Chapter 66 Joining the Study Group

Liu Xinjie could not understand why writing a research paper felt as difficult as suffering from severe constipation, making it impossible for him to squeeze out even a few lines after a long time.

In stark contrast, when it reached Xu Ming's hands, the process was exceptionally smooth and effortless.

In just a little over a week, not only had he completed writing the proofs into a formal paper, but he had also translated it into two different language versions along the way.

No matter how one looked at it, this did not resemble the work of a novice.

"Could he have asked someone else for guidance?" A thought flashed rapidly through his mind as his gears turned.

Taking advantage of the fact that Xu Ming had not yet left, he took two quick strides forward and, unwilling to give up, asked him another question.

"Wait a moment."

"Is there anything else, Senior Brother Liu?" Xu Ming stopped in his tracks, a look of confusion on his face.

An embarrassed smile appeared on Liu Xinjie's face as he said, "It's nothing, I was just wondering how you managed to write a paper so quickly on your very first try."

"Do you have any special tricks?"

"Perhaps it's because I read quite a lot of literature during the summer vacation," Xu Ming replied.

Without waiting for Liu Xinjie to respond, he immediately added, "This time, I was mainly following Professor Zhang's instructions, treating it simply as practice to familiarize myself with the process. If there's a chance in the future, I will definitely consult you, Senior Brother."

"If there's nothing else, I'll head to the cafeteria for dinner now."

"Go ahead." Hearing this, Liu Xinjie waved his hand, remaining rooted to the spot.

He had initially assumed that Xu Ming must have asked someone else for help, which explained why the paper was written so quickly—thinking that made the reality somewhat easier to accept. Yet, the cruel reality delivered another heavy blow to him: the other person had written it entirely on his own.

"I've read quite a bit of literature too..."

He muttered to himself. Once his mood calmed down slightly, he picked up his belongings from the podium and was just about to leave.

The next second.

His entire body suddenly gave a start as he finally remembered the crucial point.

"Oh no... My paper!"

Unable to help himself, he let out a low roar and bolted out of the classroom at the speed of a hundred-meter sprinter in a campus sports meet.

...

Jiang Xu, Ni Mingjie, and Zhu Zhixuan had not left yet; instead, they had gone ahead to the nearest cafeteria for dinner.

Holding their loose-leaf assignment folders, they stood waiting for Xu Ming under the science teaching building.

The moment they caught sight of his figure, they immediately took the initiative to walk up and greet him.

"Jiang Xu just said that Senior Brother Liu is going to help you find a study group?" Ni Mingjie approached first and couldn't help pressing for details.

Zhu Zhixuan chimed in right after, "Are they upperclassmen?"

Clearly, the three of them had gathered earlier just to discuss this very matter.

Mainly because they each already had their own study groups and, having experienced them firsthand, truly realized the benefits, they naturally did not want to see Xu Ming still studying entirely on his own.

Xu Ming didn't think too much of it. Taking their words in, he nodded and honestly explained the situation.

"Senior Brother Liu said he will text me to notify me when the time comes."

He held a fair amount of trust in Liu Xinjie. As one of Professor Zhang Luping's few graduate students and an elite within the School of Mathematical Sciences himself, Liu naturally knew much better how to choose a compatible study group.

Discussing problems with group members at that time would undoubtedly improve efficiency quite a bit.

After all, since study groups had been preserved as a tradition in the School of Mathematical Sciences down to the present day, they surely harbored hidden benefits waiting to be discovered.

With this brief conversation coming to a close, the few of them no longer delayed and set off for the nearest cafeteria to have dinner.

In the evening.

Xu Ming arrived at Science Building No. 1, carrying his complex analysis textbook, draft paper, pens, and a large-capacity thermos.

His original plan had been to go to the library to study complex analysis.

He enjoyed the challenges brought by encountering new knowledge, as well as the joyful sense of accomplishment and dopamine release that came after mastering it.

While other people relied on self-discipline to force themselves to do things, he belonged to the type who genuinely loved it and couldn't help wanting to complete it.

However, midway through, he received a text message from Senior Brother Liu.

It stated that a suitable group had already been found, and he should go straight over to meet them and get acquainted.

