904 Mathematics Center in a Siheyuan

The air remained quiet for a few seconds.

Old Qiu forcefully smiled, breaking the awkward atmosphere. He rubbed his nose and spoke.

“Oh, I nearly forgot… You’re not a kid anymore.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I’m glad you’re able to notice that. It means I haven’t wasted the past five years.”

“My brain can’t keep up with your speed of growth anymore…” Old Qiu sighed and began to reminisce about the past.

After a couple of seconds, he smiled and said, “Speaking of which, why are you at Shuimu University?”

“You might not believe me, but I happened to be walking nearby.”

Lu Zhou told Old Qiu about Academician Wang Shicheng’s invitation. The old man pushed his glasses and spoke with an unpleasant expression.

“Wang Shicheng… Don’t be fooled by his smile, who knows what’s behind that face. Don’t believe everything he says, this old man is up to no good! You should stay careful!”

Lu Zhou was a little confused.

“I’m just visiting the Yan University campus, what’s so bad about it…”

Qiu Chengtong said, “He’s just up to no good! Visiting the Yan University campus is fine, but just stay careful!”

“Okay, okay.”

Lu Zhou didn’t have any grudges toward Academician Wang Shicheng, so he took the conversation elsewhere.

After some small talk, he bid farewell to Old Qiu and walked toward the west gate of Shuimu University, which was also toward the east gate of Yan University.

…

Yan University east gate.

A young teacher in a suit stood there.

When he noticed Lu Zhou, he instantly walked up and greeted him with a smile.

“You must be Academician Lu, right? Hello! Academician Wang told me you were coming.”

Lu Zhou smiled at the enthusiastic teacher.

“I visited Shuimu University on the way, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Oh, no worries, you’re a world-class scholar, I’m happy to wait here all night.” The young professor reached out his hand and said, “Yang Yongan, mathematics professor. I’m in my thirties already, so I’m probably a bit older than you. Standing next to you makes me feel humbled.”

“Oh, don’t feel humbled, becoming a professor at Yan University is no small feat.” Lu Zhou let go of Professor Yang’s hand and said, “Where is Academician Wang?”

“Academician Wang is at the Yan University mathematics center. He has to train the national IMO team, so he’s currently not available right now. My apologies.”

IMO?

I totally forgot about that.

“It’s fine, I understand…” Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I want to go to the mathematics center, how about you take me there?”

Yang Yongan made an inviting gesture.

“This way.”

Beijing had changed quite a bit over the past few years. There were more and more Alternative Energy Vehicles on the road, more high-rise buildings, and more foreign residents. However, its historic architecture hadn’t changed.

This kind of architecture could be found in artifacts and universities across Beijing.

Yan University was a world-class institute; the tree-lined paths connecting the teaching buildings gave off a rich academic atmosphere. This was one of the top academic research places in China.

Actually, Lu Zhou was familiar with Shuimu and Yan University’s campuses.

When he used to live near Yuanmingyuan Park, he would often come here for a walk. However, due to various reasons, he was never able to visit the Yan University International Mathematical Research Center.

Apparently, the mathematics center was located inside a Siheyuan. It was only three stories tall and was filled with blackboards.

The rustic look of the facility was intentional. Apparently, being in a simple and pure environment activated the most primitive part of the human brain, thus enhancing their abilities to conduct scientific research.

Of course, being able to research in such a spacious Siheyuan that was located in the middle of Beijing was something most mathematicians dreamed of.

When Lu Zhou walked into the compound, he saw a young man sitting in front of a blackboard next to a big tree. The young man had a piece of chalk in his hand as he thought about the equations on the blackboard.

His gray clothes looked a little faded, and his hair looked a little unkempt.

This young man had a depressed-artist vibe. Lu Zhou looked at him and curiously asked, “Who is that?”

For some reason, Yang Yongan had an awkward look on his face.

It was almost as if Yang Yongan didn’t want Lu Zhou to notice this man.

“Oh, don’t worry about him… He’s not normal.”

Not normal?

Lu Zhou was even more curious.

From his experience in Princeton, people that excelled in mathematics often had weird personality traits. For example, a former editor in chief of a mathematics journal never allowed people to sit in his office. Or for example, one of his students liked to drink mint coffee…

In fact, it was rare for a mathematics scholar to behave like a normal person.

“Why do you say that?”

“Oh, you know, at a place like this, we have various performance metrics. Like how many theses one publishes in a year, etc… However, some people like to be independent and some people don’t care about the performance metrics.” Yang Yongan shrugged and said, “Most people stay away from people like him.”

Lu Zhou asked, “Then, has he produced any research?”

Yang Yongan stared at the young man and said coldly, “If he did, he wouldn’t be so miserable.”

Lu Zhou was still curious. He ignored Professor Yang’s words and walked up to the man.

Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows.

“Hyperelliptic curve analysis?”

The young “artist” finally noticed Lu Zhou.

He turned around and pushed his glasses.

“You understand?”

Before Lu Zhou could say anything, Yang Yongan spoke first.

“Bro, are you kidding, look at who this guy is.”

The young man stared at Lu Zhou for a while with a blank expression on his face.

“Who is it?”

Professor Yang was about to scold the young man, but Lu Zhou stopped him.

Lu Zhou didn’t really care about being recognized. He merely stared at the blackboard and said, “The way you used the hyperelliptic curve analysis method is very interesting as most people don’t use it this way.”

The young man adjusted his glasses and looked at the blackboard.

“It’s because I’m not researching Riemann’s hypothesis… This method was originally invented to be used for Riemann’s hypothesis.”

“I agree…” Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Looking at your definition of a non-singular complex algebraic cluster… I’m guessing you’re researching the Hodge conjecture?”