Chapter 88: Chapter 88

In the blink of an eye, it was already An Ning's fourth year studying at MIT.

Truth be told, life abroad wasn't as colorful as one might imagine.

Waking up before dawn to study newspapers, researching new journals, verifying experimental data, endless reports and studies, programming code that seemed to stretch into infinity, attending various conferences with her advisor. During this period, An Ning's busy schedule even left the system watching beside her utterly astonished.

Was this really the same host who had always prioritized comfort and sought early retirement in every life?

Only after typing the final page of her thesis and closing her laptop did An Ning finally exhale lightly and collapse back onto her specially arranged Hastens bed.

Yet less than two minutes later, her phone buzzed with the expected text from her mentor, Professor Decker.

An Ning's drowsiness instantly evaporated halfway.

The message remained as enthusiastic yet concise as always, typical of an engineering professor—essentially informing her that there was an international conference on intelligent terminals and AI applications in three days, and since Senior Brother Truman suddenly had prior commitments, she needed to prepare early.

Professor Decker, An Ning's advisor for the past four years, was one of MIT's tenured professors in computer science, holding worldwide prestige in artificial intelligence and intelligent bionics.

Just before her visa was about to expire, she successfully caught the professor's attention with a self-developed mini-program and a forward-thinking thesis.

Of course, as the old professor later admitted, the world was never short of brilliant minds, and MIT certainly wasn't lacking in them. What truly impressed him was An Ning's masterful command of data algorithms in her thesis and the remarkably mature thinking system she displayed.

"To be honest, An, you don't seem like a newcomer to academia. You're more like an accomplished scholar who's been deeply immersed in the digital field for years," Professor Decker once remarked with a smile.

"If you weren't already my student, that unreasonable tyrant John next door would've snatched you up long ago."

Though it was just a casual joke from the professor, An Ning couldn't help but feel a momentary pang of nervousness.

After all, one should never underestimate the perceptiveness of world-class scholars.

Fortunately, mathematics was ultimately a field where talent spoke for itself. The professor merely made that passing remark and never brought it up again.

Even so, An Ning became much more cautious in her subsequent research.

Thanks to this unexpected message, An Ning's plans for a well-deserved nap were completely ruined, forcing her to swiftly rise from her cozy bed.

Gathering information, organizing materials, preparing potential speeches—by the time she finished all this, most of the night had slipped away unnoticed.

After everything was done, An Ning didn't forget to take one of the specially prepared black hair pills and a health-boosting pill with a gulp of Spirit Spring Water.

Yet the next morning, as she gazed at the raven-haired, red-lipped beauty in the mirror, she still felt her complexion looked somewhat dull, with faint dark circles under her eyes...

Indeed, all-nighters were the ultimate weapon against beauty.

Thinking of her seniors' steadily receding hairlines over the years, An Ning shuddered involuntarily and promptly decided that after obtaining her Ph.D. next year, she absolutely had to take a short break first...

As usual, she stayed in the lab until evening. After bidding farewell to a few seniors, she finally noticed the familiar black Bentley parked outside the research institute, its roof blanketed under thick snow—clearly having waited for quite some time.

The American winter was rather chilly. Instinctively tightening her thick cashmere scarf, An Ning suddenly found a black long-handled umbrella appearing above her head.

Without refusing the gesture, she smoothly took her seat in the back. After taking a sip of the hot cocoa handed to her, she finally asked curiously as the car slowly drove off campus:

"President Fu, coming here so late—did something go wrong with last time's operating system?"

Her strictly businesslike tone made Fu Sheng, who had been about to exchange pleasantries, choke momentarily. After a pause, he replied half-jokingly, half-sighing:

"Miss An, your words truly wound me.

After all these years of acquaintance, I'd hoped we'd at least progressed into the realm of friendship, if not close friends."

The man appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, dressed in a dark gray turtleneck sweater. His deliberately polished attire accentuated his refined, scholarly demeanor. Especially now, with the shrewdness and sharpness of business stripped away, the faint sigh in his deep-set eyes and his slightly hoarse voice only added to the mature charm he exuded.

To this, An Ning merely smiled without responding.

A shadow flickered through Fu Sheng's gaze, but he quickly changed the subject.

"Miss An—or should I say Dr. Xu soon? Have you considered where you'll work after graduation?

Given your current achievements, returning to China afterward might prove rather difficult."

Especially with her "Smart System Xiao Ba," which not only possessed powerful intelligent analysis and data simulation capabilities but even exhibited a degree of learning ability. Even in today's landscape where AI has made significant progress, this was no small breakthrough.

This technology could undoubtedly play a massive role in gaming, automotive, and various high-tech fields.

As far as he knew, not only were major U.S. investors keenly interested, but even military circles weren't immune to its appeal.

Were it not for Professor Decker's influence in academia...

Fu Sheng glanced up at the rearview mirror, taking in the snow-skinned, bright-eyed woman whose very demeanor exuded cool detachment. Merely sitting there, she was undeniably captivating.

Pity the king pined, while the goddess remained unmoved...

Truth be told, after all these years of slow-burning pursuit with zero progress, Fu Sheng had even begun questioning his own charm at one point.

Recalling previous investigation results, Fu Sheng frowned slightly, a shadow crossing his handsome features.

"Miss An, though this may be presumptuous, as someone who's been through it, I must advise that people should always look forward."

Yeah, I can tell you've "been through it"...

Pretending not to notice the probing and invitation in his words, An Ning offered no explanation, merely curving her eyes slightly as she nodded gently:

"Don't worry, President Fu. I already have plans for what comes next."