892 Returning to Home

The doorbell began to ring.

Lu Zhou heard the footsteps get closer, and the door was soon slammed open.

When Fang Mei looked at Lu Zhou’s familiar face, her eyes were filled with tears of excitement and joy.

“Son! You’re finally back!”

“Mom!” Lu Zhou gave his mother a hug and saw his father walk to the front door. Lu Zhou took a deep breath and spoke with a slightly trembling voice, “Dad, I’m back!”

When was the last time I was here?

It was either three or four years ago; Lu Zhou couldn’t remember.

Lu Bangguo looked at his son and said, “Fantastic, how was the drive? Come, sit down… This is?”

Lu Zhou moved half a step to the side and said, “He’s w.a.n.g Peng, my driver. You guys have met before.”

“Oh, oh, yeah, I remember. d.a.m.n, my memory is getting worse day by day…” Lu Bangguo smiled and said, “Come on in, guys.”

The two walked into the living room as Lu Bangguo politely brought over a cup and teapot.

If it were just his son, he wouldn’t be this polite. However, he had a guest in his house. Even though w.a.n.g Peng repeatedly said to pretend like he didn’t exist, Lu Bangguo just couldn’t leave him alone.

“So much has changed…”

Lu Zhou took a sip of the tea and looked at the renovated house.

The TV was replaced with a 48-inch flat-screen TV, and the clock on the wall had been changed.

Lu Zhou even saw some garlic and chive plants sitting on the window ledge.

Almost everything he remembered had changed.

The only thing that didn’t change was the familiar smell of home.

Fang Mei smiled and said, “You and your sister aren’t around, so dad and I decided to renovate the house. Most of the pieces of furniture are new, but I didn’t touch your and your sister’s rooms.”

“Oh, really?” Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Perfect, I was planning on seeing what my old room looked like.”

Lu Bangguo looked at w.a.n.g Peng, who sat solemnly on the sofa. He smiled and said, “w.a.n.g Peng, how about you stay for dinner? I’ll go buy a fish from the market.”

“No, no.” w.a.n.g Peng politely waved his hands and said, “I have some work to do, I won’t disturb your family reunion.”

Lu Zhou asked, “Work to do?”

w.a.n.g Peng coughed and said, “I have some forms to fill… and other things.”

Without asking about the specifics, Lu Zhou nodded.

“Okay then, I’ll send you out.”

w.a.n.g Peng was walking out of the house when he rubbed his eyes.

Lu Zhou noticed his movements. He paused for a second and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” w.a.n.g Peng shook his head and said, “Just… a little sad. You have sacrificed so much for this country, for science.”

w.a.n.g Peng’s voice suddenly began to choke up.

Lu Zhou didn’t know what to say.

“…”

Actually he wanted to tell w.a.n.g Peng that he was happy with himself, but seeing how emotional w.a.n.g Peng was, he decided to keep quiet.

It’s fine, I’ll just leave him to be.

Lu Zhou changed the subject and said, “Are you looking for a place to stay? I’ll reimburse the accommodation…”

w.a.n.g Peng: “No need, I’ll live in a hostel nearby.”

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “No, don’t do that. It’s fine, it barely costs anything anyway. It’s better for you to get some rest, and I’ll also feel safer with you behind the wheel.”

w.a.n.g Peng coughed and said, “I think you have the wrong idea… The conditions there are pretty nice, and they give us three meals a day, so don’t worry about it.”

Most importantly, because of his military background, he wasn’t used to fancy hotels. He would much rather live in a safer, more secure place…

Lu Zhou didn’t try to persuade him otherwise. They said goodbye and went their separate ways.

…

After Lu Zhou watched the black sedan disappear from his driveway, he turned around and went back into his house.

His mom already started to cook lunch, while his dad was out buying groceries. Even though he wanted to help his mom cook, his mom told him not to.

Lu Zhou was bored out of his mind, so he took his computer bag and went into his room.

Even though he told himself he wasn’t going to work over the holidays, there really was nothing else to do.

He wasn’t the type of person to chill out and do nothing.

Lu Zhou took out his computer and placed it on his worn-out but clean desk. He looked around and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

Just like his mom said, nothing had changed.

Everything was exactly the same as he left it. The only difference was that the spotless surfaces were obviously frequently cleaned.

Lu Zhou picked up the photo frame on the corner of the desk.

Inside was a photo of his high school graduation.

Pictured were his best friends, his teachers, girls that he had a crush on, girls that crushed on him… And of course, himself.

He looked at his younger self in the photo and smirked.

Back then, he was clueless and naive, but that feeling of carefree happiness was rather unforgettable.

Everyone lost something in the pursuit of success.

After reminiscing for a while, Lu Zhou put the photo aside and focused his attention on his laptop.

“I’ll finish this before lunch.”

Lu Zhou began to type on the keyboard.

[Recommendations and Improvements on the Jiangcheng Carbon-Based Semiconductor Industrial Park (first draft)]

After typing down the t.i.tle, Lu Zhou began tapping his index finger on the table. After gathering his thoughts on the carbon-based semiconductor industrial park, he began writing.

The time quickly ticked by, and five pages were soon filled with words.

After Lu Zhou double checked for any mistakes, he opened his email and sent a copy to Chen Yushan as well as the State Administration for National Defense. Finally, he leaned back on his chair and sighed in relief.

“That should do that job.”

He was about to turn off his computer and leave his room when he suddenly received an email.

Lu Zhou didn’t recognize the sender’s email address.

Paul Robin Krugman… from Princeton’s economics department?

Lu Zhou stared at this name for a while as he frowned.

Emmmm…

Who is this?