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

Ji Bai got off the high-speed train and dragged his suitcase through the familiar streets of Fucheng.

I haven't been back for a few days, and the old, run-down apartment is still the same old, run-down apartment.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway still work intermittently, the neighbor's pickle jar is still in the same place, and his door lock is still the old lock that he has opened countless times with a paperclip.

Pushing open the door, the cement floor was bathed in the warm yellow light of the setting sun outside the window, and the potted green ivy on the windowsill was still stubbornly alive.

Ji Bai went to the bedside and pulled his girlfriend out.

I've missed you terribly after not seeing you for a few days.

I'm going to have a good chat with my girlfriend tonight.

"Honey, I'm back. Did you miss me these past few days?"

"I know you miss me. You must be thinking that this heartless man has gone off to become the Pope of Mathematics, leaving his old woman all alone under the bed to gather dust."

"Don't be angry, I'm back now, aren't I?"

As Ji Bai spoke, he carefully wiped his girlfriend's face with a wet wipe.

As she wiped her face, she muttered to herself, her tone tinged with a hint of smug satisfaction: "You have no idea what I've been through these past few days. A bunch of old men set me up during the meeting, smiling to my face while stabbing me in the back."

"But don't worry, your man didn't lose. Those old foxes combined aren't even a match for me with one hand."

"Oh, right, someone's trying to force me to go abroad. Are you kidding? If I leave, who'll be with you?"

"You're the best. You're so quiet and don't lecture me. You just stay home and wait for me obediently."

Ji Bai nodded in satisfaction and patted his girlfriend on the shoulder: "Alright, we've finished the important business. Now... let's catch up."

"I've saved up three episodes of the new anime series to watch..."

……

Online, once the online trolls retreated, the public outcry over the teenager's proof of the five fundamental theorems truly erupted.

The online buzz of the past few days has been dominated by the flame war between trolls and pro-establishment supporters. The glory that should have belonged to Ji Bai has been squeezed into a corner by those out-of-context screenshots and accusations in trending topics.

Now is the moment of glory for the young!

Holy crap! That's awesome!!!

"The most insane proof marathon in the history of mathematics!"

"It got my blood pumping!"

"I'm a high school student too, and these past few nights I've been hiding under the covers watching the live stream replays until 2 or 3 in the morning!"

"The decade-long era without a 'Queen' in mathematics, following Grothendieck, has come to an end today!"

"From this day forward, the history of human mathematics is divided into two periods: before Ji Bai and after Ji Bai!"

"First came the Holy Son, who appeared out of nowhere and opened the gates of heaven with a single sword, proving the God's conjecture; then came the Heavenly Emperor, who ascended the throne and was crowned, suppressing all immortals with his four heavens and five conjectures; and then came the Pope, who issued a decree, and the words of 'Young China' resounded throughout the Golden Hall!"

"Where are the haters? Weren't they jumping around quite a bit yesterday?"

"Strange? Why isn't it spraying anymore?"

The more netizens criticized, the more enthusiastic they became. Not satisfied with just denouncing the paid commenters, they flocked to the comment sections of the influential figures who had previously criticized Ji Bai to leave provocative messages.

"Teacher Qingfeng, why don't you come out and say something? Continue your discussion? Why don't you come out and say that the youth are too aggressive?"

"Where's Professor Li? Why don't you come out and talk about education? What do you think about how a child like this is setting a bad example for other children?"

"Didn't they say he had questionable private morals? Why were the posts deleted overnight? Keep digging!"

"Stop playing dead! Weren't you quite the talker a few days ago? Come out and confront me!"

Faced with a barrage of ridicule, the influential figures each had their own way of handling the situation.

Some deleted their smear articles overnight, pretending to have "good intentions":

"My previous remarks were intended to encourage young people to avoid arrogance and impetuosity, not to target Ji Bai personally. Ji Bai has a strong sense of national responsibility and real talent, and is a role model for young people. I hope he will not forget his original aspirations."

Some followed suit and went down the slope:

"I have always believed that it is best to have both moral integrity and talent, but Ji Bai's patriotism is evident to all, so my previous concerns were unnecessary. We should give young people room to grow."

Some people stubbornly refused to admit it, and after holding back for a long time, they posted, "Too much rigidity leads to breakage, and being too sharp is not necessarily a good thing. Time will tell," and then immediately turned off the comments and hid away, pretending to be dead.

The war of words raged on until the morning of the next day when a piece of news suddenly exploded across the entire internet like a thunderclap, silencing all the trolls and influential figures.

"Look! Today's Renren Daily! It features a full page of excerpts from Ji Bai's 'A Discourse on Young China'!"

"Holy crap! It's officially confirmed! Renren Daily has personally endorsed it!"

The news caused an instant uproar online.

"Wow, that's amazing! He was featured in Renren Daily at just eighteen, and it was a full-page excerpt! That's some serious prestige!"

"Those who say Ji Bai is disrespectful and unworthy of his position, come out and be slapped! The People's Daily even published it, so are the official sources wrong too?"

"Hilarious! Yesterday they were saying that people who are too rigid are easily broken, and today the authorities have vindicated them. Doesn't their face hurt?"

"Where are those public intellectuals and influential figures who were jumping around before? Keep jumping around, huh? Going against the official stance, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?"

"A strong youth makes a strong nation! This is not just a slogan, but the confidence that the government gives to all Chinese youth!"

"From being ridiculed across the internet to receiving praise from official media, Ji Bai's journey has been incredibly inspiring!"

"I knew it! How could the country let a young man who brings glory to the nation suffer? Those clowns hiding in the gutter will never amount to anything!"

Several influential figures who had previously been defiant immediately backed down when they saw the article published in Renren Daily.

Posts were deleted, accounts were deleted, even the Weibo post with the phrase "too rigid and easily broken" was deleted instantly, as if it had never been posted.

……

The mysterious private club in Beijing.

It was the same dark-colored private room. Several cups of tea that had long since gone cold sat on the rosewood coffee table, and the ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts.

Several figures, their faces obscured, were slumped in a large leather sofa, their brows furrowed in worry.

All of my moves have failed.

Ji Bai is too fierce!

Now, it even has official endorsement.

Others just watched the spectacle and thought it was awesome that Ji Bai was featured in the Renren Daily.

But what they saw was a warning!

A warning to those targeting Ji Bai: stop now!

This is information that only top-tier figures can glean from various official news reports.

Ordinary people just watch the spectacle.

"It's over."

Someone spoke up in a low voice: "This kid has already made his mark. With official support, it'll be incredibly difficult to touch him again."

"I thought it wouldn't be difficult to force him to leave, but I didn't expect him to be so stubborn. With the words 'I offer my blood to Xuanyuan,' he directly nailed himself to the position of patriotism."

"If we keep attacking him, we're going against public opinion and against the authorities." Another person sighed, his voice full of helplessness.

The room was silent.

All that effort and money was wasted, only to benefit someone else and further enhance Ji Bai's reputation.

These punches felt like they were hitting cotton, incredibly frustrating.

Just then, the phone of the person sitting at the very back suddenly started buzzing.

He picked up his phone, glanced at the number, got up, walked to the window, answered the call, and mumbled a few words.

His tense face gradually relaxed, and in the end, he couldn't help but smile.

After hanging up the phone, he walked back, sat on the sofa, picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Great news!"