Summary: "A Journey That Captivated the World"

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The Chang'e spacecraft successfully launches, carrying the first batch of immigrants to the Guanghan Special Zone on the Moon, marking humanity's first large-scale space colonization effort. The launch dominates global headlines and internet discussions.
• CCTV broadcasts a special program featuring Nie Yun, who explains the technology and daily life planned for the Lunar Surface Research Station, including specially designed spacesuits that simulate Earth-like gravity using induction electromagnets, and rotating "gravity rooms" for health maintenance.
• The chapter shifts to Lu Zhou at Copenhagen Airport, where he browses netizen reactions to the launch and his own recent Nobel Prize. A few critics question the project's viability or accuse it of forcing families into space, but netizens fiercely defend it.
• Ambassador Du Yanming visits Lu Zhou in the VIP lounge to see him off before his flight.

2. Character Developments

• Nie Yun: Former Auspicious pilot, now an Air Force Major General serving in the Aerospace Forces. His demeanor is noticeably more composed; he serves as a confident public advocate and explainer for the space program.
• Lu Zhou: Shown in a relaxed, playful mood—amused by silly netizen comments, tempted to make a snarky reply, but ultimately restraining himself. He remains a central public figure, closely tied to both the Nobel Prize and the space colonization project.

3. Significant Themes

• Space colonization as reality: The chapter stresses that "our journey is the sea of stars" has shifted from slogan to actual human endeavor, with an optimistic tone about future settlements on Mars and beyond.
• Public excitement vs. cynical criticism: Enthusiastic netizens clash with a minority of skeptics who doubt the project's economic viability or ethics; the narrative clearly favors the hopeful, pro-colonization side.
• Technology serving human needs: The spacesuits and gravity rooms highlight how engineering addresses the physiological dangers of low-gravity living.

4. Character Interactions

• Nie Yun and the host: A structured interview/Q&A in the studio, with Nie Yun cheerfully explaining technical details and correcting misconceptions.
• Lu Zhou and netizens (indirect): He reads comments, laughs at jokes, and nearly responds with a teasing remark about his Nobel Prize money before deciding not to.
• Lu Zhou and Du Yanming: A warm, informal farewell between acquaintances; Du jokingly notes that despite saying goodbye, Lu Zhou is so ubiquitous in the news that seeing him again will be trivial.

Lu Zhou returned to Jinling to a formal welcome and discussed a possible holographic stadium with Secretary Zhou. At the airport, he encountered Professor Daivik and Professor Wei Hong, who had been detained while waiting for him.

• Professor Daivik and Professor Wei Hong waited at Jinling Airport, worried that Lu Zhou had lost interest in their research after missing their presentation.
• A man approached Daivik and Wei Hong and asked to see their identification, prompting airport authorities to question them.
• Lu Zhou arrived to a public reception, exchanged a restrained greeting with Chen Yushan, and walked with Secretary Zhou.
• Secretary Zhou asked Lu Zhou about building a holographic stadium in Jinling, and Lu Zhou said it was technically feasible.
• Daivik recognized Lu Zhou during the airport questioning and called out that he was a physicist, urging Lu Zhou to look at his thinning hair.

Lu Zhou listened to Professor Daivik and Wei Hong explain their research into Z Particles and gravitational-wave disturbances, then outlined a new theoretical framework for studying the anomaly. He left them examining his notes while he stepped away to answer a phone call.

• Lu Zhou recognized Professor Daivik and Professor Wei Hong and asked them to explain how they had found that Z Particles interfered with gravity.
• Wei Hong described the gravitational-wave disturbance Daivik had detected during a high-energy collision experiment at the Lunar Surface Research Station and their six months of research.
• Lu Zhou proposed an approach based on the relationship between spacetime, matter, and gravity, then filled a whiteboard with a mathematical framework.
• Daivik and Wei Hong photographed Lu Zhou's notes as he suggested setting up a control group and deriving the Z Particle Gravitational Fluctuation Formula.
• Lu Zhou received a phone call and stepped aside, while Wei Hong felt that Lu Zhou's suggestions had given him a promising direction.

