A genius student? Ha, they're nothing but ants at your feet!

The sound of the wheels rubbing against the ground was somewhat harsh as the taxi slowly came to a stop in front of the main gate of the campus.

Theodore shakily pulled out his card, paid the fare with a "beep," and eagerly pushed open the door to get out of the car.

The car door was just pushed open a crack.

boom!

A biting, cold wind from the east coast, like a ravenous wolf, howled and bit his neck, pouring down his collar.

call--

He forced a visible puff of white breath out from between his teeth.

"It's fucking cold."

Theodore swore as he was frozen, his teeth chattering in the wind.

He raised his head.

Directly in front of him, a row of magnificent and enormous columns, resembling the Parthenon, barged into his view, exuding an unreasonable sense of solemnity.

Theodore rubbed his frozen hands, looking utterly speechless.

"They actually built such a grand building right next to the main road, letting it gather dust."

"Do all the prestigious universities on your East Coast have such nouveau riche aesthetics?"

He pulled his coat collar tighter with both hands to ward off the cold, strode up the steps, and yanked open the heavy, vintage-style door.

Behind the door was a long corridor that seemed to stretch on forever.

The air was filled with a unique smell that only top universities have: the sour smell of cheap floor wax mixed with cheap espresso.

The original color of the walls on both sides was completely unrecognizable.

The surface was covered with hundreds and thousands of posters and seminar notices, like a stubborn patch of skin.

[Tonight's Geometry Seminar - Students from other departments are welcome to audit]

[P-Set Night! Brothers with mountains of homework and feeling like hanging themselves, come and huddle together for warmth!]

["You can do it too." — Linear Algebra Study Group (Note: This slogan is suspected of being false advertising; we are not responsible if you don't learn it)]

[Recruiting Blackboard Cleaning Volunteers - Note: Due to extremely limited space, all text on all blackboards in the department will be cleared precisely at 6 PM sharp.]

Theodore quickened his pace as he scanned the notices on the wall, which resembled a cult recruitment notice, with a look of utter exasperation on his face.

Finally, at the end of the corridor, a blue sign with an academic feel came into view.

Department of Mathematics

Theodore stopped in his tracks.

"Looks like this is the place."

The moment I pushed open the door and entered.

A frenzied atmosphere, both surreal and strangely familiar, swept over us like a tsunami!

The old-fashioned printer in the corner was convulsing wildly like an old man having an asthma attack.

The sound of gears meshing was incessant.

A constant stream of papers poured out, like snowflakes.

The large public table looked as if it had been burgled.

A coffee cup that developed suspicious bacterial spots after being half-drunk.

Several top-tier mathematics journals with curled edges from being read so many times.

And the draft notebooks filled with densely packed calculations that looked like scribbles were piled up in such a messy manner.

"Ah, all crows under the sky are black."

These math geeks, no matter where they go on Earth, are always this hopelessly incapable of taking care of themselves.

The pungent smell of chalk dust that lingered around his nose and could not be shaken off did not disgust him; instead, it made him chuckle.

The nerves that had been tense from the long flight and the cold weather relaxed completely, as if they had returned to a happy old home.

He walked along the aisle filled with manuscript papers for a while.

Finally, I saw the department's reception area.

"Excuse me. Could you please tell me if I can find Su Hao from the Mathematics Department here?"

"Who are you?"

The staff member looked up, squinted, and scrutinized Theodore, who was wearing a trench coat, with a very scrutinizing gaze.

Theodore rolled his eyes inwardly, but decided to show the magnanimity of a Stanford genius and not stoop to the level of this old lady.

After all, during the period when he solved that astonishing problem and became famous, there were quite a few fanatical fans and suspicious people who came to the school to ambush him.

"I sent an appointment email yesterday... I am Theodore Langford from Stanford University."

After seeing the Stanford-level researcher and student ID he handed over, the staff member's previously stern tone softened somewhat.

"Mr. Langford, according to our regulations, we cannot disclose the personal privacy of our department's students."

However, since you are here on an academic visit, I can tell you privately which places Su Hao frequents most often.

Theodore nodded.

"That's enough, thank you."

The staff member flashed a perfectly professional eight-tooth smile, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously:

"Lately, he seems to be studying alone all the time."

Rumors are circulating in the department that he's been working on the same problem day and night for several days in a row.

The woman rattled off a string of locations with practiced ease.

"His favorite places were his reserved seat by the window in the Hayden Library, or the Baker Café downstairs."

If you can't find him in either of those places, you can try your luck in the lecture hall, or, if all else fails, just go to his personal study room.

Theodore's expression froze instantly, taken aback.

What is that?

An undergraduate student!

At MIT, which is at the very top of the academic hierarchy in the US and even the world, they actually have a separate, dedicated personal research lab!

Such extraordinary treatment is enough to make anyone insanely jealous.

Theodore suppressed his inner rage and managed to squeeze out two words:

".......Thanks."

He went straight to the coffee shop.

It crept furtively from the entrance of the coffee shop all the way to the restroom at the back, circling around twice like a police dog.

My eyes were practically crossed from looking at them so hard, but I still couldn't find that face I'd seen in the newspaper amidst all that jumbled mess of thoughts.

He stopped in his tracks.

It seems they're not here.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave for the next location.

An intensely rich aroma of toasted bread, with its buttery, caramelized scent, held him firmly in his tracks.

Gollum-

My stomach let out a very disgraceful protest.

Theodore then painfully remembered.

In the past twelve hours!

The only thing he ever ate was the economy class airplane meal provided by the airline—a meal so delicious even a dog would shake its head at it!

Compressed biscuits so hard they could be bulletproof.

Orange juice served in cheap plastic cups, saturated with industrial saccharin.

And that sandwich with two rotten lettuce leaves sandwiched in it, emitting a strange sour smell!

If he hadn't been so hungry he was seeing stars, he would have preferred to gnaw on a leather shoe rather than swallow that thing!

He swore he would never taste that nauseating flavor again in his life!

"Whatever! Just because I'm from another school doesn't mean this lousy place won't serve me food!"

Theodore muttered to himself as he took out his cards from his wallet.

I ordered a hot coffee and a bagel.

Theodore's eyes lit up as he took a bite of the still-warm bread ring.