nycdaug Chapter 173 A Man's Eightfold Change
Chapter 173 A Man's Eightfold Change
Professor Xu was slightly taken aback, and turned his head to look at his apprentice beside him with a hint of surprise.
His apprentice was very outstanding in appearance. The first time he met him was in a classroom. He was sitting among a group of math and science students, and he stood out like a crane among chickens.
At that moment, Professor Xu had some doubts in his mind, wondering if the child had gone to the wrong classroom. Was this really a science student? Or was it from the art college next door?
But after spending so much time with him, Professor Xu had to admit from the bottom of his heart that his student possessed an extraordinary level of composure and stability.
You know, which boy at this age doesn't yearn for freedom? Especially once they enter university and break free from family control, they're like wild horses that can't be pulled back by nine oxen.
But his newly accepted apprentice was different.
In ordinary times, whether facing the unpredictable nature of experimental data or the obstacles of academic problems, this child always maintains a calm and composed demeanor.
Take this closed-door research project as an example. The base conditions were harsh and almost completely isolated from the outside world, but the new apprentice never complained and was willing to work alongside him, a man over fifty years old.
Professor Xu couldn't help but sigh to himself, if he could turn back time and return to his youth, he certainly wouldn't have had such composure in the face of a tedious and restrictive scientific research life.
I'm already quite old. The loves, hates, and romances of my youth have long since faded away. Now it's time to pursue my ideals and my country's sentiments. Being confined to the laboratory every day is actually quite enjoyable.
But his apprentice is different. He is in the best years of his life, yet he is confined to the small space of a laboratory, spending his days surrounded by dense data. His internet access and personal freedom are restricted. What is the difference between this kind of life and being in prison for a young person?
This is precisely why their research base is facing a shortage of personnel.
Recruiting from the general public has not been very effective. Professional talent is already scarce, and there are concerns about the research environment, let alone recruiting from students.
Finally, they offered generous salaries and promised numerous academic credits, which attracted some students to enroll.
However, research in the field of artificial intelligence requires extremely high logical thinking skills.
If you know it, you know it; if you don't, you don't.
Of the students who signed up, only a handful were eligible.
This apprentice of his was not only the first student to come and help, but also the best among them.
Professor Xu couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met his apprentice.
At that time, the base had not yet been handed over to him, and he was still on the school's podium, teaching the freshmen of that year.
As always, before the class officially started, I gave everyone in the class a question.
Whoever can solve this problem within the next ten minutes will no longer need to attend class, and will be given an "A" grade.
Of course, this question was created by him and is extremely difficult.
There are no ready-made solutions available online, and the questions severely test students' mathematical logical thinking abilities.
Some students spend an entire semester studying repeatedly, yet still may find it difficult to fully grasp the problem-solving strategies.
Students who can solve the problem within a day are already considered to be among the more talented ones.
Over the years he has been teaching, students have come and gone, but none of them have ever been able to solve this problem within ten minutes.
He believed this time would be no exception.
Sure enough, upon hearing that they could get an "A" directly and wouldn't have to attend classes anymore, the freshmen in the audience instantly erupted in excitement.
Those who can get into this school are all top students in their high school classes, elites who have experienced the college entrance examination. They are all full of confidence and eager to try. As soon as they get the questions, they start to bury themselves in calculations.
The classroom fell silent instantly, with only the scratching sound of pens moving across the draft paper.
But soon, some people looked troubled, scribbling and drawing all over a draft paper, scratching their heads.
Some people go to great lengths, secretly researching information or simply searching for answers online.
If you really have no ideas, you start whispering to the people around you, and the more you talk, the more confused you become.
After trying it out, the remaining people seemed to have come to terms with reality. They simply put down their pens, leaned back in their chairs, looked helpless, and muttered to themselves, "That old man is deliberately making things difficult for us! Forget it!"
Only Professor Xu stood calmly on the podium, a faint smile on his face.
