Chapter 36 Crosstalk
Crosstalk: The phenomenon where two closely spaced wires "interfere with each other".
Every once in a while, the institute would routinely go on “academic begging”. On this sunny summer day, the dean took Fu Yanping, and Fu Yanping took several young teachers in the group to meet with several leaders of the Science and Technology Bureau of the Municipal Government. There are only two values of Meng Chu's appearance in such meetings. One is to make up the number of people. It would not look good if there were not enough people when the leader is giving a speech. The other is to highlight the school's efforts to attract talents - "This is a Sanqing doctor we recruited last year."
Meng Chu tried to smile more brightly and kept his muscles relaxed and natural when shaking hands.
The leader would give some official praise, and Meng Chu would nod, thank, and decline three times in a row, but what he really wanted to say was: When will the housing purchase subsidy be implemented?
After listening to the teachings, they set off for the company. Typically, executives have engineers who understand the technology show them around the showroom and explain the products and the difficulties involved in production.
Then the professors need to rack their brains to think about how to link their own research with the other party.
After all, not every corporate communication can lead to cooperation opportunities, so many times, this kind of activity is painful and ineffective social interaction.
Meng Chu stood outside the exhibition hall, hoping that this pain would produce money.
"Teachers, I'm sorry for the long wait."
Meng Chu suddenly raised his head.
It's over. This interview hit rock bottom right from the start.
"My name is Wei Qian, and I'm an engineer in Changwei's R&D department."
Meng Chu glanced at the other person, then quickly looked at the sculpture in front of the door, as if he was very interested in the spout of the kettle.
Unfortunately, it was too late, and the other person's eyes met his.
Wei Qian was stunned for a moment, obviously recognizing him, but then he smiled again and began to shake hands with the professors one by one.
When it was Meng Chu's turn, there was no more or less courtesy, as if they were not high school classmates and did not have any extremely embarrassing past.
Meng Chu followed Wei Qian into the exhibition hall, desperately wishing he had an invisibility cloak. Where was it when he needed bionics to save his life?
He listened to the entire presentation with the desire to curl up in the cracks of the bricks.
The corporate exchange ended and it was lunch time. The teachers had driven here by themselves and got on the bus one after another to go back to school. Meng Chu fell at the end of the team. The cars drove away into the distance, but he was still hesitating.
Finally, he made up his mind and called today's tour guide: "Mr. Wei, can you talk to me?"
Wei Qian was stunned for a moment and let out a long sigh. "Great," he said. "I was just thinking of how to start that conversation."
"Regarding what you just said, using biosensors to dynamically adjust output parameters, I have done research in this area," Meng Chu said quickly, fearing that he would lose his courage if he delayed any further. "I can provide you with a solution..."
"Let's eat and talk at the same time." Wei Qian said.
The words that Meng Chu had prepared were sealed: "Ah?"
Wei Qian glanced at his watch and said, "Isn't it time for dinner? I'll treat you, let's just treat it as a gathering of old classmates."
Meng Chu paused for a moment because of this, and said, "Let's just find a meeting room in the company to talk."
Wei Qian smiled bitterly, as if he had noticed his distant tone: "I'm sorry."
Meng Chu tried to use the "I don't understand" expression, but the other party didn't give him the chance.
"When I was in high school... I did something really bad. It's embarrassing to think about it now, so I didn't dare to contact you." Wei Qian lowered his head and said again, "I'm sorry."
That was indeed one of the most embarrassing moments in Meng Chu's life. Until now, he still dares not recall that memory. However, more importantly, he is about to recruit new students. Firstly, he needs money to support his team members, and secondly, he needs to have projects to embellish his resume so that he can recruit the best ones.
It's good to have a little guilt. If he can turn the guilt into funds, then his embarrassing behavior back then will not be in vain.
"Hmm..." Meng Chu bit the inside of his lip and tried to smile with relief, "It's okay, it's all over."
Wei Qian found it a little unbelievable. Is it so easy to turn the page?
"Back in high school, everyone was immature in their relationships, which is understandable," Meng Chu said, "Let's find a quiet place and talk about the project..."
"I'll have to treat you to a meal," he said, "as an apology."
"No, it's about the project..."
"Let's have a good chat while we eat, okay?"
Meng Chu struggled for a while in embarrassment. "I have a dinner appointment," he said.
"Then we can do it another day," Wei Qian asked, "When are you free? I'll cooperate with you."
Meng Chu opened his mouth and closed it again. "Why not today? Wait for me for a moment and I'll send a message."
"OK."
Wei Qian saw him lower his head and swipe across the screen, then paused.
"What's wrong?"
"You said you wanted to invite me," he asked, "Can I bring my family?"
When Fu Guanshan walked into the box, Meng Chu tried hard to hold back from laughing.
As if afraid that others would not recognize him, he took off his sunglasses as soon as he entered the door and casually - but in fact after practicing thousands of times - hung them on his collar.
His hair was disheveled. If it were in the past, Meng Chu would have thought that this was how he naturally looked when he went out. Now, Meng Chu has a deep understanding of how much skill and time are required to create this seemingly undecorated hairstyle.
When looking back at Fu Guanshan's works, he often wondered why the Creator would be so partial to one person. Even without cosmetic modification, there was still no flaw under the high-definition 4K lens.
