A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 175 Departure, Budapest

In his office at the School of Mathematical Sciences at Jiangcheng University, Chen Hui was studying a freshly printed paper, still warm and smelling of ink, while feeling the gentle autumn breeze outside the window, a truly delightful experience.

Three days have passed since the Excellent Young Scientists Fund defense, and he has returned to Jiangcheng University from Beijing. The results have already been released, and even the first phase of funding for the project has been deposited into his account. He used the money to upgrade his small office.

Not only did I buy a printer, but I also installed a 1.5-meter bed for myself, because the office was too small to fit a larger bed.

He hasn't returned to his dorm for the past two days. While there is a time lag in the news, for those around him, Chen Hui's paper is already common knowledge.

Before he even appeared in the dormitory, his classmates surrounded him, asking for photos, autographs, and there was even a terrifying creature that came up and took a bite out of him.

Chen Hui touched his cheek; the lipstick stain had been wiped clean, but it still gave him some PTSD.

He wasn't used to that kind of scene.

Even Chen Hui himself did not expect that what was clearly just an ordinary physics paper would cause such a sensation that it was far greater than his previous publication in the "Annals of Mathematics".

Because of his special status, he also knew some inside information. The ZT value of the materials that the Micro-Particle Group can currently industrialize on a large scale is as high as 2.9. He originally thought that his paper on fractal structures would not have much impact, after all, 2.9 is much greater than 2.1.

Unexpectedly, none of the students cared about the number at all. Some outrageous rumors even circulated, saying that Chen Hui had designed a new chip that could outperform Apple's 3-nanometer process and successfully broke through the blockade... treating him as a national hero.

Chen Hui didn't know how to refute him. His contribution to thermoelectric materials was undeniable, but thermoelectric materials alone were not enough to make chips. The core of a chip was still the transistor, not the heat dissipation material.

Improving heat dissipation can indeed enable the stacking of higher-density transistors, but at the same time, the difficulty of wiring and layout of transistors and heat dissipation materials will increase many times over. Just designing a reasonable and efficient architecture is an extremely difficult engineering problem, which is not much easier than discovering thermoelectric materials with high ZT values.

This is just one step in chip manufacturing. To produce a complete chip, more than a dozen processes of this difficulty are required. Their ability to find suitable thermoelectric materials and complete chip design and manufacturing in a short time far exceeded Chen Hui's expectations.

This is the true miracle of China!

Chen Hui knew that they must have conducted relevant research before, but they were stuck on the thermoelectric material part. Now that the thermoelectric material has been broken through, the whole process is naturally smooth.

Unfortunately, no one listened to his explanation.

What frustrated him even more was that even China News was adding fuel to the fire, implying, both openly and subtly, that he had made a great contribution.

Open your phone and tap on the announcement in China News.

"This time we really won!"

"Scientists are really amazing!"

"What's so special about this? What we Chinese are best at is overtaking on curves!"

"That's right, they're good at overtaking on curves, no, they're good at cutting in front of other cars."

"Stop being so sour, upstairs. No matter how much you swear, it's still better than your American daddy's burning, killing, looting and plundering."

"Wait a minute, I disagree with that. This time, we're not talking about sex. Didn't you see the article in *Nature Physics*? If it were just rubbish, would it be published? The Westerners themselves have acknowledged the article's innovativeness and legitimacy. Who are you to question it?"

"Just because it wasn't like it was before doesn't mean it's any different this time. Who gave you the right to wash here?"

"What happened in the past? What does the past have to do with the present? Can the moderator ban this idiot upstairs?"

"Seriously, why are people calling others idiots?"

"Search 'wisdom' on Baidu yourself."

"This Chen Hui name sounds familiar. Have I heard it somewhere before?"

"No doubt about it, this is Chen Hui, the provincial champion, the Barbary Mathematics Competition gold medalist, the CMO gold medalist with a perfect score, the IMO gold medalist with a perfect score, two SCI Q2 papers, one Mathematics Yearbook paper, one Natural Physics paper, and the leading figure in China's semiconductor industry!"

"This is outrageous! The provincial champion is here."

"Isn't the Barbary Mathematics Competition the most outrageous one? What kind of shoddy competition is it to be ranked alongside other honors?"

"I remember now, weren't people questioning his plagiarism a few months ago? Where are those people now? Have they all left the internet?"

"It's never too late to admit your mistakes and correct them, brother upstairs, please don't push us too far..."

The netizens in the comment section are all really talented. Chen Hui glanced at them and then decisively left. He decided to lay low for the time being. Based on past experience, once this storm passes, everyone should gradually forget about it, and then he can go out again.

Chen Hui received a friend request from an unknown number immediately after leaving China News.

