shaky old man, Zhao Yi hesitated for a long time without speaking.

Luo Zhijin quickly threw him a look.

Noticing that Zhao Yi seemed reluctant, Professor He didn’t mind and just laughed, "I didn’t want you to become my student for no reason. Many people in our country are studying fuzzy mathematics now, but they don’t go deep into it, treating it as a minor branch of mathematics. I now realize that the greatest use of fuzzy mathematics is in simulating the human brain, that is, in artificial intelligence."

"I hope one day fuzzy mathematics can be widely used. I’ve never seen a child more talented than you in the field of computing. Surely you’re interested in sentient intelligence, right? I hope you can research this subject more deeply and truly put it into practice."

After saying this, Professor He smiled at Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi began to ponder.

He could see that Professor He truly admired him, and that he meant what he said.

But... fuzzy mathematics?

He didn’t quite understand.

Is fuzzy mathematics directly related to sentient intelligence? It seemed to make some sense.

In the end, he reluctantly nodded.

Luo Zhijin couldn’t care less about the sincerity. He immediately congratulated Professor He, with a bit of humoring in his tone, even going to prepare some tea.

Zhao Yi regretted it when he saw this.

"No need, no need!"

Professor He hurriedly stopped him, "Being a student is just a title. I’m this old, I don’t have the energy to personally teach apprentices. Being able to take in one last student is fortunate enough."

Zhao Yi instantly felt more fondly of Professor He.

He didn’t stay for long.

Professor He clearly didn’t have much energy left, appearing fatigued after a moment of excitement. He left with Luo Zhijin.

Just as Luo Zhijin exited the door, with a congratulatory tone he said, "You are now a student of the He Sect!"

"He Sect student?"

Luo Zhijin explained, "You might not know much about Professor He. He rarely takes on students, but his students are all very capable. Zhou Mingsheng, from over twenty years ago, was my classmate. Now he’s already the director of the Software Department at the Science Academy."

"All the others are also very impressive, with the exception of Yuan Zhongchen, who left directly after graduating and didn’t pursue academic research. Mostly because he’s too young, I guess!"

"A lot of people collectively refer to Professor He’s students as ’students of the He Sect’. You are the last student of the ’He Sect’!"

Luo Zhijin laughed as he said this.

Zhao Yi also found it funny, thinking about how all his ’senior brothers’ are very impressive, he felt like he had a backer.

No matter whether the mentorship was sincere or not, it didn’t seem to have any disadvantages for now.

"Oh right," Luo Zhijin continued, "the teacher downstairs, Qian Hong, she’s currently pursuing her Ph.D., apparently her mentor is Zhao Weiguo. Zhao Weiguo is Professor He’s student, so technically there is some relationship between you all. Later, let Teacher Qian take you around the school!"

"Okay."

Zhao Yi agreed and walked downstairs.

Qian Hong must’ve been standing for a long time, she was already sitting on the flower bed in the distance. Luo Zhijin called out to her, told her about Zhao Yi becoming a student, then went away to attend to his business.

Qian Hong looked at Zhao Yi with admiration.

Zhao Yi looked at Qian Hong and laughed, his face full of smiles as he called out, "Go for it..."

"Call me Teacher Qian! Zhao! Yi! My! Student!"

Qian Hong emphasized.

Zhao Yi laughed and pointed at himself, "Your mentor, Zhao Weiguo, is my senior brother, so technically you could call me uncle, right?"

"You, my uncle? Stop teasing!"

"Respect your elders and cherish teachers!"

"You kid!"

"Please call me uncle!"

"Youーyou’re pissing me off!" Seemingly on the verge of exploding with fury, Qian Hong didn’t care about her appearance as she pulled at her hair.