Chapter 460: December 10th
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
At 3 pm on December 10th, the long Nordic winter had begun in Stockholm.
However, the cold didn’t dissipate anyone’s enthusiasm.
Reporters from all over the world stood in front of the entrance of the Stockholm Grand Hotel while they quietly waited. With cameras and microphones in their hands, they hoped to see a certain group of people.
“Brother, there are so many people outside.”
Xiao Tong looked out through the hotel window. She was normally quite lively, but at that moment, she felt anxious at this nerve-wracking moment.
She had been to many social events over the past two and a half years. However, the school activities at Jin Ling University were at a lower level compared to this world-class event.
Lu Zhou: “Scared?”
Xiao Tong nodded.
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Then go with Old Tang. If you really don’t want to, there’s no need to force yourself.”
There were two cars going to the Stockholm Concert Hall. One was for the Nobel Prize winner and his relatives, while the other was for the guests who were invited to attend the award ceremony and dinner. Although this was all ceremonious, the feeling of sitting in a different car was different.
Xiao Tong shook her head.
Even though she was shy, it was obvious she didn’t want to miss this event.
Seeing that Xiao Tong was in a dilemma, Lu Zhou smiled and shook his head.
After a while, he said, “Just follow behind me, don’t think about anything else.”
Maybe it was because Lu Zhou sounded reliable, Xiao Tong, who was mentally distressed, suddenly felt more secure.
She looked at the crowd of people outside the hotel and suddenly spoke.
“Brother.”
Lu Zhou: “What now?”
Xiao Tong held the window curtains and asked in a serious tone, “What have you been experiencing over the past few years?”
Lu Zhou was stunned when he heard this. He then smiled as he answered her.
“That’s a long story. If you really want to know, it’ll take a long, long time to tell you. I’m afraid it won’t even fit into a book.”
Xiao Tong stuck her tongue out and said, “Bragging again.”
“That’s not bragging.” Lu Zhou felt emotional just thinking about his past. He paused for a second before he joked, “What? Do you think that I’ve changed?”
Xiao Tong shook her head. She didn’t say anything but her mouth perked up.
Even though her brother had changed a lot.
It didn’t matter to her.
My brother… is still my most reliable brother…
Old Lu also looked outside the window.
Compared to the nervous Xiao Tong, Old Lu was much calmer.
If he smoked a cigarette, he would look even more charismatic…
Unfortunately, if he lit a cigarette, he would probably end up on the news.
Fang Mei looked at her husband and couldn’t help but say, “You really are calm. You’ll have to do an interview soon, are you not nervous?”
Old Lu replied calmly, “I’m so proud of my son, and I can’t just embarrass him, can I? Plus, since we’re representing the face of the country, we can’t let people look down on us!”
Fang Mei said, “Look at you, old man. You often go to the logistics department to read newspapers and didn’t get a promotion, but you adopted the leadership team’s mannerisms.”
“What do you mean by ‘old man’?” Old Lu looked at Fang Mei and asked, “Is fifty old?”
Fang Mei poked his arm and said with a smile, “Your hair is white, isn’t that old?”
It was time to leave.
His parents and Xiao Tong followed Academician Staffan downstairs.
Lu Zhou approached the hotel front door and felt his heart beating out of his chest. He then gently adjusted his tie and took a deep breath.
This moment… is finally here!
…
It was very cold outside the hotel, but the atmosphere was very warm.
A CTV reporter wore a puffer jacket and held a microphone. He scrambled in the crowd and stood at the front row, facing his cameraman. With a high-spirited voice, he spoke to his audience members, which were thousands of miles away, about the situation at this grand event.
“We are now live at the Stockholm Grand Hotel… We are waiting for the Nobel Prize winners to attend the upcoming award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
“There’s a ton of people here, and everyone’s feeling excited and energetic. Other than media reporters, standing here with us are local Stockholm citizens, and our Chinese friends… Look!”
There was no need for any explanation.
A group of people walked out of the hotel entrance.
All of the cameras moved quickly, focusing on one person.
Accompanied by his parents and Xiao Tong, Lu Zhou walked out of the hotel VIP entrance. He was then bombarded with camera flashes. There were other Nobel Prize laureates walking next to him; some were alone, some had a partner.
However, even though Lu Zhou was standing in a group of brilliant human minds, he was the most unique out of all of them.
Both because of his youthfulness… and because of his confidence.
Professor Lu looked at the CTV camera and smiled at the audience behind the camera lens.
The reporter was even more excited when he noticed Lu Zhou looking at them. His voice trembled with excitement.
“Right now, walking in front of us is this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, Lu Zhou! He is accompanied by his family as he shares this glorious moment with them.
“There is no doubt, that at the tender age of 24, he is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history!
“This is another Nobel Prize for the Chinese!
“Also the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a Chinese citizen!”
The reporter was shouting in order to stand out from the noisy environment. He began to sound a bit exhausted; his voice even began to crack.
However, no one blamed him for this.
At this inspiring moment, people were just as excited as him.
He really wanted to bring the microphone to Lu Zhou and interview this young Nobel Prize winner.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. If he wanted to interview this world-renowned scholar, he would have to wait until after the award ceremony.
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded at the microphones and cameras coming from both sides. He then sat in the car that was prepared especially for him, which was parked at the hotel entrance, and headed toward the Nobel Prize award ceremony venue with the other laureates.
Just like previous years.
The moment the clock hit 4.30 pm, “Song of Kings” began to play, thus kicking off the Nobel Prize award ceremony.
More than 1,300 people attended this award ceremony. There were members of the Nobel family, members of the Royal family, politicians, and people from all corners of academia.
In order to signify the ceremonial nature of this event, every minute and detail of the ceremony had been carefully planned and arranged, from the winner’s white bowtie paired with the black tux to the decorative ceremony crowns…
An interesting rumor was that the Nobel Prize award ceremony itself cost more than the annual prize money.
And in fact, it did.
A few weeks before this banquet, the Nobel Foundation ceremonial secretary was as busy as an army’s general; all of this was done to make this award ceremony proceed in an orderly manner.
The first to speak on this international stage was the chairman of the Nobel Foundation, Carl-Henrik Heldin.
In his opening speech, he said that the winners were all role models, and he hoped that they could continue their work, to make more scientific discoveries in the future, and to produce better theses…
As Lu Zhou stood in the backstage of the podium, his emotions made it difficult to breathe.
He didn’t even hear what Mr. Heldin said.
That was until the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, Academician Claes, walked on stage.
He faced the auditorium and spoke in a solemn and loud voice.
“For a long time, the chemistry industry has been troubled with an obvious problem. This problem on how to establish a quantitative relationship between structure and properties is one of the most important 21st-century chemistry problems.
“And as we all know, the theory of electrochemical interfaces is an important pillar of modern electrochemistry. The inability to thoroughly explain the microscopic nature of various electrochemical processes means we do not know what chemical phenomenon is happening in front of us.”
Academician Claes paused for two seconds before he continued, “However, he used a mathematical method to open up a new way of research thinking. And countless experiments have proved that he is correct.”
Academician Cleas looked at the crowd and increased his voice as he announced the decision of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
“This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner is Professor Lu Zhou!
“Let us give him a round of applause.”
That last sentence was completely redundant.
Because the second Academician Claes finished speaking, the entire Stockholm Concert Hall was filled with thunderous applause…
