Top-notch Master Masquerading As Cannon Fodder Female Companion

141-150

Chapter 141: Little Snow Fairy Holds Her Grudges

Could it be that Tan Mo really had some feelings for Ming Yeqing?

Wei Zhiqian was staring at Ming Yeqing.

It was still too early to tell.

Good thing that Tan Mo was still so young. Romance would have to wait until she turned into an adult.

She'll have to wait until her mind matures a bit more.

At least three years...

These three years would the perfect time to test out Ming Yeqing.

No matter who Tan Mo chooses, he would have to watch them closely and see if they pass the standard.

Wei Keli had been enough already. He didn't want to have to deal with another person whom he would have to influence Tan Mo away from.

From where he was standing, Ming Yeqing noticed Wei Zhiqian's stare.

The stare was so intense that it sent a shiver down his spine, though he had no idea what he was even staring at with that frown of his.

Tan Mo finally finished looking at Ming Yeqing and shook her head. "I don't think being lighter or darker makes a difference."

After all, she had looked at Ming Yeqing for many, many years and had gotten immune to his good looks.

Still under Wei Zhiqian's gaze, Ming Yeqing moved toward Qin Muye. "Muye, what do you think?"

"I think you looked better with a lighter skin tone. It made you look really refined."

This in-between just made him look a bit strange.

Ming Yeqing nodded. "I will try to remember to use sunscreen then."

Wei Zhiqian narrowed his eyes.

Even with Tan Mo present, that brat had dared to ask Qin Muye's opinion, as if Qin Muye mattered.

This little b*stard changed his mind too quickly and was a social butterfly.

Considering how young he is now, what kind of unfaithful monster would he grow into?

Wei Zhiqian walked up next to the three brothers of the Tan family and said, "Look at that Ming Yeqing, jumping back and forth between Mo Mo and Muye, fluttering around like a butterfly. Once he grows up, he is going to to be more unreliable than Wei Keli. At least Wei Keli is stupid enough to be reined in, but that Ming Yeqing is almost as smart as Mo Mo. Should he start playing tricks, even if we could handle it, it would still be a major headache. There are better options, why waste time and energy on his little tricks?

"Therefore, as Mo Mo's brothers, you three have to watch this Ming Yeqing closely!" Wei Zhiqian concluded.

However, the three brothers all felt that Wei Zhiqian was prying too much.

Tan Mo's problems were the Tan family's alone, where did Wei Zhiqian think he fit into all this?

Still, Tan Jinqi had to admit, there was some truth to Wei Zhiqian's warning.

Ming Yeqing looked way too popular to be reliable.

They were not going to let Tan Mo and Qin Muye start hating each other because of him, going from best friends to enemies.

It's good that this has come to our attention, and it will be guarded against.

It could turn out to be a big problem.

For this reason alone, Ming Yeqing was removed from the list of future brother-in-laws by the three brothers.

Tan Jinsheng and Tan Jinyi looked toward Tan Jinqi.

They still needed their eldest brother's word.

"Even without Young Master Wei's words, we could see for ourselves," Tan Jinqi muttered.

Then he turned to his two younger brothers and said, "Mo Mo is still too young. Even if she is in college now, it is too early for romance. Be it Ming Yeqing or Wei Keli, they are all a no go."

Unknown to Ming Yeqing, he was already under strict surveillance by the three brothers and Wei Zhiqian.

On top of that, he had even gotten the title of an unfaithful social butterfly.

Qin Muye bid her good-byes to the Tan family and went home with her driver.

Ming Yeqing followed Uncle Zhang and got into his car.

Wei Zhiqian was waiting to see whose car Tan Mo would get into: the Tan family car or his.

After all, he had made the trip just for her.

To his surprise, Tan Mo waved at him without a second thought. "I am going to take my leave now, Little Uncle. Good-bye."

With that, she disappeared into the Tan family's car.

Wei Zhiqian: "..."

The feeling of being used got very strong.

Tan Mo was still waving at him from the window of her car.

Going with Wei Zhiqian? There was no way.

Wei Zhiqian had been hating on her just moments ago.

A little snowy fairy holds her grudges!

Once Wei Zhiqian was out of sight, Tan Mo finally straightened her posture.

Tan Jiqin said to her, "Director Hou Yuehai contacted me yesterday."

"What did he say?" Tan Mo immediately snapped to attention and grabbed Tan Jinqi's arm with excitement.

"I should have told you right away, but I thought that you would meet him today anyway, so I might as well wait for today. It would be better to explain the details face to face," Tan Jinqi explained.

Sensing Tan Mo's impatience, Tan Jinqi went on, "Director Hou is very friendly. He told me that he is preparing for a TV show. The character auditions for it start next week. He asked me if I would have some free time to participate, starting with the preparations. Once the filming starts, I would stay to apprentice under him. This way, I would be familiar with the whole process of filming a show. It would save me some trouble should I wish to film a show myself in the future."

Tan Mo nodded. It made sense.

"So where is the studio?" Tan Mo asked.

"Because this is a modern show, it will be staged at B city. There might be a few scenes that need to be done in other cities, I am not too sure about that." After all, that was a common occurrence in the film industry.

Unlike a historical drama, in which you can finish everything in a single studio, modern shows might have scenes that one city couldn't fulfill, but other cities might work.

Plus, a show might use many fictional places. Merging different scenes from different cities can prevent viewers from recognizing where the scene was filmed, and thus not feel that the story was out of place.

Additionally, some plots, like a crime show, require frequent changes of scene.

"It's a good thing it's in B city." This way, should anything arise for big brother, she could still be in contact.

Tan Jinqi patted Tan Mo's head and said gently, "The professor probably told Director Hou a lot of things about you, because Director Hou is putting a lot of thought and effort into this. This is probably the same that Director Hou would do for a close apprentice of his. Relax, I will try my best to learn with Director Hou."

Tan Mo nodded. "Learning is learning, just don't tire yourself out."

After a second, she added, "Big brother, if you meet anyone who is trying to bully the newbies...don't bottle it up.

"I know...sometimes, you have to keep it on the down low. Not everything can go the way we want it. Even so, big brother, even if it might not be good to retaliate right then and there, just don't keep it all to yourself. You have to tell us. It would make you feel a lot better."

"That's right. " Xu Mingzhen agreed with Tan Mo, "If you went to another city to film, we would be too far away to help. There wouldn't be much we could do even if we went to the site."

Xu Mingzhen paused for a moment. "Although we say this, even if it is in B city, should someone really bully you, we couldn't just go and beat them up."

If they did that, it would still be Tan Jinqi who ended up losing face.

He was an adult. There was no way he could just act like a small child, crying for his parents as soon as he was wronged, especially in the workplace. No mature adults would do such a childish thing.

Unfortunately, hostility toward new people was a commonplace occurrence. The only way to deal with it was to keep a low profile or to retaliate while making sure it wouldn't affect one's future.

Chapter 142: First Day of School

It was a shame that they didn't have any connections in the film industry.

"Mo Mo is right. You might not be able to do anything, WE might not be able to do anything, even if you tell us everything. However, you have to tell us. As long as you don't keep it bottled up but get it all out, you will feel much better.

"You have to remember, there are always people willing to hear you out. There is always a place for you to vent. If you don't tell us anything, we will never know. Don't try to shoulder everything. That is just stupid," Xu Mingzhen continued. "Plus, it's not like we truly can't help. If you speak up, I'm sure the family will find a way to help you."

Tan Wenci nodded. "Listen to your mother and your sister. Our company might not be as big or well-known as those of prestigious clans and families, but we are not nothing. There are some very famous actors who have asked for sponsorships from us. We could use those connections should the need arise.

"I didn't think about that before. However, if you want to join that circle, I think it is time for us to familiarize ourselves with those big shots. This family will be your reliable backup no matter what. Plus, everyone in that circle is fairly sly, and I don't think they're the type who would pick on you for no reason. Still, you should be on your guard. There is nothing impossible in this world."

"I know Brother Han Zhuoli too." Tan Mo was not going to forget that.

"Knowing him is one thing, but he is not close to you like Wei Zhiqian. If you ask him for help, you would be asking him for a favor, and then he would be owing someone else a favor."

Tan Mo agreed. "I know that. That's exactly why I didn't ask him to look for a director to guide big brother. Asking Brother Han Zhuoli isn't as easy as asking a favor from a professor who's begging me to take his class. I'm just trying to tell big brother here that we are not entirely clueless about the entertainment community. So if someone wrongs you, big brother, please don't bottle it up."

