Cosmic Love Affair

Chapter 11 The Oort Cloud Part Three

Song Yi came over, panting heavily, “Xie Li, why are you running?”

Xie Li was holding onto the waistband of Dr. Xiao Wu, a condensed matter theory PhD student, and thought he was speaking in a very low voice, “Xiao Wu, doesn't he look like a female ghost to you?”

Xiao Wu took a good look at Song Yi and agreed wholeheartedly, “Although he is male, his complexion is pale and his eyes are sinister. He resembles a female ghost, possessing the dual nature of spirit and body, nothingness and reality. This should be the concrete embodiment of the so-called wave-particle duality in real life. The great sage Boltzmann once said that the so-called real world is made up of things that do not possess reality…”

Song Yi gritted his teeth and interrupted the two of them who were talking nonsense as if no one else was around, “Xie Li, I have something to say to you. Come here.”

Xiao Wu looked around and immediately chose to preserve himself. He made an excuse that he hadn't finished reading his paper and dragged another person away.

Xie Li tugged at the backpack on his shoulder, which was heavy with Professor Fang's materials, “No need to apologize.”

After Song Yi's god-like image was shattered, he didn't want to see Song Yi anymore, for fear that he wouldn't be able to hold back and kick Song Yi again.

Song Yi sneered, “You hit me and now you want me to apologize to you. Does that make any sense?”

Xie Li kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

The two stood in a standoff-like silence for a few seconds. Song Yi seemed to suddenly concede, changing his tone, “I do bear some responsibility for the breakup. I can apologize. But hitting me was not right, was it?”

As he spoke, even his expression gradually softened, as if the ferocity just now was just an illusion of Xie Li's, and he was still the gentle and considerate senior in everyone's impression.

He switched to a tone of understanding and continued, “I can let go of the fact that you hit me. After all, you were emotional and irrational at that time. I can forgive you. But I have a condition -”

Xie Li didn't say anything, tilting his head and kicking the leaves on the ground with his foot now and then, like a child resisting adult preaching.

“My analysis model for that paper, I know you've finished it. Give it to me, and I won't hold it against you for hitting me,” Song Yi's voice was very gentle, “Let's part ways amicably. We can still be friends after the breakup, okay?”

Xie Li seemed not to hear him, still busy stomping on the leaves, drawing back and forth as if it was something very interesting.

Song Yi, ignored several times, could bear it no longer, “Xie Li, I'm talking to you.”

Xie Li finally kicked away the leaf under his foot, looked up at him, and then took two steps back.

Song Yi instinctively looked down at the ground and almost fainted on the spot.

There appeared five letters on the ground - “F.U.C.K U”, right where Xie Li had just stood, crookedly facing Song Yi, as if mocking him together.

It turned out that Xie Li had been busy with this while stomping on the leaves just now.

“What do you mean?!” Song Yi's gentle mask couldn't hold anymore, and he fiercely reached out, trying to grab Xie Li.

Xie Li dodged like a nimble little fish, jumped up the steps in two steps, and from a distance, flipped Song Yi off, shouting, “That's exactly what I mean.”

After saying that, he quickly turned around, swiped his card, and in an instant, slipped into the dormitory building's access control.

Through the glass, Song Yi stood in front of the dormitory building, his eyes so venomous as if he was really a female ghost.

Xiao Wu poked his head out from the corner of the first floor, “Imperial Jade Liquid Wine?”

“Er Guo Tou diluted with water,” Xie Li turned his head, “Hey, traitor! No loyalty!”

Xiao Wu looked like he was about to cry, “Song Yi looked so fierce today, as if he was possessed.”

Xie Li gave him a disdainful look, lifted his foot to go upstairs, but was pulled back by Xiao Wu, “What did he want with you? He's been here several times today, pacing around downstairs.”

Xie Li was also puzzled inside. It was just an analysis model. Song Yi could write it himself. There was no need to break his face and still come to him in a humble manner.

It was not until the next day that Xie Li found out from Shen Zhichuan the reason why Song Yi was so eager to find him.

