Huayu 2021: Isn’t he in the technology field?

Chapter 219 The Big Kid, Dudu's Determination

Friday, July 10th.

After the National Day holiday, the USTC campus became bustling again.

At 10:10 a.m., the sycamore trees on both sides of the main road of the USTC campus were rustling their branches and leaves in the morning breeze, and the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the canopy wove a pattern of scattered gold on the asphalt road.

A boy wearing a cultural shirt pedaled an electric tricycle through the crowd, the back of which was full of support banners printed with "Jiang Shen's Open Class Limited Edition".

"Excuse me, students! This batch needs to be delivered to the lecture hall in the Physics and Chemistry Building!"

The boy, ringing his bicycle bell, turned past the laboratory building and nearly bumped into a girl who was adjusting the position of a banner.

The words "Cognitive Computing and Affective Algorithms" on the red silk cloth were blown around the edges by the wind, revealing the faint signature of "Jiang Qing" underneath.

"Could you be more careful! This banner was borrowed from the school history museum!"

The girl with glasses angrily stood on tiptoe to smooth out the banner, then turned around and saw several junior students hanging QR code signs on the lampposts, which read "Scan the code to get pre-class materials for open courses".

She smiled with satisfaction and turned back to continue adjusting the banner.

It's rare for Dr. Jiang to come back to teach, so we must let him feel the enthusiasm of the USTC students!
A long line formed in front of the coffee cart at the corner of the second teaching building, and the proprietress in an apron handed the last two iced Americanos to a boy in a plaid shirt.

"This guy, Dr. Jiang's classes are more exciting than a star concert."

"That's not the case!"

The logo of Wuwen Technology on the phone case was extremely eye-catching when the boy scanned the QR code to pay.

"The seats for this open class were snapped up in three minutes; for the rest, it all depends on luck whether you can squeeze in."

"But Dr. Jiang was already very capable when he first enrolled, and he often bought coffee from me!"

The proprietress's face showed a look of reminiscence.

Similar scenes are playing out continuously throughout the USTC campus.

Meanwhile, at the Lighter movie set.

Zhang Jingyi had just finished filming a scene when she heard the production assistant exclaim in surprise while holding up his phone.

"My goodness, the line for Teacher Jiang's open class this afternoon is already starting to form!"

Liu Junjie, behind the monitor, raised his hand to look at his watch, a puzzled expression on his face.

"It's only a little past ten o'clock, isn't class supposed to start at two in the afternoon?"

"I heard that some people went to reserve seats as early as eight o'clock."

Zhao Zhiwei scrolls through local posts on Douyin.

"Look at this, the aisle is packed with people! It's unbelievable!"

"Let me take a look!"

Zeng Keni and the others rushed forward.

Zhang Jingyi took out her phone and opened the USTC forum. The photos of people queuing up in real time in the pinned post made her eyes widen involuntarily.

The windowsills of the West Third Auditorium were packed with people, and the entrance was completely blocked. Many people's faces showed obvious excitement. Just looking at this one place, it was even more exaggerated than the day they started filming.

"Jingyi, get ready to rehearse."

The executive director's shout made her hurriedly lock the screen. When she turned around, she bumped into Jiang Qing talking to the head of the props team, gesturing with her hands.

He was wearing a hoodie today, and his blond hair was styled into messy textures, giving him a very masculine look, with a comic book vibe.

At this moment, the makeup artist stepped forward to apply powder to her face, and Ma Ke came over holding a coffee.

"I just heard from students that four electronic screens have been added to the lecture hall. Professor Jiang is really quite prestigious at USTC."

"It feels like the school is almost always accommodating, as if they want to deliberately show off their child's excellent grades."

Cui Yuxin followed behind him, clicking her tongue in admiration.

"Don't worry about feeling it, that's how it is. I saw in the video comments that USTC is trying to surpass the commotion Professor Jiang caused on SMTH last time."

"Is this some kind of competition?"

"What do you think?"

As they were talking, Zeng Keni and the others came over to join the discussion.

Jiang Ting heard the commotion and walked over with a smile, only to catch a glimpse of Zhang Jingyi secretly refreshing the forum page.

"Since Teacher Zhang is so curious, should I give you a special favor this afternoon?"

"You know perfectly well that I have filming this afternoon!"

The girl put her phone back in her pocket and raised her little fist at him.

"Teacher Jiang should be careful not to get stumped by the students' questions."

