Liu Xinyao saw Chen Yang come downstairs, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, seemingly a little displeased with his lateness. She said indifferently,
"Professor Yan needs to see you. Come with me!"
Without even glancing at Chen Yang, she turned and walked away.
"This girl is so cool!" Chen Yang thought to himself. He saw that Liu Xinyao's attitude was still the same as before her rebirth, treating her like a little girl, so he wasn't offended and quickly followed.
The students who were waiting to see the drama were all wide-eyed when they saw that Liu Xinyao was waiting for Chen Yang. They couldn't believe it was real. When did a loser become able to hook up with a goddess?
However, although Chen Yang was a loser, his skills in picking up girls were unmatched by even some rich and handsome guys. The most talked-about topic on campus these past few days was his pink-hued gossip with the school beauty, Su He.
"This kid's gone too far! Su He and Liu Xinyao are such stunning beauties, most people would be lucky to even date one of them, and he's got both! Is he trying to kill us all?!"
Faced with the whispers of his classmates, Chen Yang found it amusing. He deliberately puffed out his chest, adopting an arrogant and self-assured demeanor, and swaggered past the gossipy onlookers. Thinking about the uproar that would soon erupt on the campus forum, he felt a wicked sense of satisfaction.
On the way to the administration building, Liu Xinyao walked ahead silently, while Chen Yang followed behind, openly observing her slender figure. He muttered to himself, "I didn't feel anything when I briefly met her in my previous life, but why does she seem so more and more attractive now that I'm reborn? When did I become such a beast, even wanting to lay a hand on my elegant cousin…?"
"No, it must be because this body is too young." Chen Yang offered a weak excuse for his unhealthy thoughts.
The two arrived at the administration building in silence.
Professor Yan, a highly respected and prolific senior expert, had a private office prepared for him by the college. The room wasn't large, but it had a huge bookshelf filled with academic books.
When Chen Yang followed Liu Xinyao into the office, Professor Yan was engrossed in reading Rousseau's *The Social Contract*. Seeing the two enter, Professor Yan put down his book and said with a smile,
"Chen Yang, you're here! Please sit down!"
Professor Yan didn't greet Liu Xinyao, presumably because she was a regular at this office. It seemed the rumors were true; Professor Yan supposedly greatly admired Liu Xinyao's talent, and although she was only a junior, she was already his designated graduate student.
Chen Yang and Liu Xinyao sat down at the desk, and Professor Yan personally made them a cup of tea, which they quickly stood up to accept.
"Chen Yang, I called you here today to discuss something with you," Professor Yan said kindly. "After listening to your presentation on the Dushima dispute, I feel your research on this issue is quite in-depth. There's an academic forum on international law in Sanya City, Qiongzhou Province in July, and I'd like Xiao Liu to co-write a paper on the Dushima dispute with you, aiming to have it presented at the forum. This is an excellent opportunity for growth, and July is right after summer vacation, so the schedule is relatively easy to arrange."
Liu Xinyao's expression remained unchanged; it seemed she already knew about Professor Yan's suggestion. Chen Yang, however, was somewhat surprised. After all, he was just an undergraduate student, and he generally didn't have the opportunity to participate in such high-level forums. He knew that as long as the paper wasn't too bad, with Professor Yan's recommendation, he would almost certainly be able to present it at the forum.
In his previous life, Chen Yang was indeed a playboy, but he still valued respect for his teachers—excluding his youthful indiscretions. Especially since Professor Yan was such a highly respected senior figure, Chen Yang bowed slightly and said,
"Thank you, Professor! I will do my best to complete this paper."
"Good!" Professor Yan said with a smile, "Well then, this forum also requires me to write an article, so I won't have much time to guide you recently. I've spoken to the school, and the resource room next door is relatively quiet; you two can use it for a while. Try to get the first draft out as soon as possible, and then I'll polish it for you."
Chen Yang knew that for a leading figure in the theoretical field like Professor Yan, the academic forum would definitely actively solicit articles from him; it was naturally not on the same level as submitting a paper like his.
"Okay," Chen Yang replied respectfully. Professor Yan took out a key and handed it to Liu Xinyao, saying,
"Xiao Liu, this paper will be primarily yours, with Chen Yang assisting. Focus your main efforts on this for the time being, and work on your ideas!"
Liu Xinyao took the key and replied crisply,
"Okay, Professor Yan!"
The two said goodbye and went to the resource room next to Professor Yan's. The room had been cleaned and tidyed, with rows of filing cabinets filling most of the space. Near the door, two desks had been temporarily placed together to form an office desk, covered with a soft green velvet cloth.
Two computers were placed opposite each other: one was a desktop computer from the resource room, and the other was a pink laptop, presumably brought by Liu Xinyao herself.
Sure enough, Liu Xinyao went straight to the laptop and sat down, saying,
"Which computer will you use these days?"
