The middle-aged man who had been attending to Academician Hu immediately stepped forward, supporting her with concern. "What's wrong?! Here, breathe—"
Academician Hu pushed him away with surprising strength for her age, her hands trembling as she gently picked up the two sheets of paper. Fearing she might damage them, she carefully placed them back into the packaging box beside her.
In truth, the papers had already been treated with a thin protective film to prevent deterioration and staining—a treatment only noticeable to professionals. Yet Academician Hu handled them with utmost care.
"This is..." Professor Li looked at the table, his eyes flashing with disbelief as he tentatively asked.
Academician Hu's voice shook: "Leibniz's manuscript..."
Professor Tan's pupils contracted as he instinctively turned to look at Xue Jiao.
Only now did he realize how extraordinary his student was!
While others might not know, those of Academician Hu's students understood how deeply she revered Leibniz. Having dedicated her life to calculus research, she had often praised Leibniz's contributions. This gift wasn't just thoughtful—it fulfilled her lifelong wish!
"What?!" Professor Li instinctively reached to examine the papers, but Academician Hu slapped his hand away.
Professor Tan asked Xue Jiao: "Authentic?"
Xue Jiao nodded. Lin Zhihua wouldn't deceive her with fakes.
Academician Hu didn't let them examine it further, carefully storing the manuscript in its box before smiling at Xue Jiao. "Student Gu Xue Jiao, receiving such a magnificent gift from you is truly..."
Xue Jiao smiled gently. "Professor, to me this is merely the manuscript of a great mathematician—reading it would be no different from reading a printed copy. Only those who understand and cherish it are worthy of preserving it."
After a moment's thought, Academician Hu beckoned. The middle-aged man approached, and she whispered, "Bring me my notebooks."
The man's eyes widened in shock.
"Go," she insisted.
"Yes..." With a complicated expression, he retrieved a box from beneath the bookshelf and placed it beside Academician Hu.
She caressed the box tenderly before addressing Xue Jiao. "Student Gu Xue Jiao, these contain all my research notes over the years—both successful projects and unrealized ideas. Some concepts I never had time to develop are recorded here. Take them. They're yours now."
Xue Jiao froze, mirroring Professor Tan's stunned expression. These represented Academician Hu's life's work! Giving them to Xue Jiao meant entrusting her with a lifetime of knowledge and ideas...
"Academician..." Xue Jiao wanted to refuse—these were treasures the academician should keep.
Academician Hu interrupted: "I know what you'll say. What you gave me was what I desired, and what I'm giving you is what you need. I have no use for these anymore, and my old colleagues have already seen them all. Take them, and when you no longer need them, pass them on or donate them."
"But this is too precious..."
"Knowledge is precious only when used," Academician Hu smiled. "Once given, I won't take them back."
As Xue Jiao hesitated, Professor Tan nodded approvingly. Finally she accepted: "Very well. Thank you.""I should thank you too," Academician Hu said with a smile. "You can leave now if there's nothing else. I won't keep you for dinner—I want to spend time with my treasure."
Her hands trembled slightly as she touched the box, her face beaming with joy.
Professor Tan and the others had no choice but to take their leave. As they stepped out the door, Professor Li glanced at Xue Jiao, then turned to Professor Tan: "You old coot, you somehow managed to land a decent student."
Professor Li then looked at Xue Jiao. "Work hard and stay grounded. Don’t pick up any bad habits from your teacher."
With that, he strode off.
Xue Jiao blinked in confusion, while Professor Tan shook his head. "He was praising you. But no matter how jealous he gets, you're my student, not his. Haha."
Xue Jiao: "..."
Thankfully, Professor Li didn’t hear that—otherwise, who knows how furious he’d be.
Professor Tan glanced at the box in her arms and couldn’t help but say, "Professor Hu is really fond of you. But Xue Jiao, how could you not show me such a treasure first? Now that it’s in Academician Hu’s hands, I’ll probably never get to see it again."
