In fact, strictly speaking, Lu Zhou's research direction wasn't regarding the transcendental values of the Riemann zeta function at odd positive integers. The Riemann hypothesis had little to do with transcendental numbers.
However, having said that, things in mathematics were often linked in unexpected ways.
Lu Zhou didn't expect Han Mengqi's research to be useful for him.
She was assigned to conduct research in this area because his research was regarding the Riemann zeta function. If she ever ran into any trouble, he could easily help her.
As for the other less important reason, it was because he hoped he could be inspired while guiding her.
After Lu Zhou assigned the research project, he and Han Mengqi talked about some housekeeping matters. Matters related to compensation and expectations.
Even though this chick's family was loaded, he still had to go through the normal procedures.