After spending a few more days at the Jiangnan base, Huang He and Tong He traveled back to Shanghai by car.
Since Tong He still had two months before his senior year internship officially began, Huang He suggested that Tong He spend those two months studying at school. Once his internship period started, Huang He would arrange for Tong He to intern at Jiangnan Group. After completing the necessary exams, Tong He could officially start working at Jiangnan Group.
Moreover, Huang He stated that even though Tong He wouldn't be working for these two months, he would still be a full-time employee of Jiangnan, considered to be on an extended sick leave. Jiangnan would adhere to its advanced sick leave policy and continue to pay Tong He half of his basic salary, which amounted to 6,000 yuan RMB per month. This made Tong He even more grateful to Jiangnan, putting him in an exceptionally good mood.
“By the way, there’s one more thing I need you to decide!” Huang He said with a smile.
“What is it?” Tong He asked, a little confused.
“It’s the name for this special material you invented!” Huang He replied. “Right now, you guys still call this stuff ‘graphene special body,’ but that name isn’t quite suitable. It needs a proper name!”
“I’ll leave the naming rights to you, Chairman. I don’t want them,” Tong He said very pragmatically.
“Ah, this is a material you discovered, so naturally, you should be the one to name it. It’s also your teacher’s instruction. So, you just obediently come up with a name for me right now,” Huang He said with a smile.
“Let me think. Since it’s derived from graphite, it would be good to have ‘graphite’ in the name. And the structure of this substance looks a bit like alkene. So, let’s call it graphene!” Tong He pondered for a moment.
“Alright!” Huang He’s tone held a hint of contemplation. The reason he had Tong He name it was to see if, when someone else named graphene, the name ‘graphene’ would still emerge.
The result was that the same name came out of Tong He’s mouth, which was quite thought-provoking. Perhaps history, as depicted in some novels, indeed progresses according to fixed patterns.
There exists something called the “Heavenly Dao” that quietly maintains the flow of history, so graphene was still called graphene in this world.
But if that were the case, what about himself? After all, this world, or at least China, had been completely disrupted by him.
“Could this be a perk of being reincarnated, to be unrestricted by the laws of time and space?” Huang He muttered to himself, but since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided to stop thinking about it.
“You continue your studies at school for now. In a few weeks, I have another big gift for you!” Huang He continued.
“No need, Chairman, really, no need. The company has already been too good to me!” Tong He said quickly.
“No, you need it. This big gift is still coming!” Huang He insisted. “Just focus on your studies, and I’ll give you a surprise then!”
However, when Tong He returned to school and met his classmates, they all looked at him with strange glances, which left Tong He quite bewildered.
It wasn’t until class began that the class advisor hurried over, called Tong He to a window in the teaching building, and directly delivered some shocking news.
“What, I’m being given a major demerit! No, Teacher, I only took five days off. You can’t be this harsh!” When Tong He returned to school and heard from his advisor that he was about to receive a major demerit, he protested immediately.
“Were those days just leave? You were absent without leave! You were missing for five days, and no one could find you in the classroom or the dormitory. Who did you get permission from? Who received your leave request?” the advisor asked angrily.
“Yes, Teacher, I was wrong. I had some matters that required me to be away for four days. I admit my fault and accept the punishment, but a major demerit is too excessive, isn’t it? Gou Bo in our class, he didn’t attend class for a month, and he only had to write a statement of self-criticism!” Tong He argued.
“Gou Bo has special circumstances. He has depression and frequently needs hospital treatment. Is your situation the same?”
“Nonsense! He spent that entire month playing games in internet cafes. What depression does he have? It’s just that his mother made a fuss and found a way to get him a mental illness diagnosis!” Tong He blurted out.
“Tong He, don’t say things without evidence. Gou Bo’s depression is a fact, supported by hospital diagnoses and family documentation. As for you saying he spent a month playing games in internet cafes, do you have any proof? Furthermore, his mother also said that games are a way to treat Gou Bo’s mental illness. Don’t say such baseless things.”
“Teacher, it’s just the two of us here, so let’s speak frankly. Everyone knows that Gou Bo’s uncle is a leader in our city’s education bureau. But I don’t care about his affairs. I only demand fair treatment. Even putting Gou Bo aside, there are plenty of students in the school who have been absent for more than a week. Why am I the only one getting a major demerit? I haven’t failed a single course!” Tong He said.
