Chapter 244 Zhou Yan!
Li Chen glanced down.
"You even look at this?"
"There's no fresh mud on the soles of the shoes."
Yan Xi handed him the soy milk.
"drink."
Li Chen took it.
"Have you got a meal yet?"
Yan Xi took out another paper bag.
"An egg, shumai, and half an ear of corn."
Li Chen looked at her.
"Half a piece?"
"The other half is for you."
Li Chen smiled.
"Reasonable."
The two sat down to eat breakfast.
Yan Xi did not immediately mention the email.
Li Chen wasn't in a hurry.
He broke the corn in half and handed her the larger half.
Yan Xi glanced at it.
"You gave me the wrong one."
"You gave me the right thing."
"I'll take the smaller one."
"You're coming with me to meet someone today; it'll be physically demanding."
Yan Xi looked up.
"I'm not going in."
Li Chen nodded.
"Waiting downstairs also consumes energy."
Yan Xi stared at him for two seconds, then took the larger half.
"Being sweet-talking is useless."
"This is logic."
"Logic is useless."
Li Chen lowered his head and drank his soy milk.
Yan Xi took out her phone and opened a document.
"The person mentioned in the email is very likely Zhou Yan."
Li Chen looked at her.
"A computer science professor?"
"Associate professor, specializing in interpretable machine learning and behavioral data systems. Has extensive project experience and two university-industry collaborations."
Li Chen nodded.
Why not accept first-year students?
"Too much trouble."
Yan Xi spoke very directly.
"He taught freshmen, but in the end, the students could only write down concepts without being able to apply them. So he stopped taking them on."
Li Chen asked, "Then why did he send us an email?"
Yan Xi paused for a moment.
"I'm not sure if he posted it."
"Whom did you alert when you investigated him?"
"I checked publicly available information."
Li Chen looked at her.
Yan Xi added, "There are also the list of award winners for the projects he has supervised in the past three years, the students' whereabouts, course evaluations, the keywords of their papers, and their office routines."
Li Chen remained silent.
"Is this what you call publicly available information?"
"It can be found."
Li Chen nodded.
"OK."
Yan Xi looked at him.
"nervous?"
"A little."
"Afraid of rejection?"
"no."
Li Chen put down the soy milk cup.
"I'm afraid that if you spend so much time investigating, I won't be able to produce anything in the end."
Yan Xi did not speak immediately.
She peeled the eggs from the paper bag and placed them in front of him.
"Li Chen".
"Um?"
"I'm investigating because you might be a possibility."
Li Chen looked at her.
Yan Xi's voice was very steady.
"It's not because I want you to win that I'm pushing you into it. It's because I've looked at your work and think you can give it a try."
Li Chen looked down at the peeled egg.
"What if he doesn't accept it?"
"Change players."
"That simple?"
"Um."
Yan Xi looked at him.
Being rejected is not failure. Taking no action after being rejected is failure.
Li Chen smiled.
"Can this sentence be included in the project plan?"
"cannot."
Why?
"It's too much like chicken soup for the soul."
Li Chen nodded.
"delete."
7:55.
The two left the cafeteria.
Yan Xi stopped when she reached the bottom of the computer building.
"I'm not going up."
Li Chen looked at her.
"Really not going?"
"You have to talk to them yourself."
"What if he asks me who helped me look it up?"
"to be honest."
What if he says I rely on my girlfriend?
Yan Xi's gaze softened slightly.
"Then this teacher is not suitable."
Li Chen smiled.
"So protective of their own?"
"Um."
She straightened the shoulder strap of his laptop bag for him.
"But you yourself must also stand firm."
Li Chen nodded.
"Know."
Yan Xi handed him a piece of paper.
"A list of questions. Don't just read it aloud; keep it in mind."
Li Chen took it.
There are only five items above.
I. Project Objectives
2. To what extent can the smallest sample run?
III. Boundaries of Data Ethics.
IV. How to implement interpretable modules.
V. Why you are suited to do this.
After reading it, Li Chen folded it and put it in his pocket.
"Are you downstairs?"
"Um."
"What if I don't come down for a long time?"
"This means the negotiations haven't broken down yet."
Li Chen smiled.
"What if it comes down soon?"
"I'll take you to have a second breakfast."
Li Chen was taken aback.
Yan Xi added, "Even if you're rejected, you have to eat it."
Li Chen squeezed her hand.
"wait for me."
"Um."
He went upstairs.
The third-floor corridor was very quiet.
At 8:27, he stood at the office door.
The sign on the door reads: Zhou Yan.
Li Chen knocked on the door.
A sound came from inside.
"Enter."
Li Chen pushed open the door and went in.
There was only one man in the office, around forty years old, wearing a white shirt and black-rimmed glasses, with documents piled on his desk.
The other person looked up at him.
"Li Chen?"
"Hello, Teacher Zhou."
"sit."
Li Chen sat down and took out his computer and documents.
Zhou Yan made no small talk.
"Did you receive the email?"
"received."
Do you know who posted it?
"have no idea."
Zhou Yan looked at him for two seconds.
"Then why did you come?"
The email said that you might not see me a second time.
Zhou Yan smiled.
"You know how to grasp the key points."
Li Chen did not answer.
Zhou Yan picked up a printed copy.
When Li Chen saw the cover, it was the third version he had sent to Yan Xi last night.
Zhou Yan said, "I've looked at this document."
Li Chen tightened his grip slightly.
"What does the teacher think?"
"Not very good."
Li Chen nodded.
"Um."
Zhou Yan looked up.
"Aren't you going to defend yourself?"
"Fix the problems if they arise."
"Do you know what the problem is?"
Li Chen turned on his computer.
"The abstract is not concise enough, the sample only outlines the framework and lacks actual results. The data simulation section lacks variable definitions, and the ethical boundaries are too thinly defined."
Zhou Yan's gaze towards him changed slightly.
"Who taught you to answer like that?"
"My girlfriend approved."
Zhou Yanfang printed the following manuscript.
"Yan Xi?"
Li Chen was not surprised.
"Um."
Zhou Yan leaned back in his chair.
She emailed me last night.
Li Chen was taken aback.
Zhou Yan said, "She wasn't begging me to take you in. She just asked me three questions."
Which three?
Zhou Yan picked up her phone and read aloud.
"If a freshman can produce a working prototype within three days, is he/she qualified for an interview?"
"If a project involves behavioral status alerts, should data ethics precede or follow the model?"
"If he needs reminders from others to start, but can proceed on his own once he starts, does that mean he's not suited for scientific research?"
Li Chen remained silent.
Zhou Yan looked at him.
"Guess what I replied?"
Li Chen shook his head.
"have no idea."
"I said, first, look at the sample. Second, ethics come before the model. Third, it doesn't count."
Zhou Yan put down her phone.
"That's why I saw you."
Li Chen took a light breath.
"Thank you, teacher."
Don't thank me too soon.
Zhou Yan tapped on the table.
"I really don't accept freshmen. They lack the foundation, the patience, and their expression is weak. Most importantly, most of them just want to win awards."
Li Chen nodded.
"I understand."
"Do you want to win an award?"
"think."
Zhou Yan looked at him.
Li Chen continued, "But it's not just about winning awards."
Tell me about it.
Li Chen turned the computer around.
"I created the minimum framework last night. It can't run completely yet, but the logic has been broken down."
Zhou Yan glanced at the time.
"Didn't you go to bed before 11:30?"
Li Chen was stunned.
Zhou Yan said calmly, "Yan Xi wrote in her email that she doesn't want you to stay up late."
Li Chen: "..."