At the gate of Beihua University, it was bustling with cars and a crowd of people.
Li Peifeng wore a black trench coat with casual pants that had a draping effect, donned Martin boots, slung a laptop bag over his shoulder, and stepped with his long legs, dashing into the School of Arts and Sciences along with the crowd.
The moment he merged into the flow of people, he was like a splash of red among a sea of green; a firefly in the dark; a drop of water merging into a hot oil pan.
His robust and upright figure made him stand out in the crowd, and his chiseled, handsome face inevitably drew the frequent glances of first-year female students, with the hem of his coat lightly fluttering behind him, dancing suavely and dashingly in the late autumn wind, like a black butterfly leaving behind a slight trace of fragrance...
Every time he walked to a place, the girls there cast admiring or curious gazes toward him.
"Li Peifeng? How rare, to see you come to school in person!"
"To raise the cup and glance into the azure sky, as white as jade trees bending in the wind! He does indeed look delicious, with a sour and sweet aroma that makes people want to fall in love!"
"Sssss~ How strange, he seems to have gotten even more handsome!"
"Yeah, before you only wiped your drool once when you saw him, now it's twice!"
"Finally met him, the legendary figure! His handsomeness is well-deserved! I just fell for him hard!"
"Is this... is this the infamous heartbreaker of Beihua, a reputed school facade—Li Peifeng?!"
"Hmph, I claim this grass for myself!"
"Exactly, exactly, who says we can't have what Manning, Butterfly Dream, Luorou, those fake and unfaithful girls, enjoy?"
"It's a must to win him!"
Some infatuated girls showed fierce gazes, ready to pounce, circling around Li Peifeng awaiting their chance.
...
The title of school facade, a nickname lowered to the ground!
School, that's fine!
Facade? A plant? Green!
A verb? Crude! Frivolous! Vulgar! Cannot be endured!
This kind of worthless phrase should be sealed with a big 404 stamp, bearing a signature from Mr. Mosaic, disappearing completely.
Li Peifeng honestly didn't know how he got recognized with the school facade title, as far as he knew, Beihua didn't have a committee dedicated to evaluating these titles.
This was initially a teasing nickname given by the girls around him, which later spread as he often performed at school evening parties, also bringing him more female attention.
Every time he appeared in this school with a gender ratio of 3:7 (male to female), he had to face comments and wolf-like stares from junior and senior students.
But this time, the degree was evidently a thousand times stronger, even somewhat theatrically exaggerated, making Li Peifeng slightly uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because of facial reconstruction, and he secretly applied some Nether Sea essence on himself before leaving in the morning?
Oh, my overwhelming handsomeness!!
"What is this scent?"
"It smells so good…"
Girls near him caught a faint, indescribable yet unignorable fragrance, leading to an inexplicable comfort and irresistible allure, unconsciously drawing them closer, while sneaking peeks and following suit.
Among them, the brave ones stepped forward to initiate a conversation.
"Senior, can I add you on WeChat?"
"Senior, do you know how to get to the campus library and can you show me the way? I can treat you to a meal to thank you, okay?"
"Are you the legendary school facade? Good, you've successfully caught my attention! You have three seconds to scan this QR code, or else…"
Great, very infatuated, just like zombies in movies!
From a certain angle, Nether Sea essence is equivalent to the T-virus.
Hoping that when meeting Old Zhao later, he reacts the same!
"Sorry, I'm busy, maybe next time!"
Li Peifeng slightly quickened his pace, politely declining one by one, continuing his way inside.
The journey was without danger, Li Peifeng arrived at the third floor of the School of Arts and Sciences office building and knocked on a certain office door.
"Come in."
Li Peifeng pushed the door open and entered. A female teacher was staring at the computer monitor, only turning her head slightly upon seeing him.
Her dark red, shoulder-length straight hair, thin sensual lips exuded a subtle allure, slender eyes slightly upturned, carried a hint of charm, and her gold-rimmed glasses added a touch of cool intellect.
This is Li Peifeng's graduate mentor, Zhao Qingge, a 33-year-old associate professor in the Chinese Department at Beihua Normal University.
Some students say Zhao Qingge is the most beautiful among the teachers at Beihua University, and Li Peifeng agrees.
But earlier, out of respect for his studies, he treated Old Zhao as he would his own mother, never daring to entertain any improper thoughts.
However, today, Li Peifeng intentionally leaned in, standing behind the screen, puzzled, "Mentor, you called me here because..."
"Your new article is well-written!"
