My IQ has been increasing year by year.

In February in Huizhou, the sky is always overcast.

The wind blew in through the corridors of the dormitory building for gifted children.

Fang Yuanming zipped up his coat and stopped in front of dormitory 215.

The door wasn't closed properly, leaving a gap about two fingers wide, from which a faint metallic clanging sound could be heard.

Fang Yuanming raised his hand and knocked on the door twice.

"The door isn't locked, come in."

It was Chu Ge's voice, sounding muffled, as if he were chewing on something.

Fang Yuanming pushed open the door.

The lights in the dormitory were off, so it was a bit dim.

Wang Dayong was squatting on the ground, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, holding a yellow-handled Phillips screwdriver. On the ground was an old computer case with its side panels removed, the case fan covered in dust. Chu Ge was casually straddling the chair opposite him.

He had a piece of blue network cable sheath in his mouth, and his hands were pulling hard on the thin wires inside. Scattered on the floor around the chair were a jumble of black power cords and several broken plastic connectors. Hearing the door open, Chu Ge looked up.

Upon seeing who it was, he quickly spat out the network cable sheath he was biting into his hand and stood up from the chair.

"Happy New Year, Teacher Fang."

Chu Ge casually rubbed his palms against the side of his jeans a couple of times, then tossed the loose thread in his hand into the trash can.

Wang Dayong, who was squatting on the ground, also stopped what he was doing.

He placed the screwdriver next to the computer case, stood up, his hands hanging down, and somewhat awkwardly called out, "Teacher Fang."

Fang Yuanming nodded.

He stood at the doorway and didn't go inside.

His gaze swept around the dormitory.

On Wang Dayong's bed on the left, the quilt was rolled up, and there were several red net bags piled up next to it.

The table and chairs by the window on the right were very clean, and there was a violin case on the table.

On the floor beneath the desk, a dark blue canvas duffel bag sits neatly, its zipper zipped tightly shut.

In the very center of the table were two objects tightly wrapped in several layers of old newspapers.

"Didn't Chen Zhuo come back with you?" Fang Yuanming asked.

"He arrived early."

Chu Ge turned around and pointed to the dark blue canvas bag under the table.

"I had just come in, put my bag down here, and then went out."

Fang Yuanming glanced at the newspaper package on the table.

"Where did you go? You didn't even pack your luggage."

Chu Ge grinned.

"I went to the old library."

He took a step forward.

"He said the Russian math book he borrowed before the holiday was due today, and if he didn't return it until tomorrow, he would have to pay a late fee of two cents a day," Chugo pointed to the door.

"He came in, glanced at the date, grabbed the book, and ran off."

Wang Dayong listened from the side and chuckled twice, rubbing his nose with the back of his dusty hand.

Fang Yuanming smiled and nodded.

"Alright, you guys start packing up."

He stepped back, grasped the doorknob, and helped them close the dormitory door again.

Fang Yuanming put his hands back into his coat pockets, turned around and went downstairs.

Outside the dormitory building, the wind was stronger than before.

Fang Yuanming walked along the path in front of the forest towards the old library.

The trees on both sides of the road were bare, their leaves long gone, leaving only grayish-white trunks.

Several students with suitcases walked past him, their wheels making a monotonous rumbling sound as they rolled on the concrete pavement.

There are more than a dozen wide steps in front of the old library.

Fang Yuanming walked down the steps and stopped.

He stood under a tree, looking at the two heavy, dark brown wooden doors.

A few minutes later.

The wooden door on the left was pushed open from the inside, and the old hinges made a dull screech.

Chen Zhuo emerged from the shadows behind the door.

He was wearing a black down jacket, zipped all the way up, with the collar turned up to cover his chin.

Stepping out of the heated library, I was met with a blast of cold wind.

Chen Zhu subconsciously shrugged, put his hands in the pockets of his down jacket, and walked down the steps.

