Before lunch.

When Zheng Qing arrived at the Jiuyou Academy Dean’s Office, he didn’t see Jiang Yu.

Old Yao was sitting behind his large desk, dealing with a thick stack of documents in front of him. Several bright red feather pens were dancing around him like lively little sprites.

"Hmm, you came just in time, Jiang Yu just left." Old Yao chuckled without looking up.

Not good at all.

Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth, not understanding what the old man was so amused about.

Of course, as this thought crossed his mind, he habitually cast a few soul-protecting spells on himself to prevent the legendary wizard across from him from ’unintentionally’ hearing his grumbles—though, if the old man behind the desk were to deliberately eavesdrop on his thoughts, Zheng Qing knew he couldn’t stop it, except to hope that the other’s shallow sense of morality and lack of curiosity about the world would hold.

"I called you here today to remind you about the graduation thesis."

As he spoke, Old Yao waved his hand, and the feather pens formed a neat line as they jumped back into the pen holder at the corner of the desk, while the documents on the table seemed to sprout wings, gracefully gliding to the other side of the desk.

Then the professor leaned back comfortably in his chair, picked up his pipe, bit it, and his voice became muffled: "...But Student Jiang Yu said she’s already discussed it with you. I looked at her thesis proposal, the topic is excellent, very deep, with sharp insight. I heard Professor Jiang in magic sociology is her supervisor, so it’s not surprising that she chose that topic... what about you?"

He blew out a cloud of thick smoke, blinking like a beetle that had just awoken.

"I, I haven’t decided on a thesis direction yet." Zheng Qing suddenly felt a bit guilty, and his voice grew much softer.

The professor raised an eyebrow: "Hmm, the requirements for early graduation are relatively lenient. Because your time is limited, you don’t have to write a thesis proposal. But no matter what, you must confirm your supervisor and thesis topic within a month, so you don’t fall behind in writing, reviewing, etc...do you have any ideas now?"

Zheng Qing hesitated for a few seconds.

"I think Monte..."

Just as he uttered these words, the office door swung open, accompanied by the click of high heels, as a tall figure enveloped in a gentle aura entered the office.

It was Su Shijun.

Zheng Qing noticed she was wearing a pair of rimless glasses today, which, against her fair skin and long black hair, gave her an unexpectedly lively and delicate appearance.

"You should knock first." The dean of Jiuyou Academy frowned slightly.

"Oh."

The upper house member of the Moon Council raised an eyebrow slightly, standing still, then snapped her fingers, and three brisk knocks echoed from the door immediately.

Thump, thump, thump!

Then she tilted her head, looking at the office owner, waiting for him to speak.

"Ahem..."

Old Yao coughed, sat up a bit straighter, and said formally, "Come in!... Hmm, Director Su? What’s the matter?"

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes internally.

"Looking for my husband."

The upper house member of the Moon Council glanced softly at the warlock beside her, startling Zheng Qing into instinctively taking a step back, almost sinking into the towering mahogany bookcase, as if the speaker was some wild beast rather than an enchanting beauty.

"Your... uh, husband," Old Yao struggled to utter those words, casting a puzzled look at Zheng Qing, then asked the witch, "What do you want with him?"

Su Shijun didn’t immediately answer the professor’s question but turned to Zheng Qing instead.

"This morning, when Jiang Yu left the mansion, she mentioned to me that you still hadn’t decided on your thesis topic, so I knew you’d forgotten what I told you." She folded her arms, scrutinizing the young warlock.

Zheng Qing uneasily touched his neck, swallowed a small gulp.

He felt the witch’s gaze was oddly focused.

Old Yao, arms crossed, watched the scene with a smile, puffing on his pipe with obvious enjoyment.

"What you said... how could I forget." The boy forced a smile, brain racing as he tried to recall what had been said at Greenhill Mansion, unsure which words of Director Su’s were being referenced.

"Good you haven’t forgotten."

The witch retracted her gaze with a subtle nod, turned to Old Yao: "Are you discussing his graduation thesis? I’m his supervisor and have reviewed his thesis proposal, it looks good..."

Zheng Qing was bewildered.

Thesis proposal?

When did he write that thing?

And what about his supervisor, how did she know Old Yao was discussing his thesis? A big wizard spying on a legendary wizard’s office was impossible.

"I’m not that powerful."

Seeming to read the boy’s thoughts, Su Shijun glanced at him, succinctly explained: "I just know you, Jiang Yu, and Old Yao quite well, and can roughly predict the situation..."

"What’s the theme of the thesis proposal you mentioned?"

The professor behind the desk timely interrupted the witch’s explanation, showing some curiosity: "As far as I know, Student Zheng Qing does not seem particularly informed about the graduation thesis."

Zheng Qing was even more curious.

"It’s about the ’Christian-Moonlight Conjecture’ preliminary proof." Su Shijun mentioned a term Zheng Qing vaguely recalled, and before he could think about it, Old Yao began musing aloud.

"Is it the conjecture that you proposed with Christian?" The professor’s pipe had long since gone out, yet he continued puffing, seeming not to notice the lack of light: "...Indeed, your lab’s report last year mentioned a very successful simulation case, could yield several significant papers..."

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Zheng Qing felt Old Yao cast him a satisfied glance at that moment.

But he didn’t pay attention to it.

Because when Old Yao mentioned ’laboratory’, Zheng Qing finally remembered what the strange conjecture from Su Shijun meant: if a test subject could break free from a 1+1 dimensional spacetime, then its experiences, insights, and even potential events at the moment of breakthrough would recur in a higher dimension—that is the ’Christian-Moonlight Conjecture’, and it’s what Su Shijun had mentioned during Zheng Qing’s first visit to the Two-Dimensional Evolution Lab.