He was woken up early on Sunday morning by Shen Zhichuan's morning chain calls, then dragged to Shen Zhichuan's house, and was supervised by Shen Zhichuan to write the English speech manuscript needed for the Hou Xue Award.

Xie Li was drooling over his teacher's latest MacBook Pro, daydreaming, “If only the school could replace all the computers in the lab with this.”

Shen Zhichuan came out of the kitchen holding a cup of Mandheling, his black silk robe making him look even more handsome and beautiful.

He sat down opposite his little apprentice with the coffee cup, tore open a packet of stevia sugar and poured it in, then stirred it with a small silver spoon, making a pleasant sound against the fine bone china cup.

After stirring for a while, Shen Zhichuan casually said, “Song Yi submitted a manuscript to 'Guan Xiang'. I don't know what those editors were thinking, they sent the article to me the day before yesterday.”

'Guan Xiang' is a well-known core journal in the field of astrophysics in China. Shen Zhichuan has been a reviewer for this journal for several years.

Xie Li's eyelids twitched, sensing that Shen Zhichuan was about to scold him.

He didn't dare to make a sound, hiding behind the 15-inch computer screen, with only half of his forehead exposed.

Shen Zhichuan found it both amusing and annoying, so he got straight to the point and asked him, “His data and formulas are quite impressive. So I asked to see the model and source code. Did you give him the source code?”

Xie Li was confused for half a second before he figured out the implications, and he was shocked to stick his head out, “He did ask me for it a couple of days ago. Wait, how could he dare to submit without even having the model? Then his formulas, no, his article...”

Shen Zhichuan held the coffee cup, with a smile that was not quite a smile, and hummed in response.

Xie Li couldn't fail to understand now.

Song Yi's article was based on the data pieced together according to the predetermined results, the formulas were deduced in reverse, and then the data was given to Xie Li to make the model. He had the results first, and then he asked Xie Li to do the analysis model. He was so eager that he submitted the article before Xie Li even finished writing the model.

The reason he was so eager to find Xie Li the day before yesterday was that he was in a hurry for the model. He could write it himself, but it would take longer, and it was better to get the ready-made one from Xie Li.

Xie Li was stunned: “Then how did he get his charts, his... those things?”

Shen Zhichuan gently tapped the coffee cup against the tray, without saying a word.

A chill crept up Xie Li's back inch by inch, and he couldn't help but take a breath, suddenly feeling a sense of relief after a great danger.

In the academic circle, reputation is everything.

Xie Li didn't understand why Song Yi did this, but the consequences were obvious.

Using data to fit the predetermined results is called academic fraud.

Once it was exposed, Xie Li, who did the analysis model part, would also be blamed. Even if his name was not on the article, as long as Song Yi mentioned his name, the same fate of disgrace and ruin would await him.

Xie Li was really scared now, his face turned pale, and he didn't speak for a long time.

Seeing his look, Shen Zhichuan felt a bit sorry for him and couldn't help but comfort him, “His formulas and charts are too perfect, it's obvious at a glance that something is wrong. There's not even a bit of noise, which is too much of a good thing. There's no need to catch him for fraud, the data anomaly is enough to reject it. Besides, you haven't given it to him, so it's not your problem, but learn a lesson from this.”

Xie Li nodded numbly, and asked anxiously, “What about Song Yi?”

Shen Zhichuan shrugged, “If he pulls back at the last moment and gives up the submission, that's it.”

Xie Li made an “oh” sound.

Shen Zhichuan was satisfied, stood up with the cup in hand, “Alright, continue writing your manuscript. You can leave whenever you finish. If you can't finish today , come to my office tomorrow to write.”

The school has a bit of formalism in such matters. When evaluating scholarships, they just look at grades and articles, and also require a speech to sing praises. Singing praises is one thing, but they also require it to be up-to-date, to flatter in English.

Xie Li finally managed to endure until lunchtime and barely polished out a speech manuscript full of insincerity and pretentiousness.

He took what he had written and knocked on the door of Shen Zhichuan's study.

