Is there still hope for me?!
Sorry, mentor, I'm already hopeless!
Walking out of the school gate, on his way home, Li Peifeng felt that today's autumn wind was particularly bleak.
He really didn't expect that he was such a character in his mentor's mind. When he first got the system, Zhao Qingge's "impression of the host" in the file wasn't this bad.
At least it didn't include the words "flirtatious and licentious." How come it updated today?
Heaven have mercy, in the year and a half of reading for his master's degree before getting the system, Li Peifeng naively thought that he and Zhao Qingge were always the model of a benevolent mentor and respectful student...
Zhao Qingge, in Beihua University's School of Arts and Sciences, is famously recognized as an outstanding young lecturer. Both students and colleagues speak highly of her. Her research level is quite high, and she is a leading figure in the field of online literature research domestically.
In the Great Eastern Country, after long-term development, online literature has gradually matured. It is no longer detached or opposed to mainstream literature.
Zhao Qingge is also the host of the Beihua University Online Literature Research Forum and offers an elective course focusing on online literature research.
Unlike the older, traditional academic professors, Zhao Qingge believes that online literature is contemporary literature, and as time goes on, the literary evaluation system will inevitably change.
With this idea, Zhao Qingge broke the convention and became the first literature professor who focused primarily on online literature as the main research direction.
Back then, Li Peifeng, excluding many qualified and higher-titled, reputable mentors, chose Zhao Qingge, a young lecturer who had never guided a graduate student before, partly because of this.
Secondly, they were quite familiar with each other. Li Peifeng, during his undergraduate years, never missed Zhao Qingge's elective lessons and joined her research project group in his junior year to assist in research. The two had built a certain student-teacher bond in advance, understanding each other well.
Zhao Qingge is elegant and calm in dealing with people, believing in an equal student-teacher relationship, responsible and respectful towards students, never losing her temper for any reason. Although her demands on students are strict, she mainly guides and encourages, which suits Li Peifeng very well.
And when he truly joined as her student and understood Zhao Qingge's family background, Li Peifeng was even more pleasantly surprised.
Because the connections behind Zhao Qingge were so strong!
Her parents were prominent figures in top domestic universities, and as long as he shamelessly took advantage of connections, his future career could be greatly enhanced, potentially saving him seven or eight years of struggle.
Over the years, Li Peifeng believed that his relationship with Zhao Qingge was very pleasant.
He studied diligently, his thesis-writing skills became extraordinary, able to expand a 30,000-word idea into 100,000 words. No matter how terrible his work was, he dared to submit it with confidence. Thus, he was quite fortunate, publishing three core papers and essays in Mandarin during his bachelor's and master's years, even though they were all completed under the guidance of Zhao Qingge, and their publication was due to Old Zhao's reputation. Nevertheless, it also relied on his ability, which was enough to stand out among his peers in the same major.
As for the projects Zhao Qingge assigned, even though he knew they were free labor, he never slacked off, working overtime to research and collect data, completing everything meticulously and on time.
He was hardworking in research, not only producing results himself but also being a capable assistant to his mentor.
He was obedient outside of research, willingly acting as his mentor's top follower, a devoted underling.
During holidays or on Zhao Qingge's birthday, Li Peifeng never missed out on gifts, which, although perhaps not expensive, were always thoughtful and something that Zhao Qingge could not refuse...
In short, Li Peifeng felt that he had been adorably well-behaved in front of Zhao Qingge, the kind of student other mentors in the School of Arts and Sciences would speak highly of.
Zhao Qingge said one, he dared not say two.
If asked to head east, he dared not go west.
If asked to beat a dog, he dared not chase a chicken.
"But what did I get in return?"
"A hooligan? Irreverent? Flirtatious? Flippant and licentious?"
"Is pursuing a PhD meant for me to be reformed in jail? I think you are utterly a menopausal case!"
Li Peifeng felt very sad and lost about this.
Of course, this was insignificant compared to something else.
And that was the second goal of the novice assessment task being his graduate mentor—Zhao Qingge!
