Chapter 308 - 238: The Great Rivers Flow On Forever

Chapter 308: Chapter 238: The Great Rivers Flow On Forever

「Meanwhile.」

Jinmen, Yannan University.

Although it was the final exam week just before winter break, and a tense atmosphere of studying and preparation filled the campus, the mood in the principal’s office on the top floor of the administration building was exceptionally fervent, even bubbling with a barely suppressed excitement.

The premium Da Hong Pao tea on the coffee table had already been steeped three times. Its liquor remained a clear, orange-yellow, with steam gently rising from the cups, yet no one paid it any mind to take a sip.

Principal Chang Kai and Dean Zhuang of the School of Mathematics were staring, transfixed, at the 85-inch LCD television on the wall.

The screen was frozen on the moment Chen Lin stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the national leaders, holding a large, red certificate, a Gold Medal pinned to his chest.

The young man in the picture stood tall and poised. Surrounded by a crowd of white-haired seniors, he was as dazzling as the rising sun.

Dean Zhuang of the School of Mathematics let out a long breath, took off his glasses, and began to wipe them with a velvet cloth. He couldn’t help but marvel:

"He transferred from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature to the School of Mathematics... That was less than half a year ago, wasn’t it?"

There was a hint of a daze in his voice.

Hearing this, Principal Chang Kai paused, his hand just about to lift his teacup, then an irrepressible smile spread across his face.

"That’s right. If I recall correctly, it was this past July. I personally accompanied him to the academic affairs office to handle the major transfer. We fast-tracked the whole thing, getting it stamped and signed."

Recalling that sweltering afternoon six months ago, and the young man in his office who was neither obsequious nor arrogant, who even dared to negotiate terms with him, Chang Kai couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

’Who could have possibly imagined?’

"Director Guo Qizhi and Professor Gu Ming were just discussing this with me a while ago."

Dean Zhuang put his glasses back on, pointed at the television screen, and said with a wry smile:

"They were still arguing about whether the kid’s next stop would be the Fields Medal or the Crafoord Prize in Mathematics."

"And what happens? He skips right past the academic circle’s self-congratulatory-fests and, in one fell swoop, nabs the National Science and Technology Progress Award!"

This was the highest national award in science and technology!

Countless professors spent their entire lives, losing all their hair in the process, and might never even come close to touching such an award.

But Chen Lin? He just went and brought it back as casually as if he were buying groceries at the market.

Dean Zhuang turned to Principal Chang Kai, his tone filled with sincere admiration.

"Principal, I have to say it now. Your decision back then to go against everyone’s advice, to even use unconventional methods like university-enterprise investments and special appointments just to keep Chen Lin at Yannan University... It was absolutely the right call. A stroke of genius, really!"

Principal Chang Kai found this flattery quite pleasing.

He leaned back slightly into the leather sofa, his mind flashing back to the modeling competition in July—Gu Ming’s almost fanatical gaze, and his own thought at the time to ’take a gamble’.

"Indeed..." Chang Kai sighed, a triumphant glint in his eyes. "Keeping Chen Lin was probably the best decision I’ve made in years. As long as he’s at Yannan, our university’s ranking in the science and engineering fields will skyrocket."

’In hindsight, what was an investment of a few million, or a few special privileges?’

’Compared to this national first-class award that Chen Lin brought back, compared to the hundreds of millions in funding and the prestige from the solid-state battery project, it was just a drop in the bucket!’

’This is the charm of being a ’venture angel’!’

Just then, Dean Zhuang’s brow furrowed slightly. The excitement on his face faded, replaced by a hint of worry.

"However, Principal..."

Dean Zhuang hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly:

"Chen Lin is so young. To receive such a high honor and stand in such a prominent position before the age of twenty-one... it might not be an entirely good thing."

"You know how our circle is. Academia is a marketplace of fame and fortune."

"The tree that stands tallest in the forest will be the first to be broken by the wind."