“Alas, it’s for your own good to say more. Since you insist on me explaining clearly, I’ll explain. Did you use counterfeit currency to pay at the supermarket? The supermarket reported it directly to our school!” the advisor reprimanded. “Do you understand how serious a mistake this is? Do you know how much embarrassment you’ve brought upon our school!”
“What’s more, this is a Taiwanese-funded enterprise. You’re not just embarrassing us, your own countrymen, but also Taiwanese compatriots. How will people from Taiwan view the quality of our compatriots in the future? Have you considered this issue?”
“Also, it’s not my intention to give you a major demerit. It’s the decision of the school leadership. This incident will also be subject to a public criticism for the entire school as a warning to all students, so they don’t do such shameful things in the future!”
“Public criticism for the entire school!” Tong He was terrified. Public criticism for the entire school! Once this criticism was issued, would he, Tong He, still be able to remain in school?
“Now do you understand the seriousness of the situation? Don’t cause any more trouble. It won’t do you any good. You wouldn’t want to have studied hard for over a decade only to not even get your graduation certificate, would you?” The advisor gave Tong He no further opportunity to explain and left immediately.
“This is too much, it’s absolutely too much!!!” After the advisor left, Tong He’s forehead was covered in bulging veins from his anger, but he ultimately sighed powerlessly.
Upon returning to the dormitory, his roommates were very concerned about Tong He, each trying to comfort him and advise him not to argue with his advisor. Although a major demerit was a very serious disciplinary action, it was still better than not getting a graduation certificate. Furthermore, Tong He’s grades were excellent, and even with a major demerit, he would still graduate successfully and find a good job.
Hearing the words “good job,” Tong He’s previously stiff expression suddenly softened. He realized that school was no longer that important to him.
The crucial reason he hadn’t returned to school for five days was that two of those days were spent signing various agreements and completing onboarding procedures with Jiangnan Group.
Even though Tong He was still in his junior year, he was different from his classmates who would have to work hard to find jobs after graduation. He already had a job.
Moreover, even if Tong He were attending classes, Jiangnan would still pay him half of his basic salary each month. This meant that he was already a highly paid worker with a monthly income of 6,000 yuan, far more than what that advisor earned.
At this moment, Tong He finally understood.
“I’m not studying anymore!” Tong He suddenly declared.
“What!” Everyone in the dormitory was stunned by Tong He’s words, and they all tried to persuade him not to do anything foolish.
“I’m not saying anything foolish, nor am I doing anything foolish. They can give me a major demerit, but they want to publicly criticize me for the entire school, to humiliate me in front of all the students. They can forget about it. I don’t need to go to this university anymore!” Tong He’s words, “don’t need to go anymore,” silenced the entire dormitory.
Soon, all the classmates knew that Tong He had done something foolish like wanting to drop out. Classmates, friends, and class cadres all came to persuade Tong He to think clearly and not act impulsively. They continued to persuade him until the dormitory lights were turned off.
The next day, the class advisor also learned about Tong He’s desire to drop out from other students, but he was unconcerned.
Because he knew very well that this was just Tong He’s angry words. Once he thought things through, he would realize how foolish it was to drop out. It wasn’t until the first class that Tong He appeared before him and threw the withdrawal application directly onto his desk.
“Are you crazy?” were the advisor’s first words.
“I’m not crazy. I accept the major demerit, but I will absolutely not accept public criticism for the entire school. If you must criticize me, then I will drop out!” Tong He stated decisively.
“Are you threatening me? Are you threatening me with your future? Do you think this isn’t foolish?” the advisor asked in disbelief.
“My future is vast, and this place was never meant to hold me,” Tong He said, looking up with pride.
“I won’t approve it!” The advisor threw the withdrawal application back. “Go back and think it over.”
“Then what about the public criticism for the entire school…”
“I’ll go back and discuss it with the dean. But regardless of the outcome, you are not allowed to drop out.” The advisor’s words warmed Tong He’s heart. Although this advisor wasn’t particularly good or bad, Tong He picked up the application, holding onto a sliver of hope.
Unfortunately, this hope was quickly dashed. The next day, Tong He saw his name on the academic affairs public notice board. The matter of his major demerit had been posted as an announcement.
At the same time, it stated that the school would hold a public meeting for the entire school on August 1st to publicly criticize and guide students who had recently violated school regulations, so that all students could take heed.
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