After Professor Li recognized Liyan’s lesson preparation skills, he decided to let her take over a few classes for the undergraduates.

　　"The students in this class have already covered the introduction to East Asian Civilization in the first half of the semester. The next eight sessions will focus on Chinese Civilization, and Liyan, I want you to teach them. It will be beneficial for your future teaching career."

　　Professor Li also advised Johan, "You should attend Liyan’s classes as well. Even though your dissertation isn't on China, it will still be beneficial for you."

　　Johan sighed. "Got it."

　　Concerned that Liyan might be as rigorous in teaching as she was in her research, Professor Li cautioned her, "Don’t be too strict with the undergraduates; it’s just an elective course."

　　"I understand. I’ll strike the right balance," Liyan assured him confidently.

　　Liyan’s classes turned out to be a great success, receiving positive feedback from the students. Toward the end of the course, she assigned an essay: pick an ancient Chinese invention that had a significant impact on modern civilization and write a paper about it. It was a straightforward topic, giving everyone plenty to write about.

　　"Don’t be too general, and there’s no need for emotional expression. Provide evidence and data to support your discussion on the invention’s time of emergence, background, and impact on modern civilization. I’ll grade you based on your research, not your writing style."

　　"Got it." The students preferred writing essays to exams for earning credits in an elective course.

　　Liyan was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the essays, awarding most of them A-. One paper, in particular, on Chinese tea and the East India Company, earned an A+ from her. However, she was caught off guard when a second paper on tea and trade appeared.

　　After comparing the two papers, she found them too similar. The paragraph divisions, main points, cited references, and even examples were identical. There was no doubt one person had copied the other. However, proving plagiarism was challenging. Even plagiarism detection software wouldn’t flag them as highly similar since no sentence had seven consecutive identical words. The plagiarist skillfully switched between active and passive voice, various tenses, and different prepositions and adverbs. They also cleverly used synonyms, turning "popular" tea into "highly sought-after" tea and "huge" trade deficits into "massive" trade deficits. The plagiarist’s knack for exploiting loopholes almost earned Liyan's reluctant admiration.

　　Liyan looked at the authors of the two papers. One had a surname that clearly indicated he was of Chinese descent, while the other was likely a local British student. She remembered both students. Chinese undergraduates at Oxford were rare, so she had paid special attention to him. He had a square face, short-cropped hair, thick lips, and dark eyes filled with a strong desire for knowledge. He was the type to stare intently at the lecturer during class but remained reserved afterward, seemingly without any friends. He was always quietly reviewing course materials, silent as a statue. The other student was lively and confident, giving the impression he could handle anything. After class, he was always surrounded by a group of guys, the central figure of his circle.

　　Who copied whom? Liyan couldn't determine right away, but she soon came up with a plan.

　　When discussing the chapter on tea, Liyan deliberately asked the class, "From which part of China did the commercial spies of the East India Company steal tea plants and seeds?"

　　This was an advanced question not covered in the book.

　　"Two of your classmates wrote papers on this topic."

　　"Foster, could you tell everyone?"

　　Caught off guard by the teacher’s question, Foster slowly stood up as if struck by lightning, his usual confidence fading. "I—I forgot."

　　"Lingyun Zhang, how about you?"

　　"Anhui, Huangshan," he answered softly, nervously glancing back at Foster after giving the correct answer.

　　Foster’s glare in return was full of hostility.

　　Liyan noted this exchange and understood the situation.

　　After handing back the papers, Liyan kept Lingyun Zhang behind and advised him, "Your paper could have received an A+, but you let your classmate copy your work. So, you’ll only get a B. Please don’t do this again in the future."

　　Lingyun Zhang took a few deep breaths, as if he wanted to explain himself, but what came out was, "I won’t do it again. Thank you, professor." He still looked like a small, timid boy, sullenly shouldering his backpack and leaving the classroom alone.

　　Seeing that Liyan had kept Zhang behind and noticing the poor grade on his paper, Foster made an excuse about leaving his book in the classroom and sent his friends away. He returned alone to the classroom.

　　"TA," Foster blocked Liyan’s path and demanded, "Why did you give me a C-? No one else in the class got a worse grade."

　　Liyan found him ridiculous. She hadn’t even confronted Foster about the plagiarism yet, and here he was, accusing her. "Did you write that paper yourself?"

