Your Distance

For hopeless students, if they had given bad answers for the objective questions, they would hope to make up for it in the subjective questions.

But if they succeeded, it was anonymous, and if they failed, it was also anonymous. The subjective question was the true definition of ‘granting freedom of expression and letting hundreds of schools of thought contend’. Ting Shuang’s praise was drowned amongst other praises, and it was quickly overlooked by Bai Changyi.

“Hmm.” Bai Changyi paused as he turned to the next page, and read out a comment, “Professor‘s voice when he gives lectures is very… Sexy?”

There was a burst of laughter from under the podium.

And some especially dishonest whistles.

“Who wrote this?” Bai Changyi looked at the students in the classroom, his gazes pausing for half a second as he glanced over Ting Shuang.

As if there was some deep meaning behind it.

Ting Shuang suddenly felt like he was been cheated on.(1)

Shit.

This shameless evaluation was not written by him.

His evaluation was very serious, very professional, and very respectful.

If he knew that this kind of evaluation was permitted, he would’ve written “The pecs under the professor‘s shirt are really sexy”.

“Professor.” A girl with a malicious smile raised her hand to expose the other girl sitting next to her, “This evaluation was written by Anna.”

The people around immediately became boisterous.

Bai Changyi looked at Anna and said in his deep voice, “Thank you.”

After thanking her, he said in a humorous tone, “I should continue using my current tone to attract more students to pay attention in class.”

Attract, my ass.

Ting Shuang wanted to hit Bai Changyi with the pen in his hand.

He was still maintaining that tone. Shit, relying on his sexy voice to attract students, he didn’t have any teacher virtues.

As soon as class ended, Ting Shuang immediately packed up and left.

This was a very unhealthy mentality of a hopeless student. They didn’t do well themselves, yet still blamed others for being too good.

On the way to the library, he angrily sent a message to Bai Changyi: I am very upset.

Bai Changyi had just returned to the LRM office and was about to go to the conference room for a group meeting.

He saw Ting Shuang’s message and replied: Why are you upset?

Ting Shuang replied: A girl praised your voice saying it’s sexy, aren’t you very happy?

Bai Changyi wanted to laugh a little, and replied: No.

Ting Shuang: Ha.

Ting Shuang: I don’t believe it.

The professor’s mouth always lied to Ting.

Bai Changyi: I really am unhappy.

Bai Changyi: After seeing that the number of people who chose those two options was 0.

Nothing changed on the display for a few seconds, then it showed that Ting Shuang was typing.

Bai Changyi walked into the meeting room and sat down.

On the phone screen: Ting Shuang is typing.

Bai Changyi muted the phone and put it aside, his lips curling up as he began the meeting.

Today several PhD students would present the results of their periodic research.

After talking with the use of a projector for a while, Elias asked Bai Changyi with uncertainty, “Professor, is there a problem?”

Bai Changyi said, “No, go on.”

Elias spoke for two more minutes, then stopped again, “Professor, what are you laughing at?”

Bai Changyi said, “I wasn’t laughing.”

Then he lowered the corners of his mouth without a trace.

After the meeting, he checked his phone again. There were a few rows of new notifications on the lock screen.

[58 minutes ago] Ting Shuang: Um… We are even, okay?

[42 minutes ago] Ting Shuang: … Is that not okay?

[41 minutes ago] Ting Shuang: If it’s not okay… Tonight… I’ll let you… Twice?

[41 minutes ago] Ting Shuang: You can do… Whatever you want.

[39 minutes ago] Ting Shuang: Mm… the thing I refused to do last time… I can do it.

[23 minutes ago] Ting Shuang: Okay, thrice! No more than that!

[1 minute ago] Ting Shuang: Papa…

[Now] Ting Shuang: Bai Changyi I am angry.

Bai Changyi looked at the messages and laughed: Let’s have lunch together at noon.

Ting Shuang, who just said that he was angry, immediately replied: Sexy professor, little me will immediately buy anything you want to eat.

Bai Changyi: I’ll have the same as you.

Ting Shuang replied: I want to eat you.

After replying, he suddenly couldn’t bear to look at it.

Those words were just too coquettish.

Bai Changyi: Come.

The professor was even more coquettish.

Again, it was noon, on the roof of the LRM building.

Summer was in full swing.

The two of them ate their sandwiches and enjoyed the breeze beside the fence.

There was now a potted cactus on the platform near the fence, which Ting Shuang had secretly started to take care of on the roof a few weeks ago. It had yet to be found by others.

After eating, they always tapped off the cigarette ashes into the cactus pot while smoking.

“Hey, I suddenly thought of a good way to go about our secret love affairs.” Ting Shuang fiddled with the potted cactus. “When you are not on the roof, put this potted cactus on the ground. If you’re free to come up, put it on the platform near the fence. So when I pass by the LRM department and look up to see this potted cactus, I’ll know to go up for a tryst with you, how about it?”

Firstly, Bai Changyi was dissatisfied with the phrase ‘secret love affairs’. Secondly, “Then what are phones for?”