Dean Zhuang sighed. "He’s only twenty-one, and he’s already reached the peak. Who knows how many pairs of eyes will be watching him from the shadows now. It’s happened a few times before, hasn’t it? Whether it was that Yang Han or those online trolls stirring up trouble later, there are always people who want to attack him with public opinion, wanting to see his star fall."

"He’s being praised so highly now. If even the slightest flaw is found in the future, it will probably be magnified infinitely."

Hearing this, Principal Chang Kai’s expression did not turn grim.

He took a slow sip of tea and waved his hand dismissively, his expression calm.

"Dean Zhuang, your concern, while well-intentioned, is entirely unnecessary, I think."

"Oh?" Dean Zhuang was a little confused.

Chang Kai stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the winter campus. His voice was calm yet full of power.

"First, Chen Lin’s achievements are solid."

"Those who launch public opinion attacks—what can they attack? His private life? His looks?"

"In the face of absolute ability—that is, the technological breakthrough of the solid-state battery and the crushing superiority of his AI algorithm—the buzzing of all those flies and mosquitoes is nothing but a joke."

Chang Kai turned around and pointed to his own chest.

"Actually, you and I both know, with the speed this kid is developing at, this is just the beginning, isn’t it?"

"His current achievements are just the start. In the future... he’s likely to be someone whose name will go down in the history of human science, ranked alongside people like Newton, Einstein, and Turing."

At this point, Chang Kai’s gaze grew profound.

"For a figure of this caliber, the temporary clamor of public opinion is simply child’s play."

"Your bodies and names will perish, but the rivers will flow on for eternity."

Chang Kai recited the two lines, his voice firm and resonant.

"As for the second point..."

Chang Kai smiled, recalling Chen Lin’s way of doing things—worth over a hundred million, yet setting rules so his employees wouldn’t have to work overtime—and his almost cold-hearted sobriety when faced with all sorts of temptations.

"That kid, Chen Lin, he doesn’t care about empty fame or criticism at all."

"I find him more and more inscrutable."

"But there is one thing I am sure of."

Chang Kai said with certainty:

"His mind is definitely on grander things, things that ordinary people like us, or even so-called university leaders like us, would never even consider."

"How can a sparrow understand the ambitions of a swan?"

...

「At the same time.」

Jiangdu, Chen Lin’s hometown.

Although there was still some time before the Spring Festival, the cozy little living room in Chen Lin’s home was currently ten times more bustling than New Year’s Eve.

The coffee table was piled high with sunflower seeds, peanuts, sugar tangerines, and high-end candies that Chen Lin’s mother had specially gone out to buy.

Chen Lin’s father, Chen Xian, his mother, Lin Xiaoqi, and a crowd of relatives, including aunts who had been specially invited, were all crammed onto the small sofa.

"Here he is, here he is! Quick, look!"

Following Lin Xiaoqi’s excited shriek, everyone’s eyes were glued to the television screen.

When they heard the announcer articulate the name "Chen Lin" in a perfect, clear voice, and when they saw that familiar, almost halo-crowned figure slowly walk up to the podium—

The entire living room erupted in an instant.

"It’s Chen Lin! It’s really Chen Lin!"

"Oh my god, he’s so handsome! Is that Linlin? I almost didn’t recognize him in a suit!" an aunt exclaimed, slapping her thigh.

"The boy’s really made something of himself... He’s truly made it big!"

His father, Chen Xian, sat in the center of the sofa, tightly clutching a thermal flask that had already grown warm in his grip.

As the pillar of the family, he was usually a stern man of few words, a tough guy who prided himself on "remaining calm even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him."

But at this moment, watching his son on TV wearing the medal, Chen Xian’s usually stern face was trembling slightly.

The rims of his eyes reddened involuntarily.

Once upon a time, he had worried that his son wouldn’t get into a good university, that he wouldn’t find a good job, that he would suffer and struggle in this fiercely competitive society.

