As she was thinking over what she had just heard, someone said, “At least it doesn’t involve the History Department. If the same thing happened in our major, I would be upset as well. If a year-one student can do it, why can’t we do the same?”

“My guess is that the student has an impressive family background.” A girl shook her head to indicate her disapproval. She appeared rather envious. “It couldn’t have been based on merit, right?”

Based on merit?

She didn’t believe it.

Only the geniuses among the geniuses were qualified enough to join Professor Guo’s research team.

Even the students who were part of the History Department were aware of how challenging Professor Guo’s research was.

What’s more, the workload was quite heavy.

Although there was a lot of work that needed to be done, they didn’t casually accept any random person.

They had extremely high standards.

Only the students who Professor Guo looked favorably upon would be allowed to join. And he was the mentor to every single member of the team.

They needed to have a good grasp of the subject at hand.

Tan Mo thought, I joined based on my merit.

You all are completely ignorant of what talent means.

You don’t even know that there is a genius in your class.

Tan Mo harrumphed to herself. Then she picked up her bag and walked into the classroom.

The class suddenly plunged into silence the moment an unfamiliar face entered the room.

Everyone glanced toward Tan Mo. They appeared quite unwelcoming.

“Fellow student, you have walked into the wrong classroom.” A boy who was sitting near the door spoke up.

She glanced at all the other students. Their eyes were all fixed on Tan Mo.

Their gazes appeared rather unfriendly.

Some were shocked, while others looked doubtful.

Their eyes weren’t the only things that betrayed their emotions. They were clearly written on their faces: What was this person doing here?

Some of the people were even more blunt. They reacted as though Tan Mo had been an invader who had occupied their territory. They appeared very hostile.

There were other students who appeared quite nonchalant about this whole situation. Since she had walked into the wrong room, she would leave as soon as possible.

She had just adapted to Professor Guo’s team and made friends there.

Now that Tan Mo had suddenly walked into such an environment, she felt a bit stunned. She appeared to be quite out of place here.

“Isn’t this Professor Zhao’s class? A module on the Emperor’s Four Treasuries[1]?” Tan Mo was certain that she was in the right place.

She was a genius. How could she have walked into the wrong room?

However, she decided to feign ignorance and ask them.

“It is.” A girl nodded her head. “But this class has already reached maximum capacity. All of the students here have signed up.”

Would she still insist on crashing this lecture?

If that was the case, then would rules still be necessary?

Tan Mo pretended not to see the frowns and conflicting expressions on their faces.

She merely nodded her head and smiled. “I’m here to listen in.”

“Listen in?” The boy sitting by the door was quite displeased. “Professor Zhao’s class has a limit to the number of students who can sign up.”

“Indeed. Can’t you see? There are only 20 tables in the classroom,” someone else added their two cents.

Tan Mo glanced around the room. It was true, the room was packed.

So maybe she didn’t need to attend this class after all?

“Goodness me. These 20 spaces are so precious, and only the top 20 students are allowed to get a spot. It’s not as simple as signing up and getting a spot, nor is it on a first come, first serve basis.” The girl was who was speaking seemed quite displeased as she spoke. “It wasn’t easy for us to get a spot here, and we’re here solely based on our abilities. Now you’re telling us that you’re here to listen in? Then why do rules even exist?”

How shameless. She had crashed the class.

The girl didn’t directly call Tan Mo shameless.

But she was clearly implying this.

Who could be happy about this?

“That’s right.” Someone else mumbled to himself. “If everyone did this, then would there be any meaning in this class anymore? Everyone can simply break the rules. If they want to attend this class, they can simply sit in.”

Everyone present had the same opinion.

All 20 of them had gained a place solely based on merit. Professor Zhao would give them special attention since this was a small class.

However, most important, this was an opportunity.

It was an opportunity to catch the eye of Professor Zhao.

If they performed exceptionally well and if they were outstanding enough, they could catch Professor Zhao’s attention.

If they worked a little harder, they might even become Professor Zhao’s personal mentee.

As for luck?

Everyone was a top student, and they depended on their merit to accomplish things.

It was true that they believed in luck.

However, such opportunities required pure merit. They could not depend on luck.

They had to work hard. They had to fight for a place.

And, now, in the end, someone was crashing their class.

This student had never fought for anything, nor had she worked for it. She was just like a leech who decided to eavesdrop.

Who would be willing to accept this?

“Sure, you can attend this class. Work harder next time and attend based on merit.” Someone exclaimed rudely.

Within this classroom, none of the male or female students showed any graciousness toward Tan Mo. Even though she was pretty and young, no one showed her any pity.

Tan Mo sneered to herself. “Ha, ha, ha, do you think I came to this class willingly?”

Wu Xiaoye hadn’t even informed them?

Why was he so unreliable?

In comparison to Wu Xiaoye, Tan Mo realized that Wang Yuemu was truly reliable.

Before she had even entered the research room, Wang Yuemu had already explained her capabilities to the other seniors in advance.

Even before she showed any evidence of her capabilities, everyone treated her respectfully and amiably even though they probably had some doubts.

It was completely different from this current situation she was facing.

However, Tan Mo had completely misunderstood Wu Xiaoye.

Wu Xiaoye honestly had never expected this outcome.

She was merely sitting in, what could go wrong with it?

Everyone was attending the same lesson and an extra person would not deprive the others in any way.

What’s more, wasn’t it good to have such a thirst for knowledge?

Everyone should be encouraged by such an enthusiastic learning attitude.

Wu Xiaoye was Professor Zhao’s personal mentee. It had been a long time since he had been a part of an undergraduate course.

As a valuable asset himself, he could not relate to these juniors’ longing for Professor Zhao’s attention.

In actuality, Wu Xiaoye had done the same as Wang Yuemu. He had already informed the others in the research team about Tan Mo.

At the present moment, Tan Mo had yet to show her capabilities. However, he had already explained to the members and told them to see for themselves that he was not speaking empty words.

What’s more, Professor Zhao was good at reading people.

Wu Xiaoye truly did not expect his juniors to behave in this manner.

“I apologize, I never expected my seniors to oppose having someone listen in,” Tan Mo said. “I’ll just take my leave.”

Great!

That meant one less lesson to attend.

It wasn’t her fault. These people didn’t want her to sit in.

She had adhered to the instructions.

“Seniors?” Someone reacted. “You’re only in year one?”

When they heard this, the entire class exploded.

“Why is a year-one student crashing this lesson?”

“Are you trying to grab attention?”

“Only year one? Impressive, ah!”

“Junior, you should go and complete your year-one syllabus well first!”

Goodness!

They had originally assumed that she was a fellow second-year student who was competing for a spot.

Even though she was acting shameless, she was still their classmate at the very least.

But now she was saying that she was a freshman?

A freshman who has only attended a few year-one classes was now vying to attend a second-year class.

Although this little girl looked quite innocent, they could tell that she harbored huge ambitions.

She was only year one. Yet she wanted to catch Professor Zhao’s attention.

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[1] A collection of books compiled during the Qing Dynasty.