The next day, after breakfast, Qiu Xi and Liang Yunfei went to Yan Baitao’s office with their materials. They had to go early because Teacher Yan had classes in the afternoon and evening.
However, Qiu Xi felt this was also good; the time cost was managed well.
"Good morning, Teacher Yan."
Yan Baitao looked up at the door. "Mm, come in."
"Prepare your theses. The other two members of your group will be here soon. Once everyone is here, I'll discuss it with you all together."
"Okay."
After sitting for about three to five minutes, Fang You and Lu Qingqing also walked into the office.
"Good morning, Teacher Yan."
"Alright, hurry over here."
Once everyone was present, Yan Baitao shifted his position.
Fang You and Lu Qingqing, feeling a bit late, quickly pulled up chairs and sat nearby.
"There are several common issues, which is why I waited for everyone to be here before discussing them," Yan Baitao briefly explained to the students before starting.
"First is the formatting. I've mentioned it many times, yet some of you still make mistakes. I've marked them. If you still have problems, compare them together so you don't waste money printing later."
"Regarding content, let's not discuss that for now. As for the acknowledgments, write them well."
Although the requirements for undergraduate theses are not that high, his expectations are indeed high.
If there were parts he couldn't stand, and you didn't understand, he had to revise them.
"The last point I'm mentioning isn't exactly a problem, but rather the overall impression of the article."
"This one... you can either change it or not."
"Of course, it would be even better if you could polish it, but it depends on your situation. As long as the plagiarism check passes later, I won't strictly enforce this aspect."
Writing it in any way is still writing. If it can be written well, then better is naturally better.
However, if it's not possible, and your level hasn't reached that point yet, the current version is acceptable. It all depends on personal pursuit.
"..." Yan Baitao's last sentence made the students feel a bit sheepish.
Their academic writing skills indeed needed improvement.
However, this might not include Qiu Xi. Sitting there, her mind already occupied with conceptualizing two new languages, she wasn't very worried about these fundamental issues that Teacher Yan mentioned.
"Did you all understand?" Yan Baitao glanced at the students.
They all nodded repeatedly. "Understood."
"Alright, if you have any issues, revise them here first. Once you feel it's good, you can look over your theses."
As soon as Yan Baitao finished speaking, Lu Qingqing and Fang You took their laptops and moved to the side.
Qiu Xi had no problems, so she planned to go directly to Teacher Yan.
As for Liang Yunfei, her work wasn't finished, and she felt a bit embarrassed.
However, she came today to steal experience, so she planned to wait for Qiu Xi and ask Teacher Yan after Qiu Xi was done.
Regarding the issues Teacher Yan mentioned earlier, except for the last one, she was quite confident about the previous points.
So, she wasn't afraid of being lectured by Teacher Yan later; she could just be thick-skinned about it!
"You two, who wants to go first?"
Upon seeing Qiu Xi's face, Yan Baitao smiled, in a good mood.
This was such a good student!
She didn't give him any trouble. He had already looked at her thesis, and there were basically no problems. Naturally, he was delighted!
"Teacher Yan, I'll go first. I still plan to study for a bit!"
Qiu Xi's words, said as if joking, revealed Liang Yunfei's thoughts.
It was better to say it now, lest Teacher Yan's mood sour when he saw her thesis later...
This was also something Liang Yunfei had mentioned when they left that morning.
Xiao Xi was so academically good; she was Teacher Yan's favorite student!
With her in front, seeing her paper should lessen the criticism they might receive.
"Okay, then you go first."
"Have you opened your thesis?"
"Mm."
"Then let's get started," Yan Baitao said, looking at his own laptop.
After a long pause, he spoke.
"There's nothing to say!"
"???!!!"
The ones who were surprised were the others who were eavesdropping, wanting to hear something.
"It's just this final acknowledgment..."
They knew it! There had to be some problem, otherwise, it wouldn't be right!
"You wrote it too officially. To be honest, you've gone on so much that my old face feels a bit embarrassed!"
As he spoke about the acknowledgment, Yan Baitao's eyes, not just his mouth, showed a bright smile.
"......"
Why was it different from what they thought?
Weren't they talking about problems!
Why was he praising her so earnestly!
"Teacher Yan, with all due respect, which part of what I wrote isn't serious?"
Seeing Teacher Yan like this, Qiu Xi was happy to play along.
"I'm not just talking about writing this graduation thesis, but since the start of freshman year until now, for such a long time, you've been this good!"
"No exaggeration!"
"Hahahahaha~" Yan Baitao rarely laughed so happily in front of so many students.
It was evident that he was genuinely happy.
Liang Yunfei watched from behind, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
She glanced at Teacher Yan a few more times and muttered to herself.
"Teacher Yan, you laugh heartily now. I hope you won't be too disappointed when you see my thesis later and can still be this happy..."
It wasn't just Liang Yunfei; the other two behind were also silently praying, hoping Teacher Yan's good mood would last the whole morning.
They weren't Qiu Xi!
"Cough cough~"
After laughing for quite some time, Yan Baitao stopped.
"Alright, your thesis is indeed good. There are no problems. You just need to wait for the plagiarism check to pass."
"If there are any issues then, we'll discuss them."
"Okay~ Thank you, Teacher Yan. I'll look at it again later."
For the plagiarism check, the school would provide a channel for students to check it themselves next year. However, there was only one opportunity, so students had to check it carefully beforehand to avoid difficulties in revision later.
"Alright, you're all set. If you're not leaving, you can watch from the side. I'll look at theirs first."
With such a student, who caused so little trouble, Yan Baitao was practically floating with happiness.
This good mood continued until he started looking at the latter half of Liang Yunfei's thesis.
"Little Liang~"
His voice was drawn out.
"You've written pretty well, but this progress, isn't it a bit slow?"
"I mentioned this with you all earlier. The first two points you have no problem with, but this last one... forget it, it's not a big issue."
"Finish the conclusion first. If you need any help, consult Qiu Xi. You're in the same class, so you have a good relationship and can talk easily."
"......Okay."
Liang Yunfei, who had taken a deep breath, finally relaxed her hand upon hearing this.
Phew~ That was close~
She could accept this.
"Alright, take it back. Show it to me again after you've finished."
"Okay, okay."
It was indeed not good to present an unfinished work. She would hurry up and finish it when she got back!
After Liang Yunfei stepped aside, the other two hesitated...
Finally, they walked over with their laptops.