Scholar’s Advanced Technological System

A secluded office at the corner of the corridor, Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.

Vera’s white chin was buried in between her palms as she stared at the empty seat and lifelessly slouched at the table.

It’s been seven months…

Although it was common for Princeton researchers to be away from Princeton all year round, being away for such a long time made it inevitable for people to miss Lu Zhou.

Over the past seven months, she had basically taken over Lu Zhou’s number theory class.

This was one of her main jobs as a teaching assistant, and because of the existence of emails, it didn’t hinder her ability to teach. However, the feeling of communicating online was different from the feeling of communicating face-to-face.

She thought back to seven months ago at the Stockholm Gold Hall, it seemed like it was yesterday…

She began to daydream when suddenly, her white cheeks began to blush…

Vera’s face was feeling slightly hot, and she leaned sideways and put her face on the desk.

There was almost steam coming out of her brain, and the cold desk made it better. Her mood began to get better, but it went back down again shortly thereafter.

Summer really is a season that makes people sleepy.

Vera sighed quietly and turned around, placing the other side of her face on the desk.

I’ll lay here for a bit…

I just finished my work anyway.

Hardy and Qin Yue, who were sitting nearby, heard the quiet sigh. They looked at each other helplessly.

It had been half a year.

She had been like this for the past six months.

Even though they wanted to comfort her, they didn’t know what to say.

Actually, anyone that paid the slightest amount of attention could tell that her feelings toward Lu Zhou was far more than just gratitude or gratefulness. It had reached a level way beyond that; it was even a type of admiration.

Qin Yue didn’t know if Professor Lu knew about this.

However, when he thought about it, even if Professor Lu knew, this situation wouldn’t be easy to resolve.

Whether the end result was rejection or acceptance, it would still depend on one party taking the initiative.

And with Vera’s personality, if Professor Lu wasn’t the one initiating, there would never be any progress.

But if Professor Lu was the one initiating…

Qin Yue stopped writing at his desk and looked toward the air conditioner at the corner of the room.

He could never imagine someone like Lu Zhou, who spent all of his time studying difficult research problems, would be interested in anything outside of research.

I don’t think anything will ever come of this…

When Hardy noticed Qin Yue staring at the air conditioner, he nodded thoughtfully and said, “I think Vera is feeling too hot… How about I lower the temperature?”

Qin Yue sighed and said, “… It’s fine. It’s better if you don’t do anything.”

Honestly, Qin Yue was sometimes quite impressed at how smart Hardy was.

Suddenly, a wave of hot air came from the door.

When the office door was fully opened, a familiar figure was standing at the doorway.

The moment they saw that familiar face, everyone in the office was stunned.

“I think Hardy is right, it is pretty hot… Hey, why aren’t you guys talking?” Lu Zhou looked at everyone staring at him. He then smiled awkwardly and said, “Or should I have said hello first?”

“Professor?!”

Vera’s eyes were wide open as she looked at the doorway in disbelief. The moment Lu Zhou’s figure appeared, Vera’s beautiful pair of blue eyes regained its color.

Lu Zhou looked back at Vera and smiled as he said, “Hi, long time no see.”

Hardy stood up and walked toward the air-conditioner remote.

Jerick and Wei Wen were sitting not far from the door, and they looked at each other in disbelief. Jerick quietly said, “We thought you were going to resign.”

Lu Zhou: “You are correct, I actually am planning on resigning.”

The second the words left his mouth, the office became quiet.

Even Hardy, who was walking toward the air conditioner, froze in place.

They went silent for a minute or so.

The first to break the silence was Qin Yue.

“… Do you plan to continue teaching at Jin Ling University?”

On the way here, Lu Zhou planned what he was going to say, but when he heard Qin Yue’s question, he suddenly didn’t know what to say.

He just nodded. “Yes.”

Qin Yue knew Lu Zhou was going to say this, so his facial expression didn’t change.

“I want to go with you.”

Vera realized what was happening, and she immediately said, “I’m…”

Lu Zhou interrupted his two students and said with a smile, “There’s no need for that. Even though I haven’t been at Princeton for the past seven months, I can still notice your abilities. With what you guys have achieved so far, you guys have undoubtedly reached the standards set for Princeton PhDs. I don’t have any reason to keep you in this office any longer… You guys should have your own office, and your own research projects.”

Lu Zhou looked at Vera, then Qin Yue, and finally Hardy. He paused for a second and continued, “One of the main reasons I came back this time was to sort out your graduation.”

Qin Yue went silent for a while before he asked, “Then… after I graduate, can I come to work at your research institute?”

Lu Zhou knew he would ask this, so he smiled and answered, “Of course you can, the doors of Jinling Institute for Advanced Study are always open to you… But I don’t suggest you do this.”

Qin Yue paused for a second and looked at Lu Zhou with a confused look. “… Why?”

“I can teach you the way to think about problems and the way to solve problems. However, the ability to think independently is something you have to practice on your own. I’m not exaggerating when I say that with your abilities, you can become a scholar in any mathematics research institute in the world. However, if you follow me, you will never reach the next step.

“The future is yours, you have to think about how you want to spend it.

“Whether you want to stay at Princeton, or return to your alma mater, or even go to Yan University, all of these options are far better than working for me.”

Lu Zhou smiled and continued, “Not to mention, the reason why I taught you guys these things wasn’t to make you work for me in the future. Instead, I hope you can help me spread the knowledge further.”