A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 195 Graduation Defense (Happy Children's Day)

Chen Hui's return did not cause much of a stir. In mid-to-late January, everyone on the university campus was controlled by a monster called the final exam. Under this huge fear, everyone was busy shuttling between the study rooms.

Even students who never listen in class are now distracted and have no interest in anything else.

Chen Hui quietly returned to his dormitory. This trip involved spending a week at the European Mathematical Congress, another week at Yanbei University, and a trip to Luzhou. By the time he returned to Jiangcheng University, more than half a month had passed. The temperature in Jiangcheng had plummeted, and it was already deep winter.

My clothes are getting a bit thin, so I need to go back and get some new clothes.

"Master Chen is back?!"

As soon as the door opened, Yin Hao and the other two looked over. Upon seeing Chen Hui, all three of them showed expressions of surprise and delight. They had heard a lot about Chen Hui these past few days, and seeing him really felt like meeting a celebrity.

During final exam month, study room seats were extremely scarce, so Yin Hao and his classmates all studied in their dorm rooms.

Especially since there's a top student in the dorm, it's much more convenient for them to study in the dorm than in the study room.

Not only 908, but the entire class was studying in their dorm rooms.

"I missed you so much, boss!"

Li Zehan, who was typing on his keyboard at his seat, rushed up shouting and pounced on Chen Hui with his fat arms outstretched.

Chen Hui quickly dodged away. In just over half a month, this guy had actually gained weight again. He must have learned a lot of knowledge and certainly eaten a lot of delicious food.

"You've come back just in time. The math analysis exam is in a couple of days. If you review now, as long as your test score isn't too bad, with your current achievements, the teacher shouldn't care too much about your participation score. You'll definitely pass."

Yin Hao said with a smile that as the class monitor, he had a responsibility to care about his classmates' learning. "These are the key points the teacher highlighted in the last class. Take a look."

Li Zehan looked at Yin Hao speechlessly, "You don't think he still needs to take final exams, do you?"

Yin Hao and Zhang Xia exchanged a glance, then looked at Chen Hui and asked uncertainly, "We should need that too, right?"

Chen Hui touched his nose.

He was initially unsure, but on the way back, Dean Wang Qiming didn't seem to mention that passing an exam was a graduation requirement.

"Neither I nor that Yin from the next class need to take the exam. Given the eldest's achievements, it wouldn't make sense for him to take the exam again."

Li Zehan said smugly.

"You don't have to take the exam either?"

Yin Hao's eyes widened. "Then why are you studying with us?"

"Isn't this about sharing joy with the people?"

Li Zehan, with the air of a wise hermit, said, "In the current situation, even if you have special privileges, you have to keep a low profile, otherwise you'll become a target."

"Hey, congratulations!"

Chen Hui genuinely didn't know what had happened to Li Zehan, but since he said that, he must have achieved considerable success.

"Haha, there's nothing to congratulate you on. It's just that you published a Q2 SCI paper and skipped a grade to get a master's degree. Compared to the boss, it's nothing, nothing at all."

Despite saying it was nothing to mention, Li Zehan started to boast about it in a very detailed manner.

Yin Hao and Zhang Xia looked at each other, once again feeling the enormous gap between people.

dong dong dong...

Just then, there was a knock on the dormitory door.

"Squad leader, I heard that Master Chen is back?"

The moment the door opened, a voice came from outside, "The mathematical modeling competition is about to start. Why don't you ask Chen, the genius, if he'd be interested in teaming up with us? A powerful combination..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Chen Hui standing in the dormitory, as well as Yin Hao and the others who were trying not to laugh.

Should we have Chen Hui join their team to participate in the mathematical modeling competition?
I must say, this student has quite an imagination.

Chen Hui shook his head, "Sorry, I have some issues to resolve recently, so I probably won't be able to team up with you guys."

Having already won a major prize at the European Mathematical Congress, winning another Higher Education Press Cup seems rather pointless.

Chen Hui wondered if he could get another banner displayed at the entrance of Rongcheng No. 2 Middle School. He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Principal Zhao Defeng's quirky sense of humor.

After catching up with his classmates, Chen Hui returned to his small office with his luggage. His graduation defense was in three days, and he needed to prepare his presentation slides and thesis.

There weren't many good papers to choose from, and since the existence proof of the Yang-Mills equation hadn't been published yet, I decided to use it as my graduation thesis.

As for the multiple-choice question Wang Qiming presented to him, he had naturally already made his choice.