Lu Zhou learned from Li Gaoliang that the operation against the attackers had succeeded and that the military planned to test new weapons while retaliating against the people behind the attack. After Wei Hong and Daivik left to pursue ideas inspired by Lu Zhou, Chen Yushan arrived and reunited with him.

• Li Gaoliang told Lu Zhou that the cargo ship was being towed home, the operation had gone smoothly, and the attackers were mercenaries tied to warlords in East Africa.
• Li Gaoliang said the military planned to teach the attackers a lesson and invited Lu Zhou to learn about its new weapons the next day.
• Wei Hong and Daivik left Lu Zhou's home to test ideas his remarks had given them.
• Chen Yushan arrived, told Lu Zhou she had missed him, and blushed when he said he had missed her more than anything.

Lu Zhou spent the morning with Chen Yushan after she stayed overnight, then visited the Orbital Drop Brigade with Li Gaoliang to see a test of a new weapon. Li Gaoliang kept the weapon’s identity secret as he led Lu Zhou toward the command room.

• Lu Zhou woke beside Chen Yushan, went for a run, and returned to find her making breakfast.
• Chen Yushan teased Lu Zhou about moving in together, then hurried off to work after breakfast.
• Xiao Ai worried that Chen Yushan had taken over its kitchen and asked whether Lu Zhou would still want it around.
• Lu Zhou arrived at the Orbital Drop Brigade base with Wang Peng and met Brigade Commander Li Gaoliang.
• Li Gaoliang told Lu Zhou that the brigade was testing a new weapon and led him toward the command room.

Somali forces watched as an unexplained Chinese strike devastated militant positions in the El Wag Region, beginning with precise attacks on ammunition depots and continuing with swarms of armed drones. General Katsuno and Colonel Abati prepared to move forward, sensing the battle could end soon.

• General Katsuno told Colonel Abati that Somalia was acting against the militants to appease China and receive help rebuilding the region.
• Marash learned that Somali divisions had gathered and the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders were closed, trapping his forces in the region.
• Marash spotted an incoming attack as explosions destroyed his nearby ammunition depot and other militant defenses.
• Parachutes delivered black coffins that released armed drones, which used cover and coordinated tactics to hunt down the militants.
• General Katsuno and Colonel Abati saw the devastation and, unable to identify the attackers or their weapons, decided to get into their vehicles.

Chapter Summary: "Just Like a Computer Game"

Key Plot Points & Events

1. Aerospace bomber mission concludes — The aerospace plane Kunpeng (twice the size of the Rosy Glow) completes its bombing run at 320 km altitude and returns to base after launching all weapons. Orbital bombardment destroyed enemy defensive facilities before ground assault began.
2. Modern battlefield command demonstrated — At Aerospace Forces Command HQ in Jinling, Li Gaoliang shows Lu Zhou a real-time system integrating satellite imaging, the Star Sea-1 quantum computer, and drone swarms. Red markers (enemies) are systematically eliminated; 11.6 tons of ammunition were dropped before attack drones were even deployed.
3. Post-battle cleanup — Damaged drones and drone hives will be recovered via diplomatic channels using BeiDou positioning; postwar reconstruction is planned (unlike the Americans' "leave a mess and walk away" approach).
4. Ethiopian border observation — A US military officer and an Ethiopian officer watch the battle in bewilderment. Their radar detected bomb-shaped objects but no aircraft. The US officer deduces the attacks came from high orbit (above ~110 km), beyond the reach of air defense missiles and above the maximum ceiling of any nation's airspace — theorizing that if people can be dropped from orbit safely, so can bombs.

Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Feels conflicted seeing his technology weaponized, but rationalizes that prosperity requires protection. Shows philosophical reflection (compares it to an alien invasion scenario) and ultimately accepts the necessity of force.
• Li Gaoliang: Proud and slightly boastful of the military system; frames the operation as a deterrent response — someone "dared lay a hand on our Professor Lu," so they demonstrated their power to prevent future trouble.
• US officer: Anxious and worried, realizing American technological supremacy has been overtaken; grasps the strategic implications (invulnerable orbital strike capability) but has no evidence to prove it.

Significant Themes

• War as a detached "computer game" — Asymmetric warfare where technological superiority reduces combat to watching markers disappear on a screen.
• Comprehensive aerospace capability — The real advantage isn't any single weapon but the integrated ability to cheaply send objects to orbit and strike from above all defenses.
• Fear through demonstration — The implicit message that attacking Hua Nation's people invites overwhelming retaliation.
• The shifting balance of power — A superpower's representative confronting the reality that their radar can't see or stop an adversary's attacks.

Key Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou & Li Gaoliang: Li Gaoliang shows off the command system; Lu Zhou compares it to a video game, and Li Gaoliang jests that real war is simpler than gaming (no need for game balance). Li Gaoliang later explains the operation was also a protective statement on Lu Zhou's behalf.
• US officer & Ethiopian officer: The Ethiopian officer fears stealth aircraft; the US officer corrects him — the aircraft never entered their airspace at all. The Ethiopian officer is disturbed that even US radar at their base saw nothing.

Summary: "What Was Left Behind"

Key Plot Points

• Schmidt, an ExxonMobil engineer stationed in Mogadishu, reads a shocking newspaper headline: Somali government forces have won a decisive victory at El Wak against entrenched militants/pirates.
• The article reveals that Hua Nation (China) secretly assisted the offensive using drone swarms deployed from a parachuted "black coffin" aerial platform, along with AI-controlled drones that autonomously identified and attacked targets. Over twenty ammunition depots and a dozen outposts were destroyed.
• The US military base in Ethiopia refuses to disclose where the strike originated—something Schmidt finds unbelievable, concluding the US simply has no evidence to reveal.
• After the victory, an influx of Hua Nation businesses (construction, oil, trading, bars, supermarkets) transforms the area into a "Chinatown."
• Hua Nation firms prepare to send engineering teams to rebuild the reclaimed El Wak region, confirming a secret reconstruction deal with Somali authorities.
• An arms broker Schmidt knows complains that Hua Nation's presence has collapsed the local weapons market, forcing arms dealers to relocate to the conflict-ridden Central Africa region.
• Schmidt reflects uneasily that the world's operating logic is changing in ways he cannot fully grasp.

Character Developments

• Schmidt: Transitions from bored expatriate going through daily routines to an increasingly unsettled observer. His worldview—rooted in assumptions of Western military superiority and orderly global power structures—is quietly eroded by events he cannot explain. He starts as skeptical ("This is insane") and ends with vague, inarticulate dread about the shifting global order.

Significant Themes

• The Rise of China (Hua Nation): Subtle but sweeping geopolitical power shift; Chinese technology, capital, and reconstruction replace Western influence, particularly in the Global South.
• Technological Warfare: AI-controlled drones and drone-swarm platforms redefine asymmetrical conflict, leaving even the US military unable to identify the attacker—implying classified or unknown capabilities.
• The Commodification of Chaos: The arms trade thrives on instability; peace and reconstruction destroy the arms broker's business, exposing capitalism's perverse incentives.
• Economic Colonization vs. Order: Hua Nation's arrival brings bars, security, and reconstruction—but also exploitative pricing ("exchange rate reasons" doubling alcohol costs)—illustrating a morally ambiguous form of empire-building.
• The Fading of the Old Order: Schmidt's confusion symbolizes the West's inability to comprehend or adapt to a world where its assumptions no longer hold.

