In the Mathematical and Physical Teaching Building, Gu Jianfeng had already been surrounded by half of the freshmen in the academy.
Even at the Ji University of Mathematics, Wind God was the highest peak among the freshmen, renowned since his junior year for his mathematical competitions, and indisputably so since claiming the top prize at the IMO at 16.
However, since the beginning of the semester, his whereabouts had been very elusive, rarely appearing in the classroom and almost never staying over in his dormitory, yet the teachers adopted a laissez-faire approach, not bothering to chase down attendance or living arrangements.
Who would have thought he’d pulled off a big one?
Not just the students, but even for the teachers and professors of the Department, last night was a night of terror.
Shen Yuecen was the first to be shocked; he maintained a disciplined habit of checking the new entries on the websites of the four major mathematical journals at the earliest opportunity, browsing through the directory and index online.
As an old mathematician, he didn’t first scan the titles of the papers; instead, he focused on the authors, using this as a reference to then review the titles and main content, giving him a clearer picture.
Then he noticed a strange name, Jianfeng Gui.
Because it was the only name of an independent author, it stood out prominently.
At that moment, Shen Yuecen had not even realized this was Gu Jianfeng.
His first thought was that it must be a Chinese mathematician working in Magnesium Country, since 80% of the cases on this magazine were like that.
Then Shen Yuecen habitually clicked on the name tag to read the author’s profile.
Then he saw "Peking University" and "Department of Mathematics".
All too familiar.
Seems like it’s my territory...
Then he went back to scrutinize the name Jianfeng Gui.
And then he was struck dumb.
Shen Yuecen immediately inquired with professors and teachers who might have contact with Gu Jianfeng, but not a single one knew about it. Since Gu Jianfeng didn’t use a phone, he had no choice but to contact his father.
Even his father was unaware of this matter.
Luckily, it was Shen Yuecen who had some influence, so Gu Jianfeng called back later in the evening.
Only then did Shen Yuecen learn that Gu Jianfeng had casually submitted the paper during the summer vacation.
But he... didn’t even know it had been published.
It was after Shen Yuecen informed him and he opened his email that he discovered a series of communication requests from the journal’s editorial department. Initially, Mathematical Inventions had wanted him to revise it again. After several unsuccessful attempts at contact and not wanting to let it go, they decided to publish it as is.
Just as Li Zheng had always restrained his focus on special studies before entering university, Gu Jianfeng had also not recklessly approached the forefront of mathematics before graduating from high school.
However, as he unsealed himself upon graduation, he inevitably generated some minor ideas while approaching the palace of mathematics; those he deemed ingenious, he casually noted down and sent in an email for submission, which was quite an ordinary thing to do.
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Shen Yuecen knew that praising such a person was of little use, so he just calmed himself down and coaxed him to come to school on Monday to meet at noon.
For Shen Yuecen, Gu Jianfeng held a deep respect in his bones and reluctantly came to school under pressure.
At first, it was fine as everyone consciously kept their distance.
But as soon as a major news alert came through the school’s public account, everyone in the classroom uncontrollably looked over, and as soon as the bell rang, they swarmed around him like mad.
"Awesome, Wind God!"
"What is Quantum Morphing?? I just asked the graduate brother, and he said he wasn’t very clear."
"You finally put Yingpei in his place!"
"Are you really only 16 years old??"
Countless questions, information, and expressions surged over like a tsunami, awaiting his response.
They meant no harm, yet, in Gu Jianfeng’s world, this was more terrifying than the apocalypse.
To say nothing of speaking, even breathing had become difficult.
Others merely took it for shyness, and even more eagerly piled on the praise.
Just as Gu Jianfeng couldn’t even muster the strength to reach into his backpack for his medicine, a fiercely bold voice suddenly broke through the thick layers of noise.
"Stop! Recite the first 1000 prime numbers to me!!"
Before Gu Jianfeng could react, someone bulldozed through the crowd, grabbed his backpack, and then…
scooped him up and dashed outside.
As the rescuer ran, he shouted, "2, 3, 5, 7, 11, who’s next?"
"13…" Gu Jianfeng dumbly nodded his head. "17, 19…"
Like this, he thought all the way up to "997."
Unconsciously, the surrounding chaos had silently crumbled, and all he could see was a pure world in front of him—a quietly tranquil lake at noon, and a panting Li Zheng.
"Phew…" Li Zheng put him down on a chair, then sat down next to him and wiped his sweat, saying, "The result of sticking with a 5-kilometer weighted run... I didn’t expect it to be useful here."
Only then did Gu Jianfeng start to look around, seeing that there weren’t many people, he finally caught his breath and looked apologetically at Li Zheng.
"Sorry, sorry…"
"That won’t do," Li Zheng shook off some sweat and grinned. "How can a simple sorry make up for it?"
"So… study together?"
"We’ll talk about that later. First, give me a massage," Li Zheng said while clutching Gu Jianfeng’s neck and begun massaging his face. "You little rascal, always silently making a fortune, not even contacting me…"
Gu Jianfeng struggled and whimpered, "You could contact me too."
