Chapter 33

First love only happened once, and it would always stay in one’s memory.

Throughout one’s lifetime, one would not get to re-experience the age where they would feel excited just from the scent of the opposite sex.

Zhang Yuan lamented. Time was a terrifying killer that could even cause the memories of one’s first love to turn blurry. It had also erased all those unpleasant moments and made it seem like the relationship had been perfect…

After they boarded the spaceship, the memories they have on Earth would also slowly turn blurry with the passage of time.

Ultimately, all these moments would turn into beautiful memories.

One example would be that day when he climbed a mountain on a scorching hot day. The entire process to watch that sunset was extremely hot and uncomfortable, but in a few dozens of years, the majority of that unpleasant memory would gradually be forgotten. What remained would only be that red sun that refuses to disappear after a long time.

“It’s a distance of 20 light-years for goodness sake. That would belong to another time-space, right?”

After releasing a long sigh, Zhang Yuan walked out of the supermarket.

…

The Galaxy Award ceremony would be happening at one o’clock in the afternoon.

Zhang Yuan arrived at the venue in advance. All sorts of various decorations had made the hall appear extremely grand.

The Galaxy Award ceremony was held once every two years, and it was jointly organized by the Deep Space Foundation and the National Science and Technology Association. The award recipients were all outstanding contributors to the aerospace industry, and this ceremony had been in place for more than 80 years.

The prize money given out for this national award was pretty generous. The first prize recipient would receive prize money of 10 million yuan, the second prize at 5 million, even the third prize recipient would receive 2 million. It was the highest-tier Science and Technology Award one could locally receive, and it would be broadcasted live by various major media.

In summary, the organizers had basically written these few words on their faces: Rich and Powerful.

“It’s obvious that they’ll be broke in the future but they are still giving out prize money like that…”

Zhang Yuan continuously mocked their decision deep down.

But they had no choice but to be so grand. For those who had made outstanding contributions, they must be rewarded accordingly so no matter how poor they were, they could not treat scientists shabbily.

Even though it was still early and the ceremony had yet to officially start, Zhang Yuan had already seen several old acquaintances, including Professor Wang, Xu Yunjing, Wang Lili, and etcetera. There were also some former colleagues of his father, and all of them gave him a kind look.

“Nervous?”

“It’s still manageable. After all, I’m just receiving the award on my father’s behalf…”

Professor Wang said with a smile, “One day, you should rely on your own abilities to walk on such a stage.”

Zhang Yuan nodded and a sudden thought came to his mind. “Professor Wang, I’ve just finished writing a thesis. Could I bother you to help me look through it?”

Professor Wang was in a good mood when he heard that Zhang Yuan had written a thesis. “Oh? What’s the title of it? If you had casually written it, I will criticize you regardless of any relations between us. A scientific research thesis is different from an undergraduate’s graduation paper. It is basically useless if it cannot be published.”

Zhang Yuan hastily added on, “I definitely did not write it on a whim! The title is . I’ll send it to your mailbox.”

Professor Wang glanced at the title and said, “Group Theory? Alright, I’ll look through it when I return. However, I’m not exactly proficient in robotics so I can only help look through if there are any logical errors in mathematical reasoning. If it’s good, I’ll help you forward it to other professors.”

Zhang Yuan said happily, “Thank you, Professor Wang!”

Peer review was a very tiring task and it required tons of effort, and yet it did not provide the reviewer any benefits. Only professors who were on closer terms would be willing to help.

If no professor were willing to recommend the thesis, then the probability of publishing it would be greatly reduced. Professional reviewers were rarely willing to review papers that were from unknown sources. The moment they noticed that it was a paper from an undergraduate with no recommendation, they would most likely just give it a sideward glance.

After all, many people claimed to have invented the perpetual motion machine and proved the Goldbach conjecture. If they were to look through all the nonsensical articles, they would not have time for anything else.

In any case, it was Zhang Yuan’s first attempt at such a serious and long-winded thesis, and hopefully, with Professor Wang’s help, those incorrect and redundant details could mostly be removed.

After which, Xu Yunjing quietly made her way there and patted Zhang Yuan’s shoulders.

When she saw his plain attire, she said in dissatisfaction, “How could you dress like this? This won’t do, hurry and change to another set of clothes.”

Zhang Yuan asked curiously. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“Haven’t I told you that you need to be dressed formally!”

“I don’t have any formal clothing. I have never worn that type of…’

“Wang Lili, hurry and loan your boyfriend’s suit!”

“Oh, alright.” Wang Lili immediately dashed out of the venue.

Ten minutes later, Wang Lili returned while gasping for breath and said to Zhang Yuan, “Quick, change into this set of clothes!”

Zhang Yuan found it a headache to change clothes, especially when it was someone else’s clothes.

“Senior, if you grab me in such a familiar way, your boyfriend will get jealous.”

Wang Lili giggled and said, “Jealous of a junior? That would be too petty-minded of him… You are about to fly away so why would he be jealous of you?”

“Anyway, hurry and get changed. I’m a volunteer and I need to do a good job at this ceremony. If I were to get reprimanded afterward, you’ll have to be responsible for it!”

“How should I take responsibility? By promising myself to you?”

Wang Lili could only stare at him as she said, “Wow, you’re really gutsy. You even dare to tease your senior now? If you are willing to remain on Earth, perhaps I can consider…”

“That’s obviously impossible!” Zhang Yuan retorted.

Without a choice, Zhang Yuan could only head towards the restroom to change his clothes.

Apparel maketh man. After he changed his clothes, his entire aura seemed to be completely changed.

“Unexpectedly, you look handsome… If my boyfriend were to see you now, perhaps he might get jealous.” Wang Lili chuckled.

Another group of female volunteers joined the group to chat as they encircled the ‘the first prize recipient’. They were so noisy to the extent Zhang Yuan slightly blushed.

‘Dear ladies, I’m not the recipient, I’m only a substitute…’

“That’s enough, the ceremony is about to start. Zhang Yuan, you can just sit here and go up the stage when you hear your name. I believe you’ve thought about what to say. In fact, there’s no need to say too much. Just give your thanks for two to three minutes and the reporters would not make things difficult for you.”

Zhang Yuan nodded his head in response.

When a melody sounded, all those who were standing returned to their seats in succession.

The first event was the speeches from various leaders, followed by some performances. The whole event was extremely boring to the extent Zhang Yuan had a strong urge to fall asleep.

But for some other people, it was a good opportunity to network.

After all, the Galaxy award was a huge local award and those that could attend were leaders from all walks of life, including various leaders, CEOs of the world’s top 500, renowned people from the academic circles, and so on.

There were only some students who came to join in the fun and some crowd actors that were assigned here by the student union.

Besides, some students also had the intention to make their faces known in the circle. There were numerous powerful people here and perhaps being a ‘familiar face’ could win them an opportunity in the future?

Some industry leaders were exchanging their insight on the industry trends. All sorts of professional terms were exchanged, causing ill-informed listeners to be rather confused.

…