Zhao Xiaoying seemed to have hit Bai Sixiang's weak spot. Bai Sixiang was startled, and her face felt a bit flushed.
"Who can snatch that ice block away?"
She mumbled.
"Ice block? Hahaha, you still won't admit it. Do you know who I'm talking about?"
Zhao Xiaoying burst out laughing.
Bai Sixiang felt she had let her tongue slip and quickly went to the bathroom to wash up.
Being single is also a strength!
Speaking of Liu Sandao, throughout the entire Qingkong University, he had both the looks and the height, so why did no girls like him?
Could it be, as people said, that he was...?
Bai Sixiang's thoughts drifted into wild speculation.
She wondered how his thesis was coming along. The defense was next week.
...
With graduation defenses just a couple of days away, Fu Ruhai had already made arrangements within the company, granting the graduating students a week's holiday.
Of course, all procedures had to be followed. If an individual student's defense date wasn't immediate, the holiday could be extended accordingly.
It had to be said, this was very humane.
Liu Sandao, like him, planned to stay at the university temporarily for this week.
Like most classmates, he didn't want to miss the last chance to gather before graduation.
Even Fang Zonghai had reduced his work and changed his hairstyle. The old braid was gone, replaced by a simple, sharp short cut.
This week, it felt as if all the students from the School of Economics had returned.
The usually quiet dormitory buildings became exceptionally lively.
There were shouts of playful banter in twos and threes, the clamor of poker games, and even the sounds of girls in some rooms.
Dormitory 304 was also quite noisy because Mei Ziqi was there.
It felt as if if they didn't talk now, they wouldn't have the chance after graduation.
"Hai Ge, Dao Ge, how are your graduation theses coming along?"
Fang Zonghai asked.
Liu Sandao was reading a book and didn't reply.
Fu Ruhai said, "Everything's ready."
"Have you had your advisors review them? Can you pass the thesis defense?"
Fang Zonghai's question momentarily stunned Fu Ruhai.
Thesis defenses required advisors?
Having been an immortal for so long, he had truly forgotten the procedures of the mortal world.
He had thought that graduation defenses were just a matter of making up an article, but he never imagined they needed to be reviewed by an advisor.
In fact, the advisors assigned to them had almost forgotten about them.
From the beginning, they hadn't been considered, as they had never proactively approached their advisors.
Speaking of advisors, Liu Sandao, who was pondering the "Manual of Fortune," flipped to a name: Cao Dehui, a four-star individual, a professor of economics.
In his limited memory, most professors in Qingkong University's School of Economics lived affluent lives, with rosy complexions, looking like people of wealth. Why was this man only a four-star individual?
Prompted by Fang Zonghai, Fu Ruhai felt it necessary to visit their advisor, otherwise, the graduation defense might go awry.
The next morning, Fu Ruhai dragged Liu Sandao to Cao Dehui's office.
It happened to be Saturday, but Fang Zonghai had mentioned that Cao Dehui worked overtime in his office every Saturday morning.
So, they headed straight for the office.
Cao Dehui's office was in the main building of Qingkong University's School of Economics.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Fu Ruhai knocked on the office door.
"Come in!"
A deep voice, one that sounded calculating and shrewd.
Liu Sandao felt this was inseparable from their professional habits. Professors in the School of Economics usually had other sources of income besides their university salaries, such as acting as economic consultants or recommending stocks, all of which were profitable avenues.
If one were to name the wealthiest professors at a university, it would undoubtedly be those from the School of Economics.
"Teacher Cao, hello!"
Fu Ruhai said cautiously as he entered the office. Liu Sandao followed, closing the office door.
The door was already closed, so Liu Sandao simply returned it to its original state.
"Open the door. If someone saw it closed, they might think we were up to something improper!"
This was said loudly, in a commanding tone that was quite unpleasant to hear.
When one is under someone else's roof, one must be humble.
Liu Sandao felt a pang of annoyance but suppressed it.
He reopened the door and quietly followed behind Fu Ruhai.
"Did you need something?"
"It's like this, Teacher Cao, our thesis defense is coming up soon, so we came to have you look at our theses."
Fu Ruhai said with a forced smile.
"Are you sure you've come to the right person? What are your names? I don't remember having you two."
Cao Dehui said sternly, his expression severe, with a furrowed brow.
"I am Fu Ruhai, and this is Liu Sandao. Here are our theses."
Fu Ruhai didn't follow up on his remark but changed the subject, placing the USB drive containing their theses on Cao Dehui's desk.
It was clear that if they had continued along Cao Dehui's line of questioning, it would have escalated into a confrontation.
Cao Dehui had no choice. These two students were registered under his name, and if he refused to look at their theses in front of other students, it would affect his reputation. Not passing their graduation theses wouldn't affect his bonuses or ratings.
These two really didn't take him seriously. They had never approached him before. If he hadn't seen them in person now, he would have thought he didn't have these two students.
"It's this late, and you're only bringing them now. What were you doing before?" Cao Dehui showed no intention of calming down.
Liu Sandao, who had been silent, became even more composed, as if he were a bystander observing the scene.
Fu Ruhai's smiling face instantly turned awkward.
But he dared not say a word.
"Clink!"
Cao Dehui tossed the cap of the USB drive onto the desk and plugged the drive into his computer.
Having graded many theses, his dexterity with USB drives was second to none.
Fu Ruhai's thesis was titled "Research on Philanthropic Economics"; Liu Sandao's thesis was "Research on the Pseudo-Economics of Philanthropy."
It had to be said that the thesis topics were novel, but whether the arguments and evidence were sufficient was another matter.
However, in his view, these were not the most important things.
"Sigh, what is this you've written? Take it back and do it again!"
Cao Dehui said angrily, quickly pulling the USB drive from the computer and throwing it onto the desk!
"I see you don't want to graduate!"
This statement hit the mark.
Liu Sandao had never really considered graduating, but Fu Ruhai certainly had.
However, at this point, they could only take it back and revise it.
But graduation theses were originally meant to be completed using magical arts according to mortal rules. Even if it were flawed, passing the defense shouldn't have been a problem. So why did Cao Dehui say it wouldn't pass?
Fang Zonghai's words served as a reminder to Fu Ruhai.
That is, the thesis itself was not the problem; the people were the problem!