The prelude to a space race

At a restaurant near the aeronautics and astronautics university, Lu Zhou sat waiting for his food, his expression growing awkward as he read the words on his phone.

[Shocking! Professor Lu, chief designer of the Controlled Fusion Project, to lead a crewed moon landing?!]

[Lu Zhou: Our journey lies among the stars!]

[Three words from him accidentally revealed a shocking secret!]

[Chief designer Lu let the truth slip: the ultimate goal of the Moon Landing Program is actually this?!]

Lu Zhou: "???"

Hadn't I already said I wasn't the chief designer?

Did these reporters never listen to what people said?

Noticing the stiff expression on Lu Zhou's face, Xu Yuanming suppressed a laugh and cleared his throat. "Our journalists tend to be optimistic. Optimism is a good thing."

Could a rumor really count as a rumor if it spread positivity?

Putting down his phone, Lu Zhou looked at the braised pork hock with soybeans that had just arrived and sighed. "You really have landed me in a mess."

"Let's stop talking and eat. This pork hock won't taste as good once it gets cold." Pretending not to have heard him, Xu Yuanming broke apart his disposable chopsticks and smiled. "This is the one dish this place does really well. I used to eat here all the time when I was a student. Who would've thought it would taste exactly the same after all these years?"

Lu Zhou: "..."

That change of subject couldn't have been more forced.

Still, since Xu Yuanming was paying for dinner, he decided not to dwell on the details...

After dinner, Lu Zhou said goodbye to Xu Yuanming and got into the car waiting outside.

"Take me to the station."

As he started the car and pulled onto the road, Wang Peng asked, "Are we heading