Memory inheritor

Chapter 199 Old Friends

Chapter 199 Old Friend (Part 1)

Recalling what happened back then, Wei Hongsi shook his head and asked with a smile, "Did you think I had lost my mind back then?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "That's right, I thought you were an idiot. But later I realized I was the idiot. Sigh, can you tell me how you figured we wouldn't last?"

Wei Hongsi guessed that Lu Chen's decision to return to his alma mater for graduate studies must have come after his breakup with his girlfriend, so he said, "You two broke up at least half a year ago, right? Still can't let go?"

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "You, who have never been in a relationship, wouldn't understand. Sometimes it's not that you can't let go, it's just that you feel resentful. Maybe listening to your reasoning will make me feel better."

Wei Hongsi asked, "You really want to hear it?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes."

Wei Hongsi pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, I think confessing your feelings is inherently unreliable. Things that happen naturally don't need a confession, and things where form outweighs substance rarely lead to anything."

Lu Chen said, "The logic is correct, but it's all empty talk. Say something practical."

Wei Hongsi said, "When you confessed your feelings, we were already seniors. Because of this, you changed your original plans, gave up the postgraduate entrance exam, and focused on finding a job in Beijing. You didn't have any background there, so the first few years were definitely going to be tough. I don't think you considered any of these things at the time."

The words Wei Hongsi said to Lu Chen in the dormitory back then were not entirely without consideration; they reflected Lu Chen's actual problems at the time.

However, he also felt that drawing conclusions was too hasty, and he later paid attention to Lu Chen's relationship with his girlfriend for a period of time.

Lu Chen's (ex)girlfriend wasn't from Beijing, but she was determined to settle down there. Knowing this, Wei Hongsi became even more pessimistic about their relationship, but by then Lu Chen was already hopelessly in love, so his words were useless. He could only wish them well in Beijing, hoping they could share both joy and hardship.

It now seems they failed to do that. The rights and wrongs of the matter are not for outsiders to judge, and there's no need to discuss his ex-girlfriend; let's just focus on Lu Chen's own issues.

Lu Chen sighed, "You're absolutely right. I really acted impulsively back then."

Wei Hongsi said, "It's all in the past now. You're back to pursue your master's degree, so don't worry about it anymore."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "You're right. I chose this path, and I can't blame anyone else for wasting three years."

Just then, their food arrived, and Lu Chen asked, "Want some beer?"

Wei Hongsi said, "I don't drink alcohol, and I have work to do this afternoon."

Lu Chen laughed, "Your habits haven't changed. By the way, why didn't you continue with your doctoral studies?"

"I'm working and studying at the same time, and I'll be enrolling next semester, just like you."

"Can that be the same?"

"They're all called graduate students, right?"

Seeing that Wei Hongsi wasn't drinking, Lu Chen didn't order beer either, and the two of them went straight to rice.

Wei Hongsi asked Lu Chen about his recent plans. Lu Chen said he planned to do some part-time work to earn some pocket money, as he had been living paycheck to paycheck for the past three years in Beijing and hadn't saved a penny. He planned to go back to school and still need financial support from his family.

Wei Hongsi said there was a short-term job and asked if he was willing to do it. He then explained the requirements and pay, which was still 1500 yuan for two days, the same as everyone else.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen nodded repeatedly: "Of course I'll do it if this is a good thing. My daily wage at work isn't even as high as this standard."

Wei Hongsi was somewhat surprised: "Really? That's in the capital!"

Lu Chen waved his hand: "Let's not talk about it anymore. If we keep going, I'll think I'm crazy."

Wei Hongsi smiled and didn't continue the topic. Lu Chen's lack of savings was definitely related to dating, since that's a major expense.

He asked Lu Chen about his chosen major for graduate studies, and when he learned that it was the same as his own, he asked who his advisor was.

Lu Chen said, "It's Professor Liu."

Wei Hongsi was taken aback. There was only one professor with the surname Liu in their college. He confirmed, "Is it Professor Liu Guanhong?"

Lu Chen said, "Yes, are you familiar with them?"

Wei Hongsi said, "We're fairly familiar with each other."

He asked Lu Chen about his chosen major because he thought that if it was related, he could involve Lu Chen in future collaborative projects with the school, ensuring they could at least earn a living. They had lived in the same dormitory for four years, and this guy's character was definitely reliable.

Unexpectedly, Lu Chen's mentor is actually the senior female student. What a coincidence! This allows him to directly enter their school-enterprise cooperation framework, and he can be included in future work.

Given this connection, Wei Hongsi messaged Feng Weixu and arranged a meeting place. Lu Chen hadn't officially joined yet, so he couldn't enter the laboratory building.

The two chatted as they ate, and after the meal, they returned to the school together. Wei Hongsi took Lu Chen to Feng Weixu's dormitory, introduced them to each other, and added, "Lu Chen is Professor Liu's newly recruited graduate student, and he will report for duty next semester."

Feng Weixu was delighted to hear this and said, "That's great! This means we're on the same side."

Wei Hongsi then told Lu Chen, "This senior brother Feng is Professor Liu's junior brother."

Lu Chen was stunned and asked, "Then I should call you—Uncle-Master?"

Feng Weixu smiled and waved his hand: "No need, no need, just call me senior brother. I have no master-disciple relationship with you. If you want to talk about it that way, he is your uncle-master." He pointed at Wei Hongsi as he spoke.

"Holy crap!" Lu Chen exclaimed, then lightly punched Wei Hongsi. "So you're Professor Liu's junior brother? You were pretending with me during dinner?"

Wei Hongsi said, "What am I pretending for? I'm afraid you'll call me 'Uncle-Master'."

Lu Chen snorted, "You wish!"

He was going to study under Liu Guanhong as a graduate student, so he naturally knew about the professor's background and knew that Professor Liu was a student of Academician Zhou. Therefore, he also knew that Wei Hongsi's graduate advisor was Academician Zhou.

Although Lu Chen didn't show it, he was genuinely shocked. He knew Wei Hongsi was excellent, but he never expected to be chosen by Academician Zhou. It was even rarer for a big shot to take on such a master's student than a doctoral student. At the time, everyone in the class knew that Wei Hongsi was studying for his master's degree at this university, but they never heard him mention who his advisor was. This guy was really low-key.

The three joked around for a while, and the distance between them quickly closed. Wei Hongsi handed the person over and then prepared to return to the company.

Feng Weixu asked, "Don't you have someone else?"

Wei Hongsi said, "I'll go back and talk to him. Come over this afternoon, and I'll give him your phone number then."

Feng Weixu said, "Okay, as soon as possible. Someone from the ocean region has replied, and we can start full-scale operations this afternoon."

Wei Hongsi left Feng Weixu's dormitory, walked to the supercomputing center, got in his car, and drove towards the company.