Although they have repeated it many times, Tan Mo had no way of knowing if Tan Jinqi had actually taken it to heart.

The same smile hung on his lips throughout the whole conversation.

Tan Mo hadn't noticed when Tan Jinqi had begun to smile.

No matter who he looked at, the smile was the same. That smile never reached his eyes.

Still, it was hard to notice for an average person.

Everyone's first impression of Tan Jinqi would be that he was a refined person with a gentle temperament.

Tan Mo noted silently, from whom did big brother learn this? It looked so deceiving.

"Rest assured," Tan Jinqi began as he patted Tan Mo's head, "if I kept it to myself, and you guys found out later, it would only make you all disappointed in me. There is no way I would do that."

If he didn't let himself be wronged, there would be no need to tell his family, and his family wouldn't have to be sad for him.

Tan Mo thought, starting from tomorrow, it was time to woo Wei Zhiqian a bit.

It would be important for him to help stand up for her brother when the time came.

The military training ended on a Friday. She had two weekend days to refresh herself.

When Monday rolled around, school would start officially.

After she'd gotten back home, her love for her home grew to an unprecedented high.

You never know how good home is until you leave it.

She told her parents and brothers about what had happened in school, as well as all about her military training.

She didn't tell them that Qin Murong had tried to pick on her.

To her, the troubles Qin Murong had stirred up were all too trivial.

Qin Murong could hardly put up a fight anymore, having been completely shamed during their exchanges.

Still, Tan Mo mentioned that Wei Keli was seeking out Qin Murong daily to give Xu Mingzhen some idea about Wei Keli.

Before Tan Mo had even started to explain Wei Keli's motivations, Tan Jinqi had sneered. "He's trying to get on Qin Murong's good side to keep the Qin family connections?"

Tan Mo nodded.

Tan Jinsheng opened his mouth, struggling with his words in disbelief, "Do his parents know how stupid he is? Does he really have no idea what Qin Murong's situation is in the Qin family?"

Tan Mo spread out her hands. "You see, anyone with a brain could figure it out, but he can't. Still, he calls himself a smart one."

Tan Jinqi narrowed his eyes. "Did he take Qin Murong's side when Qin Murong tried to pick on you again?"

"Nothing goes by big brother unnoticed." Tan Mo praised her brother and explained everything.

"Therefore, Qin Murong didn't get the best of me. No need to worry."

However, she didn't notice that her three brothers had all shot a look toward Xu Mingzhen in shared understanding.

Fortunately, they had long ago given up trying to set up Wei Keli and Tan Mo.

Not only was he unreliable, he was dumb too.

If they had ever succeeded in setting him up with Mo Mo, it would be like putting a flower on a dung heap. Such a waste!

Xu Mingzhen sighed silently and nodded in agreement.

They didn't say anything more

There was no need to make Tan Mo's day worse with more drama.

Tan Mo had nothing to do at home, so she took out her copy of "Liye Qinjian" that she had gotten from Professor Guo and started translating.

To Tan Mo, it was as easy as copying pages out of a book.

Of course, Tan Mo didn't try to copy it by hand. It would be too slow.

She did her work on her computer and printed it out later. Within two days, she had finished.

On Sunday night, Tan Mo went back to school early.

If she left her return until Monday morning, she might not have enough time to get everything done.

Other than her finance classes, she now had to try to fit in Professor Zhao's classes also.

When Wu Xiaoye had handed her the schedule, he'd told her, "Professor Zhao wasn't sure which level would suit you best, so he wanted you to try the sophomore curriculum first. It's not too much. There is only one lecture per week. Here is the book list. Try it out first, then you can decide with Professor Zhao if you can jump a level."

Tan Mo looked at the information. There were only 20 available seats in this class.

She could imagine how intense the competition would be once the class opened.

"Don't worry. You will be an unofficial student and your grades won't be calculated. Therefore, there is nothing anyone can say about it." Wu Xiaoye smiled. "If they have any objections, you can tell me, and I will take care of them."

"Professor Zhao's current research topics are on the organization and study of the Hua Empire's historical documents." Wu Xiaoye continued, "I will give you the materials later. Go take a look and you can decide later."

"Okay." Tan Mo nodded.

"I took a look myself. It shouldn't be in conflict with your current schedule." Wu Xiaoye was a meticulous person. "Professor Zhao is expecting great things from you. Be prepared for that."

"I know. The more he asks of me, the more he cares about me, and the more he expects of me." Tan Mo smiled back. "Don't worry too much, brother. I won't let him down."

"Okay. Tomorrow is your first day. Surely you still have many things to attend to. I will let you go now."

Chapter 143: She Called This Decent

Tan Mo took the class schedule and books back to her dorm.

Professor Zhao was willing to put her in a sophomore class without even knowing her very well. That alone showed how much confidence the professor had in her.

On the first day of school, Tan Mo didn't waste any time and took her translated work to Professor Guo.

"So fast!" Professor Guo was shocked. Tan Mo's efficiency was way beyond what would normally be expected from a student.

Professor Guo knew all the content of the document by heart, and he knew which part was the hardest.

He looked over her work, including some of the more difficult words and the harder-to-translate places.

Everything was extremely accurate.

Tan Mo had done a very detailed job.

She had first translated the original text into modern simplified words.

Then, under every sentence, she had used a smaller font and translated each sentence into modern-day language for easier understanding.

Archaic Chinese often used very short sentences. However, this also meant that each word held much more meaning.

This is clearly shown through how the sentences increased in length after being translated.

After Tan Mo's sentence-by-sentence translation, the thin stack of paper quickly grew in size and turned into a thick pile.

However, this also made understanding it much easier.

Looking at her organization alone, one could tell Tan Mo had really put some thought into it.

Professor Guo read it, nodding, "Not bad at all. I wasn't expecting you to finish so soon."

"These ancient writings..." Professor Guo smiled, "Don't tell me you know all the words. You didn't look up any references?"

Just looking up words would take a huge chunk of time.

"My memory is decent, so I remembered a lot of what l had learned in the past," Tan Mo answered humbly.

Professor Guo: "..."

She called this decent.

Was this little girl trying to be humble or was she being sarcastic?

"Do you have another class after this?" Professor Guo checked the time.

"No." Tan Mo shook her head.

She had come looking for Professor Guo knowing that she would be free for the rest of the day.

"Let's go. I want to take you on a tour of the lab." Professor Guo stood up, still holding the documents Tan Mo had translated.

"Professor Guo, I can carry them." Tan Mo stretched out her hand.

That thick stack of paper was rather heavy.

Professor Guo smiled and handed the papers to Tan Mo without hesitation.

"The project that my team is working on is the organization of the ancient documents of the Hua Empire. After they're organized, we will translate them all and publish them." Professor Guo explained what they were working on on the way to the lab. "There are so many records, not limited to written ones on paper. Before paper-crafting techniques were popularized, china, metal, turtle shells, animal bones, cloth, and bamboo sheets were all used as writing mediums.

"In addition, on some archaeology expeditions, we found writings on walls and on rocks. A lot of these writings were eroded and parts of them obscured. We try our best to read what is left and piece together the truth of history.

"All of these records are within our collection." Professor Guo finished.

Although Professor Guo had explained all this to her in a conversational tone, she could feel how big the project was.

Once finished, it would be a great contribution toward the study of human civilization.

"We are collaborating with the history department on this project. They are responsible for sorting through the files. We are here to organize them into books and translate them." Professor Guo continued, "The part of "Liye Qinjian" I asked you to work on is actually a part of our work as well.

Professor Guo looked at the pile of pages Tan Mo was holding and smiled, "Although this was only a test for you, you have also helped us by doing this work. Thank you for lightening our workload."

Tan Mo's efficiency and accuracy alone would make her a valuable addition to the team. Professor Guo had to make her join the team.

Tan Mo followed Professor Guo into the lab. It looked different from what she had been expecting.

She had been expecting everyone to be working quietly in little cells.

However, it was rather lively in here.

Piles of books were stacked upon lines of bookcases, each tagged with different colors.

Tan Mo did not take a closer look, so she didn't know what each tag meant.

In the middle of the lab, there were four whiteboards 60 to 70 inches wide, raised like TV screens. Together, they formed a cube.

Each whiteboard was covered in pieces of A4 paper.

All kinds of ancient writings were printed on the pieces of paper.

"Found it!" A girl cried out in joy and took a paper off the whiteboard, recorded something on the paper, and entered it into a laptop.