　　Foster, knowing he was in the wrong, quickly changed his approach. "Give me a B. A C- will ruin my chances for a scholarship."

　　"No," Liyan answered firmly.

　　"Don’t be so self-righteous. It’s just an elective," Foster spat angrily. "You’ll regret this."

　　A week later, Professor Li called Liyan to the administrative office. "Ms. Smith says you gave vastly different grades to two similar papers. A student has accused you of racial discrimination, claiming you gave higher marks to the Chinese student and lower marks to the British one."

　　Foster had struck first. Liyan was furious. "Foster plagiarized Zhang’s paper. I gave them both low grades."

　　"I believe you wouldn’t make such a basic mistake," Professor Li said. "I’ve already vouched for your character with the administration, but you’ll need to explain the situation in person."

　　At the administrative office, Ms. Smith greeted Liyan. "I’ve reviewed both papers. While there are similarities, they don't conclusively prove that Foster plagiarized."

　　Liyan explained, "If he could write a high-level paper, he should have been able to answer a simple question about Huangshan, Anhui, which he mentioned in his paper."

　　"Perhaps he just copied the place name while citing sources. To be honest, even if I saw and wrote down such an obscure Chinese place name, I wouldn't remember it," Ms. Smith said, clearly siding with Foster.

　　"You can ask Zhang if Foster copied his paper," Liyan thought to herself, "Let’s see you protect him now."

　　"Zhang already denied it," Ms. Smith quickly responded.

　　"What?!" Liyan couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

　　Ms. Smith elaborated, "Zhang denied that he let Foster copy his paper. He said they discussed the topic after class, so it’s not surprising their views influenced each other."

　　"Zhang really said that?"

　　"Yes."

　　Liyan recalled Zhang Lingyun’s hesitant expression. He hadn’t willingly let Foster copy his paper; he was coerced. Bullying on college campuses can be very subtle, often involving verbal abuse or social exclusion. The emotional scars aren’t as visible as bruises, making it hard for victims to seek justice. Foster was truly despicable, Liyan cursed in her mind.

　　"Ms. Shen," Ms. Smith’s tone turned serious, "A grading mistake isn’t a big deal. But Foster’s accusation of racial discrimination is a very serious charge. Until the administration makes a final decision, we have to suspend you from your TA position."

　　"I trust you’ll make a fair decision." Though Ms. Smith’s biased attitude made Liyan want to swear, she held back.

　　Feeling wronged with nowhere to turn, Liyan retreated to the library. She piled reference books into a small screen to hide behind, her head bowed as she stared blankly at the literature, scanning academic papers at a rapid pace, turning a page every few minutes. Yet, she wasn’t marking key points or making notes. Though she appeared more focused than ever, she couldn’t absorb anything.

　　Noticing her distress, John approached. "TA, I’m stuck on this problem. Can you help me out?" He pretended to seek help, pushing a reference book toward her.

　　"Don’t mock me. I’m no longer a TA. They’ve suspended me," Liyan whispered.

　　"Why?"

　　"They’re accusing me of ‘racial discrimination’."

　　"That’s a serious accusation. How did grading issues escalate to this?" John was puzzled.

　　Liyan recounted her conversation with Ms. Smith in detail.

　　"Forget it. Being a TA is tough and pays little. It’s no big deal," John dismissed it lightly.

　　"It’s not about the money. I did nothing wrong. Foster coerced Zhang into lying. He’s a scumbag."

　　"This is the first time I’ve heard you curse."

　　"Cursing him? I want to punch him." Liyan clenched her fists.

　　"Calm down. The administration won’t have enough evidence to treat this as a teaching incident. It’ll likely blow over," John comforted her.

　　A week later, Ms. Smith informed Liyan that she could resume her duties as a TA.

　　"So, your investigation found that I wasn't racially discriminatory?" Liyan asked.

　　"No, Foster withdrew his complaint and even said, 'Sorry.'" Ms. Smith explained, her face plastered with a conciliatory smile as if she’d apologize on Foster's behalf just to appease Liyan.

　　"That doesn’t sound like him at all," Liyan remarked sarcastically.

　　"The day Foster withdrew the complaint, he was accompanied by John Huntington," Ms. Smith added obsequiously. Her ability to switch between flattery and reproach made Liyan feel contemptuous.

　　Back in the lab, Liyan eagerly thanked John.

