Chapter 429: Chapter 403: Not an Unspoken Rule (Monthly ticket 350+ updates)

The barracks-style building is a long corridor with many separate rooms left from the seventies or eighties. They look old and are mostly occupied by school staff. Xiao Qian knocked on the door, but no one responded. She decided to knock on the door of the neighboring room and then jump to the teacher’s apartment from the connecting balcony.

She was sure there was someone home, they just didn’t hear her knock.

Xiao Qian knocked twice more, but still no one answered. The music was deafening.

Suddenly, a hand landed on Xiao Qian’s shoulder from behind. She turned to see Professor Liu standing there.

“Are you looking for Director Wang?” Professor Liu asked, as Director Wang lives next door.

“No, I am looking for you,” Xiao Qian answered loudly. It had to be loud, the music was just too loud.

Liu Linlin gestured for Xiao Qian to follow her into the apartment. Once inside, she saw a bare-chested boy in long johns rapidly breakdancing to the blaring music. He was somewhat handsome, with thick eyebrows and a somewhat roguish attractiveness about his face.

Breakdancing hadn’t become widely popular yet; anyone who could pull this off was definitely a trendsetter.

“Liu Li! How many times have I told you not to play music this loudly in the house!” Professor Liu turned off the speaker as she scolded.

Liu Li must be her second son.

“Mom, there’s nobody else here. I just wanted to dance a bit. I feel so energetic in spring!”

“I’m starting to suspect you might have a manic disorder,” complained Professor Liu.

Xiao Qian laughed. Look, her teacher’s thoughts mirrored hers. They both suspected that Da Yi might have spring mania, just as she suspected her teacher’s own son did.

Liu Li looked up, noticing the stranger standing behind his mother. He retreated quickly to his room, slamming the door shut.

Xiao Qian saw a French press pot sitting on the living room coffee table, and half a cup of coffee still filled the mug next to it. The aroma was thick and intoxicating.

“This kid has a lot of energy,” Xiao Qian commented to Professor Liu.

“A little too energetic for my liking,” Professor Liu sighed. Liu gestured for Xiao Qian to sit on the sofa and wait while she put the groceries in the kitchen. It appeared she had just returned from the morning market.

Professor Liu quickly came out of the kitchen and knocked on Liu Li’s bedroom door: “How much coffee did you drink, Liu Li? Half of the bag of coffee beans is gone.”

Opening the door, Liu Li walked out, now wearing a holey pair of jeans and an oversized flight jacket, a trendy South Korean style, his hair wrapped under a cloth – the very image of a street dancer.

“I have a competition today and I can’t sleep. Had some coffee to wake up.”

“You didn’t sleep at all last night?!” Professor Liu exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Li shrugged, “Sleeping is a waste of life! Our beautiful youth shouldn’t be spent on sleep. I’m off, mom~”

“Aren’t you having breakfast?” Professor Liu called after him, but he had already darted to the door.

“I’ll buy some on the way!”

“You have to work after the competition! You can’t fool around like this!”

Liu Li had already disappeared. Professor Liu sighed and turned, seeing Xiao Qian watching her curiously.

“My son is not very responsible. He didn’t pass the College Entrance Exam and refused to retake it. As he is the son of a war martyr, he was given a job by the government, but he is always asking for leave. I am beginning to suspect he may have a slight manic disorder… What did you need me for?”

Xiao Qian suppressed her curiosity about Liu Li and stated her purpose to Professor Liu straightforwardly.

“I’d like to request to earn credits ahead of time, could you please speak with my class advisor on my behalf?”

“Ahead of time? Why?” Professor Liu frowned.

“I don’t want to waste time anymore. I’ve already taken most of the courses, and I’d like to finish earning my university credits ahead of time and then continue with my postgraduate degree.”

“Your skills should be enough to earn the credits ahead of time. You could just talk to your class advisor about this, why did you come find me?”

Even though Chen Xiaoqian was a freshman, she was very prominent and influential in her faculty. Professor Liu had interacted with her several times and felt that Xiaoqian was indeed gifted. It shouldn’t be an issue for a student like her to earn credits ahead of time.

“Because I want to graduate two years early.”

“What?” Professor Liu thought she had heard wrong.

“I’ve calculated, and I can earn enough credits to graduate university two years early. I want to maximize my efficiency, and then use two years to finish my Master’s. Whether or not to go for a PhD would depend on the situation.”

“You overestimate yourself. What do you take this school for, rushing things like this?”

Liu Linlin was quite unhypocritical. Xiaoqian not only wanted to compress her undergraduate experience, but also wanted to graduate from her master’s program a year early. To Liu, this seemed somewhat profit-driven and impatient.

“Go back, I won’t help you with this. Besides, I am not your supervisor, I don’t have this obligation. It doesn’t matter if it was you who came to ask or your mother-in-law.”

Xiaoqian was not surprised at the teacher’s refusal. It would be strange if the teacher didn’t reject her. This old lady was known for her volatile temper. She did things based on her mood. Her impromptu visit may have given the teacher the impression that she was not a serious student.

Professor Liu Linlin stood up and gestured towards the door, indicating that she wanted Xiaoqian to leave. Xiaoqian was well aware of her teacher’s temper. It would not fare well for her to fight head-on with this difficult old lady.

Still, Xiao Qian also stood up, but she didn’t rush to leave. Instead, she opened her bag.

“What are you doing?!” Professor Liu sounded furious, as if she suspected Xiaoqian was going to give her a bribe.

Professsor Liu had a good impression of this girl before. She thought Xiaoqian was a unique young girl who might grow into a great psychologist because of her talent.

However, if she dared to bribe her teacher, that was another matter entirely.

Xiaoqian blinked at the angry Liu Linlin, “Teacher, what are you thinking about? I can’t afford to play by those hidden rules. And besides, I can’t afford to give away improper money like that… ”

What Xiaoqian took out was a file bag, filled with a stack of manuscript paper.

“This is a paper I wrote for my major course. If you have time, you can take a look. If you feel that this isn’t enough to make you think that I am qualified to skip two years’ worth of credits ahead of time, I can write more.”

Xiaoqian almost wanted to add, “teacher, I can also help you out with your work. Dealing with these things is almost like doing elementary school homework for me.”

“You think you can get away with copying some stuff from the library?” Professor Liu took it and flipped through a few pages, immediately becoming engrossed.