"Professor Guo, Tan Mo!" Wang Yuemu noticed them first and ran over to greet them.

The others didn't drop their work right away.

They chose to finish what they were doing first.

Then they paused one after another and looked over.

"Tan Mo?" Everyone looked at the little girl standing next to Professor Guo.

She was dressed casually, without any flamboyant makeup.

A common pair of jeans with two holes on the knees...

Regardless of gender, everyone's jeans had some holes.

She was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a floral print. A decorative string ran around the cuffs as well as the collar.

The orange flowers of the print made her skin look very fair. In turn, her pretty skin made the flowers look brighter.

Although it was only a small detail, it still grabbed the onlookers' eyes.

"Let me introduce Tan Mo to everyone." Professor Guo smiled. "Tan Mo will be joining our team from now on. She will be doing the organization and translation of ancient records with us."

Professor Guo waited for someone to object. Once the objections arose, he would show everyone Tan Mo's work to prove her worth to everyone on the team.

Unexpectedly, everyone just stared at Tan Mo with curiosity as if she was a panda. No one objected.

Finally, a girl raised her hand.

Tan Mo looked at her. She was the one who had just taken a piece of paper off the whiteboard as they came in.

"Professor, " the girl spoke, "Big Sister Wang said that you gave part of "Liye Qinjian" to Tan Mo to translate. After she was finished, you were going to bring her to meet us. Since she is here today, does that mean she finished it already?"

Professor Guo smiled at Wang Yuemu.

"I was wondering why all of you children were being so nice today. Not a single arrogant one to jump up and complain. It seems as if Wang Yuemu has explained the situation beforehand." Otherwise, there were sure to have been some objections.

"Since Tan Mo is going to join our team, we will all be teammates. I thought it would be better for us to get along from the start. Should there be any conflicts that arose at the start, even if we ended up talking them out and resolving them, we might still hold some grudges. Nothing good could come from that, " Wang Yuemu explained her thinking.

Professor Guo nodded with pleasure.

Wang Yuemu was well-respected by this team. Her words carried weight.

Professor Guo valued Wang Yuemu's work ethic. She put everything aside for her academic studies and focused on the work. She even attempted to resolve any potential obstacles.

With Wang Yuemu on the team, their whole team would work better together.

Chapter 144: Joining a Team

In addition, although the students were proud of their work, they were also honest as good scholars tend to be.

As long as whatever happened was beneficial for their studies, they would have no objections.

Professor Guo nodded and pointed toward the files in Tan Mo's hands. "They are all here. Tan Mo finished her translations over the weekend. She passed my test, and that is why I have brought her here. If she hadn't passed, I was worried that you guys would cause some troubles for her."

"So fast?" A boy cried out in surprise. "You finished it all within two days...?"

"Actually, Professor Guo didn't give me too much. Don't be fooled by how thick this pile of paper is. This is the finished work. It includes my translations as well as the original text. That is why it looks like a lot."

She thought her explanation was okay.

Professor Guo took the papers from Tan Mo and handed them over to the boy who had just spoken up. "You are the team leader of the team in charge of "Liye Qinjian" translations. Take a look and see if everything is good."

Professor Guo had looked them over beforehand. He was sure there wouldn't be anything wrong.

The boy accepted the stack of paper. "I will do that right now."

With that, he ran off with the pile.

"Yuemu, would you mind introducing Tan Mo to everyone here?" Professor Guo asked.

"Tan Mo, follow me." Wang Yuemu beckoned to Tan Mo and walked over to the boy who had just taken all the papers. "Big brother here is in charge of organizing and translating "Liye Qinjian". "Liye Qinjian" is not a work of literature, but rather the records of Qianling County in Dongting State during the Qin dynasty. It includes records of ancient clan lineages, townships, and land ownerships. I am sure you are rather familiar with this all, but they aren't easy materials to organize in a book. Still, we organize and translate them all so that they may be valuable references for academic textbooks or simply stored away in files. They could be of use one day."

"This is the team leader, Ying Siyuan." Wang Yuemu introduced him to Tan Mo.

Ying Siyuan smiled in greeting. "Tan Mo, welcome to the team."

"That's very enthusiastic of you," Wang Yuemu smiled.

"We hadn't started translating this part that Tan Mo had worked on yet. This is the original of that part. I just looked it over. I was planning on familiarizing myself with the text before I started the translation." Ying Siyuan laughed. "Therefore, I know the difficulties in the part she just translated. She did her part exceptionally well. I could tell she put her heart into it."

Ying Siyuan showed the pages to Wang Yuemu. "Plus, with her efficiency... Finishing the work in only two days over the weekend...! I would beg for her to join us!"

"We haven't decided yet which team we should put Tan Mo on." Wan Yuemu reminded him jokingly, "Don't get your hopes up just yet."

For efficiency's sake, they have divided the work up into teams. Some teams' work wasn't so complicated, and they were able to finish faster than the others. When that happened, they moved onto the next task.

"Come on. Let me introduce you to more people." Wang Yuemu grabbed Tan Mo and continued around the room.

One of the girls spoke up, "Here is the team I am in charge of. This is senior sister Chen Shihua, senior brother Ling Zimu, senior brother Shen Hongshan, and senior sister Pu Xinyan."

"These are texts from the Warring States." Tan Mo noticed the words on the whiteboard right away, since Chen Shihua and the others happened to be standing right next it.

The whiteboard had been a bit too far away for a close look a moment ago.

With the board right in front of her now, Tan Mo noticed what it said immediately.

"You know about this?" Chen Shihua cried out in surprise.

Tan Mo could translate the original text of the "Liye Qin Slips". This meant she understood the ancient clerical script.

Everyone had heard what Ying Siyuan had just said.

However, they hadn't expected Tan Mo to be able to read the texts of the Warring States.

"I don't know much about the Warring States' texts. They are just too messy for easy recognition." Shen Hongshan shook his head ruefully.

Just looking at the words on the whiteboard, Ling Zimu could feel his head starting to ache already, "Since the end of the Spring and Autumn periods, until the Qin dynasty united all the kingdoms, people all used the Warring States script. Before that they used Chinese bronze inscriptions from the Spring and Autumn periods. After that, they used the clerical script of the Qin and Han dynasties.

"During the period of the Warring States, there wasn't a single alphabet. Writing wasn't unified until the early reign of Qin Shi Huang. He unified the language, standardized the distances, and consolidated measurements," Ling Zimu explained. "Before that, the writings of the Warring States included scripts from six different kingdoms and the Qin kingdom. The scripts from the six kingdoms were further divided into Qi system scripts, Yan system scripts, Jin system scripts, and Chu system scripts.

Ling Zimu rubbed his forehead. "Just talking about this gives me a headache. There is just too much."

"You're right. As I was organizing all of this, my respect for Qin Shi Huang was growing by the moment. What an amazing feat he accomplished, unifying all the scripts," Pu Xinyan exclaimed.

Wang Yuemu laughed. "Your brother Ling loves to lecture. That's an old problem of his. Regardless whether the listener already knows it or not, he will always blabber on."

Ling Zimu wasn't angry at what she had said.

Other than liking to lecture, he had a good temperament. Now, despite being criticized, he was still smiling. It even made him seem a bit naive.

"Brother Ling has a good temperament. Other than liking to educate others a bit, no matter what you say around him, as long as you don't go too far, he won't get mad." Pu Xinyan laughed, looking toward Tan Mo.

"Tan Mo, if you can read Warring States scripts, then you should know a bit about this?" Wang Yuemu asked her.

However, Wang Yuemu thought that it was already astonishing enough that Tan Mo was skilled in the clerical script. Warring States scripts were very confusing. Knowing them was already a feat in itself.

She was definitely not expecting that Tan Mo would be gifted in Warring States scripts.

"I'm not proficient. There are some that I don't know yet." When the little snow fairy had gained her consciousness, the Warring States period had long passed.

All that she knew had been taught to her by her master.

Master knew everything!

Nonetheless, Master had never taught her everything, and she was too lazy to learn everything.

In the end, what she knew was rather limited.

"However, there are a few characters that I know." Tan Mo pointed to one of the papers. "This character is qi, as in gods and deities."

Tan Mo was afraid that they had mistaken it for another character with the same pronunciation. She picked up a whiteboard marker and wrote the character next to the paper.

"This character that looks like 'tian' is 'li'. It's a character from the Zhongshan state script." Tan Mo wrote it down as well.

"Zhongshan state's scripts belong to the Jin system scripts," Pu Xinyan said, picking up a copy of "Warring States Literature" for reference.

