My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 438 The Other End of the Phone

When Allen's email arrived at Princeton, Chen Zhuo had just returned from Van En House.

The email was very short.

The phase description has been approved.

Your name is on the source page.

The Joint Cosmic Ray Operation continues as normal.

The newly added intermediate retention items will be entered into the system along with the data from the next stage.

In addition, I saw your Hodge preprint.

Congratulations.

Allen.

Chen Zhuo read the email twice.

Allen has always written like this: straightforward, without excessive exaggeration or overstatement.

But precisely because of this, the final "Congratulations" sounded very sincere.

Chen Zhuo printed out the email.

The printer beeped a few times in the corner of the office and spat out a piece of paper.

Chen Zhuo picked it up and saw that the few lines of text were neatly written on the paper. He paused for a moment before putting it into the Geneva folder.

When the folder was closed, a section of the light yellow folder on the corner of the table was sticking out.

Madrid.

These two words had been on his desk for several days.

Geneva is on one side.

On one side is Madrid.

There were also increasingly thick letters from outside sources after the Hodge preprint was published.

No one in Van Eyr spoke loudly about the papers, but each stack reminded him that August was drawing ever closer.

Chen Zhuo placed his hand on the table and remained silent for a while.

I probably won't be able to go back this summer vacation.

This idea didn't just come to me recently.

From the day he received the formal invitation from Madrid to visit Van Enlou, he knew that the next few months would not be easy.

Hodge's preprint is still being read by mathematicians around the world. External questions keep coming in, the Madrid report needs to be prepared, and after Madrid, there may be some arrangements in Geneva as well.

Just knowing it is one thing.

Telling your family is another matter entirely.

Chen Zhuo glanced at the clock on the wall.

It's still daytime here in Princeton.

Back home, it should already be evening.

He put the Geneva folder back on the corner of the table, then pressed down the light yellow folder from Madrid, and picked up the phone.

It's a little past 8 p.m. at Jinxiu Garden.

Dinner had already been eaten, but not all the dishes in the kitchen had been cleared away. Liu Xiuying draped a dishcloth over the sink and returned to the living room with the TV volume turned down low.

It's not for watching.

It's just open.

During this period, Chen Zhuo's name could be heard all the time on television, in newspapers, and on the phone.

Chen Jianguo sat in the small study on the balcony. A mechanical drawing was spread out on the table, with a small screwdriver and a few old parts next to it. His glasses were on his nose, and he held a pencil in his hand, but he didn't put his pen down on the drawing for a while.

There were several newspapers on the coffee table.

Some were bought by Chen Jianguo on his way home from get off work, some were given to him by his colleagues, and one was delivered by Wang Li, who said that Xiao Zhuo had reported it to the newspaper again.

Liu Xiuying read those words in the newspaper several times.

This wasn't the first time the Chen family had encountered such a situation.

Years ago, when CCTV came to interview him, things were chaotic at home. Later, when Chen Zhuo went to Princeton, we talked on the phone more often. When he graduated with his doctorate, someone from Chen Jianguo's factory even came with a newspaper to ask if his son had become famous abroad again.

After doing it many times, the couple figured out a solution.

When asked by reporters, I won't answer randomly.

If an acquaintance asks, don't say "full".

When someone at work started making a fuss, I just smiled and said that the child hadn't told the family in detail.

If someone asks urgently, Chen Jianguo will only say one thing: "Wait for official news from the school."

They did the same thing this time.

This time, however, more people came to ask questions than before.

The questions asked were also more chaotic.

Some people asked Chen Zhuo if he had proven any conjectures, some asked if he was going to Spain in August, some asked if the award mentioned in the news was real, and some people went around in circles trying to ask if Chen Zhuo had any special learning methods when he was a child.

Liu Xiuying received several phone calls in one day, and eventually she simply placed a piece of paper next to the phone line.

The above was written by Chen Jianguo.

No interviews accepted.

Official news, etc.

Looking at those words, she felt a little more at ease.

When the phone rang, Liu Xiuying was picking up the remote control, preparing to turn off the TV.

The bell rang twice.

Chen Jianguo looked up from the balcony.

Liu Xiuying picked up the receiver.

"Feed?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Chen Zhuo's voice came through.

"mom."

Liu Xiuying unconsciously gripped the telephone cord tightly.

She had many questions to ask.

The things she read in the newspapers, on TV, asked by her colleagues at the factory, and said by Wang Li—those parts she understood but didn't understand—were all stuck in her mind.

But when she spoke, she still asked first, "Have you eaten?"

Chen Zhuo chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"have eaten."

"Did you eat at Professor Pierre's house?"

"Um."

"What did you eat?"

"Beef, potatoes, and soup."