Fu Guanshan laughed for three minutes when he heard his praise: "Who said I don't wear makeup when I'm filming?"
“That’s what everyone on the Internet says.”
“Do you believe what marketing accounts say?” Fu Guanshan said, “Also, just because the picture quality is clear doesn’t mean there are no filters. Our director just has good aesthetic taste.”
Meng Chu learned something new. It turned out that there were so many tricks in the entertainment industry. It seemed that his cultivation was not deep enough, but... "I thought you thought you were handsome enough and didn't need makeup."
Fu Guanshan touched his face and sighed, "Yes, but putting on makeup can break the boundaries of handsomeness."
Meng Chu admired his friend's research spirit on appearance very much. As a star, paying attention to your appearance at all times is also a form of professionalism.
For example, now.
Although judging by the shirt that outlines his muscles, he seems a bit too dedicated.
Fu Guanshan walked slowly to Meng Chu's side, showed off his exquisite attire, and after making sure that his perfect appearance was fully appreciated by everyone present, he sat down.
The moment he saw Fu Guanshan, Wei Qian was really shocked. After Fu Guanshan had gotten over the shock, he said to Meng Chu, "Your husband is so handsome, he looks like a star."
Meng Chu thought he heard the sound of something breaking.
"He's a star," Meng Chu added background information for his partner, "and there's a movie coming out right now."
"Really? Sorry, I studied abroad before, so I didn't pay much attention to the domestic film and television industry," Wei Qian exclaimed, "This is the first time I've met an actor. Mr. Fu, I toast to you."
Because it was noon, they drank beverages. Fu Guanshan drank it all in one gulp coldly, feeling that the orange juice was too sour.
"You settled down early in our class," Wei Qian turned to Meng Chu, "Besides you, only He Meng got married. Do you still remember her?"
Meng Chu nodded: "Physics class representative."
"She is doing research on lithography machines."
"This direction is very good and is in line with the national strategy of the past two years."
"Yes, when she first joined, she wanted to work in a state-owned enterprise because it was relatively stable. But as soon as she joined, there was a reorganization and the business was acquired by a private enterprise. I heard that she is very busy now, but her salary has not increased," Wei Qian said. "And Huang Zhipeng, after graduating with a doctorate, went to a digital institute, but has now resigned."
"So you stayed for more than half a year," Meng Chu asked, "Why?"
"We recruited him to create an information system for the company. After he joined, he found out that he was the only one doing this job, and he had to build it from scratch without even a template. He fumbled around for a few months and couldn't stand it anymore," Wei Qian said. "Oh, and there's Zhou Yi, who joined C University last year and is also leaving the company recently."
“Why would you quit if you can get into a 985 university?”
"That's it..." Wei Qian gestured, "The bureaucracy is too serious. Anyway, I suffered a setback and decided to return to my alma mater to study for a postdoctoral degree."
Meng Chu seldom contacts his classmates, and he hasn’t even added most of them on WeChat. He can only find out how they are doing from old friends with a wider social circle.
Hearing about the recent situation, I felt sad but also a little bit of hope.
Everyone's life is very hard. Compared with them, my situation is not that bad. At least I still have a job.
"What about you?" Wei Qian asked, "I've always thought you're suited to academic work. Have you already had a thousand citations?"
Meng Chu smiled and said, "It's mainly because of my senior brother's help. The second article I helped him with has the most citations."
“That’s pretty impressive too.”
They were chatting about their classmates' recent situations and their respective researches. The food was almost cold when Meng Chu realized something.
Since he sat down, Fu Guanshan hasn't said a word.
The horror of this incident is comparable to the Night King leading the army of white walkers across the Wall.
He asked Fu Guanshan how the food in this restaurant was, and then noticed that he hadn't even started eating.
"Wait a minute," Fu Guanshan said, "I'm still checking the plane."
Damn it, he has memorized so many terms, how come there are still questions that are beyond the syllabus? !
These two people speak too fast! There is no time to check!
Also, why are we talking about traction again? Meng Chu’s car was newly bought, so how could it have a flat tire? Is the quality so bad?
"No need to check, I'll explain it to you later," Meng Chu handed him the chopsticks, "Eat first."
"By the way, Mr. Fu," Wei Qian also noticed his silence and felt that he had not fulfilled his duties as a host. "How did you and Meng Chu know each other? Do you have anyone in the entertainment industry who you can collaborate with?"
Fu Guanshan really didn't want to pay attention to him, but after all, he was Meng Chu's partner, so he still put on an official smile and said concisely: "My aunt is his big boss, and she introduced us."
When Meng Chu heard the word "horizontally", nothing else came to his mind, and he interrupted reflexively: "Yes, that's it. By the way, that project..."
"Don't worry, we are all old classmates, and we will definitely help if we can."
Meng Chu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to thank him when Wei Qian continued, "By the way, our director and Vice President Zhou both like skiing, and we often go to the indoor ski resort in the eastern suburbs. Are you free to come this weekend? You can introduce it to them in person then."
Meng Chu stared at him for a long time without saying anything, and Fu Guanshan suddenly interrupted.
"Okay," he said.
The other two turned and stared at him.
"I like skiing," Fu Guanshan said, "I'll go too."
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