Chapter One: Professor Lu's Daily Life

Near six in the evening, inside a renowned university, a clear, crisp voice echoed through the lecture hall as though it were expounding some eternal truth.

A young lecturer stood at the podium, chalk in hand, leaving a trail of numbers and symbols across the blackboard while teaching advanced mathematics to the students below.

Advanced mathematics, formally known as higher mathematics, was a compulsory general course for freshmen. That was why it had been assigned a large tiered lecture hall, with six classes attending at once, nearly three hundred students in total.

Every seat in the hall was occupied. Even though the class was nearing its end, the students still sat upright and listened with utmost seriousness, not daring to let their guard down for even a moment.

Anyone seeing this scene would surely sigh in admiration: this was what the pillars of the nation looked like.

Yet in truth, what the students were thinking was: "Damn it, why is he still talking? Just tell us the key points already!"

The hall was full because final exams were approaching, and the young lecturer, Lu You, Professor Lu, had sent out an advance notice in the advanced mathematics group chat saying that attendance would be checked today, and anyone absent would lose half their usual coursework points. That meant if they did not show up today, they were essentially guaranteed to fail.

Lu You did not usually take attendance, and even when he did, he would always notify the chat in advance. He understood university students; after all, he himself had graduated not long ago. As for why he was already a professor, that was a chapter in his brilliant past.

As for the students listening so seriously, it was simply because they were afraid of missing the key points. In his notice, Lu You had also said that today's lecture would cover the final chapter and the scope of the final exam.

After writing the last numeral, Lu You set down the chalk and turned to face the class.

"All right, everyone, we've finished this semester's material today."

At those words, the students below immediately focused all their attention, afraid of missing even a single word that followed.

Lu You glanced over the classroom, casually switched off the projector, and said, "Next we'll go over the key points first. Review according to those. The final exam won't be too difficult, and I'll also send some problems in the group chat later. As long as you thoroughly understand those questions, along with the ones I post on the homework site during the term, passing will definitely not be a problem. After we finish the key points, I'll take attendance one more time, and once that's done, class will be over."

He paused briefly, then continued, "All right, everyone, open the table of contents in your books. We'll start with the general exam scope..."

Twenty minutes later.

"Zhang San."

"Here!"

Lu You happened to call the last student just as the bell for the end of class rang. The classroom instantly grew noisy. He was about to dismiss them when he suddenly remembered something he'd forgotten to say, and quickly added,

"One more thing. There are still two classes on next week's schedule, but attendance won't be checked. You don't have to come. I'll be here sitting in my office hours. If you have any questions then, you can come ask me, or you can find me at the mathematics building office during working hours. I'm basically always there. All right, that's all. Class dismissed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the students poured out through the four classroom doors in a rush. Some of those leaving by the side front doors even greeted Lu You, and he smiled and responded in kind.

Lu You unplugged the projector cable, closed his laptop, and put it into his briefcase. Then he took a mask from his pocket and put it on before slowly leaving the classroom.

He had bought an apartment near the university. Although it was a little far from the city center, the surroundings were good, the subway station was not far away, and the price was still within reach.

Besides, he lived alone, and most of his time was spent at the university doing academic research and improving himself. A place like this suited him better.

Lu You walked home at an unhurried pace, with students passing to and fro around him. Some had just finished class, some were heading to workshops, and others were preparing for evening electives or lab sessions.

University life, depending on each person's choices, could be lived in many different ways. It was fair to say it was full of color.

The university campus was very large. Even though Lu You lived near the school, walking from the teaching building to the gate was still a considerable distance. Otherwise, there would be no need for students to ride bicycles to class.

Lu You turned his gaze toward the sunset on the horizon. The sky within sight had already been stained red, and a few scattered wisps of thin cirrus clouds, bathed in the crimson glow, formed a brilliant evening sky. His path home, too, was gilded with gold dust in the fading light, glittering softly.

He had seen this scene many times before. More than that, he had experienced all the changing faces of this road: the damp, misty early spring; the blazing midsummer sun; the late autumn carpeted in yellow leaves; the bleak, biting winds of deep winter.

To others, Lu You's daily life might seem dull and monotonous, but he himself found joy in it.

Every morning he would go to the office and keep regular hours. If he had class, he taught class; if not, he would read papers, do research, or look for topics to work on. After leaving work in the afternoon and returning home, he would tinker with his cooking skills and make himself a good dinner. After dinner, he would go for a walk and exercise a little. Once he finished exercising, he would take a shower, watch videos or a movie, and usually go to bed sometime between eleven and midnight.

This year he was twenty-nine, already on the brink of thirty, and still utterly alone. Not to mention a lover, he did not even have any friends. Apart from his parents, the people he was most familiar with were only his peers in academia.

It was not that Lu You lacked the conditions. On the contrary, his circumstances were exceptionally good. He owned a house outright, had no car but possessed savings in the millions, was an only child, and both his parents worked in the public sector, contributing to the country.

Though his looks could not compare with a celebrity's, he was nonetheless handsome enough, with regular features, a clean countenance, and a height of one hundred and seventy-eight centimeters. At present, he was a specially appointed lecturer at a university, with the title of professor.

