Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 147 - 90 This Damn Uncontainable Talent!_3

To be honest, for graduate students at Yujiang University, no one really lacks a few hundred bucks.

After all, students who truly need money usually choose to start working immediately after their undergraduate studies.

At least from what Qin Jingru knows, his fellow senior brothers are all from well-off families. Not particularly rich, but at least middle class.

Moreover, most of them receive scholarships and various allowances, and Director Xue frequently assigns them tasks like grading papers, which also come with payment. Xue Song might be strict, but when it comes to providing subsidies, there’s really nothing to complain about.

Though it’s hard to elaborate, it’s certainly more considerate than most other mentors at the same school.

So, after he transferred the money first, the group chat was filled with transfers, and soon all eight people had transferred the money.

"Dear seniors, I’ve added you all as friends. This is my email [email protected], please send your papers as soon as possible, giving me the chance to learn the mathematical concepts I haven’t encountered yet. Thank you again for your selfless help!"

"This kid, he’s really damn fake!" Seeing this message, Qin Jingru couldn’t help but sigh.

...

Qiao Yu felt he was at a loss.

This collective payment method isn’t quite right.

Some seniors’ papers actually look quite decent, even if the content feels superficial and lacking substance, they were in a different league compared to the reference papers Old Xue had sent him before.

At least their basic format was good; just a slight modification could meet Old Xue’s requirements.

But some seniors’ papers were really appalling.

The saying "all good papers are alike, but every bad paper is bad in its own way" holds true.

Charging only five hundred for those papers was a real loss for him.

For example, even with so many literature management tools available, some seniors still manage to make citation errors; who could he complain to?

So his National Day holiday, which was meant for relaxation, was spent busy critiquing his seniors’ papers.

Of course, it wasn’t without benefits.

At least Qiao Yu gained a deep understanding of just how painful it is to be a responsible mentor.

And he became resolute that if he ever became a professor, he would rather have fewer students than accept those just looking to coast for a diploma.

Fortunately, these assignment papers weren’t the kind requiring extensive proofs like dissertations. The only hassle was reading a lot of papers before making revisions: both those cited in the papers and the series of materials Old Xue had provided to his legitimate students.

He even read works cited within cited works.

For Qiao Yu, this reading process indeed deepened his understanding of mathematics.

Most of October was spent in intensive reading, broadening his knowledge, while making Qiao Yu realize an awkward reality. Most mathematical tools used in Chinese literature were first discovered by foreign mathematicians.

Most so-called pioneering mathematical work in China is either an extension or expansion of existing tools. Qiao Yu rarely encountered new tools or concepts that caught his eye.

At least regarding the articles he encountered in October, that’s primarily the situation.

Alright, this isn’t something a middle schooler should feel embarrassed about.

The issue is that one of the tools involved relates to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he plans to critique for life.

For instance, Professor Abhinav Kumar from Massachusetts provided several tools for these papers. Many Huaxia works cited papers this professor published over a decade ago.

This annoyed Qiao Yu, it’s already 2024, why hasn’t this professor moved from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an institution on the decline?

Anyhow, Qiao Yu felt he justified the four thousand he earned for tutoring.

The seniors who were at a decent level both in attitude and skill went without saying; Qiao Yu meticulously revised as per standard procedures, optimizing some proofs after extensive additional readings.

As for the others who were clearly struggling in skill, Qiao Yu earnestly provided detailed revision suggestions. Follow them and the papers should improve. After all, it was just an assignment.

Thus, all of October was extraordinarily fulfilling for Qiao Yu, keeping him busy every day.

Even during the seven-day National Day holiday, when Keke dragged him out shopping, he only spent half a day.

The rest of the time was mostly in the dedicated study room at school.

There’s no helping it: in this world, money is hard to earn, and tasks unpleasant.

The greatest relief for Qiao Yu was that Old Xue didn’t express any dissatisfaction about his seniors paying him to review their papers. It’s possible his seniors never mentioned it to him, but regardless of the reason, it made him happy.

Theoretically, Qiao Yu had patched up any issues with his actions.

If Old Xue found out, it would be because the seniors, fearing he’d lose out on studies, pooled for his tutoring fee - very reasonable. But facing Old Xue would still be awkward, especially since he even flaunted getting a school-prepared study room to Old Xue.

Misstep, reinforcing that overcoming bragging habits and quietly making money is the way forward.

Cherish life, minimize showing off, and perhaps his persona as a clueless teenager still learning how to be ostentatious fits him better.

Unfortunately, some people’s brilliance simply can’t be concealed...

"Sigh... Mom, seriously, I’ve been constantly reflecting on how to be a low-key person, but reality just won’t allow it! My damn undeniable talent always bursts out, what should I do?"

"Speak plainly!" Qiao Xi frowned at her son returning from evening self-study, sighing as he walked in, and rebuked him.

"Uh, the results from the high school math competition are out, Teacher Lan checked them for me, I’m first in the province."

"Ha..." Qiao Xi let out a cold laugh, instinctively glancing at her phone.

Ah, how time flies, it’s already October 28th, this kid will soon be traveling far again.