Chapter 99 Chapter 99

Time flies and it is the day of the exchange meeting.

The exchange meeting was held for two consecutive days, and Ruan Shiqing's speech was scheduled for the second day. However, he was very curious about the exchange meeting, so he went to the first day as well.

He packed up his documents, took the invitation letter, and sent a text message to Mr. Hawthorne, who lived across the street, asking if he was ready to go out.

It has been nearly a month since I checked into the hotel. I see Mr. Hawthorne, who lives next door, every now and then. After several chance encounters and conversations, Ruan Shiqing exchanged contact numbers with him.

The other party quickly replied to the message, saying that he was ready and could go out at any time.

Ruan Shiqing packed up his things and prepared to go out.

It was naturally inconvenient to bring the cubs to this exchange meeting, so Ruan Shiqing comforted the cubs with their eyes wide open before leaving with resolute determination.

In the corridor, Garland was already waiting.

Looking at the little dragon peeking out from the crack in the door, he couldn't help but laugh: "It's not easy for Mr. Ruan to go out alone."

Ruan Shiqing turned his head and saw a little head sticking out from the crack in the door.

"The exchange meeting will end at 4:30. When I come back, I will take you to dinner." Ruan Shiqing looked helpless.

The kids who were left in the hotel said "oh" reluctantly, but still waved goodbye to him obediently.

Garland glanced at the cub who was reluctant to leave, and walked side by side with him towards the elevator, saying calmly: "Mr. Ruan has taught the cub very well. As far as I know, whether it is the dragon clan, the nine-tailed fox clan or the mermaid clan, the cubs' tempers are not good. It is rare to find such a well-behaved cub like yours."

He wasn't exaggerating.

The cubs of the four ancient tribes are more noble than others since birth. They are raised with pampering by the tribe, so their tempers are naturally worse. Sometimes, even if you can't see anything on the surface, you will definitely be arrogant in your heart.

But the pups that Ruan Shiqing raised are all well-behaved, sensible and considerate. Although they can act coquettishly and mischievously, they never cross the line and are very well educated.

Ruan Shiqing smiled: "They suffered a lot when they were young, so they are naturally more sensible than other cubs."

Thinking back to the past, Ruan Shiqing also felt a little emotional. Except for the little dragon cub that accidentally broke its shell at home, the other cubs had suffered a lot outside. When they first came home, they were also very cautious. After a long time, they gradually let go and learned to act coquettishly.

Garland showed a curious and surprised expression at the right time: "The cubs of the four ancient tribes are all precious, how could they suffer?"

"I adopted them all when they were wandering outside." Ruan Shiqing mentioned briefly but didn't say much more.

Garland observed his expression and stopped asking questions. He just continued to chat with him about other topics with a smile.

The two arrived at the venue on time and entered the venue after checking the invitation letter.

The venue is divided into two areas. One side is where academic conferences are held. Ruan Shiqing will give a speech here tomorrow. The other side is a lounge area for scholars to chat and rest. It is furnished with comfortable sofas, drinks, and the latest scientific and technological information.

When the two entered the rest area, there were already many scholars there, chatting in groups of three or four, and the atmosphere was very lively. The formal meeting was not to begin until 11 a.m., so the two found a seat and sat down, and heard the scholars next to them talking about antimatter.

The debates among scholars in reality seem to be no different from those on the holographic network.

Most people are skeptical about the existence and application of antimatter. Some extreme people even directly deny the existence of antimatter, believing that the author of the paper is just trying to attract attention and gain fame.

"According to what I have heard, the author seems to be quite young, less than 20 years old." The man who spoke was a middle-aged man, and his companion called him Harrison. He was short and fat, and his eyes were squinted by the fat on his face, making him look a little too slick and shrewd.

"Antimatter has been around for years. If it existed, it would have been discovered long ago. How could a young man like this be the one to discover it?" Harrison rolled his eyes in disdain. "Young mechanics nowadays are becoming less and less impetuous. They can't settle down to do research properly. They just want to make some fancy things to gain fame all day long."