Character Interactions

• Schmidt ↔ Foreign employees (overheard conversation): They discuss the battle, describing Hua Nation's weapon as a possible "orbital weapon" that evaded US radar; one recounts a relative who merely "collected militants' bodies" after the fight.
• Schmidt ↔ Bartender: He confronts the Hua Nation bartender about being charged double; receives only "exchange rate reasons" and is forced to accept the rip-off—a small metaphor for Western decline.
• Schmidt ↔ Arms broker: The broker laments lost profits, fantasizes about exploiting Central Africa's diamonds, gold, and oil, then falls asleep drunk; Schmidt broods alone afterward.
• Schmidt's internal observations: He notes improved security (tripled military police) protecting the Hua Nation employees, yet remains alienated from the celebrating locals, unable or unwilling to engage with them.

Lu Zhou gave Luo Wenxuan a new formula that could help test whether gravity passes through extra dimensions and urged him to join the research. Luo agreed to study it as preparation for leading IMCRC, while Lu Zhou said he had more important work ahead.

• The Chang'e spacecraft docked at the Moon Palace, and the first colonists began landing on the lunar surface in batches.
• Lu Zhou and Luo Wenxuan discussed the end of the conflict in Somalia and the death of warlord and pirate Marash.
• Lu Zhou presented Luo Wenxuan with the Z Particle Gravitational Fluctuation Formula, derived by Wei Hong and Professor Daivik.
• After reading the paper, Luo Wenxuan realized it could help reveal how gravity passes through dimensions and probe the nature of gravity.
• Lu Zhou asked Luo Wenxuan to join the project to build support for it at IMCRC and prepare him to become its next chairman.

After Wei Hong and Daivik solved the Z Particle gravitational fluctuation formula, Lu Zhou prepared to pursue a more uncertain discovery that had caught his attention. He told Chen Yushan he might be unreachable while he focused on his research, then began working on what he called the final hurdle before maxing out physics.

• Witten and Frank Wilczek discussed the Z Particle formula and guessed Lu Zhou had found something even more interesting to investigate.
• Lu Zhou prepared to withdraw from contact while pursuing a conjecture inspired by his research into the Z Particle.
• Lu Zhou told Chen Yushan he might be unreachable for a while, and she encouraged him to take care of himself.
• After ending the call, Lu Zhou returned to his draft paper and began working toward what he believed was the final hurdle before maxing out physics.

At IMCRC headquarters, Wei Hong proposed that oscillating Z Particles could straighten curved spacetime and enable rapid travel across vast distances, though proving the idea seemed nearly impossible. Lu Zhou called Luo Wenxuan with news that he had already solved the problem mathematically, leaving the researchers stunned.

• Wei Hong explained his conjecture that Z Particles could alter spacetime curvature and create a shortened route through space.
• Wei Hong said proving the conjecture would require exceptionally difficult mathematics, and he thought Lu Zhou might be the only person capable of solving it.
• Luo Wenxuan argued that they should publish their conjecture and hope it caught Lu Zhou's interest because he was in seclusion.
• Lu Zhou called Luo Wenxuan, who returned to tell Wei Hong and Professor Daivik that Lu Zhou had solved the problem mathematically just minutes earlier.

After a month of seclusion, Lu Zhou completed a mathematical theory linking Z particle transitions to spacetime curvature and uploaded his paper to arXiv. He planned an experiment using Z Particle Clocks in Earth and Mars orbit, then visited Chen Yushan and promised her a Valentine’s Day gift.

• Lu Zhou used higher-dimensional topology and algebraic geometry to derive a mathematical description of the passage opened by a Z particle transition.
• Lu Zhou titled his paper “The effect of Z particle transitions on spacetime curvature” and uploaded it to arXiv.
• Lu Zhou planned to test his conjecture by placing Z Particle Clocks in geosynchronous and Mars orbits.
• Lu Zhou asked Xiao Ai to have Wang Peng pick him up and drove to Chen Yushan’s home.
• Lu Zhou told Chen Yushan that his seclusion was over and promised to give her a surprise on Valentine’s Day.