[I'm a staff member of Xinlang Weibo, please add me as a friend.]

Chen Hui didn't know the other party's intentions, but after thinking about it, he accepted the friend request.

The moment the application was approved, a message came in.

[Hello Chen Shen, this is Jing Xin from the Xinlang Weibo operations department. You can call me Xiao Xin. We would like to invite Chen Shen to register an account on Xinlang Weibo. Having your own account will give you another platform to voice your opinions. For example, regarding the previous plagiarism incident, if you have enough influence on the platform, you will be able to make your voice heard more quickly and without so much trouble.]

If your account has a lot of traffic, you will also receive traffic rewards. The amount of money is not much, but it mainly depends on the traffic. You may also attract sponsors to advertise with you, which can be quite lucrative.

If you're worried about the hassle, we can handle all the verification procedures for you. You just need to treat Weibo like your WeChat Moments and post updates as you like.

Seemingly afraid that Chen Hui would refuse, the Weibo operator finished speaking in one breath.

Chen Hui now has a huge online following, and based on his past actions, he believes that Chen Hui is a natural traffic magnet. If he could bring such a person on the platform, it would definitely bring in a lot of traffic.

And he, as the introducer, naturally received his share of the benefits.

"I'm sorry, I just want to focus on studying mathematics right now."

Unfortunately, Chen Hui doesn't even use WeChat Moments.

After replying, Chen Hui turned on Do Not Disturb and continued studying the paper.

……

Huaxia Semiconductor Research Institute, within the park.

Xiao Meng and her students packed their luggage and boarded the specially prepared business vehicle. After signing a confidentiality agreement, she brought several students here to work with the engineers in the research institute to tackle the problems related to thermoelectric materials.

Now that they have successfully completed their studies, the next research project will no longer be something that can be solved in a short time, and they will be returning to the university.

"Congratulations, Professor Xiao! You have a good chance of being recognized as a National Outstanding Young Scientist this time!"

"I'm getting into the business vehicle with Xiao Meng," said Zhou Zhi, the head of the research institute, with a smile.

Yang Chi, Deng Ting, and several other students were also sitting in the car. Hearing the big shots talking, they sat trembling to the side, not daring to breathe.

"Joy and rejoice together!"

"Director Zhou will probably be able to become an academician this time!"

Xiao Meng was all smiles. She had indeed made a great contribution and achieved tremendous results this time. After returning to Jiangcheng University, not only could she remove the "assistant" title before "professor," but applying for the Outstanding Young Scientists Fund should also be no problem.

Then she won't have to rack her brains for a million or two in funding anymore.

Zhou Zhi waved his hand repeatedly, "I dare not hope to be an academician. I would be satisfied if I could contribute my strength to the motherland."

"To be honest, we have to thank Professor Xiao for this. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to achieve such success."

"If anyone should be thanked, it should be Chen Hui!"

Xiao Meng didn't forget to take credit for Chen Hui, "We only expanded upon his achievements; he is the true pioneer and creator!"

Zhou Zhi understood Xiao Meng's meaning; he truly deserved to thank that young man for his current achievements. However, he didn't say much, only smiling mysteriously and saying, "Don't worry, he won't be treated unfairly by the higher-ups."

Then, changing the subject, Professor Xiao said, "Why doesn't Professor Xiao try to recruit such a talent to work on applied physics? Perhaps he will have the opportunity to win China's second Nobel Prize in physics in the future."

Xiao Meng just shook her head and smiled bitterly. How could she not want to? But she also had to be able to pull it.

"Director Zhou only saw his talent in applied physics, but he didn't know that he had already published a paper in a mathematics journal!"

"Oh."

Zhou Zhi sighed softly.

He certainly knew the significance of the Yearbook of Mathematics, which was almost equivalent to journals like Nature and Science in applied sciences. The fact that a freshman could publish in the Yearbook of Mathematics was enough to demonstrate just how terrifying that kid's mathematical talent was.

Such talented individuals also have the opportunity to win the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal for mathematics in the future.

"Pity!"

Zhou Zhi sighed, knowing that the possibility of poaching them was slim. He then turned to Yang Chi and the others in the back row and said with a smile, "After graduation, would you young people be interested in working or pursuing a doctorate at our research institute?"

……

Time always flies when you're focused on something. Christmas is just around the corner, and the festive atmosphere is getting stronger. Walking around the campus, you'll see decorations everywhere, and colorful Christmas trees have been placed outside the shops.

Chen Hui quietly went back to his dormitory, grabbed a few changes of clothes, and returned to the School of Mathematics to meet up with his teacher, Yuan Xinyi.

Fortunately, not many people recognized him along the way. It wasn't until he reached the ninth floor of the dormitory that some classmates greeted him, but they weren't as enthusiastic as before. After nearly two months, the classmates' emotions finally calmed down.

