A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 224 My thesis topic is ruined, thank you Chen Hui
In the villa hotel, in Chen Hui's room, Chen Hui, Yuan Xinyi, and Wang Hong sat in the living room, with the coffee table piled high with draft papers covered in formulas.

After returning from the auditorium, the three engaged in a heated discussion in Chen Hui's room, ranging from the Kakegaya conjecture to the Langlands program, from the Yang-Mills equation to the Navier-Stokes equation, from analysis to geometry, from functions to number theory...

These three of China's most outstanding young mathematicians, even though they study different fields, always manage to provide each other with unexpected inspiration.

Yuan Xinyi has a solid foundation and can always find some unexpected little-known facts that Chen Hui and the other person have overlooked, thus bringing them a whole new perspective.

Wang Hong is bold; even when doing mathematical research, she gives people a feeling of aggressive fervor. Some of her ideas even Chen Hui felt were too advanced, but after careful study, he found that they seemed to make sense and had great research potential.

Chen Hui saw comments flashing by every now and then, but he didn't pay any attention to them.

No wonder scholars studying theoretical mathematics love to go to Princeton to exchange ideas with top mathematicians; it really can inspire a lot of ideas and help them improve their skills quickly.

As for Chen Hui, he was the most elder-like of the three. He was sharp and decisive, and could always easily see through the rules and essence behind complex formulas. He seemed to be able to find the right path from the complicated formulas and theorems with ease. Wang Hong had only ever felt this way from her teachers at MIT.

Of course, that was when she had just started her doctoral studies. Now, her professor can no longer give her that feeling.

Unexpectedly, she felt it again from a seventeen-year-old boy.

She then realized that this little guy's achievements today were by no means undeserved.

The discussion lasted from noon until midnight. Wang Hong yawned, said goodbye to Chen Hui, and went back to her room.

Chen Hui and Yuan Xinyi each had a late-night snack before Yuan Xinyi went home.

Chen Hui had originally planned to eat instant noodles, but the kitchen had prepared a meal, and soon served the two of them a sumptuous late-night snack, which Chen Hui accepted.

After eating and drinking his fill and taking a sip of tea, Chen Hui prepared to continue reading his thesis for a while.

It's only 1 a.m., still early.

"Hello, your tea tastes quite good. What brand is it, and where can I buy it?"

As he savored the lingering sweetness of the tea leaves, Chen Hui suddenly asked the two waiters who were clearing the table.

To be honest, this tea is really good. He plans to buy some of the same kind, firstly so he can drink it himself, and secondly because his grandmaster and great-grandmaster both like to drink tea, so he can send some to the two elders.

"I'm sorry, the tea served here is not for sale."

The two maids said timidly.

The two looked to be only around twenty-one or twenty-two years old, and their eyes were filled with curiosity, yet also with awe, as they looked at Chen Hui.

Ok.

Chen Hui wasn't overly obsessed with tea, and since it wasn't for sale, he didn't insist on having it.

After spending another night in the villa hotel, Chen Hui and Yuan Xinyi packed their luggage and left the room the next day.

"Professor Yuan, Professor Chen."

As soon as they stepped out of the room, Director Lin, who had come to pick them up earlier, came over and said before the two could ask any questions, "I heard that Professor Chen likes the tea here, so I specially sent you two boxes."

As she spoke, two young women behind her each handed over two boxes of unbranded tea, two boxes each for Chen Hui and Yuan Xinyi.

"This tea is specially supplied, and there isn't much here, but if you two want some, we still have some. You are both national heroes, and only people of your stature can enjoy such fine tea."

Before Chen Hui and the other man could refuse, Director Lin spoke again.

Since things had come to this point, Chen Hui and his companion did not refuse.

No wonder that tea tasted better than the tea of ​​my grandmaster and great-grandmaster; it turned out to be specially supplied.

"Would you two like to visit often in the future?"

Director Lin escorted Chen Hui and his companion out of the hotel's garden, then pointed to the van ahead and asked, "Where are you two headed? Shall I give you a ride?"

Chen Hui originally planned to go directly to the airport, but now that he had two boxes of tea in his hand, he figured he might as well stop by Yanbei University on the way.

When Tian Yang saw the tea box in Chen Hui's hand in the office, his eyes lit up. Clearly, he had drunk this kind of tea before.

"Haha, this old man is really enjoying life. I never expected to be able to drink such good tea. Xiao Hui is so kind."