He earned his doctoral degree from Jiangcheng University and became a professor.

As for going to Princeton, it has always been in Chen Hui's plans, but not now.

For a long time, many people Chen Hui has come into contact with have believed that there are huge problems with education in China, which is why no Fields Medal winners have emerged. Even though his teacher, Yuan Xinyi, is a sure thing to win the Fields Medal, Yuan Xinyi did his master's and doctoral studies at Princeton University and even did two years of postdoctoral work at MIT before returning to China through a talent introduction program.

Therefore, Chen Hui had a strong conviction: at least before winning the Fields Medal, he would study and conduct research in China, leaving everyone speechless.

This may seem very naive, but it is Chen Hui's truest thought.

……

In the student dormitory, Zeng Yiyuan looked helplessly at Yin Piao, who was lying on the bed in a daze.

Life is so paradoxical; what some people dream of is as worthless as trash to those who possess it.

For example, his roommate published a Q2 SCI paper in less than a semester with the professor. It is foreseeable that if he continues to conduct research with the professor, his future prospects will be limitless.

But just a few days ago, Yin Piao suddenly stopped going to the lab and instead lay on her bed in the dormitory, stopped going to class, and started to slack off.

"Teacher Liu, are you really not going?"

Zeng Yiyuan finally couldn't help but ask, unable to bear seeing such talent go to waste.

"I'm not going, it's pointless."

Yin Piao stared at the upper bunk bed, as if some profound truth of life was engraved on it, captivating him completely.

"I heard that the big shot from the next class is back. Don't you want to surpass him?"

Zeng Yiyuan knew perfectly well why Yin Piao had rallied; he was simply repeating the same old trick.

Yin Piao, however, was not falling for the trap again. "He's already tackling the Millennium Problem. I'll never have a chance to surpass him in this lifetime. Anyway, there's no point in trying, so I might as well not try at all."

"..."

Zeng Yiyuan suddenly realized that he had been hurt.

"Don't be discouraged. Final exams are coming up soon. That guy hasn't been to class all semester. I don't believe he can do better than you."

Zeng Yiyuan said confidently, "No one is perfect. No matter how high his achievements are in mathematics, he has weaknesses in other areas. For example, I heard that he is still single."

"What, you want to be his girlfriend?"

"Pah, pah, pah, this isn't Chengdu."

Zeng Yiyuan waved his hands repeatedly, patting his chest and saying, "I'm a straight man of steel! I already have a girlfriend, while he's still single. In that respect, he can't compare to me."

Yin Piao didn't agree or disagree, but he also felt that Zeng Yiyuan made sense. That guy hadn't come to class for a semester, so even if he was very strong, he would only get a high score on the final exam at most. But he was confident that he could get a perfect score!

Thinking about it this way, his mood did indeed improve a lot.

Just then, the dormitory door was pushed open, and the remaining two roommates hurriedly walked in, covered in sweat. Judging from their appearance, they must have just come back from playing basketball.

Why are you still in the dorm?

Ma Mingliang asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to the graduation defense?"

What kind of defense presentation?

Zeng Yiyuan looked completely bewildered.

"That's the big shot from the next class, he's going to have his graduation defense in the auditorium at 10 a.m.!"

"Graduation defense?"

Zeng Yiyuan was even more confused. "I've never heard of a graduation defense being held in January. Besides, that top student from the next class, hasn't he only been taking classes for one semester? And he's graduating already?"

"They're almost solved the Millennium Problem, you don't actually want him to attend class with us, do you?"

The roommate shook his head repeatedly, "I don't want to be classmates with such a big shot, the pressure is too much."

Zeng Yiyuan subconsciously looked at Yin Piao, wasn't this the one who had been so discouraged that he gave up?

Yin Piao was now lying even flatter. Well, he was saying he'd have a go at that guy's final exams, but the guy graduated right away.

"As long as they're not classmates, I'd still be happy to see people like that, even if it's just news!"

Finally, the roommate said with a grin.

"Can I even sit in on a graduation defense?"

Zeng Yiyuan really didn't know.

"Who knows? It's normal for the top students' graduation defenses to be different from ours."

As they spoke, the two of them quickly wiped themselves down with damp towels, changed into new clothes, and were about to go out.

"The defense is in the auditorium. We went there first, otherwise we wouldn't be able to get a seat."

The two roommates, full of energy, rushed out of the dormitory and ran out in a hurry, leaving only a series of footsteps in the corridor.

"are you going?"