Zhao Qingge did not let go of the mouse, her eyes still focused on the document displayed on the screen: "But many aspects were not covered; you need to add more. I've added comments for you to take back and revise."
"Okay, okay, you say."
Old Zhao's demeanor was completely normal, and Li Peifeng could do nothing but get into work mode.
The computer screen displayed a Word document, titled: "Exploration of Trends in Women's Online Literature."
The current page also had a subtitle: Using my work "One Hundred and Eight Treasures of Female Respect; I'm a Big Shot on Liang Mountain" as an example to deeply analyze the success factors and existing issues in current women's online literature.
For many years, Li Peifeng had kept information about his pen name, book titles, novel content, reader groups, etc., strictly confidential, not even revealing anything to classmates, teachers, friends, or parents.
But the thesis was too hard to write. Before this paper, Li Peifeng had already written three others. Even though Zhao Qingge was leading the way, inspiration had already dried up.
In the first semester of his second year of graduate school, to transition smoothly to a doctorate, Li Peifeng had to put aside his shame, use his own work to write a paper, and complete the first draft before the National Day holidays, sending it to his mentor.
I'm dropping the act, I've laid it all out, I'm going to study myself!
This paper, in simple terms, is an analytical piece about Li Peifeng's own works and creative experience, interspersed with self-criticism and critique, not just of his own works but of online literature as a whole... It's essentially fluff!
But Zhao Qingge was very satisfied with the fluff, which meant it was a success.
"Put some effort in, write well. When the time comes, I'll help you contact the editors. A first-tier Chinese core journal shouldn't be a problem, and this time it's independently completed by you; your name will be the first author."
The two talked for over ten minutes, and Zhao Qingge offered suggestions regarding the format and citation in the abstract section of the paper. Li Peifeng saved the electronic version of the paper with added comments to his USB drive and remarked, "Thank you for your hard work."
Zhao Qingge pondered: "Next month's interview for transitioning to the doctorate, I've already spoken up for you. It's just that some in the panel are quite curious about you; be mentally prepared."
Li Peifeng was stunned, a feeling of anxiety in his heart, yet still hopeful: "Why are they curious about me?"
"What do you think?"
Zhao Qingge leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, chuckling lightly: "Although the Chinese Department doesn't cultivate writers, out of love for literature, most students and teachers at our School of Arts and Sciences have tried their hand at writing. Not mentioning traditional literature, in the field of online literature, no one has managed to plant their feet firmly. As far as I know, many students' online works haven't been contracted, nor have teachers' works achieved great success."
"Yet over at the School of Business Management, Professor Gong, using the pen name Qi Cheng, wrote several books on Endpoint and became a leading author. A professor in engineering writing successful online literature, while the School of Arts and Sciences was completely defeated... How does that make any sense?"
"But now it's good."
Zhao Qingge looked at her student, with a face of appreciation: "Our School of Arts and Sciences has finally produced a network writer, successfully writing women's novels, not some top-tier author, but considered a rising talent. The teachers are very curious about you, and the interview is just a formality; they won't make things difficult for you, probably just ask about your years of online creation and your journey."
I have a thousand MOM sayings I don't know if I should speak!
Is that an interview? That's my public execution!
Li Peifeng's mind was chaotic: "I remember I asked you to keep it confidential, how did other teachers come to know?"
Now he seriously suspected that Zhao Qingge might have disclosed this, perhaps to show off to her colleagues!
Zhao Qingge smiled, reassuringly: "I haven't told anyone your pen name and works for now, but it's only a matter of time before it's known. Even if it's not known now, once your paper gets published, if it's included in a core journal, all the teachers and students will see what kind of novel you've written."
Oh no, I forgot about that layer!
Li Peifeng was already breaking out in a sweat, he swiftly took out his phone, opened the TT software, and directly set the book club group to not allow anyone to join.
But the person in front of me knows my pen name; has she already infiltrated? Could it be that the explicit photo I posted yesterday…
Zhao Qingge pondered, tapping her right fingers lightly on her chin, in a tone of anticipation: "In fact, I'm considering whether to hold a network literature seminar within the School of Arts and Sciences, you attending as the main speaker under the name of Endpoint women's literature level-five author 'Yirong Feng', discussing how the chaotic development of network literature sheds new light on literary thinking..."
"You're not considered a well-known network author, but there should be a segment of the school who's read your books; the seminar should be packed, right?"
"..."
Li Peifeng remained silent, yet his eyes seemed to reveal a thousand words.
Wanting to stab someone, the eyes don't lie!