Chapter 430: Chapter 404: Acting Cute is Addictive (Monthly ticket 400+ update)

Xiao Qian’s first paper was on Manic disorder. The arguments in the paper were extremely innovative. Liu Linlin could instantly tell that the work was not copied from existing literature.

Knowing that Liu Linlin was immersed in her paper, Xiao Qian stood up to leave, but Liu Linlin grabbed her backpack strap to hold her back.

“Sit down, let me finish reading before discussing it.”

As expected, Boss Qian would never take on any battle without confidence.

Xiao Qian had long anticipated that the ghost-like Old Lady would be attracted to her work. In reality, the work she wrote on here would still be ahead of its time even a decade later, let alone now. It was as if someone used a computer for the first time after using a CRT television: impossible not to be attracted. It also happened to be the outbreak period for Manic disorder, so the professor would definitely be dealing with many cases like this. It was the perfect time for her to read it!

Liu Linlin read the paper very carefully, becoming increasingly excited. She flipped through the pages, putting on her glasses without paying any attention to Xiao Qian. When she finally looked back at Xiao Qian, she waved at her casually.

In her past life, Xiao Qian was the professor’s closed-door disciple and was familiar with her teacher’s habits. Seeing the professor waving, she immediately stood up and went to the kitchen carrying a French press pot.

The kitchen was the same as it was in her past life. She saw tableware with the same pattern. The professor was a nostalgic old lady, and she didn’t want to replace the things she used. Standing here, it felt like she had time-traveled back to her past life.

Opening the top cupboard, she found freshly ground coffee as expected.

Her habit of organizing had not changed since her previous life.

It was such a woman, who adhered to the rules and cherished the past, who had lost her son. No one could understand her pain of sending her black-haired son to his grave with her white hair.

Xiao Qian made coffee skillfully. Although she didn’t know how to cook, she was good at making coffee and tea. She had made coffee for the professor for several years in her past life. Later on, even when she became the boss, she still had to make coffee for the professor every time she came to the barracks-style building. One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a mother; there was nothing wrong with that.

After Xiao Qian handed the freshly brewed coffee to Professor Liu, who was still immersed in her paper, she took a sip and frowned.

She looked at Xiao Qian with confusion. “How did you know I like two cubes of sugar in my coffee?”

The professor loved coffee but had a sweet tooth. Most people didn’t know about this habit of putting two pieces of sugar in a small cup of coffee as it was too sweet.

Xiao Qian’s coffee was just right.

“I heard that people who are bitter in their hearts like to eat sweet things to compensate. Professor, I could see the bitterness in your face, so I wanted to sweeten your heart.”

Professor Liu couldn’t help but laugh at her words. She was not angry, though.

Waving the manuscript in her hand, she asked, “Did you write all of this by yourself?”

“Yes.”

Professor Liu was astonished. She adjusted her glasses—a gesture that was shared between her and Xiao Qian. In fact, Xiao Qian learned this habit of pushing her glasses up when she had emotional fluctuations from Professor Liu.

Professor Liu was truly surprised. What Xiao Qian wrote had far surpassed a university student, even surpassing the domestic academic authorities. Everything looked great, with novel and audacious ideas that were astonishing to the professor.

Was she really a freshman?

Of course not. This was a woman who was a doctor disguised as a student, and who had won numerous international academic awards. Her papers were undoubtedly outstanding.

“Come here and let’s talk. How did you come up with this?”

Professor Liu had mentored countless students throughout her career. Ninety percent of her students thought of her as a ghost-like old lady who was distant, irritable, and immune to human emotions. There weren’t many people she liked, and Xiao Qian was one of them who won her heart—not because she liked the coffee Xiao Qian made but because Xiao Qian was the most insightful one. Professor Liu’s one principle when choosing a student was to look at their expertise and good ethics.

Once they started discussing professional subjects, they couldn’t stop. It felt like they were both walking in a desert and suddenly came across an oasis. Their ideas were so similar that even things that Professor Liu couldn’t discuss with her peers, they agreed on instantly. Their compatibility was off the charts!

Originally, they planned for just a brief chat but extended it because they enjoyed it. Professor Liu was actually not cold at all when she opened up, and she felt stifled, too. She had a high status in academia but offended many people due to her character. She devoted herself to academics and had no interest in politics, which further lowered her position in the eyes of others. Summing her up in three words, she had poor interpersonal relationships.

At first, Xiao Qian was able to cope with Professor Liu easily. But as the professor grew more and more engaged in the discussion, she wondered if she was still talking to a university student. Xiao Qian was not ignorant. She knew that they were discussing the professor’s current research topic now. It was a bit too much to use an academician-level topic to give her a hard time as a university student, as she was still a fresh newcomer—admittedly a youngster, but a youngster nonetheless!

Xiao Qian felt that she couldn’t indulge the professor’s unrestrained and free-spirited behavior any further.

If she let the old lady maintain this highly excited state, she could keep talking until nightfall. She understood the professor all too well.

So, whatever Professor Liu said next, Xiao Qian remained silent and wore an expression that read: I’m just a baby here. Just a few minutes later, Professor Liu realized that playing a one-man show was not fun.

“Why am I discussing all this with you… How could you understand these topics? Wait, you were discussing them with me just now!”

Xiao Qian gave an innocent, baby-like look. “Professor, I think your state just now was close to Manic disorder… highly excited.”

“You brat, you don’t know how to show respect. None of the students I taught would dare speak to me like that.” Liu Linlin said in mock annoyance.

“All those students you taught ended up working for me; they wouldn’t dare to say anything…”

“What did you say?” Professor Liu didn’t catch what she said.

Xiao Qian pushed her glasses, showing an innocent expression.

“I didn’t say anything.” Many outstanding talents had been nurtured by the professor. Besides those who excelled academically, most of them had eventually been recruited by Xiao Qian.

Working under Boss Qian was a well-known way to advance in the field, but Xiao Qian’s feelings for her teacher were still very complicated.