Scholar’s Advanced Technological System

At the parking lot of a high-speed train station.

Lu Zhou took his suitcase out from the trunk before he looked at Wang Peng.

“Just drop me off here.”

“Okay.” Wang Peng’s reply was simple as he opened the car door in a soldier-like motion.

Lu Zhou looked at Wang Peng as he got back into the car, and he suddenly remembered something.

“Wait a second.”

Wang Peng got out from the driver’s seat and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Lu Zhou said, “You won’t… drive all the way to Jiangling, right?”

Wang Peng nodded and said, “Of course, the higher-ups told me to make sure that your travel is convenient and safe.”

I knew it!

Thank god I asked him!

Lu Zhou immediately said, “It’s the holidays, and everyone is going to be on break. Go home to your family, and don’t follow me.”

Wang Peng smiled and said, “It’s fine, this is my job. I don’t mind working during the holidays!”

Lu Zhou was worried, and he said, “I can’t let you do this!”

Wang Peng smiled as he replied, “No, really. It’s fine.”

Lu Zhou said, “No, this is not about politeness. Listen to me. Drive home and have a great Chinese New Year. I don’t need a car during the holidays anyway. Also, if I bring you home, they…”

Wang Peng said, “They?”

Lu Zhou coughed and said, “My dad has been asking me to look for a partner. If I bring you home this year… I’m afraid it’ll look bad.”

Wang Peng: “…”

…

At last, Lu Zhou was able to convince Wang Peng to go back to Beijing for the holidays.

Spending Chinese New Year with one’s family was more important than one’s job.

Lu Zhou got on the high-speed train and headed east, and he soon arrived at Jiangling.

When he arrived at his hometown, Lu Zhou took a deep breath of air. Without wasting another second, he got into a taxi that was parked outside the train station and immediately went home.

Once he arrived at the doorsteps of the house with his bags, he pressed the doorbell, and soon, he could hear the sound of slippers running on the hardwood floors.

The door opened, and when Xiao Tong saw Lu Zhou standing outside, her eyes were wide open as she asked, “Oh, brother, why did you buy so many things?”

“Some are gifts, and some are stuff that I bought at the airport duty-free shop. Your gift is in the suitcase. As usual, find it yourself…” Lu Zhou said while he dragged the suitcase and bags into the house.

Suddenly, he noticed Xiao Tong looking behind him, and he asked, “What are you looking for?”

Xiao Tong looked at Lu Zhou and sighed.

“Ah, bro, I’m sad…”

Lu Zhou patted his sister’s forehead and gently pushed her.

“Stop giving me this sh*t, let me go in!”

Lu Zhou gave his suitcases to Xiao Tong before he walked past the living room and into the kitchen.

Fang Mei was about to cut a live fish with a knife when she suddenly saw her son standing outside the kitchen door. Startled, she nearly dropped the knife.

For Lu Zhou who hadn’t seen his mother in a long time, he started to tear up.

He then took a deep breath and put on a bright smile on his face.

“Mom, I’m home!”

“Welcome, welcome home!” Fang Mei had a glistening smile as she said, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I didn’t prepare any food.”

Lu Zhou rubbed his nose and said, “I wanted to give you a surprise.”

“What surprise? You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Fang Mei looked at her son. Grabbing the fish, she said, “Go chill in the living room first, I’ll grill some fish for you.”

Fang Mei picked up the knife and fiercely chopped off the fish head.

The fish twitched for a couple of seconds before it lay dead on the chopping board.

It was half-past five when Old Lu got off work and went home.

When he saw his son sitting on the sofa, he was just as surprised as Fang Mei. He then started to ask Lu Zhou a bunch of questions.

When Old Lu saw the box of tea on the coffee table, he said, “Why did you bring so much tea back? We have a ton at home.”

Curious, Lu Zhou looked at his dad and asked, “Dad, did you finally start buying tea?”

Old Lu replied, “I didn’t buy it myself, the office gave it to me.”

Lu Zhou was even more confused, and he asked, “When did your office get so rich?”

Old Lu grinned.

“Long story… The higher-ups transferred me to the logistics team a while back, right? The compensation there is a lot better there. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about us, so don’t bring so much stuff back next time. These big bags of gifts are hard to travel with. Just bring a wife back next time.”

Lu Zhou coughed and tried to divert the conversation.

“Oh yeah, dad, can I ask you something?”

Old Lu: “What?”

Lu Zhou squatted down next to one of the suitcases, opened the zipper, and took out a letter.

“I have a couplet paper here. See if there’s any glue in the house and stick this on the front door.”

Old Lu took the couplet paper and said, “Oh, this is well written. Did you write it?”

“Not me,” Lu Zhou said. He then smiled as he continued, “It was written by Academician Lu. He was my supervisor during my master’s degree.”

“An academician wrote it? That’s impressive! I’ll stick it on right now,” Old Lu said. He then stood up from the sofa and walked toward his toolbox.

Given that Old Lu had barely left Jiangling City during his lifetime, it was rare for him to meet an academician. He had heard that academicians were the top scholars of the country.

He was certain that the couplet paper would bring him good luck.

As Old Lu stood outside and looked at the couplet paper that he had just stuck on the door, he could not help but rub his chin with satisfaction.

However, after a while, he suddenly shook his head.

“Unfortunate.”

Lu Zhou stood next to him and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Why is it unfortunate?”

Old Lu sighed and said, “It was unfortunate because Xiao Tong had already finished her exams. This luck is wasted.”

Lu Zhou coughed and said, “Dad, your son is a scientist, can you not be so superstitious?”

“This isn’t superstition, everyone believes in it…” Old Lu made a hand gesture, but he couldn’t find a way to explain this feeling. In the end, he said, “Ah, forget about it, I can’t explain it to you! Go, your mother has finished cooking. Let’s go and help her set the table!”