Chen Yang smiled and nodded, turning on the computer and sitting down. Liu Xinyao had only said that one sentence upon entering, and then focused intently on her computer screen. The small room was unusually quiet.
"By the way, what's the name of that forum in July?" Sensing the slightly awkward atmosphere, Chen Yang asked casually.
"The Boao International Law Forum," Liu Xinyao replied succinctly, without looking up.
But those simple seven words stirred a storm in Chen Yang's heart. The Boao International Law Forum was held annually, a highly prestigious legal forum that attracted numerous renowned domestic and international law experts each year. The conference was of extremely high caliber.
However, this wasn't the reason for Chen Yang's surprise.
Chen Yang was so moved because, in his memory, something significant had happened at the 2010 Boao International Law Forum in his previous life, something that had caused a great stir internationally.
If he had been there, would history have been different?
Chen Yang shook his head, dismissing his unrealistic thoughts. Things were still far from certain! First, he needed to produce a high-quality paper, which would then have to pass Professor Yan's and the organizing committee's review. Even if he could attend the forum in Qionghai Province, whether that event would happen again like in his previous life was uncertain.
Thinking of this, Chen Yang decided that focusing on perfecting his paper was the priority.
Chen Yang tilted his head slightly, glancing at the side of the monitor. He saw Liu Xinyao's rosy face glowing beautifully in the computer screen's light. She was intently focused on the screen, her hands flying across the keyboard as she typed rapidly.
Chen Yang felt a surge of annoyance. Professor Yan had said they would collaborate on the paper, and even though she was the main author, he couldn't just leave him hanging! They should at least discuss the paper's structure, main arguments, and supporting evidence before starting to write!
Liu Xinyao seemed to notice Chen Yang watching her. Her brows furrowed, and she shifted slightly to the left, avoiding his gaze. Chen Yang chuckled to himself and simply opened a Word document, beginning to type as well.
Coincidentally, Chen Yang had indeed published an academic paper on the Dushima dispute in his previous life, and it was even in a national core journal. Because he had disagreed with Professor Yan on some points, the stubborn old man refused to recommend it, but Chen Yang's anonymous submission was still published, so the paper's quality was absolutely top-notch.
What Chen Yang was doing now was simply inputting the content of this paper from his mind into the computer; it required absolutely no technical skill.
Time passed quietly amidst the sound of typing. The two remained silent for the entire morning. Finally, Chen Yang typed the last word, stood up, took a USB drive, and walked towards Liu Xinyao, saying:
"Xinyao...classmate! These are some of my views and opinions, offered as a reference! The professor said you're the lead author!"
Liu Xinyao, her face still frosty, noncommittally took the USB drive, copied the paper Chen Yang had spent the afternoon typing into her computer, and then casually opened the document titled "A Brief Discussion on the Advantages of the Effective Occupying Party in Territorial Disputes—My Views on the Dushima Dispute," and browsed it casually.
At first, Liu Xinyao's expression was nonchalant, but as time went on, a strange look gradually appeared on her face. She couldn't help but shift her body, bringing her face closer to the monitor, and began to read intently.
Chen Yang, seeing Liu Xinyao's expression, couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. What he had given her wasn't just a thesis or outline; it was a complete paper. Moreover, Professor Yan had also read it. Although the stubborn old man didn't say it aloud and refused to recommend it due to differing academic viewpoints, Chen Yang knew that Professor Yan secretly acknowledged it as a high-quality paper.
Liu Xinyao seemed to realize she had been a little out of line, her pretty face flushing slightly. Her mind was racing: This Chen Yang, who had always been so unassuming, had unexpectedly conducted such in-depth research on the Du Island issue. What he provided was practically publishable; she couldn't believe he had written it in just one afternoon.
Compared to what she had written in half a day, Liu Xinyao felt a little embarrassed by her arrogance, and her initial aversion to Chen Yang addressing her as "Xinyao, my classmate" seemed less bothersome.
Liu Xinyao carefully read Chen Yang's paper, staring into his eyes, and said:
"Chen Yang, I think your paper is already very good. I also have some points to make, but it's too late today, let's discuss them together tomorrow!"
Chen Yang smiled and nodded. Liu Xinyao continued:
"Our paper will be based on your article. I will report to Professor Yan, and you will be listed as the first author!"
The usually carefree Chen Yang smiled nonchalantly and said:
"It's alright, the professor said it's based on you, so naturally you are the first author!"
"No need!" Liu Xinyao reverted to her usual aloofness, saying, "I'm not used to plagiarizing other people's work! Don't worry, I will also contribute my own points to the paper."
As she said this, Liu Xinyao wasn't confident. She knew that what she had cobbled together that afternoon was nothing compared to Chen Yang's paper. She secretly resolved that even if she had to stay up all night, she would produce something substantial to avoid being looked down upon by Chen Yang.