Rebirth of a Top Student's Handbook

Zhang Kun stared wide-eyed in shock and said, "You still don't know what Professor Gong researches?"

Zhou Min lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly and remained silent. Sure enough, even Zhang Kun knew to research Professor Gong's research interests beforehand. She realized she had truly wasted the first 20-odd years of her life.

"Then why are you competing with me!" Zhang Kun retorted when Zhou Min remained silent. He genuinely didn't know that Zhou Min knew absolutely nothing about Teacher Gong, yet dared to try and grab a spot from him.

Yes, it's about grabbing a spot, which is one of the reasons he's so nervous today.

Don't let Professor Gong's young age fool you; he's a master's and doctoral supervisor at the university. Joining Professor Gong's research group basically means that he will be your future master's and doctoral supervisor.

That basically determined the general direction of my research afterwards.

According to past data, Professor Gong only recruits 6 graduate students each year, of which only 2 are computer science students, and the remaining 4 are recruited from majors such as mathematics, physics, and electronic information.

Now that Yang Zixuan has basically secured one spot, he's naturally nervous about the remaining one.

When Zhou Min heard that Zhang Kun not only didn't answer her question but also kept mocking her, she simply rode away on her electric scooter without looking back.

Zhang Kun quickly got on his mountain bike and chased after her, but perhaps having lost the momentum he had when he came, he failed to catch up with Zhou Min this time.

Zhou Min returned to her dormitory and searched for Teacher Gong online again. There was very little information about Teacher Gong online, not even a Baidu Baike page for him.

At that time, Baidu Encyclopedia was still in trial version, and apart from a very few experts, ordinary people could not find it.

Last time, Zhou Min also did a quick search online but couldn't find any information about Teacher Gong. She then searched the school's official website but only found a brief introduction of Teacher Gong.

The introduction only shows that Professor Gong graduated with a PhD in Computer Science from MIT, the best university in Country A, and returned to his alma mater, Capital University, in May 2006. No other relevant information can be found.

That's why Zhou Min thought he was just a young teacher who had just returned to China, with little experience but great potential, which is why she dared to go and recommend herself.

But judging from Zhang Kun's demeanor today, it seems that this is clearly not the case, which makes Zhou Min very embarrassed!

Zhou Min searched online repeatedly, but still couldn't find a single trace of information about Teacher Gong. After thinking for a moment, she sent Zhang Kun a message: "Do you have any information about Teacher Gong?"

【...】

"If you don't give it to me, I'll pester Teacher Gong. If you do, I'll tell you what Teacher Gong and I talked about today." Zhou Min knew Zhang Kun wouldn't give it to her easily, so she deliberately threatened him.

Zhang Kun hesitated for a while before sending a message.

After sending the message, Zhang Kun added: "[I bought this information at a high price. Delete it after you read it, and don't let anyone else know.]"

Zhou Min pursed her lips, somewhat dismissive, but when she saw the information above, she was completely shocked. This, this, is this really Teacher Gong?

How could such a top-notch professor be teaching a basic first-year course?

The information detailed that Professor Gong was admitted to the Mathematics Elite Class of Capital University at the age of 14, and in his junior year, he had the opportunity to study at MIT. Later, based on his outstanding performance during the exchange program, he was directly admitted to the graduate school of mathematics at MIT.

Over the next six years, Professor Gong pursued master's and doctoral degrees in multiple first-level disciplines, including computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and materials science.

After graduating, he taught at MIT for four years before returning to China as a "college professor" at MIT. He then served as a master's and doctoral supervisor at Capital University and as the director of the Computing Research Center at Capital University.

In terms of research achievements, Professor Gong has published in countless top academic journals over the years and has received numerous honors and awards.

Zhou Min felt her mouth was practically agape in astonishment. Was this impressive resume really real?

Zhou Min did some quick calculations and realized that Professor Gong was only 28 years old and was already a doctoral supervisor? And he already had so many academic achievements?

Zhou Min still found it unbelievable; she had never seen such an outrageous person in her life, including her past life!

So Zhou Min sent a message directly: 【Are you sure you didn't make this up?】

[What a joke? Make it up? Would I make something like this? The truth is always more outrageous than you imagine!] Zhang Kun was speaking from the heart. He had once considered himself a genius, but compared to Teacher Gong, he was simply a piece of trash.

[Where did you buy this information? Did you get scammed?] Zhou Min was still a little skeptical about the information's authenticity. After all, she had searched the entire internet and couldn't find a single trace.

【How could I possibly be scammed? I bought it from a reputable, large organization!】

Which major organization would sell this kind of information? Isn't that illegal?

What do you know? This was sold to me by a postgraduate entrance exam preparation institution!

[...] Zhou Min was completely shocked. Was it really necessary to go to such lengths? She was only a freshman in college and had already signed up for postgraduate entrance exam training?

Don't tell anyone! Professor Gong only admitted two graduate students in computer science last year, and I don't want too much competition.

Aren't you worried that others will also sign up? Zhou Min hadn't thought of this before, but if Zhang Kun could think of it, maybe others could too?

No, everyone in the class is aiming for postgraduate entrance exams; nobody wants to register for one. Besides, by the time they realize they can't get guaranteed admission and start preparing for the exams, we'll probably already be hooking up with Professor Gong.

"So your purpose in enrolling in the postgraduate entrance exam prep course was to find a powerful patron?" Zhou Min asked incredulously.

"Yeah, what's so strange about it? I have all the information about recruiting graduate advisors for our major. Whatever kind you want, I can find it for you! Actually, I don't think Professor Gong is that great, his qualifications are still too shallow..." Zhang Kun tried his best to persuade Zhou Min, hoping that Zhou Min would change her mind.

If Zhou Min hadn't known how he had been trying to curry favor with Teacher Gong, she might have believed him. But now, Zhou Min only replied with: 【Hehe.】