Chapter 347 - 291: An Open Invitation

Chapter 347: Chapter 291: An Open Invitation

A little after ten the next morning, Li Dong casually strolled out of Yan University East Gate and spotted a black business van parked by the side of the road.

A young male teacher stood by the car.

"Hello, Li Dong."

"I’m Teacher Liu, an assistant from Shuimu University."

"Principal Li asked me to come and pick you up."

Li Dong glanced at the car.

Then he glanced at the road between Yan University and Shuimu—a trip that would take him less than twenty minutes on a shared bike.

’They sent a car for such a short distance?’

However, he didn’t say anything, just nodded politely and ducked into the back seat.

The car pulled away smoothly. Within minutes, it passed through Shuimu University’s west gate, circled around Jinchun Garden, and stopped in a small alley beside the main building.

Li Dong was led upstairs, all the way to the office at the very end of the hall.

He raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in."

Li Dong pushed the door open and entered, just in time to see Shuimu University’s principal, Li Ming, rising from behind his desk and walking around it to greet him.

"Hello, Principal Li."

"Ah, Li Dong, welcome to Shuimu University."

Li Ming said, smiling warmly as he patted Li Dong’s shoulder.

Li Dong gave him a strange look.

’Join?’

’That was a rather pointed choice of words.’

’He remembered what Liu Ruochuan had told him just yesterday—that he was coming here to handle some paperwork for a *joint program*, and that his official enrollment would remain with Yan University.’

’So how had that turned into "joining" Shuimu, according to Principal Li?’

But looking at Li Ming’s perpetually smiling face, he didn’t have the heart to correct him. He just nodded and spoke.

"Principal Li, thank you for all this."

"Ah, it’s no trouble at all."

Waving his hand dismissively, Li Ming led him over to the large desk.

A pile of items was laid out neatly on the desk.

A student ID card.

A Shuimu University graduate student registration certificate.

A Shuimu student life handbook.

There was even a campus map.

"Here, take all of this."

"We’re all one family now."

Li Ming deliberately picked up the student ID card and dangled it in front of Li Dong.

"Oh, right. Our cafeterias are way better than the ones at Yan University."

"Bauhinia Garden, Taoli Garden, Qingfen Garden... If you rotate between them, you could eat for a whole week without having the same thing twice."

Principal Li knew one thing for sure.

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

Li Dong stared at the pile of items on the desk, somewhat bewildered.

He asked instinctively.

"Principal Li, does this mean... I’ve joined?"

"Isn’t there a ceremony, or some papers to sign or something?"

Li Ming smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, no need to rush those things. They’re just minor details."

"When the next semester begins, you can just go up on stage and give a speech as the representative for the new doctoral students. That’ll be enough."

Li Dong: ...

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Uh, Principal Li, I don’t think that will work."

"I have to give a speech at Yan University, too."

Hearing this, Li Ming actually broke into an even wider smile.

"Ah, that’s no problem."

"Our opening ceremony here at Shuimu is a day or two earlier than Yan University’s."

"You can give the new student speech here first, and then go back to give your speech there a couple of days later."

Li Dong was taken aback.

’Now that he thought about it, that was true.’

As for Li Ming, he was feeling absolutely delighted.

’He’d previously thought that holding Shuimu’s opening ceremony before Yan University’s was a slight disadvantage. After all, the final act is always the most memorable.’

’But now, it seemed like going first was actually a great thing.’

’Once word got out about the sequence of events, wouldn’t it be obvious which university this genius Ph.D. student valued more?’

Principal Li was already mentally planning the stage layout for the opening ceremony.

Of course, Li Dong had no idea about the old principal’s little schemes.

’He just figured that since there was no scheduling conflict, there was no harm in agreeing.’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Li Ming beckon to his assistant at the door.

Teacher Liu got the hint instantly. He pulled out a soft measuring tape, walked over, and skillfully measured Li Dong’s shoulder width, sleeve length, and waist circumference.

Principal Li added from the side.

"Good. I’ll have the clothes delivered to you ahead of time."

Li Dong was taken aback.

’They’re even having clothes made?’

He immediately thought of the suit he had bought online...

’Damn it. I shouldn’t have bought it.’

’If I’d saved that money, I could have put it toward upgrading Xiaohai’s servers. Wouldn’t that have been a better use of it?’

After taking the measurements and recording the data, Teacher Liu left.

Only after the door closed again did Li Ming clear his throat, his expression growing slightly more serious.

"By the way, Li Dong."

"I’ve familiarized myself with the work your team is doing with Professor Wu Kai."

Slightly startled, Li Dong looked up at Li Ming.

He hadn’t expected the principal of Shuimu to bring this up of his own accord.

But on second thought, it made sense.

Li Ming himself was an academician specializing in brain science and neural engineering, and the ultimate application of Professor Wu Kai’s project was always intended for clinical use.

The clinical translation of single-atom catalysts for treating cardiovascular disease—every single part of that process had to pass through the gauntlet of medical ethics.

And when it came to clinical matters, Li Ming truly had influence.

"No matter how elegant your system is, it ultimately has to be applied in a clinical setting."

Li Ming began to speak slowly.

"Once the algorithm is validated, the next step is animal testing."

"And after that, clinical trials."

"Every step has to follow standard procedures."

"You’ll encounter many issues along the way, and not all of them will be technical."

Li Dong nodded.

Li Ming smiled again and patted his shoulder once more.

"In the future, when your project truly reaches the implementation phase, if you run into any insurmountable hurdles, remember to come and find me."

"I may not understand the underlying technology you guys are using."

"But when it comes to the clinical side of things, I can at least put in a word for you."

A warmth spread through Li Dong’s chest, and his expression turned serious.

"Thank you, Principal Li."

"Don’t mention it. We’re family."

...

After they finished their serious discussion, Li Dong stayed to drink half a cup of tea with Li Ming before taking his leave.