“Academician Lu, please go ahead.”
“Oh, no, no, you go first.”
Lu Zhou thought of the security at the airport and panicked.
No, not exactly panic.
He just wasn’t good at dealing with politicians.
The old man looked at Lu Zhou and smiled.
“No, you go first, the people at the airport are waiting for us.”
Seeing how the old man insisted, Lu Zhou had no choice but to walk forward.
Lu Zhou only asked Director Li to help him buy a plane ticket, maybe get him on a diplomatic plane.
He didn’t expect Director Li to arrange for him to be on this flight.
This old man was none other than the Chinese president, the person he frequently exchanged emails with.
Apparently, this visit was for the completion of the nuclear fusion power station in Cadarache and cooperation on the silk road.
When the high-level government officials heard that Lu Zhou was going to France, they arranged for Lu Zhou to be on the same flight.
During the flight, the two talked about mathematics, physics, computer chips, nuclear engineering, and aerospace.
Lu Zhou wanted to sleep for the whole flight. But the President kept asking him question after question. He didn’t want to be rude either, so he kept conversing.
Fortunately, he was able to take a four-hour nap before he got off the plane. Otherwise, he would not be able to keep his eyes open.
He was about to walk off the airstair when someone stopped him.
“Sir, please wait a second.”
The flight attendant on the plane reached out and fixed his collar, which got wrinkled when he was sleeping. She had a professional smile on her face.
“That’s more handsome.”
“… Thank you.”
Lu Zhou felt like the flight attendant looked at him a certain way.
It was almost like she was a big carnivore and he was a giant piece of meat.
Lu Zhou couldn’t help but feel proud.
Sigh, this is the downside of being too handsome.
Like he expected, the airport had a magnificent welcoming crowd. A long red carpet was laid in front of the airstair, and men in suits stood on both sides of the red carpet.
In addition to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, the French president was also here.
“Welcome to France, Academician Lu…” A tall, well-built man in a suit reached out his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Lu Zhou shook the French president’s hand and spoke politely.
“Thank you, nice to meet you too.”
The man had a smile on his face as he spoke.
“I’ve heard many stories about you. Judging by your accomplishments, I thought you were going to be an old man. I didn’t expect you to be this young.”
Lu Zhou replied humbly, “Oh, you’re too kind.”
Since this was a political occasion, after the French president made some small talk with Lu Zhou, he changed his focus to the Chinese president, who was walking down the airstairs.
Lu Zhou finally sighed. He felt a huge pressure was lifted off his shoulders.
It wasn’t like he was nervous.
He did reports at major international events and summits. He had been around the block. Even if there were twice the amount of people here, it wouldn’t affect him.
However, the problem was that right now, he didn’t only represent himself; he was a representative of the entire Chinese scientific researcher community and even a national image of China.
He had such a huge amount of pressure riding on him…
…
In addition to the grand airport ceremony, there was also a national-level banquet waiting for them in the evening.
The state banquet was held in the presidential palace, and the meals were prepared by the legendary French presidential kitchen staff.
Lu Zhou was actually quite looking forward to attending this banquet. However, when the dishes actually arrived, he felt like it was no different from the French restaurants he had eaten from before.
In his opinion, each dish was only slightly smaller and more sophisticated.
What gave him the biggest impression was the French grilled snail.
Not because it was tasty, but because he had never eaten it before…
Of course, it tasted quite well.
After all, none of the dishes would be here if they weren’t delicious.
The banquet was held in quite a relaxed atmosphere.
It seemed like the French politicians knew Lu Zhou was not particularly fond of discussing politics. They even arranged an academician from the French Academy of Sciences to chat with him.
At the end of the banquet, before Lu Zhou was going to return to his hotel, a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs official found him and spoke to him politely.
“Academician Lu, I heard you plan on visiting Mr. Grottendick’s former residence?”
Lu Zhou nodded and spoke.
“I do have this idea. Unfortunately, I’ve never met this great man, but academically speaking, it’s almost like he’s my father.”
“Professor Grothendieck was indeed a respectable scholar. Whether it’s his attitude toward conflict or his pursuit of truth, he was respected by countless people.” The French official smiled and continued in a friendly tone, “If you want to, we can arrange a dedicated car and security team for you. You’ll be able to go wherever you want in France.”
Lu Zhou nodded and spoke.
“That would be fantastic.”
It was night time.
After a busy day, Lu Zhou finally arrived at his hotel.
After he went into his room, he took a shower and lay on his bed. He didn’t want to move at all.
Before he fell asleep, he picked up his phone and checked the news for a while.
As expected, he saw a picture of himself shaking hands with the French president.
Lu Zhou couldn’t help but smile and shake his head.
It seemed like he was constantly on the news over the past two weeks.
The sensation of the Z particle had yet to die down, and the public was still debating on whether it would win this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics. And now, he was involved in China’s diplomatic visit to France.
Lu Zhou was about to throw his phone on the bedside table and go to sleep when a message suddenly popped up on his screen.
[You’re in Paris?]
When Lu Zhou saw this message, he paused for a second and clicked on his Facebook messenger app, an app he rarely used. The people he added here were mainly friends he met when he was studying and working in Princeton. However, he rarely talked to those people on Facebook anymore, and most of the time, they communicated by email.
What surprised him even more was that this message came from Molina.
The last message was a “Happy New Year” message.
That message was from more than a year ago.
Lu Zhou paused for a second before typing a reply.
[I’m here, why?]
Molina: [Go out, let’s grab a drink.]
Lu Zhou: “…”
What is she talking about?
I mean, I think her family is in France.
But when did Princeton give her so many vacation days?
Without saying anything, Lu Zhou lifted his phone and sent a picture of the view outside his window.
After a while, he received a message.
Molina: [… What is this?]
Lu Zhou: [… Do you think I can sneak out of here without being bombarded by reporters?]
The reporters couldn’t enter the hotel.
But anything outside the hotel was fair game.
Sneaking out of the hotel in the middle of the night to grab drinks with a pretty lady…
Even though he and Molina were just platonic, academic friends, no one would believe him.
Molina: “…”
Lu Zhou sighed. He didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings. He typed a message and sent it.
[What if you come over?]
Molina: [Send your location.]
Lu Zhou shared his location through the app.
Paris was a huge city with a lot of traffic. Lu Zhou thought she would probably not want to travel this far.
It wasn’t worth it to drive ten kilometers just to have a few drinks.
However, after he shared his location, he didn’t receive a reply.
Lu Zhou froze.
The f*ck?
Is this chick actually coming?
