A former professor known for promoting educational services under the moniker “985 Returned Overseas Professor,” has been accused of absconding with funds, leaving behind a significant financial dispute involving nearly 20 million yuan in advance payments. This controversy impacts over 1,300 families seeking educational guidance. On November 9, Tianjin University confirmed it had terminated the professor’s employment. Disturbingly, the associated company had already been facing issues of unpaid salaries, layoffs, and difficulties in issuing refunds as early as August.
According to reports, the Tianjin University publicity department announced to “Blue Whale News” that the professor, Li Ze, is no longer employed at the institution and that the university is pursuing legal recourse against him.
Parents have indicated that Li was one of the most prominent figures in the educational consulting sector, second only to the late Zhang Xuefeng. His title as “985 Returned Overseas Professor” significantly enhanced his credibility and appeal.
Li, who previously served as an associate professor at the School of Architecture at Tianjin University, left his academic position in 2024 to venture into entrepreneurship. He co-founded Beijing Qihang New Future with former Meituan co-founder Yang Jun, where he holds a 28.3474% stake. His services primarily revolved around promoting academic consulting and graduate school application services leveraging his identity as a “985 Returned Overseas Professor.” Additionally, Li operated a company in Wuhan focused on educational consulting, college entrance examination application assistance, and high school course tutoring.
Li’s social media account, which boasted 620,000 followers under the name “985 Returned Overseas Professor Talks About Education,” has been muted, while another account has been banned altogether. Over ten other related accounts have also been switched to private settings.
Initial investigations indicate that the controversy involves over 1,300 families, with almost 20 million yuan in advance payments at stake. The services offered by the involved company for college entrance application assistance were priced between 8,000 and 14,000 yuan, while graduate school application services could reach as high as 390,000 yuan. Alarmingly, during 2025, the company had even begun pre-selling services for the 2031 college entrance examination applications.
This turmoil first erupted in mid-August. Investigative reports from “Interface News” in late August revealed that about 120 employees of the Wuhan-based company, Wuhan Xuecheng Siyuan Technology Co., were supposed to receive their salaries on August 15, which ultimately did not arrive. The company’s lease for office space was also not renewed.
An employee, Yang Ming, recounted that on the afternoon of August 16, he found his account on the company’s office communication app suddenly removed from the company structure. After learning that the company would not be renewing its office lease, employees became concerned that the company might be preparing to flee.
Another employee, Zhou Yanfeng, stayed at the office until 3 AM to demand payment for outstanding wages.
Prior to these developments, the company had already been struggling with refund issues. Yang Ming reported that “from April and May onward, refunds for customers were being held up.” Previously, customers could expect their refunds to be processed within three to five days, but that timeline stretched to one or two months under the new circumstances.
Employees have informed media that the unpaid wages at the Wuhan company exceed 3 million yuan.
Interestingly, “Interface News” disclosed that Beijing Qihang New Future had just completed a 60 million yuan angel round of financing on August 13 of this year, with the investors remaining unidentified. Just days later, reports of unpaid salaries and layoffs at the Wuhan company surfaced. The actual receipt of this funding and how it may have been utilized remain unclarified.
In light of external criticisms, Li claimed during a live broadcast that he was merely a knowledge disseminator, distancing himself from the issue of unpaid salaries and asserting that the Beijing and Wuhan companies “were not related.” He characterized layoffs as a normal adjustment for operations, explaining that “August is a low season, and the company doesn’t have that much revenue; we don’t need that many people now.”
However, the payment records presented by parents suggest a different reality.
A parent from Shanghai, Yang Weiling, recounted that she had paid around 4,000 yuan for two courses for her son, who is currently in the first year of high school. In early August, she spent an additional 9,980 yuan for college application services and two more courses. She lamented, “We hadn’t even started the courses when everything fell apart.”
The report also mentioned parents paying up to 350,000 yuan for graduate application services, while others even purchased college application services in anticipation for children still in junior high.
Many parents stressed that they were swayed by Li’s title of “985 Returned Overseas Professor,” which led them to trust the promotional pitches during live broadcasts and make payments.
On November 5, Tianjin University announced its intention to file a defamation lawsuit against Li and the two related companies, alongside conducting an administrative investigation into Li. Just days later, on November 9, the university confirmed his dismissal officially.