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

"Everyone, what do we do now?" Charles asked hoarsely, glancing at the board members in the conference room.

The board members looked at each other, their expressions not very good.

"We definitely have to go," a blond director said first.

"If IMU doesn't attend the verification of these three world-class conjectures, it will make us look unprofessional and lose our authority."

"But the problem is time!"

Another bald board member tapped on the table: "The validation conference in China is scheduled for mid-July, exactly five days earlier than the ICM!"

"If they get to do it first, all the world's attention will be drawn to it, and our ICM conference in the US will just be a backdrop."

"That's right! Absolutely not!"

Someone immediately chimed in: "ICM is our grandest event held every four years, how can it be overshadowed by a hastily convened verification conference?"

"And this happened in China!"

This is actually the most troublesome problem for these people right now.

If this year's ICM were held in a small European country, I might just go.

But damn it, this year's ICM is being held in the US!

If China steals the spotlight, it will be an extremely serious political problem.

Doesn't that mean that the United States has been outdone by China?

Mathematics may have no borders, but mathematicians do!

This is what Charles and others absolutely cannot accept.

Charles pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said his idea: "Issue a statement saying that the Verification Conference in China and the ICM Conference have a high degree of overlap in time. In order to ensure the travel arrangements of mathematicians around the world and to ensure that both academic exchanges can achieve the best results, it is recommended that China postpone the Verification Conference to the end of August or September."

"At that time, our IMU will formally organize a team of top mathematicians to go to China to participate in the verification."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds, then everyone nodded.

"This is a good idea! It gives them a way out while preserving ICM's dominant position!"

"That's right! We've already given them plenty of face by agreeing to send people. It's just a matter of postponing the event. China will definitely agree."

"After all, receiving official IMU certification is already a tremendous honor for them, and they have no reason to refuse."

……

The council members spoke one after another, their tone full of condescending confidence, as if they had already made a huge concession and China would surely be grateful and agree.

Soon after, the IMU official website and social media accounts simultaneously updated with an official statement:

[Official response from the International Mathematical Union (IMU) regarding the research findings of Mr. Ji Bai from China:]

We have taken note of the proofs published by Mr. Ji Bai regarding Goldbach's conjecture, the Collatz conjecture, and the twin prime conjecture, and we acknowledge that his research has extremely high academic value and deserves to be discussed and verified by the global academic community.

The verification conference, originally scheduled to be held in China in mid-July, overlapped significantly with the 30th International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM).

To ensure the smooth travel arrangements for mathematicians from around the world and to guarantee the best possible outcome for both academic exchanges, IMU has formally proposed postponing the China Verification Conference by two months.

If the proposed change of conference dates is approved, IMU will assemble an official verification team composed of top number theorists to travel to China to participate in the verification process and provide official support for the academic recognition of the results.

The International Mathematical Union is committed to promoting global mathematical exchange and looks forward to friendly cooperation with the Chinese mathematical community.

……

The IMU statement immediately caused a stir on the international internet.

The statement was as meticulously worded as ever, first congratulating China on its continuous major breakthroughs, and then affirming the extraordinary significance of the three conjectures in the history of mathematics.

Then, changing the subject, the conversation turned to the issue of overlapping timelines, and finally offered a "win-win" solution: if China could postpone the verification conference to the end of August or September, IMU would organize a delegation of experts to go to China to participate.

In the comments section, mathematics professionals from various countries and netizens who were just watching the spectacle quickly split into several factions.

The majority of supporters are among them.

"This arrangement is very wise. The ICM schedule was finalized four years ago. The travel, visas, and report arrangements for hundreds of mathematicians around the world have already been finalized. It is simply unrealistic to make last-minute adjustments."

"The three proofs together are over a hundred pages long, and they are all groundbreaking new ideas. Even top number theorists would need one or two months to thoroughly understand them line by line. The two-month buffer period is just right. It is only responsible to academia to verify them with questions in mind."

"ICM is a global mathematics conference held every four years. We can't let a temporary verification meeting disrupt the overall rhythm. It's most efficient and fair to hold it after the ICM closes, so that everyone can go to China together after the conference."

"This is the first time in nearly two decades that IMU has made an exception and adjusted its official stance for the work of a single mathematician, which in itself demonstrates the significance of these three proofs!"

"As someone working in the field, I believe this proposal demonstrates IMU's sincerity."

……

Of course, many people immediately saw through the ulterior motive, and the comments section was full of teasing:

"It sounds noble, but the real reason is that they're afraid China will hold its verification conference first and steal all the limelight from ICM."

"The ICM is held in the United States, and the validation conference is held in China. If the two events are too close together, the world's spotlight will shift from New York to Beijing. This is what IMU is really worried about."

"To put it bluntly, they don't want China to be the main player. Even if they acknowledge the achievements, they still want to put their own conference first and maintain their 'authoritative' stance."

"IMU's move can be described as a classic example of geopolitical and academic politics!"

"I could hear Charles's scheme all the way from London!"

……

When the news reached China, the trending topics on Weibo changed again within just half an hour.

The hashtag #IMU says it will go to China for verification# quickly rose to the top of the trending searches, followed by a bright red "Explosive" word.

The entire internet was cheering; the pent-up frustration of the past few days finally dissipated in that moment.

"They're here! They're finally coming!"

"That's so satisfying! We used to be chasing after Western academia, but now they're coming to us to validate their findings!"

"Emperor Ji Bai is awesome! He single-handedly forced the entire International Mathematical Union to bow down. This kind of prestige is unprecedented!"

"The old monster in the penalty area has finally lowered his stance!"

"Isn't this the prelude to the gathering of all immortals? In the past, we trekked across mountains and rivers to the Western Paradise to obtain scriptures, but now they are taking the initiative to come to the Eastern Land to pay homage!"

"One sword cleaves the heavens, three swords suppress the universe! This is nothing compared to what's to come; there's Poincaré and Riemann to come, and they'll have to run for their lives!"

"Hahaha, the person upstairs really dares to dream! The Poincaré Conjecture and the Riemann Hypothesis are among the seven unsolved mathematical problems in the world!"

"No, brothers, can you calm down? Although the Goethe conjecture, the Kolas conjecture, and twin primes are difficult, they are essentially classic problems in number theory. The Poincaré conjecture is the Mount Everest of topology, and the Riemann Hypothesis is the cornerstone of modern mathematics. They are all millennial-level tough nuts to crack."

"Even if Ji Bai is a genius, he couldn't possibly just pull out a proof of the Millennium Prize Problem from anywhere in the world, could he?"

"Honestly, to be able to solve three number theory conjectures in a row is already a once-in-a-century genius. Poincaré is in the pure field of topology, which is a completely different direction from number theory. It's not that easy to cross over and crush him."

"Don't praise me to the point of ruin, please don't praise me to the point of ruin!"

"Poincaré isn't so easy to prove!"

"As for Riemann, don't even think about it; no one will be able to prove it within the next hundred years!!"