Fang Yuanming walked out from under the tree.

"Chen Zhuo".

The sound carried out across the empty steps.

Chen Zhuo reached the last step, stopped, and turned around.

Upon seeing Fang Yuanming, he changed his original direction of returning to the dormitory and walked over.

We're getting closer.

Chen Zhuo pulled his right hand out of his pocket.

"Happy New Year, Teacher Fang."

Chen Zhuo's voice was clear and his speech was not fast.

"Happy New Year."

Fang Yuanming looked at him.

"I went to room 215 to look for you. Chu Ge said you came to return the books. Are you done?"

"Um."

Chen Zhuo nodded.

He clasped his hands together, breathed out a puff of white air, and then rubbed his hands together.

"It's stamped, it didn't expire, and I saved two cents."

Fang Yuanming chuckled.

"Come on, let's go to the physics building."

Fang Yuanming looked at Chen Zhuo.

"Fang Shi is looking for you, the vice dean of the Physics Department."

Chen Zhuo stopped rubbing his hands together.

He glanced at Fang Yuanming.

"Now?"

"Now."

"What happened?" Chen Zhuo asked.

Fang Yuanming turned around and walked ahead.

"Professor Derian, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton."

Fang Yuanming spoke in a normal tone as he walked.

"They called Dean Fang's cell phone and said that you sent them an algebraic geometry model before you went on vacation."

A gust of wind blew by, swirling a few withered leaves from the ground into the air.

"They would like to invite you to New Jersey for an academic visit."

After Fang Yuanming finished speaking, he slowed down and waited for Chen Zhuo to catch up.

Chen Zhuo walked beside Fang Yuanming.

He looked down at the ground and avoided a pebble.

"Oh, that email."

Chen Zhuo spoke in a calm tone, as if he were talking about buying groceries.

"I went to an internet cafe to help Chu Ge upload code before the Lunar New Year, and I casually checked my email."

Fang Yuanming stopped and turned to look at him.

"You saw it?"

"I saw it."

"So what are you thinking?" Fang Yuanming asked. "This is Princeton, after all."

Chen Zhuo put his hands back into his pockets.

"I have already replied and declined."

Fang Yuanming was stunned.

He looked at Chen Zhuo standing in the cold wind.

The eleven-year-old boy remained calm, showing no sign of joking.

"You refused?"

"Um."

Chen Zhuo nodded and continued walking forward.

Fang Yuanming followed.

Why?

"It's too far." Chen Zhuo looked at the road ahead. "Going to New Jersey, the plane tickets are quite expensive, and we'll have to deal with jet lag."

Fang Yuanming took a deep breath.

"They said in the email that as long as you agree, they will cover all visa procedures and travel expenses."

Chen Zhuo shook his head.

"Going there won't do any good."

He walked steadily, and his voice carried on the wind.

"What they asked in the email was the physical significance of that singularity boundary."

Chen Zhuo turned his head and glanced at Fang Yuanming.

"I don't know much about physics."

"I haven't even finished most of the physics courses, how am I supposed to know what that model represents in a collapsed state?"

Chen Zhuo turned his gaze away and looked at the fork in the road ahead.

"Back in school, when I was bored, I read that preprint and just thought the part of calculus they used to handle continuous mappings was a bit redundant." He explained it as if he were talking about a regular homework problem.

"From a mathematical logic perspective, it's not handled cleanly enough."

"So I spent some time substituting it into a discrete algebraic geometric model and re-deriving it, and it became much more harmonious."

Chen Zhuo exhaled a breath of white air.

"As for how it's used in physics, I really don't understand. If I went there, I'd just be staring at each other blankly at those physicists, which would be quite awkward." Fang Yuanming listened to these words and didn't respond for a moment.

The two passed by a cafeteria.

Several students who had just bought their meals walked by, carrying their food and chatting happily.

The fragrance wafted through the air.

After those students had walked away...

Fang Yuanming then spoke.