The system is freaking blowing my mind...
To this day, Li Peifeng still finds it hard to accept, but at least he is not scared out of his wits as when he first learned about the task.
"Don't panic, the problem is huge, and panicking is useless!"
"As long as the guts are there, the mentor goes on maternity leave... hell no!"
"That's seeking death!"
It's undeniable that young men and women in their budding emotions, just entering the workforce, are indeed prone to developing some teacher-student romance, which is quite normal. This situation is particularly serious in high school and university undergraduate years. But as time passes, their ages grow, and the teacher-student romantic notions dissipate.
Of course, there are also teacher-students who disregard societal views and truly end up together, but the endings are often not so pleasant.
Because one is a student, the other a teacher, they are fundamentally not equal entities; they differ vastly in age, experience, and social status, lacking the soil needed for love to grow.
More often than not, it's the young students who are in awe of their mature, stable, and knowledgeable teachers, while the older teachers feel a stirring towards the youthful bodies and naive innocence of the students.
Even if they get together, as time goes on, various problems and differences emerge, leading to eventual separation.
And teacher-student romances between graduate students and their mentors are even rarer, as both parties are older, with more rational maturity, less likely to be controlled by emotions.
But there are always exceptions, a few who get carried away.
Li Peifeng has heard several such cases, basically involving female students and male mentors developing entanglements, some from his school too.
But each outcome is incredibly tragic.
Once teacher-student connections turn into romantic ties and are made known, their careers and academic endeavors are likely to suffer a great blow; being dismissed from their universities is certainly possible.
Even if a mentor holds an immensely prestigious position, contributing unremovable achievements in a certain field, the school may not pursue the issue, but the pair would still endure gossip, blame from family, and possibly harsh words from strangers.
Ultimately, it involves a taboo against some ethical moral standards and appears akin to academic misconduct.
In general, having romantic involvement between teachers and students while getting together means playing with their own lives, far from the beautiful depictions shown in movies and novels.
"Teacher-student romance is absolutely impossible!"
"But how can I just mooch off those 30,000 bucks?! "
"I have no freaking idea!"
Seeing as the school reopening draws nearer, Li Peifeng wracked his brains but still couldn't come up with a viable method…
The completion of the consumption quota gifted by Xu Manning was the result of a serendipitous opportunity, by chance on the foundation of them once having a relationship, not a success that can be replicated.
Applying it to Zhao Qingge is utterly unachievable.
Li Peifeng figured, even if he could shamelessly feign illness to gain sympathy, she wouldn't just transfer money over, at least not without seeing his diagnosis, contacting his parents, and confirming his family's financial plight before possibly offering a loan to tide him over.
That would be the mark of a world-class mentor! But borrowing obviously doesn't complete the task.
What other tricks could there be?
Grind out three core articles in two months, attribute them all with mentor as first, himself as second author, and then request a nutritional fee of 30,000 from Zhao Qingge?
[No, this is work payment, not a gift.]
The system's prompt flashed quicker than anything...
"I beautifully curse."
Li Peifeng questioned in his heart, "Are you wishing for my demise?!"
The system fell silent for a moment, then unexpectedly encouraged him atypically.
[Please keep confident, don't be disheartened. After system predictions, the host has extraordinary talent, outstanding luck, and with the cooperation of reward items, the completion probability of the novice task is 98.5664%.]
Reward items?!
Li Peifeng suddenly woke up...
"Open the door, why are you just standing there?"
Who's talking to me?
Li Peifeng finally disentangled from his thoughts, returning to reality, realizing he was at his doorstep, and standing beside him was Wu Wenyue. He subconsciously asked, "Why are you here?"
"Why am I here?"
Wu Wenyue seemed baffled: "Don't act like a jerk talking crap, alright?"
"My original rental place is being sold, and the Sports Academy doesn't have graduate dormitories. I couldn't find a suitable place temporarily, so I wanted to rent with you, and you agreed. We're here this time to organize the place, and later you have to help me move... couldn't you digest all that?"