"You don’t even have a phone, I’d be contacting the air!"
"…you… you could send an email."
"Why don’t you just have me write letters to you."
"Writing is better… uh… got it, got it, stop rubbing… I’ll get a phone later and only tell you the number, how about that…"
"That’ll work," Li Zheng finally let go.
It took Gu Jianfeng a while to recover, looking at Li Zheng with a touch of grievance, "Even my dad never treated me like this..."
"Hey, no need to be so formal," Li Zheng smirked and raised an eyebrow, "You always said in school that you wanted to call me ’dad’, it’s not out of the question."
"Get lost!" Gu Jianfeng rubbed his neck and chuckled, "Still, thanks man, getting suddenly surrounded like that was terrifying…"
Li Zheng also frowned, "Don’t the teachers in your department know your situation?"
"My dad told the school not to let me draw too much attention…" Gu Jianfeng grumbled, "Sigh, no helping it, just don’t have the capacity."
"I can relate to that," Li Zheng joined in with a hum, "It’s just one paper, it’s not that big of a deal."
"Ah? You published too?"
"Don’t mention it, all just insignificant little projects." Li Zheng turned his head and earnestly pursed his lips, "Why not come over and join me in a big project?"
"Just with you?" Gu Jianfeng swallowed.
"There might be others too..."
"If Yu Jing is there, then it’s fine," Gu Jianfeng nodded repeatedly.
"There might be some more..."
"Ah, well…" Gu Jianfeng rubbed the back of his head.
Li Zheng quickly embraced him again, "But you can avoid them and just interact with me and your sister-in-law, how about that?"
"Ah? You guys are already..." Gu Jianfeng gasped and covered his mouth in shock.
Li Zheng posed confidently with crossed arms, "Hmm-hmm, yes, she’s already your sister-in-law. Remember to call her Sister-in-Law Zheng when you meet."
"That will feel so weird…" Gu Jianfeng chuckled behind his hand, "I’d rather call you Brother-in-law Jing."
"No way! It has to be Sister-in-Law Zheng. It’s a matter of principle."
"Got it, Brother-in-law Jingjing." Gu Jianfeng was smiling, then suddenly his eyes widened and he looked at his watch, "Oh no, I’m late."
"Late?" Li Zheng raised his hand dismissively, "Who cares about that damn class."
"Not late for class... it’s..."
While he was speaking, Li Zheng’s phone suddenly rang.
The words "Grandpa Shen" immediately made Li Zheng break out in a sweat.
As soon as he answered the call, a questioning voice was heard.
"They said you carried off Gu Jianfeng???"
"Um... Grandpa, let me explain first..."
"How did you just carry him off? I don’t understand. He’s not a child. Never mind, just bring him back quickly. He’s now the treasure of the Mathematics Department; forget about hoarding him."
"Cough..." Li Zheng swallowed, "Grandpa, I also have... with Jianfeng..."
"Also???" Shen Yuecen immediately became furiously angered, "Why use the word ’also’?"
"Just used it naturally."
"Right, naturally, since you’ve already carried off Jingjing, might as well carry off Gu Jianfeng too, is that the mindset huh?"
"Ah... uh..."
"Explain it in person. Come to the faculty lounge within 5 minutes, 5 minutes!"
Li Zheng, with a pained expression, hung up the phone and looked at Gu Jianfeng with tearful eyes.
"If I and Shen Yuecen fight over you, who would you choose?"
"Why would you fight over me..."
"It’s not because I’m craving your academics." Li Zheng gripped Gu Jianfeng’s shoulders, "That old jerk’s shots never miss, he probably has already lined up a project for you, so who will you choose?"
Gu Jianfeng, flustered, turned his head away, "Asking like this... makes it very hard to answer."
"Alright... I admit Shen Yuecen really has his appeal." Li Zheng looked pityingly at Gu Jianfeng, "But I’ve cared about you not just for a day or two, look at Shi Yang for example, have I ever shown him any favor?"
"Alright... let’s go to Teacher Shen’s place first..."
"Promise me first that you’ll come with me."
"You’re acting like a child..."
"Are you coming with me or not?"
"Coming, coming, coming..."
"Good!" Li Zheng immediately smiled broadly and stood up, "Let’s go, I’ll tell you about the things we’re planning to do on the way."
...
8 minutes later.
In the faculty lounge, Shen Yuecen looked at the two standing side by side with bowed heads like children who had done something wrong; he tried hard to get angry but just couldn’t scold them.
There in front of him stood the Twins Star of this year. What was there to scold... elopement?
"Ah!" Shen Yuecen slapped his thigh in frustration, "Damn it... their studies are too good, have a seat."
Li Zheng immediately sat down grinning, pulling Gu Jianfeng with him.
Gu Jianfeng dared not speak, just bashfully lowered his head and sat down with Li Zheng.
With that pull and sit, Shen Yuecen already sensed an ominous whiff.
The Gu Jianfeng in front of him, his demeanor exactly like when Jingjing had first spoken to him about Li Zheng.
