A silver car appeared around the corner and parked at the entrance.
Qin Yue turned off the engine and spoke.
“We’re here.”
Xiao Tong unfastened her seat belt and politely said, “Thank you for picking me up.”
Qin Yue smiled and said, “You’re welcome, do you need help with your luggage?”
When Qin Yue was studying in Princeton, Lu Zhou helped him with a ton of things. Now was finally his chance to return the favor.
However, just like her brother, Xiao Tong didn’t like to receive help from others. Xiao Tong immediately and euphemistically declined Qin Yue’s offer.
“No, thanks, I got it.”
Qin Yue nodded and said, “Okay then, if you need anything, call me.”
“Okay, see you later.”
“Take care.”
After saying goodbye to Qin Yue, Xiao Tong went to the dorm reception and collected her keys. She then dragged all of her stuff upstairs.
She applied for the student accommodation online, and this place was well furnished and ready to go.
After Xiao Tong went into her room, she spent two hours unpacking and tidying. She then took her documents and went to Nassau Hall, which was Princeton’s administrative building.
This actually wasn’t her first time in Princeton.
A few years ago, she came here for two months after graduating high school. After her vacation was over, she went back and began studying at Jin University.
Back then, her brother was still a Princeton professor. She even remembered his cute, softly spoken assistant.
However, the assistant was too shy, and despite Xiao Tong’s attempts at talking to her, they didn’t become friends.
“I wonder if she’s still here.”
After Xiao Tong left the admission office, she returned to her apartment. She lay on her bed and stretched.
“If only I can find her and make friends with her… But then again, she probably doesn’t recognize me, right? It’s been so many years.”
Xiao Tong had had a long day, so it wasn’t long before she began snoring.
After traveling for so long, she could finally get a good night’s sleep.
She slept peacefully until seven o’clock the next morning. She then yawned and crawled out of bed…
Xiao Tong then looked at her calendar on her phone before going to the bathroom to freshen up. After that, she opened her computer and sent an email to her future supervisor, Professor Krugman.
While she was still preparing breakfast, she received an email.
“Did he already respond?”
She thought that it would take a few days for her supervisor to respond; she didn’t expect him to reply within an hour.
The email was short. Basically, Krugman thanked her for choosing Princeton and told her to report to his office when she was ready to begin her PhD studies.
His office address was also included in the email.
She contemplated on whether or not she should wait a few days and settle in before reporting to his office. However, she thought that it would be better for her to go now and leave a good first impression.
Therefore, she quickly finished her breakfast, put on some fresh clothes, and headed out.
Because of her good sense of direction, she easily found Professor Krugman’s office in the economics building.
When she entered the door, a sonorous voice came from the office, which nearly scared her off.
“Welcome to Princeton! Are you settling in well?”
Xiao Tong took half a step back and made sure it was indeed Professor Krugman she was talking to. She composed herself and spoke.
“I lived here for a month before, and it’s not my first time studying abroad, so I’m quite used to it.”
Professor Krugman curiously asked, “Lived for a month? I thought you went to Jin Ling University for your undergrad and Oxford for your master’s… Was it for an exchange?”
“Um, not quite… More like visiting a relative?” Xiao Tong said. She didn’t expect her supervisor to know this much about her, so she was a little shocked.
“Oh.” Krugman smiled and said, “Then I won’t have to worry about you getting lost on campus. There’s no distinct obvious boundary between the town and the campus, so it’s easy to get lost… Wisl, help this student settle in. I have a phone call to make.”
“Okay, professor,” Wisl said. Wisl was a PhD student with freckles, and he wore a pair of thick-framed glasses. He looked at Xiao Tong and said, “I’m Wisl, a PhD student, nice to meet you.”
“… Nice to meet you, I’m Lu Xiao Tong.”
Wisl politely shook her hand and spoke.
“Lu Xiao Tong? Come with me.”
Wisl brought Xiao Tong to an empty desk by the window, where he said, “This is where you will work. If you have any questions, ask me or Krugman… Or anyone else in the office. We will try to help you, but you’ll be on your own for the most part.”
Xiao Tong: “Thanks…”
“You should be thanking me. I got off work yesterday when Krugman called me and told me to clean up the empty desk.” Wisl shrugged and said, “Normally, the new student would be the one cleaning up the desk… but Krugman seems to have more respect for you.”
Xiao Tong awkwardly said, “I could’ve done it myself.”
“It’s fine, it doesn’t matter,” Wisl said nonchalantly. “I’ll introduce you to the others in the office.”
“Okay…”
Wisl was about to introduce the new student to the other people in the office when Krugman walked into the office with a smile.
“The call is over! I’ll handle this, Wisl, you can do your work.”
“Oh… okay,” Wisl said. He was a little confused why the professor was so enthusiastic, but he still nodded and said, “I’ll go work on my thesis… I’ll introduce you to them later.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Xiao Tong nodded and looked at Krugman, who had a warm smile on his face.
Is Princeton always this welcoming?
How come I never heard my brother talk about this…
Professor Krugman walked toward Xiao Tong with a smile and gently spoke.
“I’ve read your graduation thesis many times. It was well written. Even though there are some flaws, being able to write a thesis like that at your age is impressive. Such talents are rare even in a place like Princeton.”
He coughed and spoke.
“Since you have a certain amount of theoretical knowledge, I’ll try to cultivate your other abilities… Speaking of which, Xiao Tong, have you attended academic conferences before?”
Xiao Tong: “I went with my supervisor…”
Krugman rubbed his chin and asked, “Was it a good conference?”
Xiao Tong said embarrassedly, “Not really…”
Unfortunately, her previous supervisor, Professor Forster, wasn’t a big name in the field of macroeconomics. Forster didn’t give her a lot of opportunities in the academic world. Instead, Xiao Tong was given internships at major investment banks.
Back then, Xiao Tong didn’t know if she wanted to continue in the path of academia, so she didn’t pay attention to the conferences. She only went to some conferences with her supervisor.
“Perfect then!”
Krugman’s eyes lit up as if he had thought of a brilliant idea. He said, “There’s a macroeconomics conference in Shanghai next week. Attending academic conferences is part of academia, and just listening to the reports will be beneficial. There are many scholars and PhD students attending. If you haven’t experienced something like this before, I’ll take you.”
Xiao Tong noticed that Wisl, as well as the other students in the office, looked at her with jealousy in their eyes.
As a Nobel Prize scholar, Krugman rarely attended conferences with students, unless this student was doing a report at the conference.
But now…
Xiao Tong had been in this office for less than an hour, and she was already receiving “VIP” treatment…
I’m so jealous!
Xiao Tong was a little uncomfortable with everyone looking at her.
“But… I’m not prepared, maybe you should bring someone else.”
“It’s fine! You don’t have to prepare for anything,” Professor Krugman said. “One day, you’ll publish a thesis at a top-level conference, so you should familiarize yourself with the process. It will greatly benefit you in the future.”
Xiao Tong couldn’t find an excuse to refuse the invitation.
She obviously didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
However, she just flew here from Shanghai, and now she had to fly back with her supervisor…
When Xiao Tong thought about the 20-hour flight, she started to have a headache…
