Chapter 68: Unaware of When It Had Become Familiar

  "Number twelve, Zhao Hui... Next one, Lei Dapeng is ready."

  The staff of the department poked his head out and shouted, Zhao Hui from Class 2 responded and entered the defense scene. As soon as he went in, the door closed immediately, occasionally some students with sharp eyes could only see a few solemn expressions on the committee seats, this solemn occasion was inevitable to make people's hearts beat faster, after all, it was the final hurdle for graduation, and it was the key to whether or not to apply for a degree certificate.

  Everyone was nervous, but Leida Peng, who was still in the classroom, was even more nervous, his lips trembling and his legs going soft. Originally, Leida's psychological quality was quite good, but that only applied to written tests. Standing there answering questions, he might not be able to get it right, no matter how hard he tried. And this thesis had been given by Wang Huating just before noon, so with Leida's level of ability, it would be a miracle if he didn't misread any characters.

  "Lei Dapeng, next it's your turn." Liu Cuicui rushed back and passed on the message.

  Lei Ge heard this, and with a sudden jolt he jumped up, got agitated, stomped his feet, shook his sleeves, paced back and forth, and muttered to himself: "What's to be done? This is going to be a disaster, not even a bit of preparation. Now my life is in danger, I'm done for."

  "Hurry up, hurry up, it's almost afternoon today, and it'll be over in less than ten minutes." Liu Cuicui urged, while Simu Xian comforted De'er's Lei Dapeng: "It's okay, don't worry, didn't your dad give a heads-up to Liang Fengchuan anyway?"

  "That's just one, five committee members? These days, if you don't give some benefits, who will care about us? Moreover, he is a lecturer, afraid it won't work. "Lei Dapeng calculated clearly, pointing with his finger, and explained clearly. Simu Xian shouted at Shanyong, the two of them quickly took one left and one right, binding him like a prisoner on death row, pulling from the front and pushing from behind, taking Lei Dapeng to the interrogation site."

  "Slow down, slow down, brothers, I'm nervous, I'm too nervous." Lei Dapeng shouted, never seen this guy so excited before.

  "Don't worry, it's okay...... be brave, nothing will happen." Si Mu Xian comforted Lei Ge by patting his chest, while Lei Da Peng looked back at Shan Yong, who smiled and said: "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you, you'll definitely get through this."

  "Less came, without you I would have gone long ago." Lei Dapeng gritted his teeth and said with a hint of anger. Shanyong didn't dare to refute him, and directly pushed the goods. The three people almost carried Lei Dapeng to the examination site, and when they reached the entrance, Lei Dapeng still couldn't help but shiver and shake. If it weren't for Shanyong and Simu Xian pulling him, he would have fallen to the ground and rolled around. Just then, the examiner shouted: "Thirteenth, Lei Dapeng... Next one, Miao Li prepare."

  Lei Dapeng was shocked, shuddered, and almost turned around to run back. Simu Xian and Shan Yong pushed and pulled him straight into the examination site. The door closed, and the two left. Lei Ge reluctantly passed this level after all.

  They walked to the corner of the corridor, leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh. Jian Yong also sighed in the same posture, glanced at him, but unexpectedly Jian Yong was also looking at him. The two seemed to be on the same wavelength, and suddenly Si Mu Xian asked: "Da Peng should not be able to hold on, right?"

  Shan Yong nodded, and Si Mu Xian asked again: "How many committee members have you settled on?"

  Shan Yong nodded again, knowing that his little thought had fooled Lei Dapeng, but couldn't fool Simu Xian.

  "Boss, to be honest, I'm getting a bit weirded out right now." Si Mu Xian said inexplicably.

  "What's strange?" asked Yǒng.

  "It's strange that this prank has such a great effect, actually you've calculated it well and deliberately covered up the true nature of the prank?" Si Mu Xian asked.

  Although he didn't know everything, it can be imagined that this is a different concept from the previous pranks of throwing bricks, blocking keyholes and letting car tires down. Can it still be called a prank now that it almost influences the judges?

  "You're right to think that way." Shanyong said in a low voice after a while: "Everyone has weaknesses, Tian Xueshan is a nouveau riche in the school, and his weakness is being greedy for money; Guo Qishen is an old man in his forties who still dresses up as if he's handsome and elegant, plus his fat wife, it's not hard to guess what his weakness is, let alone his habit of flirting with female students every year which many people know about; As for Liang Fengchuan, he's timid and cautious, but he also can't resist the temptation of taking small advantages as a teacher, these small weaknesses are their fatal flaws at critical moments."