And now...

That was the nation’s most prestigious awards podium!

That was a moment of bringing glory to his ancestors!

"Old Chen, look at you, why are you crying?" Lin Xiaoqi said, wiping away her own tears as she laughingly nudged her husband. "Our son winning a huge award is a happy occasion!"

"Who’s... Who’s crying?"

Chen Xian sniffled stubbornly, tilted his head back, and tried to hold back his tears. His voice was choked with emotion but full of strength.

"I’m happy! I’m happy for our Chen Family!"

For this ordinary pair of parents, this moment was likely the greatest pride of their lives, a highlight to be savored and replayed for the rest of their days.

...

As the official media broadcast ended, the storm did not subside. Instead, it swept across the entire internet with even greater ferocity.

On major social media platforms, short video sites, and news apps, the trending topics lists were instantly dominated by the two words: "Chen Lin".

Even the clickbait accounts that usually only focused on celebrity gossip were now like sharks that had smelled blood, frantically latching onto this wave of national-level traffic.

A series of sensational yet undeniably true headlines popped up one after another, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain:

"Top Scholar Professor Chen Lin Wins First Major Domestic Award! Its Prestige is Off the Charts!"

"Shocking! Huaxia’s Highest Award Given to a 21-Year-Old Youth! The Reason Why Will Warm Your Heart!"

"The Genius of Academia—The "Chen Lin Study Method" You Never Knew!"

"From Humanities Student to World-Class Mathematician in Just Six Months! Not Even Novels Would Dare to Write a Plot Like This!"

"National Science and Technology Progress Award! Chen Lin: "I Just Did a Little Bit of Insignificant Work.""

And in the major forums and comment sections, the goofy netizens were going absolutely wild.

[Holy shit! Fucking awesome! I can’t find any other word besides fucking awesome!]

[Chuan-God? No, from now on, please call him Chen Shen! A true god of studying!]

[Amazing. A National Science and Technology Progress Award at twenty-one. This is definitely unprecedented, right? He’s truly been deified!]

[Just one word for him: awesome! I won’t say it twice! My mom asked me why I was kneeling while looking at my phone. I told her I was worshipping a deity.]

[Right in the feels, bro... Look at his twenty-first birthday: winning awards left and right, chatting cheerfully with national leaders. Now look at my twenty-first birthday: it’s Saturday, I just woke up, and I’m about to order takeout and go back to sleep...]

[LMAOOOOO, person above, are you spying on my life? I suspect you’ve installed a camera in my house!]

[But for real, that’s some serious guts! To give him the highest award of this level, you know he’s only twenty-one! If he makes more achievements later in his career, what awards will be left to give him? Are they just going to make him President of Earth?]

Of course, it takes all sorts to make a world, and the comment section also had its share of discordant voices.

[Tch, this is too much. So you all think he deserves this award? So many old scientists haven’t won it, and they give it to some wet-behind-the-ears kid?]

[Exactly, I think so too. I’m not denying his ability, I just think he’s too young. It’s like pulling up a seedling to help it grow. Maybe they could have waited a few more years, until he had more seniority. It wouldn’t have been too late.]

The moment these "rational, neutral, and objective" comments appeared, they were immediately drowned in a torrent of righteous fury from the other netizens.

[Can the people above stop being so sour? Go look at the solid-state battery breakthrough, that’s something that will change the entire energy landscape! Go look at that AI algorithm, that’s something that made the tech giants from the Beautiful Country bow their heads! With a contribution like that, who should get the award if not him? You?]

[Seniority? In the face of an absolute genius, seniority is bullshit! Einstein was only 26 when he proposed the theory of relativity! Can some people grow a spine?]

[Exactly! Our country is now promoting talented people without sticking to a single pattern! As long as you’ve got the skills, the country dares to give you the honor! Chen Shen is awesome! Huaxia is awesome!]