Peking University.
On campus.
"Eh!"
"Who is that?"
"I think it's Zhang Ye!"
"It's him! Let's go! Quick, let's go! "
Zhang Ye was stopped by four or five media reporters who happened to be walking along the tree-lined path beside the man-made lake. They were here for the Sino-Japanese University Exchange at noon and happened to see Zhang Ye standing in the limelight. Naturally, they would not let go of this opportunity and immediately surrounded him.
A female reporter quickly took out her voice recorder and handed it to Zhang Ye. "Teacher Zhang, we've just received news that not only will you be teaching the Chinese department's elective courses this semester, you'll also be teaching at Peking University's Math Department? And you've even gotten the title of an associate professor in the Math Department? Is this true? "
Zhang Ye smiled. "I think so."
The female reporter gave a wry smile. "Don't think so."
"I think so." Zhang Ye still answered ambiguously.
"Alright then, I'll congratulate you in advance," the female reporter said.
One of the male reporters beside her was from China Youth Daily. "Teacher Zhang, no, I should call you Professor Zhang now. If I remember correctly, you're 24 years old this year. Not too long ago, you solved Dale's Conjecture and won honor for the country. Today, you've also become the youngest professor in the country. I wonder if you have any thoughts or things to say. Will you be giving a speech at the welcoming ceremony later?"
Zhang Ye did not try to be sarcastic this time. He was, after all, an associate professor on campus, so he had to say different things on different occasions. "What I want to say is to thank you. This honor is not mine alone, it's because of everyone's support. Well, as for the ceremony later, I might have to give a speech."
Another middle-aged reporter quickly asked, "What will it be about?"
"It's related to Math." Zhang Ye said a few more words before leaving.
A few reporters were still chasing after him to continue asking questions, but Zhang Ye still had something to do. He had to make a trip to the Math Department. Firstly, as a teacher of the Math Department, he had to meet up with his colleagues and get to know them. Secondly, the team to verify Dale's Conjecture had also arrived, including Xin Ya and a few other mathematicians from around the world. Zhang Ye could not just ignore this matter, since he was the one who solved the conjecture. Thirdly, Dean Pan Yang from the School of Mathematical Sciences had instructed him to give a speech at the afternoon ceremony on behalf of the Math Department.
Past 9 PM.
In the Math Department staff office.
The moment he arrived, Zhang Ye saw a few familiar faces.
Wu Zeqing's childhood friend, Xin Ya, also saw him. Xin Ya, who was talking to a blonde foreigner, immediately turned around and smiled at Zhang Ye. "Yo, isn't this Teacher Zhang?"
Zhang Ye waved from afar. "Hey, Professor Xin."
Xin Ya put on a fake smile and said, "I heard that you've been doing well recently."
"Hai, how am I doing well? I'm so busy that I don't even know where I am. I've always wanted to find some time to help you guys verify Dale's Conjecture, but I just don't have the time." Zhang Ye knew that Xin Ya was still holding a grudge against him. Back at Summer Palace Park, he had mocked and ridiculed them for a long time. However, this fellow was a very friendly person. The moment he spoke, it was as if nothing had happened. He even said with a look of concern, "I heard that everyone has been working day and night for a week? You have to pay attention to your rest. If you can't handle it, then put it aside for now. Your health comes first. "
Xin Ya continued, "Then I'll have to thank Teacher Zhang for his concern. The verification of Dale's Conjecture is already in the middle stages, so when will you be going over to help? With you joining us, we will definitely be like a tiger that has grown wings and our progress will be even faster. In this way, everyone can finish their work earlier and go home to rest. "
Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Another day, another day, I'll definitely go."
Xin Ya glanced at him and knew that this fellow had no intention of helping at all.
Dean Pan Yang walked over with a smile and said, "Professor Xin, I don't think you should make things difficult for Teacher Little Zhang. He's really busy, I can attest to that. He has to teach both Chinese and Math, and his new novel is about to be published and sold. There's also his own hosting job."
Zhang Ye nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's right."
Xin Ya rolled her eyes. She had actually given up on this fellow a long time ago. This was such a great honor. If it were anyone else, they would have rushed over to help out. How could they feel at ease leaving such an important job to someone else? They would definitely have to participate in it themselves, afraid that others would find fault with it. If they were to find any logical errors in the formula, then the entire conjecture would not be able to be established. But Zhang Ye, on the other hand, was such a magnanimous person. He had left such an important task to someone else and did not even bother to make a phone call to ask about it.
Zhang Ye's love rival, the young mathematician from Peking University's Math Department, Han Henian, also did not have a good attitude towards Zhang Ye. He was just standing beside him, but he did not even bother to look at him. This fellow was too much of a scammer. He had caused such a huge commotion, yet he just washed his hands of it and left it to these people to verify the conjecture day and night. Han Henian did some calculations and realized that he had not been home for four to five days. He had been staying overnight at the research institute and had dark circles under his eyes. Logically speaking, this was also an honor for the country. As mathematicians, they also felt honored to be able to participate in the verification of a conjecture that was destined to go down in the annals of history. But every time they saw the main character, Zhang Ye, leisurely publishing a book and appearing in the news on Weibo, they could not help but get angry. It was as if the emperor was not anxious, but the eunuch was.
They chatted for a while.