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Zhang. This situation should not occur."

Jiang Qing magically pulled a fruit candy from her pocket.

"As a token of my gratitude."

Do you think I'm a child?

While saying this, Zhang Jingyi had already unwrapped the candy and squinted her eyes as she rolled her tongue around the orange-flavored hard candy.

"Mmm~ So sweet."

"Yes, not a child."

Jiang Qing looked at the girl with a smile.

"It's a big kid."

Don't talk nonsense~

Zhang Jingyi looked annoyed, glanced at him sideways, and then turned and walked away.

However, his awkward walking posture made the onlookers burst into laughter.

Jiang Qing watched the girl's retreating figure, a smile gradually spreading in his eyes.

the other side.

At 10:49 a.m., the glass doors of the arrival hall at Siam International Airport slid open to both sides.

Chen Duling pulled down the brim of her fisherman's hat, and the black mask covered almost half of her already small face.

Her assistant pushed a luggage cart beside her, muttering under her breath.

"Sis, why do we have to sit in economy class? There's business class on the next flight. There was a passenger taking pictures of you earlier, they must have recognized you."

"That way you can make it to the open class at 2 pm. You can go to the hotel to rest later, I'll go by myself."

Chen Duling casually gave a brief instruction, then checked her phone's schedule. The lock screen photo was a screenshot of a news article from a Chinese-language debate competition five years ago.

In the photo, Jiang Qing is pointing at the podium. Even though the image isn't very clear, you can still feel his high spirits.

Back then, Jiang Qing was like a sharp sword, far more formidable than she is today.

As the taxi drove onto the airport expressway, Chen Duling stared blankly at the scenery rushing past the window.

The last time they parted wasn't pleasant. Although they had resumed normal contact afterward, the events that had happened during this time made her realize that she should get to know Jiang Qing again.

He is no longer the boy I remember.

But it doesn't matter, she's willing to be a completely new version of herself when she's with him.

If they were attracted to each other five years ago, they certainly can be now.

All these years have passed, but is she still that clueless girl who stumbled into the entertainment industry?

When she first started out, she often took on roles that resembled her own image, like a mirror reflecting herself. At that time, she drew more from her own experiences to portray the characters. Later, she realized that since she had chosen this path, she should do it better.

She began to explore more diverse roles, starting with the characters themselves to imagine their personalities, emotions, and feelings, and to gain a deeper understanding of them by writing character biographies and other methods.

For example, when she took on the role of Ye Bingshang in "Chang Yue Jin Ming", she wanted to make a bold breakthrough, shed the label of "first love face", and interpret a complex character who is both god and demon.

Seeing Jiang Qing becoming more and more outstanding, she didn't want to be complacent. She wanted to be the best in the acting world.

The character needs to be conquered, and so does Jiang Qing.

She closed her eyes and began to rest.

To prepare for this open class, she filmed all her scenes in the "Fortress" segment until 10 p.m. last night, and then rushed to Luyang early this morning.

This time, she had plenty of time.

At 11:30 a.m., the crew of the "Lighter" movie had just finished filming their last scene of the morning.

The stagehands smacked their lips and sighed as they brought in the boxed lunches.

"The place where Professor Jiang gave his lecture was so crowded that there was nowhere to even put your feet down!"

"Let me take a look."

Zhao Zhiwei took out his tablet, opened Douyin Local, and immediately found a group of USTC students live streaming in the West Third Auditorium.

He browsed through the pages and then clicked into the live stream room that had the official USTC (University of Science and Technology of China) verified account.

Zhang Jingyi and the others immediately rushed forward, only to see that the sycamore-lined avenue in the aerial footage had turned into a blue and white sea.

The students marched in a line holding up support banners, and a homemade cardboard sign behind one boy stood out.

"Jiang Shen, I brought your paper to class!"

"This is even more extravagant than a concert."

Zeng Keni sighed, biting his chopsticks.

"Jingyi, are you really not going to go and take a look?"

Zhang Jingyi rummaged through the green pepper and shredded pork in her lunchbox, her gaze drifting towards Jiang Qing, who was on the phone.

"The male and female leads aren't even there, how can we film this scene? We can just watch the video later."

She grinned, pretending not to care.

"That's true, but I don't have many scenes this afternoon. If I finish early, I'll go check on them, hehe..."

Qian Didi chewed on her chopsticks with a grin, looking eager to try.

"Me too, I'm just afraid that if I go too late, I won't be able to get in."

