Chapter 130: Mu Nanshu’s Paid Business Trip
Lu Cheng said, “I’m also surprised this happened?”
“Teacher Zhong didn’t clearly tell me how he was going to handle it, but today, I’m indeed a bit ‘angry’!”
“But thinking about it carefully, Professor Zhong doesn’t owe me anything. And he did initially want to teach me more. When I was with Professor Zhong, I felt the complexity in his eyes.”
“Furthermore, the Lu Cheng of today is not the Lu Cheng of many years ago.”
Lu Cheng added, “Back then, Lu Cheng couldn’t gain the favor of Professor Dong.”
“But I can be sure that when I first messaged Professor Dong, he was likely still alive…”
“Of course, I’m not criticizing Old Professor Dong. We are all adults, we speak based on capability!”
“It’s good enough if others favor you based on your results; few people will scrutinize your process, except for parents and close confidants.”
“For example, in the workplace, people only care if you show up, not how you got there or what you went through.”
“In this world, everyone is realistic. The value of existence lies in the value you can bring to other things and generate more value; otherwise, you are worthless.”
“So, I can only compromise. Currently, it seems I’ve gained more than I expected.”
“Professor Zhong also said I’m free now…”
As Lu Cheng was speaking, Mu Nanshu’s telephone rang.
Mu Nanshu made a shushing gesture to Lu Cheng: “It’s the Big Boss of our Research Group, don’t say anything.”
Lu Cheng nodded.
“Teacher Dong, you’re not resting yet?” Mu Nanshu’s voice was generous and gentle, less delicate and more confident than when she spoke to Lu Cheng.
“Ah? Professor Zhong from Hand Surgery called you already? Yes, I know, but I still want to hear your opinion, Teacher Dong.”
Mu Nanshu then fell silent, listening carefully for a while, her expression gradually becoming serious, before replying, “Teacher Dong, yes, he and I were classmates before high school and have known each other for a long time.”
Mu Nanshu deliberately raised her tone a few octaves, clearly speaking to Lu Cheng on purpose: “Regarding our relationship, he hasn’t brought it up, nor has he mentioned it before, so it’s hard to say for now.”
Lu Cheng was so taken aback he couldn’t speak. It seemed neither of them had confessed to each other; they just implicitly agreed to hang out, have dinner together, and, of course, travel together.
They were also close to breaking through the final barrier, but at that time, Mu Nanshu had many concerns. Plus, they had both agreed to get engaged, so they thought they would wait; it wouldn’t matter if they had a baby once they were no longer long-distance…
“I’m sorry, Teacher Dong. I didn’t explain clearly to others before, which caused other teachers to misunderstand. But I said from the beginning that I have a boyfriend.”
“If the opportunity is right, I will definitely invite you for dinner with Lu Cheng tomorrow. I’ll also thank you on his behalf in advance.”
“Thank you, Teacher Dong, for being willing to give us an opportunity… No, no, Teacher Dong, he and I are just ordinary people, nothing special. Mm, when he took his Postgraduate Entrance Examination, his performance in the Second Round of Examination wasn’t very good…”
“Now that we are working, it’s actually quite good. We can still save some money and not be too poor. Otherwise, if we both continued to study, many things would be difficult to manage.”
“Alright, alright, it’s settled then. We’ll treat Teacher Dong to dinner tomorrow!~”
After Mu Nanshu hung up the telephone, she said, “I’ve unilaterally postponed your return travel time for tomorrow. You don’t blame me, do you?”
Lu Cheng certainly didn’t blame her, he just asked back, “What you just said, was it serious, or were you just saying it for others to hear?”
“Do you want a rather special confession too?”
Mu Nanshu gave Lu Cheng a look: “Who wouldn’t want that? What girl wouldn’t want it?”
“But I don’t have that kind of luck; I don’t even know when I’ve given myself away!”
Mu Nanshu playfully flipped her hands at this moment: “Look, you don’t know either, right? And there’s still one anniversary missing…”
Lu Cheng was again rendered speechless. He thought carefully but couldn’t recall: “I really don’t know which day to consider our anniversary.”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the two of them were dating openly on campus, right in front of the teachers.
However, if they said they were openly and purely discussing studies and making friends, no one could fault them.
“Was the process very difficult?” Seeing that Lu Cheng wasn’t answering, Mu Nanshu’s eyes suddenly warmed, and her voice became husky.
“What?” Lu Cheng was stunned, his fork and watermelon paused mid-air.
“Such a perfect solution, I couldn’t achieve it, but you did.”
Mu Nanshu pursed her pale purple lips, then rubbed her nose with her hand, murmuring to herself, “This process must have been very difficult.”
“How can a Research Project be so easy to do, and how can a Technique be so easy to pioneer?”
“We openly know that the Xiangya Hospital team failed. Behind the scenes, how many teams couldn’t sleep, racked their brains, and yet achieved nothing.”
“One minute on stage, ten years of practice off stage.”
“You were able to cause such a great change in Professor Zhong overnight, and you were able to gain so much from Professor Zhong.”
As Mu Nanshu spoke, she gently stroked Lu Cheng’s cheek: “It must have been extremely, extremely difficult to come up with.”
Of course, although Mu Nanshu was emotional, she didn’t get lost in it: “But paid leave is quite nice.”
“Can doing a Research Project be called leave?” Lu Cheng asked Mu Nanshu.
Mu Nanshu explained: “Are you silly? Actually, for this kind of Research Project, you could have initiated it yourself. By rights, you should be the one leading it.”
“Professor Zhong thought that since you haven’t done a Research Project before, he wanted to find someone to guide you.”
“There are two purposes. The first is to let you fully experience the entire process of a Research Project from preparation to completion.”
“Applying for a Research Project, funding application, Research Project development…”
Mu Nanshu stopped at this point, as if fishing.
Of course, Lu Cheng didn’t ask her what the second purpose was. A true elder or teacher who genuinely cares about you would consider all aspects of your details.
Heaven, Earth, Nation, Family, Teacher are not positions that just any teacher can enter the pantheon and be enshrined by the family.
Of course, Professor Zhong Junyun’s maneuver of flipping over and doing a sit-up also left Mu Nanshu somewhat dumbfounded.
“Tomorrow I’ll collect my Graduation Certificate, then treat Teacher Dong to dinner, and go home.”
“On your end, finish your work handover, then come help me?” Lu Cheng asked.
“Okay,” Mu Nanshu replied.
The various scenarios played out on the variety channel were irrelevant; they didn’t affect Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu talking amongst themselves…
Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu exchanged a smile, unsure what to call their Love Affair.