While marveling at Senior Brother Liu's efficiency, it seemed the other person was currently busy with something rather urgent, as the text only hastily provided the specific address without giving detailed information about the other members of the study group.

Still, since an appointment had already been made, he needed to show his senior brother some respect and go check it out, regardless of whether it suited him or not.

"This must be it."

He walked directly up the stairs to the fourth floor, observing the surrounding environment while searching for the discussion room number.

Looking around, the entire floor was predominantly occupied by discussion rooms—veritable sanctuaries for group members to study and debate problems, where pulling all-nighters over the weekend was a common sight.

However, because they were in such high demand, reservations usually had to be made three days in advance.

As for the ultimate solution, some students would simply rent a room in Yanyuan, adopting a militarized management style with aerospace-grade time synchronization.

Soon, he stopped in front of a discussion room. After knocking, a deep, resonant voice immediately came from inside.

"Please come in."

Xu Ming pushed the door open, and the next second, two male figures came into his view.

Glancing over to examine them closely, he noticed they both had the same haircut and black-and-white clothing, with slightly thin faces and each wearing a pair of myopia glasses.

Their hair wasn't cropped short like a buzz cut, but rather resembled the soft fuzz of a newly shorn head growing back.

Just looking at them gave off the aura of powerhouses.

"Hello, senior brothers."

Xu Ming took the initiative to speak, offering a polite greeting.

Before the final syllable had even faded, the shorter male student on the left immediately stood up and took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"You must be Xu Ming, the one Senior Brother Liu mentioned?"

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Gao Ke, a junior majoring in mathematics and applied mathematics."

After finishing, he pointed at the student on the right and said, "His name is Yan Weihao, also a junior."

"I heard that you entered with a score of full marks on the freshman placement test as a regular gaokao candidate, breaking the record of the School of Mathematical Sciences for all these years," Yan Weihao said, lifting his eyes to look at Xu Ming and taking over the conversation. "As a freshman, you're barely qualified to join our group. However, if you can't adapt to the high-pressure environment within the group, you'd better withdraw sooner rather than later."

"Our group was originally at full capacity, but that guy chose to run away and become a deserter because he couldn't take the pressure in the second semester of sophomore year."

"That is indeed what happened," Gao Ke said with a slightly awkward, forced smile.

Xu Ming took in every word they said, and instead, it sparked his interest even more.

"High pressure?"

He pondered inwardly, then expressed his stance with considerable resolve.

"I think I should be fine."

After being invited to sit down, the two of them proceeded to give a detailed explanation of the group's rules in advance.

"Today's main task is to work on the problem sets. Whoever finishes last will be penalized by having to copy out the preface of *Theory of Functions of a Real Variable* three times."

At this point, Yan Weihao fixed his gaze on Xu Ming, dropping a heavy bombshell as he wanted to see how Xu Ming would react.

Gao Ke, standing beside him, did not forget to elaborate:

"Since you're a freshman, you won't be studying real analysis just yet, so you probably don't know that the preface to the *Theory of Functions of a Real Variable* contains two thousand words of classical Chinese."

"Trust me, nobody wants to copy that stuff."

Through their initial introduction, Xu Ming learned that both of them came from competition backgrounds, consistently maintained scores among the top few in their grade, and had also participated in the National Undergraduate Mathematical Modeling Competition the previous year, successfully winning a national second prize.

Given these achievements, their study group was quite well-suited for him. Besides, who would end up putting whom under high pressure was still anyone's guess.

With this thought resting in his mind, he immediately agreed with complete confidence.

"I have no problem with that."

However, shifting the tone of his conversation, he added, "It's just that I finished this week's problem sets entirely during the day."

"The assignments should have just been handed out around this time, right?"

"You finished them that quickly?" Gao Ke exclaimed upon hearing this, an expression of surprise appearing on his face.

Yan Weihao, meanwhile, pulled out an exercise notebook, handed it over, and smiled as he picked up the thread.

"Here is a database of freshman teaching assistant exam questions accumulated over the years that I've compiled. I guarantee it will keep you busy until the end of time."

Xu Ming shook his head and did not reach out to take it.

"Do you have anything from the sophomore stage? I've already started studying complex analysis."

As he spoke these words, he made sure to show the complex analysis textbook he had brought along to the two of them.