And clearly, she must have encountered unpleasant situations like this before, which made her feel quite angry upon seeing Xue Jiao.
Xue Jiao stared at her in utter confusion.
"Get out now!" The girl widened her eyes. "If you don't leave, I'll have to call security!"
As she spoke, she already had her phone in hand, ready to make the call.
Her aggressive actions left no room for Xue Jiao to get a word in.
"What's going on?" A slightly aged voice came from the side.
Both of them froze, then turned their heads abruptly.
"Teacher Tan, you're back..." The senior student spoke respectfully, her attitude completely different from before.
Xue Jiao also suppressed her excitement at seeing Professor Tan and said obediently, "Hello, Teacher Tan."
"I could hear Xu Jing's voice from far away. What's the matter?" Professor Tan asked, though he had already overheard most of it on his way over.
The girl, Xu Jing, stepped forward. "Teacher Tan, this girl isn't from our university, yet she came to our..."
Teacher Tan waved his hand, cutting her off.
"I invited her here. She'll be your junior from now on. She just finished her college entrance exams this year."
Xu Jing was stunned, looking at Xue Jiao in disbelief.
Just finished the college entrance exams? Normally, the admission letters wouldn't even have arrived yet, and she's already here to study under Professor Tan?!
A connection hire?
But that couldn't be—Professor Tan was upright and wouldn't just take anyone based on connections.
Xu Jing was utterly confused, staring blankly at them.
Professor Tan turned to Xue Jiao with a smile. "Gu Xue Jiao, this is your senior, Xu Jing. She's very capable, though a bit hot-tempered."
Gu Xue Jiao!!
Xu Jing's pupils contracted as she looked at her in shock.
This was that Gu Xue Jiao!
A moment later, Xu Jing lowered her head, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
Xue Jiao smiled, her tone teasing. "I can see that... Senior, please be gentle with me in the future!"
Xu Jing: "..."
Her head drooped even lower, as if she wanted to vanish on the spot.
"Xu Jing, you should be more careful in the future. At least ask for clarification first." Professor Tan's words were mild, but they made Xu Jing's face burn red, her heart pounding.
But she also felt a slight relief. Fortunately, Gu Xue Jiao had only teased her. If she had complained, Xu Jing would have left a terrible impression on Teacher Tan!
Their voices weren't too loud, but the people inside Room 305 could hear that Professor Tan seemed to be reprimanding Xu Jing. They all stopped writing and pricked up their ears.
"Yes..." Xu Jing managed to utter the word, her neck flushing red.
Professor Tan waved his hand. "Alright, Gu Xue Jiao, come with me to the office. Xu Jing, clear a desk for her. She'll be working with you for now, assisting with your project."
"Okay." Xu Jing tensed up.
Professor Tan nodded with a smile. He had his reasons—there weren't many girls in his team, and Xue Jiao was still young. It would be better for her to work with a senior.
Xu Jing might have a temper, but she wasn't a bad person—just very straightforward.
His team currently only had two undergraduates, Xu Jing and Zheng Jiakun. Occasionally, when projects got busy, he would bring in other undergraduates to help.
Zheng Jiakun was highly capable, so most of the time, Xu Jing was in charge of leading the undergraduates. She was strict and could keep the students in line...However, there are also many drawbacks, but he doesn't have a more suitable person at the moment. Yet Xu Jing is already a senior...
Professor Tan's gaze shifted to Xue Jiao beside him, shaking his head slightly in his heart.
This girl is still too young. To train her to manage others, she'd need at least until her sophomore or junior year. And... she might not even be suitable, sigh.
No one knew his thoughts as he simply said, "Let's go."
Xue Jiao smiled at Xu Jing and quickly followed Professor Tan into the office.
Xu Jing stood rooted to the spot, her scalp still tingling.
It was actually someone called over by Teacher Tan!
She had really made a fool of herself just now!
After a moment, she stiffly walked into Room 305.
The others had overheard bits of the conversation but didn't catch who had arrived.
"Senior, who was it?" asked a sophomore math major who had come to help.
Xu Jing frowned, feeling awkward about losing face in front of the juniors she was supervising.
But she maintained a serious expression and said, "A newcomer is joining Teacher Tan's office—an undergraduate."