Many people in front of them also noticed Zhang Ye's arrival. They stopped their conversations and looked over. There were two foreigners among them who were probably on good terms with Xin Ya and the others. The other foreign mathematicians were not here. They were probably assigned somewhere else or had not arrived yet. In this large office area, most of the people were teachers from the School of Mathematical Sciences. There were teachers from the Math Department, professors from the Probability and Statistics Department, and teachers from the Science and Engineering Computing Department. Everyone was very curious about Zhang Ye and looked at him with different expressions.
Some were kind.
Some were impressed.
Some nodded slightly.
Dean Pan Yang clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention. Then, he gently put his hand on Zhang Ye's shoulder and said, "Let me introduce to everyone. Well, actually, there's no need for introductions. Associate Professor Zhang, Zhang Ye, everyone should know him. From today onwards, he will be a member of our Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences faculty!"
Without waiting for Dean Pan to say anything, applause rang out.
Clap clap clap. The Peking University mathematics teachers were all smiling and clapping enthusiastically.
"This is Dean Yan," Dean Pan introduced to Zhang Ye.
A middle-aged man put his hand out. "Professor Zhang, welcome."
Zhang Ye shook hands with him. "Thank you, Dean Yan."
"This is Professor Lu." Dean Pan introduced the person who was closest to him.
Professor Lu's eyes were very small as he smiled. "Teacher Zhang, I've been looking forward to your arrival. With you joining us, our Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences will be like a tiger that has grown wings."
"It's my honor that you're praising me," Zhang Ye said.
Dean Pan added, "This is Teacher Han Henian."
Zhang Ye looked at his love rival and said happily, "I know Teacher Han."
Dean Pan nodded. "Yes, you two should have met at Summer Palace Park."
Han Henian said reluctantly, "Welcome."
After getting to know a large circle of people, Zhang Ye greeted them one by one. Two young mathematics teachers even took out their notebooks and asked Zhang Ye for his autograph after they shook hands with him. It was unknown if they liked Zhang Ye's achievements in the field of hosting and literature, or if they admired his achievements in mathematics. Since they wanted his autograph, Zhang Ye would be too embarrassed to reject them. His action of asking for autographs amused quite a few people. Everyone joked around with each other and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
Soon after, Dean Pan tapped on Zhang Ye's shoulder. "Excuse me."
Zhang Ye nodded and walked out with Dean Pan. As he walked, he said, "Dean Pan, why don't you find someone else to give the speech? I haven't thought of what to say yet, so there's nothing to say. "
Dean Pan said, "You're a famous Chinese language host, so how could giving a speech be a problem for you?"
Zhang Ye said helplessly, "I just don't know what to say."
Dean Pan comforted him, "Just say it. You can also talk about your successful experiences. There are quite a lot of people attending this conference and the Sino-Japanese University collaboration is also very much followed by society. You are now representing the highest academic standards of our Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences. No one else can do it, so you're the most suitable candidate." Saying that, he took out a speech script and handed it to him. "If you really can't do it, you can just read it from this script. I got someone to write it."
"Whoa, I'm not that great. What highest academic standards?" Zhang Ye took the speech script and did not dare to be too arrogant. "I've only been a teacher for a few months."
Behind him, Xin Ya suddenly came up to him.
Dean Pan did not avoid her and said with a smile, "Those who are capable are teachers. Among our Chinese mathematicians, there's no dispute that they can be called world-class mathematicians. The more widely recognized ones are only those five who can count on their fingers. You are the sixth!"
Zhang Ye said nervously, "Surely not? Isn't Dale's Conjecture still in the process of being verified? "
What did that mean?
He was already considered a world-class mathematician?
Xin Ya walked up to the two of them and said, "Even if there's a small problem with the verification of Dale's Conjecture, you still won't be able to run away from the title of world-class mathematician. Two days ago, the International Mathematical Union released a list of top mathematicians with your name on it. This is already an evaluation of you by the World Mathematical Union. In the future, if there are any major problems or research difficulties, the International Mathematical Union might even contact you to participate in some projects. There are a total of 204 world-class mathematicians on this list, but Dean Pan and I are not on it."
Dean Pan and Xin Ya seemed to have quite a good relationship, so it was likely that they often interacted with each other. "Professor Xin, there's still hope for you in the future. I heard that you're already working on that new research topic of yours?"
Xin Ya shook her head. "I'm stuck at a critical point. I'm still far from it."
Dean Pan said, "If there's anything you need help with, just let me know. Peking University's laboratory should have more facilities than yours."
Xin Ya smiled. "I was just waiting for you to say that. There's no need for the facilities." She looked at Zhang Ye from the corner of her eyes. "If there's a need, just lend Teacher Zhang to me."
"That's not up to me." Dean Pan said with a smile.
Xin Ya gave Zhang Ye a checkmate. "Teacher Zhang?"
Zhang Ye played dumb and said, "We'll talk about it in the future."
Xin Ya was not in a hurry to get him to agree. This matter had to be taken one step at a time. She said, "In any case, I'll let you know in advance. When I'm done with the verification of Dale's Conjecture, I'll look for you again. Don't hide from me, hur hur. In any case, no matter where you hide, you know that I will definitely have a way to find you."
That's because Old Wu is your childhood friend. Even if I can hide from you, can I still hide from my Old Wu?
Zhang Ye had no choice but to say, "Ahem, we'll talk about it when the time comes."
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