"Have a seat."
The office had been cleaned by someone specifically yesterday, and it was quite tidy.
"Have you all brought your theses?"
Yan Baitao, sitting at his desk, asked the students.
"Yes, we have," they all nodded.
This "brought" meant checking if the final formatting was re-examined and confirmed to be without issues.
They had reviewed this before the semester started, ensuring there were no errors, which was why they came today.
"Good, as long as there are no problems," Yan Baitao said, nodding with satisfaction.
"Alright, let's go one by one."
"Hand over your USB drives, and I'll take a look."
"If there are no issues, you can proceed to plagiarism checking."
"Okay~"
With that, Qiu Xi and the other three lined up and began showing their theses to Yan Baitao one by one.
In fact, there were no major issues confirmed at the end of last year, but during this period, they had, following Teacher Yan's advice, improved them further whenever they had time.
...
"Hmm, no problems."
After a long while, Yan Baitao finished reading all four theses.
He felt relieved after finishing. Solving such a significant issue on the second day back after the New Year made him truly happy.
"Alright, I'll inform the secretary shortly to grant you access. Find some time to check for plagiarism."
"Once the results are out, send them to me. If there are no issues, I can also help you print a few copies. You can just come and pick them up then."
Later, they would need to submit about five printed copies of their theses for the defense.
Although they had switched to coil-bound versions instead of the defense format, printing five copies still incurred a considerable expense.
Even though students might not be short of money...
"Okay~"
"Thank you, Teacher Yan~"
Whether they were short of money or not was one thing, but they were naturally delighted when the teacher offered to help.
"Alright, remember to be prompt."
"You should be able to check for plagiarism in the next couple of days. Remember to let me know the results early. The sooner this is done, the sooner you can move on to other tasks."
"Got it~"
"Mhm!"
"One more thing, regarding the defense, it will be entirely in English. You all need to prepare well for it. Also, prepare your defense presentation slides in advance."
"I won't interfere with this. You all need to work hard on your own. I'll be waiting for your answers."
"Understood, Teacher Yan."
They understood the situation. It was already fortunate for them that Teacher Yan was being so responsible now.
Other students did not have such good luck!
"Mhm."
"Then you can go back for now. If you have nothing else to do these next couple of days, don't go out. Stay at school and get this sorted. We'll discuss other things later."
"Okay." Qiu Xi nodded with a smile.
She knew Old Yan was referring to her. She had privately messaged him the day before yesterday, asking if she could return to school a bit later.
However, she had compromised and asked for three days of leave from Teacher Jin herself.
"Alright!"
"Then you can go back. Just notify me when you have the results."
Seeing Qiu Xi's expression, Yan Baitao probably had an idea of the outcome.
"Okay~"
With that, the four of them walked out of the office.
...
"Xiao Xi, are you staying in the dormitory these two days?"
"Yes, I specifically requested three days off. I should be able to finish things up."
"Mhm."
"Then I'll stay here too. It's been a while since the four of us have spent time together."
"Sure~" Qiu Xi nodded.
"It's also a good opportunity for us to spend some time discussing matters related to Xiguang."
After the New Year, it was about time for this new phase to kick off.
"Mhm!"
"Before I came back, Jing Shu and the others also discussed some things with me. I'll tell you about it, and we can start taking action once we're back."
"Okay, sounds good."
And so, Qiu Xi took three days off and resolved more than just her thesis.
...
The day after meeting with Teacher Yan, the group of four received notification that they could proceed with plagiarism checks.
Qiu Xi immediately went to get it done, and the results came back quickly.
0.99%, a great number.
Qiu Xi smiled, then turned and sent a screenshot of the result to Teacher Yan.
"Teacher, the results are out."
"Okay, come to pick up your printed thesis this afternoon."
"Okay, thanks Old Yan~"
"Xiao Feifei, have your results come out yet?"
"Mhm, it's approved. I just sent the results to Old Yan, and he told me to come pick up the printed thesis this afternoon."
Their school required the percentage to be below 10%. Her result of just over 1% was perfectly acceptable.
"Mhm, me too," Qiu Xi replied.
"Then we can go together."
"Yes."
Just as the two finished speaking, they saw a message from Teacher Yan in the group.
He asked the four of them to go to his office together tomorrow afternoon to collect their printed theses.
"Now it's all settled. I think our task will be completed ahead of schedule."
"Mhm."
"Let's go, let's discuss our own matters."
"Let's."
...
After picking up their theses from Old Yan's office the next day, Qiu Xi spent the entire day with Liang Yunfei. The two of them earnestly discussed the upcoming plans for Xiguang.
Qiu Xi explained all the details according to the plan in her mind to Liang Yunfei.
It wasn't until very late that they stopped.
"Xiao Xi, my dad was right!"
"Thanks to you, otherwise, someone like me, who's only half-baked, might not have been able to handle it."
"You're really his biological child~" Qiu Xi teased with a smile.
"Isn't that the truth!"
"It's a good thing my dad hasn't talked to you yet, or as his biological child, I might have been sidelined sooner or later~"
Who knew her dad admired people like Xiao Xi the most? If they could meet, they could probably chat for a very long time...
"There will be opportunities. I'll definitely ask for your uncle's advice then," Qiu Xi joked with a smile.
"Mhm~"
"Right, regarding what we've discussed, when you go to the company later and feel like discussing it with them, if there are any issues, you know to call me. If it's not urgent, send me a message, and I'll find time to handle it when I see it."
"Got it!"
"If you have time, come over. Our advertisements are almost finished filming. They should be ready for launch in a while."
"Mhm, I'll find time to check it out after this is all done."
"Okay."
"Then let's leave it at that for today. I'll rest for another day tomorrow, and then I'll prepare to go back to my studies."
"Then I'll prepare to go back to work too~"
"Hahahaha~"
...
On the last day of her leave, Qiu Xi stayed at school and didn't go anywhere.
"Dai Yao, how are you and Yan Yan doing with your studies?"
These two had been diligently studying since receiving their interview results last year.
"How else could it be..."
"Honestly... the more I study, the more I feel like I know nothing..."
After starting to study, they realized how little they had been exposed to.
Even more frighteningly!
The questions they pondered for a long time could be answered casually by Xiao Xi...
Comparing people makes one angry!
They could only... study hard until they couldn't anymore...
Otherwise, their skills might truly be inferior to those who had diligently worked hard to get accepted...
Qiu Xi smiled as she looked at the two of them in their "indignant" state.
"Keep it up~"
"..."
Song Dai Yao and Shen Yan exchanged glances and lowered their heads in unison.
They would study...
Qiu Xi also looked at Liang Yunfei, who gave a wry smile.
"I'm going too..."
What a difficult fate... she had to study too!
Although she understood more, if she didn't hurry, she would soon be caught up.
Thinking this, Liang Yunfei felt immense pressure.
"Xiao Xi, I won't chat with you any longer. I'm going to study too."
More than half of her time was now dedicated to the company, and the remaining half was all for her professional studies.
Initially, she had considered switching to management as her major. But after thinking about it, the best teachers were by her side. Moreover, she enjoyed languages, and it was a great help to her current work, so she didn't change her major in the end.
"Go ahead~"
She was also about to start looking at materials.
After she returned, there was one last meeting. Teacher Jin had told her to prepare well.
After this meeting, they would need to start preparing to hold meetings for others undergoing practical assessments.
And then, they would need to prepare for activities...