  "What about Professor Na? I'm most surprised that a simple can of ham sent him to the hospital, how did you know he would eat it and at exactly this time?" asked Simu Xian.

  "Professor Kang is from Zhejiang, and the honey-glazed ham I sent was a specialty of his hometown. He's also a solitary person, so I think he must be too busy with his studies to cook for himself. When he unexpectedly received the gift disguised as a local express delivery, he would subconsciously open it first, and although he might refuse other things, he wouldn't be able to resist the taste of his hometown. He'd definitely want to take a bite before wondering where it came from... but by then it would already be too late."

  Shan Yong explained calmly, "This is based on Song Siying's personal data design at school. Even he didn't expect it to be so accurate. After trying it out, they found it worked. Shan Yong glanced at Cui Muxian and added, 'Don't worry, the few Chinese medicines like Dahuang, Shu Di, and Chen Pi can be used as medicine and won't harm the body.' The only unexpected thing was Professor Song. When you left, Da Peng and I saw that Old Song was really emotional, so we found a bottle of wine for him. Who would have thought that the old man got drunk from drinking too much?"

  This is the whole story, Simu Xian understood that this was to divide the committee into two categories, those who could be controlled were controlled, and those who couldn't be controlled would be forced to quit. In fact, Dan Yong had already considered supplementing the members of the committee, only those who could be controlled would remain, and the "shit basin" plan would take effect, it's not like he said lightly that doing a few evil deeds would mess up the answer.

  Not a shadow of doubt, if Professor Song is also unfortunately caught off guard, with Lei Ge's stinky mouth and Lao Da's poisonous tongue, it's possible that without wine, he would be infuriated to the point of stroke. Originally, on Professor Song's path, who could have known that after his stroke, he returned to the original design, without those two straightforward old men, Tian Xueshan and Liang Fengchuan, already grasped their weak points, with these two original committee members present, naturally, it wouldn't be the turn of the supplementary ones to take charge, now this left and right, this committee has no suspense anymore.

  "Are you... thinking I'm too gloomy?" Shan Yong asked.

  Si Mu Xian suddenly turned his head and saw Shan Yong looking at him, with bright eyes and a solemn expression, not at all like someone who had been tainted by evil. But he was walking down a dark path. Si Mu Xian smiled and said, "It's just a little, not too much."

  "Hehe, are you still insisting on the Luoyang folk culture seeking roots special topic? Cuiyun wrote a different theme for you." asked Shanyong.

  "I insist, but in this case I don't need to insist. It's better to fulfill Cuiyun's kindness," said Simu Xian.

  "It's not necessary to insist, those who are sitting inside are of the same kind as me." said Dan Yong in a low voice.

  "We all have our own principles, if everyone in the world were the same, it would be boring. In my eyes, you are a big brother, you are a classmate and friend, I don't care about anything else." Si Mu Xian smiled and gave a comforting-like sentence, maybe this matter was a bit excessive, but one hand can't clap by itself, it's just that the other hand and Lao Da's hand fit together too well.

  "Thank you," Dan Yong said softly, with a tone of relief.

  The voice of the caller sounded again: "Number 15, Miao Li answers, next one, Li Baochun prepares."

  Lei Dapeng came out, Si Mu Xian and Shan Yong were concerned about this brother, hastily rushing up, Lei Ge's face was gloomy, as if he was an enemy to everyone, so that the people waiting on both sides of the corridor didn't dare ask anything. However, all the classmates knew what kind of temper this guy had, probably talking nonsense again and got hung up.

  Shan Yong thought there was a change, pulling Lei Da Peng down the stairs, going down one floor, the three of them slipped into an empty corner, Si Mu Xian asked with concern how it was, Shan Yong also asked with concern if he was okay. But unexpectedly, Lei Da Peng burst out laughing, his whole body shaking, wanting to speak but being interrupted by laughter, laughing so hard that he couldn't bear it, Shan Yong and Si Mu Xian didn't ask anymore, knowing this guy had passed the test.

  The two of them didn't ask, and Leida Peng smiled and said: "What kind of nonsense is this? It's too simple. He only asked a few questions from the abstract, and I haven't even finished answering yet. Tian Xueshan that old guy kept praising me for answering very well, and Liang Fengchuan that guy said it was very unexpected, didn't think Leida Peng's paper would be so outstanding... Hmm? Could it be that you and Qian Jie secretly helped out with Old Tian? Egg brother, didn't you call a halt to this? How did you manage to get him to cooperate like this?"

