Chapter 254 - 245: Andrew Wiles

Chapter 254: Chapter 245: Andrew Wiles

「Meanwhile.」

In Capital City, a symposium on basic research talent had just concluded.

Principal Gong Qi of Yan University emerged from the conference room and went straight to his official university car.

His secretary, Xiaowang, was already waiting by the car. Seeing him approach, Xiaowang deftly pulled open the rear door.

After Principal Gong settled into the back seat, he looked at Xiaowang in the passenger seat and lowered his voice.

"Xiaowang, what exactly is going on? Professor Wiles is coming to Yan University... Why were we only notified at the last minute?"

Xiaowang had clearly anticipated the question and gave a simple, clear answer.

"Principal, Professor Wiles is coming in a personal capacity this time. He didn’t go through the official channels."

"We on our end... also just found out."

Principal Gong’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

He simply hummed in acknowledgment, raised his hand, and tapped the back of the driver’s seat twice.

The driver, an old hand who had been with Principal Gong for years, understood instantly.

The foot on the accelerator pressed down a little harder.

Throughout the ride, Principal Gong leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed.

The last time Professor Wiles came to Yan University was back in 2005.

Back then, Professor Wiles had been on his way to Xiangjiang to receive the Shaw Prize. It was only through Professor Zhang Jiping’s insistent invitations that he was persuaded to visit Yan University and give a public lecture in the Sunshine Hall.

The three hundred seats were filled to capacity, with people even standing in the aisles.

And this time, he was coming on his own initiative, in a private capacity...

Principal Gong couldn’t for the life of him figure out what was happening.

...

The driver drove at twice his usual speed on the way from the conference venue to the Yan University gate.

As he stepped out of the car, Principal Gong immediately spotted Tian Gang, Liu Ruochuan, Guan An, and a foreigner standing at the university gate.

Seeing Principal Gong exit the car, Tian Gang hurried forward to greet him.

Principal Gong skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Old Tian, about Professor Wiles... Why the sudden visit?"

Tian Gang spread his hands and shook his head with a wry smile.

"He didn’t say."

The three short words left Principal Gong at a loss.

Tian Gang genuinely didn’t know.

Just a couple of days ago, Liu Ruochuan had invited him to a meal and mentioned that Li Dong’s paper extending GL(2) to GL(n) had been submitted to the *Mathematical Annals*. However, the list of peer reviewers for the *Mathematical Annals* is strictly confidential, so he had no idea that Wiles was one of them.

Therefore, he hadn’t immediately connected Wiles’s trip with Li Dong.

Principal Gong thought for a moment but couldn’t deduce the reason, so he asked another question.

"When does he arrive?"

"Soon."

Tian Gang glanced at his phone.

"The university has already sent a car to pick him up."

Principal Gong nodded and turned his gaze to the foreigner.

"...And who might that be?"

Tian Gang made the introduction.

"Mateo Levan."

Although Principal Gong’s background was in applied physics, he had also dabbled in the field of applied mathematics.

He had never met Levan in person, but he had certainly heard the name before.

He worked in partial differential equations and the calculus of variations and was highly regarded in Europe.

He was taken aback for a moment.

"Professor Levan... Why is he here too?"

Tian Gang spread his hands again.

"You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Guan An brought him over."

"Apparently, Professor Levan just arrived in Huaxia and was originally headed to Hecheng. But then he somehow heard the news that Professor Wiles was coming to Yan University, so he changed his itinerary at the last minute and tagged along."

He was a top scholar, after all, so of course Yan University wouldn’t turn him away.

Principal Gong stepped forward, exchanged a few pleasantries with Levan, and officially welcomed him.

After waiting at the university gate for about five more minutes,

a black van pulled up smoothly to the entrance.

The door opened, and Professor Wiles’s two students helped the elderly man out of the vehicle.

Wiles was already seventy years old.

His hair was almost completely white, and his frame was so thin that he looked as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

But one look into his eyes revealed the immense energy hidden within that frail body.

Principal Gong, Tian Gang, and the others hurried to greet him.

"Professor Wiles, it’s been a long journey."

Professor Wiles was a man of few words.

Having spent his entire life immersed in scholarly pursuits, the old man had never been one for socializing.

When he had secluded himself to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem, he had worked tirelessly for seven years, and not even his closest colleagues knew what he was doing.

He spoke politely.

"Principal Gong, my apologies for intruding on your university."

"I’ve come uninvited... primarily because I wish to meet one of your students."

"Li Dong."

The moment the name was spoken, Tian Gang froze.

Then, the realization hit him.

’Wiles must be one of the peer reviewers for Li Dong’s paper.’

’So... that kid’s paper was a success?’

Almost subconsciously, he turned his head to glance at Principal Gong.

Principal Gong now understood as well.

How could he not be clear on the matter of Li Dong?

One of his main reasons for attending today’s symposium on basic research talent was to lobby for more preferential policies for promising young talents like Li Dong.

’I had thought I was already paying sufficient attention to this young man. But now, it seems that was far from enough.’

He actually felt a little daunted.

However, these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Outwardly, Principal Gong maintained his calm and composed demeanor.

"Professor Wiles, you’re too kind."

"It is an honor for Yan University to have you visit in person."

"Why don’t we do this? You’ve had a long journey. Please, come with us to the guest house to rest for a while. I’ll have someone fetch Li Dong immediately."

Wiles nodded in gratitude.

"Thank you for your trouble, Principal Gong."

...

「At this very moment.」

Li Dong himself was still in the lab with Qi Yu’s research group.

Ever since joining the group, it was as if the kid had grown roots in front of the lab bench.

He had long since solved the mathematical hurdle with the SX-STM inversion that had originally stumped the group.

Logically, after completing the handover, there was no reason for him to keep coming in.

But the kid just wouldn’t leave.

Dressed in a white lab coat and safety goggles, he held a pipette, methodically dispensing drops into several rows of parallel samples, recording his work on each one.

His movements were so steady, his touch so deft, that the senior students watching from the side felt a little ashamed of their own hands.

Qi Yu stood beside him, a look of resignation on her face.

"Li Dong, isn’t this project finished? Why are you still messing around here?"

Li Dong replied.

"Qi Yu, you all should focus on your paper. I’m just... getting some practice in."

Qi Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Just then, Qi Yu’s phone, which she’d left on the lab bench, suddenly started to vibrate.

It was a call from the elderly Professor Zhang Lufang.

Qi Yu quickly answered the call.

"Hello, Professor?"

No one could quite hear what was being said on the other end, but they heard Qi Yu respond a couple of times.

"Yes."

"...Okay, yes, Professor Zhang. I’ll send him over right away."

"Understood, Professor."

After hanging up, Qi Yu turned and looked at Li Dong with a strange expression.

Li Dong had just placed the sample tube in his hand back on the rack. He looked up and asked,

"Qi Yu? What is it?"

It took her a long moment to finally get the words out.

"Li Dong, you should really keep your phone on."

"Every time someone needs to find you, they have to go through me. I feel like I’m your personal secretary."

"The Principal is looking for you. You should go."