After seeing Feng Jingxin and He Changbai off, Feng Tingshen and Lin Wu got into their car and headed toward the restaurant.
A few minutes after they arrived in the private room, Nan Zhizhi arrived as well.
"Mr. Nan."
Seeing Nan Zhizhi push open the door, Feng Tingshen and Lin Wu stood up to greet him.
Nan Zhizhi showed no surprise at seeing Lin Wu.
Lin Wu introduced herself politely once again. "Hello, Mr. Nan. My name is Lin Wu. We met before at the tech exhibition"
"I know." Nan Zhizhi had little expression on his face as he reached out to give her a brief handshake.
Only after Nan Zhizhi took his seat did Lin Wu sit down beside him. She said, "I admire you very much. I've always hoped for an opportunity to meet you and discuss professional knowledge in the AI field face-to-face."
Nan Zhizhi gave a noncommittal "Mm."
Just then, Feng Tingshen's phone rang. He stood up and said to Nan Zhizhi and Lin Wu, "I'm going out to take a call. You two go ahead and chat."
Lin Wu nodded.
Once Feng Tingshen had left, Lin Wu picked up the menu from the side and handed it to Nan Zhizhi. "Mr. Nan, shall we order first and then chat while we eat?"
Nan Zhizhi pushed the menu aside. "No need for now."
Lin Wu paused. Before she could react, Nan Zhizhi spoke directly. "You want to be my student?"
Lin Wu hadn't expected him to be so straightforward.
Despite his directness, she didn't succumb to stage fright just because he was currently a figure at the top of the AI field's pyramid. She admitted calmly and confidently, "Yes. I am very interested in the field of AI and hope to study under you to strive for even greater progress."
Since she had come to meet Nan Zhizhi, she naturally wouldn't come unprepared.
Having said that, she took out her laptop. "May I show you the product I developed for my PhD graduation?"
Nan Zhizhi scrolled with the mouse, looking through her graduation work.
After reviewing several sets of data, he said tonelessly, "As far as graduation works go, it is indeed much better than that of an average doctoral student."
Hearing Nan Zhizhi say this, the smile in Lin Wu's eyes deepened, and her confidence grew. She was just about to speak when Nan Zhizhi let go of the mouse and shifted his gaze from the screen. "You completed this this year?" he asked.
Lin Wu replied, "Yes."
"Nothing else?"
Lin Wu hesitated for a moment. She couldn't tell if he was satisfied and expecting more highlights from her, or if he was unsatisfied but willing to give her another chance because she seemed talented enough.
However, her grades had always been among the top in school, she had won numerous awards, and her doctoral advisor had been full of praise for her.
One had to know that her advisor was a heavyweight in the field in Country A, having participated in several of Country A's aerospace programs.
Her advisor's praise carried significant weight!
Therefore, she still had enough confidence in her own professional ability.
Thinking of this, her heart steadied again. She said, "I've done some technical analysis on the exhibits shown at the last tech exhibition. Would you like to hear it?"
"Speak."
Lin Wu then began to provide a technical explanation of a self-driving car from the previous exhibition, focusing on the three core aspects: perception, planning, and control.
She spoke continuously for more than ten minutes. During that time, Feng Tingshen returned once, only to say he had another important call to make.
A while later, just as Lin Wu wanted to continue, Nan Zhizhi suddenly looked up. "That's enough."
Lin Wu stopped immediately.
Nan Zhizhi stood up and gave a final evaluation. "Your grasp of basic knowledge is decent, but it still doesn't meet my criteria for taking on a student."
Lin Wu was stunned, then pursed her lips.
This was not the answer she wanted.
As Nan Zhizhi moved to the door to leave, Lin Wu stepped forward quickly. "Mr. Nan, then how do you think I should improve?"
Nan Zhizhi paused his footsteps and said coldly, "Do more research. Pay more attention to new dynamics in the field."
As his voice fell, Feng Tingshen returned.
Before he could speak, Nan Zhizhi said, "I've done what I needed to do. I'll contact you again in a few days."
Feng Tingshen replied, "Alright."
Having said his piece, Nan Zhizhi left immediately.
Feng Tingshen looked at Lin Wu. Seeing that her expression was not great, he asked, "The result wasn't good?"
Lin Wu nodded frankly. "He didn't take me."
"What did Mr. Nan say? Tell me about it?"
Lin Wu recounted the process and the evaluations and suggestions Nan Zhizhi had given her.
"Your ability is indeed quite good," Feng Tingshen said. "I think his suggestions were also quite pertinent."
Lin Wu paused.
She had indeed spent less time delving into professional knowledge lately and had rarely paid attention to new dynamics in the field. Had Nan Zhizhi seen that she wasn't hardworking or focused enough in this regard? Did he feel her attitude toward her profession was problematic and not worth cultivating, so he rejected her?
Thinking that it was her attitude toward the profession that led to Nan Zhizhi not accepting her as a student, rather than her own lack of ability, Lin Wu's mood improved considerably.
Feng Tingshen added, "Try again when there's another opportunity in the future."
Lin Wu replied, "Okay."
She believed that if she corrected her attitude, given her professional ability, passing Nan Zhizhi's test would no longer be difficult.
Thinking of this, she actually regretted putting too much thought into racing recently.
Otherwise, wouldn't she be Nan Zhizhi's student by now?
Nan Zhizhi returned to the villa.
Inside, Rong Ci and Yu Moxun had just finished buying and washing the ingredients and were preparing to cook hotpot.
Seeing him return, Yu Moxun asked, "Back so soon?"
Nan Zhizhi took off his overcoat, his tone remaining cold. "Mm."
Yu Moxun glanced at Rong Ci, who was bringing bowls and chopsticks out of the kitchen, and gossiped, "So... it sounds like we didn't gain a new junior sister or anything?"
Nan Zhizhi ignored him, took the bowl Rong Ci handed him, and sat down.
Silence meant no.
Yu Moxun laughed and raised an eyebrow at Rong Ci. "See, I told you. During our first meeting, I saw right through her."
Rong Ci laughed and told him to go to the kitchen to bring out the rest of the meat. "Yes, yes, you're the greatest."
After Yu Moxun brought out the meat, he asked curiously, "Teacher, what level do you think she actually belongs to in this field?"
"A level slightly higher than an average, excellent PhD graduate."
"Great minds think alike."
The AI field in the country had developed rapidly in the last ten years; the various technologies mastered internally had likely surpassed world standards for some time now.
And as the most core figure among them, Nan Zhizhi faced world-class products, technology, and talent in this field every single day.
Lin Wu's level was indeed very excellent among ordinary people.
But it was only among ordinary top students.
Compared to the people around Nan Zhizhi, she was still a long way off.
As for Yu Moxun and Rong Ci, there was no need to even mention it.
They really weren't on the same level.
After all, Lin Wu was twenty-five this year, yet she couldn't even reach the edges of the cuap system Rong Ci had created many years ago.
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