Downstairs of the Princeton dormitory.
A silver-white car appeared at the corner, and with a flash of headlights, it stopped in front of the main entrance.
Qin Yue, who was sitting in the driver's seat, looked to the side and spoke.
"We're here."
Xiao Tong unbuckled her seatbelt and said politely, "Thank you for coming to pick me up."
Qin Yue smiled and said, "You're welcome, do you need me to help you carry your luggage?"
When he was studying at Princeton, Lu Zhou took care of him a lot. Now, it was finally his turn to repay his mentor. At least in his opinion, such a small matter was not worth mentioning at all, and it was something that he should do.
However, there was one thing that Xiao Tong was too similar to her brother. They didn't want to bother others with their own matters. Therefore, when Xiao Tong heard Qin Yue's offer to help carry her luggage, she politely declined without hesitation.
"There's no need for that. I can handle such a small matter myself."
Qin Yue didn't insist on helping. He nodded and said, "Okay then, I won't bother you. Let me know if you need any help."
"Okay, I'll go then."
"Take care."
After Xiao Tong said goodbye to Professor Qin, who was a former student of her brother, who was now teaching at Princeton. Xiao Tong first went to the dormitory management to get the key. She then walked briskly upstairs with her suitcase.
She applied for this student apartment online, and it was fully furnished. Basically, she just had to carry her bag.
After Xiao Tong checked into the room, she spent around two hours tidying up the room. She then took her documents and went to Nassau Hall, which was the administrative building of Princeton, to complete the enrollment procedures.
She wasn't unfamiliar with Princeton. In fact, she was quite familiar with it.
A few years ago, when she just finished her college entrance examination, she lived here for two months. She didn't go back until the end of the summer when she had to report to Jin Ling University.
She still vaguely remembered that her brother, who was a professor at Princeton, had a cute, soft-spoken young assistant who was not much older than her.
However, because the little assistant was too shy, she tried to take the initiative several times, but she failed to establish a deep friendship with her.
"I wonder if she's still here."
Xiao Tong returned to her apartment after completing the enrollment procedures. She leaned on the soft bed and stretched.
"If only she was still here, it would be great if I could make friends with her … But speaking of which, she probably doesn't recognize me anymore, right? After all, so many years have passed. "
The tiredness from the long journey gradually overwhelmed his brain, and not long after, only the sound of steady breathing could be heard in the room.
After sitting on the plane for almost a whole day and taking a car for a long time, he could finally lie on the bed and have a good sleep.
She thought about her future campus life and slept exceptionally well. It wasn't until six or seven o 'clock the next morning that she yawned and got out of bed …
Xiao Tong looked at the calendar on her phone and went to the bathroom to wash up. She then opened her computer and sent an email to her future supervisor, Professor Krugman.
Almost as soon as she prepared breakfast for herself, a reply flew into her mailbox.
"Are Princeton professors this efficient?"
She was a little surprised when she opened the email. She was prepared to report to her supervisor in two days, but she didn't expect to receive a reply in less than an hour.
The content of the email was very short; it could be summarized in a few sentences. The general gist was that he was glad that she chose Princeton. If she was ready to start her PhD career, she could report to his office at any time.
At the same time, there was a line of his office address attached to the email.
Although he seriously considered whether he should wait for a few days to settle down before reporting in, he remembered that he had already completed the enrollment registration, so it was better to meet the tutor as soon as possible. He could also leave a positive and good impression on the tutor.
Therefore, Xiao Tong wrote down the address and quickly finished her breakfast. She put on some fresh and clean clothes and left the house.
With her pretty good memory, she quickly found her supervisor, Professor Krugman's office, which was located in the economics department.
The moment she opened the office door, a warm voice came from behind the door, and it almost scared her.
"Welcome to Princeton! Xiao Tong from China, are you used to living here? "
Xiao Tong jumped back like a frightened rabbit. After she confirmed that this face was the same as Professor Krugman in the photo, she calmed down and spoke.
"… I lived here for a month before, and it's not my first time studying abroad. I'm quite used to it."
Professor Krugman curiously asked, "Lived here for a month? But I remember you did your undergraduate at the University of Jin Ling and your master's at the University of Oxford … Are you an exchange student? "
"Uh, not really … Visiting relatives overseas?" Xiao Tong didn't expect her supervisor to know so much about her. She didn't know if she should be surprised or flattered. "Oh, oh."
Professor Krugman had a look of realization on his face. He then smiled and said, "Then I don't have to worry about you getting lost on campus. A lot of students who come here for the first time will encounter this problem. There is no clear boundary between the town and the school, so it's easy to wander far away from the school … Wisl, help this new student familiarize herself with the work here. I suddenly have a phone call, I'll leave this to you."