"Don't leave today. Stay in Yanbei for a few days, and I'll show you around the capital."

Tian Yang, beaming with joy, pulled Chen Hui along, truly resembling a grandfather seeing his grandson.

Despite repeated refusals, Chen Hui and his companion had lunch at Yanbei University before they could leave.

After leaving Yanbei University, Chen Hui went to Tsinghua University across the street and visited the Qiu Chengwu Mathematics Center, where he also presented his mentor with a box of tea.

Qiu Chengwu didn't seem particularly surprised, but simply told Chen Hui, "Dennis is coming to China soon, and he might visit you at Jiangcheng University."

The collaboration between Chen Hui and Dennis was facilitated by Qiu Chengwu. He also knew about their research progress and knew that they were both facing a bottleneck. At this time, it would be very beneficial for them to have a face-to-face exchange.

After staying for a while, the two left Tsinghua University and headed to the airport.

They naturally missed their pre-booked flights, but given their current wealth, they didn't care about the cost of the tickets.

Not to mention the patent licensing fee that Chen Hui received just a few days ago, this special-class natural science award, in addition to the certificate of honor and medal, also includes a prize of 1.5 million yuan.

On the way to the airport, Yuan Xinyi looked at his student and felt a pang of sadness once again.

If he had the same emotional intelligence as this student, he probably wouldn't have ruined his relationship with the teacher.

……

According to China News, on June 24, the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and the General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering were successfully held in Beijing. The leaders of these institutions personally presented certificates and medals to the winners of the highest science and technology awards and delivered important speeches…

Normally, not many people would pay attention to this kind of news, but just a few days ago everyone was discussing online whether Chen Hui would win an award, so naturally quite a few people were keeping an eye on this news.

As soon as the news came out, everyone flocked in to check the list of winners.

[Holy crap, guess what I saw? The Special Prize in Natural Sciences, awarded to Chen Hui!]

[No, the Special Prize in Natural Sciences? Is this Chen Hui the same Chen Hui we know?]

[No need to guess anymore, China News has already released the photos.]

A screenshot posted in the comments section shows Chen Hui receiving the certificate from the sect leader.

The comment section immediately erupted again.

【Chen Shen is awesome!】 【It's all my fault for being uncultured; all I can say is "I'll fuck you to get by"】

This is really amazing! This award was established in 1956, and the recipients at that time included Hua Luogeng, Wu Wenjun, and Qian Xuesen!

After that, the award was suspended for more than 20 years until 1982, when it was renamed the "National Natural Science Award". Winners included Chen Jingrun, Li Siguang... Chen Shen was only seventeen years old when he won the award. I don't even know what other award the country will give to Chen Shen in a few years.

Thank you, Science Popularizer. The moment I heard the names of Hua Luogeng, Qian Xuesen, and Chen Jingrun, I knew how prestigious this award was.

[Is there some behind-the-scenes manipulation? Consider the achievements of Hua Luogeng, Qian Xuesen, and Chen Jingrun. While Chen Hui has also made considerable contributions, isn't awarding him the Special Prize in Natural Sciences a bit excessive?]

[It does feel like he's not up to the task, and this is a bit of a case of praising him to death. I hope Chen Shen can continue his efforts and achieve even more amazing results.]

[A cover-up, a cover-up all the time, don't you have electricity at home?]

Some people are like this: they're like a troll in life, always questioning this and that, thinking they're so great.

[For those with a background in mathematics, I can tell you that Chen Shen's current achievements are no less impressive than those of the late Chen Jingrun and Hua Luogeng. Chen Shen only proved the 1+2 of Goldbach's conjecture, not the complete one. In terms of its significance, it is only about the same as Chen Shen's proof of the existence of Yang-Mills equations. Moreover, Chen Shen has made new achievements in materials science. If these achievements are developed, they will definitely go down in history.]

That's just how we Chinese are; we always value the past over the present. Just wait and see in another ten or twenty years.

[Yeah, right, you're talking like everyone's studied math. You think you're so great just because you studied math?]

The news of Chen Hui's award has generated considerable buzz online. Even those who questioned it mostly felt that the award was too prestigious, and very few people questioned Chen Hui's abilities.

……

Cambridge, Massachusetts

At the Clay Institute headquarters, Burton Clay, the chairman of the board, rarely visited the institute. Looking at the scientists having a heated discussion in the conference room, at the thriving scene, he was very gratified, but also somewhat sighed.

