In the afternoon of May 25th, Stockholm Airport.
A bright silver flight slowly landed on the runway.
Not long after, Lu Zhou dragged his suitcase and walked out of the airport.
This was his first time in this city. Other than the cleanliness, he also felt the strong artistic atmosphere.
Actually, Lu Zhou didn't know much about art. His rational mind made it difficult for him to look at these issues from an emotional perspective. But even so, he could intuitively feel the strong artistic atmosphere from the city's subway station.
It was no exaggeration to say that this place was like a museum.
The 108-kilometer subway network stored more than 100 works of art created by artists specifically for these subway stations.
No wonder before he came to Stockholm, Edward Witten recommended that if he could take the subway, he must not take a taxi. Otherwise, although it was convenient, it would be a lot less fun.
According to the specifications of the Nobel Prize, the winner's residence was arranged at the Stockholm Hotel.
At the entrance of the hotel, Academician Staffan Normark, the lifelong secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, smiled at Lu Zhou, opened his arms, and gave him a big hug.
"Welcome, Professor Lu Zhou!"
"I hope I didn't make you wait too long."
"Of course not!" Academician Staffan smiled and said, "Please allow me to introduce you, this is …"
The few people standing next to him were scholars from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
After Academician Staffan introduced them, Lu Zhou shook hands with them one by one. He then followed Academician Staffan to his residence.
Academician Staffan stood at the door and smiled. He then spoke politely.
"If you have any needs, please ask the hotel staff. They will convey your needs to us."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "You guys are too polite."
"This isn't polite, this is the respect that a scholar should have." Academician Staffan smiled and said, "To be honest, I was surprised when I saw you. I thought Tao Zhexuan was young enough. I didn't expect another young mathematician to break the record in less than four years. "
Tao Zhexuan won the Crafoord Prize in 2012, when he was in his thirties. It was also the same year that he made a breakthrough on the "weak Goldbach conjecture", which indirectly led to Helfgott's proof of the conjecture.
Now in 2016, it was the same Goldbach's conjecture.
It was as if a reincarnation cycle had been formed.
Lu Zhou smiled and said modestly, "Mathematics is an ancient and dynamic subject. It will get older and older, but the people who study it will get younger and younger. Maybe in the future, someone younger than me will break this record. "
Academician Staffan laughed and said, "That might be a little difficult."
Academician Staffan didn't want to disturb Lu Zhou any longer. After telling him some things that he needed to pay attention to, Academician Staffan left.
Lu Zhou placed the suitcase next to the bedside table and didn't immediately go out for a stroll.
Although he was very interested in this city, he had just crossed the Atlantic Ocean and half of Europe, so he needed to rest more.
After taking a shower, Lu Zhou laid on the bed and was about to go to sleep.
He suddenly remembered that he hadn't shared this joy with anyone yet, so he sat up from the bed and picked up the phone on the bedside table. He took a picture of the night view outside the window and uploaded it to his WeChat moments and Weibo.
This time, he didn't say a word. He only uploaded the picture.
However, soon after, a few replies popped up on his Weibo.
[Did God Lu go on vacation?]
[Where is this night view from? Come on, let's talk.]
[I'm guessing it's Philadelphia. It's pretty close to Princeton. After all, the houses here are too short. It's not like New York.]
[It's almost time for college entrance exams, and I'm going to touch God Lu's thigh up close!]
[Oh my god! God Lu isn't bragging!!!]
When Lu Zhou saw the comments on Weibo, he couldn't help but smile awkwardly.
What are you talking about?
Am I that kind of person?
…
The next afternoon.
The antique Stockholm Concert Hall was filled with elegant classical music. More than a thousand seats were filled to the brim.
After a simple opening speech, a middle-aged woman with short hair walked on stage and announced the beginning of the award ceremony.
Her name was Barbara Cannon, and she was the dean of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Although her face was mostly covered by wrinkles, one could tell that this lady must have been a scholar with both beauty and knowledge when she was young.
Amidst the solemn and warm applause, Academician Staffan Normark, the lifelong secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, took her place. He walked to the front of the stage and read the list of winners and awards.
"… The future of mankind lies in the boundless universe. One day, we will reach all places we can see. Let us thank the pioneers of the Stargazing Project. Let us give them our blessings and applause! Thank you for your outstanding contribution to the research on angular momentum black holes and their effects! "
"The winners of the Astronomy Prize are Professor Roy Kerr from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and Professor Roger Branford from Stanford University in the United States!"
Academician Staffan's rhythmic voice ignited the atmosphere in the venue.
Amidst the applause, two professors from New Zealand and the United States walked up to the podium and solemnly received the medals from Gustav XVI.
Lu Zhou, who was standing in the audience, took a deep breath and gently adjusted his tie.
He thought that he would be very calm, but in the last few seconds, he had to control his breathing and heartbeat.
This was different from the Shiing-Shen Chern Mathematics Prize awarded by the China Mathematics Society, and different from the Cole Prize awarded by the Federal Mathematics Society. This honor was not only recognized by the mathematics community, but it was also recognized by the entire natural sciences community.
Academician Staffan continued to speak on stage.
"… Mathematics is the language of God, and prime numbers are the code he left in the world. Many propositions are not necessarily great, but it is precisely because of these ordinary but not simple, complex but pure things that our world and our civilization are quietly changing. "
"Thank him for his outstanding contribution to the study of prime numbers! And the proof of Goldbach's conjecture!
"The winner of the mathematics prize is …
"Professor Lu Zhou from Princeton University!"
There was an even louder round of applause than before.
It was like the ups and downs of the ocean, lasting for a long time.
In the midst of the applause, Lu Zhou walked steadily on stage.
In the decades since the establishment of the Crafoord Prize, this was the first Chinese scholar to stand here.
Behind him were more than two hundred scholars of different skin colors and nationalities, as well as nearly a thousand invited guests from different fields. They gave him their blessings and applause for his contributions to the world.
And at this moment, standing in front of him was King Gustav XVI and his queen, Sylvia.
"Congratulations, Professor Lu Zhou!"
The white-haired old man had a smile on his face as he solemnly handed the medal and certificate to Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou took it and shook hands with the king. He then nodded and said, "Thank you!"
The applause was heard again.
It wasn't until the Chinese laureate smiled and stood on the side that Academician Staffan walked up to him that the crowd slowly calmed down.
However, for Lu Zhou, his heart was beating fast. He could not calm down like the applause.
He felt the weight of this medal. The elegant classical music played, the award ceremony came to an end, and the guests began to leave the venue …
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