My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 428 Sit Down

The sound of the chair hitting the bookshelf was quite loud.

Chen Zhuo's "It's done!" wasn't quiet.

So Chen Zhuo wasn't surprised when the footsteps outside the door stopped.

A few seconds later, there was a light knock on the door.

Chen Zhuo looked up.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Woolley stood in the doorway.

He was holding a coffee cup in his hand, clearly just passing by; the coffee in the cup was still steaming.

"I just heard..."

Woolley stopped mid-sentence.

His gaze fell on the table.

The light yellow title page was laid out there.

The text in the title bar is very clear.

Proof of the Hodge conjecture.

Woolley stood at the door, not coming in immediately.

He looked at that line of text.

He held the coffee cup in his hand, and the steam from the rim of the cup slowly rose upwards.

Several seconds passed before he took two steps into the house.

He didn't ask "Is it true or not?"

They didn't ask, "Are you finished writing?"

He glanced at the title page and then at the thick stack of manuscript papers on the table.

Finally, he looked at Chen Zhuo.

"Should we call Professor Pierre over?"

Chen Zhuo nodded.

"Go ahead and call out."

Woolley placed the coffee cup on the small cabinet by the door and turned to leave.

The door wasn't closed properly.

The light from the corridor seeped in through the crack in the door.

Chen Zhuo looked down at his hands.

There was still a little ink on my finger.

He took out a tissue and wiped it.

Since it couldn't be wiped clean, I didn't bother with it anymore.

A few minutes later, the sound of two people's footsteps could be heard in the corridor.

Pierre walked ahead.

He was still wearing his coat and had a folder tucked under his arm, as if he was about to go somewhere, with Woolley following behind.

When Pierre entered, the first thing he saw was Chen Zhuo.

It was only on the second glance that it landed on the table.

The light yellow title page is placed at the very top of the entire manuscript.

Proof of the Hodge conjecture.

Pierre stood there without saying a word.

He looked at that line of text.

The office fell silent.

Woolley stood by the door without saying a word.

Chen Zhuo sat behind the table, gently pressing down on the edge of the manuscript paper.

Pierre stared at it for a long time.

Then, he placed the folder in his hand on the empty chair next to him.

He took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair.

He pulled out the chair opposite Chen Zhuo and sat down.

The chair legs made a very soft sound on the floor.

Pierre didn't ask anything else.

He simply asked, "Where should we begin?"

Chen Zhuo picked up the top page of questions and put it aside.

Then he pulled out a few pages from the middle of the manuscript, and then pulled out the last small stack from the back, and placed them in front of Pierre in order.

"here."

He said.

"Continue here."

Pierre looked down.

He read the first page very slowly.

On the second page, he was still very slow.

When he reached for the third page, he took the previous page back.

Chen Zhuo did not explain.

They simply pulled out the page next to it and pushed it over.

Pierre saw it, reached out and took it, and placed it on the left.

Woolley stood to the side, watched for a while, and asked softly:

"Would you like some coffee?"

Pierre did not look up.

"Wait a moment."

Wu Li did not move.

The only sound in the office was the rustling of pages turning.

Pierre's fingers pressed against the edge of the manuscript paper, moving from one line to the next.

He stopped when he saw a certain spot.

This pause lasted for a very long time.

Chen Zhuo sat opposite him, without urging him.

Woolley remained silent.

Pierre pushed that page forward half an inch, then took the left-hand page back and placed it in front of it.

He looked at the previous page.

Read the next page.

Then it goes back to the middle line.

After a while, he raised his head.

"blackboard."

Chen Zhuo stood up and wiped the blackboard against the wall clean.

There were a few lines of symbols left on the blackboard earlier, which were erased layer by layer by the eraser, and the chalk dust floated up and shimmered faintly under the light.

Pierre picked up the chalk and stood in front of the blackboard.

He didn't write much.

Only a few lines of page numbers were written.

Three short lines were drawn after the page number.

Chen Zhuo walked over and added a symbol next to the second short line.

Pierre glanced at it.

Neither right nor wrong.

He simply lowered his head again to look at the manuscript in his hand.

After a while, he put down the chalk and returned to his chair.

This time, he turned the pages a little faster.

It's not much faster.

There were just a few fewer pauses than before.

The penmanship is very dark under the light.

In some places, the ink is still fresh.

Pierre looked at the fresh ink, his finger pausing on the edge of the paper.

Then continue.

At 6:40, the noise outside the corridor subsided.

Most of the office doors in the Van En Building were closed.

Woolley glanced down at his watch.

"professor."

Pierre didn't look up.

"The meeting is at seven o'clock."

Pierre was still looking at the manuscript.

After a few seconds, he said.

"Let's cancel it."

Woolley nodded.

"I'll make a phone call."

Pierre hummed in agreement.