This is actually one of Professor Xu's great pleasures. He enjoys seeing them unable to solve the problem, giving them a taste of their own medicine, and teaching these arrogant freshmen a lesson.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Professor Xu glanced at his watch, coughed twice, and asked knowingly, "Alright, has anyone solved it yet?"
His gaze slowly swept across the entire room, and no one spoke up immediately. The faces that were once excited were now filled with frustration.
Professor Xu was quite satisfied; it seemed they had all come to terms with reality. He reached out and clicked the mouse, opened the courseware, and prepared to begin the formal lecture: "Then let's begin the course."
Someone raised their hand and asked, "Professor, aren't you going to reveal the answer?"
Professor Xu said in a serious tone, "After you finish this semester's classes, you will naturally know how to solve it. Do you have any questions?"
Just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out from the corner of the classroom: "Professor, I've solved it."
Professor Xu was startled. He looked up at the sound and saw a particularly handsome young man raising his hand.
Has it been solved?
impossible!
Professor Xu, of course, did not believe it.
He knew this problem perfectly well; it was very difficult.
Even he, without any preparation and on his first encounter, couldn't guarantee that he could unravel it in just ten minutes.
Thinking of this, Professor Xu frowned slightly, a serious look appearing on his face, and immediately warned, "Young student, academic matters are not to be joked about."
In Professor Xu's view, the student in front of him was probably just overconfident and had not actually solved the problem.
"Teacher, I'm not joking."
A clear voice came again, sounding neither humble nor arrogant, and this full confidence piqued Professor Xu's interest.
What if?
Could a genius really emerge and successfully cross this chasm that no one has ever conquered before?
Thinking of this, Professor Xu raised his hand and waved, saying, "Alright, then come up to the blackboard and write down your solution."
The young man calmly walked up, picked up the chalk, and began writing on the blackboard.
"Hiss..." Professor Xu stood aside, gasped, and sighed inwardly, "He's got something."
The more he looked, the more surprised he became.
The derivation process is logically rigorous, clearly organized, and entirely correct.
As more and more writing appeared on the blackboard, half of it was soon filled with dense formulas and derivations, and the problem-solving process entered a crucial later stage.
Professor Xu's doubts had completely vanished, leaving only admiration.
He didn't need to look at the rest of the solution process anymore; based on that alone, this student's logical ability far surpassed that of everyone present.
Such an ingenious problem-solving approach will inevitably lead to the correct answer.
Inside the classroom, the other students had already begun to whisper and discuss among themselves, unable to contain their excitement.
Although they may not fully understand the complex problem-solving strategies on the blackboard, this does not prevent them from feeling the aura of "experts" emanating from them.
With effortless flair and a fluent, almost divinely inspired style, his writing is truly remarkable!
Perhaps there really is a genius who can break through the professor's carefully laid-out intimidation?!
If the answer is correct, the student can not only be exempted from subsequent courses, but also directly obtain an "A" grade!
Moreover, judging from the professor's ever-changing expression, this student's answer is probably correct most of the time!
This segment was originally intended by the professor to temper the arrogance of the freshmen, but unexpectedly, this student turned the tables and reversed the situation instantly.
This kind of "underdog triumphs" plot is so satisfying!
Professor Xu never expected that the plot, which had never gone wrong in his many years of teaching, would take such a turn today.
After a moment of silence, Professor Xu raised his head and looked at the young student in front of him, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
Let's return to the present.
Professor Xu was curious and muttered to himself: Even when he gave me a hard time, I'd never seen him this excited. Why is he so agitated just hearing the name "Bai Li"?
The administrative staff nodded in confirmation: "Yes, this is Bai Li, a student who just enrolled this year. You might even know this student!"
After he finished speaking, the young man in front of him began to hesitate.
Bai Li... "classmate"?
Has my sister started school yet?
Shi Shui, Professor Xu's newly accepted apprentice, had a furrowed brow at the moment.
In his memory, his older sister had never mentioned going to school, let alone going to the same school as him.
But the staff member's description of "White Pear" was so similar to that of my sister...