"So this is really 'li'." Pu Xinyan quickly made a note of it.

At the same time, Shen Hongshan was double-checking it as well. "It IS the 'qi' character!"

"Tan Mo, you know some of these characters without having to look them up?" This was too shocking.

There was no way they could have memorized all these characters.

The different states all had a different way for writing the same character.

Luckily, some of them appeared rather similar.

However, on the other hand, there were also ones that differed greatly.

"This 'li' character is so tricky. Under the Chu system, this word didn't change too much. But in the Jin system, this looks nothing like 'li'!" Shen Hongshan was getting a headache again. This character looked too similar to 'tian'.

"Tan Mo, how much do you recognize?" Chen Shihua eyes lit up.

Tan Mo felt a bit creeped out by her gaze. She pointed to the whiteboard, "I know three there."

"As for the last two, I don't know them. We'll have to look them up," Tan Mo continued.

"This is already amazing!" Chen Shihua exclaimed.

"Sister Wang," Chen Shihua looked at Wang Yuemu with sparkling eyes, "Such a genius like Tan Mo has to join our team!"

Chapter 145: You Can't Just Steal People

Wang Yuemu was staring at Tan Mo intently as well.

She was also holding onto her hands tightly as if she was never letting go.

"Tan Mo, you're not only proficient with clerical script, you even know Warring States scripts. You are a genius. Professor Guo really does have a good eye for people."

Wang Yuemu knew how to flatter someone.

Of course, what she said was the truth as well.

Although everyone was friendly toward Tan Mo, it was hard to tell from looks alone.

However, as of now, there was no more room for doubt.

Everyone was completely convinced of her ability.

No one could find any reasonable way to question her, both out loud or in their thoughts.

"I don't know that much." Tan Mo waved her hand dismissively.

Although she had an astonishing memory, she had never really looked into this area. Therefore she really couldn't call herself an expert in this field.

Should she get the chance to go back and look into it, there might be chance for her to memorize all of it.

However, that giant brick of a dictionary sitting on Pu Xinyan's desk looked way too heavy.

She simply did not have the interest or motivation to look through it.

"What's going on?" Ying Siyuan ran over from the other side of the room. "You can't just snatch people."

If not for the fact that Tan Mo was a girl and Ying Siyuan was a guy, he would have grabbed Tan Mo into a gigantic hug so that she couldn't be stolen by others.

Now, he could only beckon to his teammates, "Guan Ruyue, come over here and grab Tan Mo out of Wang Yuemu's grasp!"

Wang Yuemu: " ..."

Tan Mo: "...."

This senior brother Ying Siyuan must be a clown.

But to their surprise, the senior sister Guan Ruyue actually came over.

She grabbed Tan Mo's hands. "Senior sister Wang, please let go of Tan Mo. We can talk this over."

You can't just steal people.

Professor Guo's team was extremely hard to join. Even if someone was lucky enough to join, if they didn't have outstanding abilities, the others on the team wouldn't want them to join.

Even though they were indeed short of people.

To be precise, they were short of talented people.

They were not going to let just anyone join.

What they needed were people like Tan Mo.

At this moment, neither side wanted to give up and let go of Tan Mo.

"Excuse me! Gentlemen settle disputes through communication rather than brawls." Another senior brother from Ying Siyuan's team, Wu Jiazhen, walked over.

You could persuade people to join, but you should not force them.

"Senior sister Wang, look, Professor Guo gave her a part of the Liye Qin Slips. This means that he wants Tan Mo to join our team." Ying Siyuan thought that was evidence enough.

"Tan Mo has just finished the assignment. It's still fresh. You can't just come over and steal people like this." Ying Siyuan looked at Wang Yuemu's team with suspicion.

Wang Yuemu tried to appeal to them emotionally. "Brother Ying, I have no choice. If there were any other option, I wouldn't be fighting over Tan Mo with you. But look, my team is struggling. Just looking up all these characters is taking too long. We all are plagued with headaches. Should Tan Mo join us, she could help to increase our efficiency greatly. If we could finish this part faster, then we could all move on to the next part sooner.

"Imagine, all you guys would be finished with your tasks and we would still be stuck here. What a delay that would be," Wang Yuemu complained, sounding brokenhearted.

Tan Mo: "..."

She was surprised that sister Wang would do this.

And people had told her that she had a straightforward personality?

From her little speech just now, Wang Yuemu's personality seemed quite distorted.

Ying Siyuan realized he was no match for Wang Yuemu and turned to Tan Mo, "I think we should ask for the opinion of the person we are all fighting over."

"True. Tan Mo, which team do you want to join? " Pu Xinyan turned around and asked enthusiastically.

"Tan Mo! Please come to our team. Our team doesn't burn so many brain cells," Guan Ruyue called out.

Ying Siyuan: "..."

They said it as if their team's work was a walk in the park.

Wu Jiazhen reminded Ying Siyuan quietly, "You forgot? Senior sister Wang said Tan Mo joined late because she was too lazy to jump a grade."

She was lazy?

She didn't want to do the more tedious work.

Ying Siyuan's eyes lit up at these words.

Suddenly he didn't mind how his project was not as hard as Wang Yuemu's or how that made him and his team look inferior to Wang Yuemu.

Right now, this was an advantage.

Ying Siyuan stared at Tan Mo in anticipation and added quickly, "That's right. Tan Mo, we have fewer things to deal with here. It's going to be easy.

"Look over there. They have to look up every character they encounter in the dictionary. Even if you ignore how tedious that is, just holding a dictionary of that size..." Ying Siyuan motioned with his hands. "How tiresome would that be?"

"Look at your arms. You are not fit for such hard labor." Ying Siyuan had suddenly gained a tender heart for the ladies.

Wang Yuemu raised her eyebrows. Now they were all sweet talkers...?

They are no longer the insensitive dumb boys she knows...?

So had they always been insensitive just because they never cared enough?

Ha, ha, ha!

Men!

They are all garbage!

"It's going to be so comfortable for you here. You already know clerical script, so you don't have to waste all your time looking up characters. Because of your mastery of ancient Chinese, finishing your tasks shouldn't take too long. As long as you are willing to type and are not afraid of some work, then you'll be just fine. You don't have to worry about anything else." Ying Siyuan tried his best to coax her.

Tan Mo thought about it. It had some truth to it.

"Tan Mo, look over there. They have too many boys." Pu Xinyan noticed that Tan Mo was starting to sway and quickly pointed something out. "Their team only has Guan Ruyue as the sole girl. How inconvenient that would be for you. If Guan Ruyue has to go on a break, then you would be the only girl. If you had some girl problems, you wouldn't even have anyone to talk to."

"That's right! Look over here. There are me and your senior sister Pu both! We two girls here never go on break at the same time. No matter when you want to talk, there would always be one of us willing to listen." Wang Yuemu followed up on Pu Xinyan's idea.

"That's enough." Wu Jiazhen started to speak. "We are all under the same roof, just divided by walls. If Ruyue is not here, Tan Mo just has to turn around to see you two. Should anything really have happened, are you two going to ignore her just because she didn't choose your team?"

Wang Yuemu: "..."

Pu Xinyan: "...."

They were instigating discord. Their words were blades to the heart. They were all acting like despicable villains.

Professor Guo watched from the side of the room and suddenly felt a familiar feeling.

Back in the day, when he and Old Zhao were in Economics class, had they been like this too?

This...was truly not a pretty sight.

Had they been this embarrassing?

He really should have recorded it to show Old Zhao.

"Senior brothers and sisters,..." Tan Mo, as the master mediator, was not going to upset anyone.

"I think it would be best to let Professor Guo decide," Tan Mo said. "I am okay with any team. I will go along with Professor Guo's plan."

She was kicking the ball to Professor Guo.

At the sudden mention of his name, Professor Guo coughed and walked over.

He looked at his proud students. They were all looking at him with such anticipation as if they were all hungry chicks waiting to be fed.

Professor Guo was getting uncomfortable. The decision was hard to make.

He thought about it and spoke, "Tan Mo should join Wang Yuemu's team."

Ying Siyuan and the others lowered their heads in disappointment.

Chapter 146: Go and Find Professor Zhao

"Please don't look so pitiful," Professor Guo said exasperatedly. "Yuemu's group does indeed have more difficult problems to solve. An additional person will add great strength to the team. What's more, Tan Mo has a better grasp of ancient literature from the Warring States Era than Yuemu's team. She will be a great help to us, and it would be a pity if she didn't join Yuemu's team."

