There was an awkward atmosphere in the air.
It was almost as if time and space were frozen.
Lawrence’s face stiffened; it was as if his smile turned into stone.
However, admirably, he still maintained his demeanor and retracted his right hand like a robot.
Time quickly passed by.
The awkward atmosphere continued to entwine around the dining table.
The silence was broken by the waiter bringing food.
Lawrence coughed and spoke unhappily.
“Can I know why? I think my proposal is quite attractive.”
“Attractive for you.” Lu Zhou said calmly, “I know there is no such thing as a free meal in the world. If I accept your investment, that means we have to give up equity. Is that correct?”
Lawrence: “Of course… Like you said, there’s no such thing as a free meal. But there is such a thing as a win-win situation! We can both become richer by working together!”
Lu Zhou: “Correct, but will Star Sky Technology be yours or mine? Will it be Chinese or American?”
“That… depends on how you define it.” Lawrence paused for a second and said, “But does it really matter who owns it? Star Sky Technology could be worth US$100 billion. You might have less equity, but your net worth will still increase.”
Lu Zhou said, “I think it matters.”
Lu Zhou spoke in a serious tone.
“For me, it is important to research whatever I want, that is the important part. That is why I founded the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study and Star Sky Technology. If you told me I can turn 100 billion into 200 billion… Why should I care?”
The atmosphere at the table was silent.
After a while, Lawrence loosened his shoulders and leaned back on his chair.
“I see… I thought we had the possibility of working together, I thought you could see the mutual benefits.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I thought you Americans like to follow rules, shouldn’t you talk to the Star Sky Technology CEO about this?”
Lawrence smiled and said, “Rules? You must not know America well at all.”
Lu Zhou: “Oh, yeah?”
“Ships that first colonized America more or less were filled with pirates, and the ‘good citizens’ only set foot on America on the premise that it would be beneficial for them. When times got hard, they would loot indigenous people and take what they wanted.
“There is a manuscript about John Adams in the Firestone Library, and it details his research on this cultural phenomenon. He understands Americans at such a deep level.
“And I call this cultural phenomenon, piracy.”
Lu Zhou looked at Lawrence’s smile and frowned.
“I’m surprised.”
“About what?”
“In Chinese history, we often use piracy as a derogatory term… In our culture, pirates are not romanticized.”
“It is equally disgraceful in our culture. Pirates were hanged, left to be eaten by crows…” Lawrence shrugged and said, “But if all you need is a boat and some men, then a lot of people would turn to sin.”
Lawrence pushed against the table and stood up.
“I just want to ask you one question. I don’t want to become your enemy, but… the world is often controlled by invisible powers.
“Just like how gravitational forces keep us on the ground, history repeats itself. Nothing can stop this, no one person, company, or even country. But if one follows the invisible power, they will be rewarded by history. Do you know what I mean?”
Lu Zhou: “No, I believe in science, not metaphysics.”
Except when I’m doing a prize draw.
Lawrence: “Okay, then… Are you really not going to think about it?”
“No need.”
“That’s unfortunate.” Lawrence sighed and said, “Maybe next time, you won’t be against small players like ExxonMobil or Tesla.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Lu Zhou gently smiled.
“We’ll see what happens.”
…
After that, Lawrence left without eating.
Even though Lawrence said he was full, Lu Zhou noticed that Lawrence didn’t eat a single bite.
But honestly, Lu Zhou thought this restaurant was pretty good, so he might come here again.
After eating his meal, Lu Zhou left the restaurant and went into his car, which was parked at the entrance.
When he got in his car, Wang Peng had just finished a phone call.
“Where are we going?”
“To Zhongshan International.”
“Okay.”
The car went on the road.
Lu Zhou was sitting in the back seat when he took out his phone.
He was about to finish the article he was reading, but the article was no longer there.
Hmm…
Was it removed?
Damn it, I forgot to save it.
Lu Zhou shook his head and opened Weibo.
He was about to interact with his fans when he suddenly got an email notification.
He saw that the email was from the International Mathematical Union.
Lu Zhou saw the email address and had a headache.
Over the past few days, he had been cogitating on whether or not he should go to the conference. He knew the email was probably the IMU asking him to upload his 60-minute report thesis online.
Lu Zhou opened the email and began to think about how he should euphemistically reject them, but he suddenly froze.
After a while, Lu Zhou looked at Wang Peng and spoke.
“Wang Peng.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to St. Petersburg in August.”
“Okay, I’ll arrange for you… Just wondering, did you make progress on Riemann’s hypothesis?”
“No… It has nothing to do with the report.”
Wang Peng: “Then?”
Lu Zhou put down his phone and spoke.
“To collect a prize.”
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