After lunch.

  Qin Yaozhi and Meng Jinyang had classes in the afternoon.

  Like before, Gu Mang only had one class to attend. When the class ended at 4 PM, she went straight to the lab. There, she saw everyone gathering around Senior Feng. It seemed like something good had happened.

  One of the seniors excitedly told her, “Gu Mang, Senior Feng’s solo thesis has been published in a top journal! It’s a high impact journal and so it’s really difficult to get published there!”


  “Oh,” responded Gu Mang before placing her bag down on her seat and removing her cap.

  The senior explained earnestly, “Let me tell you how difficult it is. Its minimum requirement is a PhD degree, so publishing a thesis is an onerous task for postgraduate students!”


  As Gu Mang unscrewed the bottle of water she had brought with her, she turned around, leaned against the table carelessly, and looked at him.

  “One could brag for the rest of their life if they managed to publish a thesis in that journal!” added another person.

  The senior continued, “Generally speaking, the seniors who are preparing to publish their theses in top journals have to save up all of their scholarship money. Do you know why?”


  Gu Mang raised her delicate eyebrows.

  “It’s not for paying the publication fee, but for a hair transplant instead!”


  She said nothing to that.

  “It’s wiser to shave your head bald!” joked another senior. “So you can pretend that you didn’t lose all your hair from pulling all-nighters writing your thesis.”


  “That’s true. Let me tell you a secret. The students from the computer science department have made a pact to save up 200,000 yuan as an emergency fund for hair transplants!”


  “I’m really scared that I might become bald at a young age……”


  Gu Mang looked at Senior Feng. “Congrats, Senior Feng.”


  It was indeed quite hard to have a thesis published in that journal.

  Senior Feng then said with a smile, “I’ll buy you guys dinner at World Restaurant tonight.”


  The others went wide-eyed. “Wow. Did you just say World Restaurant?!”


  As World Restaurant was an expensive restaurant, they only went there on special occasions when they could have their bill reimbursed to them by the school.

  Senior Feng nodded. “You can order whatever you want.”


  Things became really lively in the lab as the rest of the seniors cheered.

  After emptying half a bottle of water, Gu Mang went to refill it at the water fountain before returning to her seat. With a leg across her knee, she began writing the code for an AI capable of performing medical analysis……

  It was past seven in the evening when they packed up their things, locked up the lab, and left the building. While everyone was chatting away as they made their way to the restaurant, Gu Mang sent a message to Lu Chengzhou. [I haven’t eaten yet.]

  Lu Chengzhou had just returned to his office. After unbuttoning his white coat, he went to get himself a cup of water. He then replied, [Still busy with your experiment? I’ll get Lu Qi to deliver dinner to you.”


  Gu Mang was still typing when she received another message from him. [From now on, your dinner will be delivered to you at this time every day.]

  Her eyes formed crescents as she typed, [A senior’s thesis was selected to be published in a top journal, so he’s treating us.]

  Five seconds later, Lu Chengzhou replied, [Senior Feng?]

  She said nothing to that.

  He soon sent another message, reading, [I’m just asking.]

  Senior Feng suddenly slowed down right then. He waited for Gu Mang to reach his side before asking, “Where are you staying now, Gu Mang?”


  She looked up and politely answered, “At my boyfriend’s place.”


  The reply surprised him somewhat, his smile becoming stiff. “You have a boyfriend already?”


  “Yeah.” She then looked down and continued to message Lu Chengzhou. [There’s a rather famous vinegar factory in Changning County. Do you want to consider developing a new industrial chain?]

  As soon as she sent her message over, she received a call from him. She slowed down, the distance between her and the seniors widening. She took out her wireless earphones from her pocket before answering the call.

  “New industrial chain?” said Lu Chengzhou slowly and thoughtfully. “But I lack a female business partner. I wonder if she’s willing to join me.”


  Chuckling to herself, Gu Mang said, “That depends on how much you’re willing to pay her.”


  When Senior Feng turned back to look at Gu Mang, he was slightly stunned to see her chuckling. He had almost never seen her laughing that way since she was pretty aloof to everyone.

  Lu Chengzhou’s voice was gentle and nice. “You can have my entire fortune, along with a freebie: me.”


  Gu Mang had a hand in her pocket while she held onto her phone in her other hand. As she slowly walked forward, the cool autumn breeze caressed her cheeks. “I’ll consider it.”


  “Alright.” Lu Chengzhou laughed before giving her a reminder when he remembered her that she was going to party with some seniors. “Don’t drink.”


  She lazily replied, “Okay.”


  “That’s my good girl.” He was unstinting in his praise.

  She said nothing to that……

  At World Restaurant in a private room.

  Everyone ordered their favorite dishes as they waited for Professor Tang to arrive. It was rare that they could relax, so a few seniors wanted to form groups to play games. Gu Mang was the youngest among them, so they called her to join them as well.

  “Gu Mang, we’re pretty skilled at playing games, so we’ll be able to carry you later.”


  “Have you played this game before?”


  “If you haven’t, I can lend you one of my accounts so that we can play ranked matches together.”


  Gu Mang lazily leaned back in her seat as she lifted an eyebrow indifferently. “What are your ranks?”


  “We’re all Kings, but I have an account with a Crown. You can use that account.”


  She replied, “No need. I have an account.”


  “What’s your rank?”


  Her answer was short and sweet. “I can play ranked matches.”


  “Sure. Then let’s log into the game.”


  When everyone logged into the game to form teams, they were surprised to see that Gu Mang had a crown and they could not help but wonder if she had someone carry her so she could have such a high rank.

  As they started a match, someone said to Gu Mang, “Later, just hide yourself well and pick up the equipment. Leave the dangerous tasks to us. Once it’s safe, we’ll call you to come out.”


  Ranked matches were not easy to play as their opponents were all experts. Even the seniors themselves were not sure they would win.