Another person echoed, "I also heard some news. It is said that the association invited him this time to take his name and expand the influence of the exchange meeting. Regardless of whether this paper is true or false, at least through his name, a lot of talented people who did not participate in the exchange meeting in the past were attracted, which is finally of some use to the association."

"He is also very courageous. There are many hidden talents in the exchange meeting. If he really dares to show up tomorrow, I am afraid he will not be able to get off the stage."

When the others heard this, they all burst into laughter, as if they had already expected that the author would make a fool of himself.

Garland listened to all of this and looked at the other person's expression vaguely.

Ruan Shiqing held a glass of cocktail and listened calmly, without any anger on his face, as if he was not the one being laughed at.

If he had not known in advance that the other party was the author of the antimatter paper that caused a sensation, he would probably have been deceived by him.

Garland looked at him in a different light because he was able to remain calm despite being insulted at such a young age.

After sitting for a while, Ruan Shiqing received a call from Dai Si, asking him whether he had arrived at the venue.

"Mr. Hawthorne, another friend of mine is here too. I'll go pick him up. Please sit for a while." Ruan Shiqing put down his wine glass and said to Garland.

Garland nodded, and saw him striding towards the entrance of the venue.

A moment later, the other party led a young man with golden curly hair over. When Garland saw him, he raised his eyebrows.

"Mr. Hawthorne, this is my friend, Dai Si." Ruan Shiqing introduced the two people separately: "This is my new friend, Hawthorne."

"Master Ruan's friend must also be a master." Dai Si excitedly shook Garland's hand. His smile looked simple and straightforward, just like those ordinary mechanics who met the mechanical master.

But Garland knew that his mentor was Clay Gore, professor emeritus of Sikkim University and former president of the Machinists Association.

He had dealt with Clay Gore several times and naturally met Dice. He was Clay Gore's favorite disciple and he personally led almost all projects, no matter how big or small. Some people even suspected that Dice was Clay's illegitimate son.

I didn't expect that Ruan Shiqing was actually friends with Dai Si.

Hawthorne, who came from a distant planet, certainly had no way of knowing Dais, so Garland just maintained his own persona, greeted Dais, and sat down again.

On the contrary, Harrison and others who had been talking loudly before, their eyes lit up when they saw Dais, and they enthusiastically surrounded him with glasses of wine.

"Mr. Dice, I didn't expect you to come." Harrison glanced at him with his shrewd eyes and realized that he came alone. He said in a familiar tone, "It's been a long time since we last met. Say hello to Mr. Clay for me."

Dai Si frowned and looked at him, puzzled: "You are...? I don't think I have seen you at the teacher's banquet."

Generally, those who ask him to say hello to the teacher are the teacher's very close friends.

He was the teacher's last disciple. Because the teacher never married and his father was related to the teacher, the teacher privately cultivated him as his successor. While demanding strict academic requirements, he also took him to various large and small occasions and used his own connections to pave the way for him.

In his impression, there is no such person.

He is always outspoken, saying whatever he thinks.

Harrison's expression froze slightly.

He originally just wanted to take the opportunity to improve his relationship and show off his "familiarity" with Professor Clay in front of others to raise his own status. This was his usual trick, but he didn't expect that Dess would be so disrespectful this time.

But he quickly reacted and said, "You may have forgotten me. We met before at the Duke of Lawrence's dinner. I talked with Professor Clay for a long time and we became close friends."

This was of course a lie. In fact, he had only seen Clay talking to others from a distance at the party.

Fearing that Dai Si would say something hurtful like "Why don't I remember the teacher and you having a good chat?", he didn't give him a chance to speak again and immediately changed the subject: "Are these two also friends of Mr. Dai Si?"

He looked at Ruan Shiqing and praised him generously: "He is indeed a handsome man."

