Tap tap tap.

Professor McCarthy’s shoes made intimate contact with the floor, getting closer and closer…

This time, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sitting alone anymore. She was part of Richard’s group now, so she had some organization, even though her teammates didn’t trust her abilities, they didn’t isolate or bully her either.

“Have you finished reading ‘Structural Elements’?”

In the final moment before the great demon king reached the doorway, Daisy showed her concern.

Xia Xiaolan patted her thick notebook, “I’ve really been studying hard, trust me, it’s the hardest I’ve worked in my life… I must get an A in Professor McCarthy’s class!”

Xia Xiaolan’s bold declaration made even Daisy’s acne seem to shrink.

“If this were USC Film School, I’d believe you could get whatever grade you wanted…”

But this was Cornell’s Architecture program!

This was the Architectural Engineering course controlled by the demon king Professor McCarthy!

What a waste of Xia’s pretty face, Daisy thought. She had never seen such delicate, three-dimensional features among Asian girls. While many Asian girls looked like dolls with their delicate faces, they often had childish figures. Xia was different – she had both an exquisite, beautiful face and a stunning figure… This poor Chinese girl had come to the wrong place. Why did she have to fall into Professor McCarthy’s clutches?

Daisy suspected that in Professor McCarthy’s eyes, there was no gender distinction, let alone beauty standards!

A pair of feet entered the classroom, and Daisy quickly pulled in her neck.

Professor McCarthy had arrived!

The demon king had descended upon the mortal realm again, making his tormented students tremble.

Xia Xiaolan heard Richard encouraging himself in a tiny voice:

“Pass! Pass! We must pass this time!”

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but glance at the “assignment” that Richard’s group had put together. Honestly, she thought it wasn’t much different from the model that got thrown last time. Since her suggestions weren’t accepted, she had only helped with the manual labor this time.

Could they pass?

The demon king’s eyes swept across the classroom. He usually didn’t take attendance – reportedly no one dared skip McCarthy’s class. Though McCarthy might not remember names, he had his system of recognition.

“Let’s check the assignments first! Chuck, would you bring your group’s model to the front?”

Richard, forcibly renamed, carried the model to the front with Lyle, the other male student in the group. Xia Xiaolan and Daisy had to go up too.

McCarthy asked them to present their assignment.

“Do you think this structure is stable enough?”

Richard’s eyes wandered: “Yes.”

“Shear walls…”

“Building plane rigidity.”

“Seismic calculations?”

McCarthy threw out question after question, while sweat covered Richard’s forehead.

Chubby Lyle’s flesh quivered.

Daisy’s face turned red as if her acne might explode.

After they struggled through the questions, McCarthy snorted coldly: “I don’t want to see any more failing assignments. If your group can’t pass next time, you won’t even get a C this semester!”

What?!

Xia Xiaolan, who hadn’t said anything and whose opinions weren’t accepted, was caught in the crossfire.

In her first semester as an exchange student at Cornell, failing to get even a C in a required course – Huaqing’s Architecture Department and Mao Kangshan would probably drag her back and beat her up. It was too embarrassing.

But McCarthy hadn’t given Xia Xiaolan any choice, just stuffing her into this group that had failed twice. What could she say?

The third chance… would be their last chance.

Richard knew the three of them had messed up. The group’s poor performance had angered the demon king.

As the demon king checked assignments in turn, most of the groups that failed last time passed this time, leaving only one other group sharing the same fate as Xia Xiaolan’s group.

Ning Xue’s eyes showed sympathy when she looked over.

This high-pressure environment was completely different from back home.

In China, getting into university was hard, but once you were in, it was relatively relaxed. As long as you weren’t expelled or had no major disciplinary violations, you’d get a job upon graduation.

The only difference was in the benefits of different work units, with most starting salaries being similar at graduation.

Graduating from Huaqing meant you wouldn’t end up in too poor a workplace.

But in America, applying to university wasn’t as difficult as gathering tuition. It was easy to get in but hard to graduate, especially with straight A’s… The elite could command the wind and rain, while the mediocre were destined to be stepping stones. Even with the same Cornell architecture degree, excellence would be reflected in starting salaries right from the first job!

Ning Xue wondered if Xia Xiaolan could adapt.

At Huaqing University, Xia Xiaolan seemed to have the energy to spare, attending school on weekdays while managing her business out of town on weekends.

At Cornell University, Xia Xiaolan could only focus entirely on studying, unless she wanted to become one of the “mediocre.”

“No, Xia Xiaolan isn’t the type to settle for mediocrity.”

Just as this thought crossed Ning Xue’s mind, Professor McCarthy called on Xia Xiaolan to answer questions again.

Xia Xiaolan patted her notebook.

This time, anyone hoping to see the newcomer embarrassed would be disappointed. She had spent a week intensively studying “Structural Elements.” Ning Xue was right – Professor McCarthy had forced Xia Xiaolan to temporarily abandon her plans to make money in America. The 1.27 million dollars lying quietly in her account, given Xia Xiaolan’s personality, should have been used to make more money, turning it into 2 million, 3 million… but she had no time! She had spent an entire week studying!

At least this gave Xia Xiaolan more confidence when answering Professor McCarthy’s questions.

Though unsure if her answers were completely correct, Xia Xiaolan’s terminology was no longer vague.

Even when stumped by Professor McCarthy, after brief consideration, Xia Xiaolan could still provide answers that, while not entirely correct, at least touched on the right concepts.

Xia Xiaolan had improved so quickly!

She must be naturally gifted, just hadn’t fully devoted herself to academics before, right?

Ning Xue marveled silently.

Xia Xiaolan’s group members were shocked.

Was this the same newcomer Xia who wanted to crawl into a hole when questioned by the demon king last week?

After class, as soon as Professor McCarthy left, Daisy rushed over:

“How did you manage it?”

Xia Xiaolan rubbed her eyes: “Less than 5 hours of sleep every day for a week straight. That’s how. I think I might die of exhaustion before getting an A!”

Or maybe she’d become nearsighted?

After all, she’d been straining her eyes too much.

Chubby Lyle pushed up his glasses: “You must have some special study method. Ask any other student – everyone’s sleep is compressed to 4-5 hours, but most don’t learn as fast as you!”

“…so why don’t you trust me? I might not be weak, I just wasn’t used to Professor McCarthy’s pace before!”

Xia Xiaolan was anxious too.

If she didn’t get involved now, should she just watch the whole study group fail under Professor McCarthy?

Daisy nudged Richard’s arm:

“Maybe we should trust Xia once?”

Richard messed up his hair: “But she’s never even touched—”

Xia Xiaolan’s expression remained calm, “I hadn’t read ‘Structural Elements’ before either.”