The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

boom!

The entire internet exploded instantly!

The netizens who were arguing with each other just moments before almost simultaneously ceased their attacks, and all their guns turned in the same direction.

"What? You're not coming?"

"The Chinese Mathematicians Association officially sent out invitations, so why aren't they coming?"

"According to international academic practice, international peers are obligated to send experts to participate in any major research validation conference! This is not a matter of politeness; it is a basic academic norm!"

"Really? Is this fake news? IMU is the world's top mathematics institution, surely they wouldn't be this shameless?"

"The link is here, see for yourself."

……

Soon, someone bypassed the Great Firewall, found the original statement on the website of the International Mathematical Association, took a screenshot, and sent it back to China.

The gist of the translation is: The International Mathematical Association has taken note of the statement from the Chinese Mathematical Association. However, over the past decade, numerous amateur mathematicians have claimed to have proven Goldbach's Conjecture, most of which have ultimately been proven to be incorrect or incomplete.

Therefore, the IMU is highly cautious about such claims.

In addition, the 30th International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) will be held in the United States, which overlaps with the verification conference proposed by China.

To avoid mathematicians from various countries having to travel long distances repeatedly, IMU suggested that China could include the verification of Goldbach's conjecture in the agenda of the ICM conference, and present it together for review by mathematicians from participating countries.

To put it in high-sounding terms, it means:

You claim to have proven yourselves, but we don't believe you. We're too lazy to make the trip. If you want us to see it, bring your own documents to our territory.

Netizens were absolutely blown away after reading the translation.

"What the heck? What do you mean? You're really not coming?"

"In the past decade, numerous amateur mathematicians have claimed to have proven Gordon's conjecture... So what? Are you comparing an official letter from our Chinese Mathematical Association with those from amateur mathematicians?"

"This isn't just a matter of looking down on them; it's a complete disregard!"

"They want us to go there and give a presentation? We have to travel all the way to their doorstep to beg them to even look at our work? What kind of logic is that?"

"hateful!"

"We're not going! We're not going either!"

"Since they're not coming, we'll just do it ourselves! We'll verify it ourselves in China, publish it ourselves, and we don't care if they approve or not!"

"Yes! Withdraw from the International Mathematical Union! Withdraw from the IMU! Such an arrogant organization is better off gone!"

……

Meanwhile, in Fucheng, at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse.

Academician Wang and others are resting here at this moment.

After all, they were all getting on in years, and they had traveled all night. They had spent most of the night on the plane repeatedly studying the high-definition photos of those twenty blackboards, and they were all exhausted.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by the door being flung open.

A graduate student who had come with Academician Wang stumbled in, his face showing an expression as if the sky had fallen.

"Teacher, something terrible has happened!"

Academician Wang was startled by the shout, his whole body trembling. He frowned and looked at the panting student at the door, his voice carrying a hint of displeasure:

"What a panic! What kind of behavior is this! Tell me what happened!"

The graduate student, holding onto the doorframe with one hand and his phone with the other, said, "Professor, the IMU (International Mathematical Union) just issued a statement refusing to attend our verification conference! They suggested that we present our findings at the upcoming ICM (International Congress of Mathematicians)."

"What?"

Even Academician Wang, who has seen many storms, was shocked by this statement.

"Refusing to attend?"

"Should we report this on ICM?"

He threw off the blanket and stood up from the bed with such speed that he didn't look like a man in his seventies at all. He snatched the phone from the student's hand and stared intently at the statement on the screen, reading it line by line.

With each line he read, his lips tightened further, and by the time he read the line "It is suggested that this be reported together at the National Congress of Chinese Mathematicians," his hands were already trembling.

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

This angry shout woke up all the other big shots in the room.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

The graduate student repeated the contents of IMU's statement.

"What? Refusing to attend?"

"Eight years ago, someone at Princeton announced that they had proven a weak form of the twin prime conjecture, and IMU organized a joint verification team to fly there within three days!"

"Four years ago, someone at Cambridge made a breakthrough in the Riemann Hypothesis, and IMU eagerly sent more than a dozen experts!"

"Now it's our turn, and they're not coming?"

"This is blatant contempt for us!"

"Arrogant! They're still as arrogant as they were over a hundred years ago!"

"Old Wang, what should we do now?"

Everyone looked at Academician Wang.

Academician Wang took a deep breath.

His once straight back suddenly bent considerably.

"What else can we do? They're taking advantage of the fact that we can't do without the recognition of the international academic community."

"If we don't take our evidence to the international stage, they say we're just entertaining ourselves behind closed doors. If we want to take it to the international stage, we have to beg them!"

"The initiative is in their hands, the rules are in their hands, and the power of judgment is in their hands!"

"Let's go report to ICM... Okay, let's go then..."

"But Mr. Wang... this is too frustrating!" Lin Boqian said, his eyes red.

This bigwig from Tsinghua University's mathematics department looked as aggrieved as a child at that moment.

"You have to endure the frustration."

Academician Wang waved his hand, his voice full of helplessness: "That's just how it is in academia; weak countries have no diplomacy."

Everyone fell silent.

Yes, they were dissatisfied and angry, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

They have never had the power to speak on the international stage.

"This is the only way!"

Lin Boqian sighed softly.

"Give Ji Bai a call, explain the situation to him, and tell him to prepare for his presentation at the ICM conference in the US in late July!"

Ji Bai is the first and only prover of Goldbach's Conjecture, and according to the rules, only he can make this report.

……

Across the ocean, at the IMU headquarters.

"So, the Chinese really did send out formal invitations?"

The speaker was the Secretary General of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), an elderly British man with gray hair and a beer belly, named Charles Hopkinson.

He placed the coffee cup on the mahogany desk, leaned back in his leather chair, and wore an expression as if he had just heard some ridiculous joke.

Sitting in the office were several core members of the IMU Executive Committee.

"Oh God!"

An elderly Frenchman wearing gold-rimmed glasses threw the statement on the table, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Chinese people are so funny! An 18-year-old high school student, they themselves said they proved Goldbach's Conjecture?"

"Isn't that ridiculous?"

"What's even more ridiculous is that they actually want us to attend some kind of verification conference."

"You want us to fly all the way to China to be the audience for a high school student we've never even heard of? When did IMU become a circus judging panel?"

A soft laugh rang out in the office.

"However, won't the Chinese people make a scene if we refuse so directly?"

The Italian committee member, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

His name is Andrea, and he is the head of the external relations department at IMU. He deals with mathematicians' associations from various countries all year round and is quite sensitive to the delicate balance of international academic diplomacy.

"After all, they went through official channels and sent a formal invitation. If we just refused, it would be a loss of face..."

Don't worry.

Charles picked up his coffee cup, blew on the now-numbed steam, and said in a confident tone, "The Chinese will definitely compromise."

"They crave international recognition more than we do, and if we don't support them, they'll be even more anxious than we are."

"So just wait and see, they'll find a way to back down on their own."

"I bet the Chinese Mathematicians Association will send an email before next week saying they are willing to report on our ICM."

"It would be good to have the Chinese people report this on ICM."

Thompson leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and said, "At least it adds a bit of fun to the International Congress of Mathematicians, doesn't it?"

"It's quite interesting to think about a little kid presenting his doodles on the blackboard in front of thousands of mathematicians."

"Michael, you're being too harsh."

"I'm just stating the facts."