Hearing "beef" and "soup" made Liu Xiuying feel a little relieved.

"That's alright, don't just drink coffee."

"Um."

Chen Jianguo had already come out of the small study on the balcony.

He didn't rush to answer the phone. Instead, he stood by the living room, took off his glasses, wiped them with a cloth, and put them back on.

Liu Xiuying glanced at him and lowered her voice a little.

"I've received quite a few phone calls at home these past few days."

Chen Zhuo said, "I guessed it."

"What did you guess?" Liu Xiuying said, "People from your dad's factory asked, people from my factory asked, and there were also two reporters who got the phone numbers from somewhere."

Chen Jianguo, standing nearby, said, "He didn't answer."

Liu Xiuying added into the phone, "We didn't make things up."

"Okay," Chen Zhuo said, "That's fine."

"Wang Li came by this morning," Liu Xiuying said. "She said Zhang Qiang had also heard the news at school and asked her to come and ask if it was true."

Where is Zhang Qiang?

"He didn't come, probably because he was afraid you wouldn't have time to reply even if he asked."

Chen Zhuo smiled.

There was a moment of silence on the phone.

Liu Xiuying wrapped the telephone cord around her finger and then unwound it.

She finally asked, "They said your paper has been published, is that true?"

"It's true."

"It's that..." Liu Xiuying paused, not insisting on using the word, "the speculation written in the newspaper?"

"Hodge's conjecture."

"Yes, this is it," Liu Xiuying said. "Is this what you wrote?"

Chen Zhuo neither spoke too definitively nor understatedly.

"What I wrote is its proof."

After hearing this, Liu Xiuying's eyes flickered.

She didn't speak immediately.

Chen Jianguo stood to the side, no longer wiping his glasses with the cloth in his hand.

After a while, Liu Xiuying asked, "Do they still want to see it?"

"We need to see it," Chen Zhuo said. "Once a mathematical proof is published, many people need to read it; it's not enough for the news to just say it once and be done with it."

Liu Xiuying nodded slowly, though Chen Zhuo couldn't see it.

"I knew it," Chen Jianguo interjected from the side, "the news was written too hastily."

Liu Xiuying tilted the phone slightly so that Chen Jianguo's voice could also be heard.

Chen Jianguo asked, "Is it like drawing up blueprints, and then having someone else check them against them?"

Chen Zhuo said, "More or less."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianguo felt as if he had finally found a place where he could put his feet down.

"That's normal," he said. "The larger the blueprint, the more it needs to be checked."

Liu Xiuying glanced at him.

Chen Jianguo didn't say anything more.

The TV in the living room was still on, the volume was very low, and someone was talking about the news on the screen. Chen Zhuo's name seemed to appear again in the scrolling subtitles below. Liu Xiuying reached out and turned off the TV.

The room fell silent immediately.

Chen Zhuo heard the voice on the other end of the phone soften and asked, "Is the TV off?"

"Hmm," Liu Xiuying said, "There's nothing to see."

She paused, then said, "They said you're going to Spain in August."

"Yes, Madrid."

"That foreign conference?"

International Congress of Mathematicians.

She didn't ask how big it was.

The newspapers have written about it many times these days, but for her, no matter how big the meeting is, in the end it's just her son going to a faraway place to give a speech.

"You went to listen to other people talk?" she asked.

"I also need to give a report."

"Speak on stage?"

"Um."

"How long will you talk?"

"One hour."

Liu Xiuying did not speak.

"Aren't you tired?"

Chen Zhuo said, "It's alright."

"Anyone want to go together?"

"Professor Pierre and his group will go, and many other students from the school will also go."

"That's good," Liu Xiuying said.

Chen Jianguo asked from the side, "What about the plane tickets and accommodation? Will the school arrange those?"

"It will be arranged."

"That's fine then."

He was checking several key components of a machine before allowing it to continue operating.

Liu Xiuying seemed to remember something else, and her voice lowered even further.

"They also said on TV that there was an award."

There was a moment of silence in the living room after those words were spoken.

Chen Jianguo did not respond.

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhuo also paused for a moment.

"It can't be counted now," Chen Zhuo said.

Chen Jianguo then spoke.

"If you can't calculate it, then don't calculate it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was very steady.

"Without official news, let others write whatever they want. You should give your report and eat your meal."

When Liu Xiuying heard that it was time to eat, she glanced at Chen Jianguo again.

This statement, though seemingly roundabout, ultimately returned to the issue she cared about most.

Chen Zhuo said on the other end of the phone, "Okay."

Some things are best left unsaid.

Liu Xiuying didn't press the matter about the award, nor did she ask if the "youngest" and "world's number one" claims in the newspapers were true. She knew that even if she asked, Chen Zhuo wouldn't give a definitive answer now.