"Okay, professor." A skinny PhD student with freckles on his face walked over. He pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked at Xiao Tong. He reached out his hand and said, "Wisl, PhD student, nice to meet you."
"… Nice to meet you, Lu Xiaotong."
Xiao Tong politely shook Wisl's hand and spoke cautiously.
"Lu Xiaotong, right? Come with me. "
Wisl nodded and took Xiao Tong to an empty desk near the window. He said, "This is where you work and study from now on. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me or Professor Krugman … Or anyone else in the office. We'll try our best to help you, but most of the time, you have to rely on yourself."
Xiao Tong: "… Thank you."
"You should be thanking me. I got off work yesterday, but the professor called me to clean up. He said a new student reported in." Wisl shrugged and said, "Normally speaking, cleaning up things left behind by the previous owner is the job of a new student, at least here … But Professor Krugman seems to value you a lot."
Xiao Tong was a little embarrassed when she heard that she had inadvertently caused so much trouble for Wisl. She said, "Please tell me if something like this happens in the future, I'll do it myself."
"It's fine, it's not a big deal." Wisl waved his hand and said, "Let me introduce you to the other people in the office."
"Okay …"
Wisl was about to introduce the other people in the office to this new student when the office door opened again. Professor Krugman, who went out to make a phone call, walked back with a smile on his face.
"I'm done! I'll take care of this, Wisl, go do your own thing. "
"Um … Okay." Wisl was a little surprised that his boss was acting like Santa Claus to a new student this early in the morning. However, Wisl didn't dare to ask. He nodded and said to the new student, "Then I'll go deal with the thesis first … I'll introduce you to him later."
"Okay, thank you."
Xiao Tong nodded and looked at Professor Krugman, who was smiling warmly. He had a confused look on his face, as if he didn't know what was going on.
Is this some kind of Princeton welcoming ceremony?
I've never heard my brother mention this before …
Professor Krugman walked over with a warm smile on his face. He looked at Xiao Tong and spoke in a gentle tone.
"I've read your graduation thesis many times, it's very well written. Even though there are some flaws in the theoretical part, it's not easy to write a thesis like this at your age. Even at a place like Princeton, people like you are rare."
After clearing his throat, he continued.
"Since you've mastered the theoretical part, I'll focus on other aspects of your abilities … Speaking of which, Xiao Tong, have you attended any academic conferences before?"
Xiao Tong replied, "I've been there with my supervisor … But I haven't published an article."
Krugman rubbed his beard and asked, "Is it a top-level conference?"
Xiao Tong said embarrassedly, "Not yet …"
Unfortunately, her former supervisor, Professor Forster, wasn't a particularly famous expert in the field of macroeconomics. Most of the opportunities he provided her were not in academia. Instead, like her fellow students, she mainly interned at major investment banks.
Back then, Xiao Tong hadn't made up her mind to develop in academia, so she didn't pay much attention to the well-known top-level conferences in her field. She only attended a few general conferences with her supervisor.
"You've never been? Perfect! "
Professor Krugman didn't mind that Xiao Tong had never attended a conference before. His eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands as if he had a brilliant idea. He said, "Next week, there's a macroeconomics conference in Shanghai. Participating in the summit is an important academic qualification. Even if you don't publish an article, you can still gain a lot by listening. There are also some academic awards for young scholars, PhD, and master's. If you haven't participated in the summit before, you can come with me to see the world. "
Almost as soon as these words left his mouth.
Xiao Tong noticed that all the PhD and master's students in the office, including Wisl, were looking at her with obvious envy.
As a Nobel Prize -level scholar, Professor Krugman usually attended conferences. He rarely brought his students with him, unless it was a student that he valued, or the student was presenting an article at the conference.
As for this guy …
It hadn't even been a day since he had reported for work, and it hadn't even been an hour since he walked into this office, yet he had already received such "VIP" treatment …
It was so enviable!
Xiao Tong felt uncomfortable being stared at by these gazes, so she awkwardly declined.
"But … I'm completely unprepared. Why don't you bring someone else —"
"It's alright! It's just for experience, you don't need to prepare. "Professor Krugman interrupted Xiao Tong and said," One day, you'll have to publish an article at a conference like this. Familiarize yourself with the conference process will help you greatly in the future! "
Hearing the teacher said so, Xiaotong couldn't say anything to decline for a while.
Of course, she didn't want to miss this opportunity.
The only thing that gave her a headache was that she just flew over from Shanghai. If she went to the conference with her supervisor, she would have to fly back again …
Xiao Tong thought about how she would have to stay in the air for another 20 hours. She suddenly felt bad …
(I'll try my best to work until the 20th. It's too cruel for me to work until the 20th.)
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