Professor Ohanian initially dismissed Lu Zhou’s paper on hyperspace channels and spacetime curvature as impossible, but reconsidered after learning Lu Zhou was its sole author. He concluded that the theory could transform physics and make interstellar travel possible.

• Professor Ohanian angrily rejected a paper proposing hyperspace channels and spacetime curvature alteration, believing it contradicted general relativity.
• His assistant told him that Lu Zhou had written the paper and was its sole author.
• Professor Ohanian retrieved the discarded pages and reread the paper, admitting that its claims might not be completely wrong.
• Professor Ohanian explained that the theory could overturn ideas about spacetime and make travel across light-years plausible.

Lu Zhou’s preprint on how Z particles could affect spacetime curvature caused uproar among physicists, mathematicians, and the public, with many interpreting it as a possible key to warp travel. By the third day, the news had reached the front page of the Washington Post, while the paper’s correctness remained unjudged.

• Professor Ohanian booked travel to Shanghai after reading Lu Zhou’s paper, as physicists worldwide reacted with astonishment.
• Frank Wilczek and Edward Witten expressed surprise but withheld judgment on whether Lu Zhou’s claims were correct.
• Duncan Haldane warned that the paper’s mathematical arguments were exceptionally difficult, prompting mathematicians to study its applications of differential manifolds and algebraic-geometric unified theory.
• Public discussion spread online after people connected Z particles to the possibility of warp travel, and a commenter asked whether anyone had ever seen Lu Zhou joke.
• The Washington Post put the story on its front page three days after Lu Zhou uploaded the paper.

Summary: "Send a Pair of Photons Over"

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Lu Zhou's paper on Z Particles gains unexpected, widespread fame, reaching the front page of the Washington Post.
• Columbia Television invites Stanford's Professor Susskind to explain the research on a science-popularization program.
• Susskind uses a crumpled paper analogy to illustrate how the universe's warped geometry might allow "shortcuts" through higher dimensions, suggesting future travel to Mars could take only half an hour.
• Lu Zhou watches the program with Director Li, who becomes extremely excited about the prospect of fast space travel.
• Lu Zhou tempers expectations, noting the gap between theory and application (citing the 20+ year gap between the mass–energy equation and uranium fission).
• Despite his caution, he reveals a concrete next step: first, send a Z Particle Clock into Mars orbit to verify the theory; then, "send a pair of photons over."

2. Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Shown as measured, realistic, and scientifically humble. Though famous, he remains grounded, wary of over-optimistic interpretations. He cares about small personal things (like his sofa) and thinks carefully about the long road from theory to technology.
• Director Li: Enthusiastic, almost fanatical about practical applications. His blood pressure rises and falls with excitement and disappointment. He represents the eager, non-scientist public that craves tangible results.

3. Significant Themes

• The gap between theoretical discovery and practical application: Lu Zhou stresses that even revolutionary findings (like the atomic bomb) take decades to become usable technology.
• Science communication and public understanding: Susskind's program demonstrates how complex ideas can be made accessible, though it risks over-optimism.
• Scientific caution vs. public enthusiasm: Lu Zhou repeatedly reins in Director Li's expectations while still offering a realistic, stepwise path forward.

4. Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou and Director Li: The core interaction. Director Li's excitement repeatedly bumps against Lu Zhou's measured realism. Lu Zhou ultimately satisfies Li by outlining a specific research roadmap (Z Particle Clock → photon pair experiment), balancing hope with scientific prudence.
• Susskind (via TV): Indirect interaction. Lu Zhou approves of his explanation but considers it overly optimistic—setting up the contrast between public science and actual research constraints.

Lu Zhou presented his completed theoretical proof to the IMCRC Council and pushed for an immediate experiment using Z Particle Clocks to test whether gravity could create a hyperspace shortcut. The council moved on to discussing the clock’s design and the experiment’s execution.