  "Nonsense, it's true, you just memorized it well, isn't that right, Brother Xian?" Shuang Yong said very seriously.

  "Right, Ray, you're indeed talented and clever. That impromptu performance at noon wasn't bad." Si Mu Xian chimed in, exchanging a look with him, and the two of them left together, not daring to reveal their secret to this blabbermouth. Unexpectedly, they didn't say anything, but Ray became even more arrogant, waving his hand and shouting: "Egg brother, virtuous younger brother, I'm treating you guys to dinner tonight! You mentioned it, and I realized that I indeed have a natural talent, and this book is actually quite good to read. This degree isn't difficult to attain either... we can actually get by without doing all those messy things..."

  Two people gave a smile of understanding and went upstairs. Lei Dapeng loudly shouted "Passed, passed, graduated, graduated!" with his hands raised high, and rushed downstairs, having already forgotten that his legs were trembling when he entered the defense scene just now.

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  "Number thirty-nine, Si Mu Xian... Next one, Ding Yi Zhi is ready."

  The bell rang, and Simu Xian lightly pushed open the door and entered the examination room. Not long after, his younger brother, who was a bit shorter, came out with an expression that was relaxed, calm, and even somewhat nonchalant. As he walked past Shan Yong's side, he smiled slightly, with a hint of disdain in his smile, it was unclear whether he was disdainful of himself for using this method or disdainful of the judges in the examination room.

  "Fifty-ninth, Wang Huating... Next one, Chen Fulai is ready..."

  One by one they went in, one by one they came out, staring blankly at the examination scene, Dan Yong's eyes seemed to be on an assembly line, producing products with a big label of academic qualifications, and he and Lei Da Peng, that kind of defective product, also had to proudly wear this label, it was really unknown whether the result would be personal good fortune or social misfortune.

  But if it's someone's misfortune, whose fortune is it? Is it the school that has expanded its scale by two times? Or is it the teachers who have already escaped poverty by producing these inferior products?

  Danyong couldn't come up with an answer and couldn't imagine what kind of impact it would have on his future life if he just walked out of the school gate with such a label.

  Wang Huating came out, still maintaining that confidence and composure. As the next person went in, she didn't forget to show concern for a moment, and slowly walked to Shan Yong's side. Shan Yong's confusion and helplessness were so obvious that Wang Huating, who originally didn't want to bother with him, stopped and said softly: "It won't be too hard, don't be nervous."

  "Thanks for your paper. With your paper as a basis, I think my nervousness is unnecessary," said Danrong, covering up a sentence.

  "That's good." Wang Huating said softly, with many words wanting to be spoken but stopping herself, smiled and walked away quietly.

  Shan Yong felt that calmness, and in the calmness, there was also a hint of concern. Perhaps it was disdain for his own actions, perhaps it was knowing that Zuo Xiying would return to Lu Zhou, or perhaps it was the sparks that flew between the two of them in that simple environment, which couldn't withstand the turmoil of reality.

  "Number seventy-two, Shan Yong... Next one, Wu Mingguang get ready..."

  The thing was in a mechanical tone, it was almost evening, and he said weakly.

  Dan Yong stood up and walked steadily, finally stepping into the last class of university: Defense!

  Four years of university study were wasted on answering questions for others' papers.

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  The empty classroom had only five people sitting on the podium, with Tian Xueshan, the deputy high-ranking title and head of the art department, in the center. His semi-long hair was curled up, his face was white and plump, giving off a rich and artistic air. Next to him was Liang Fengchuan, the young teacher who had received a large sum of money from Lei's father as a gift. The other three were temporarily added to the questioning committee, this lineup was just like what was designed before, getting rid of the two old guys Song and Kang who didn't know the current situation, leaving only those who knew how to behave.

  Introduce yourself, make a polite remark, Wang Hua-ting's paper is "The Aesthetic Value of Literary Art" a vague topic, like this rubber paper can be said to be reasonable in both directions, and it is also the most popular among Chinese department students. Moreover, Wang Hua-ting was very meticulous, replacing Shan Yong's well-prepared report with a clear and concise one, a moderate and proper report, from why he chose this topic to the history and current situation of this topic, and then to his new views and perspectives, Shan Yong felt relieved, and the report became more fluent and natural.