Dai Si was now a flatterer for Ruan Shiqing. When he heard him praising his idol, he immediately agreed with a smile on his face, "You really have good taste. Master Ruan may be the youngest master mechanic in the entire Mechanics Association. If I hadn't been on a business trip with the teacher before, I would have recommended him to the teacher a long time ago."

Harrison was just complimenting him casually, but he didn't expect that this seemingly young man was actually a master of mechanics. His compliment suddenly became more enthusiastic: "Young people are really talented. No wonder I felt that Master Ruan had an extraordinary demeanor when I first saw him."

Ruan Shiqing looked at his flattering expression with a raised eyebrow, wondering what his expression would be when he knew that he was the author of the paper.

It seems that there are talented and reclusive people in this exchange meeting, but there are also such cunning and opportunistic people who follow the wind.

The three of them chatted for a while, and then it was time for the formal meeting.

Ruan Shiqing naturally sat with Dais and Hawthorne, and Harrison also shamelessly sat next to Dais.

He seemed to have figured out Dai Si's preferences. He would mention Ruan Shiqing from time to time, and then praise him along the lines of Dai Si's words. He finally calmed down until someone went up to give a speech and everyone listened attentively.

After round after round of speeches, the scholars sitting below would rush to ask questions and even engage in on-the-spot debates, creating a strong academic atmosphere.

Ruan Shiqing carefully wrote down all the useful and interesting points, and occasionally asked a few questions.

By the end of the day, he felt that he had benefited a lot.

In fact, he still had a lot of things he wanted to discuss with Daisy Hawthorne, but thinking about the children who were waiting eagerly at home, he went back to the hotel first.

I only made an appointment with the two of them to meet early the next day for the exchange meeting and discuss it then.

Because of the appointment, Hawthorne came knocking on the door early the next day.

Ruan Shiqing was going to give a speech today, and he brought not only materials but also experimental equipment and a small amount of antimatter.

When Hawthorne saw what he had, he was surprised and asked, "What is this...?"

Ruan Shiqing smiled and said, "It's necessary for the speech."

When the two arrived at the venue, Days had already arrived early, and surprisingly, Harrison was also there.

After seeing Ruan Shiqing and the other man, he stepped forward attentively to help take the things in his hands, and seemed to have made up his mind to stay with them.

Ruan Shiqing looked at him with a smile but did not refuse.

Anyway, he won't be the one who will be embarrassed later.

Dais didn't notice Harrison's flattery, and said curiously, "We will meet the author of the antimatter paper later. The teacher was originally going to come here today, but he really couldn't spare the time, and he specifically asked me to send the video images back."

Hearing him praise such a little-known author, Harrison couldn't help but interject, "The author is not very old, and probably hasn't even graduated from college. What can he have researched? Professor Clay is taking these eye-catching works too seriously."

Dai Si frowned and said with a little displeasure: "My teacher and I have read the paper. The content is meaningful and the experimental data is very rigorous."

Seeing that he was unhappy, Harrison shut up. But he still murmured unconvincedly: "I didn't see it with my own eyes, maybe he made it up."

The group was talking in the rest area. At around 10 a.m., a staff member came towards them with a respectful look: "Mr. Ruan, you need to go over in advance to discuss the process for the speech later. We have reserved five hours for you."

Des was surprised: "Five hours?"

He knew Ruan Shiqing had a speech today, but he didn't know it would take so long. Usually a speech would only take one to two hours.

"Yes." The staff member smiled and replied, "Mr. Ruan's antimatter paper has received a lot of attention, and many scholars present came here just for Mr. Ruan. In order to ensure smooth communication, we have reserved at least five hours. If time is insufficient, we can always postpone it."

Dess slowly opened his mouth.

Harrison, who was sitting next to him, seemed to have thorns under his buttocks. His face turned red and he dared not look at Ruan Shiqing with his little eyes.