Chapter 438: Mock Defense

(Not many people are probably reading tonight, right? After all, everyone wants to stay cozy (’▿’))

Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Mo Jingchun felt a bit helpless.

It seems logical, but in practice?

In the professor circle, he’s still a newcomer. If he can really just sit there, say nothing, and keep smiling, that would be great～

Feeling Li Xuanyu’s sneaky glance, Mo Jingchun gave her a quick look. Li Xuanyu, like a startled deer, quickly bowed her head to tinker with the computer.

Mo Jingchun stroked his chin and fell into thought. Does he really look that frightening?

Or does the professor title come with a built-in halo?

"Hmm? Why are you looking at me again?"

Li Xuanyu pointed at the computer and said aggrievedly, "Huawei’s computers need a dock to connect to the projector, there’s no HDMI port."

"I’ll go, I’ll go." Candy, having received some benefit, raised her little hand and volunteered.

Before Mo Jingchun and Li Xuanyu could say anything, the little one had already run out, calling "Waitress sister" "Waitress sister" as she went.

At the door, the little one asked with a head held high and a sweet smile:

"Sister, do you have a dock?"

"Yes, just a moment, I’ll get it for you."

The little one waited at the door, and soon a dock was handed to her.

Having gotten what she wanted, the little one smiled with eyes like crescent moons, adorably curved.

Before turning away with her prize, she didn’t forget to say thank you.

"Thank you, sister."

"You’re welcome."

Watching the cute little darling carry the dock back triumphantly, the lobby manager also smiled.

"Really so cute, I want a daughter too."

Thinking of her two sons, she dismissed the idea of having another child.

What if... what if it’s another son? How would she and her husband survive?

These days, raising a child is already dauntingly expensive.

Let alone having two.

Three? Just thinking about it makes her scalp tingle.

"Sister, here, the dock you wanted."

Li Xuanyu was warmed by the little one’s charm. Who wouldn’t like such an adorable child?

"Guoguo is awesome!"

With the dock, Li Xuanyu quickly connected to the projector.

Sitting in his chair, Mo Jingchun watched the projector, his expression unreadable.

"Now I’m the defense teacher in the audience. According to the procedure, you should first greet the defense teachers below, then report the PPT content and demonstrate the complete system."

"After the system demonstration, quietly wait for questions from the defense teachers."

"Remember, no matter what the defense teachers say, never argue with them."

"What if the defense teachers are wrong?"

Mo Jingchun looked at Li Xuanyu as if she were a fool, making her blush instantly.

Mo Jingchun chuckled, saying, "Haven’t you heard the popular saying online?"

Frowning slightly, Li Xuanyu tentatively asked, "Just answer, don’t argue?"

"Exactly!" Mo Jingchun nodded with a smile.

"Netizens have turned their experiences into doggerel."

"Let me think, how does it go... oh, got it."

"

Defense, defense, just answer, no argument.

Point out issues, apologize like mad.

If skills fall short, admit your limits.

If you must argue, see you next year.

"

Seeing Li Xuanyu’s eyes light up, Mo Jingchun knew she got it!

Look at that, such a simple matter.

It’s just an undergrad defense, even if at Jing City’s university, teachers won’t truly make it hard for a student.

If it were a master’s or doctoral thesis defense, that would be different.

In the former, your advisor verbally spars with many others.

In the latter, they battle against elite scholars.

Joking aside, be it professors or academicians, they all hold PhDs. Dreaming of graduating without real skills?

Of course, even among PhDs, the disparity can be enormous.

"Got it?"

Li Xuanyu nodded firmly with clenched fists, saying, "Got it, if you can’t explain, just apologize."

"That’s the idea," Mo Jingchun said with much satisfaction.

He was just afraid that during the defense, Li Xuanyu might impulsively debate endlessly with the teachers.

Ah, my dear student, in these times, even a defense involves social nuance!

If you embarrass someone, will they let you off easy?

It’d be bizarre if they did.

"Okay, the procedure is as I said, let’s run through the PPT as usual."

With a bit of lingering doubt, Li Xuanyu inquired, "What about the thesis? Aren’t they going to look at the thesis during the defense?"

Knowing quite a bit already, Mo Jingchun glanced at Li Xuanyu in surprise.

"Don’t worry, undergrad defenses usually don’t look at the thesis."

"With so many students, there’s no time to read everyone’s thesis."

"Besides, you’ve already submitted your thesis ahead of time to the defense group. While you demonstrate the system, they’ll look at your thesis on their computers."

Ah, so that’s how it is.

Taking a deep breath, Li Xuanyu smiled as she said, "Then I’ll begin."

"Go ahead."

"Go for it! Go for it! Go for it!" The mischievous Candy gestured supportively from the side, cheering on Li Xuanyu.

"Good morning, teachers and fellow students."

"Today, I’m presenting the Dormitory Management System."

"In the information age..."

As if finding her stride, Li Xuanyu, initially stammering, spoke with increasing confidence, entering a state of flow.

Confidently demonstrating the system, without any stage fright, Li Xuanyu was immensely grateful in that moment to Zero, who had given her a hard time a thousand times over.

If not for Zero, she wouldn’t have mastered her system so thoroughly.

For every single line of code, she could articulate its purpose and the function it served within the system.

The seemingly complex system, once understood, reveals that all its intricate functions boil down to create, read, update, and delete.

All the algorithms, too, serve the purpose of create, read, update, and delete.

It echoes the saying, specialization leads to mastery.

Once you’re in the field, you realize that program development isn’t hard.

The challenge is whether you choose to be a code-grunting laborer or an architect designing systems.

And at the core is always the algorithm.

The quality and logic of algorithms determine the responsiveness of a system.

After demonstrating the final function, Li Xuanyu looked expectantly at Mo Jingchun, who seemed deep in thought.

Beside her, Candy widened her eyes, filled with admiration for Li Xuanyu.

She didn’t understand a thing, but it all looked incredible.

"The first question, why did you use MySQL instead of other databases like Oracle, Access, Redis, or MongoDB?"

Why else? It’s because of poverty, most databases cost money.

Li Xuanyu knew she couldn’t say this in a defense; that would be career suicide.

PS: Thanks to Hongmeng Zilian, Surname Wang Next Door, and Sheforsaken Jian Kun Daye for their rewards and support.