They're already in university, and the primary school system is only just starting out?

In the end, Chen Lin promised to treat his three brothers to a barbecue on the fourth floor of the cafeteria before the holiday.

Although Fatty Zhao and his gang were still saying "You got off easy, kid," they actually believed Chen Lin's words.

After all, Chen Lin had been their roommate for almost two years, so they had a pretty good idea of ​​which girl he was close to.

He really didn't have much interaction with Shen Yan.

The only possibility is that he really was discussing math with Shen Yan?

The three of them were a little curious about how Chen Lin suddenly became so good at math.

However, the three of them tacitly refrained from asking Chen Lin, since everyone has their own little secrets.

……

The next morning, Chen Lin was woken up by his phone vibrating incessantly.

He groggily reached for his phone, where a WeChat message from Li Zihan was displayed on the screen.

This is a screenshot of the campus forum post from last night titled "Breaking News! Math Department Goddess Shen Yan Suspected of Being in a Relationship! She Was Found Chatting Intimately with a Mysterious Man Downstairs After Dinner!"

Below the screenshot, there was also a cheeky emoji.

Li Zihan: [How do you feel? [Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn]]

Chen Lin's eyelids twitched, and he was wide awake.

He opened the campus forum app, and sure enough, the post had been pushed to the top of the homepage, followed by a bright red "hot" icon.

Upon clicking in, I found that the post already had over a thousand replies.

The top-rated comment was posted by a user with the ID "Captain of the Yan Goddess Guard": "Don't believe or spread rumors, just waiting for Yan Goddess's official clarification! Yan Goddess only cares about studying!"

Hundreds of replies followed.

"Support the captain! Yeon-shin belongs to mathematics, not to any man!"

"Exactly, that photo is so blurry it looks like a mosaic, how can they call her Goddess Yeon?"

As you scroll down, the art style starts to go off track.

"Waaaaah, my goddess is gone! I'm heartbroken! Who's treating me to barbecue on the fourth floor tonight? We're drinking until we drop!"

"Who stole our school's 'cutest girl' this time? Step forward!"

"Let's call it a day. I just heard from a friend in the math department that Yeon-shin was indeed with a guy yesterday, apparently from the literature department."

"What?! Literature major?! What makes him worthy of our goddess Yan? Does he even know analytic geometry? Can he solve partial differential equations?"

"Don't get excited, upstairs. What if that guy is handsome?"

"Being handsome can't put food on the table! A relationship won't last if the depth of thought and academic level don't match!"

Chen Lin couldn't help but laugh.

These people really have a lot of free time.

He replied to Li Zihan with an emoji.

Chen Lin: [Bored.jpg]

I casually opened my personal homepage, browsed through my past posts, and found the errand-running promotion post that I had published almost a year ago.

[The most reliable errand runner at Yenching University! Food delivery from the cafeteria, bubble tea purchase, package pickup—rain or shine, guaranteed to get it done! Fair prices, honest and straightforward! Add WeChat XXXX if needed…]

Chen Lin stared at the post for two seconds, then deleted it without hesitation.

My lord, times have changed.

Now that I'm a person with a system, I need to broaden my perspective.

Besides, what if my physical abilities, which have been enhanced by the "Little Athlete" program, can no longer be hidden and are exposed by others? Wouldn't that make me a laughing stock online?

"What would you do if you had the Flash's powers?"

"I'll deliver food! That way I can deliver the most food and earn the most money!"

They'll die instantly.

After some consideration, Chen Lin decided that he should streamline his part-time jobs.

Running errands, which is purely physical labor, can be completely abandoned.

Private tutoring, bar singing, and the math tutoring job I just took over from Shen Yan—these three things can be kept.

One allows you to add pretty girls on WeChat, another allows you to interact with adorable kids like Yao Yao every week to relax, and the last one, emmmm, is just too much.

perfect.

After completing all of this on his phone, Chen Lin got up refreshed, washed up, and prepared to go to his professional class.

As soon as I stepped out of the dormitory building, my phone rang. It was a WeChat voice call from Shen Yan.

Chen Lin swiped to answer the call, and her signature clear voice immediately came through the receiver.

"Chen, are you up yet? Did I disturb you?"

"No, I just got up and am getting ready for class. What's up?"