• Luo Wenxuan was mobbed by reporters outside IMCRC headquarters, then joined Lu Zhou on the way to the council meeting.
• Lu Zhou announced that he had completed the theoretical proof and proposed placing Z Particle Clocks in geosynchronous orbit and around Mars.
• Professor Whittle questioned whether the council should review the paper before discussing experiments, but no council members raised substantive objections.
• Lu Zhou explained that Z Particles could perturb gravitational fields and that Mars was the best test site because its mass could support a stable hyperspace channel.
• Professor Fernando accepted Lu Zhou’s explanation of why the experiment should use Mars rather than the Moon, and Lu Zhou began discussing the clock’s structure and the experiment.

After the IMCRC approved an experiment to test hyperspace theory, Lu Zhou revealed a device designed to produce Z Particles. He planned to begin the Mars launch preparations before the end of the month and hoped to finish before the Spring Festival.

• Professor Fernando defended the IMCRC Council's decision to test Lu Zhou's theory rather than wait years for the physics community to accept it.
• The IMCRC announced that it would launch a rocket carrying a Z Particle Clock into areostationary orbit around Mars to test hyperspace theory.
• Lu Zhou showed Professor Daivik and Professor Wei a Z Particle Clock, a costly device that would be destroyed after one experiment.
• Lu Zhou explained that the High-Tech Industrial Park had built the device in less than two weeks and that he had completed its design earlier.
• Lu Zhou told Wei Hong that launch preparations would begin before the end of the month and said he wanted the experiment done before the Spring Festival.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points & Events

• The Rosy Glow aerospace plane is launched from Jinling Aerospace Launch Center, redesigned to improve fusion power and Hall Thrusters—trading maximum speed for longer range and stability, now capable of reaching the Asteroid Belt.
• It carries the Z Particle Clock, a piece of experimental equipment to test Professor Lu Zhou's Hyperspace Theory. After reaching space, it will refuel at the Moon Palace spacecraft before continuing to Mars orbit to deploy the clock.
• The original Mars Rescue crew—Liu Biao (pilot) and Xu Zhenghong (copilot)—fly the mission, joking about retrieving the crashed BFS spacecraft wreckage.
• The launch succeeds, drawing international media attention; a BBC reporter expresses shock that electric propulsion, catalyzed by Controlled Fusion, can rival chemical engines.
• A student asks Professor Witten what faster-than-light travel would mean; Witten declares Lu Zhou would be greater than Einstein.
• Meanwhile, Lu Zhou stays in his office at the Jinling Institute, calmly verifying equations on a whiteboard. Luo Wenxuan visits and gives him a mysterious invitation card.

Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Demonstrates characteristic composure—uninterested in ceremony, motivated purely by intellectual curiosity. He openly admits he pursues the risky Z Particle research because he is genuinely interested, not for fame or material benefit.
• Luo Wenxuan: Plays the witty teaser, contrasting Lu Zhou's seriousness with humor, while showing genuine respect for his friend's work.
• Witten: Serves as an external validator of Lu Zhou's potential historical significance.

Significant Themes

• Motivation vs. Legacy: Lu Zhou's pure interest in discovery is contrasted with the fame others project onto him—suggesting that the greatest scientists may be driven by curiosity, not recognition.
• Technological Progress: Controlled Fusion + electric propulsion revolutionizing spaceflight; the Z Particle Clock as a potential step toward faster-than-light travel (with a DC/AC current analogy to illustrate that being first doesn't guarantee final dominance).
• Ceremony vs. Substance: While the world watches the launch, the man behind the theory simply works—underscoring the theme that real breakthroughs happen quietly.

