Years: Salted fish life since going to the countryside.

Chapter 1696 Returning Home After the Exam
Although Han Li would be in a relatively safe situation after the auction of the treasure from the Lady Attoca, he still did not swagger off by buying a plane ticket to leave New York.

After leaving the Peninsula Hotel, Han Li took a taxi to New York train station.

Given the current inspection procedures and the chaotic situation at the train station, Han Li managed to board a train bound for Washington without even buying a ticket.

Han Li got off at Wilmington halfway through the journey, transferred to another train and returned to the ruined city of Pennsylvania. After exiting the station, he took a taxi back to where his school was located.

Han Li bought a lot of food and daily necessities at the shops and restaurants on the street, made a phone call to his senior classmate Cedric Marshall from a roadside phone booth, and then returned to his rented single apartment.

Han Li then focused on his studies in his room for two days, without even leaving the room.

On the third day, Cedric Marshall came to tell him that Professor Giovanni Morrick should be at school the next morning.

The next day, Han Li timed his departure and went downstairs to a restaurant on the street for a meal.

After the meal, Han Li, carrying a thick notebook, followed the crowd toward the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

This notebook contains notes on topics that Han Li was unsure about during this period, or rather, the general direction of the themes at present.

When Han Li arrived at Professor Giovanni Morrick's office, he was greeted by his secretary as usual.

Because Professor Giovanni Morrick was in a meeting at the college, Han Li chatted with the secretary for quite a while before the secretary returned.

The rest was simple. Han Li chatted with the professor for a few minutes and then took out his notebook to get down to business.

Professor Giovanni Morrick answered Han Li's questions and praised his learning progress.

Next, the professor gave Han Li a long list of books, magazines, and journals. After setting the date for the assessment and evaluation, the meeting came to a perfect end.

As Han Li walked through the campus, looking at the book list in his hand, and the books he hadn't finished reading or studying before, he suddenly felt an urge to curse.

In the days that followed, Han Li spent most of his time studying, except when he went out to buy food.

Because Han Li is now right next to the campus, he occasionally chooses to attend a few classes at the academy to broaden his horizons and refresh his mind.

Time passed day by day, and soon it was time for Professor Giovanni Morrick to assess, evaluate, and grade some students, including Han Li.

Han Li finished his meal early and arrived at the entrance of the special examination room. Several people were already waiting there when he arrived.

Because Han Li wasn't very familiar with these people, and everyone was currently cramming for the exam, quietly reading aloud from their books, they simply nodded to each other as a greeting.

Most other people have one major, and at most two.

However, Han Li initially chose three majors: Western European Sociology, Western European Humanities, and Western European Linguistics.

Even though Han Li has a cheat code in linguistics and doesn't need to put in much effort, he still can't quite grasp Professor Giovanni Morric's style, or rather, his preferences and interests, so he can't prescribe the right medicine for him. Therefore, this preliminary exam is indeed quite stressful for him.

As everyone was engrossed in their studies, several of Professor Giovanni Morrick's teaching assistants arrived, and everyone was immediately assigned to different seats to begin the first round of the exam. Because doctoral studies cover a wide range of topics, this exam was merely an appetizer; the real challenges were yet to come.

After Han Li and his group finished the exam, they were given different thesis topics based on their majors and were then able to leave.

Although this paper can be taken off-campus, Professor Giovanni Morrick has set a strict deadline: it must be submitted within two days. Those who fail to do so will have their corresponding credits reduced for the year, or will not receive any credits at all.

Therefore, after receiving the questions, almost none of Han Li and his group stayed where they were; they all went to their respective study locations.

Even those like Cedric Marshall, who had already completed two years of doctoral studies under Professor Giovanni Morrick, were no exception.

As Han Li walked out of the campus, he pondered which books and journals he could refer to, based on the topic of this assignment.

After leaving the campus, Han Li first went to the largest bookstore next door and bought some books, periodicals and magazines that he might need before returning to his single suite.

For the next two days, Han Li did not step out of his room, devoting all his time to answering the questions on his thesis.

On the morning of the third day, Han Li took the three completed papers to the college and handed them to Professor Giovanni Morric.

At this point, Han Li could relax a little. As for how many credits he could get this year, that would depend on luck.

In the following days, Han Li not only saw how the beautiful Chinese prepared for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but he was also dragged by Cedric Marshall to attend two student gatherings and parties.

These two parties truly opened Han Li's eyes. He had never seen the level of craziness of these students from the University of Pennsylvania, not even at the masquerade balls he had attended in England.

Some of them openly drink alcohol, smoke flour, tobacco, and take pills, but that's nothing compared to what happens when they do.

What truly broadened Han Li's horizons was that among them were upperclassmen and underclassmen chasing after boys to see their abs, thirsty girls lusting after handsome men, and people running naked in the cold weather.

Some were wielding knives and guns, some were grinding soybeans, some were discussing, communicating, and exchanging the joys of life, and some couldn't leave a single word behind.

With Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so close, both professors and students want to go home and celebrate with their families as soon as possible.

Therefore, Professor Giovanni Morrick and his assistants were able to review Han Li's student papers relatively quickly.

On the third day, Han Li and the others received notifications from the professor's assistant.

The next day, after Han Li arrived at the college, he quickly received his exam score, paper comments and grades, as well as the credits and evaluations that Professor Giovanni Morrick had given him for the year from his assistant.

Han Li earned 4 credits in Western European Sociology, 3 credits in Western European Humanities, and 5 credits in Western European Linguistics in his preliminary exam.

At first, Han Li was very dissatisfied with the credit requirement. 3, 4, 5 credits? Was this a joke? If it continued like this, it would probably be a long time before he could graduate with 40 credits.

However, after Han Li saw the credits of others and understood the situation, his initial dissatisfaction immediately disappeared, and he put returning to Hong Kong on his agenda.
(End of this chapter)