He looked genuinely disappointed. Xue Jiao studied his expression and thought to herself: If I’d shown it to you first, it might never have made it to Academician Hu...
She stayed silent, merely blinking at him.
"Fine. How about coming to my place for dinner? My wife can cook a few dishes for you, and you can make copies of those notes for me while you're there."
Copies?
Just as Xue Jiao was about to question this, Professor Tan added, "Our teacher back then was so strict—he only let us hand-copy notes, never allowed photocopies. Why waste time copying when we have modern technology?"
Xue Jiao: "..."
So the dinner invitation was just an excuse—he really just wanted the notes copied!
"No need, I’ll call a cab later. I won’t trouble you for dinner," Xue Jiao said with a smile.
Professor Tan: "...So you won’t even copy them for me?!"
"These technically belong to Academician Hu now. If your teacher insisted on hand-copying, how could I dare to casually photocopy them for you?" Xue Jiao blinked, feigning innocence.
Professor Tan glared at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Fine, I’ve mostly copied them already anyway. Come on, let’s go—dinner is the real reason. My wife misses you."
After a moment’s thought, Xue Jiao nodded. "Then I’ll call a cab, Professor?"
"Go ahead."
And so, Xue Jiao ended up having dinner at Professor Tan’s home. Over the meal, he drank a little and even called Academician Hu to "complain" about Xue Jiao refusing to photocopy the notes for him.
Naturally, Academician Hu scolded him harshly and instead praised Xue Jiao profusely over the phone, even inviting her to visit more often.
Xue Jiao agreed.
——
Not long after meeting Academician Hu, Professor Tan took her to visit Academician Xi.
Thanks to Academician Hu’s recommendation, Academician Xi agreed to let Xue Jiao work as his assistant for a year.
Of course, he had two other assistants, and Xue Jiao still attended her regular classes.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences wasn’t too far from campus, so Chen Yan arranged for someone to drive her daily, making it easy to commute between school and the research institute.
Working under Academician Xi taught her a great deal, but sometimes she had to study on her own, absorbing and puzzling over material before she even learned it formally.
By the time she sat in class, she realized the lessons covered things she had already mastered—and even applied—under Academician Xi’s guidance.
University lectures, designed for students of varying levels, didn’t delve much deeper than the basics.Xue Jiao informed Professor Tan about these circumstances. Being open-minded, he accompanied her to discuss with various subject teachers, agreeing that she could skip regular classes as long as she took the exams.
However, he made her promise not to slack off. If her final exam grades dropped, she wouldn’t be allowed this arrangement in her junior year.
Thus, for the second semester of her sophomore year and the entirety of her junior year, Xue Jiao planned to shuttle between home, school, and the research institute.
One day, Lin Zhihua came to the institute to pick Xue Jiao up.
"Secretary Chen!" Xue Jiao exclaimed excitedly as soon as she got into the car, clutching her notebook.
"Hmm? What is it?" Chen Yan turned to her in confusion from the front passenger seat, while Xue Jiao and Lin Zhihua sat in the back.
Xue Jiao bit the cap off her pen with her teeth, prompting Lin Zhihua to shake his head helplessly and take the cap from her.
She opened her notebook and asked earnestly, "Secretary Chen, how do I assist my teacher effectively?"
"Ah?" Chen Yan was baffled and instinctively glanced at Lin Zhihua.
Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow, turning on the overhead light for Xue Jiao as he chuckled. "Are you trying to learn how to be a good assistant to Academician Xi?"
Xue Jiao nodded vigorously. "Sometimes, when I follow my teacher, I don’t know what to do. I just trail behind him the whole time. He’s always so busy, and I feel guilty for not being able to help at all."
Lin Zhihua reached out and held her hand, nodding. "Even though you’re there primarily to learn, Academician Xi is effectively your mentor now. If you want him to willingly teach you, you need to earn his satisfaction. Chen Yan, go ahead and give her some guidance."