"Vice Dean Fang is still waiting for you in his office. The email has been printed out and is on his desk."

Fang Yuanming sighed.

"He probably has a lot to say to you."

"It's okay," Chen Zhuo said. "I'll explain it to him in a bit."

He thought for a moment, then added another sentence.

"My mom packed a lot of braised beef and smoked fish in my luggage bag without putting them in the refrigerator. If I go abroad for an exchange program, they'll go bad if I leave them in my dorm room," Fang Yuanming said, looking at him.

Airfare is too expensive, I don't understand physics, and braised beef will spoil.

This is the whole reason why an eleven-year-old boy rejected the world's top academic institutions.

Just like when he rejected USTC back then.

There was no affectation whatsoever.

Fang Yuanming shook his head and smiled silently.

"OK."

Fang Yuanming quickened his pace.

"You can tell these things to Dean Fang yourself later."

We've arrived at the physics building.

This is a six-story building with white tiles on the exterior walls.

Fang Yuanming walked up the steps and opened the heavy glass door.

As soon as the door opened, the ample warmth of the corridor rushed in, instantly dispelling most of the chill from the two of them.

Chen Zhuo followed him inside.

He unzipped his down jacket a little further down to his chest and let out a long sigh.

Several blackboards were hung on the walls of the lobby on the first floor, and posters for academic lectures were posted.

Fang Yuanming didn't linger and led Chen Zhuo directly to the stairwell, their footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell.

Go up to the third floor.

The corridor was deserted, and the office doors on both sides were tightly closed.

Fang Yuanming walked to the end of the corridor as if he knew the way well.

The second to last office.

The name of the sorcerer was printed on the doorplate.

Fang Yuanming stopped in front of the door.

Chen Zhuo also stopped and stood half a step behind Fang Yuanming.

Fang Yuanming raised his right hand, bent his index and middle fingers, and knocked twice on the dark red door.

About three or four seconds passed.

"Enter."

Fang Yuanming gripped the doorknob, pushed the door open, and tilted his head to make way for Chen Zhuo.

The office was well-heated.

The sorcerer sat behind a large desk.

He was wearing a thin black sweater and glasses perched on his nose.

On the left side of the desk was a dark gray thermos, and on the right side was a stack of documents.

On the table in the center, two A4 sheets of paper with English text were neatly laid out.

They saw the two people push the door open and come in.

The Taoist priest put down his pen.

"They're here."

The Taoist priest pointed to the wooden chair opposite the desk.

Chen Zhuo walked over.

He sat down in the chair, his hands resting naturally on his lap.

Fang Yuanming walked to the water dispenser in the corner, took a disposable paper cup, and filled it with more than half a cup of hot water.

He walked over and placed the paper cup on the coffee table next to Chen Zhuo.

"Thank you, Professor Fang," Chen Zhuo said.

Fang Yuanming took two steps back, leaned against the filing cabinet next to him, and looked at the Taoist priest behind the table.

The sorcerer leaned forward slightly.

He reached out and pointed with his index finger at the two A4 sheets of paper on the table.

"Take a look at this."

The sorcerer's gaze fell on Chen Zhuo's face.

Chen Zhuo lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the top of the paper.

Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

He didn't reach for the two pieces of paper.

"I've seen it."

Chen Zhuo raised his head and looked at the Taoist priest.

The sorcerer withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair.

"A confirmation letter from Professor Derian."

The sorcerer spoke slowly and enunciated each word clearly.

"They invited you to New Jersey for an academic visit to discuss the problem of physical singularities."

The office fell silent.

The water dispenser emitted a soft heating sound. Fang Shi looked at Chen Zhuo, waiting for his reaction.

Chen Zhuo picked up the paper cup on the coffee table and took a sip of hot water.

"Dean Fang."

Chen Zhuo looked at the Taoist priest with a gentle tone.

"I already replied and refused some time ago."