In the terminal of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, the busiest civil aviation hub in the Midwest of China.
The strong cold wind blew down violently from the central air-conditioning outlet hanging high on the ceiling. Even though the wind had already lost its strength when it fell on the ground, it still completely blocked the hot and humid air wave unique to Western Sichuan in the midsummer outside the terminal.
At the spacious gate of the airport, there would be groups of three to five and groups of 20 to 30 passengers rushing into the terminal in a hurry while dragging their suitcases while sweating profusely.
When the cold wind blew, most of them breathed a sigh of relief and their expressions unknowingly became calm. Of course, a small number of guests who were really late in boarding time were not like this.
Looking at the few passengers who were running around the airport in a hurry to change their boarding passes and check the boarding gate, a young man with single eyelids who was of medium height and slightly plump but had a pleasing appearance leaned on the bright stainless steel fence of the airport's outer passage and said lazily, "I really don't understand. I really don't understand what these uncles and aunties are thinking.
Why do you think they're unwilling to come to the airport earlier even though they know that it's troublesome to be late for the flight? If it were me, I'd have come to the terminal two hours earlier.
It's so comfortable here! The weather outside is so hot. If I can stay here and enjoy the air-conditioning, I'd even be willing to sleep on the floor. "
A girl wearing a snow-white long dress stood beside the single-eyelid man. Upon hearing her companion's words, she said in annoyance, "Zheng Tianliang, pay attention to your manners! The first half of what you said was quite reasonable but why is the second half becoming more and more outrageous?
You're representing the image of the Sichuan University Student Union when you're out there, and the guest who's here to pick us up is an internationally famous young scholar.
He's a Ph.D. from Stanford University who has published several papers in Science and Natural Science magazines. Look at yourself! Stand up straight and straighten your back! Show me the imposing manner of a top student from the key universities of the national '985' and '211' projects! "
The girl had slender eyelids and delicate facial features with light makeup on her face. When she did not speak, she gave off a feeling of a graceful and artistic young woman. However, right now, her tightly furrowed brows had completely destroyed this temperament.
"No matter how amazing the person is, he still hasn't arrived yet. He doesn't have clairvoyance anyway. Don't tell me that the 'kid' sitting in the plane can still see what I look like now? Alright, President Li, there's only the two of us. Why are we still pretending …" The single-eyelid man muttered but stood up straight …
Upon hearing his interesting words, the two girls, who were holding onto a tablet and wearing a coffee-colored singlet and overalls of the same style and shape, could not help but chuckle as they glanced at him from a few meters away.
Seeing that he had attracted the attention of the beautiful girls, the man with single eyelids perked up. His posture became straighter and taller, but when he took a step closer to the girls, he hesitated and could not move his legs.
"Hi, hello handsome. Are you here to pick up a friend?" On the contrary, it was the taller of the two girls who had a more curvaceous figure who asked with a smile when she saw this clean-looking boy who looked like he wanted to strike up a conversation but did not dare to do so.
"Hello, girl! No, no, hello, Miss! I'm not here to pick up a friend! It's just …" The single-eyelid man tried to make himself look natural, but his tone was still very tense as he stuttered. At this time, a crowd of people who were getting off the plane happened to pour out from the outer passage.
"What do you mean? Hurry up and raise the sign! Can't you see that everyone has already gotten off the plane?" When the girl wearing a snow-white dress saw her companion's red eyes and neck, her mood inexplicably turned bad. With a grave expression, she slapped his head hard and said.
"Li Mingjin, why did you hit my head? Can't that Dr. Zhang fly out right away after getting off the plane? There must be a process, right?" The single-eyelid man turned around and glared at the girl fiercely as he shouted. However, he still raised the sign in his hand obediently.
The card was very big with the words' Stanford University 'and' Dr. Zhang Lisheng 'written on it. When Li Mingjin saw Zheng Tianliang raising the card according to her instruction, she chuckled and said in a whisper, "Does it hurt? I'm sorry for what I did just now.
Don't you know that Dr. Zhang from Stanford is an exchange scholar of the Ministry of Education's' 100 Famous Universities, 1,000 International Experts' visiting project? His name is even on the document of the Provincial Education Department, so the school leaders attach great importance to him.
If it wasn't for the fact that it's almost summer vacation and the exchange groups and inspection teams from various commissions, offices, and universities coming one after another, it would have been impossible for the Student Union to come and pick him up.
Didn't you see me answering all the phone calls before I came? Director Sun of the Academic Affairs Office, Dean Wu of the Graduate School, Director Zhang of the Science and Technology Department, and Director Li of the Laboratory and Equipment Management Department have all told me to do a good job in the reception. "
"No way? A visiting scholar with a hat? I can understand why the Academic Affairs Office and the Graduate School are so busy, but what does this have to do with the Science and Technology Department, Laboratory, and Equipment Management Department?" Zheng Tianliang said in astonishment.
