Chapter 1

After graduating with a master's degree, Wang Hao joined a tutoring institution to earn a salary, holding the belief of a hardworking employee, bravely working overtime and moving forward without hesitation.

Ten years passed.

His youth was gone, and he became greasy; his eight-pack abs were hidden under a bulging belly; his full head of black hair was styled into a receding hairline.

A thirty-year-old soul was trapped in a fifty-year-old body.

The small house he bought with his youthful efforts still carried a huge mortgage for over twenty years.

One day, the tutoring industry collapsed.

Salary cuts and layoffs came one after another...

When he walked down the road in a daze, a truck ran a red light and sped past.

This was Wang Hao's life.

In his last moment under the wheels, he looked back on his life and suddenly felt an overwhelming regret.

Why did he choose to work instead of continuing his Ph.D.?

If he had stayed in school to pursue his Ph.D., maybe he could have become a lecturer at a university?

A researcher?

His life would definitely have been different!

...

When his thoughts started to turn again, Wang Hao found himself standing on the rooftop, looking down at the busy campus below.

Then, he saw a foot.

A dangling foot!

He panicked.

One foot was already dangling, the other was on the ground, trembling on the brink of collapse.

His mind went blank.

A voice came from behind, "Wang Hao, what are you doing, don't—"

"Don't—"

The second life-threatening crisis was right in front of him!

Wang Hao didn't have time to turn around. He gritted his teeth and shifted his center of gravity backward, squeezing himself onto the person behind him and sitting on the ground.

"Phew, phew—"

He panted heavily, and the person behind him ran over.

Professor Zhou Qingsheng?

A name instantly appeared in his mind.

Zhou Qingsheng nervously grabbed Wang Hao's arm and said excitedly, "Wang Hao, don't do this! You need to think it through!"

"We all know it wasn't your fault, it wasn't your fault!"

"If you die, they won't feel guilty; they'll be relieved, and there will be no way to verify it!"

"You need to be strong!"

"Think about your parents, your family, you're only in your twenties!"

"You're a genius, you've always been one!"

"Calm down—"

"..."

At the same time, a flood of memories surged in.

Wang Hao was slightly dazed. He took a deep breath and said seriously, "Professor Zhou, can you let me be alone for a moment?"

"I've already thought it through, I won't try to kill myself again!"

"Good, good!"

Zhou Qingsheng said "good" twice but still stood beside him, staring at him and tightly gripping his sleeve, clearly worried he might still give up.

Wang Hao sat on the ground and carefully recalled what had happened.

At this moment, he understood!

He had traveled through time!

Not only had he traveled through time, but he had also traveled into the body of a genius who, due to his exceptional intelligence, had skipped grades and entered Donggang University, a prestigious domestic university, at the age of fifteen.

At twenty-three, he graduated from Donggang University with a Ph.D. in mathematics.

A Ph.D. at twenty-three, unimaginable!

Such an outstanding genius graduate was directly offered a position to stay at the university.

At the same time, he was invited to participate in a key project in the materials laboratory, developing "ultra-compressive alloy materials," and his job was to analyze experimental data models.

He thought it was a great opportunity, but after just three months, a major issue erupted—

An error in the initial data analysis!

An error in the initial data meant that the three months of experimental investment were completely wasted.

Materials research is a money-burning game, and the "ultra-compressive alloy materials" project was in a critical phase of heavy investment, with losses exceeding ten million yuan in three months.

More importantly, the data error was a very low-level mistake, impossible to explain to the higher-ups.

His predecessor was pushed out.

First, he was responsible for the experimental data model analysis, and second, he was just an "intern assistant researcher" in the laboratory, and also a newly hired Ph.D.

When the issue was exposed, his predecessor thought it was his fault, but after carefully reviewing the work content, he found no problems at all.

The reason was clear: the initial data from the laboratory was wrong.

He was just being made a scapegoat.

His predecessor lost his job and couldn't continue at Donggang University.

Professor Zhou Qingsheng, whom his predecessor had known since his graduate studies, greatly admired him. After learning about the incident, he introduced him to work at Xihai University.

A retired old professor at Xihai University was hospitalized due to a sudden illness, and the courses he was responsible for were left unattended.

His predecessor came to Xihai University and signed a temporary employment contract.

After coming to Xihai University, his predecessor kept thinking about the experiment and was always depressed.

Until the day before, the experiment issue made the news.

It's normal for materials research to have no progress for three months, but a "data error" was a very low-level mistake, leading to a wave of online criticism.