The office was currently filled with undergraduates who had come to help, and they all looked up at once.
A "newcomer" was different from someone just helping out.
Helpers would leave after completing their assigned tasks. For example, if Teacher Tan needed a few people skilled in calculus, he'd bring them in for a few days before they left.
To return, they'd have to wait for another opportunity.
But a newcomer was different—especially since a desk was being cleared for them. This meant they could stay here permanently.
Whenever there was free time or a need, they could assist with every project.
A male student, who was a freshman about to become a sophomore, furrowed his brows.
"Who is it? What year are they in?"
"A newcomer—an incoming freshman this September." As Xu Jing finished speaking, she was met with stunned expressions.
She immediately felt better—misery loves company!
"How is that possible? The freshmen haven't even received their admission letters yet!"
"Yeah, and what would a newcomer even know? Mathematical analysis or advanced algebra?"
"How could this be?"
One of the more outspoken students lowered their voice and asked Xu Jing, "Senior... is this person connected?"
Xu Jing took a deep breath and said, "You might have heard of this person. Their story was reposted on the forum a few days ago."
"Who?"
"Gu Xue Jiao," Xu Jing slowly uttered the name.
"..."
Holy crap, the first-place winner in last year's math competition and this year's top scorer with 731 points?!
And she's already been pulled into Teacher Tan's team?!
What if she's just a bookworm who only knows how to study?!
Instantly, the entire group was thrown into existential doubt.
Xue Jiao sat across from Professor Tan. On the desk was a computer, and beside it stood a bookshelf filled with math-related books.
When she entered, there had been a large table by the door with a massive diagram—some kind of structural blueprint.
Xue Jiao had only glanced at it briefly, not daring to stare.
"Student Gu Xue Jiao, first of all, congratulations on your outstanding college entrance exam results," Professor Tan said with a smile.
Xue Jiao scratched her head sheepishly. "Thank you, teacher.""I mentioned last year that I admire you, and if possible, I'd like to continue mentoring you. Xu Jing has prepared a desk for you. Although the college entrance exams are over, I hope you won't slack off. If you fall behind and can't keep up, I won't be able to let you stay with the team during your undergraduate years. Do you understand?" Professor Tan spoke these words with great seriousness.
Xue Jiao understood his meaning—she needed to focus on her studies while also learning with the team. If she couldn't balance both, she would have to leave the team and concentrate solely on her academics.
She looked at her teacher, her voice firm and earnest: "I understand. I’ll keep up."
Professor Tan relaxed his expression and smiled again. "Then follow your senior Xu Jing for a few days, assist the team with minor tasks. Your theoretical knowledge still needs work, so you won’t be able to contribute much for now."
Xue Jiao nodded in agreement. "Alright."
Afterward, they discussed some details about her early arrival.
Finally, Professor Tan said, "Go on. I hope choosing Tsinghua will be the best decision you’ve ever made."
Xue Jiao smiled, her eyes bright with determination—
"It will be."
Her path was already moving toward her goal.
When Xue Jiao arrived at Room 305, everyone else had left except Xu Jing.
She had a strong feeling Xu Jing was waiting for her.
"You're here. Want to grab lunch together?" Xu Jing indeed asked.
Xue Jiao nodded and smiled. "Sure."
Having a meal together could be a way to reconcile.
Xu Jing nodded, tidied her desk, and then led Xue Jiao to the cafeteria.
"What about your campus card?" Xu Jing asked along the way.
"Teacher Tan said someone will take me to get a temporary one this afternoon while the offices are still open. Once I officially enroll in September, the school will issue me a permanent one," Xue Jiao explained.
Xu Jing nodded but said nothing else.
The two walked in silence for a while. As they neared the cafeteria, Xu Jing suddenly spoke up. "I’m sorry for losing my temper earlier. Someone came in earlier just to take photos, and it made Professor Zheng furious, so I…"
As an undergraduate, Xu Jing was always cautious in the team, afraid of making mistakes.
When she saw another outsider entering, her first instinct was to shoo them away—if Professor Tan had seen it, it would have been her fault!
Regardless of whether Gu Xue Jiao had talent or was just a bookworm, as long as Teacher Tan valued her, Xu Jing didn’t want to offend her.
So, she sincerely apologized and explained.