"It's like this," Shen Yan said quickly, getting straight to the point, "I went back last night and reviewed the materials for the project the professor gave me again, but there are still many parts I don't understand. The content is much more complex than what we have for our modeling competition. I wanted to ask when you're free this week? I'd like to ask you to take a look at it for me, at the price we agreed on yesterday."

Chen Lin listened to her words without mentioning the forum post at all.

He was almost certain that she either didn't see it at all, or she saw it but didn't care at all.

This personality...

Chen Lin couldn't help but chuckle. Although it might be a bit troublesome in social situations, as a client, this kind of straightforward personality was extremely convenient and effortless.

"I'm free Wednesday afternoon, let's talk about it then."

"Okay, okay! I'll contact you again tomorrow night! I won't disturb your class!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Lin shook his head and walked into the teaching building to prepare for his morning class, "Appreciation of Chinese and Foreign Literary Trends."

The Department of Chinese Language and Literature is known for its "paying tuition and self-studying" approach, and Chen Lin basically spent his first two years of university just getting by with the mindset of "passing is good enough".

However, Yannan University is, after all, a top university in China, and its management is relatively strict, with attendance for required professional courses being strictly enforced.

This course, "Appreciation of Chinese and Foreign Literary Trends," isn't one of those super-large lecture halls that are packed with people, so it's practically impossible to find someone to sign in for you.

Chen Lin chose this course this semester purely because the class time was perfect. It's from 9:30 to 11:00 AM on Mondays and Fridays, so he doesn't have to get up early, and he can go directly to the cafeteria after class, avoiding the peak hours.

Chen Lin walked into the lecture hall and, as usual, went straight to the back row by the window and sat down.

The lecturer was an elderly professor with gray hair, surnamed Wang. He was rigorous in his scholarship and had an excellent reputation among students. He particularly valued students' independent thinking.

Professor Wang's lecture today is on "The Theme of Alienation in Modernist Literature," with Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" as the core text for analysis.

After discussing the novel's text and basic theories, we moved on to a free discussion session.

"Alright, everyone, please feel free to share your thoughts on Kafka and this novel." Professor Wang adjusted his reading glasses and scanned the room.

As soon as he finished speaking, a boy in the front row stood up abruptly.

Chen Lin recognized him. Gao Ming was the class's "literary activist," who was always carrying around various theoretical tomes and constantly talking about Foucault and Desida. He especially looked down on students like Chen Lin who were idle and money-grubbing.

Gao Ming cleared his throat and spoke in a tone full of superiority: "Professor Wang, I believe that to understand the 'alienation' in 'The Metamorphosis,' one cannot break away from the framework of Sartre's existentialism. Gregor's 'metamorphosis' is essentially an alienation manifestation of 'existence preceding essence' after his 'free choice' is deprived by social discipline."

"At the same time, we can also approach this from Foucault's theory of power discourse, viewing this family as a micro-power field. Gregor's transformation from an economic pillar to a burden represents a complete loss of discursive power..."

He spoke at length, effortlessly spouting obscure theories and names, leaving many students in the classroom completely bewildered.

Professor Wang's brow furrowed slightly, unnoticed by anyone.

He has plenty of knowledge, but lacks genuine insights.

After Gao Ming finally sat down, still seemingly unsatisfied, Professor Wang nodded noncommittally and then asked, "Well said. Does anyone else have a simpler perspective?"

The classroom was completely silent.

A smile appeared on Gao Ming's face, his smugness undisguised.

Professor Wang adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping across the student list before settling on a particular name.

"Chen Lin, please answer this question."

"Whoosh—!"

The entire class's attention instantly focused on the back corner.

Many people know that Chen Lin is usually busy with various part-time jobs to earn money, and they are all just watching to see what kind of answer he can give.

Gao Ming almost burst out laughing, whispering to the classmate next to him, "Let him answer? Does he even know who Sartre is? Don't ask him about 'The Metamorphosis,' ask him how much money he's made this semester instead."

To be honest, if it were in the past, if Chen Lin were suddenly called out, he would most likely just say something like "I think the author writes very well" and then sit down amidst laughter.

But now, he feels his mindset is different.

Now that we have the opportunity to transform ourselves, we should also change our attitude towards life.

We can no longer measure everything by "Does this have anything to do with making money?" as we used to.

