Rivercrest State University.
Ever since the Math Modeling Competition ended, Shawn Zhao’s mood has been absolutely rotten.
He took Aaron Han and the math department crew out there, and somehow none of them got better results than Evan Lin.
This whole thing has spread across the university, and Director Chen is feeling all kinds of complicated about it.
On one hand, Evan Lin winning first place in the Math Modeling Competition is a solid honor for Rivercrest State University.
But on the other hand, Evan was the only one who won, while Aaron Han and his group got nothing—which basically means the whole math department isn’t even as good as a horticulture student?
Director Chen, as head of the math department, was seriously losing face.
"Ms. Zheng, your student is seriously something else."
Inside the office, Shawn Zhao saw Autumn Zheng walk in from outside, his expression a bit sour: "When we went to Beijing, how could you and Evan just break off from the group as soon as we got off the bus?"
"Do you realize your actions with Evan Lin totally messed up the mood of our math department students, which is why the whole department tanked so badly?"
Shawn Zhao took a sip of tea, his gaze at Autumn Zheng full of dissatisfaction—and a hint of petty resentment.
Ever since Autumn Zheng came back from Beijing, she got a personal meeting with the president, who even praised her big-time at the faculty meeting and plans to push her up the ranks soon.
Every one of them is a real math genius! Just getting into Rivercrest State’s math department proves their skills—how could Evan Lin, a horticulture student, crush them all?
Autumn Zheng sat down, not even bothering to look up, and said with a calm, almost indifferent tone: "In the end, Evan and I left the airport in my friend’s car."
Autumn Zheng sat down, not even bothering to raise her head, and said coolly: "In the end, Evan and I left the airport in my friend’s car."
"As for the exam, that happened days later. I don’t buy that Evan and I could possibly have affected those students’ moods."
"If their scores were bad, they should look for the reason in themselves. And as their teacher, you should shoulder some responsibility too."
Autumn Zheng spoke calmly. These days, besides handling school business, she spent most of her time keeping in touch with Evan Lin—always worried about what trouble he might stir up next.
She was really worried about Evan’s safety. Even though Autumn knew he probably went out this time to stand up for his teachers, Old Man Liu and Gordon Gu, as Gordon Gu’s student, Autumn couldn’t really stop him.
If the school hadn’t pressured her so much—and as the counselor managing the whole horticulture department—Autumn Zheng wouldn’t have come back to Rivercrest; she’d have stayed in Beijing and waited.
"So what, are you saying I’m not qualified to be a teacher now?"
Shawn Zhao’s face changed, and he slammed his hand on the desk: "I have a PhD in mathematics! Nobody’s more qualified than me!"
Shawn Zhao grinned, smug as ever.
Just as his smug smile was spreading, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.
The footsteps weren’t loud, but somehow, they echoed in his ears and wouldn’t fade—a sure sign something big was about to happen.
"Honestly, I was shocked Evan Lin could get such results in the competition, since he’s just a horticulture student."
Shawn Zhao kept rambling.
"Are you saying we cheated?"
Autumn Zheng’s expression turned cold as she looked at him.
"Those words didn’t come from me—they came from you."
Shawn Zhao gave a cold laugh and kept going: "You’re just way too close to Gordon Gu."
"And again—why should Evan Lin be able to crush all our top math students?"
Every one of them is a real math genius! Just getting into Rivercrest State’s math department proves their skills!
At this point, Shawn Zhao smiled and looked over at the man sitting quietly at the desk: "Director Chen, am I right?"
Director Chen, as head of the math department, had been under a lot of pressure lately.
Hearing Shawn’s question, he glanced at Autumn Zheng, saw her looking back, coughed, and slowly said, "Well, you can’t really put it that way."
"The odds of the horticulture department producing a math genius are super low—maybe one in ten thousand. And the odds that this math genius could beat the whole math department? That’s more like one in a hundred thousand. But since it happened, you can’t say it’s impossible."
"Director Chen!"
Hearing this, Autumn Zheng’s face changed.
Such tiny odds basically mean they’re saying Evan Lin probably cheated.
"Ahem, Autumn, I’ve been thinking—when Evan Lin gets back, why not have him transfer his major to the math department, or just add it as a double degree?"
Director Chen picked up his teacup and continued, "It’ll be good for his future development."
"I can authorize him to get a double degree—horticulture and mathematics, two bachelor’s diplomas. After graduation, it’ll be way easier for him to find a job."
"And as long as he agrees, all those rumors about cheating will collapse on their own."
Director Chen picked up his teacup and continued, "It’ll be good for his future development—and for our department’s reputation."
"I can personally approve a double major: two bachelor’s degrees in Horticulture and Mathematics. After graduation, it’ll be way easier for him to find a job, and the math department gets to claim him as one of their own."
"And as long as he agrees, all those rumors about cheating will collapse instantly."
Director Chen spoke with steady confidence.
"Yeah, yeah, let him transfer here! As long as he calls me ‘teacher,’ I won’t hold anything against him, no matter what he does!"
Shawn Zhao nodded eagerly from the side.
As long as Evan Lin became his student, if Evan ever laid a hand on him again, Shawn Zhao could play the ‘teacher’ card and lord it over him.
Even if Evan wasn’t afraid, it wouldn’t look good if word got out that he’d hit his own teacher.
Looks like Shawn Zhao and Director Chen already plotted this out.
As long as Evan Lin hangs a double major in the math department, the math department gets its pride back—and nobody will question when he joined.
From then on, the official story will be: Evan Lin from Rivercrest State’s math department won first prize in the Math Modeling Competition. Nobody cares when he joined the math department—outsiders won’t even bother to check.
But Director Chen saying this now is basically forcing the issue.
Director Chen listened to Autumn Zheng, put down his teacup, and said, "This is a good thing. I wanted to talk to you first so you could do some ideological work on the student."
"And look, he and Mr. Zhao had such a messy conflict before, but Mr. Zhao is willing to let it go. You should help Evan broaden his heart, too."
"And look, he and Mr. Zhao had such a messy conflict before, but Mr. Zhao is willing to let it go. You should help Evan broaden his heart, too."
Director Chen had just finished speaking.
"That’s right, Ms. Zheng! Evan Lin is young and doesn’t know any better, but as his teacher, you definitely understand what’s best for him!"
"This is a golden opportunity! Don’t let it slip by, or he’ll regret it for sure."
Shawn Zhao grinned, smug as ever.
Just as his smile was spreading, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.
The footsteps weren’t loud, but somehow, they echoed in his ears and just wouldn’t fade away.