Could it be a case of the same name? Or just a coincidence?
Is it really such a coincidence?
Could it be?
Shi Shui felt her heart beating faster involuntarily.
He considered one possibility.
Counting the time, it's been a long time... a very long time since he's seen his sister.
I had promised my sister that I would send her a record every quarter.
After delivering the autumn records, he went into a closed base, so he hasn't had time to deliver the winter records yet.
This is also why he repeatedly applied to his supervisor for permission to travel on official business.
Shi Shui took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
If she really is my older sister, why did she suddenly enroll in school without ever mentioning it to me?
Just then, a clear sound of footsteps came from the doorway, growing louder as it approached.
And then they heard voices.
"Mr. Bai, Professor Xu and the others are still touring inside. Let me take you there..."
Shi Shui's body stiffened instantly. He subconsciously swallowed and looked towards the door.
Could it be the older sister?
As the footsteps drew closer, his heart pounded faster and faster, the thumping in his chest growing more intense. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his palms, and an indescribable premonition welled up inside him, making his breathing rapid.
Finally, upon seeing Bai Li, Shi Shui felt as if the whole world had fallen silent.
Time seemed to freeze, all sounds around him disappeared, and only the white pear remained in his eyes.
As soon as Bai Li stepped into the laboratory, she saw that it was full of people.
Among a group of unfamiliar faces, one figure stood out.
Just as the person leading the way was about to introduce Professor Xu to Bai Li, Bai Li softly asked in confusion, "Shi Shui?"
Bai Li was surprised to see Shi Shui.
She was surprised that Shi Shui was here.
She hadn't received any news from Shi Shui for a long time.
Although they were in the same university, they were not in the same college, and he had been on leave for a long time, so it was normal that they hadn't seen each other.
She had originally planned to secretly enroll in the school to give Shi Shui a "surprise," but this plan had not been realized, which left her feeling somewhat disappointed.
Bai Li was pleasantly surprised to see Shi Shui in such a setting.
Secondly, the changes in the water when surprised.
Bai Li clearly remembers that Shi Shui was so thin before that she looked emaciated. Even after she managed to help her recover a little, she was still too thin and looked pitiful.
However, the Shi Shui standing in front of her at this moment seemed like a completely different person.
Not only did she regain a healthy weight, but her posture also became upright and slender, and her height even reached 1.85 meters.
He was wearing a simple, fitted shirt, with all the buttons fastened meticulously, all the way to the top, so that not an inch of skin was exposed.
Even so, the shirt's lines still perfectly outlined his figure, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, making him look exceptionally stylish, a far cry from his previous bean sprout-like physique.
Even his face underwent a drastic change as a result.
Her once overly thin cheeks now have smooth lines, and her skin is as white as jade. At this moment, she is slightly flushed with excitement, and looks like she has a lot of good blood and energy.
They have the same facial features, but they exude a unique charm when nourished by good health.
Her eyes are slightly upturned at the corners, carrying a natural deep affection, yet tempered by a cool and aloof temperament, making her exceptionally unique.
The naivety of the past has long since faded, replaced by an aura of maturity and composure.
Looking at Shi Shui in front of her, Bai Li knew that after leaving her, he would definitely eat well and take good care of himself.
What beautiful "flowers"!
She secretly asked Xiao Hao in her heart, "Xiao Hao, tell me Shi Shui's current appearance score."
Xiao Hao immediately jumped out and answered, "His looks are upgraded to 90 points!"
Although Bai Li knew that Shi Shui's appearance score was likely to rise, she did not expect it to break through 90 points directly. You know, his appearance score had previously dropped below 80 points.
It's true what they say, boys change a lot as they grow up...
Shi Shui excitedly walked over. Although she was overjoyed, she still stopped reservedly a meter away from Bai Li. Her eyes seemed to speak volumes as she looked at Bai Li, her lips trembling slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the words. After a long while, with endless longing and tenderness, she softly called out, "Sister..."