She simply gripped the phone a little tighter.

"So you're going to Spain in August, when are you coming back?"

When she asked the question, she already guessed that the answer wouldn't be what she wanted.

There was a moment of silence on Chen Zhuo's end.

"mom."

"Um."

"I probably won't be able to go back this summer."

Liu Xiuying's fingers stopped.

Chen Jianguo also looked up at her.

This statement is not unexpected.

Having said so much already—the paper, the reading, Madrid, the report, and possibly more arrangements to come—we've actually pushed it step by step to this point.

But when you actually hear it, it's still different.

After a few seconds, Liu Xiuying said, "That's what I was just about to ask."

Chen Zhuo did not respond.

Liu Xiuying sat down on the sofa and gently unplugged the telephone cord.

"What preparations are needed before Madrid?"

"Um."

"What happens after Madrid?"

"There might be arrangements in Europe as well, and there are some things to do here in Princeton as well."

Liu Xiuying understood.

This year's busyness isn't the kind where you can just buy a ticket and come back.

She was silent for a moment, then said, "Then let's not go through all that trouble."

This was said very softly.

There was no blame.

They didn't pretend not to care.

Chen Zhuo said, "I'll go back when there's some space in the back."

"Hmm," Liu Xiuying said, "No rush."

As soon as she said those two words, she knew she wasn't really not in a hurry.

But she still said it.

Chen Jianguo took the phone from her.

"You don't need to worry about things here in China."

Chen Zhuo said, "Hmm."

"Whether it's reporters or other people asking, we won't say anything. We'll say it again: the child hasn't told the family the details. We'll wait for the school and official information."

Chen Zhuo smiled.

"Dad, you're quite skilled now."

Chen Jianguo snorted.

"You trained me to be like that."

Liu Xiuying, who had been feeling a bit down, couldn't help but smile when she heard this.

Chen Jianguo continued, "Keep your own affairs in order. The news is the news, but don't let them lead you astray."

"Know."

"Also, don't stay up too late."

Chen Zhuo said, "As much as possible."

Chen Jianguo frowned: "Don't overthink it."

Chen Zhuo paused for a moment.

"it is good."

Liu Xiuying answered the phone again.

"Do you want more beef sauce?"

"want."

"Didn't you say you weren't coming back?"

"I'll only take it if they don't come back."

Liu Xiuying pursed her lips.

"Then I'll make it in a couple of days, and it'll taste the same as last time?"

"Um."

"Don't skimp on your food, finish it first and then we'll talk."

"it is good."

"Do you have enough clothes? You're going to Spain, is it hot there?"

"It should be hot."

"Is that short-sleeved shirt enough?"

"enough."

"What about formal attire?"

"have."

"Don't wear wrinkled clothes."

"Know."

These words are very small.

Compared to the world's biggest problems, international conferences, and award speculations on television, it's incredibly small.

But in the end, all that can be said and grasped on the phone is these little things.

Just before hanging up, Liu Xiuying asked again, "Your voice sounds alright, doesn't it?"

Chen Zhuo said, "It's alright."

"That's fine then."

She put the receiver down very gently.

The living room fell silent.

Chen Jianguo stood by the phone, not immediately returning to the balcony.

Liu Xiuying sat on the sofa, looking down at her hands.

After a while, she said, "I really can't come back this year."

Chen Jianguo hummed in agreement.

He couldn't say anything else.

The newspapers were still spread out on the coffee table.

The top one shows Chen Zhuo's name, and next to it are several words that Liu Xiuying has seen many times, but has never dared to explain to anyone.

Chen Jianguo slowly folded the newspapers and pressed them into a corner of the coffee table.

Liu Xiuying said, "He just said that there are more plans after Madrid."

"I heard you."

"We're going somewhere else again."

"Um."

He's only fifteen.

After saying that, Liu Xiuying stopped herself.

Because she also knew that Chen Zhuo could no longer be counted as just fifteen years old.

But as a mother, there's always a place in her heart where, no matter how many papers he writes abroad or how much news he makes, she'll still put him back to that age.

Chen Jianguo did not refute.

He simply flipped over the old note next to the phone and wrote it again on the back.

No interviews accepted.

Official news, etc.

After he finished writing, he put the pen cap back on.

Liu Xiuying glanced at the paper, then got up and walked towards the kitchen.

Chen Jianguo asked, "What for?"

"Let's see how much beef we have left."

"Look now?"

"I need to know how much to buy even if I have to buy it tomorrow."

Chen Jianguo stood in the living room, watching her go into the kitchen.

After a while, he turned the TV back on and quickly turned the volume down.

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