I'm back in 1990

Chapter 539: Thesis Defense Passed

One day in June 2000, the old-fashioned ceiling fan in classroom 303 of the School of Economics creaked and turned. At that moment, Qiao Hongbo and several others were defending their graduation theses. In addition to their supervisor Huang Xiaochuan, the school had also invited experts and professors from other schools to review their theses in accordance with regulations.

At this moment, these professors and experts are all sitting on the judging panel, listening to the students below the stage read their papers.

Huang Xiaochuan noticed that Kong Hao's hands were trembling slightly, and seeing that he also looked a little nervous, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

Kong Hao was the least noticeable of his students, mainly because he was introverted and didn't like participating in group activities. However, Huang Xiaochuan thought highly of him. Among the students, Kong Hao showed the best academic ability; otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted him in the first place.

Seeing Huang Xiaochuan shake his head, Jiang Qiming, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but ask, "Junior brother, what's wrong?"

Jiang Qiming was specially invited by the University of Finance and Economics from Shenzhen University as an off-campus expert. Huang Xiaochuan was stunned for a moment when he first met Jiang Qiming, but he quickly found out what was going on.

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan smiled and said to Jiang Qiming, "It's nothing, my student seems a little nervous."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiming chuckled and said, "That's normal. To be honest, I was also incredibly nervous on the day of my graduation thesis defense."

When Kong Hao read out "Currency Mismatch in the Southeast Asian Financial Crisis," a white-haired professor sitting on the judging panel with Huang Xiaochuan interrupted him.

"Wait a minute, Kong Hao! Where did you get the 1996 Bank of Thailand meeting minutes you cited in your paper?"

Kong Hao gripped his thesis tightly with both hands. He first looked at his teacher on the judging panel and received an encouraging smile. Then, he looked at the title page of his thesis.

On the title page of the paper, Huang Xiaochuan wrote a line of annotation.

After reading it, Kong Hao felt much more relaxed and replied, "It comes from the Bangkok Chinese Chamber of Commerce internal newsletter, issue 47."

The white-haired professor nodded and did not ask any further questions, while Kong Hao continued reading his paper.

Just as Kong Hao was presenting his thesis, a voice trembling with rage came from behind Qiao Hongbo: "Is Xu Tianlei next?"

The speaker was Yue Dongxue. There was still a piece of chewing gum on her dress. Xu Tianlei had carelessly spat the gum out when he came in, and Yue Dongxue had accidentally sat down on it.

Xu Tianlei, sitting in front of Qiao Hongbo, was completely unaware that he had caused trouble. At that moment, he was intently watching the defense proceedings.

Upon hearing Yue Dongxue's words, he turned around, grinned, and gave Yue Dongxue a V-sign.

This really angered Yue Dongxue. If she hadn't been at the defense, she would have kicked this guy.

After the defense ended, Huang Xiaochuan stood up and invited several judges, including Jiang Qiming, with a smile.

"I'd like to treat a few people to dinner tonight. Professor Zhang and Professor Gu, it's been a while since we last met at Wuhan University, right? It's so kind of you to come, so please do me the honor."

Jiang Qiming, of course, wouldn't refuse his junior brother's request, so he was the first to agree.

Liang Yongsheng and Pu Qianyu, who are also professors in the School of Economics like Huang Xiaochuan, also warmly helped Huang Xiaochuan greet the experts from other universities.

"That's right, Professor Zhang, Professor Gu, it's been so long! We should all get together!"

Professor Gu, the white-haired professor who had asked Kong Hao the question, laughed and said, "Alright! Since we're here, let's make the best of it. Tonight, Lao Zhang and I will treat Professor Huang to a big meal."

The group chatted and laughed as they walked out of the classroom, where Huang Xiaochuan had already arranged for a car to pick them up.

After seeing off the judges, Yue Dongxue patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally, we made it!"

Xu Tianlei, looking smug, said, "Tch! Don't you even know who our teacher is? Just look where he's sitting—right in the middle!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Dongxue glared fiercely at Xu Tianlei: "You pay for my dress!"

Xu Tianlei, unaware of the trouble he had caused, said, "Why should I compensate you for your skirt? Let me tell you, Yue Dongxue, you need to change this habit of extorting money, understand?"

