Ye Qiusuo's goal was to win the championship of the show. Now, with a change in the competition format that involved eliminating celebrity guests, a large portion of the content was about knowledge of music, films, and other topics—things she had never been exposed to before.
In order to secure the championship, Professor Ye had been spending two hours every night lately acquainting herself with this knowledge. She didn't have time to watch films, so in the end, she selected fifty classic movies and searched online to memorize their more famous lines.
The show probably wouldn't test on irrelevant lines anyway.
As for music, Ye Qiusuo skimmed through music history and picked out over a hundred classic songs. She didn't listen to them; instead, she searched for the lyrics and forced herself to memorize them.
She was in a state of intense last-minute cramming, just like before an exam.
During the day, she was usually at the company or the university. Today, she had classes at the university and needed to mentor her students, so Ye Qiusuo arrived at the school early in the morning.
"Morning, Professor Ye." A colleague from the neighboring office greeted her.
Ye Qiusuo responded while taking out her keys to unlock the door, "Morning, Professor Li."
Professor Li was in his fifties and, compared to other colleagues in their prime, was much more laid-back.
He looked at the bright yellow duck in Ye Qiusuo's hand. "Professor Ye, where did you buy this? It's much more exquisite than my grandson Doudou's little yellow duck."
Doudou was Professor Li's grandson.
Ye Qiusuo clicked the door open. "...It was a gift from someone. I don't know where to buy it."
She didn't pay much attention to such worldly possessions. Although she had said a few words to Xie Xi about it last time, she couldn't be bothered to change it after returning.
"Professor Ye, could you ask for me?" Professor Li also opened his office door, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Doudou was angry with me yesterday. I want to buy him something to cheer him up."
Ye Qiusuo hesitated for a moment. "Alright."
Entering her office, Ye Qiusuo didn't turn on her computer immediately. Instead, she glanced at her phone, which she had just placed on the desk.
She stared at it for a while before picking it up, opening Xie Xi's WeChat, and asking, "Xie Xi, may I ask where you bought your duck?"
In the recording studio, Xie Xi was discussing with the accompaniment teacher. His phone was with Zhang Dong when it dinged.
"Brother Xi, there's a WeChat message."
"Who is it?" Xie Xi asked from a distance.
"Professor Ye."
His phone was still connected to the sound system. Was Ye Qiusuo sending some kind of scripture again? Xie Xi's heart skipped a beat. He stood up directly from his chair, wanting to retrieve his phone.
However, Zhang Dong habitually opened it for Xie Xi.
Instantly, the entire recording studio echoed with the phrase, 'where did you buy your duck'.
Since ancient times, the Chinese language has been profound, with a single word capable of extending into various meanings.
Their superstar Xie couldn't possibly be cooking, so the ingredient 'duck' could be ruled out immediately. That left...
Everyone in the recording studio began to give Xie Xi awkward looks.
Was this some new trendy euphemism, looking for a 'duck'?
Xie Xi: "..."
He walked over to Zhang Dong, took back his phone, and disconnected it from the sound system. "Don't open her messages next time." He also decided he couldn't connect his phone here anymore in the future.
"Got it, Brother Xi." Zhang Dong stood to the side, wanting to say something but hesitating, wondering if he should tell Sister Wei that Brother Xi and Professor Ye had an improper relationship.
Xie Xi walked out of the recording studio with his phone and asked with a light laugh, "Professor, do you like my duck?" His tone carried a hint of 'I knew it'.
"My colleague wants to buy one for his grandson." Professor Ye mercilessly shattered Xie Xi's fantasy.
Xie Xi decisively swallowed the words, 'I have other ducks at home'. He changed his tack. "It was bought on the third floor of that mall in the city center. A limited edition."
Ducks have limited editions?
Professor Ye clearly couldn't comprehend this, but she had gotten the information she wanted. "I see. Thank you."
Xie Xi: "..." That's it?
At this moment, Xie Xi recalled the indignation of his many fans: Was he not good-looking enough, or did he not sing well enough, that she could be so dismissive of him!
He felt sad for Xie Xi.
Oh, it was the Xie Xi in the group chat, not the real Xie Xi.
...
Ye Qiusuo told Professor Li where to buy the little duck and then headed towards the laboratory.
"Ding Hong, you're here so early?" Ye Qiusuo looked at him with some surprise. She rarely went to the lab this early; she usually organized materials and read literature in her office.
"Good morning, Professor." Ding Hong came this early every day, thinking he could familiarize himself more with the instruments to make up for his shortcomings.
Ye Qiusuo nodded and then asked, "How are you getting along with Sun Jiajia?"