Xue Jiao shook her head. "It’s fine. I didn’t explain myself clearly either."
She gave Xu Jing an out, though in truth, Xu Jing hadn’t given her a chance to speak earlier.
Xu Jing seemed to realize this too, and the meal passed awkwardly with little conversation.
In the afternoon, Xu Jing took Xue Jiao back to Room 305, where several people had returned after lunch.
As they entered, hushed discussions were underway.
"Her bag’s already there. Seems Teacher Tan really values her…"
"No kidding. Wonder if she’s just a bookworm?"
"Remember the top scorer from our year? All she does is memorize and study—what else can she do?"
"I heard this Gu Xue Jiao is quite pretty?"
"Don’t believe random rumors. Some even say she’s ugly."
"When are they coming back?"
...
Ahem. " Xu Jing coughed at the doorway.Instantly, the room fell silent.
Xu Jing frowned and led Xue Jiao inside.
Xue Jiao was dressed simply today, but someone beautiful looks good no matter what they wear.
Her outfit was simple yet elegant, with jeans that made her legs look slender and straight.
Her face didn’t need any powder—it was already fair, and her large eyes sparkled as she smiled at them, her brows and eyes curving sweetly.
For a brief moment, the room was utterly, completely silent.
Xu Jing grew even more serious and coughed again. "This is Gu Xue Jiao. She’ll be your junior from now on."
Her words broke the silence, and immediately, the room erupted in noise.
"Welcome—" someone began, leading the applause.
Xue Jiao smiled shyly. "Thank you, everyone. Hello, seniors."
"Little junior, we’ve heard so much about you, hahahaha!"
"Yeah, how did you manage to score so high on the exams?"
"Our junior is also a little beauty, haha!"
"Little beauty? She’s a super beauty! So the rumors about her being the campus belle online were true!"
"Zhao Ping, what’s with that look? Our junior is still young—don’t stare at her like that!"
"Oho, Zhao Ping’s blushing now!"
"Hahaha—"
Thwack! Xu Jing slammed a ruler onto the table, her expression stern.
"Back to work, back to work! We have to send this data to the next office today!"
"Oh—" The others quickly nodded, not daring to joke around anymore.
Xue Jiao noticed a few people subtly curling their lips, but no one said anything as they got back to work.
Xu Jing didn’t assign her any tasks, clearly assuming she wasn’t capable of doing anything yet.
The other seniors were all busy with their own responsibilities. Though some still glanced at her occasionally, no one spoke to her again.
Xue Jiao wasn’t in a hurry to jump in either. She didn’t even know what they were working on—there was no need to rush.
For the rest of the afternoon, Xue Jiao followed Teacher Tan to get a card made, then returned to the office and stayed there.
Xu Jing occasionally asked her to fetch something, but still didn’t assign her any real work.
Xue Jiao quietly observed.
Room 305 had seven people, including Xu Jing. They were all drawing diagrams and doing calculations related to geometry and calculus.
By the afternoon, Xue Jiao realized these undergraduates were only responsible for a very basic part of a project—just helping with calculations and diagrams.
Xu Jing checked the processed results three times, confirmed they were correct, and then sent them to the graduate office in Room 307.
The door there remained closed the whole time. Professor Tan went in twice, and after that, the door didn’t open again.
When she had nothing to do, Xue Jiao took notes on her laptop, roughly jotting down what each senior was working on.
At six in the evening, Xu Jing told Xue Jiao to go home.
This was Teacher Tan’s instruction—if there was nothing urgent, Xue Jiao should leave early and not stay late at night.
The school didn’t have a bed for her, and it wasn’t safe for a girl to go home too late.
After this afternoon, Xue Jiao summed it up—
She was just there to observe...
"They were all very nice to me, but they were too busy to talk much," Xue Jiao said, flipping through the advanced math textbook she’d borrowed from Cheng Mingze.
She had her phone on speaker, placed to the side of her desk.
On the other end of the line, Lin Zhihua’s voice was soft—
"Your senior Xu Jing is quite serious. If you’re not too eager, it should be fine, but her exact personality—it’s only been a day. You can’t tell yet."Xue Jiao nodded. "Right, I don't have any negative influence on her, but I also feel that we might not be the same kind of people."
