Chapter 272 - 256: A Chance Encounter

Chapter 272: Chapter 256: A Chance Encounter

As he pushed the door open, Associate Professor Liu already had the second half of his sentence on the tip of his tongue.

"This class is mine."

However, when he got a clear look at the people in the classroom,

He sucked in a sharp breath.

Academician E Weinan.

Looking a little to the side, he saw a young man standing next to the lectern, his hand on the screen, pointing at a page of a paper.

Li Dong!

And just like that, Associate Professor Liu swallowed the words "This class is mine" right back down.

...

E Weinan heard the noise at the door and turned his head.

He paused for a moment when he saw it was Associate Professor Liu, then glanced at his watch.

The next second, he gave an embarrassed smile.

"Ah, Old Liu."

"I’m so sorry. We got a bit carried away with our discussion and lost track of time."

"This is your class period, isn’t it?"

"We’ll get out of your way right now."

After speaking, he turned and waved at the circle of PhD students at the U-shaped table, who were still trying to process what was happening.

"Pack up your things."

"We’re moving to another classroom."

The PhD students hurriedly closed their laptops, gathered their draft papers, and started shuffling out.

Standing at the doorway, Associate Professor Liu finally snapped back to reality.

His class today wasn’t a major lecture, in truth.

The students registered for it were a group of undergraduates he had personally contacted in advance—promising students he had his eye on. He was already planning to recruit several of them as his own graduate students.

In other words, it was a small, private-like class.

Under normal circumstances,

he would have graciously accepted the offer, waited for the other teacher to leave, and then held his class in this room.

But the problem was...

Two academicians were in the middle of a discussion. Who knew how important it was?

Huh? Why two academicians, you ask?

Simple. In Associate Professor Liu’s mind, it was only a matter of time before that young man, not even twenty years old, became an academician. And...

Quite possibly the youngest academician in Huaxia’s history.

So Associate Professor Liu quickly waved his hands dismissively.

"Oh, no, Academician E, please, continue your discussion. Just keep going. We can just find another room."

After speaking, he also nodded and smiled at Li Dong.

Li Dong politely returned the smile and nod.

Associate Professor Liu turned and walked out of the classroom.

The moment the door closed, he called out to his teaching assistant.

"Xiaozhou."

"Go ask the academic secretary which classrooms on this floor are free. We’ll move the students there."

"Okay, Teacher Liu."

The assistant acknowledged and trotted off.

Associate Professor Liu leaned against the corridor wall and took out his phone.

He dialed a number.

The call connected after two rings.

"Old Liu?"

Associate Professor Liu said in a low voice,

"Old Wang."

"Weren’t you looking for Li Dong?"

"...Hmm?"

Associate Professor Liu didn’t beat around the bush.

"He’s in the multipurpose hall on the first floor of the School of Mathematics right now."

"He’s discussing something with Academician E Weinan."

"If you come over now, you can arrange a ’chance’ encounter."

The other end of the line went silent for two seconds.

Then, Professor Wang’s reply came through.

"...Alright, I got it."

Associate Professor Liu hung up and walked back toward his assistant.

The "Old Wang" he mentioned was Professor Wang Zhigang, who had tried to find Li Dong before but was stopped by Liu Ruochuan.

Professor Wang had been cautious and meticulous his entire life.

Last time, after getting Liu Ruochuan’s warning, he hadn’t taken the initiative to seek out Li Dong. Later, after Li Dong’s paper was published, he went looking for Liu Ruochuan and Tian Gang again.

But the two of them were discussing academic problems with Professor Wiles every day, so they were impossible to find.

So Professor Wang kept putting off his visit to Li Dong, day after day.

Associate Professor Liu had been in the same research group as Professor Wang for nearly ten years.

He knew.

Professor Wang must have truly reached his breaking point.

That’s why, upon seeing Li Dong here, he immediately called Professor Wang to set up this "chance encounter."

...

In Professor Wang’s large office on the third floor of the School of Mathematics.

Professor Wang put down his phone.

He didn’t get up immediately.

Instead, he first meticulously tidied up his desk before standing.

Just as he stood up, Professor Zhang Lanjin, whose desk was diagonally across from his in the same office, looked at him and spoke.

"Where are you off to, Old Wang?"

"Aren’t you going to the young faculty symposium at five o’clock?"

Professor Wang rubbed his temples.

"Ah, I’m not feeling too well. I’m going to buy some medicine."

"If I don’t make it back in time... could you make my apologies?"

Professor Zhang Lanjin said, "Oh."

"Then you should go."

"Have you been under a bit too much stress lately?"

"That research project of yours... It really is a shame."

The smile on Professor Wang’s face almost faltered.

He cursed inwardly.

’If you don’t know what to say, then just shut up...’

’Isn’t this just rubbing salt in the wound?’

Professor Wang turned and left the office.

In the hallway, he buttoned his jacket one button at a time, carefully checking to ensure his appearance was impeccable.

This was Professor Wang Zhigang’s personality—meticulous.

Of course, people who are meticulous are often also indecisive.

As Liu Ruochuan had once joked with him in private:

"Old Wang, compared to the top scholars today, you don’t lack experience, and you don’t lack skill. You just lack that final bit of fire."

Professor Wang knew it himself.

This missing fire wasn’t a matter of intelligence.

It was daring.

Previously, Jiang Yubai, along with Zhou Shenzhi, had wanted to pull him in to work on the proof for GL₂ to GL₃.

Jiang Yubai had even personally come to Yan University to have tea with him.

He sat there for two hours, but in the end, he just shook his head.

"Professor Jiang, I haven’t even cleaned up my own mess yet. I’m afraid I can’t jump onto another wagon."

Later, Jiang Yubai’s line of research was completely smashed by Li Dong’s paper on universality.

And along with it, Professor Wang’s own research group’s work on "ramification ≤ 3" also turned to ash.

Professor Wang sometimes thought that if he had agreed to Jiang Yubai’s proposal back then,

he might be in an even worse state now.

...But he was getting sidetracked.

Professor Wang pulled his thoughts back to the present.

Why hadn’t he gone to find Li Dong all this time?

Because he understood the unwritten rules.

Since Liu Ruochuan and Tian Gang had said they didn’t want Li Dong to be disturbed, he wouldn’t take the initiative to do so.

But this time, he really couldn’t hold back any longer.

His research group hadn’t put pen to paper for two straight weeks.

Everyone was waiting for Professor Wang to give them a direction.

And Professor Wang was waiting for his own heart to find that "next step."

What he had his sights on was the Li Clan Conjecture.

He wasn’t going to disprove it, nor did he dare try to prove it.

The great Langlands himself and Terence Tao had both said it was a lighthouse—a project that would take ten or twenty years at a minimum.

What he wanted was to find an entry point, an opening for latecomers like himself within the framework Li Dong had established.

Even if it was just a small incision that would only sustain them for ten years.

He just wanted to go and ask Li Dong.

"This grand edifice you have constructed... where can someone like me find a way in?"

So today, Associate Professor Liu’s phone call had been the push he needed.

’A chance encounter should be fine, right?’

As Professor Wang walked, he tried to psych himself up.

Soon, he reached the first floor of the School of Mathematics.

The door to the multipurpose hall was ajar.