Chapter 69
James let out a low grunt: "If you still haven't learned how to speak properly, I don't mind teaching you some manners on behalf of your mother."
Juniper sensed his threat and shut her mouth.
"Juniper, when you talk behind someone's back, remember to make sure they're not around," I deliberately opened my eyes and said with a smile. "I only closed my eyes - my ears weren't plugged."
The car became very quiet. Juniper's breathing grew heavy and rapid.
As soon as the car stopped, I immediately pulled open the door and got out.
I searched for a long time but couldn't find my classroom.
The bell rang, and I was still outside.
I finally spotted someone carrying books who looked like a professor. I caught up and asked, "Professor, hello, could you tell me how to get to classroom 5017?"
The professor looked me up and down: "Follow me."
I followed behind him, turned a corner, and walked straight to a classroom.
I looked inside - the classroom was full of students. When they saw the professor enter, they instantly fell silent.
Lawrence Parker walked up to the podium and tossed his book onto it: "We have a new student joining our class today - Sophia. Everyone welcomes her."
That's when I realized - he was Indigo's old friend.
Scattered applause broke out, mixed with some whispered comments.
"Is that the woman who got Leonard kicked out?"
"She's pretty good-looking."
"What's the point of being pretty? She's still useless."
"What's her background? How does she have enough power to get Leonard expelled from school?"
I found a seat toward the back and sat down, not bothering with those stares.
Lawrence began his lecture on advanced applications of AI algorithms.
Honestly, this content was too simple for me.
I'd learned this stuff when I was a teenager. I've even published an SCI paper and won quite a few awards.
I looked around the classroom, originally wanting to observe.
But the course content was too boring, and I hadn't slept well last night - kept having nightmares, waking and sleeping fitfully. My head felt foggy, and before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep with my head on the desk.
"You, the new student - is my class really that boring? Boring enough to put you to sleep?"
Lawrence's stern rebuke startled me awake.
I looked up to find the whole class staring at me. Lawrence was tapping the blackboard with an eraser, his brow furrowed.
"Stand up," Lawrence ordered.
I slowly stood up, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
How many years had it been since I'd been in school? And here I was, sleeping in class on my first day, caught by Lawrence no less.
"The algorithm model I just explained - what are its flaws?" Lawrence stared at me, his gaze sharp.
The students around me watched gleefully, waiting to see me humiliated.
I hadn't heard what he was talking about at all. I glanced at the formulas on the blackboard - it was a classic problem, though quite complex. Still, I spotted the issue right away.
After all, I'd dealt with this kind of problem before.
I calmly and confidently gave my answer.
Lawrence froze for a moment, clearly not expecting me to answer so quickly.
He then asked several deeper questions about the model, all of which I answered. I even pointed out a small error in the formula derivation on the blackboard.
The classroom fell completely silent. Even Lawrence looked at me with some surprise.
"You've got some skills," Lawrence said with a cold snort, though his tone had softened a bit. "Since you're so capable, come up here and optimize this model."
He pointed to the model on the blackboard - something that would take even graduate students a while to figure out.
I walked up to the podium, picked up the chalk, and started writing.
I didn't use traditional optimization methods, but rather an algorithm I'd developed myself.
As the chalk kept tapping against the blackboard, the previously noisy classroom became completely quiet, with only the sound of my writing.
Lawrence's initially casual expression gradually became serious, then turned to shock.
When I finished writing the last formula and turned to look at him, the book in his hand dropped to the floor.
"This... did you come up with this yourself?" Lawrence pointed at the formulas on the blackboard with a trembling finger.
"I referred to other people's ideas," I said modestly.
Referring to my past self also counts as a kind of reference.
"Reference?" Lawrence suddenly became excited. "This algorithm is even more advanced than what's currently used internationally! Who did you borrow it from? Can you introduce me? I'd like to meet them."
I...
How was I supposed to say that person was me?
Lawrence was the same age as Indigo. I was afraid he couldn't handle the shock and might pass out.
The whole class was stunned, their gazes shifting from contempt to admiration.
"Professor Parker, that's not really convenient to share."
"If you don't want to say, I won't force you. You have good talent - why don't you study under me from now on?" Lawrence walked up to me and patted my shoulder. "As long as you study with me, I guarantee you'll achieve great things!"
I smiled: "Thank you, Professor Parker, but I already have my own teacher."
I wasn't really here to study anyway. My mission was to find someone.
Lawrence was visibly disappointed at my rejection, though he didn't say anything.
"That's true. With someone that capable teaching you computer science, your future achievements won't be too shabby either."
"But one thing is one thing - the fact that you slept in class can't just be overlooked."
Lawrence waved his hand, telling me to go stand outside as punishment until class ended.
I didn't mind. I was in the wrong anyway, so being punished was fair.
I stood there bored, drawing circles on the ground with my toe.
A few passing students took out their phones and started taking pictures of me.
I looked up at them, and they quickly put away their phones and ran off.
I frowned slightly, feeling like something wasn't quite right.
Finally, class ended. I went back into the classroom to get my things. As I passed by some seats, I heard them talking about me.
"I heard that the new student doesn't even have a bachelor's degree - she used connections to force her way into our class as an auditor."
"She's got connections, so what does sleeping in class matter? She could tear down the classroom if she wanted."
"We worked so hard to get into Celestial University, and she just waltzed in through connections without even appreciating it."
"How could Celestial University let someone like this in? Isn't this one bad apple spoiling the whole barrel?"
Those words were like tiny needles, densely pricking my skin.
I took a deep breath, telling myself there was no point arguing with these people, but I still felt stifled inside.
I wanted to play with my phone to distract myself, but then I saw several new school group chats I'd been added to. People were posting memes of me sleeping.
I clicked to look - from the angle, it seemed like someone sitting to my left front had taken them.
I hadn't paid much attention to who was sitting around me when I came in. Finding the person who took the photos now would probably be troublesome.
Someone posted a link in the group chat. I clicked on it.
The content was photos of me standing in the hallway as punishment, but someone had maliciously edited them - my face had been given heavy smoky makeup.
In the photos, my expression looked completely defiant, my clothes had been digitally altered to look revealing, and the background had been changed to a bar scene. No matter how you looked at it, I didn't look like a decent person.