Shen Zhichuan was also busy with a laptop. He was nestled in the chair, with his legs propped up on the desk. The silk material of his trouser legs had slipped up to above his knees, revealing his entire slender and well-muscled lower leg.

Without looking up, Shen Zhichuan said, “Stop drooling at the door and come in and read it to me.”

Xie Li, holding the laptop, hesitated and walked in, found a chair to sit on, and began to read in a hesitant voice.

“Do mosquitoes court each other?” Shen Zhichuan interrupted him, “Speak up.”

Xie Li raised his voice and started again, stammering. This time, his palms were already sweaty after just a few words.

Finally, when he repeated a word three or four times and still couldn't get it right, Shen Zhichuan became impatient, closed the laptop, and looked at his apprentice, “What's the matter with you? Haven't you been practicing on your own? How long has it been?”

Xie Li was speechless, holding the computer helplessly.

Shen Zhichuan was so angry that he couldn't suppress his frustration, “Is your spoken English planned for you to be the number one in domestic astronomy and never engage in international exchanges for the rest of your life? Or are you waiting until we achieve the great dream of national rejuvenation, when the great country rises and all nations come to pay homage, and everyone speaks Chinese, to then start communicating?”

Xie Li bit his lip and dared not speak.

Shen Zhichuan had known for a long time that Xie Li's English was poor.

When Xie Li took the doctoral entrance exam, Shen Zhichuan almost spat out blood on the spot when he saw his oral English score. After spitting, he wiped his mouth and still had to maintain his dignity to plead for this kid everywhere, barely getting him into the** (re-examination).

He didn't expect that almost a year had passed, and Xie Li still hadn't improved at all.

Faced with Shen Zhichuan's anger, Xie Li didn't dare to offer any explanation.

Seeing him purse his lips and remain silent, Shen Zhichuan became even angrier and was about to scold him further when the doorbell outside interrupted him.

With a face full of anger, Shen Zhichuan stood up and went through the study to open the door.

He rarely had visitors, and even if someone came, they would call him in advance. He had a feeling about who was ringing the bell, and his anger intensified.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door, there was that grinning man outside.

“Good afternoon, neighbor,” the man outside greeted cheerfully, raising his hand to offer a paper bag to Shen Zhichuan, “There's a new bakery in the community, give it a try.”

The man was dressed in sportswear, with a slight sweat on his forehead, clearly having just finished exercising.

Shen Zhichuan replied coldly, “No, thank you,” and was about to close the door.

The man quickly stuck his foot in the door and grabbed the sleeve of Shen Zhichuan's robe, “Don't, I can't eat them, I have diabetes, one bite could be fatal. I bought them specially for you.”

The robe was loose, and with the sleeve being pulled, the slightly open collar shifted as well, revealing half of a beautifully defined collarbone.

Shen Zhichuan's face darkened instantly, “You...”

“Sorry, sorry,” the man said as he reached out to adjust Shen Zhichuan's collar, “We're both men, no harm done.”

The man forcefully pushed the paper bag into Shen Zhichuan's hands and smiled at him like a sunflower facing the sun, “By the way, I need to borrow your internet.”

Shen Zhichuan had never seen such a shameless person in his life.

This man, named Fang Xian, had moved in next door last month. After a brief greeting, he began an endless cycle of borrowing things.

At first, it was cups, chopsticks, staplers, nail clippers, etc. After borrowing a few times, Shen Zhichuan got annoyed and gave him a fast delivery card from a nearby community store.

Fang Xian stayed quiet for two days, then came knocking again, this time asking to borrow the internet. He claimed that the community's interfaces were full and he couldn't get the internet installed at his place for the time being. Moreover, he specifically wanted a wired connection for his computer, not wireless.

Shen Zhichuan suspected that this man had ulterior motives, but he seemed to have a genuine urgent need, with a plausible reason that wireless internet was unstable and prone to disconnection from the server.

Shen Zhichuan had spied on him discreetly, and indeed, the software running on his computer screen was the kind commonly used by financial professionals.

Without a word, as soon as Fang Xian entered, he happened to meet Xie Li coming out of Shen Zhichuan's study with his laptop, and both of them were stunned.