Here we go again, here we go again …
Shen Yuecen shakily picked up the kettle, steadied himself with a sip, and then glared at Li Zheng, "Don’t tell me you’re starting a new project that just happens to involve working with Gu Jianfeng."
Facing the glare, Li Zheng immediately flashed a thumbs-up: "Grandpa is a brilliant sage! No, a genius in precision!"
"Ah …" Shen Yuecen slumped back in his chair in despair, "Li Zheng, you must be my karma … Looking back, I surely made too many girls sad and too many teachers desperate in my youth …"
Gu Jianfeng found this all very bizarre and whispered to Li Zheng, "I don’t understand, and why do you call him Grandpa?"
"In-laws, in-laws." Li Zheng whispered back, "Not my grandpa, he’s your Sister-in-Law Zheng’s grandpa."
"Wow …"
Across from him, Shen Yuecen just sighed, "I was actually planning to invite you to join a PhD project … Forget it, you guys go make a mess."
"Thanks for the blessing, Grandpa." Li Zheng bowed immediately.
"Just stay back a bit, don’t let me see you," Shen Yuecen ignored him and turned to glare at Gu Jianfeng, "First, I need to criticize you, what kind of mess is that paper you wrote? I struggled half the night to understand it. Your mathematical thinking is impeccable, of course, but your calculation process and language were a disaster. Papers are written for others to read, not just for you to understand. If it weren’t for your undeniable talent, ’Mathematical Inventions’ would never have published it, and if this time’s reviewer wasn’t competent, you would have been buried already."
Gu Jianfeng didn’t know what to say and just stuck out his tongue, stealing a grin at Li Zheng.
Watching this scene, Shen Yuecen suddenly felt his veins bulge and his blood pressure rise, raising his hand as if to scold, yet not knowing what to scold about.
After holding it in for a long time, he finally gave a helpless gesture.
"Go … everyone go … I can’t deal with this … do whatever you want …"
"Alright, Grandpa, it’s come to this …" Li Zheng stood up smiling, walked over and handed the kettle to Shen Yuecen, "Now that we’re here, we might as well discuss our new project …"
Shen Yuecen glared at him, also unsure where to begin scolding.
It was like someone stealing your girlfriend and then cheerfully asking how many tables should be set up for the wedding.
Li Zheng quickly added, "This project was Jingjing’s idea."
"Oh?" Shen Yuecen’s expression instantly changed, perking up, "Jingjing took the initiative to propose a study direction?"
"I guided her a bit," Li Zheng grinned mischievously, "Last weekend we went stargazing and camping, talked a lot over two days and one night, and gradually dug out this direction."
"Wait …" Shen Yuecen watched Li Zheng in despair, "Jingjing said she wasn’t feeling well last weekend, that’s why she didn’t visit me …"
"Ah …" Li Zheng covered his mouth in surprise, "Busted, busted …"
All along the way, Shen Yuecen’s state of mind was like a roller coaster of highs and lows. After several twists, with Li Zheng’s earnest pacification, he eventually entered a state of detached Zen.
Only then did Li Zheng take the opportunity to present the new project’s research approach.
The cryo-electron microscope was perhaps still too novel a concept for Shen Yuecen, who hadn’t had time to absorb that knowledge, but he was still somewhat confident in condensed matter and superconductivity.
"The theoretical model of superconductivity indeed has many imperfections, just that …" Shen Yuecen steadied himself with a sip of tea, "this project is really too difficult for you, with the world’s top people spending decades only making a very small step forward, not even completing the validation of the classical BCS theory, perhaps even overturning it … In short, this direction is incredibly difficult, even considered one of the ultimate questions in contemporary physics."
"I quite agree," Li Zheng whispered beside old man, "That’s why we’ll limit this to this semester, and if we don’t see some signs of progress, we’ll pause it temporarily and won’t get too deep into it."
"Hmm, I believe Jingjing isn’t the type to obsess over details, the main issue is …" Shen Yuecen turned to Gu Jianfeng, "Jian Feng’s talent and aptitude are extremely rare, compared to your highly unlikely project, having someone like me assist him in further learning and research would be a better solution."
"I admit that too," Li Zheng steadied his breath and straightforwardly addressed Gu Jianfeng, "I had actually mentioned you to Teacher Shen before, studying with Teacher Shen is certainly more reliable than muddling with us."
Gu Jianfeng looked back and forth between the two, then lowered his head, "Actually … it’s possible to balance both sides, because I hardly come to class or commute, and I deal with mathematics for thirteen or fourteen hours everyday. Plus, I’m slightly clever and a bit faster-paced, managing several research-scale workloads should be alright."
Li Zheng and Grandpa, upon hearing this, immediately locked eyes in a stare down.
After a fierce exchange of glances, they finally shook hands in agreement.
However, the handshake didn’t exactly signify peace.
One could imagine, in the coming days, there would be a fierce battle for Gu Jianfeng’s attention.
Who is more interesting, who makes greater progress, who will attract his attention, who will be the true owner of Wind God.
With this thought, as they both turned to look at Gu Jianfeng again, their eyes were already full of fighting spirit and solemnity.
It’s time, time to get serious, Wind God!