Awakening Elementary School System in University

Gu Ming felt there was too much information in Chen Lin’s words for him to process.

’One week?!’

He’d had a vague suspicion before, thinking that for Chen Lin to produce a first draft so quickly, he couldn’t have spent too much time on it.

After all, Gu Ming had been present when Chen Lin stated his request for early graduation to Principal Chang Kai, and that was only a little over two weeks ago.

But hearing Chen Lin confirm it himself still left Gu Ming utterly shaken.

’In one week, he produced a highly enlightening piece of research that could cause quite a stir in the field of Differential Geometry?’

’Is this what a real genius is like?!’

However, although Gu Ming wasn’t old, he was a seasoned and worldly scholar. The shock lasted only a few seconds before being replaced by a deeper concern brought on by the second half of Chen Lin’s words.

Manifold Boundary and Hallucination Control in Generative Models.

Of course he knew about this research topic!

It was one of the most cutting-edge and intractable research areas at the intersection of artificial intelligence and applied mathematics!

Countless top mathematicians and computer scientists around the world were pouring immense effort into this field, yet in the last two years, there had been very few results that could truly be called major breakthroughs.

Moreover, Gu Ming’s own specialty was partial differential equations. He wasn’t proficient in this kind of applied field, which was so deeply intertwined with computer science, and he couldn’t offer Chen Lin much help at all.

He looked at the confident young man before him, with his clear eyes, and a complex emotion suddenly welled up inside him.

Once upon a time, he had been secretly delighted at the thought of being the guide for such an unparalleled genius.

But now he realized that with his level of expertise, he probably wasn’t even qualified to point the way.

However, it was precisely because of this that Gu Ming, in his heart, had come to see Chen Lin as a complete equal—a scholar who, in some areas, was even more capable than himself.

Since Chen Lin already had a clear plan and a distinct goal, the only thing he could do was offer his respect and support.

Gu Ming took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and a gentle smile returned to his face.

"Alright, since you already have your own plan, I won’t say any more." He looked at Chen Lin, his voice full of gratification. "But you need to balance work and rest in your research. Don’t be in too much of a hurry with the next paper. You can wait until the company side of things has stabilized before you start."

He pointed to the document on his computer screen. "Just leave the main text of this graduation thesis with me for now. Over the next few days, I’ll help you fix any issues with the writing and formatting, then I’ll send it back to you."

"Okay, thank you so much for the trouble, Professor Gu," Chen Lin said with sincere gratitude.

"It’s no trouble," Gu Ming said with a smile, waving his hand.

...

...

「August 5th, 2:30 PM.」

The summer heat remained unrelenting.

Following Principal Chang Kai’s instructions from the previous day, He Qun took Chen Lin to see the office space the university had prepared for him.

"Chen Lin, the place we’re going is just ahead. It’s a little bit out of the way," He Qun explained as he led the way.

He Qun’s "a little bit out of the way" was clearly an understatement.

He led Chen Lin on a winding path, through a small, somewhat desolate grove of trees, and finally arrived in front of a solitary four-story building.

This was practically the most remote corner of the Yannan University campus. If someone hadn’t been leading the way, even Chen Lin, a "living map" who had covered the entire campus during his part-time jobs, wouldn’t have known this place existed.

The building’s exterior looked no different from an ordinary academic building, with gray walls and square windows, giving it a plain and unadorned appearance.

"This is our university’s student innovation hub." He Qun swiped a key card to open the door, and a blast of cool air rushed out. "This building has only been in use for four or five years, so the facilities inside are still very new."

The two walked inside, and Chen Lin discovered it was a whole different world.

Completely different from the layout of academic buildings, which are divided into individual classrooms, an entire floor here was one huge, open-plan space.

Light-colored wood floors, stylish desks and chairs, and scattered greenery, plus a few separate conference rooms and break rooms partitioned by glass... The entire interior layout was very similar to the WeWork-style coworking spaces he had seen in videos over the past two years.

He Qun led him from the first to the fourth floor, making a thorough tour.

Except for the first floor, where a few desks had computers and some documents on them and two or three people were sparsely seated, the second through fourth floors were completely empty, looking so new it was as if they had never been used.

"What do you think?" He Qun asked with a smile, gesturing at the spacious area. "Each floor here has about 500 square meters of usable space. Principal Chang specifically said that you can choose an entire floor to use as the office for your new company."

’500 square meters...’

Chen Lin silently calculated in his head.

For a startup, this amount of space was more than enough—one might even call it quite luxurious.

In his plan, before the company officially entered the AI field, it was best to keep the team size under 20 people.

After all, he was basically responsible for all of the company’s core technology and business output.

The employees he needed would either be like Sun Yu, responsible for initial client communications and for organizing and refining their wide variety of requests into clear mathematical problems.

Or they would be like Huang Yiyi, responsible for handling legal affairs, administration, and dealing with government departments—all trivial but necessary tasks.

A small team would also be easier to manage.

With that in mind, he made his decision.

"Teacher He, I’ll take the second floor," Chen Lin said decisively.

"Okay." He Qun nodded, then seemed to remember something. "Right, about the rent..."

"The principal said to calculate everything according to the lowest standard for supporting student entrepreneurship." A slight smile appeared on He Qun’s face as he held up five fingers. "Five thousand a month. Utilities and internet included."

"Five thousand?"

Chen Lin’s eyebrows rose slightly at the figure.

If he had to bear this cost personally, it would certainly be a significant expense.

But for a company about to receive investment from both President Peng and the university, this rent was practically a giveaway.

Principal Chang Kai really knew how to do someone a favor!

Before coming, Chen Lin had specifically looked it up online. In a place like Jinmen, the rent for an office building, even in the most remote location, was at least one yuan per square meter per day.

This 500-square-meter space, if calculated at market price, would cost at least 15,000 a month in rent.

Principal Chang had effectively cut the price by two-thirds. This level of support was immense.