Chapter 219: Human Nature
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
When Lu Zhou was walking down from the stage, he heard people shouting his name. He even saw some people with tears in their eyes.
That was an impromptu speech as he did not do much preparation in advance.
As for why it made everyone so emotional…
Maybe it was because his speech was meaningful.
The award ceremony had not ended yet. After the vice princ.i.p.al gave a speech, Lu Zhou and other winners returned on stage.
Princ.i.p.al Xu shook hands with everyone and presented them each with a certificate of honor.
When it was Lu Zhou’s turn, the princ.i.p.al held his hand tightly.
Then, the old man looked at him with approval and said, “Nice speech.”
Lu Zhou relaxed and smiled as he said, “Thank you.”
The old man smiled and said, “I should be the one thanking you.”
The award ceremony came to an end.
All the students stood up and vowed to look forward to the new year by reading “Oath of the Pillar”. They vowed to not forget their heart, to look forward to the new year, and to bravely chase their dreams.
…
The dinner party was on the top floor of the cafeteria.
After the award ceremony came to an end, Lu Zhou went to the backstage lounge. Before he could change his suit, a cute girl and a few of her roommates walked over.
Lu Zhou looked at her and thought that she was from the student union. He asked, “What’s up?”
“G.o.d Lu! Um, can I ask for your contact details…?”
She was stuttering and her face was bright red. She clearly had not come prepared. She was obviously peer pressured by her friends.
Lu Zhou looked at the curious and excited girls. He did not want to give them a hard time, so he asked, “Is QQ okay?”
“Great!”
Her voice cracked due to the excitement.
Lu Zhou nodded and took a pen from the table, he wrote down a string of numbers and handed it to her.
A lot of people had his QQ number, so he did not mind giving it out.
It was not like he had time to message anyone anyway.
“Thank you!”
The girl eagerly took the note and ran away like a frightened deer.
Lu Zhou smiled and shook his head.
If they say handsomeness is a sin…
Then I must be a sinful man…
Lu Zhou looked at himself in the mirror like a narcissist. He then remembered that he had to return the suit. Just as he was about to undress, the lounge door was suddenly pushed open again.
This time, it was President Lin, from the student union.
Lu Zhou thought she was here to collect the suit and he was about to tell her to wait outside when she spoke first.
Lin Yuxiang looked at Lu Zhou with a smile and said, “Lu Zhou, your performance was great. Some of my girlfriends started crying.”
Lu Zhou said, “Why did you phrase it that way?”
What do you mean crying!
Why did you make it sound like a bad thing?
Lin Yuxiang tilted her head and pretended like she did not understand him.
Yet, it was obvious that she did it intentionally.
Lu Zhou changed the topic and asked, “What’s up?”
Lin Yuxiang nodded and said, “Dean Qin wanted me to ask you, when do you plan on going over? There are a few higher-ups of the city that want to meet you.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Then I’ll go over now.”
Lin Yuxiang nodded her head.
Suddenly, she noticed his collar.
Her eyes lit up.
“Well, I’ll pa.s.s that on to Dean Qin. Oh yeah, your collar is tilted, let me…”
“It’s fine, I’m about to return the suit anyway,” said Lu Zhou. He then smiled and said to Lin Yuxiang, “Can you return the suit for me?”
Lin Yuxiang: “…”
…
The University of Jin Ling was one of the top universities in the country. It had affiliations with the Central Ministry of Education. Its place in the local talent training strategy was undoubtedly huge.
Lu Zhou’s international glory and potential attracted interest from the government.
However, this was related to politics.
Lu Zhou was not good at politics, but he still knew a little.
In the future, he wanted to live and work in Jin Ling. If he wanted to move up the ladder, he had to form great relations.h.i.+ps with the local government.
Lu Zhou knew Dean Qin’s intentions.
The school was providing him a platform to connect with people from outside the academic circle.
Lu Zhou was the focus of the dinner party.
The youngest s.h.i.+ng-Shen Chern Mathematics Award winner, and winner of Cole Prize in Number Theory, plus a Fields Medal candidate… Never mind the young scholars, even old professors were interested in talking with Lu Zhou.
As such, Lu Zhou was there for a long time.
By the time he returned to the hotel, it was already 11 o’clock.
He slept until afternoon the next day. When he woke up, he washed his face before he opened his suitcase and took out two boxes of gifts. He then left the room.
The gifts were the fish oil that he bought at the duty-free store. It was a kind of supplement and it could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and memory loss caused by aging.
He wanted to give it to Professor Lu and Professor Tang.
Lu Zhou first went to Professor Lu’s office. However, he was still in Belgium. Professor Lu said that he might go to CERN for a while later this year.
Therefore, Lu Zhou placed the gift on the table and left a note on it.
Lu Zhou did not know when the academician would come back, but when he did, he would definitely see the gift.
Lu Zhou then left Professor Lu’s office and went to the mathematics building.
…
Lu Zhou opened the office door and walked in. When Professor Tang saw the gift in Lu Zhou’s hands, he smiled, “I thought I taught you better!”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I’m still your student so you can teach me now, but you still have to accept this gift.”
The gift was inexpensive, but it was meaningful.
Also, since Lu Zhou was no longer an undergraduate student, he could be more casual with the professors.
Not to mention that when he graduated next year, he would be going overseas. He had to give the teacher something before he left.
Professor Tang looked at Lu Zhou and smiled as he said, “You don’t have to bring a gift next time you visit me. Xiao w.a.n.g, go pour Lu Zhou some tea.”
“Okay!”
Xiao w.a.n.g got up and walked to the cupboards. He skillfully operated the tea set and electric kettle.
Lu Zhou thanked Xiao w.a.n.g. He then sat down on the sofa and said to Professor Tang, “I can’t just bring nothing. It feels wrong if I don’t give you something… Also, this isn’t just my gift. It’s also from Luo Wenxuan. There are also some photos in the bag that Luo Wenxuan said he took in South America. He said he wanted to give you an artistic gift.”
“That kid, I guess he didn’t forget about me,” said Professor Tang. He smiled and said, “How is it? You’re about to go overseas next year. What plans do you have for the future?”
Lu Zhou said, “I plan on working at Princeton after I get my PhD. Then I want to come back to University of Jin Ling and teach.”
“Okay, I support you,” said Professor Tang as he nodded. He then said, “The qualification of overseas research is important… But it seems that you have it all figured out. I guess I won’t ask any other questions. Do your best.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Yes, for sure.”
Professor Tang smiled and teased, “Oh yeah, when do you plan on getting a partner?”
Lu Zhou was caught off guard by his question and he stammered, “This… This depends on fate, there’s no hurry.”
Professor Tang smiled and said, “You’re not in a hurry, but other people are. Dean Qin talked about you with me last time. He said he’s scared that you’ll find someone overseas and never come back. Also, there’s a couple of professors that have been asking me to set their granddaughter up with you. Think about it?”
Lu Zhou nearly spat the tea out of his mouth. He then said, “Don’t… Not like this.”
Professor Tang smiled and said, “Haha, I’m only kidding.”
Lu Zhou nodded quickly.
Yeah, Dean Lu’s granddaughter…
This is sad but if Dean Lu looks like that, I can’t imagine how his granddaughter would look like.
The office was quiet for a bit.
Lu Zhou did not talk. He just drank his tea quietly.
As Professor Tang looked at his successful student, he nodded happily.
After a long time, he said, “Go ahead, you can go.”
Lu Zhou stood up and said: “…”