Chapter 401: Balance In The Heart

Once Lu Zhou got in the car, Wang Peng drove him to Xianlin University City.

When they drove past the school gate, Lu Zhou suddenly noticed a banner on the school gate.

[Congratulations to honorary professor Lu Zhou for winning the first-level State Natural Science Award!]

Lu Zhou looked at the white text on the red banner and felt nostalgic.

Speaking of which, how many times had his name been on a banner?

He remembered that the first time was because of the Higher Education Society Cup where he competed in the mathematical modeling competition.

Wang Peng also noticed the banner and said, “This is your school, right?”

Lu Zhou said, “Yeah.”

Wang Peng saw Lu Zhou’s nostalgic expression and asked, “Professor Lu, do you plan on returning to Jinling?”

“That’s right,” Lu Zhou said. He then continued, “Education resources in Suzhou are pretty good, plus I have a soft spot for this place. With my experience at Princeton, I plan on building an Institute for Advanced Study at this place. I want it to be the best institute in Asia.”

Lu Zhou was obviously bragging.

He wasn’t sure if he could do it.

However, Lu Zhou didn’t expect Wang Peng to believe him.

Anyone else saying this would have been considered to be bullsh*tting.

But this was Lu Zhou…

Wang Peng couldn’t help but believe it!

After a while, Wang Peng finally spoke.

“… Professor Lu is an ambitious person, I admire you!”

“Haha,” Lu Zhou smiled and said, “don’t take it seriously, I was just saying.”

Academia was one thing, education was another.

Old Qiu tried for many years to recreate a Harvard-like mathematics department at Shuimu University, while Lu Zhou’s Institute of Computational Materials was still in its early stages. It would take a while for him to see the results.

Wang Peng didn’t say anything, but he quietly memorized Lu Zhou’s words. He planned on reporting back to the higher-ups.

If Lu Zhou could stay in China…

It undoubtedly would be a good thing for the country.

The car stopped at the laboratory building, and Lu Zhou got off. He looked back at Wang Peng.

“I might stay here for a few hours, why don’t you go hang around for a bit?”

Wang Peng said, “Hang around?”

Lu Zhou said, “I mean, find a way to kill some time.”

Wang Peng smiled. “No need, I can just wait in the car.”

Seeing that Wang Peng was willing to wait in the car, Lu Zhou didn’t say anything else.

Lu Zhou took out a box of tea from the car trunk and walked toward the laboratory building.

Now that the exams were over, the students on campus had gone home. The entire laboratory building was deserted, and it seemed like no one was there.

Lu Zhou walked up to the familiar office and knocked.

A voice came from inside the office.

“Come in.”

Lu Zhou pushed the door and walked in.

When Tang Zhiwei saw Lu Zhou, a smile appeared on his face.

“Didn’t I tell you last time, that if you want to see me, just come. To bring gifts is too tacky.”

“I’d rather feel tacky than come empty-handed,” Lu Zhou said with a smile. He then placed the tea on the table before he said, “Cigarettes and alcohol are unhealthy. I couldn’t think of anything else to bring, so I brought some tea.”

Old Tang shook his head and looked at his graduate student.

“Xiao Wang, go boil some water and make some tea.”

“Okay!”

Xiao Wang, who was sitting at the other side of the office, stood up and walked toward the office cabinet.

The water in the electric kettle started to boil.

Xiao Wang then placed the tea set and electric kettle on the coffee table.

Lu Zhou looked at Xiao Wang and couldn’t help but say, “Brother Wang, you still haven’t graduated?”

Xiao wang was embarrassed as he smiled and spoke.

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“I’m graduating this year… I’ve already received an offer from Shuimu, and I plan on going there in May.”

“PhD?”

“Yeah.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Congratulations.”

Xiao Wang was happy when Lu Zhou congratulated him. However, he couldn’t help but feel a little depressed.

Xiao Wang stared at the steam coming out of the kettle and sighed before he said, “Ah, not as good as you. When I was studying my master’s, you were an undergrad. Now that I’m about to finish my master’s, you’re already a professor at Princeton.”

