Chapter 1143 846: Research Directions

The resolution regarding Bi Yanling came faster than expected.

A week hadn't passed since the review meeting for the proposal, and in the afternoon, Nan Zhubin, who had just finished a consultation with Jingwei, pushed open the door of the project group's office and returned to his workstation.

Mo Kai had been sitting there for quite some time, whispering with a person in a blue shirt beside him. The latter's face displayed an array of emotions like a pie chart—relief, fear, relief again, regret, and so on.

"Senior Brother." As soon as Mo Kai saw Nan Zhubin, he turned around and spoke in a low voice, "Have you heard? The decision about Bi Yanling has already been made."

Given the present situation, no one in Bai Qinghua's project group referred to Bi Yanling as "Teacher" anymore.

Nan Zhubin was somewhat interested in this topic, so he looked up from the screen and asked, "What's the result?"

"Her teaching and admission qualifications have been suspended; current students will be reassigned to a new advisor by the college."

"The part related to academic misconduct has been submitted to the school's academic committee and is undergoing a formal investigation. Her associate professor title—she basically won't be able to keep it," Mo Kai said.

Nan Zhubin raised an eyebrow, noticing that the progress of this matter was much faster than he anticipated. It seemed the college leadership didn't hold many meetings but instead actively proceeded with actions.

Given the initiator of the entire event and the trouble it caused—this was indeed reasonable.

Mo Kai added with a sigh, "It's just... Mr. Chang has also been implicated. The papers he participated in are being re-evaluated, and one of his projects has been halted."

"I heard he's recently taken a long leave, his office is locked, and he hasn't come in."

Mr. Chang is Bi Yanling's husband.

"What a shame," sighed the person in the blue shirt, "Mr. Chang's research ability is actually quite good, and he's not harsh in his lectures."

"I heard that when Mr. Chang led undergraduates to forums last year, he paid for the students' travel expenses out of his own pocket."

Universities encourage students to attend various research forums and exchanges. Even if they don't have papers, attending to gain knowledge entitles them to a certain reimbursement for travel expenses.

However, the reimbursement process is surely lengthy, causing financial strain for students with tight budgets. From this perspective, Mr. Chang is indeed a good person.

Unfortunately, he chose his own wife.

Everyone fell into silence for a moment, selectively avoiding this topic.

The person in the blue shirt glanced around, lowering his voice: "Have you heard? The teacher plans to take in most of Bi Yanling's batch of students."

He acted as if sharing a major secret, but Nan Zhubin and Mo Kai were already aware.

"Oh, really?" Nan Zhubin spoke flatly, playing along.

"Yes, I heard that the teacher even applied for an extra office a few days ago to accommodate them," the person in the blue shirt glanced around, "After all, our office can't hold so many people."

Nan Zhubin raised an eyebrow, suddenly wanting to tease the person in front of him: "You seem quite happy?"

"Of course, having so many PhD senior brothers, and senior second- and third-year master's students. I've heard that Bi Yanling was always very strict with them, so their professional skills are undoubtedly strong."

This statement is both lamentable and amusing.

"Doesn't this mean we can learn a lot from these senior brothers and sisters? And they all have many half-done projects. Joining a new project group, they'll surely need help. If we lend a hand, getting our names on as second authors, or even co-first authors, would help solidify our positions!"

As he said this, the person in the blue shirt's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Mo Kai glanced at Nan Zhubin, quickly grasping what was on his mind. He suppressed his urge to laugh, coughing lightly, and said, "But if their research direction is different from ours, we'll have to choose new topics."

"You know what Teacher Bai is like—soft-hearted towards students, won't want to see them delayed, which means we'll have to give them priority on many projects currently only halfway through."

Mo Kai looked worried, "This means that our resources might diminish, right?"

The person in the blue shirt was stunned.

Mo Kai suddenly sensed Nan Zhubin's joy, feeling as if all the fatigue from reading journal articles had vanished.

"I don't have much to worry about; I have a company, so if needed, I can use employees as test subjects and tackle a user experience or management psychology project. Senior Brother is fine too; he has a lot of case studies that he can organize into papers..."

Mo Kai looked worriedly at the person in the blue shirt, "But what about you? Have you found your research direction yet?"

The person in the blue shirt fell silent completely.

Before he could react, the office door was knocked on.

The nearest student to the door unlocked the code lock and saw Jie Nianzhou leading a few students in, looking somewhat apprehensive.

"Is Teacher Bai here?" Jie Nianzhou looked around and asked softly.

The person in the blue shirt hadn't regained his senses, staring blankly at these senior brothers and sisters who had come over from Bi Yanling's project group, unable to speak for a moment.

...

Of course, Bai Qinghua was present, and Jie Nianzhou and the others had greeted him in advance.

"I have a general understanding of your situation."

"About Bi Yanling's matter... let's not talk about it. From now on, in my project group, focus on doing good research and try to graduate early."

Bai Qinghua looked at the nervous students but didn't say anything to relax them, understanding they couldn't be relaxed.