"You don't understand, right? Didn't that Dr. Zhang just get his Ph.D. from Stanford? He has so many achievements, so if he were to carry out postdoctoral research in our Sichuan University, wouldn't it be a simple matter for the school to take the opportunity to apply for funds to add a few large scientific research equipment? Do you think this has anything to do with the Science and Technology Department and the Laboratory and Equipment Management Department?" The girl asked with a chuckle.
"This is too unreliable! This is too ridiculous!" Zheng Tianliang was stunned for a while with his small eyes wide open. "The only permanent national cooperation project of our Sichuan University that has anything to do with the word 'biology' is the 'International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Biomedical Materials', but that's for the research of medical materials and has nothing to do with traditional biology, right?"
"Isn't there still the 'International Joint Research Center for Oral Diseases'? Humans are also a kind of creature, so it's connected now, isn't it?" Li Mingjin said with a smile. "Don't be so stubborn, Zheng Tianliang. Now that more than 40 foreign worlds have been discovered in the world, and there are already three in our China alone. Those Qigong masters and people with supernatural powers are also appearing more and more. What else could be more ridiculous than this?
You must learn to adapt to society, otherwise, you'll be eliminated by society sooner or later after you graduate from university. "
Upon hearing his companion's words, the single-eyelid man was stunned for a while before a strange expression crept upon his face. "Mingjin, the supernatural powers of the foreign worlds have always existed, but it's just that ordinary people can't feel it before. It's not ridiculous at all, so how can it be compared with this strange matter of wanting to let an internationally renowned biologist study dental diseases?"
"Stop complaining, Zheng Tianliang. Our guest is still young, so he can't be said to be internationally renowned.
Can you guess what he looks like? Is he like Shelly from The Big Bang Theory, or is he like that high-energy physics genius, Dr. Du Pont, who came to Sichuan University to give a speech last time and is proficient in everything? "
"I think he should be like Du Pont, who's smart and good at studying and doesn't neglect anything. Otherwise, why would he come to be a visiting scholar during the summer vacation? He must be planning to come to the beautiful and rich Western Sichuan for a public holiday!"
"Alright, Zheng Tianliang! Don't use your playful and unmotivated heart to guess the mind of an internationally renowned young scholar.
So what if it's summer vacation? You usually don't participate in our school's summer activities, so you don't know how fulfilling the summer vacation life of contemporary college students is. There are so many summer lectures in the school, so do you think that Dr. Zhang will definitely eat plain rice and stroll around Western Sichuan just because he's here? "Li Mingjin looked at the passenger who was walking out of the outer passage and whispered.
When she was looking around, an ordinary-looking young man wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, who looked a little terrible due to jet lag, saw the paper sign from afar and strode over.
"Dr. Zhang Lisheng?" Even though his appearance was very different from what she had imagined, his age matched. Adding on to the fact that Li Mingjin had seen many young foreign teachers in the university who did not always wear a suit except for class, she asked in English tentatively.
"Yes, may I know who you are?" With a slightly pale face, the young man's eyes lit up as he answered in English with a smile. The moment he smiled, he seemed to be full of joy.
Upon hearing this, even though Li Mingjin knew that the foreigner did not care about details such as reception level, she still hurriedly explained enthusiastically, "Hello, Dr. Zhang. I'm Li Mingjin, the vice president of the Student Union of Western Sichuan University. I'm here to pick you up on behalf of Western Sichuan University.
Originally, our university leader wanted to pick you up personally, but now that it's going to be summer vacation, we're very busy with all kinds of things so we can only let the Student Union do it for us. Where's your luggage? We'll help you … "
"No need, I didn't bring anything." Zhang Lisheng shrugged and said with a smile.
He had made a lot of considerations and preparations before returning to Western Sichuan, including opening a branch of the LS Group in Chengdu. Of course, it was not to engage in the slaughtering industry but to do the business of selling ultra-high quality imported meat.
Through the introduction of some New York political and business celebrities, he had built up a friendship with some of the 'red children' in China who were running businesses in the US. The time was short, but it was not deep enough to be considered as a deep friendship. However, as long as he could talk to them, he could use it as a 'protective talisman' when necessary.
He even bought a commercial building with more than 70 floors in the center of Chengdu and transformed the top floor into a spacious temporary residence. There were special bulletproof SUVs like armored vehicles, limousines, helicopters, and everything else that was needed were readily available.
However, when everything was ready, the young man chose the most low-key method when he returned to China. In the name of Stanford, he sent an official letter to Western Sichuan University to confirm the time of his return and asked Sichuan University to send someone to pick him up. Using all the previous measures as backup measures in case of an accident, he packed lightly and sneaked back to China secretly.
"You didn't bring anything with you?" Li Mingjin's eyes widened. However, when she recalled the casual nature of the US students, she did not find it strange anymore. "In that case, why don't we go to the supermarket to buy a few sets of clothes for you, as well as toiletries such as toothpaste, toothbrush, and facial wash?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