"Oh, right, Tan Mo, how many words do you recognize?" Shen Hongshan asked.

"I have never kept track or calculated that." Tan Mo shook her head.

"True." Shen Hongshan nodded his head. "No one has time for that."

"Come on, let me explain how our team works." Wang Yuemu didn't waste any more time. She grabbed Tan Mo and started to introduce her to the process.

"We divide the materials and assign everyone a portion. It's called teamwork. You should familiarize yourself with your assigned words, and, whenever you come across something you don't understand, you should print it out and paste it onto the whiteboard. If someone else knows the answer, they will write it down. If no one can help, then you should check the dictionary." Wang Yuemu continued to explain, "To be honest, that's as simple as it gets, and I have nothing else to add. I will give you a section of the transcript later."

After Wang Yuemu gave that introduction, she checked out her assigned share.

It was a thin little booklet.

"Try this first. Because this is a big project, it's quite troublesome to undertake. Hence, everyone usually only gets a small section at any one time. If you do too much at one go, it will really suck away your brain power," Wang Yuemu explained. "Once you've finished, you can let me know. I'll give you another part. That's basically it.

"Since everyone's class schedules are different, there are no fixed times for our meetings. Like today, for example, a few of our fellow groupmates didn't come because they're having a class." Wang Yuemu took Tan Mo over to the wall.

A miniature whiteboard was hanging on the wall.

A list of names was written on the whiteboard.

Wang Yuemu and the team all had their names written on it.

This was the name list of all the team members.

At the end of every name, a stipulated time was listed.

Sure enough, she heard Wang Yuemu explain, "This is the name list for our team. The time period listed at the end indicates their available times.

"We paste all the words we cannot recognize onto the board. When we aren't around, other people can come and check out the whiteboard. If they recognize a word, they will write the answer next to it, and this way, we would be able to see it the next time we return."

Tan Mo nodded her head. She understood.

It basically functioned like a messaging system.

"Take a look at your class schedule. Find a suitable time and write it behind your name." As Wang Yuemu said this, she added Tan Mo's name at the bottom of the list. "You're not obligated to come every day. After all, everyone has their own commitments and if you're unable to make the stipulated time you have listed, you can simply take leave. There will be no issues."

From the looks of it, it didn't seem strictly compulsory to attend these meetings.

However, these students had taken the initiative to grab this opportunity. They wanted to immerse themselves into the realm of research and everything was done voluntarily.

If they had a choice, they would wholeheartedly devote all their extracurricular time to this. They would sacrifice whatever little break time they had to do this.

Hence, taking leave from the project wasn't really an issue. No one would give up on their research time to rest and play.

"That's about it. I can't think of anything else." After thinking for a moment, Wang Yuemu was unable to think of anything else. "Once you've been here longer, you'll slowly get familiar with everything, and you'll be able to acquaint yourself with the nitty-gritty details."

Tan Mo nodded her head.

When Wang Yuemu noticed that she was still holding onto the documents, she said, "This will be your desk. At the moment, you don't have a computer. We'll apply for it later. When we first established this research team, the school gave us resources according to our initial numbers. Otherwise, it would have been a waste if we left one computer unused.

"Everything will work much faster with a computer," Wang Yuemu explained. "Without a computer, it would be quite inconvenient to do your work. You should spend the afternoon familiarizing yourself with this place."

There was no rush to start work immediately.

Tan Mo nodded. She took out her class schedule from her bag. "I shall write down my times first."

Tan Mo wrote down her available times according to the free time on her schedule.

After all, Wang Yuemu and the rest of the team majored in Chinese. They could easily make arrangements among themselves.

She majored in finance, and she still had to finish her homework from her other courses.

What's more, she needed to attend Professor Zhao's classes as well.

To be honest, she wasn't doing this out of excessive self-confidence. In the future, she was most likely going to have to join Professor Zhao's research team as well.

From what she had gathered from Wu Xiaoye, she'd have to join sooner or later.

Hence her schedule was already completely packed.

However, at this time, she had yet to join Professor Zhao's team. So Tan Mo aligned her times with the other people's, setting aside the same amount of time as everyone else.

If Professor Zhao requested her participation as well, she would negotiate with Professor Guo and ask him to shorten her commitment on this end.

After all, she wasn't doing this because she was lazy or unmotivated. If Professor Zhao and Professor Guo were bent on competing for manpower, it had nothing to do with her.

If Professor Guo had an opinion on this, he should go and find Professor Zhao.

However, based on her productivity and efficiency levels, Tan Mo felt that she would be able to complete the same amount of work as everyone else even if she reduced her commitment time.

After writing everything down, Tan Mo wandered around the research room to take a look.

The research room wasn't big. She focused on observing how everyone did their work.

This way, she'd be able to cooperate accordingly once she officially joined the team.

Wang Yuemu and the team didn't expect Tan Mo to start work immediately either.

She had just arrived today.

What's more, Tan Mo didn't even have a computer yet.

Wang Yuemu didn't laze around either. She immediately went to print the application form for a new computer and went to find Professor Guo to get his signature.

"The computer will probably be here tomorrow," Wang Yuemu told Tan Mo with bright eyes.

Hence, it was fine if she decided to just look around today.

From tomorrow onward, it would be hard work.

Tan Mo: "......"

During their conversation, a few new words had been printed out and put up on the white board.

Tan Mo had already familiarized herself with the work processes. Since she was free, she decided to go and take a look.

If she recognized any of the words, she would write the answers down.

If she didn't, she would try her best to search for the answers.

Although she still didn't have a computer, she was capable of checking a dictionary.

Once Tan Mo joined the team, Wang Yuemu's team was surprised to discover that their productivity levels had increased drastically.

Their output was twice the usual.

Pu Xinyan stood up and stretched. "Why don't we stop here today? My neck can't take it anymore."

"Mine either." Ling Zumu also stood up.

"All right, let's stop here today. We have been very productive, and we have already passed our daily quota." Wang Yuemu saved her work and rearranged her documents so that they would be easier to locate the next day.

"Although we haven't recognized many words, we need to keep standing up to paste the words onto the board. It's a good chance for us to exercise and rest," Wang Yuemu said with a grin as she stood up.

Chapter 147: Rumors

"Tan Mo recognizes so many words! She has saved us so much time since now we don't have to check the dictionaries. She even helps us when we do have to check the dictionary," Wang Yuemu said. "We hardly need to raise our heads from our work now."

"Enough, everybody!" When Ying Siyuan heard this, an acrid sensation bubbled up in his heart. It was almost as though his heart was a lemon being squeezed of its juice.

"You guys snatched Tan Mo from our team and are now celebrating her contributions. Must you really say it out loud to provoke us?" Ying Siyuan gnashed his teeth as he spoke.

"That's right." Guan Ruyue chipped in.

Wang Yuemu chuckled and said, "Our team has been struggling for such a long time. We rarely produce such good results. Must you take this joy away from us?"

Inside the research room, Tan Mo was making good progress.

Everyone was nice and since they were all scholars, they didn't disparage each other's opinions.

Everyone had accepted Tan Mo with open arms. They were constantly joking around and no one got angry easily.

By the time Tan Mo had completely assimilated into the group, it was time to attend Professor Zhao's class.

...

Since only 20 people attended his class, the lesson took place in a small classroom.

The moment Tan Mo walked in, she saw rows of tables and chairs set a good distance apart from each other. There was a huge gap between each table, and there was a lot of space.

When she walked in, there was still around 20 minutes until the start of class. Yet the classroom was already packed with students.

Tan Mo gave the room a cursory glance and determined the number of people in attendance accurately.

There were exactly 20 people.

Professor Zhao had yet to arrive.

Since it was a class meant for second-year university students, she didn't see Wu Xiaoye in the classroom.

Tan Mo didn't know anyone else in the history major except for Wu Xiaoye.

Tan Mo was just about to step inside the classroom and find a seat when she heard some people discussing some gossip among themselves.

"Did you guys hear about it? A freshman has joined Professor Guo's research team."

"I heard. It's a pity that I don't know anyone from the research team. I wanted to hear their opinions about it."

Tan Mo thought, isn't that normal? The research team were all students studying for PhDs.

It was a bit early for a second-year student to be acquainted with PhD students.

She had completely forgotten that she was only a year-one student.

"Apart from the fact that the student is a freshman, I don't know anything else."

