Chapter 33: Professor Song Tianming

  "Hey, can you let go of my hand now?" As soon as they walked out of the gymnasium, Song Lei immediately reminded Xiao Ping with a huff: "Our relationship isn't that close!"

  "This is really a case of 'newlyweds getting into bed, matchmaker jumping over the wall'! Xiao Ping shook his head and sighed: "I was just so cooperative with you in acting out the play earlier, almost got kicked to the point of being childless, and now you're turning your back on me?"

  Xiao Ping didn't say that, but when he mentioned Song Lei, he got even angrier and couldn't help but glare at him, saying: "How dare you say that? I only asked you to help me act, who told you... to kiss me?! You're taking advantage of the situation to be a rascal!"

  Xiao Ping immediately called out to Qu after Song Le's words fell: "I'm innocent! This is all for the sake of making others believe in our relationship, otherwise how could we deceive that cunning Tang Jiaqiang? For your sake I gave up my first kiss and ended up with a bad reputation, where can I go to reason this out?"

  "Was that also this girl's first kiss?" Song Lei responded with a hint of dissatisfaction, and only after speaking did she feel a bit embarrassed, her pretty face involuntarily flushing slightly red.

  "Well, I guess we're even then." At this point, Xiao Ping fully demonstrated his support for gender equality, but soon added: "However, this was originally your business, and it turns out that I'm the one who's at a disadvantage!"

  Song Le angrily said: "Hate it! Take your hand away, otherwise I'll hit you!"

  Xiao Pingcai didn't feel threatened by Song Lei, instead of letting go, he slightly increased his grip, making Song Lei's curvaceous body lean against him. Only then did he slowly say: "Don't forget we just went public with our relationship, and you're already acting so awkwardly right after leaving the gym. Others will definitely suspect something!"

  "Hmm!" Song Lei grumbled discontentedly, but didn't insist that Xiao Ping move his hand away. The two of them continued walking forward like this, leaning against each other.

  This was naturally what Xiao Ping had hoped for. Song Lei's slender waist was delicate and firm to the touch, and it felt extremely good. Moreover, as they walked, her full breasts would occasionally lightly brush against Xiao Ping, and the soft yet ample sensation made Xiao Ping's heart flutter with excitement. Being able to stroll through the university campus with such a beautiful and vibrant girl was truly a delightful experience.

  However, the good times always pass quickly, and before long, the two arrived in front of a teaching building. When they got here, Song Lei stopped her footsteps, and slowly moved away Xiao Ping's hand that was placed on her waist.

  Xiao Ping is not the kind of person who would shamelessly try to get close to a girl. Seeing Song Lei's resolute attitude, Xiao Ping wouldn't find excuses to get closer to her again, and instead subconsciously took half a step back, keeping a certain distance from Song Lei.

  Xiao Ping's sudden display of indifference left Song Lei feeling a little empty inside. She glanced at Xiao Ping, who was calm and collected, and explained in a low voice: "The university doesn't encourage students to fall in love, we're going to see Professor Song, so we can't be too affectionate in front of him."

  "I understand!" Xiao Ping's face was expressionless as he nodded, but soon changed to a smiling face and asked: "You mean we can still be intimate after meeting Professor Song, right?"

  "Think beautifully!" Song Lejiao snorted and glared at Xiao Ping sideways, then walked into the teaching building first.

  Xiao Ping smiled silently and followed him in.

  Song Le arrived at the second floor, walked into a large laboratory. In front of one wall of the lab, there were more than 20 large fish tanks, arranged in two rows, equipped with all sorts of equipment such as filters, air pumps, and thermometers. The bottom of the tanks was covered with sand and gravel, and some aquatic plants were planted, completely simulating the living environment of Chinese sturgeons in the wild. In more than ten of these fish tanks, there were indeed fish swimming leisurely.

  Xiao Ping had seen dead knife fish in the aquatic market before, and at a glance, he recognized that these were indeed Yangtze River knife fish. The only difference was that the knife fish in the aquatic market were all frozen with ice blocks, while those in front of him were alive. This gave Xiao Ping a few more points of confidence in Professor Song, whom he had not yet met, and perhaps he could really get some fish fry from him.