Cui Yuxin expressed her concern from the side.

His role wasn't very big to begin with, so he had plenty of time.

"Let's go together then."

Ma Ke chimed in to join the fun.

"Let's witness Teacher Jiang's charisma."

Zhang Jingyi listened to their enthusiastic conversation, secretly pursed her lips, glanced at Jiang Qing who was still on the phone, and poked at her lunchbox with some displeasure.

She wanted to go to the set, but as the female lead, with Jiang Qing absent, all the filming had to revolve around her, so she couldn't leave at all.

Thinking of this, and looking at Ma Ke and the others chatting enthusiastically, the girl sighed almost imperceptibly.

She really wanted to be there too...

At 1:40 p.m., the area in front of the USTC Physics and Chemistry Building was already packed with people.

The steps were scorching hot from the sun, and a dozen security guards were sweating profusely as they maintained order.

Many people were holding selfie sticks and weaving through the crowd. A girl with a KT board on her back that read "May God of the River bless my thesis to pass the review" was pushed so much that she almost poked the back of the head of the person next to her.

"Excuse me, classmate! The camera is about to tip over!"

A reporter from Luzhou Daily stood on tiptoe to steady the tripod and turned around to find a girl in a gray sweatshirt bending down to pick up a lens cap that had rolled off.

As she handed it over, her almond-shaped eyes under the brim of the hat blinked twice. Just as the reporter was about to thank her, she was pushed aside by the surging crowd behind her.

Chen Duling pulled her mask up a little and moved up the steps with the flow of people.

The two boys in front are arguing.

"During the Q&A session, I'll definitely ask about the distributed architecture of cognitive graphs."

"Make way! Make way! These are the tools that Jiang Shen needs!"

Two boys squeezed past, carrying a metal box. The "dangerous goods" label on the box made Chen Duling instinctively step back, her back hitting the cold wall.

Even though she had expected it, she was still surprised by what she saw.

Back in school, she was always surrounded by onlookers wherever she went, but it was nowhere near the level of Jiang Qing.

Suddenly, the electronic screen at the entrance of the lecture hall switched to Jiang Qing's ID photo, and the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Chen Duling looked up following the sound and saw her reflection next to Jiang Qing's photo—her yellow baseball cap was squeezed to one side, her stray hairs were stuck to her flushed cheeks, and her glasses were crooked.

To avoid drawing attention, she changed into a simple gray sweatshirt and suit, wore a yellow baseball cap, and put on glasses to cover the bloodshot eyes caused by lack of sleep.

"Would you like some wet wipes, classmate?"

At that moment, a girl with her hair in a bun handed over individually packaged alcohol wipes.

"Look at you, all sweaty."

"Thank you."

Chen Duling thanked her and accepted the phone. While wiping her hands, she noticed a Q-version sticker of Jiang Qing on the girl's phone case.

The sticker figure is holding a blackboard covered with formulas, and the speech bubble above its head reads, "Have you debugged today?"

She couldn't help but smile, a slight curve appearing at the corners of her lips.

"Jiang Shen has entered!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd suddenly parted to both sides like the receding tide.

Chen Duling was swept away by the crowd and retreated to a corner, where she saw a figure in a white shirt walking quickly through the crowd.

It's clear that Jiang Qing walked so fast because she was afraid of causing a traffic jam.

As soon as Jiang Qing entered, the crowd began to surge towards the lecture hall.

A dozen minutes later, Chen Duling finally squeezed into the edge of the entrance to the lecture hall. There was a dark mass in front of her, and she couldn't see anything clearly.

A round of applause erupted in the lecture hall, and students in the back rows all raised their phones.

Chen Duling stood on tiptoe, her gaze sweeping over dozens of swaying heads, and barely managed to see Jiang Qing place the water cup on the podium.

"First of all, I want to thank the many students who came several hours early to grab seats just to listen to my hypnosis lecture. But I must say, who tugged at me when I came in?"

Jiang Qing tapped the microphone, and laughter immediately erupted from the audience.

The electronic screen behind him lit up with the title "Future Trends in Robot Development," and in the lower right corner of the PPT homepage, there was a line of small print that read, "The final interpretation of this presentation belongs to the author."

Amidst the laughter of the entire audience, Chen Duling smiled and adjusted her glasses.

The figure in the distance overlaps with the one in my memory, seemingly just like it was back then.

The difference is that this time I was in the audience.

(End of this chapter)