"Actually, I do know a few students in the Chinese major. They're all second-year students. Many of them have strong opinions regarding this. Everyone in the Chinese major wants to join Professor Guo's team, but no one dares to get their hopes up. After all, the team is made out of PhD students who were all top students. And now there are rumors that a freshman has joined them. Who could be happy about that?"

"A year-one student is capable of joining the team, so why can't a year-two student do the same? We are one year ahead," someone joined in the conversation.

"That's why it's so unfair," someone else said. "If only PhD students are allowed to join, okay, it's no use arguing. But why was a freshman allowed to join while other students aren't? School has barely started, and they have only attended a few classes thus far."

"What's the background of the freshman?" someone asked.

All the students in the class shook their heads. They had no idea.

Every member of Professor Guo's team was cream of the crop. They devoted their time wholeheartedly to research and rarely participated in social gatherings.

No one was acquainted with them, nor had anyone ever exchanged even a few words with them.

"Yang Jiamao, you know a lot of people. Did you hear anything?" a boy asked.

Yang Jiamao had a huge social circle. He was acquainted with a few PhD students.

"Hey, I've heard enough. I purposely tried to scout for news. I know Ying Siyuan from Professor Guo's research team. But he refused to say anything," Yang Jiamao said gloomily.

...

Ying Siyuan, who was working hard in the research room, suddenly sneezed.

"Did you catch a cold? Did we set the AC too low?" Wang Yuemu glanced at him.

"Senior Ying, you seem rather vulnerable. Although scholars are stereotypically frail, none of us girls have fallen ill yet. How could you catch a cold because of the AC?" Pu Xinyan mocked him.

"I'm not sick." Ying Siyuan rubbed his nose before continuing, "I think someone is talking about me."

"Who do you think it is?" Shen Hongshan chuckled.

Ever since Ying Siyuan had been a freshman in Beijing University, he had never had a girlfriend. Who could be thinking about him at this moment?

"Enough about that. A second-year student came to ask me about Tan Mo a while back." After pondering about it for a moment, Ying Siyuan continued, "...from the History major."

"He's a second-year student studying history. Why did he ask about our Chinese major?" Guan Ruyue had her misgivings. "Even if someone wanted to poach her, it would be someone from Professor Zhao's team. Why would a year-two do that?"

"Who knows? All I know is that he asked about Tan Mo's background and how a first-year student could join our research team." Ying Siyuan chuckled.

Ling Zumu instantly started talking about a conspiracy theory. "Was the student sent by Professor Zhao's team? They might have assumed that we won't answer their questions if they approached us personally. Hence, they got a second-year student to ask questions so that we would let down our guard..."

Wu Jiazhen rushed over. Before Ying Siyuan had time to react, Wu Jiazhen's huge face was hovering right in front of him. He was so shocked that he almost tumbled out of his chair.

"Sh*t! What's up with you? You scared me!" Ying Siyuan exclaimed in shock.

"Senior, did you tell them?" Wu Jiazhen stared at Ying Siyuan anxiously.

It's imperative to keep it from them.

"I didn't." Ying Siyuan shoved Wu Jiazhen's enormous face aside. "Do you think I lacked such caution? I didn't say anything. But I don't think it was someone sent by Professor Zhao's team. Because the kid asked me which class the first-year student belonged to. He asked about her gender and how she got in. He clearly knew absolutely nothing about Tan Mo. If he had been someone sent by Professor Zhao, would they have asked this sort of questions?"

"That's true." Wu Jiazhen nodded his head.

"But I was very cautious." Ying Siyuan engaged in self-praise. "It doesn't matter what intentions he had. Since I didn't say anything, nothing could have gone wrong."

"Right! Our leader is such a wise man!" Wu Jiazhen flashed him a thumbs-up to back him up.

Back in the classroom, Yang Jiamao continued, "I only asked because my friends in the Chinese major also inquired about the student. Otherwise, it would have had nothing to do with our History major, even if the student was a freshman. However, I wasn't able to glean much.

"There are probably a lot of students in the Chinese major feeling a sense of injustice, right? It doesn't really matter to the undergraduates. But many PhD students were unable to join, and yet they allowed a freshman to join. Would this be fair to them?

"Most important, they have only attended a handful of classes so far. All these classes are specialized, and the content is drastically different from that learned in middle school and high school. Someone actually joined Professor Guo's team with the standards of a high schooler? What a laughable joke!"

Tan Mo raised her brows. She had never imagined that the Chinese and History major students would be spreading rumors about her, even though she wasn't even part of those departments.

Chapter 148: Shameless

As she was thinking over what she had just heard, someone said, "At least it doesn't involve the History Department. If the same thing happened in our major, I would be upset as well. If a year-one student can do it, why can't we do the same?"

"My guess is that the student has an impressive family background." A girl shook her head to indicate her disapproval. She appeared rather envious. "It couldn't have been based on merit, right?"

Based on merit?

She didn't believe it.

Only the geniuses among the geniuses were qualified enough to join Professor Guo's research team.

Even the students who were part of the History Department were aware of how challenging Professor Guo's research was.

What's more, the workload was quite heavy.

Although there was a lot of work that needed to be done, they didn't casually accept any random person.

They had extremely high standards.

Only the students who Professor Guo looked favorably upon would be allowed to join. And he was the mentor to every single member of the team.

They needed to have a good grasp of the subject at hand.

Tan Mo thought, I joined based on my merit.

You all are completely ignorant of what talent means.

You don't even know that there is a genius in your class.

Tan Mo harrumphed to herself. Then she picked up her bag and walked into the classroom.

The class suddenly plunged into silence the moment an unfamiliar face entered the room.

Everyone glanced toward Tan Mo. They appeared quite unwelcoming.

"Fellow student, you have walked into the wrong classroom." A boy who was sitting near the door spoke up.

She glanced at all the other students. Their eyes were all fixed on Tan Mo.

Their gazes appeared rather unfriendly.

Some were shocked, while others looked doubtful.

Their eyes weren't the only things that betrayed their emotions. They were clearly written on their faces: What was this person doing here?

Some of the people were even more blunt. They reacted as though Tan Mo had been an invader who had occupied their territory. They appeared very hostile.

There were other students who appeared quite nonchalant about this whole situation. Since she had walked into the wrong room, she would leave as soon as possible.

She had just adapted to Professor Guo's team and made friends there.

Now that Tan Mo had suddenly walked into such an environment, she felt a bit stunned. She appeared to be quite out of place here.

"Isn't this Professor Zhao's class? A module on the Emperor's Four Treasuries[1]?" Tan Mo was certain that she was in the right place.

She was a genius. How could she have walked into the wrong room?

However, she decided to feign ignorance and ask them.

"It is." A girl nodded her head. "But this class has already reached maximum capacity. All of the students here have signed up."

Would she still insist on crashing this lecture?

If that was the case, then would rules still be necessary?

Tan Mo pretended not to see the frowns and conflicting expressions on their faces.

She merely nodded her head and smiled. "I'm here to listen in."

"Listen in?" The boy sitting by the door was quite displeased. "Professor Zhao's class has a limit to the number of students who can sign up."

"Indeed. Can't you see? There are only 20 tables in the classroom," someone else added their two cents.

Tan Mo glanced around the room. It was true, the room was packed.

So maybe she didn't need to attend this class after all?

"Goodness me. These 20 spaces are so precious, and only the top 20 students are allowed to get a spot. It's not as simple as signing up and getting a spot, nor is it on a first come, first serve basis." The girl was who was speaking seemed quite displeased as she spoke. "It wasn't easy for us to get a spot here, and we're here solely based on our abilities. Now you're telling us that you're here to listen in? Then why do rules even exist?"

How shameless. She had crashed the class.

The girl didn't directly call Tan Mo shameless.

But she was clearly implying this.

Who could be happy about this?

"That's right." Someone else mumbled to himself. "If everyone did this, then would there be any meaning in this class anymore? Everyone can simply break the rules. If they want to attend this class, they can simply sit in."

Everyone present had the same opinion.

All 20 of them had gained a place solely based on merit. Professor Zhao would give them special attention since this was a small class.

However, most important, this was an opportunity.

It was an opportunity to catch the eye of Professor Zhao.

If they performed exceptionally well and if they were outstanding enough, they could catch Professor Zhao's attention.

If they worked a little harder, they might even become Professor Zhao's personal mentee.

As for luck?

Everyone was a top student, and they depended on their merit to accomplish things.

It was true that they believed in luck.

However, such opportunities required pure merit. They could not depend on luck.

They had to work hard. They had to fight for a place.

And, now, in the end, someone was crashing their class.

