Outside the office, in the stairwell, the sulky bespectacled man's hands trembled slightly as he smoked. A professor, probably in his fifties, stood beside him, frowning and asking, "What's the matter, did you have a fight with Teacher Jumu?"

The bespectacled man was angry, saying, "Now, the more you tell her not to do something, the more she wants to do it! Haven't I been good enough to her? I'm only nine years older than her. At work, I've done my best to guide her, and in life, I've tried my best to take care of her."

"But she doesn't appreciate it." The bespectacled man complained, "Professor Li, tell me, in what way am I not good enough for her? At least, I'm the associate professor at Medical University, and she's just a lecturer. It's her lucky day that I'm interested in her, yet not only does she not seize the opportunity, she keeps finding ways to avoid me."

The professor, around fifty, frowned and was silent for a moment before saying, "Xiao Wen, why don't you try getting along with Professor Wang from the Clinical Medicine department? You two are about the same age. As for Jumu, yes, she's pretty, but she's still too young. A melon forced off its vine is not sweet."

The bespectacled man clenched his teeth and angrily said, "It's not about whether it's sweet or not, I just feel it's unfair. What's wrong with me being nine years older than her? Women age faster than men; even now, if we stood together, no one could say we're not well matched."

"This afternoon," the bespectacled man continued angrily, "I saw her going to the restaurant. I followed her to see what she was up to, and she ended up not letting go of Shen Qiang's hand! Not only does she want him as her assistant, but she also righteously wants to study something like Thermophilic Streptococcus."

The fifty-something-year-old professor barely suppressed a grin and said, "Xiao Wen, about this, if you ask me, you might as well give it up. Jumu is young, beautiful, and very talented. She's at an age where she's still playful; she might prefer someone her own age."

"Someone her own age?" The bespectacled man scoffed, "But Shen Qiang is younger than her. What is she thinking? Is she looking to rob the cradle?"

At this comment, the old professor was almost at a loss whether to laugh or cry, thinking to himself, you're nine years older than Jumu and still insist on dating her, yet you accuse her of robbing the cradle?

"Xiao Wen, think it over again. You're not young anymore, don't be so childish. As for Jumu, if she's not interested in you, even if you talk eloquently, she won't be together with you. Why make things so awkward? You both work together; you can't avoid seeing each other."

"No way! I just can't swallow this. Who in our department doesn't know that I'm the talented man and Jumu is the beautiful woman? If she ends up with that Shen Qiang, where would I put my face? So save your breath, I won't lose. That Shen Qiang, dreaming to get close to Jumu!"

"Just wait, tomorrow I'll definitely make that Shen Qiang get lost!"

Seeing the bespectacled man not taking advice, the old professor laughed, "Yes, yes, Shen Qiang is indeed not sincere. Well, I have something else to do, I must go now. Xiao Wen, try to adjust your mood a bit."

After that, the old professor left.

As soon as he turned around, not only did the smile disappear from the old professor's face, but his eyes also filled with disdain.

"Stubborn and self-righteous, isn't this all because he's after the young and beautiful Teacher Jumu?"

...

In the afternoon, Shen Qiang received a message sent from Miao Xiaoxia's cell phone; it included a smiley face and a sentence: "Thankful to have you."

This message, lacking any context, puzzled Shen Qiang a bit.

He was uncertain about her intentions.

Geng Liang stayed on campus.

Shen Qiang had no plans of doing that.

After all, the first day of his training involved primarily procedural matters; there were no real classes at all.

Since he had grown accustomed to the large bed at home and to having Su Xiaonuan by his side, Shen Qiang no longer wanted to stay in the university dormitory.

However, on the way home, the congested traffic was quite a headache for him.

Jinyu Huacheng was in the city center, while Medical University was in University City.

The distance was twenty kilometers.

Driving was jammed, motorcycles were restricted on some streets, and looking at the time after arriving home, just the one-way trip had taken more than an hour.

This made Shen Qiang somewhat conflicted, feeling that running might have been faster.

Because it was Shen Qiang's first day of training, Su Xiaonuan came home very early that evening.

After celebrating for Shen Qiang a bit, considering the traffic situation, Su Xiaonuan persuaded Shen Qiang to stay on campus during class days and return home when there were no classes.

Shen Qiang felt like laughing when he heard that.

In fact, besides self-study, Shen Qiang only had three classes per week.

As for being a teaching assistant, that was even more ridiculous.

The lecturers would cover everything that needed to be taught; his role as a teaching assistant was essentially just a title, and he occasionally helped look over the teaching plans when there was nothing else to do.

Therefore, staying on campus was something Shen Qiang considered and then decided against.

After all, there was no substantial significance to it.

It was convenient, cost-effective, and time-saving for students from other regions to stay on campus.

But for Shen Qiang, staying on campus was nonsensical; with three classes a week, no unified textbooks, mostly self-study sessions reading various professional books and papers, he could manage all that from home. Staying on campus would be purely a waste of time, so Shen Qiang directly rejected Su Xiaonuan's suggestion.

The next day.

Shen Qiang went early to the graduate school.

All the classes were for self-study.

So, Shen Qiang went straight to Professor Ju's laboratory.

Her laboratory was actually very small and quite simple, just a small room with some basic equipment that could be used to cultivate some simple microorganisms for teaching purposes.

"Good morning, you came earlier than I expected," said Professor Ju, mature and attractive, greeting Shen Qiang with a smile.

After all, Shen Qiang was affiliated with the Medical University and was not an ordinary student, so whether it was greeting or speaking, Professor Ju did not put on any airs.

Not only that.

It seemed that because of Shen Qiang's achievements in Medical Skill, her attitude was entirely that of enthusiasm among colleagues.

This made Shen Qiang feel very comfortable.

And, undeniably, Professor Ju was truly beautiful.

So, Shen Qiang also relaxed and smiled, "That's because today is the first day I've come to your lab; in the future, it might be hard to say."

Hearing such frank and sincere words, Professor Ju laughed and said, "Well, as long as it doesn't interfere with the research on Thermophilic Streptococcus, there won't be a problem."

Shen Qiang laughed, looking at the simple equipment in the lab, and said, "I'll try my best."

Professor Ju smiled and said, "Don't just talk the talk, I have high expectations for your Thermophilic Streptococcus."

Just then, the laboratory door was pushed open. Shen Qiang turned around and saw a middle-aged man, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, wearing glasses and with a very cold demeanor, walk in. Following him were several older-looking professors.

"You, out," the middle-aged man with glasses glanced coldly at Shen Qiang.

Shen Qiang was startled, frowned, and said, "Who are you, and what do you mean?"

Meanwhile, Shen Qiang noticed that the previously cheerful Professor Ju was no longer smiling.

"I am the Deputy Director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry; my surname is Wen. You can call me Professor Wen. I am here to stop your unrealistic research and to inform you that your research topic is considered unrealistic fantasy, thus your teaching assistant qualification is also revoked."

Smiling smugly, Professor Wen pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, looked proudly at Shen Qiang, and said, "So you can leave now, get out!"

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