Chapter 33 Award Ceremony

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First love happens only once; it exists solely within memories.

In a lifetime, one will never again experience an age where the scent of the opposite sex quickens their heartbeat.

Zhang Yuan reflected, time truly is a terrifying assassin, even blurring the memories of first love, making all the past unpleasantness vanish, making it seem so perfect…

If they boarded the spaceship, everything on Earth would surely grow old with time.

All the memories would become more beautiful.

Just like that day, when he climbed a mountain in the sweltering heat to witness a sunset, the whole process was hot and uncomfortable. But decades later, most of the unpleasantness would be forgotten, leaving only that sun that refused to set…

"A distance of 20 light years, that's already another space-time, isn't it?"

Sighing long, Zhang Yuan walked out of the supermarket.

…

Next, at one o'clock in the afternoon, the "Galaxy Award" ceremony would take place.

Zhang Yuan arrived early at the venue, with all kinds of festive decorations making the hall especially grand.

The "Galaxy Award" was held every two years, jointly established by the Deep Space Foundation and the National Science and Technology Association, rewarding outstanding contributors in the aerospace industry, and has a history of over eighty years.

This national award, with generous prizes, awards 10 million yuan to first-prize winners, 5 million for second, and even 2 million for third prize. It is also the highest-paying science-related award in the country, with live broadcast coverage by major media.

In short, the organizers had "wealthy and bold" written all over their faces.

"Obviously they're going to be broke in the future, still handing out bonuses like this…"

Regarding this, Zhang Yuan couldn't help but ridicule in his mind.

But there was no choice; those who made outstanding contributions should be rewarded. No matter how poor, scientists shouldn't be deprived.

It was still early, and the ceremony hadn't officially started. Zhang Yuan already saw many old friends, including Professor Wang Zhong, Xu Yunjing, Wang Lili, and some of his father's former colleagues, all casting friendly glances his way.

"Nervous?"

"Just fine, after all, I'm just a substitute to collect the award..."

Professor Wang smiled and said, "One day, you should rely on your own strength to stand on such a stage."

Zhang Yuan nodded, feeling moved, "Professor Wang, I've written a paper recently, could you have a look at it?"

Professor Wang Zhong, hearing that Zhang Yuan had really written a paper, felt quite pleased, "Oh? What's the title? If it's nonsense, I will criticize you. Research papers are not undergraduate theses; if they're not published, they are practically useless..."

Zhang Yuan hurriedly replied, "Definitely no nonsense! The title is 'Kinematic Analysis of High-Degree-of-Freedom Robots Based on Geometric Group Theory and Topology.' I'll send it to your email."

"Geometric Group Theory? Okay, I'll help you take a look after I get back." Professor Wang glanced over the title, "But I'm not very proficient in robotics knowledge, I can only help see if there's any logical error in the mathematical reasoning. If it's good, I'll forward it to other professors for further review."

Zhang Yuan said happily, "Thank you, Professor Wang!"

Reviewing papers is an exhausting task, requiring effort yet offering no authorship credit. Only professors with good relationships are willing to help this way.

Without a professor's recommendation, the chances of getting published are greatly reduced. Professional reviewers rarely want to look at unknown works. Seeing that it's a submission by an undergraduate without notable endorsements, they might just pass on it.

After all, there are many amateur scientists worldwide who claim to have invented "Perpetual Motion Machines" or proved the "Goldbach Conjecture" every day. If all nonsensical papers were read, there'd be no time to do anything else.

Zhang Yuan, after all, was writing this kind of proper long paper for the first time. Having Professor Wang oversee it, those unqualified details could be amended.

Shortly after, Xu Yunjing quietly walked over, tapped Zhang Yuan on the shoulder.

Seeing his casual wear, she was quite displeased, "Why are you dressed like this? No, no, you need to change clothes quickly."

Zhang Yuan was puzzled, "How should I dress then?"

"I told you to be a bit formal!"

"I don't have such clothes; I never wear that kind of..."

"Wang Lili, hurry and lend him your boyfriend's suit!"

"Oh, okay." Wang Lili darted out of the venue.

After a dozen minutes, she returned, panting, telling Zhang Yuan, "Quickly put it on, put it on!"

Changing clothes, especially someone else's, was giving Zhang Yuan a headache.

"Senior sister, if you keep tugging at me like this, your boyfriend will get jealous."

Wang Lili giggled, "Jealous of my little junior? That would be too petty... You're about to ascend; would he still be jealous of you?"

"Quickly now, I'm a volunteer and must handle the entire venue's work! If I get scolded afterwards, you'll be responsible!"

"How should I take responsibility, by marrying you?"

Wang Lili stared at him, "Such boldness, daring to flirt with senior now? If you're willing to stay, I might consider it…"

"Absolutely not!"

With no choice, Zhang Yuan had to go to the restroom to change into the suit.

Clothes make the man; Buddha relies on gold decoration, after changing, he felt like a different person.

"Unexpectedly, looking quite handsome… If my boyfriend sees this, he might really get jealous." Wang Lili chuckled.

A group of volunteer girls also gathered around, chattering and watching the "first-prize winner," making Zhang Yuan blush slightly.

Sisters, the winner is not me...

"Alright, the meeting is about to start, just sit here and wait. When you hear your name, go up to receive the award. Have you planned what to say? You don't need to say much, three thank-yous, two to three minutes, the reporters won't trouble you."

Zhang Yuan nodded.

A burst of music began, and everyone standing returned to their places.

The speeches by various leaders were followed by some cultural performances. The whole process was boring and almost put Zhang Yuan to sleep.

But for those interested, it was a good opportunity for socializing.

After all, the "Galaxy Award" is a major national award, and those attending the ceremony were big shots from various fields, including leaders, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, academic elites, and so on.

Some students were just there to join in the fun, or perhaps they were extras sent by the student union.

Some students wished to be remembered here. With so many big shots, perhaps in the future, just by being recognized, they could gain an opportunity?

Others from within the industry were exchanging insights on industry trends, using all sorts of professional jargon that left listeners in the clouds.

…

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