"The country's money is being wasted by people like this!"

"Data analysis can be wrong, what kind of research is this? Are these our researchers?"

"A Ph.D. in mathematics at twenty-three? Is the degree watered down?"

From a tenured assistant professor at a prestigious university like Donggang University, he became a temporary lecturer at an ordinary university like Xihai University. With the experiment issue making the news, many people attacked him online, and his predecessor couldn't bear it.

The more he thought about it, the more desperate he became, and he chose to end his life.

Fortunately, he had traveled through time!

...

Wang Hao stood up, recalling.

Zhou Qingsheng was startled and immediately grabbed his arm, shouting nervously, "Wang Hao, don't do anything foolish!"

"Thank you, Professor Zhou!"

Wang Hao said with a sincere and determined tone, "I won't give up anymore."

"I left Donggang University and came here, a new job, a new environment!"

"Starting from today, right now, I will begin a new life!"

"That's good, that's good!"

Zhou Qingsheng said, pulling Wang Hao's arm and walking down.

After returning to the office on the third floor and making Wang Hao sit down, he felt more at ease and continued to persuade, "I also saw the news online."

"Those people don't know the situation, don't take it to heart. The internet is like that."

"Don't worry, I've already thought it through."

Wang Hao's mood had calmed down a lot. He had accepted the reality of his time travel. Since his previous life was over, he had no regrets or attachments.

Now, being able to travel into the body of a Ph.D. from a prestigious university and directly serve as a university lecturer, it was a brand new start for both his work and life.

Zhou Qingsheng continued to persuade for a while and then talked about his work, "I'm a bit worried about your state. How about this, I'll ask for a week off for you from the academic affairs office?"

"No need, I'll follow the schedule. I've really thought it through." Wang Hao nodded firmly.

Zhou Qingsheng looked at him carefully, scrutinizing him for a long time, and finally sighed, nodding and saying, "Alright, I was just about to talk to you about the course issue."

"Starting next Monday, you will officially start working. You will be temporarily in charge of a few classes of 'Partial Differential Equations.'"

He handed over a piece of paper, "This is your schedule, don't feel pressured."

Wang Hao took it and looked carefully.

The schedule only listed one course, "Partial Differential Equations," along with corresponding problem-solving sessions, spread from Monday to Friday.

The office was quiet for a while.

Zhou Qingsheng hesitated for a long time and then said, "The school has given you a one-year contract. This semester, you will be temporarily in charge of Professor Li's courses, but there is hope for you to stay."

"If you can achieve actual research results during the contract period, the school will definitely consider it."

"Think about it carefully. The research you did before, it's best to... self-fund the project..."

The last few words were almost inaudible.

He gritted his teeth and said, "If your research needs funding, come to me, I will personally support you!"

"Thank you."

Wang Hao was deeply moved.

After digesting his predecessor's memories, he understood Zhou Qingsheng's meaning.

Now, his contract with the school was a one-year temporary contract, signed as an "emergency" measure. With the research blemish, it would be difficult for him to find a regular university lecturer or research-related job.

A one-year temporary contract offered no guarantees.

Additionally, with the research blemish, it would be hard to get approval for national or provincial youth scholar projects.

Those projects could apply for funding.

To do research, he could only apply for self-funded projects. Self-funded projects had no threshold but also no funding support. In other words, he would have to do his own research, publish papers, and then apply for recognition after the project was completed, which would be included in his personal achievements.

Wang Hao thought about it and left the office.

Being a university lecturer was a good job, but the pressure was significant, especially in the early stages of work, where results directly affected whether he could be regularized.

Returning to Xihai University as a lecturer but only signing a one-year temporary contract, he needed to achieve certain results to obtain a regular contract, and even to be promoted to associate professor.

His title was directly linked to research.

Wang Hao felt uncertain. His predecessor was indeed a genius, leaving many research memories, but the additional memories only gave him more knowledge.

Research was about exploring the frontier.

Creativity, inspiration, and talent were crucial. Some people learned quickly but might not be suitable for research, while others learned slowly but could produce results in research.

This was a new challenge for him!

Recalling his previous life and comparing it to his current situation, he became determined, "I can do it!"

"No matter how difficult, is it harder than 996? Is it harder than 007? Is it harder than waking up to work and going to bed after work?"

"No problem!"

His heart became firm.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Professor X System activated!"

"Personal module activated!"

"Task module activated!"