At fourteen, he had risen to prominence in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad, winning a gold medal and earning direct admission to a prestigious university. The following year, he had likewise taken gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad, helping, together with several other team members, to propel the national team to the top.

After obtaining his bachelor's degree at home, he had gone abroad and only returned safely after earning his doctorate.

He had no friends, and no one he liked. It was not that he had never thought of seeking someone out; it was only that he had moved too quickly, so quickly that he had left his peers far behind.

Feelings between people take time to accumulate, and he would not stay in one place for very long.

As for his parents, when he was little, they had both been extraordinarily busy, and the time they spent with him had been pitifully little.

Over the long years, he gradually grew used to such a life, and even came to like this quiet, repetitive routine: being alone, with no wish for any other element to intrude.

By the time he got home, the sunset had already begun to fade beyond the edge of the sky.

Lu You opened the refrigerator. Today was Friday, and there were not many ingredients left inside; the coming weekend would be the time to stock up again.

He took out an egg, a stalk of scallion, and the remaining baby bok choy, deciding to make something simple for dinner: egg noodles. Tomorrow, once he had replenished his supplies, he would make something more substantial.

Lu You took out a stainless-steel pot, added an appropriate amount of water, placed it on the gas stove, lit the flame, put on the lid, and then began washing the vegetables and frying the egg.

After a while in the kitchen, Lu You brought out a steaming bowl of noodles.

The fried egg was done just right, and a few stalks of bok choy along with chopped scallions added a touch of color to the noodles. It could not compare to delicacies from mountains or seas, but it was more than enough to fill the stomach.

While slurping the noodles, Lu You was thinking about what lay ahead.

Next semester, he would still be teaching a new cohort of freshmen advanced mathematics.

He also needed to begin preparing for the recruitment of graduate students.

And a new research project would soon have to be put on the agenda.

After putting the dishes into the dishwasher, Lu You curled up on the sofa and watched cute pet videos.

He was very fond of cats, and his finances allowed for it. Unfortunately, since he lived alone and had plenty to keep him busy, he simply could not properly look after one, so he could only be a remote cat keeper, drawing feline energy from videos.

Sticking to the principle of not freeloading, Lu You tipped and liked several videos, then went to his room, changed into a tracksuit, clipped a small waist bag around himself, put on his Bluetooth earphones, and went out for a run to exercise.

He would jog from home to the school stadium, run a few laps around the track, then go to the gym beside the stadium to work on his upper-body muscles before jogging back home. Thus his daily exercise was complete.

Back home, after showering, Lu You leaned against the bed. His phone charged on the nightstand, and he began to kill time with his tablet.

At that moment, it was nine o'clock.

Lu You checked the content creators he followed on Bilibili, as well as League of Legends tournaments and a few Apex creators, and saw that they were all livestreaming.

Although he did not really play games, he had heard a bit about the trends. Watching occasionally to pass the time also helped him understand the pleasures of modern university students.

League of Legends, having already developed into a world-class competitive scene, was naturally something Lu You would pay attention to. As for Apex, he had discovered it by chance. The abilities of the different Legends, along with the intense gunfights, were quite captivating, and so he gradually began to follow it too.

After wandering through various livestream rooms for a while, Lu You returned to the homepage and kept refreshing it while looking for videos from creators in the science-fiction section.

He did not date, but that did not mean he disliked romance. On the contrary, he still kept a fantasy about love, and he also liked to watch other people fall in love. That sweet, sticky sort of feeling always made one unable to help writhing on the bed like a grub.

Shakespeare once said: all love that is not aimed at marriage is hooliganism.

Lu You's thoughts were not far off. He felt that feelings were a very important thing, not something one could begin or end casually.

Although today's society pursued freedom and openness, believing that if something was not suitable one should simply break up and quickly move on to the next. He still held to his own view: so-called not suitable, so just break up, was nothing more than failing to understand oneself and not taking feelings seriously.

Lu You had no intention of meddling in other people's affairs. He had neither the ability nor the desire to change anything; it was enough to be himself and not be affected.

He still hoped his emotional history would remain spotless. If he never met that person and walked to the end of his life carrying a blank sheet of paper, that would not be a bad thing either.

After being force-fed a mouthful of sugary affection, Lu You satisfiedly set the tablet aside, turned off the light, and lay flat on the bed.

Another calm and peaceful day had passed, with nothing unexpected happening, and the students making no trouble.

He hoped that one day he could raise a little cat.

How envious he was of people with girlfriends. What did it feel like to hold a girl in one's arms?

Tomorrow would be the weekend; in the morning he would have to go to the market to buy vegetables.

Yes, and since there would be free time in the afternoon, he could make some desserts to eat.

Go to bed early. Tomorrow would be another familiar day.

...

After a long stretch of idle thoughts, Lu You's consciousness gradually sank beneath the water, leaving only the sound of steady breathing in the room.

...

Several hours later, in another world, upon a soft mattress, a handsome young man lay in slumber.

Suddenly, his long, thick eyelashes trembled faintly. The young man slowly opened his eyes.