Chapter 59

It was already very late when she returned to the hotel that night, but Shuangyun insisted on going back.
She was very afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself, would pull her relationship with Cheng Lang back to how it was before. She was afraid she couldn't figure out if she loved Cheng Lang's body more, or Cheng Lang the person.
The next morning, Shuangyun received a message from Cheng Lang.
His colleague James, who'd co-authored that article, had recently received an honorary professorship and invited them to a dinner at his home that evening.
Cheng Lang hadn't originally planned to go, because Shuangyun was here. So when he'd received this message a week ago, he'd declined. But last night, Shuangyun's interest in his paper gave Cheng Lang a new idea.
She'd said she felt the work in Sydney was very boring—repetitive, monotonous. She somewhat didn't want to do it anymore.
Cheng Lang thought, this might be his last chance.
In the afternoon, the two went together to buy some wine and gifts. Around five in the evening, Shuangyun followed Cheng Lang to James's home. The professor was already quite old, but in good spirits. He and his wife welcomed Shuangyun at the door.
They naturally also asked who this was to Landon?
Cheng Lang naturally said she was a friend from Australia.
Entering the professor's home, there were already some people inside. Cheng Lang introduced them to Shuangyun one by one. Almost all were Cheng Lang's colleagues and students from the same group. Everyone had come together to celebrate the professor.
The dining table had many foods everyone had brought. Shuangyun also put the cheesecake they'd brought on it.
She got a bottle of drink and followed Cheng Lang chatting with his colleagues.
Everyone asked about Shuangyun, also asked what she did.
Shuangyun talked about what she'd done during her PhD. Immediately several people said they also did this.
Shuangyun became interested and asked what specific direction they worked in.
Almost everyone here was in the same field. Even if not exactly the same direction as Shuangyun's research, everyone was still in the same area. So discussing had no barriers.
And Shuangyun quickly realized how different her research in Australia was from here.
Life studying in Australia had almost no pressure. There were no hard requirements for how many articles to publish to graduate. Colleagues weren't so competitive. She worked very short hours daily and could still complete her studies smoothly. After communicating with people here, Shuangyun discovered how different the US was.
Everyone had already published many articles in top journals. During their PhDs, they frequently attended conferences to increase opportunities for exchange and collaboration. Everyone had clear plans for their research paths. The research topics were also types Shuangyun found very challenging.
When people had arrived, James picked up a wine glass and lightly tapped it with a fork, welcoming everyone.
He was a very humorous old man, recounting his decades of work experience. Graduated from the Netherlands, then went to teach in the UK, finally came to the US and worked for ten years, receiving an honorary professorship. He had very high recognition and honor for his work. His words had no condescending authority or preaching, but sincerely expressed his love for this thing.
Cheng Lang listened very seriously. Shuangyun couldn't help but look at him.
Many years later, would he also become someone like this? Yes, Shuangyun was certain of this.
After a few minutes of speaking, everyone began sharing the food on the table. Shuangyun held a plate and continued chatting with the friends she'd just met.
The atmosphere here was very good. Everyone was especially friendly and enthusiastic.
Someone had brought their little kids. The TV in the living room was playing K-pop girl group music.
They were discussing Cheng Lang's article, also discussing experiments they were going to do next. Shuangyun listened somewhat entranced. They had such clear goals for doing something. Something that required time and energy and might not get equal returns, but also because it was hard to climb made success more attractive.
And Shuangyun's heart also rose with uncontrollable competitiveness. She felt if she did it, she would do it better than them. But she'd stopped here. She no longer did things that would give her a sense of meaning. She was doing simple, repetitive work.
The two people next to her quickly began discussing experimental plans that might succeed. Shuangyun also helped suggest ideas from the side. Her angle was very novel, her thinking very clear.
One of them said: "You should come do a postdoc in our group."
The other also agreed: "Yeah, James has been looking for a postdoc recently."
Shuangyun's heartbeat paused. She said: "Really?"
"Yeah, what's your email? I'll forward the email to you later."
Cheng Lang was talking with James not far away. Shuangyun pulled away from the conversation beside her to look at him.
He leaned against the dining table, head lowered thinking about something.
But suddenly turned his head and looked at her.
Shuangyun averted her gaze.
The topic beside her had already shifted from research to gossip.
That person asked Shuangyun: "You're from Australia?"