Character Interactions

• Liu Biao & Xu Zhenghong: Lighthearted banter about salvaging the old BFS wreckage, grounded by professional pre-launch procedures.
• Student & Witten: A short, weighty exchange where Witten corrects himself ("Not might. He would be.") to emphatically rank Lu Zhou above Einstein.
• Lu Zhou & Luo Wenxuan: A philosophical, teasing conversation about excitement, motivation, and reputation, ending with Luo Wenxuan handing Lu Zhou an invitation—planting a hook for future events.

Lu Zhou learned that CERN had invited IMCRC to organize a worldwide Century Physics Conference, including a closed-door summit to identify one hundred major unsolved problems in physics. He agreed to host it and chose Shanghai as the venue, while postponing the proposed date until after the Lantern Festival.

• Luo Wenxuan explained that CERN had proposed a Century Physics Conference and wanted IMCRC to serve as its main organizer.
• Lu Zhou read the proposal for a closed-door conference where one hundred leading physicists would identify major problems in their fields, with prizes funded by donations and investments.
• Lu Zhou told Luo Wenxuan that IMCRC would host the conference and said he would make a personal donation.
• Lu Zhou rejected CERN's suggested February 12 date because it fell during the Spring Festival period and chose Shanghai as the venue.
• Luo Wenxuan suggested holding the conference in March and noted that Lu Zhou had the final say.

Chapter Summary: "Managing Money Is What I Do Best!"

Key Plot Points

• The Z Particle Clock has been launched, leaving Lu Zhou in a waiting period. He returns to Jin University to resume teaching undergraduate mathematics after a long absence.
• Perelman, still living in China, attends Lu Zhou's class and reveals he has ideas about the Hodge Conjecture, wanting to discuss them. He also announces he'll stay another half year due to the inspiring mathematical environment at Jin University.
• Lu Zhou visits the documentary film crew and briefly encounters Han Mengqi, who hurriedly avoids him—a strange but seemingly minor moment.
• Lu Zhou contacts his younger sister Xiao Tong (via AR glasses with Xiao Ai) about establishing a fund. He initially deflects her teasing about his senior sister, but eventually reveals his plan: he wants to create a fund as a romantic gesture for her.
• Xiao Tong is stunned by the idea, approves of it, and enthusiastically volunteers to be the fund manager, declaring "Managing money is what I do best!"

Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Shows a softer, romantic side by planning a fund for his senior sister. He finds relaxation and grounding in teaching undergraduates, which eases his anxiety while waiting for the particle clock results. He cryptically hints to Perelman that he may have answers to the Millennium Problems but is leaving opportunities for others.
• Perelman: Has integrated into life at Jin University, making friends and finding inspiration in Chinese mathematicians like Professor Chen Yang. He remains eccentric and prefers not to be overly respected.
• Xiao Tong: Demonstrates her business intelligence and close, teasing bond with her brother. She correctly intuits his relationship with his senior sister before he says anything.
• Senior Sister (mentioned): Lu Zhou's romantic interest, whom he intends to court with the fund idea.

Significant Themes

• Romance and grand gestures: The fund concept reveals Lu Zhou's unconventional but deeply thoughtful approach to winning someone's heart.
• Academic life and mentoring: Lu Zhou's enjoyment of teaching underscores his connection to mathematics education.
• Family bonds: The playful, affectionate sibling dynamic between Lu Zhou and Xiao Tong provides warmth and humor.
• Scientific community and collaboration: Perelman's decision to stay highlights the international appeal and collaborative environment of Chinese mathematics.

Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou & Perelman: A respectful, slightly playful exchange. Perelman complains about social conventions but appreciates the academic atmosphere. Lu Zhou teases about the Millennium Problems, hinting he has solutions but won't pursue them.
• Lu Zhou & Han Mengqi: A brief, awkward encounter—she avoids him without explanation (likely related to the Valentine's Day gift subplot).
• Lu Zhou & Xiao Tong: A comedic, heartwarming video call. She teases him about his secret stash of money, then goes silent with shock at his true romantic motive, giving her approval. She recruits herself as the fund's manager, showing her confidence, ambition, and loyalty to her brother.