Ting Shuang fell silent for two seconds, realising the level of his IQ, “… That’s true.”

The difference in their IQs reminded him of 78 students picking “Too Difficult” and 42 students picking “Relatively Difficult” in the evaluation of the difficulty of the course. All the students also thought that Bai Changyi’s expectations were too high.

That data showed the problem very well.

Previously, when Ting Shuang saw Guo Ping’s message in the ‘We must pass Robotik’ group about how “it’s meaningless if you can’t graduate,” he’d already wanted to talk to Bai Changyi about the survival of the hind legs of humanity.

Judging from today’s evaluation results, the hind legs of humanity consisted of not only the few people in the group, but also 100% of the class.

That couldn’t be it. If that were the case, then it’d mean that humanity only consisted of hind legs.

“Bai Laoban…” Ting Shuang took out another cigarette and lit it, “I want to discuss a serious issue with you.”

""

Here it came again.

The kid really liked turning lunch break into a question and answer session, blatantly and boldly pulling out the professor’s wool.(2)

Today, it wasn’t just any question and answer session, he had straight-up started a seminar.

Bai Changyi said, “Ting, I hope you realize that at this moment, I am not your professor.”

Holding onto the cigarette, Ting Shuang rested his hand freely on the platform, his eyes looking into the distance, radiating a young and presumptuous energy.

“Bai Changyi, I also hope you realize that at any moment, if I want you to be a professor, then you are a professor. If I want you to be a beast, then you are a beast.”

He was used to it.

“Go on, say it.” Bai Changyi laughed.

“You pioneers of mankind… what do you think of the hind legs of humanity like us?” Before Bai Changyi could answer, Ting Shuang continued on, “Bai Laoban, I know you were very amazing when you were young, but not many people are like you. No, there are hardly any people like you. Today, after reading our evaluations, you should also know that most people are just ordinary. I’m not just thinking about myself, and I can understand things from your perspective. I wanted to discuss this with you again because I was thinking…”

Ting Shuang thought for a long time before he put together what he wanted to say, “I know you care about humanity. Since you already care about billions of people, why don’t you care about another 120?”

Bai Changyi didn’t even raise his eyebrows, “How would you know that I don’t care about you guys?”

Ting Shuang turned to face Bai Changyi, with an almost pleading look in his eyes, “I mean, you can treat us, no, not including me, you treat me very well. I think you can treat them even better. Really.”

“In what way do I treat them badly?” Bai Changyi’s expression and tone were very mild.

“I didn’t say you treated them badly…” Ting Shuang was afraid of being misunderstood by Bai Changyi. “I just think… You can be more tolerant, speak a little more, and a little slower… Don’t be so harsh…”

Bai Changyi also lit up a cigarette. He rarely took the initiative in lighting one.

“Ting, knowledge can’t bend down for humans to reach, it’s humans that should stand on their tiptoes to obtain knowledge. I don’t accept the lowering of standards just because students can’t reach it. This is a kind of decline. I don’t want this decline to happen here.”

“Oh, no, maybe I didn’t express it well.” Ting Shuang scratched his head and thought for a while before saying, “You insist on having high expectations and difficult exams. That is what you told me last time, and I understand that you want to move forward. But the key is… I think you can try harder to help them, and do your best to help them meet your expectations. Yes, not lowering the expectations, but helping more people meet them.”

Bai Changyi smiled, “Ting, resources are limited. My job isn’t just to teach. I can’t teach everyone the same way I teach you.”

Ting Shuang felt a little depressed. All the energy from just now had disappeared, and he now smoked sullenly.

After a long while, he said, “Then… You’d just watch as so many people fail to graduate?”

Bai Changyi said, “You have three chances to take the exam. Failing to graduate means that this path isn’t suitable for them.”

“But not everyone has so much time, and not everyone is so lucky that they can switch over to another path if this doesn’t work…”

“Did you know that almost all science and engineering majors in Germany have dropout rates higher than 40%? The dropout rate for master degrees is relatively low, but there are many people who cannot graduate. These people will choose to switch over to another path or field. It’s normal.”

“I know…” Ting Shuang said, “But… Maybe because I’ve always studied in a school where most people can graduate, so I think that’s the norm… Only failures can’t graduate.”

“Then of all you graduates, does everyone love the fields they’re in?”

“… No. Many still don’t like them.”

“If you keep doing something you dislike, then aren’t you even more of a failure?”

Ting Shuang was taken aback.

Bai Changyi said, “A high passing rate would cause many people to reluctantly stay in a field they dislike and are not skilled in. On the other hand, a low passing rate would leave only the most suitable people.”

Originally, he’d wanted to convince Bai Changyi, but at this moment, Ting Shuang himself suddenly wavered.

He was also one of the many people who disliked his field of occupation.

“If you keep doing something you dislike, then aren’t you even more of a failure…” Ting Shuang repeated those words in a low voice.

“Previously, I thought liking something wasn’t so important.” Bai Changyi stroked Ting Shuang’s hair and said by his ear, “But after meeting you, I don’t think so anymore.”