Lin Zhihua chuckled, his light laughter coming through the receiver.
"What are you laughing at?" Xue Jiao asked helplessly.
"At how adorable you are," Lin Zhihua replied, his voice carrying both amusement and seriousness. "At this stage, you don't need to worry too much about these things. As long as you don't become enemies with your senior classmates, that's enough. Just make sure not to offend everyone—teachers won't favor someone disliked by the entire team."
Xue Jiao nodded. "I understand."
"But unless you share common goals, there's no need to force friendships either. What matters most is your ability," Lin Zhihua advised earnestly.
Xue Jiao nodded again, vigorously this time, fully agreeing.
"A lot of their calculations require calculus. I'm preparing to study it now so I won't be completely useless later. Sigh, my knowledge just hasn't caught up yet."
She had joined the team early, but the required knowledge hadn't been covered in her studies yet. To keep up, she had no choice but to put in extra effort on her own.
"Right, for essential knowledge like that, it's good to study ahead," Lin Zhihua agreed.
"So, Mr. Lin, I need to hang up now and get back to studying," Xue Jiao said with a light laugh, uncapping her pen.
Lin Zhihua paused briefly, reluctant to let go of her voice.
"Ahem," he coughed lightly. "I'm free tonight. Would you like me to explain advanced mathematics to you?"
"Eh... what?!" Xue Jiao was taken aback.
A soft voice came through the phone: "I scored full marks in advanced math and analytic geometry. I have a crash course method—interested?"
Xue Jiao's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"
Lin Zhihua had always been brilliant. If he said it was a crash course, it would definitely be much faster than studying on her own!
Yet as soon as she finished speaking, the call disconnected. Xue Jiao blinked in surprise.
A moment later, Lin Zhihua's video call came through.
Xue Jiao smiled and answered.
On the other end, Lin Zhihua was seated at his study desk, the camera focused on him. He held a pen and smiled at Xue Jiao.
"Alright then, class is about to begin. Please take this seriously."
Xue Jiao immediately straightened her posture, her expression earnest. "Professor Lin, please begin."
There was a brief silence on the other end before Lin Zhihua couldn't hold back and laughed first.
"You..."
He cleared his throat, fist pressed against his lips. "Alright, let's really begin now."
"All calculations, especially in mathematics—whether advanced or elementary—ultimately boil down to a few key formulas combined with basic arithmetic operations..."
Xue Jiao listened attentively, occasionally jotting notes or sketching diagrams.
The next few days followed the same pattern. During the day, Xue Jiao went to the office where everyone was busy with their tasks, and she quietly read and calculated at her own desk.
If someone asked her to fetch something or assist with reading data, she would help. Otherwise, she remained absorbed in her studies.
In the evenings, she would bring her questions and summaries to discuss with Lin Zhihua over video calls.
His so-called crash course was simply about breaking down complex knowledge into digestible parts, identifying the underlying logic—just like when he had tutored her for math competitions before.
Newton, Leibniz, L'Hôpital, Taylor...
Or limits, calculus, series...Advanced mathematics deals with concepts that are almost entirely different from the math previously studied.
Yet the essence of things is continuous—as long as it's mathematics, there are connections.
After several days of instruction from Lin Zhihua, Xue Jiao had to admit that his teaching ability was the strongest she had ever encountered.
In just a few hours, he could nearly cover half a textbook for her.
As for the finer details, she would digest them herself during the day.
That evening, as dinner approached, Xu Jing let out a deep breath and, for once, smiled.
"Alright, alright, thank you all. We'll wrap things up here. You've all worked hard."
Xue Jiao blinked in surprise and looked up.
Did this mean their involvement in the project was over? So the six undergraduates could leave now and wouldn’t need to come back?
"Not at all, not at all. It was our honor to help," a few of them replied with a laugh.
Xu Jing nodded, her expression relaxed. "We’ve recorded everyone’s contributions, and Teacher Tan is aware of them. Once the project bonus comes through, we’ll contact you juniors! Thanks for your hard work!"
"No problem, no problem," the others chuckled cheerfully.
With that, Xu Jing took the data to Room 307, leaving only the six undergraduates and Xue Jiao in the office.
Two of the male students then shuffled over, nudging each other.
"Zhao Ping, say it!" one of the seniors urged the other.