  At this time, Professor Tian, who was sitting upright and dignified, seemed to not recognize Shanyong at all. He whispered something to a few colleagues, then the defense meeting officially began.

  Tian Xueshan asked seriously: "Shan Yong, your main argument is about the aesthetic value of literature and art. Do you think that the fundamental value of literature and art is aesthetic value?"

  "No, literary value is a composite of multiple values. One-sided emphasis on the social utility or excessive pursuit of aesthetic value will narrow the vision of literature."

  "So what do you think is the literary value of it?" asked Liang Fengchuan in a very polite tone.

  "Providing people with complex emotional experiences, giving people insight into life, and cultivating the spirit of social civilization all have literary value worth affirming."

  The two main reviewers raised the simplest questions in the abstract, and the next questions were about the generation rules of cultural aesthetic value and the internal connection between experience and aesthetic value. This is not difficult, it's just the two big titles of the thesis. But the last female lecturer didn't ask any questions at all. It seems that this defense committee has changed its leader, and Tian Xueshan is the new leader.

  Moreover, this flaw is done in a way that is truly unbeatable. Shanyong feels that even after attending school for over a decade, he has never been so calm and composed, or at least not as calm and composed as the teachers present. Or perhaps it's still not enough to be considered dignified, after asking a few questions, Professor Tian Xueshan solemnly said: "Hmm, very good, your topic is very forward-thinking, better than most of the papers submitted."

  As he spoke, he whispered a few words to the teachers on his left and right, and Mr. Liang Fengchuan also nodded frequently and commented: "In the topic of aesthetic value, Shanyong's article is excellent."

  Nods, nods, and more nods. Led by Professor Tian, several judges seemed to have seen the hope of Chinese in the future and new aesthetic issues, and they praised him without hesitation. Then, Professor Tian turned his head and shouted to the mechanical staff: "Next one."

  It's all over now.

  The four-year process was so difficult, but the result was so easy. Shanyu had been studying for many years and had never received such praise before. His face flushed slightly as he walked out of the examination room with a smile.

  Behind them, students are still entering and exiting in a tense and orderly manner, waiting for the assessment of the four years of hard work.

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  One day later, the campus network could check the results of the thesis. Lei Dapeng checked his student number at home: Score: Excellent! He was so happy that he really raised his fist and shouted. Then he checked Dan Yong's score, which was also excellent! He wasn't happy anymore, feeling that Egg Brother hadn't even sent a gift, and being listed as an outstanding student was really unfair to heaven.

  But then he saw Sima Xian's grades and was shocked, it was only a "good", Laide Peng fell backwards from his chair laughing.

  Wang Hua-ting was in the department's office printing out her grades, which were not publicly announced. However, she was worried that someone might not pass, after all, those two papers were temporarily pieced together by her. But unexpectedly, when she saw Shuang Yong and Lei Da-peng's names among the only twenty or so "excellent" grades, she let out a heavy sigh. When she looked for her own name again, it was hard to find in the "good" grades section, which made her let out another heavy sigh.

  At this time she was a bit suspicious, writing papers for these two people, wasn't it a bit too much?

  Dan Yong didn't have time to take care of it, holding a large bunch of carnations in the inpatient department of a hospital asking for an inpatient's name: Kang Rui Bao.

  Professor Song's ward has been visited, many teachers and students came to comfort him, Shan Yong really didn't want to appear in front of the old professor, quietly handed a bouquet of flowers to the nurse to send in, the fresh flowers and comforting guests in the ward were already piled up.

  He had finally reached Professor Kang's ward, and as he tiptoed to the door, he hesitated again. The professor who would glare at mischievous students with a stern expression made him fearful. He quietly pushed open the door a crack, only to see a very warm scene.

  In the sun-drenched ward, Professor Kang, who intimidated him, was talking to a fellow patient wearing hospital clothes. The listener was a very young patient, about 7 or 8 years old, sitting in front of Professor Kang's bed, with his hands propping up his cheeks, listening intently.

  Shan Yong stood foolishly at the door for a long time, listening to the fairy tale story of Mu Yu Qi Yu Ji. The solemnity and meticulousness were just like Professor Kang's lectures on ancient Chinese language. He quietly put down the fresh flowers and Shan Yong walked away lightly, not wanting to destroy the beauty of this warm environment...