Lu Zhou didn’t know how he should comfort Xiao Wang.

Receiving an offer from Shuimu University was already extremely impressive.

At least, it was better than 99% of people.

Lu Zhou didn’t understand why Xiao Wang seemed down.

The teacups were filled, and the office was soon filled with the fragrance of the tea.

Old Tang took a sip and said, “This is nice tea, where did you get it?”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I got it from the hotel at the conference. I don’t think it’s branded.”

The story of this tea was interesting.

Lu Zhou thought that the tea in the hotel tasted nice, so he asked the manager of the hotel about the tea.

However, the manager didn’t tell him where the tea came from. Instead, he immediately sent a few boxes of tea to Lu Zhou’s room. Lu Zhou originally wanted to buy the tea, but the manager wouldn’t accept his money. The manager only said the tea was unlicensed and couldn’t be bought with money.

Therefore, Lu Zhou accepted the tea without paying for it.

There was no way Lu Zhou could finish all of the tea. Therefore, he decided to bring it back to Jinling and give it to others.

Especially his dad.

Lu Zhou remembered that his father told him that his biggest joy in life was drinking tea while fishing.

Old Tang shook his head and said, “Then I won’t ask about it. Even if you told me, I wouldn’t know anything about the tea.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “If you like it, I can bring more to you next time.”

Old Tang stared at Lu Zhou for a while before he suddenly said, “Before this, I knew that your future will be extraordinary, but I didn’t expect your ability to exceed my expectations. Back then, I could still talk about mathematics with you, but now, it seems that you are my teacher.”

“No way,” Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “I’m still using the applied mathematics knowledge that you taught me.”

Old Tang didn’t only teach Lu Zhou mathematics; he taught him more than that.

Before Lu Zhou went to the Princeton conference, he was a no-name in the academic world. What made him famous among the academic community was the Princeton report.

And Professor Tang Zhiwei was the one that told him to attend the report.

Good professors were rare in this world.

Lu Zhou was grateful to have met Old Tang.

No matter where he was in life, Lu Zhou would never forget the people that have helped him.

“Okay, stop embarrassing me…” Old Tang waved his hand and said, “I’m well aware of my strength and level.”

Old Tang paused for a second before he continued, “You’re not a little kid anymore, you’re a national level genius. I can’t teach you anything academically related anymore. However, I can teach you something a little outside of it… But I don’t know if you want to listen.”

Lu Zhou put on a serious face and said, “Professor, please go ahead.”

Old Tang didn’t look at Lu Zhou. Instead, he looked at Xiao Wang.

He then said slowly, “The first level Natural Science Prize is the highest state-recognized honor. With that red certificate, you can do what most scientific researchers dream of.

“No one else has more say than you in your field. No one will constrain you as long as you don’t break the rules. But you also have to remember, honor is a double-edged sword. Be careful when using it.

“If you want to climb to a higher academic level, you have to have a balance in your heart. Know what is worthwhile and what is not.”

Xiao Wang was being stared at by Old Tang, and he couldn’t help but complain in his mind.

F*ck sake!

I would never have to worry about these things.

Don’t even think about the state award, I can’t even get a provincial award…

However, Lu Zhou, who was sitting across from him, had a thoughtful expression.

He had been pondering about this over the past few days.

“Don’t be so serious,” Professor Tang said. He then picked up the vacuum flask and took a sip of tea before he said, “Oh yeah, I have to ask you something else.”

Lu Zhou looked up and said, “What?”

“How’s that Luo Wenxuan kid doing? Has he graduated yet?”

Luo Wenxuan heard Luo Wenxuan’s name and couldn’t help but smile.

“That guy finally finished his graduation thesis. He’ll probably receive a PhD from Professor Witten in a few months.”

“Oh really? That’s good!” Professor Tang was happy to hear his students doing well. He smiled as he said, “I’m happy to hear that!”