　　"Who told you?" John wondered who had been gossiping. He had secretly sought justice for Liyan to avoid burdening her. But at Oxford, who could remain anonymous? His wish to do a good deed without recognition was thwarted. He didn’t suspect that the sycophantic Ms. Smith had deliberately revealed his good deed to Liyan.

　　"Ms. Smith mentioned it," Liyan said gratefully. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

　　"I wasn’t sure I could help. If I couldn’t get the administration to change their minds, I didn’t want to get your hopes up." John tried to change the subject.

　　"How did you convince him?" Liyan was still baffled by Foster’s sudden change of heart.

　　"I just told him not to blow things out of proportion," he answered briefly.

　　"He listened to you? That doesn’t sound like him," Liyan doubted John’s explanation.

　　"He doesn’t dare act tough around me."

　　"You knew each other before?"

　　"I’m friends with his older brother. Foster used to be a tag-along when we were kids, always pestering us. I never wanted to bring him along," John said with a look of disdain.

　　"Hard to imagine what he was like as a kid. Now he’s learned to bully the weak."

　　"I heard his father made a fortune dealing antiques. Typical nouveau riche brat, you know?" John sneered.

　　"Is there anything you can’t handle at Oxford? Maybe I should stay away from you," Liyan teased in a mock fearful tone.

　　"What do you take me for? I’m a law-abiding citizen."

　　After a week of frustration, Liyan finally smiled.

　　After the academic dispute blew over, Professor Li gave Liyan a new assignment: to present at Professor Zhang Chi’s seminar.

　　"But these presentations are usually for associate professors. I'm just a first-year Ph.D. student," Liyan said nervously. "I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself."

　　"Don’t worry. Just talk about your research progress from the past six months, like you do in our weekly meetings," Professor Li reassured her.

　　Not wanting to say no to her advisor, Liyan anxiously accepted the task.

　　Professor Zhang Chi had been one of Liyan’s teachers at Peking University and had supervised her undergraduate thesis. Worried about making a fool of herself in front of such a prominent scholar, Liyan started burning the midnight oil.

　　Professor Zhang Chi delivered a special lecture titled "The Birth of the Proto-Silk Road: Prehistoric Migration and Cultural Interactions between the Eastern Eurasian Steppe and Northwest China" to the Asian Archaeology students at Oxford.

　　Professor Li discussed "How Porcelain Changed the World: The Global Impact of Chinese Porcelain and Its Influence on World Civilization."

　　Liyan presented her research from the last six months on the history of Chinese export porcelain.

　　The seminar drew nearly a hundred attendees from archaeology, anthropology, art history, and human geography. The interaction between the presenters and the audience was lively, making what was usually a niche academic event feel more like a fan convention.

　　After the seminar, Liyan took Professor Zhang Chi on a tour of Oxford University.

　　“You’ve gone from being a straight-A student to a true researcher. When I heard you were going abroad, I felt quite a loss,” Professor Zhang murmured. “I felt it for myself, really. I had hoped that if you chose to do your Ph.D. directly, you would have picked me as your advisor.”

　　“Professor Zhang, you flatter me,” Liyan replied humbly.

　　“Excessive modesty can be a form of pride,” Professor Zhang said with a smile. “You’ve been in the UK for almost a year and a half now. What do you think is the biggest difference between postgraduate archaeology education here and in China?”

　　It was an open-ended question, allowing for an expansive response. Liyan thought for a moment before answering, “Unlike doing a Ph.D. in China, where the early years are focused on memorizing knowledge points and accumulating credits, in the UK, from the start, you’re immersed in research and finding your thesis topic. This subtle approach fosters academic training and develops scholarly thinking. In China, the Ph.D. education is much like undergraduate study, with less emphasis on academic training. Here, interdisciplinary collaboration is well-integrated, with researchers from very different fields working together on an archaeological project. But back home, archaeological research is often a solo endeavor, with too much emphasis on peer competition, leading to a reluctance to share research findings. This results in working in isolation and stagnant ideas. Additionally, in the UK, advisors treat Ph.D. students as colleagues, expecting to learn from them too, creating a more equal relationship. And, of course, the laboratories and equipment at Oxford are incredibly advanced.”

　　“Well summarized,” Professor Zhang said approvingly. “Once you’ve completed your studies, you must return to China and bring back these advanced ideas and techniques.”

　　“Don’t worry, I plan to return to China after I graduate,” Liyan promised.