Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
I finally graduated.
Lu Zhou was on the way to the administrative building with his certificates and he was feeling a little depressed.
However, he was not depressed for long.
For him, his graduation ceremony was over once he received the Annual Person Award and the special awards.
He had been mentally preparing himself for this.
Lu Zhou finished the remaining procedures at the administrative building. However, he did not return to his hotel. Instead, he went to the Academic Affairs Office and borrowed a master’s gown from there.
A master’s gown was not that different from a bachelor’s gown. The only difference was that the tassel on the hat was dark blue instead of black.
However, this small change was meaningful.
After Lu Zhou put on the gown, he went to the photography store in front of the school. He then hired a photographer to help him take a few photos around the school.
With these photos, he thought he would not be lonely when he was studying abroad.
After Lu Zhou finished his photo shoot, he picked three of the best photos and sent it to his friends’ news feed on Weibo.
The caption was a one-liner.
[Happy Graduation!]
Lu Zhou looked at the line of words on the screen and smiled.
Princeton, here I come!
Lu Zhou sent it before he turned off his phone. He planned on checking it later.
While he was walking back to his hotel, his Weibo’s comment section blew up.
[? ? ?]
[Didn’t you just graduate last year? Why are you graduating again?]
[Jesus, he graduates faster than I can write a thesis.]
[Sad. I wanted to procrastinate on my phone, then I saw this post… I’ll go write my assignment.]
[This guy has only been at university for three years!]
[Not correct, God Lu has only been at uni for two and a half years…]
[This study god is amazing!]
…
Teachers, roommates, classmates, supervisors…
Lu Zhou had already bid them farewell last year. It would be a little awkward if he did it again.
This time, Lu Zhou left quietly. He packed his bags and took a train to Shanghai airport.
Lu Zhou sat in the terminal and turned on his VPN. He opened his computer and logged onto the Brussels International Theoretical Physics Conference website. He then downloaded several summary papers from the conference.
He was about to study them when a notification from Han Mengqi popped up.
[Teacher! Are you leaving? ? ]
When Lu Zhou saw his student’s message, he smiled. He typed a reply.
[Yeah.]
[It’s the college entrance exam in a few days, go study!]
Han Mengqi did not reply for a while.
Lu Zhou thought she went to study, but another message came through.
Han Mengqi: [Are you on the plan now?]
Lu Zhou: “…”
[How can I reply to you on the plane?]
Han Mengqi realized that she asked a dumb question. She was in the classroom. She laughed and looked at her teacher. She then replied: [Then teacher, when is your flight?]
Lu Zhou: [In like an hour.]
Han Mengqi: [Ok!]
She did not say anything after that.
After a while, Lu Zhou closed the chat window.
This chick won’t come here, right?
There’s no way…
She’s probably in school at Jinling. There isn’t enough time to come to Shanghai.
Lu Zhou’s judgment was correct.
Nothing happened as he got on the plane and embarked on a new journey.
…
After a dozen or so hours of flying, the plane landed at Philadelphia Airport.
It was raining when Lu Zhou got on the plane, but it was clear blue skies when he landed.
The east coast sun shined on Lu Zhou’s face as he stood outside the airport with his luggage and looked around. He then walked toward a road.
The day before yesterday, he sent Luo Wenxuan a message. They agreed to meet up.
At the coffee shop outside the airport, Lu Zhou saw that familiar car and Luo Wenxuan who was standing next to it.
“Haha, Lu Zhou! You’re finally here!”
Luo Wenxuan walked over and gave him a warm hug. He then patted Lu Zhou’s shoulder and said, “Not bad, everyone gets fatter over the new year but you looked skinnier?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Maybe because I didn’t eat that much? How long have you been waiting here?”
Luo Wenxuan, “Not long, maybe around an hour.”
Lu Zhou, “Wow, let me buy you some food.”
Luo Wenxuan waved his hand, “No it’s fine. It’s your first day here in America, I should be the one treating you. There’s a nice Sichuan restaurant in Philadelphia. I know the boss. Get in the car first, we can talk about where to eat later.”
Luo Wenxuan helped Lu Zhou with the luggage. He then started the car.
While driving, Luo Wenxuan said, “Remember to put your seat belt on. Oh yeah, do you plan on getting a driver’s license here? The cars here are very cheap. I can recommend a place to buy one.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I actually do have plans for that.”
Lu Zhou suddenly remembered something. His phone was still charging in his luggage.
“Oh yeah, my phone is still in my suitcase…”
Luo Wenxuan, “Is there an emergency?”
Lu Zhou shook his head, “No… It’s fine, I’ll just wait until we are at the restaurant.”
Luo Wenxuan smiled and said, “Yeah, good idea. It’s not easy to find parking around here.”
The two chatted along the ride. At the same time, on the other side of the Philadelphia International Airport, a silver-white car parked 200 meters away from the coffee shop.
A slender, long-haired woman stood on the sidewalk. She held her phone and whispered in Chinese.
“How come he hasn’t responded yet?”
“Is the flight delayed?”
Her stomach rumbled.
She sounded a little resentful.