This student had never fought for anything, nor had she worked for it. She was just like a leech who decided to eavesdrop.

Who would be willing to accept this?

"Sure, you can attend this class. Work harder next time and attend based on merit." Someone exclaimed rudely.

Within this classroom, none of the male or female students showed any graciousness toward Tan Mo. Even though she was pretty and young, no one showed her any pity.

Tan Mo sneered to herself. "Ha, ha, ha, do you think I came to this class willingly?"

Wu Xiaoye hadn't even informed them?

Why was he so unreliable?

In comparison to Wu Xiaoye, Tan Mo realized that Wang Yuemu was truly reliable.

Before she had even entered the research room, Wang Yuemu had already explained her capabilities to the other seniors in advance.

Even before she showed any evidence of her capabilities, everyone treated her respectfully and amiably even though they probably had some doubts.

It was completely different from this current situation she was facing.

However, Tan Mo had completely misunderstood Wu Xiaoye.

Wu Xiaoye honestly had never expected this outcome.

She was merely sitting in, what could go wrong with it?

Everyone was attending the same lesson and an extra person would not deprive the others in any way.

What's more, wasn't it good to have such a thirst for knowledge?

Everyone should be encouraged by such an enthusiastic learning attitude.

Wu Xiaoye was Professor Zhao's personal mentee. It had been a long time since he had been a part of an undergraduate course.

As a valuable asset himself, he could not relate to these juniors' longing for Professor Zhao's attention.

In actuality, Wu Xiaoye had done the same as Wang Yuemu. He had already informed the others in the research team about Tan Mo.

At the present moment, Tan Mo had yet to show her capabilities. However, he had already explained to the members and told them to see for themselves that he was not speaking empty words.

What's more, Professor Zhao was good at reading people.

Wu Xiaoye truly did not expect his juniors to behave in this manner.

"I apologize, I never expected my seniors to oppose having someone listen in," Tan Mo said. "I'll just take my leave."

Great!

That meant one less lesson to attend.

It wasn't her fault. These people didn't want her to sit in.

She had adhered to the instructions.

"Seniors?" Someone reacted. "You're only in year one?"

When they heard this, the entire class exploded.

"Why is a year-one student crashing this lesson?"

"Are you trying to grab attention?"

"Only year one? Impressive, ah!"

"Junior, you should go and complete your year-one syllabus well first!"

Goodness!

They had originally assumed that she was a fellow second-year student who was competing for a spot.

Even though she was acting shameless, she was still their classmate at the very least.

But now she was saying that she was a freshman?

A freshman who has only attended a few year-one classes was now vying to attend a second-year class.

Although this little girl looked quite innocent, they could tell that she harbored huge ambitions.

She was only year one. Yet she wanted to catch Professor Zhao's attention.

*****************************************************************************************

[1] A collection of books compiled during the Qing Dynasty.

Chapter 149: Why Don't You Claim That the Professor Invited You?

This was so bizarre. She was brilliant, but perhaps she didn't know how to overcome an awkward situation like this.

Although she had wanted to sit in on this class, she didn't know if she could deal with the hostility of all the other students.

"Junior," one of the second-year students in the class scoffed at her and said mockingly, "let me give you a piece of advice. You should make more intelligent choices. In life, you should progress one step at a time. It's exactly the same as how you eat: food should be eaten bite by bite. In the same way, you should also learn a bit at a time. You shouldn't attempt to run before learning how to walk. A single bite wouldn't be sufficient to fatten someone up."

Although Tan Mo really felt like leaving right this minute, she didn't want Wu Xiaoye to gain the upper hand.

So she decided to continue to try to convince them. "Senior Wu Xiaoye was the one who asked me to sit in and listen."

She'd decided not to bring up the fact that the professor had tried to recruit her.

First of all, no one would believe her. And secondly, everyone would really hate her if she said that.

Sure enough, one of the students sneered at her the moment she said this. "Why don't you claim that Professor Zhao invited you here?"

"Do you think she's stupid?" Someone else jumped into the conversation. "The professor will be arriving soon. If she claims that it was he who recruited her, wouldn't she be exposed immediately? Senior Wu is currently pursuing his PhD degree and definitely won't be present. Even if someone uses his name, he won't know."

"That's true," someone else piped up. "Professor Zhao doesn't really bother about these matters. He wouldn't care if an extra person sat in the classroom. After all, there isn't much difference to him, whether it's 21 or 20 students. If we had believed her and hadn't said anything, the professor wouldn't have said a word about it. She would almost certainly have succeeded in crashing the lecture."

"Didn't you already apologize to us? Didn't you say that you were leaving? Why have you suddenly claimed that Senior Wu asked you here?" One more student spoke up. "What are you really trying to do?"

"So you're saying that I can't sit in for this lecture?" Tan Mo asked the class one more time.

"Of course!"

A few of them chimed in together. She had no idea how many people had spoken up since the room was quite noisy.

"Then I apologize for disturbing all of you." Tan Mo nodded her head and turned around to leave. She was practically skipping she was so happy.

However, the instant she stepped out of the door of the classroom, she bumped into Wu Xiaoye in the corridor.

Wu Xiaoye was in the midst of transporting a table. It was a table for one person and wasn't very heavy.

There was an overturned chair on the table.

"Tan Mo, where are you going?" Wu Xiaoye asked in shock.

Although the table wasn't very heavy...

He had dragged it all the way here and was honestly quite exhausted.

Sweat was dripping down his back.

"I just went to get you a table and a chair," Wu Xiaoye explained. "If I recall correctly, there aren't enough tables and chairs in this classroom. I rushed over before my class started."

Otherwise, the professor would certainly have scolded him.

"Senior, you're quite an unreliable person," Tan Mo puffed up her cheeks as she spoke angrily.

Wu Xiaoye put the table and chair down in the hallway. He was completely stupefied as he asked, "How am I unreliable?"

Wu Xiaoye felt extremely wronged.

He had been extremely busy for Tan Mo's sake.

He hadn't been able to rest for days.

"All 20 spots in the class have been filled." Tan Mo pointed at the classroom door. "What's more, only the top 20 students are qualified to sit in this lecture. You casually slotted me in on a whim, and all the seniors are quite unhappy. If it was acceptable to crash lectures, then everyone could casually sit in whenever they wanted to. Why would anyone work hard?"

Wu Xiaoye wiped the sweat off his forehead. "It's my fault for not making things clear. Follow me, I will speak to them."

Tan Mo thought that even if Wu Xiaoye spoke to them, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Other people were still going to think that Wu Xiaoye had made use of personal connections to secretly slot her in.

Wu Xiaoye was about to pick up the table again. Suddenly, he questioned Tan Mo with a grim expression on his face. "You wouldn't have been planning to leave and skip class, am I right?"

Tan Mo: "......"

"It's not that I don't want to sit in..." Tan Mo felt rather wronged. This was certainly not her fault. "But these seniors are quite firm in their opinion that I shouldn't be allowed to sit in. They're not willing to have anyone sit in."

"Didn't you tell them that I asked you to come?" Wu Xiaoye put the table and chair down again as he asked.

"I mentioned it. They asked me why I didn't claim it was Professor Zhao who had asked me instead." Tan Mo had not dramatized the situation at all. She'd repeated their words exactly.

Wu Xiaoye: "......"

They obviously hadn't believed her.

"Follow me, let's go. I'll tell them personally." Wu Xiaoye lifted up the table and chair once more. "Little girl, don't assume that you'll be able to skip one class just because your seniors aren't happy with you sitting in."

Tan Mo: "......"

How did you know?

"Of course not," Tan Mo immediately replied. "I'm not that kind of person."

Wu Xiaoye froze for a moment. He chided her with a grin, "Ying Siyuan and his friends didn't teach you very well. You've become quite rotten."

Tan Mo found this unacceptable. Little snow fairies weren't rotten creatures.

She was about to answer him back. However, unfortunately, Wu Xiaoye had already moved the chair and table into the classroom.

Tan Mo had no choice but to follow behind him.

When Wu Xiaoye stepped inside, he realized that the students were still in a heated discussion.

"How shameless, she actually attempted to crash this class."

"How impressive of her. She even came up with such a crazy idea to crash our class."

When Wu Xiaoye heard this, his face got dark.

When everyone realized that he had entered with a table and chair, everyone quieted down and stared at Wu Xiaoye in shock.

One moment later, they saw Tan Mo walk in behind Wu Xiaoye, even though she had just left.

Many people frowned.

From the looks of it, Tan Mo had probably told the truth.

