Lin Zhihua "schemed" his way into marriage, and Xue Jiao was quite angry about it, so she resolved not to let him touch her for a whole month!
Before meeting Conrad, Xue Jiao had even imagined scenarios where Lin Zhihua might act cute or pitiful to sway her, but she was determined to stay firm.
However, after meeting Conrad, she realized she had overthought it.
Xue Jiao followed the address to Conrad’s lab, which was in a remote location with hardly anyone around.
He was still on the upper floors, and there were several flights of stairs to climb.
She struggled her way up and stood in front of Professor Conrad’s door, taking a deep breath.
Then, with a smile on her lips, she silently rehearsed how to introduce herself and how to respond to Professor Conrad’s questions.
Knock knock— Xue Jiao rapped on the door.
Soon, the door opened, revealing Professor Conrad.
The man looked quite different from the photos she had found online from a few years ago. He was still on the shorter side, with a face that seemed stern, but now he appeared even more... disheveled.
"Professor Conrad, I am—"
"Gu Xue Jiao?"
"Yes, I—"
Conrad cut her off. "Hurry up and come in. Help me monitor this, then export the data. The formula is in your thesis—calculate it quickly!"
"I—"
"Move it!"
Xue Jiao: "..."
Her life as a graduate student... seemed far more unexpected than she had imagined.
Her plan to ignore Lin Zhihua for a month failed because she realized she might not have time for him for the next two years!
Professor Conrad told her to clean out the topmost room—that would be her assigned dormitory.
"Stay in this building when you’re free. Don’t wander off. Work hard."
Xue Jiao: "..."
She was utterly exasperated, but Conrad’s tone brooked no argument.
Xue Jiao felt that if she objected, the outcome might not be very pleasant...
She confessed the situation honestly to Lin Zhihua, her face full of guilt.
He had followed her all the way to America, only for her to end up busier than a dog. As newlyweds, they would hardly have any time together.
Lin Zhihua didn’t say anything at the time. But the next day, he brought people to help clean up the room upstairs and then... moved in as well.
Conrad was initially furious, feeling like he had invited trouble into his lab.
But after Lin Zhihua cooked a meal and had Xue Jiao bring him a bowl, Conrad stopped complaining. At mealtimes, he would promptly release Xue Jiao and silently follow her upstairs to eat.
When Lin Zhihua was busy, he would prepare meals and leave them in the fridge for Xue Jiao and Professor Conrad to heat up themselves.
As Xue Jiao tidied up the chaotic lab once again, she glanced helplessly at Professor Conrad, who was scratching his head and racking his brains beside her.
Honestly, she had never expected this little old man to be like this—caring about nothing but work and food.
To enjoy Chinese cuisine properly, the professor had even taught himself how to use chopsticks.
But it was this very same little old man whose work left Xue Jiao increasingly astonished the more she learned about it.
She knew Professor Conrad had spent over twenty years researching "Migalaxy Mathematical Astronomy," but she had never imagined he had achieved such an astounding level.
This genius had never dimmed.
Only, his brilliance had been obscured."Xue Jiao, why are you staring at me?" Conrad's mouth moved beneath his thick beard.
Xue Jiao chuckled lightly, waving the documents in her hand. "Professor, what does this formula mean? I've never seen it before."
Conrad waved his hand dismissively. "That's the Conrad Formula 1."
Xue Jiao: "..."
After a pause, she asked, "When did you come up with the name?"
Conrad: "Just now."
Xue Jiao: "......"
Come to think of it, Migalxi's "Constellation Mathematics" had been named by Conrad as—
The Conrad Theory.
When Xue Jiao first heard that name, she had fallen into the same silent disbelief as now.
Conrad tossed aside what he was holding and walked over. "The original calculation and derivation methods are too cumbersome. If we want to study celestial computations, we need to simplify things."
Xue Jiao's expression was complicated. Every formula was the result of countless repeated experiments by countless people. Only this old man before her could casually define one whenever he pleased.
"Professor, why don't you publish these findings?"
His achievements were already substantial. Just a fraction of them could earn him widespread recognition in the mathematical community. He wouldn't have to conduct research under such conditions, without even an assistant.
"Too much trouble."
Xue Jiao: "..."
She wondered if those who had overlooked Professor Conrad would regret it to death after seeing the documents she now held.
However, Conrad disliked others entering his lab. These important materials made her the only person besides himself who had ever seen them.
Noticing Xue Jiao's momentary distraction, Conrad asked, "Didn't your husband say he was coming today? Why isn't he here yet?"
"...He's delayed by some matters. He'll be here in about an hour."