Zeng Yiyuan looked at Yin Piao lying on the bed; he was already tempted.

Jiangcheng University, Academic Lecture Hall on the first floor of the old library.

When Zeng Yiyuan and Yin Piao walked in, the lecture hall was already packed with people. Their two roommates, who were sitting at the back, waved to them, looking helpless.

Although they arrived early, they had to sit separately and couldn't save seats for Zeng Yiyuan and his companion.

Now, not only are there no seats available, but even the aisles are packed, so the two of them can only stand at the doorway.

But, it has come.

Zeng Yiyuan and the other person did not leave. They stood at the door, tiptoeing, looking towards the podium in the lecture hall.

After much anticipation, a young boy finally stepped onto the podium.

Seeing this scene, Chen Hui felt somewhat helpless.

He originally thought it was just a regular graduation defense, even though Wang Qiming told him that the defense would be held in the academic lecture hall and could also be considered an academic conference.

Having already given a presentation at Yanbei University, there was no reason not to do one at his alma mater, so Chen Hui naturally did not refuse.

Unexpectedly, not only did most of the professors from the School of Mathematics and Physics come, but even the students came to join in the fun.

This is a completely different feeling from the lectures at Yanbei University, which are attended entirely by professors and scholars.

Looking at the lecture hall, which was piled high with stacks of food, Chen Hui started playing the PowerPoint presentation.

This PPT was the same one Chen Hui made at the Yanbei University presentation. He only made a few minor modifications. Normally, undergraduate students would be lucky to have 10 minutes to present their PPTs during their defense, but Chen Hui was different. Wang Qiming did not limit his presentation time.

In the front row, the six defense examiners already had Chen Hui's edited and printed graduation thesis in their hands.

Wang Qiming was present. He was a professor who studied partial differential equations, but he had neglected academic research in recent years and had not produced much. However, he still paid attention to the forefront of academic research, so it was no problem for him to serve as a member of the graduation defense review committee.

Wang Qiming glanced to the side and couldn't help but sigh.

There were six members on the review committee for this defense. Apart from him, the other five were all well-known scholars and professors in the Chinese academic community. For example, Zhou Yifu, who was to his left, had published many papers in top mathematics journals and was a national-level young talent in China.

The others were in much the same boat.

But these six people couldn't even put together a single paper published in the top four journals, and not a single one of them was an academician.

Yuan Xinyi is considered a prominent figure at Jiangcheng University, but because he is a professor under Professor Chen Hui, he needs to avoid conflicts of interest and cannot serve as a review committee member for this defense.

The development of the Mathematics Department at Jiangcheng University still has a long way to go!

But after glancing to the side again, Wang Qiming felt much more at ease.

Just diagonally to his left sat an elderly man, Sun Binyong, a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Qilu University, an academician, and a recipient of the Chen Xingshen Mathematics Prize.

Moving our gaze to the right, we see Li Daqian, a professor and academician at Shuangdan University, a top expert in partial differential equations and applied mathematics in China. He has achieved internationally leading results in the study of free boundary problems of quasi-linear hyperbolic equation systems and the global existence of classical solutions to nonlinear wave equations…

And there's Hung Ka-hing, Shen Wei-hiao...

Such a grand graduation defense attracted half of China's mathematics and physics communities; how could Wang Qiming not be proud of this?

It is foreseeable that once this little guy on stage grows up, the School of Mathematics at Jiangcheng University will no longer have to face this predicament.

Especially since he already knew that Chen Hui had chosen to stay at Jiangcheng University to teach, even though he had recommended Chen Hui to go to Princeton, it would still be meaningful even if he eventually came back.

But since Chen Hui had already made his choice, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

"let's start."

"Everything is ready," Wang Qiming said to Chen Hui, who was standing on the stage.

The previously noisy lecture hall gradually quieted down.

Chen Hui stood on the podium, looking at the audience below, without saying a word, until the lecture hall was completely silent before he spoke.

"Good morning, teachers and students. My topic for the defense is the proof of the existence problem of the Yang-Mills equation..."

Hearing Chen Hui's words, the audience was a little dazed. The Millennium Problem as a graduation defense topic made everyone feel like they were in a different year. When did the Millennium Problem become so worthless?
"Traditional methods are always struggling with infinite-dimensional chaos, but our answer is very simple..."

Chen Hui began playing the PowerPoint presentation.

As his voice rang out, there was no more noise in the auditorium; only Chen Hui's clear voice was projected from the speakers and echoed throughout the auditorium.

(End of this chapter)