"Understood," Chen Yan replied, then began sharing his work experience.
As a senior secretary, Chen Yan naturally had a well-honed approach to his duties. With Lin Zhihua—his boss—also present to occasionally add his own insights, Xue Jiao quickly gained clarity.
From the next day onward, her attitude at the research institute shifted.
While learning from her teacher, she began assisting him with tasks within her capabilities, paying close attention to details.
When she first arrived at the institute, everyone saw how young she was. While no one bullied her, they also didn’t assign her any responsibilities.
During research sessions, the team usually worked in silence, and Xue Jiao hesitated to interrupt, relying solely on observation to learn.
But once she positioned herself as a "competent assistant," Academician Xi found her increasingly useful and became more willing to mentor her.
Occasionally, he even delegated tasks to her, using those opportunities to teach her things she couldn’t learn in school.
After half a year at the institute, Xue Jiao had adapted seamlessly and even found time to take the IELTS and TOEFL exams.
Her entire junior year was perhaps the most low-key period since she’d enrolled. Gone were the days of the "Gu Prodigy" legends—she was scarcely seen on campus, let alone participating in any projects.
Rumors even circulated that she had gone abroad, given how rarely she appeared at school and her absence from academic activities.
Tsinghua was a breeding ground for talent, and after over a year of Xue Jiao’s absence, many had forgotten about her.
This was especially true for the incoming freshmen, who had just emerged from the rigors of high school and were unaware of the standout figures from previous years. As a result, many didn’t recognize Gu Xue Jiao, who had once caused quite a stir.
At the start of her senior year, as another wave of excited freshmen entered the campus, Xue Jiao officially returned to school to begin her graduation thesis project—her stepping stone to graduate studies.
"You’re finally back!" Professor Tan greeted her, looking a bit older than he had a year ago.Xue Jiao boiled water to make tea for him, her long ponytail swaying behind her back. "Professor, since your health hasn't been great lately, maybe you should put the project on hold for a while."
"Put it on hold? Are you going to do it for me? You've been so immersed in the research institute that you've forgotten all about returning!" Professor Tan huffed with exaggerated annoyance.
During the second semester of her sophomore year, Xue Jiao had been quite diligent, attending many of her major courses regularly.
But since junior year began, she'd grown increasingly busy—so much so that she stopped attending major courses altogether!
Fortunately, she still aced her finals, ranking first in her major, so Professor Tan hadn't scolded her for it.
Xue Jiao smiled, her eyes clear and bright. "Then I'll help you out at the start of the semester before diving back into my project."
"Forget it. Your workload is probably heavy enough. Academician Xi mentioned that your graduation project is a massive undertaking. You should focus on your own work."
Professor Tan added, "Seems like you've really excelled over the past year or so. Academician Xi won't even let you leave now—he even said he wants you as his student in the future!"
His tone turned noticeably sour at the last remark, and he shot Xue Jiao a pointed look, waiting for her response.
Xue Jiao shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry, Professor. No matter what, I'll always be your student..."
Professor Tan took a sip of the tea she had prepared and raised an eyebrow in satisfaction. "By the way, are you planning to study abroad for your master's or your Ph.D.?"
"Master's." Xue Jiao's gaze faltered slightly.
Come to think of it, she hadn't yet mustered the courage to tell Lin Zhihua that she'd be studying abroad for two years...
That guy had been complaining nonstop about how little time she'd spent with him this past year. She wasn't sure how he'd react to this news—would he be angry?
Xue Jiao felt a twinge of worry.
But the reality was that studying abroad was an inevitable step for anyone pursuing a research career in academia—it was practically a rite of passage.
Professor Tan clearly supported the idea and asked, "Have you decided on a school? With your abilities, getting into any top university shouldn't be a problem."
"Yes, I've decided."
"Which one?"
"MIT."
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