The hype surrounding the chip incident has cooled down, and it's likely that people won't remember it again until the next generation of mature products is released.

The protagonist of the current hot topic on the internet is Dong Xiying.

It's quite a coincidence that just a week ago, Dong Xiying's girlfriend, Xiao Fei, whom Chen Hui had also met, had actually gotten married and was having an affair with Dong Xiying behind her husband's back, which led to her husband reporting her to the police.

This was a big deal. The all-knowing netizens dug up the "mistress" Dong Xiying and discovered that she was not a "mistress" at all. Dong Xiying was the real protagonist, and Xiao Fei was just a grain of sand among three thousand concubines.

Then, everyone discovered the so-called 3+3 program...

What started as a family ethics drama unexpectedly turned into a matter of fairness, affecting everyone involved. Many PhD students from Yanbei spoke out with tears in their eyes, lamenting that their years of hard work were no match for those who studied for only three to five years.

Dong Xiying must be in a terrible predicament right now.

Chen Hui didn't pay much attention to this matter; it was destined to be fruitless. There had been many unresolved cases over the years, like the one involving a certain whale…

Even if there is a result, it won't be a big deal. It's always been like this since ancient times. It's not that if you kill one bird that sticks its neck out, the problem will disappear. It just means that the rest will hide even deeper.

But Chen Hui also supports everyone speaking out on this issue. Although it is difficult to change the overall environment, at least it can prevent those guys from acting too arrogantly.

"Let's go."

Soon, the business vehicle arranged by the school arrived. Yuan Xinyi patted Chen Hui on the shoulder; they were about to depart for Budapest to attend the annual meeting of the European Mathematical Society.

"Here, take this. As someone who's been there, I'm telling you, when you get there you'll be incredibly grateful to me."

Wang Qiming got out of the car, handed Chen Hui and the other man a large backpack each, and said smugly.

Upon opening it, I found a backpack full of instant noodles.

Chen Hui was a little confused. He felt that his last trip to France was fine, so there was no need to be so heavily armed.

But seeing that the teacher had already put on his backpack, he didn't ask any further questions.

"Go early and come back early!"

Wang Qiming smiled and waved happily upon seeing this.

These two are the darlings of the School of Mathematics at Jiangcheng University. He doesn't want his precious students to be kidnapped after just one meeting.

If he hadn't had other commitments, he would have liked to go to Budapest with the two of them to keep a close eye on his precious child.

"If you don't accept it, you won't be able to leave for a while."

After getting on the bus, Yuan Xinyi weighed his schoolbag in his hand and said with a smile.

Chen Hui smiled; he had assumed that his teacher also thought the food in Budapest was bad.

"Is the PowerPoint presentation finished?"

On the way, Yuan Xinyi noticed that this was Chen Hui's first time attending a meeting, and he needed to remind him of some details.

"Actually, the PPT isn't important. People who are interested in your presentation have already read your paper on the official website. Just be prepared for possible questions."

Yuan Xinyi had great confidence in Chen Hui. He believed that with Chen Hui's current level, there shouldn't be any problems that could stump him. Even if there were, it wouldn't be a big deal, because everyone would understand if he couldn't answer such a question.

He himself was also quite excited. His paper had been submitted to the Annals of Mathematics for some time, and the review process was nearing its end. He believed that all the problems could be resolved at this conference, and his paper should be published after the conference!

So these past few days he has been wholeheartedly preparing the report for this meeting.

Chen Hui silently brought up the data panel.

[Host: Chen Hui
Chinese Level 2 (11%)

Mathematics Level 3 (92%)

English Level 3 (21%)

Physics Level 3 (79%)

Chemistry Level 2 (0%)

Biology Level 2 (0%)

Physical Education Level 2 (0%)

Geography Level 2 (0%)

History Level 2 (0%)

Politics Level 2 (77%)

After more than a month of study, my proficiency in math and physics has improved significantly, and I'm only one step away from level 4. The improvement in basic attributes has a very significant effect on the speed of proficiency improvement.

Unfortunately, he still failed to take the final step, failed to grasp that smooth fish of existence in infinite dimensions.

His improved political proficiency was unexpected; he was about to reach level three in politics.

He didn't do anything!

It's not that he was completely without fault. Chen Hui thought about it again and realized that he had made significant contributions to the field of thermoelectric materials.

However, Chen Hui was somewhat surprised by his performance in sports. These days, he had been focused on studying the Yang-Mills equations and had hardly left his small office. Logically, his sports performance should have been terrible, but he was still stuck at level 2.

It seems there's a hidden feature in the panel to maintain your level, which is good news!

(End of this chapter)