A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 255 The Vast Expanse of Mathematics Finally Has an Eastern Lighthouse (Bonus Chapter)
Yuan Xinyi won the Fields Medal without any doubt, but what surprised Chen Hui was that...

The third Fields Medal winner was not Wang Hong, but Jacob Tsimerman, a Canadian mathematician who proved the Andre Ulter conjecture, making a huge contribution to the fields of algebraic number theory and arithmetic geometry, and was hailed as "the most brilliant researcher in the field of number theory in the last decade".

Similarly, the fourth winner was not Wang Hong.

Instead, it was American mathematician John Pardon who solved the nodal distortion problem proposed by Gromov and made a series of significant achievements in the fields of symplectic and tangential topologies.

This result undoubtedly surprised many Chinese mathematicians.

Because neither Jacob's proof of the Andre-Ultras conjecture nor Jim's solution to the nodule distortion problem are fundamentally different from the three-dimensional hanging valley conjecture. In fact, since the three-dimensional hanging valley conjecture has stood the test of time in the mathematical community for a century, solving it is even more historically significant and deserves the prize.

Unexpectedly, I was not selected in the end.

"Don't feel sorry for me, it was expected."

Wang Hong herself is quite open-minded about it.

Terence Tao patted Chen Hui on the shoulder, subtly reminding him, "After all, this is the International Congress of Mathematicians. It would be a bit unreasonable if three people from China won the Fields Medal this year."

Overall, the Fields Medal is fair. Ultimately, Wang Hong's achievement was somewhat mediocre. If she had proven the Millennium Problem, this medal would not have gone to anyone else.

However, there are indeed quite a few achievements at the same level as the three-dimensional hanging valley conjecture.

Beyond Jacob and Jim, there's also Russian mathematician Alexander Efimov, who has been praised by his peers for his "combination of originality and breadth" in deriving algebraic geometry and the homological mirror symmetry conjecture; Bulgarian number theorist Vesselin Dimitrov, who has made significant progress in high-dimensional Goldbach-type conjectures; and Yu Deng, a Chinese-American mathematician at the University of Chicago, who has mastered the three major equations of fluid dynamics and, together with collaborators, solved Hilbert's sixth problem...

The heroes of the world are like the crucian carp crossing the river.

Chen Hui sighed softly. Fortunately, Wang Hong was only 34 years old, and she still had a chance to win the Fields Medal next year.

The award ceremony did not end after the Fields Medal. In addition to the Fields Medal, the International Congress of Mathematicians also awards the Gauss Prize, the Chern Prize, and the Newanlinna Prize.

After the awards ceremony, a grand gala followed.

Chen Hui didn't join the celebration. Instead, he found a secluded corner and brought up the data panel.

The Fields Medal prize money was only 1.5 Canadian dollars, equivalent to about 8 Chinese yuan, which was insignificant to Chen Hui at this time, but the free attribute points he gained were very useful.

After a moment's thought, Chen Hui made his choice without hesitation.

"Give me some credit for my judgment!"

Chen Hui had a feeling that his judgment would be of great use, and this feeling guided him to continuously improve his judgment.

Unfortunately, as judgment improves, adding points to judgment no longer provides additional rewards.

However, his figure was soon spotted.

Terence Tao and Schultz arrived first. Tao raised his glass and said with a smile, "Hui, you can't be taking it easy tonight!"

Schultz added meaningfully, "Your phrase 'tiny connections' in your acceptance speech reminded me of the topological inspiration you mentioned last time—it seems my research has a new direction. Are you interested in collaborating?"

Professor Villani joined the conversation with a glass of champagne. He patted Chen Hui on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Young man, you have given this medal a new luster, but I am even more looking forward to what surprises you will bring us next, Hui."

"I do have some ideas, and I hope they won't disappoint everyone."

Chen Hui responded with a smile.

The interactions in the corner gradually attracted more scholars.

Russian mathematician Efimov stepped forward to discuss new applications of the Navier-Stokes equations in fluid boundaries, while Yuan Xinyi walked over surrounded by a group of young scholars. The teacher and student exchanged a smile, needing no further explanation.

……

Chengdu, Qingfeng Times City, 7 PM
Li Tianhua sat on the sofa in the living room. The familiar sound of the TV came on, the news broadcast started. This was a habit Li Tianhua had recently developed: to pay attention to national and local affairs every day so he could brag about it to his colleagues when he went to school the next day. People his age love to brag about these kinds of things.

After becoming a lab administrator, he had significantly more free time. Not only did he have weekends off, but he also didn't have to go to school most evenings because there were relatively few lab classes scheduled in the evenings. He has also developed some hobbies, and he even goes fishing on weekends with a fishing rod.