Wu Xiaoye had really asked her to sit in.

Even though Wu Xiaoye was Professor Zhao's mentee, he shouldn't be able to pull such strings.

The class schedule and attendance list couldn't be determined by Wu Xiaoye.

However, most of them didn't dare to offend Wu Xiaoye.

Because all of them still held on to a glimmer of hope.

They hoped to form good connections with Wu Xiaoye, with the chance that Wu Xiaoye might recommend them to the research team.

Even if he wouldn't, Wu Xiaoye could also lend a helping hand in the event that they needed his assistance in the future.

For these reasons, everyone decided to endure Tan Mo's presence temporarily.

However, no one expected Wu Xiaoye to place the table in the middle of the front row.

There were originally 20 sets of tables and chairs in the classroom.

They had been placed in a four X five arrangement.

Wu Xiaoye spoke to the people in the second row, "Move back one row."

When the people in the second row heard this, they could no longer hold in their anger.

"By letting her sit in, she's already breaking the rules. Since she is sitting in, she should be more low-key and find a corner seat. We are bending the rules as a show of respect for you, Senior Wu," a girl in the first row spoke up. "But now you're even asking us to shift one row back. You're crossing the line by giving her the best seat."

"That's right, Senior Wu. All of us respect you, but you can't bully us in this way."

"Just now, she claimed that you were the one who'd arranged for her to sit in. Initially, we didn't believe her. But now it looks as if it's true."

"I was the one who arranged it." Wu Xiaoye nodded his head.

He frowned. He hadn't expected these students to be so opposed to this.

"Senior Wu, you don't have the authority to allow someone to sit in, right?"

Everyone had thrown caution to the wind now, no longer afraid to offend Wu Xiaoye. "Otherwise, what's the use of working hard for these 20 spots? When you pull strings like this, it makes our hard work look like a joke."

Chapter 150: Nothing Wrong with the Way They Thought

"No one will need to work hard. If they want to attend our class, they will be able to simply sit in," someone else added.

"Indeed, Senior Wu, making arrangements to add one more person might not seem like a big deal to you. What's the difference between lecturing to a class of 20 and a class of 21? An additional person won't change much. But have you ever considered the possibility that other students might hear about this? Somebody who had not earned a spot could still attend a lecture by sitting in. If other students follow her example, then what will our hard work amount to? Everyone will just sit in. We'd have to have a bigger classroom and organize the lecture on a larger scale."

"That's right!" Everyone enthusiastically chimed in.

Wu Xiaoye frowned. He sighed and turned to speak to Tan Mo apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't take care of this well. I didn't expect everyone to be so strongly opposed to having someone sit in."

"Senior, you don't seem to understand why they are opposed to this," Tan Mo said.

"You understand why?" Wu Xiaoye was very puzzled.

He wasn't looking down on Tan Mo.

However, Tan Mo was only 15 years old.

Even if her IQ was sky high, she probably wouldn't be able to fully understand the psychological state of these people, would she?

"To be honest, I completely understand where they are coming from," Tan Mo said. "Senior Wu, I'm sure you feel that learning is a good thing. You probably think that more people should be encouraged to have this thirst for learning. It doesn't bother you that other people are learning the exact same subjects. You've already gotten used to doing research with Professor Zhao and have devoted all your energy to your academics. You wholeheartedly desire to learn more and unearth the mysteries of ancient history. You want to know more and allow this world to have a better understanding of history.

"You're in the same position as the professor. Both of you have transcended the need to compete and are at a more advanced stage of life. In your research work, you are concerned with spreading knowledge, rather than accumulating knowledge for yourself. Both of you are responsible for disseminating knowledge, while we are the recipients of such knowledge.

"Your mind is set on the past and future of the world." History was the study of the past, while leaving records for the future.

"But they are different from you." Tan Mo did not single anyone out.

Everyone present knew that Tan Mo was referring to the students in the classroom. Wu Xiaoye and the 20 students knew who she was talking about.

"They are still at the stage of life where competition is vital. They want to catch the attention of the professor in order to gain a place on his research team or gain apprenticeship as his mentee. If they succeed at that, they might get a recommendation letter that will enable them to enter the work force in their areas of specialization. In conclusion, they're doing this for their future jobs and prospects.

"The school established this system in order to motivate the students and remind them that your time here at university involves the survival of the fittest. There is no room for mistakes. After all, Professor Zhao probably doesn't have that much energy at his age. The seniors worked hard to gain a place in this class, which is considered the fruit of their labors. What if someone took a slice of the pie without working for it? They would naturally be upset. For example, you might hire a tour guide to give you a personal tour. However, you suddenly realize that other people have gathered around to listen. What's more, they are even getting the attention of the tour guide that you spent real money on, causing you to have difficulty hearing what he's saying. The person who paid will certainly feel angry.

"You can't blame the seniors. They're simply thinking from a different perspective than you are." Tan Mo had explained everything to Wu Xiaoye solemnly and gravely.

Tan Mo didn't behave in this way very often.

When she had reminded her three brothers to take care of themselves at all times, she had also spoken with much seriousness.

There wasn't much difference in her attitude then and now.

Wu Xiaoye was a very clear-thinking guy. Tan Mo could sense a clean aura coming from him.

This was because he was completely free of distractions. His thoughts were simple.

So Tan Mo knew that she could speak in such an earnest manner to Wu Xiaoye.

Wu Xiaoye was stumped for a few seconds, but slowly he finally nodded his head.

He understood.

All the 20 students in the room remained silent.

Their faces looked a little red with embarrassment. It appeared that Tan Mo had hit the nail on the head.

Their intentions were not completely pure, and this is what embarrassed them when they heard Tan Mo speak.

They felt quite humiliated as well.

Even though Tan Mo had hit the nail on the head, were they in the wrong?

No!

They had toiled endlessly in order to gain acceptance to Beijing University. What was it for?

Wasn't it to secure a brighter future for themselves?

At Beijing University, they had been working hard consistently. This was all for the sake of securing good prospects after graduation.

Was there anything wrong with working hard?

What was wrong with working hard for themselves?

They were ordinary people who couldn't dedicate their lives to the spirit of academics. So what?

What's more, if they really could catch the attention of the professor and do research alongside him...

If research could become their job and if they put in effort to complete it, would it even matter if their intentions were pure?

They were resentful. They couldn't accept this.

Most important, her words had completely exposed them, and it was almost as though she had stripped them of their clothes and skin. They were laid bare by her words, and they could no longer cover up their intentions. This made everyone feel quite uncomfortable, even though they were a few years older than she was.

It was almost as though she had seen through them.

"It's my fault." Wu Xiaoye nodded his head. He had finally understood. "I didn't deal with this properly. It has all been a mistake on my part."

"No worries." A voice sounded from the door.

Everyone looked over.

They saw Professor Zhao walking in with a stack of teaching resources in his arms.

First, he placed the teaching materials on the lectern. Then he spoke to the audience, "I was the one who asked Wu Xiaoye to get Tan Mo to sit in. Tan Mo is extremely gifted and I personally went to find her and requested that she join my class."

At that moment, everyone exhaled deeply.

Some of them had been subconsciously holding their breath.

Now everyone's eyes were on Professor Zhao.

Some of them couldn't help but glance at Tan Mo also.

They had worked so hard in order to get selected by Professor Zhao.

It was like a difficult journey that they had to embark on. First, they had to rank top 20 within the major. Then they had to compete among themselves in this class.

In the end, Tan Mo had immediately caught the eye of Professor Zhao.

Wasn't she a freshman?

She had just matriculated this year and hadn't attended many classes. Yet, Professor Zhao could tell that she was gifted?

Many people were filled with jealousy, and loads of them were unable to accept this.

"Actually, no one needs to be so concerned about this," Professor Zhao explained. "Tan Mo probably won't be able to attend many lessons."

Professor Zhao had originally intended to pick from this pool of top students.

Even if their current standards were insufficient to become official members of his team, they could still do some trivial administrative work alongside the rest.

What's more, they were only second-year students. It was still early.

He still needed to observe them for a few more years.

However, he had just heard Tan Mo's words. Professor Zhao stared at the faces of these students once more.

These students were like little children to him.

No matter how intelligent children were, they were still immature.

Professor Zhao could read their minds just by glancing at their faces.

Tan Mo had been spot on.

However, Professor Zhao had merely given them a cursory glance. He didn't reveal a trace of any expression.

They were just a bunch of kids. Tan Mo was right, there was nothing wrong with the way they thought.