  When Song Lei and Xiao Ping found Professor Song Tianming in the small laboratory inside, this serious-looking middle-aged man was sitting in front of a microscope looking at something. Song Lei made a gesture to Xiao Ping not to make a sound, and the two quietly waited like that.

  Song Tianming observed for a long time, then let out a long sigh, with a very dissatisfied look. Song Tianming stood up from the edge of the table, only to notice that there were two more people in the laboratory, but he didn't reveal any unexpected expression, and just nodded towards Song Lei: "You're here, who is this?"

  "He's Xiao Ping, a... friend of mine." Song Lei introduced him to Song Tianming: "Xiao Ping heard that you're doing research on breeding knife fish and came specifically to visit you."

  "Friend?" Song Tianming seemed to be somewhat skeptical of Song Le's words, sizing up Xiao Ping for a while, his eyes seeming to hold some special meaning, making Xiao Ping feel a bit uneasy.

  Fortunately, Song Tianming did not show too much interest in Xiao Ping and soon spoke up: "Mr. Xiao came to find me, is it also because you have seen the economic value of the Yangtze River knife fish and want to invest and cooperate with the school to study the breeding technology of the knife fish?"

  Song Tianming's words made Xiao Ping speechless. Although Xiao Ping's purpose in finding Song Tianming was indeed so, he heard a hint of sarcasm in the other's words. His intuition told him that Song Tianming was a pure scholar who guarded himself in an ivory tower and devoted himself to research without paying attention to outside affairs. If he admitted that he came because he valued the economic benefits of knife fish, it was very likely that he would be driven out immediately.

  Xiao Ping had an idea and looked at Song Tianming, who was talking eloquently: "The economic value of the Chinese sturgeon is indeed very high, but what I value more is the positive impact that this project will have on the recovery of the species' population after its success. In recent years, overfishing has reduced the number of sturgeons to a dangerous level, and if humans do not intervene, I fear that in a few decades, the sturgeon will become extinct like the baiji dolphin, which would be a disaster for maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River!"

  Xiao Ping's words relaxed Song Tianming's expression, and he nodded repeatedly: "Well said! Well said! Song Lei, this friend of yours is quite good, has insight!"

  Xiao Ping secretly let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he had made the right bet this time. On the other hand, Song Lei looked at Xiao Ping with some surprise, finding it hard to imagine that this guy could actually gain the approval of the strict and difficult-to-get-along-with Song Tianming.

  "So... what do you think we should do to restore the knife fish population?" Song Tianming asked again.

  "This is a test for me, and I'm not even a college student. Professor Song really doesn't understand human feelings. Xiao Ping silently complained in his heart, but calmly replied: "First of all, we must ban the catching of swordfish, at least limit it; secondly, we need to explore the artificial breeding technology of swordfish and release the fish fry into the natural environment at the right time to help restore their numbers; finally, we should vigorously develop aquaculture. If artificially bred swordfish can meet market demand, the number of wild swordfish will be further restored."

  Xiao Ping's words were all reasonable, and Song Tianming also nodded in agreement. However, as a professor at Nan University, he was no fool. In the end, he looked at Xiao Ping and said: "You finally mentioned artificial breeding. Are you thinking of buying some fish fry from me to start this project quickly?"

  Xiao Ping immediately shook his head, "Artificial breeding is the last step, it's too early to consider that now. I didn't come here today to buy fish fry, but purely out of curiosity, wanting to see how far the artificial breeding of knife fish has progressed."

  Xiao Ping said that, Song Tianming's guard against him decreased a bit more, and he couldn't help but sigh: "To be honest with you, this research is going very badly. We are now having trouble even guaranteeing the survival rate of the knife fish, let alone breeding them in artificial conditions."

  Just as Song Tianming was saying this, a university student rushed in flustered and exclaimed: "Professor Song, something's gone wrong! There's a problem with tank number two!"

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