The pushed one stammered, hesitating.
Xue Jiao offered a polite, distant smile. "Senior, is there something you need?"
Zhao Ping looked at her, his face flushing red. "G-G-Gu Xue Jiao, um, would you like to grab dinner together?"
She shook her head, still courteous. "No need, Senior. I’ll be having dinner at home tonight."
"Oh… okay…" Zhao Ping’s face turned even redder as he mumbled a response and fell silent.
The others burst into laughter, teasing him, but Xue Jiao didn’t react, lowering her head to continue reading.
Back in high school, Yi Tianyu had occasionally been teased like this by others.
But at the time, she had maintained a certain distance from her classmates, so no one dared to go too far.
Besides, Yi Tianyu had a temper—one glare from him, and the teasing would stop.
On that rainy day, Xue Jiao had realized they weren’t suited for each other.
Truthfully, she had always known—their thoughts and perspectives were too different.
After coming to Beijing, she hadn’t contacted him, and neither had Yi Tianyu reached out to her.
Still, she took comfort in knowing he had enrolled at Fudan University.
Xue Jiao shook her head, pulling her thoughts back to the present, and focused on her book again.
Zhao Ping and the others soon left—not just him, but all the undergraduates packed up and went.
After they were gone, Xue Jiao checked the time and decided to finish solving the comprehensive problems in front of her before leaving.
But she was a little curious—hadn’t Xu Jing just gone to deliver the data? Why hadn’t she returned yet?
Lowering her head, she dismissed the thought and began solving the problems with swift strokes of her pen.
Lin Zhihua was right—though university-level math was far more advanced than high school, it was still mathematics, just a deeper mastery of foundational concepts.
Xue Jiao loved math. From her past life to this one, it had always been her favorite subject.
Solving problems was genuinely enjoyable for her.
Just as she finished and closed her book—
Tap tap tap— Rapid footsteps approached.
She looked up to see a male student walking in with Xu Jing."Gu Xue Jiao, where are they?!" Xu Jing's voice was urgent.
Xue Jiao replied immediately, "They've already left."
"How long ago?!"
"About half an hour..."
Xu Jing's brows furrowed tightly. "Those guys!"
Xue Jiao glanced at the frowning boy beside her, then looked back at Xu Jing. "Senior sister, what's wrong?"
"They made a mistake in their calculations! Everything we worked on today needs to be redone!" Xu Jing was extremely angry, stomping her foot in frustration.
She was really angry. In her rush to finish today, she only had them check their own work and only reviewed it once herself, failing to notice any issues.
As soon as she took it over, the person beside her spotted the mistakes.
But thankfully he caught them—otherwise, if these calculations had been used directly for the next step, she would have made a huge mistake!
"Huh?" Xue Jiao was also stunned.
"I'll call them back!" Xu Jing stomped her foot.
The boy beside her waved his hand and said calmly, "Forget it, senior. Let's just recalculate it ourselves."
Senior?
Xue Jiao looked up at the boy.
Now she knew who he was—the other undergraduate in Teacher Tan's team besides Xu Jing, and only a freshman at that. By September, he'd be a sophomore.
He was already working with the graduate students. His name was Zheng Jiakun.
"But can the two of us finish it all?"
Zheng Jiakun nodded. "We can today. It'll just be a bit late."
As he spoke, he sat down at the large table.
Xu Jing sighed and took a seat across from him.
Xue Jiao set down her already packed-up backpack and smiled—
"Senior, I'll help with the calculations too."
"You?" Xu Jing frowned.
After a moment, she said, "No, you can't. The calculations are extensive, all university-level math with lots of derivatives. You should head back first—don't get in our way."
"I've already mostly finished advanced mathematics. Senior, let me try."
"You really can't. These calculations are important—don't interfere..."
Zheng Jiakun cut Xu Jing off. "Are you Gu Xue Jiao?"
"Yes." Xue Jiao nodded with a smile.
Zheng Jiakun also nodded and gestured to the other side of the table.
"Sit down and calculate."
Xu Jing frowned deeply, her expression disapproving.
Xue Jiao nodded and quickly stepped forward.
All university-level knowledge?
She couldn't do it?
Whether she could or not—she wouldn't know until she tried.
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