Two years ago, he wouldn't have dared to imagine such a life. In just two short years, so much has changed. While casually watching TV, Li Tianhua was thinking about other things.

The sizzling sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen, where Fan Rong was busy working.

The dormitory manager's job isn't so easy. She needs to stay in the dormitory most of the time, but her night shifts are usually rotating, so her free time is much better than the previous full-load, round-the-clock work.

Li Qingrui and Li Qingshan were doing their homework on the balcony when Li Tianhua, who had just snapped out of his reverie, picked up the remote and turned down the volume.

Suddenly, the news broadcast switched to the scene of the International Congress of Mathematicians, and the host announced in a solemn and proud voice, "Professor Chen Hui, a Chinese mathematician, has won the Fields Medal, the highest honor in the international mathematics community, and the first time a Chinese scientist has received this honor..."

She sat bolt upright, her eyes wide, nearly dropping her teacup. "Isn't that Xiao Hui?!"

"Fan Rong, come out quickly."

"Rui Rui, Qing Shan, come here too."

Li Tianhua stared intently at the screen while shouting loudly towards the kitchen and balcony.

"What's wrong?"

Fan Rong turned off the stove and hurriedly walked out of the kitchen. She found that Li Tianhua was just watching TV and nothing had happened. She frowned slightly and rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Brother, it's my brother!"

Li Qingrui, who came over from the balcony, pointed at the TV and shouted excitedly.

She had no interest in doing her homework anyway, so she ran to the living room the moment she heard the call. What she did didn't matter; she was happy as long as she didn't have to do her homework. Unexpectedly, she immediately saw Chen Hui on the TV screen.

The news broadcast was not a live broadcast; it only showed a short clip of Chen Hui receiving the award.

"Brother is so awesome!"

Li Qingshan muttered to himself. He didn't really understand the Fields Medal, but he knew about the news broadcast. After watching the news, Li Tianhua would not only brag to his colleagues, but also occasionally watch the news with Rui Rui and Qingshan after they finished their homework.

Li Qingshan certainly knew the weight of the news broadcast. In his little world, any award that could be reported on the news broadcast was already the most prestigious award in the world.

"What Fields Medal?"

Fan Rong also came to the TV and watched the news broadcast. She was a little confused. She had always thought that only Nobel Prize winners could be on the news broadcast. How could the Fields Medal be on the news broadcast?

But then I thought, wouldn't that mean the award Chen Hui received is equivalent to the Nobel Prize?

The weight of the Fields Medal began to take on a concrete form in Fan Rong's mind.

On television, the camera zoomed in, showing Chen Hui calmly accepting the medal and bowing slightly in thanks. Li Tianhua's eyes were slightly red, and his voice choked with emotion, "This child has always been different since he was little... and now he's become a world-class mathematician."

Fan Rong wiped his eyes, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Who would have thought? That silly boy who used to be always reading books is now on the news!"

Li Qingrui excitedly pulled out her phone and quickly sent a message to Chen Hui, "Brother! We saw you on TV! You're so handsome!"

Li Qingshan watched the scene on TV, clenched his fists, and secretly made up his mind, "I want to study math in the future, just like my brother!"

"If Rui Rui becomes an athlete in the future, she will have many more opportunities to appear on TV than I do."

She soon received a reply from Chen Hui.

"I don't want to be an athlete anymore, I want to be a mathematician!"

Li Qingrui replied happily.

"Then Rui Rui has to work harder."

Chen Hui smiled.

Li Qingrui put down her phone, went to the balcony, and started doing her homework. Of course, she had only been sitting for a few minutes when she started glancing into the living room again, thinking that being an athlete might not be so bad.

By this time, Chen Hui's appearance on the evening news had already ended. After all, the evening news is only thirty minutes long, and giving Chen Hui three minutes was already a great honor.

Li Tianhua lost interest in reading the rest of the news and said to Fan Rong, "I'm going downstairs to buy two bottles of beer and a couple of braised snacks to go with them. We'll celebrate later."

"go Go."

Fan Rong waved with a smile, then happily returned to the kitchen to continue cooking the dish he had only halfway through.

Then she thought for a moment, took out the frozen beef from the refrigerator, and started to defrost it, planning to make tomato stewed beef brisket again tonight. However, she quickly put the beef back. It was already this late, and there was definitely no time to stew the beef brisket.

The next second, she took out the beef brisket to defrost.

"If we can't eat it today, we'll stew it first and eat it tomorrow," Fan Rong thought happily.

I just don't know when Chen Hui will come back. When he does, I can make him his favorite dish, stewed chicken with potatoes!
Three or four kilometers away from Qingfeng Times City, Zhao Defeng was also watching the news broadcast.