Yue Dongxue turned around angrily and pointed to the chewing gum stains on her long dress.

"Look what you've done! You spat chewing gum all over my skirt! This skirt cost me over five hundred yuan! You have to pay for it!"

Xu Tianlei, of course, refused to admit it: "Why are you blaming me? Lots of people chew gum, I think you just think I'm easy to bully."

Upon hearing this, Yue Dongxue was so angry that she was about to explode and grabbed Xu Tianlei's wrist to teach him a lesson.

Qiao Hongbo quickly persuaded the two to stop.

"Alright, alright! You two stop fooling around, the teachers aren't far away yet."

Yue Dongxue glared at Xu Tianlei resentfully, then let him off the hook for the time being. She stormed off, eager to return to her dorm to change out of the long dress. Yue Dongxue was extremely concerned with her appearance and couldn't tolerate anything inappropriate about herself. If she hadn't been attending her thesis defense earlier, she would have gone back to change her clothes long ago.

Xu Tianlei, on the other hand, put on a wronged expression.

Even Qiao Hongbo couldn't stand it anymore and tapped Xu Tianlei with his folder: "Alright! Stop pretending!"

Seeing that Yue Dongxue had walked away and returned to normal, Xu Tianlei said to Qiao Hongbo, "Senior, why don't you organize something tonight? Let's have a celebration to celebrate passing our thesis defense."

Qiao Hongbo glanced at Xu Tianlei and laughed, "You don't need to tell me. The teacher already told us to have a good meal tonight. The teacher has already arranged the restaurant for us."

"Yay! Long live the teacher!" Xu Tianlei jumped up excitedly.

Then Qiao Hongbo said to Feng Ze, Duan Jinglan, and Kong Hao behind him, "Don't wander off. A car will come to pick us up later."

The three nodded in unison to indicate that they had heard.

Xu Tianlei then asked Qiao Hongbo curiously, "Senior brother, where are we going for dinner tonight? Give us a hint!"

Qiao Hongbo didn't keep them in suspense: "It's the Mi's Western Restaurant on the seventh floor of No. 5 on the Bund."

Xu Tianlei gasped, "No way? Our teacher is so extravagant! He's treating us to Western food at No. 5 on the Bund?"

Feng Ze, Duan Jinglan, and Kong Hao were also stunned. They originally thought it was just about finding a restaurant to have a big meal, but they didn't expect that the teacher would arrange it to be the most luxurious Western restaurant in Shanghai.

Although they had never been there, they had heard a lot about the name of Mi's Western Restaurant.

When the group arrived at the restaurant that evening, they realized that the rumors were absolutely true. The restaurant's interior was decorated in a retro and elegant style, with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows, blending Shanghai style with European luxury.

Yue Dongxue was so amazed she could hardly see anything, and Qiao Hongbo was just as shocked. He really hadn't expected the teacher to reserve seats for them here.

After confirming the reservation information, the waiter immediately led the six people to the outdoor terrace.

After Xu Tianlei walked onto the platform, he immediately ran to the railing and looked towards the Huangpu River and Lujiazui on the opposite bank, calling out to the others as he looked.

"Wow, come quick! This is an absolutely amazing sight!"

To be honest, we've all been to the Bund before, but this is the first time we've seen the opposite bank from this height and position. The experience is completely different, and you can eat while enjoying the scenery. How wonderful!

After putting a piece of pan-fried foie gras into his mouth, Xu Tianlei asked everyone while eating, "Why do you think our teacher is so rich?"

Yue Dongxue knew a little bit about it, after all, she was Lu Jingyun's cousin-in-law, but she didn't want to answer the question, because she hated Xu Tianlei so much.

Feng Ze replied, "The teacher is an expert in economics, so naturally he knows how to make money!"

Xu Tianlei disagreed with this statement, because he had thought so too before. However, through his interactions with his teachers over the past few years, he realized that things weren't so simple: "Several economics professors in our department, according to you, shouldn't they be very wealthy? But what's the reality?"

Qiao Hongbo had known Huang Xiaochuan the longest, so he naturally knew a little about him, but he didn't want to talk about Huang Xiaochuan behind his back.

He raised his wine glass: "Alright, enough guessing, let's clink glasses!"

The six people clinked their glasses together in unison.