Woolley went out.

The door closed gently.

Chen Zhuo and Pierre remained in the office.

Chen Zhuo did not ask what kind of meeting it was.

Pierre didn't check the time again.

He reassembled the manuscript into three stacks.

The left side is the groundwork laid in front.

The middle section contains the pages from where we just stopped.

The one on the right is the last small stack.

He looked to the left first.

Now look at the middle.

Finally, press the small stack on the right in front of you.

This time, Chen Zhuo did not help him turn the page.

Pierre translated it himself.

When he turned to the last few pages, his movements noticeably slowed down.

The office light fell on his glasses, partially obscuring his gaze.

Chen Zhuo could only see his hand holding the paper.

It's very stable, but page turning is getting slower and slower.

When the last page was turned, Pierre's hand stopped.

The last two words.

Q.E.D.

He didn't ask specifically.

I didn't pick it up and look at it separately.

I just happened to see this while reading this.

The two characters were at the very bottom of the paper, the ink black and deep.

Pierre stared at it for a long time.

When Woolley returned after making the phone call, the door was halfway open when it stopped.

He saw Pierre looking down at the last page, so he didn't come in immediately.

The light from the corridor shone into the room from behind him.

A few seconds later, Pierre gently placed the last page back on the table.

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Put it back on.

"coffee."

Woolley then pushed the door open and came in.

"I'll go get it."

Pierre nodded.

Woolley turned and left.

Chen Zhuo sat down again.

Pierre looked at the stacks of manuscript papers on the table.

He didn't speak.

After a while, he picked up the middle pages again.

7:30.

Woolley returned with the coffee.

Three cups.

Pierre had a glass in front of him, Chen Zhuo had a glass in front of him, and he took a glass for himself.

Chen Zhuo took a sip.

The coffee was bitter.

Pierre did not touch the glass.

He kept his right hand free and continued turning the page.

Around 8 o'clock, Fan Enlou became even quieter.

The lights in the corridor were somewhat pale.

In the office, a few new lines of symbols appeared on the blackboard.

Pierre stood in front of the blackboard, twirling the chalk between his fingers.

"Before this page."

Chen Zhuo pulled two pages from the table and handed them over.

Pierre took it, read a few lines, and then put one of the pages back on the table.

"Not this one."

Chen Zhuo picked up another page.

Pierre glanced at it.

"Um."

No further words were needed.

The chalk fell back onto the blackboard.

One line.

Two lines.

Pierre paused halfway through writing the third line.

He turned to look at Chen Zhuo.

Chen Zhuo walked over and added half a line below.

Pierre looked at that half-line.

Then continue writing.

Woolley sat near the door; his coffee had long since gone cold.

He didn't interrupt.

He would only occasionally get up to add hot water or to neatly fold up the manuscripts he had read on the table.

Around nine o'clock, Pierre finally picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip.

The coffee has gone cold.

He seemed not to taste anything, took only one sip, and then put the cup back.

Don't collect these pages.

He said.

Woolley nodded.

"it is good."

Chen Zhuo placed those few pages separately in the middle of the table.

Pierre sat down again.

On the blackboard behind him, several derivations were connected by chalk lines.

This is not a complete proof.

But when he read this part, he had to take it out and look at the skeleton.

Time passed little by little.

9:40.

10:20.

10:50.

The light in Chen Zhuo's office was always on.

Someone walked past the door twice.

The first time, I didn't stop.

The second time, I slowed down a bit and walked away.

Before eleven o'clock, Woolley picked up the empty coffee pot.

"I'll go pour some more."

Pierre nodded.

Chen Zhuo did not look up.

Woolley pushed open the door and went out.

A light was still on in the lounge area.

Arthur stood by the coffee machine, holding a cup in his hand, his sleeves rolled up slightly, as if he had just come from his office.

He saw the empty coffee pot in Woolley's hand and glanced at the end of the corridor.

That's the direction of Chen Zhuo's office.

"Is Pierre still with Chen Zhuo?"

Woolley paused for a moment.

"exist."

Arthur's cup remained suspended in mid-air.

"In the direction of Hodge?"

Woolley nodded.

Arthur didn't ask any more questions.

The coffee machine started making a low rumble.

The sound of hot coffee flowing into the pot was clearly audible in the empty lounge.

At the end of the corridor, the light in Chen Zhuo's office was still on.

Woolley took the coffee back.

When the door opened, Pierre was looking down at the last small stack.

Chen Zhuo sat opposite him.

Neither of them spoke.

The chalk writing on the blackboard was layered on top of each other.

The light yellow question sheet on top of the table was placed to the side.

The line of text in the title bar is still there.

Proof of the Hodge conjecture.

Woolley put the coffee pot down.

Nobody went to dump it.

The only sound in the room was the rustling of pages turning.