Conrad thought for a moment, then pulled Xue Jiao to a nearby table. "Then let me teach you how to define new formulas and principles. If you can't solve something in the future, just define and derive it yourself."
Xue Jiao: "..." Wait! What do you want me to do in the future?!
Though exasperated by Conrad, she still listened attentively, absorbing everything he taught.
Conrad held nothing back, eager for Xue Jiao to master everything in his mind as quickly as possible. He even revealed the core of the Conrad Theory to her directly.
Faced with such "trust," Xue Jiao tread carefully, redoubling her efforts. Out of every 24 hours, she spent at least 16 working on the project.
A year later, Xue Jiao discovered that the project had gradually incorporated—
Xue Jiao Principle 1, Xue Jiao Principle 2, Xue Jiao Theorem 1...
This identical naming style—now fully adopted by Xue Jiao, who had been thoroughly influenced by Conrad—seemed completely unproblematic to her.
What could possibly be wrong with it?
As Gu Xue Jiao's mentor, Conrad was exceedingly satisfied with this student-assistant-cleaner-chef-secretary hybrid!
The improved environment went without saying—the once chaotic lab was now impeccably organized, with everything neatly categorized. Whenever he asked for something, the girl would have it in his hands within ten seconds.
Most importantly, she was talented and incredibly diligent. For an entire year, this young woman had stayed in one place, working 16 hours a day without rest days, leave, or even time out...
And she never complained or lost an ounce of patience.The only downside was that her husband kept coming over. However, considering his excellent culinary skills and how he took care of all their meals... Conrad found himself actually looking forward to his visits.
Since this apprentice was so good, he, as the mentor, naturally wanted to be a good one too!
But Conrad had never taken on an apprentice before and wasn’t sure how others did it...
After some thought, he decided to increase Xue Jiao’s workload a bit more.
Hmm... Have the apprentice do more, learn more.
Wasn’t he a great mentor?
Thanks to Xue Jiao’s arrival, Conrad’s progress accelerated significantly. Neither of them treated themselves as humans—they worked like beasts!
Add to that Lin Zhihua’s occasional visits to help them recuperate, and Conrad no longer worried about his health. With that concern gone, he became even more relentless.
When the originally planned two years were up, Xue Jiao couldn’t return home because Professor Conrad was completely swamped with work.
His over-twenty-years of research was at its final stage, and Xue Jiao couldn’t bear to leave him behind.
At two years and seven months, Conrad’s twenty-five-year-long achievement was finally unveiled.
The impact of Conrad’s Theory on mathematics and physics was immense. From the moment it was published, the scientific community spent three full years analyzing it.
This wasn’t just a breakthrough in mathematics—it was also an invaluable treasure for fields like astronomy.
Some even declared it a milestone in human mathematics and a guidebook for exploring the universe.
Conrad became an overnight sensation.
With Conrad’s Theory, he won the Wolf Prize, the Abel Prize, and even the Nobel Prize in Physics.
And Gu Xue Jiao was the only student in his academic career—yes, the only one. After Conrad’s Theory was published, countless people wanted to become his students, even some professors who wished to study under him.
Conrad kicked them all out, declaring that Xue Jiao was his only student.
This ensured that Xue Jiao’s name was always mentioned alongside Conrad’s.
In fact, Conrad even wanted to bring Xue Jiao along to receive the awards, but she refused. Having only contributed for a little over two years, she didn’t feel right sharing the glory of a genius’s twenty-five years of effort.
Still, the Xue Jiao’s Law and Xue Jiao’s Theorem within Conrad’s Theory earned her several prestigious awards.
Though these awards couldn’t compare to Conrad’s, she was still young—her future was long.
Before Xue Jiao and Lin Zhihua boarded their flight, Conrad clung to them, unwilling to let go.
According to his plan, since he had accomplished everything he wanted, he was going to follow Xue Jiao and Lin Zhihua to China!
He could keep an eye on his student while enjoying delicious food—what could be better?
China was more than happy to welcome Conrad, the mathematician, but... the U.S. was dragging its feet about letting him go!
What if he left and never came back?!
While Conrad was still negotiating with the U.S., Xue Jiao and Lin Zhihua had already held hands and returned home.
After all... China had been urging Xue Jiao to come back.
The dean of their science faculty had called her multiple times, and with Lin Zhihua’s encouragement, the two shamelessly abandoned Conrad and left hand in hand.
"Jiao Jiao, sweetheart."
"Hmm?"
"Wife."
"Hmm? Say something!"
"It’s time to hold the wedding when we get back."
"..." Xue Jiao blushed. "Alright."
Lin Zhihua grinned, overjoyed.
Xue Jiao turned to look at him and smiled too.
This was probably what they called... peaceful years of contentment.
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