Song He also burst into tears. "Teacher, you didn't have to keep words like that bottled up. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
" I didn't know. I just kept holding it in until I felt awful!" Xiang Xiaotong's shoulders trembled as she sobbed brokenly. "Especially this year... Every day, I've been tormented by these thoughts. I tried not to think about them. I pretended I didn't feel that way, but I really couldn't lie to myself."
"Teacher, I'm not leaving. I'm a professor at the Brain Institute, and I'll keep working here, steadily and honestly." Song He patted her back. "Don't cry, Teacher."
"No! If you want to achieve greater things, you'll definitely have to study under other teachers!" Xiang Xiaotong cried even harder.
"Study under my ass! Teacher, you're really overthinking this. If I wanted to study under other teachers, I wouldn't have waited until today—I'd have left long ago! Mathematics Emperors Deng Puhe and Dewitt were both fighting to teach me, but I didn't go! Why? There was no need to put myself through all that!"
"I can communicate with them online and discuss problems with them too. Why would I have to leave my homeland and travel thousands of miles away, spending years or even more than a decade chasing some lousy Fields Medal? If I really wanted to chase an award, I could do it from my dorm just as well!"
"Besides, I've also taken on major projects, haven't I? Brain-enhancing medicine and the Brain-like Computer—there's no way those two projects can be finished in two or three years. I'll definitely be staying here for many years to come! I can't abandon such major projects with such heavy responsibilities just to pursue further study!"
"Teacher, wouldn't it be good for us to become academic partners