"She's very capable and willing to teach me." Ding Hong's hands hung by his sides, clenched. He was truly grateful for changing advisors. This atmosphere of freely conducting experiments with guidance from classmates and professors was exactly the graduate student life he had dreamed of.
"That's good then." Ye Qiusuo took the opportunity to ask Ding Hong a few questions to test him. His answers weren't outstanding, but his foundational knowledge was solid enough.
Ye Qiusuo wandered around the lab for a few rounds, and just then Sun Jiajia also arrived at the lab. She thought she might as well test this student's abilities.
However, throughout Sun Jiajia's answers, she kept looking at Ye Qiusuo with a resentful gaze.
This kind of look...
Sure enough, after Ye Qiusuo finished asking questions and was about to leave, Sun Jiajia suddenly whispered plaintively from behind, "Xixi is so wonderful."
...
By the day of the show recording, Ye Qiusuo had already memorized all the lyrics of the classic songs and completed all the planned movie lines.
The program's live event once again became Professor Ye's solo performance.
The host: "..." He couldn't help but feel that the show didn't need to continue; this was clearly a case of a "dimensionality-reduction strike"—an overwhelming mismatch in ability.
"There are five questions left. Now, please listen: What is the title of the lead single from Xie Xi's album last year?"
Ye Qiusuo was taken aback. She hadn't studied this part; she had only memorized classic songs found online.
Dong Junjian successfully buzzed in and answered this question first: "It's 'Starlight'."
"It seems Teacher Dong also likes Xie Xi's songs," the host teased.
Dong Junjian didn't try to avoid it at all: "I bought all his albums and have been listening to them."
The camera swept over Professor Ye, her face bearing a rare look of bewilderment. The question had touched on a blind spot in her knowledge.
Although the questions were supposedly drawn at random from the question bank, the last five questions today unexpectedly were all about Xie Xi's songs. Professor Ye suffered a crushing defeat once again; the buzzer and the answer button in her hands seemed to malfunction one after another.
Dong Junjian secured the points for the last five questions, proving he truly was a die-hard fan of Xie Xi.
When Ye Qiusuo was leaving the television station, she happened to run into Xie Xi, who had just finished judging a competition on the first floor.
She felt a rare twinge of guilt. One moment, her mind replayed the words of her student and friend; the next, she recalled how she had been completely unable to answer the questions about Xie Xi's songs just now.
"Professor, how many points did you get today?" Xie Xi leaned forward, eager to know the results in advance.
Getting on the teacher's good side meant things like homework penalties could be negotiated—this was something Xie Xi had secretly picked up from Sister Wei's son.
Ye Qiusuo's eyes wavered for an instant before she calmly stated, "I got first place."
Although the points for the last five questions were substantial, they still didn't surpass Ye Qiusuo's total.
"Professor, you really are amazing." Xie Xi entered his praise mode. "So knowledgeable, truly worthy of being a PhD, and even the head of some company."
Xie Xi's trademark is his pleasant voice. Even when he's spouting nonsense, if you don't listen carefully, it might sound like sweet nothings.
"...I'll head back first," Professor Ye said proactively.
"Okay, goodbye, professor." The superstar Xie Xi waved very obediently, determined to be a good student in front of Professor Ye.
However, when the show aired the following week and Xie Xi was watching it at home: "???"
Such simple questions, and she didn't know a single one?!
The internet exploded once again.
Not long ago, someone had compiled clips showing Professor Ye's cold and indifferent side towards Xie Xi. Now, this was further proof of Professor Ye's lack of regard for him.
The fans' hearts were shattered!
Their beloved Xixi, whom they held in the palms of their hands, was actually treated with such disregard.
[Ahhh, didn't she just ask for our Xixi's autograph recently? Why doesn't she even know the names of his albums? Sob, she even knew such old lyrics from the previous question.]
[My heart aches for our Xixi, his sincere feelings poured out in vain.]
[Please, Professor Ye, learn a bit more about our Xixi, okay? Our boy is truly worth it!]
[Suddenly I doubt whether Professor Ye was really asking Xixi for an autograph in that photo.]
[Don't say that, let us keep some hope!]
[By the way, who would have thought Teacher Dong would also like Xixi so much? Wow, Xixi really has fans spanning the old, middle-aged, young, and little kid generations.]
[Isn't there still Professor Ye, the one who slipped through the net?]
[Sisters, how about we crowdfund to send Xixi's albums to the TV station for Professor Ye, so she can understand how worthy our Xixi is!]
[Seconded!]
Where could fans get as many albums as Xie Xi himself?
After brooding all night, Xie Xi went to find Professor Ye the next day, bringing with him all his albums from his debut to the present.