He had already seen the news about Chen Hui's award on the news earlier that morning, and even ordered a banner to be hung at the school gate, but Li Tianhua didn't notice it when he got off work.

China's first Fields Medal!
The fact that the teacher and student won the award together amazed Zhao Defeng. Heaven knows he could have produced such a talented student; his life has been worthwhile.

Now, wherever he goes for a meeting, everyone who sees him gives him a thumbs up, and he even walks with his head held high and chest out.

An Chengzhang and his wife, who lived in the same neighborhood as Zhao Defeng, were also sitting in front of the television.
"This little guy is really promising!"

The wife looked at Chen Hui on TV, then at An Chengzhang beside her, and found it hard to believe that her husband could teach such a student.

"What do you see me doing?"

An Chengzhang found it somewhat amusing. "Could I possibly teach a genius like that?"

"Just luck."

"That's because my husband has good taste!"

His wife hugged An Chengzhang's arm and said with a smile, "Back when he was at the back of the class, you helped him a lot."

An Chengzhang shook his head. "Even if he weren't a genius, I would have helped any student."

"A hardworking student, a person who strives to live and study, deserves help!"

His wife remained silent, but she held An Chengzhang's hand even tighter.

Originally, the news of Chen Hui winning the Fields Medal was only circulating in a small circle. However, with the news broadcast, the news spread rapidly like a wave, centered on Rongcheng No. 2 Middle School.

Young people today don't pay much attention to the news broadcast, but it still holds a special place in the hearts of older people.

As for young people, they had obviously already seen the news online. Currently, the top trending topic on Weibo is #ChineseMathematicianChenHuiWinsFirstFieldsPrize# #TheNobelOfMathematics#
[Chen Shen! A high school classmate passing by! I knew he was going to become a legend when he was cramming "Mathematical Analysis" during breaks between classes!]

[Bullshit! Who could have predicted that Chen Shen would end up like this?]

[While others won the Fields Medal at 19, I got brutally thrashed in an internet cafe at 19... My family is devastated. (Image: Yasuo with a 0-21 score)]

Jiangcheng University's official Weibo account also immediately followed suit, posting a pinned Weibo message: "Professor Chen Hui, an outstanding alumnus of our university, has won the Fields Medal! Starting today, a special exhibition area for Professor Chen Hui has been added to the University History Museum. Welcome to visit!"

The comments section under this Weibo post was filled with graduation photos shared by graduates of Jiangcheng University, who were enthusiastically discussing their memories of their time at the university.

[Hilarious! Back in my fifth-grade class on Real Analysis, the professor always said, "This problem is so simple even elementary school students could do it"—and we all stared blankly at the ε-δ symbols on the blackboard. Now, when I'm coding at an internet company and encounter a bug, I always remember his advice, "Don't panic, first sort out the logic," and it actually works! Oh, and who remembers the lotus root soup at Guiyuan Cafeteria? In winter, huddled in a corner of the second cafeteria, holding a bowl and drinking it, it warmed you right up to your feet…]

Suddenly reminded me of the koi in Xinghu Lake! When I was a second-year graduate student, I always fed the fish with crumbs of steamed buns. Later, the security guard caught me and told me not to feed them too much, or the fish would get bloated. But when I went back this spring, I found that the fish still recognized me. I squatted on the shore and called to my old friends, and they actually swam over and bumped into my shadow.

There were also the window seats on the fourth floor of the library. In winter, the sun would make you sleepy, and I would always secretly drape my coat over the back of the chair and pretend to study. Looking back now, it seems both cowardly and adorable...

They all share in the pride as their alma mater grows stronger.

China News also jumped in, posting, "These are the stars we should be following!"

The news caused a stir on the Chinese internet. They were already very familiar with the name Chen Hui; he brought them big news almost every few months, filling them with a sense of pride and honor.

This issue is being hotly debated not only domestically but also internationally.

[Chen's work has built a bridge between physics and mathematics, unmatched since Einstein. Will he be the next Grothendieck?]

Dude, seriously, I think his achievements have surpassed Grothendieck's.

When will South Korean mathematicians win a Fields Medal?

[China is beginning to rise; a review of Japan's advantageous disciplines that China has overtaken]

Why is it that Chinese education produces geniuses, while Japan hasn't produced any such geniuses for a long time?

These comments, after being shared by popular internet users in China, sparked another round of heated discussions among netizens.

"This is so surreal. I thought only Chinese netizens had this kind of 'reflective' mentality. Turns out Japanese netizens also engage in reflection?"

"What's so strange about that? The strong don't reflect on their actions; it's the weak who do!"

(End of this chapter)