His father sponsored the establishment of the Clay Institute to promote and disseminate mathematical knowledge. Over the years, the Clay Institute has indeed made many good achievements. Unfortunately, no one has come forward to claim the seven bounties.

Old Clay designed a very high-profile award ceremony for this, dreaming that the Clay Institute's award could rival the Nobel Prize, but he died without ever seeing the ceremony take place.

Perelman had originally accomplished this feat, but unfortunately, he refused to accept the award. Old Clay lamented this, but he thought that a second person would soon emerge as the leader.

Who knew that this wait would last for more than 20 years, and old Clay would never see the light of day again.

I wonder when the next Millennium Problem will be solved.

Burton Clay didn't know if he would live to see that day.

"good news!"

"Burton, look at the latest issue of the Mathematical Yearbook!"

Just as he was feeling down, a blonde, blue-eyed woman strode in, her high heels clicking. It was his wife, Ranievia Cree.

"What's wrong, Ranivea?"

"Someone has completed the proof of the Yang-Mills equation!"

"what?"

Burton immediately rushed to his computer, easily accessed the Annals of Mathematics website, and effortlessly found the paper prominently displayed on the homepage—"A Mathematical Proof of the Mass Gap in the Yang-Mills Equation."

The simple and unadorned title pierced Burton's heart like a sharp knife, making his blood rush and his whole body excited.

At last year's European Mathematical Society meeting, someone proved the existence of the Yang-Mills equation. Now, someone has proven the mass gap. The problem concerning the Yang-Mills equation in the Millennium Problem announced by the Clay Institute has been completely solved.

Even if they are not the same person, the award can be given to two people, just like the Nobel Prize, which can be awarded to several people at the same time.

As Burton thought this, he looked at the author's name.

"Chen Hui?"

It was him after all!
Burton wasn't too surprised. He knew that if anyone in the world could prove the mass gap problem in a short time, it must be Chen Hui, who had previously proven the existence of the Yang Mills problem.

He just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

What a surprise!

Without even reading the main text of the paper, Burton, being just an ordinary businessman, naturally couldn't understand these strange symbols.

Without hesitation, he dialed the number of a member of the scientific advisory committee. Although the review committee of the Annals of Mathematics was very authoritative, the scientific advisory committee of their Clay Institute was equally strong, and he trusted his own people more.

"Hey Donaldson, have you read the latest issue of the Annals of Mathematics?"

"I'm looking into it now. I'll contact you when I have some news."

The other party only answered once before hanging up. Burton had no doubt that the other party would not have answered the phone at all if he hadn't been the one calling.

Burton didn't call any more scientific advisors; he knew they were probably all studying the paper at that moment.

Haste makes waste; Burton understood this principle very well.

At times like these, he should be even more cautious.

Opening Facebook, the first message pushed to him was a post from Terence Tao, published a dozen minutes earlier: "Chen Zhen is a genius. His idea to prove the existence of topologically nontrivial instanton solutions or magnetic monopole condensation in gauge field vacuum is the most brilliant idea I've ever seen, bar none!"

Below this post, Terence Tao pinned one of his own comments: "Without a doubt, Chen's proof is correct. He solved a Millennium Problem. He did it!"

Burton found it somewhat amusing. He knew that Terence Tao was not only a mathematical genius but also liked to post on social media. However, looking at the time, the paper had only been published a little over an hour ago, and Tao had posted about it just over ten minutes ago. He had completed the entire argument of the paper in forty minutes.

Burton didn't believe it.

But netizens don't think that much about it. In the eyes of netizens who don't understand math, Terence Tao is undoubtedly an absolute authority!
If this is true, I want to name my first child 'Chen Hui Equation Solver of 2025'.

Wait, Terence Tao just retweeted this?! Am I witnessing a 'Chinese version of Andrew Wiles' solving the Yang-Mills Millennium Problem?' My brain is spinning.

[As a graduate student who was once brought to tears by Milnor's 7-page proof, Chen Hui's 100-page magnum opus deserves to be made into a Netflix documentary.]

Today was both the most exciting and the most frustrating day:
Humans conquer Yang-Mills

My thesis topic is no longer valid.
Thank you, Chen Hui (crying).jpg

Although the Annals of Mathematics is a top-tier journal, it is still a niche publication. Apart from mathematicians, few other people pay attention to it, so not many people have seen Chen Hui's paper.

It wasn't until Terence Tao's post that the discussion truly took off online.

(End of this chapter)