What's that old saying again?

Since we're already here!

It's never a bad thing to be serious.

So he did listen carefully when Professor Wang was lecturing.

Under the watchful eyes of his classmates, some curious, some sympathetic, and some simply looking forward to a good show, Chen Lin calmly stood up.

He ignored the stares of those around him and thought seriously for half a minute.

Professor Wang was very patient and did not rush him.

Finally, Chen Lin spoke.

He did not cite any profound or obscure theories.

He simply asked a question:

"After Gregor turned into a beetle, what was he most concerned about?"

Before anyone could react, he answered his own question: "It's about not being late for work. He's afraid the manager will be angry and he'll lose his job."

"And what are his family members most concerned about?"

"What should we do with this useless burden? What should we do when this family loses its source of income?"

Chen Lin's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"When he was able to earn money, he was the pride of the whole family. His sister loved him, and his parents were proud of him. But when he turned into an insect and lost his usefulness, his first thought was still about his family's livelihood, but his family only wanted to kick him out of the house."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, before finally giving his conclusion.

"Therefore, the so-called 'alienation' is not a complicated philosophical concept in my view. It is the purest loneliness and fear that a person feels when they lose their value to be used and are completely abandoned by their closest social relationships."

"Kafka wrote not ideologies, but fears."

After he finished speaking, the entire classroom fell silent.

Gao Ming's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that Chen Lin's point of view was based on the text itself and was irrefutable.

"Slap, slap, slap..."

Professor Wang's eyes gleamed with admiration, and he led the applause.

"Well said!" The old professor's voice was filled with barely concealed excitement.

"The foundation of literature is people and emotions, not theoretical labels! Chen Lin, you've said it very well! That's all for today, get out of class dismissed."

As the professor finished speaking, Chen Lin received countless gazes mixed with admiration and shock, especially from several girls who looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Gao Ming packed up and slipped away the moment the professor announced the end of get out of class.

Chen Lin was in a good mood.

It's not a big deal that Gao Ming has a problem with him.

Chen Lin is aware of his own reputation. University is a relatively idealistic place, and it's normal for some people to look down on someone who is single-mindedly focused on making money.

However, Chen Lin did think Gao Ming was a bit of a fool. He liked literature, so what? Why did he always look down on this and that? It would be good to let him suffer a setback once in a while.

After grabbing a quick bite on the first floor of the cafeteria, Chen Lin decided to head back to his dorm.

He didn't have class this afternoon. Actually, when Shen Yan asked him out, he had thought about giving her a paid consultation this afternoon.

However, after thinking about it, Chen Lin decided to figure out his own situation first.

He decided to spend the next half day researching and organizing information on his own.

Since the decision has already been made to make money based on the "little mathematician" ability, it is still necessary to understand the information clearly before making a plan.

......

In room 406, Chen Lin opened a blank document on his computer to take notes.

Even before the system gave him the title of "Little Mathematician," Chen Lin was not completely ignorant about mathematics.

To be honest, less than two years have passed since the college entrance examination ended.

Chen Lin also scored over 140 in mathematics that year, and was admitted to Yannan University with the third highest score in the class.

I barely passed the cutoff score, so I could only choose Chinese Language and Literature.

So it's at least high school math content. Even if he can't do the problems now, Chen Lin still knows what the concepts are.

When filling out college application forms at home, Chen Lin also got a general understanding of the various majors. He also learned about the mathematics major.

At least he can figure out that mathematics is divided into two parts: theory and application.

The main theoretical directions include algebra, number theory, topology, and mathematical analysis, while the main applied research directions include differential equations, numerical analysis, optimization theory, probability theory, and mathematical statistics.

The modeling and calculation optimization scheme that Chen Lin previously helped Shen Yan and the others to develop falls under the category of applied mathematics.

While it cannot be said definitively that theoretical mathematics has absolutely no relation to making money in reality, for example, in the aerospace field, lightweight design and complex structural analysis require the use of topological knowledge.

But broadly speaking, applied mathematics simply makes it easier to make money in the real world.

Having clarified his thoughts, Chen Lin searched in the DS dialog box for "What are some areas in applied mathematics where I can quickly make money?"

An hour later, Chen Lin stretched as he looked at the document filled with notes.