Reality Programming Association

Chapter 137: Chapter 57: The Last Lesson

The path to the main building of the School of Physics was a complete mess.

Rain washed over the ground, leaving crisscrossing rut marks in the mud, like scars carved into the entrance of this once-solemn academic hall. Under the dim, yellow halos of the streetlights, several box trucks were parked in the open space before the main building. Their hazard lights were flashing as they spewed plumes of white exhaust. Workers in reflective raincoats were still tirelessly moving in and out, carrying boxes of various sizes.

”They’re still moving...” Shi Zuozhou stepped through a puddle, watching the stacks of black tote boxes. ”It’s been two days. Was our School of Physics always this loaded with stuff?”

Yu Xian didn’t speak. He saw that the window of a second-floor laboratory had been removed. A box wrapped in a waterproof tarp was being slowly lowered out of the window by a crane. He had no idea what was inside. This urgency of an overnight evacuation deepened the unease in his heart.

Retracting his gaze, Yu Xian stepped onto slightly drier stairs and entered the teaching building.

Their evening class was Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics.

The instructor for this course was Professor Ning, a little old man who was always cheerful. His classes were very popular in the School of Physics—not because his lectures were brilliantly captivating, but because of his excellent temper. Even if the entire back row fell asleep, he would just keep smiling and teaching. He never called out anyone for criticism, and when finals came around, he passed everyone he possibly could.

When they walked into the lecture hall, it was still relatively empty. Yu Xian and Shi Zuozhou took their usual seats near the window at the front.

Yu Xian checked the time on his phone, then looked at the classroom door, his grip on the phone tightening slightly. He had a bad premonition. He was worried that the person stepping up to the podium would be another unfamiliar doctoral student, or perhaps there would simply be a ”class suspended” notice. Professor Shu’s sudden ”work arrangement” yesterday had left quite a psychological shadow on him. Could Professor Shu’s ”evacuation” have just been the first domino to fall?

Fortunately, his worries were unfounded.

Before it was even six-forty, a slightly hunched figure appeared punctually at the classroom door. Professor Ning wore a somewhat worn-out gray jacket and carried a thermos that had chipped paint and dents from being dropped. He wore a cheerful smile on his face, looking just as endearingly amiable as always.

”Good evening, comrades!” Professor Ning placed his thermos on the desk and greeted everyone in a solemn tone. This was his unique way of joking.

Yu Xian breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, at least there were still professors from the School of Physics sticking to their posts.

As Professor Ning adjusted the projector, his gaze swept across the classroom. When his eyes landed on the corner by the window, they suddenly lit up. His eyes crinkled into slits as his smile deepened. ”Oh, isn’t it that young man?”

Shi Zuozhou froze and pointed at his own nose. ”Huh? Professor, me?”

”Yes, I remember you.” Professor Ning nodded with a smile. ”During the last class, you were the most attentive one. You stared at your computer, going CLICK-CLACK-CLICK as you took notes for the entire period. I’m not remembering wrong, am I?”

Shi Zuozhou’s face instantly flushed bright red. Beside him, Yu Xian couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips twitch upward. He certainly remembered. The last time they had this class was right before the elderly Mr. Su Mingyuan came to the university for a lecture. Shi Zuozhou hadn’t been taking notes at all—he had clearly been designing promotional posters for that ”Life of Subtraction” lecture.

”Ahem... You flatter me, Professor. You flatter me.” Shi Zuozhou scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled. ”It’s mainly because your lectures are so good. You explain profound theories in simple language, so I was afraid I’d forget if I didn’t write them down.”

”Haha, you young comrade, you certainly have a sweet tongue.” Professor Ning was amused. He waved his hand, signaling him to sit. ”It’s not that I lecture well; it’s that physics itself is very interesting.”

Taking advantage of the fact that the class bell hadn’t rung yet, Yu Xian looked at the amiable old man. He hesitated for a moment but couldn’t hold back his question. ”Professor Ning, those trucks downstairs... what are they moving? I’ve seen them moving things for the past two days. Is our school going to be renovated?”

Professor Ning’s hand paused on the microphone he was adjusting. The smile on his face receded slightly. He turned to look out the window at the pitch-black, rainy night, then looked back at the group of students before him and let out a soft sigh. ”Alas... Some things are just out of our control.”

He picked up his chipped thermos and slowly unscrewed the lid. ”This is the current climate. We scholars are merely drifting with the tide.”

Yu Xian frowned slightly. He thought, ”Out of our control? Drifting with the tide? What does that mean? Does it mean the recent riots are forcing them to relocate? Or are they being coerced by someone, or following someone’s orders?”

He was just about to press for more answers when the crisp ring of the class bell echoed, cutting him off.

”Alright, enough chitchat, young comrades. Let’s begin our class!” Professor Ning resumed his cheerful demeanor and opened his PowerPoint presentation. ”In the last class, we covered the Bragg diffraction equation, which is the core foundation of crystallography. Today, we’re going to talk about something even more interesting: the Ewald sphere...”

It had to be said that Professor Ning’s classes truly possessed a certain magic. Unlike those teachers who just read from a textbook, he always managed to turn dry physics concepts into captivating storytelling—explaining profound theories in simple terms, quoting classics, and injecting humor.

Yu Xian listened attentively, temporarily tossing all those messy speculations to the back of his mind.

Shi Zuozhou was bored out of his mind. He would listen to a few sentences of the lecture, then poke at his new watch a few times.