My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 221 Wu Tao

The defense session has ended.

Most of the people in the conference room had left, and the few remaining were all graduate students from the college. They were gathered around the podium, pulling Wu Tao aside and asking him all sorts of questions.

In front of the judges' panel in the first row, Li Jianming was talking with several senior academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University.

As the senior academicians packed the review forms into their briefcases, they laughed and discussed the network wrapper circle that Wu Tao had drawn on the whiteboard earlier.

Chen Zhuo sat in the back row and didn't move.

He watched the lively scene in front of him until everyone had dispersed, then stood up, grabbed an unopened bottle of mineral water from the table, and prepared to slip away through the back door.

"Chen Zhuo".

A voice came from ahead.

Chen Zhuo stopped and turned around.

Li Jianming stood in the aisle and waved to him.

The senior academicians had already reached the door and were being led downstairs by several young teachers from the institute.

Chen Zhuo walked down the steps and came to Li Jianming.

"teacher."

Li Jianming tightened the screws on his thermos and pointed outside the door.

"Go back to your dorm and get a jacket. Wait for me downstairs. We've booked a private room at the Nanyuan Hotel. The car is downstairs. You'll be coming with us in a bit."

Chen Zhuo held the mineral water bottle and didn't move.

"I think I'll pass," he said.

Li Jianming frowned.

"Go there. Although today's meeting is for Wu Tao, you are the first author of that article. Those old men have very high standards and they don't usually see people, but they specifically mentioned today that they want to meet you."

Chen Zhuo smiled.

"Children can't drink alcohol at the table, and the elders can't chat happily either."

Before Li Jianming could say anything more, Chen Zhuo glanced at Wu Tao, who was still standing by the podium tidying up his computer, and lowered his voice slightly.

"If I go, those academicians will definitely keep asking me about Pierre and Princeton all night long, and I'll steal the spotlight at the dinner table."

Chen Zhuo looked at Li Jianming.

"Today's meal should be mainly for Senior Brother Wu; it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go."

Li Jianming was stunned.

He looked at the boy in front of him, who was wearing a gray tracksuit and holding a one-yuan bottle of mineral water.

A draft blew in from the corridor, making Chen Zhuo's hair on his forehead a little messy.

His eyes were calm, like a still well, clear yet bottomless.

Li Jianming has been in academia for decades and has seen too many young people who are desperate to get involved in various dinner parties and become familiar with senior academicians.

If it were anyone else at this gathering, they would have squeezed in even if they were standing outside serving dishes.

But this kid just casually declined.

Push it naturally and gracefully.

Li Jianming sighed.

He reached out and patted Chen Zhuo's shoulder twice, with a bit of force.

"OK.

""

The professor didn't press the matter further.

"You go back to the dorm first. Tonight, after I've gotten these old guys drunk and put them to rest, I'll bring Wu Tao to see you alone."

Chen Zhuo nodded.

"Then I'll go back now, teacher, drink less."

After saying that, he turned around and walked down the stairs from the back door.

Wu Tao finished packing his computer bag and walked over. He glanced at Chen Zhuo's departing figure and asked Li Jianming.

"Isn't Xiaozhu coming with us?"

"He's not going."

Li Jianming turned around and walked out.

"You just need to keep those old men company today."

19

It's 9:30 p.m.

Outside the south gate of USTC.

This is an old residential area with deep alleys and dim streetlights. The lampshades are covered with a layer of dust, and the light shining on the road is dim and yellowish.

Deep in the alley, there is an inconspicuous home-style restaurant.

The storefront wasn't large, and there wasn't a flashing neon sign; there was only a wooden board with "Old Chen's Stir-Fry" written on it in red paint.

Chen Zhuo pushed open the glass door and went inside.

There weren't many people in the shop, and the electric fan against the wall was blowing loudly.

In the innermost corner, there is a folding round table.

Chen Zhuo spotted Li Jianming and Wu Tao at a glance.

The scene before my eyes was completely at odds with the serious and solemn atmosphere that filled the physics building during the day.

Li Jianming didn't bring his thermos.

The light blue shirt he wore during the day was now unbuttoned at the collar, the cuffs were casually rolled up, and a small wine cup sat in front of him.

Wu Tao went even further.

That black suit that cost three hundred yuan, which made him look like an elite during the day, had long since been thrown away somewhere.

He was wearing a white shirt, his tie loosely hanging around his neck, with a section of the hem peeking out from his belt.

He was holding a lighter in his hand, aiming it at the cap of an ice-cold Snow Beer bottle, and forcefully prying it open.

With a bang.

The bottle cap flew off, and white, cold air billowed out from the bottle opening.

"here."

Wu Tao, with his sharp eyes, looked up and waved to Chen Zhuo.

Chen Zhuo walked over, pulled out a plastic stool, and sat down.

Several plates of freshly cooked dishes were already laid out on the table.

A plate of fried peanuts, a plate of smashed cucumber, and a steaming plate of twice-cooked pork.

"Waiter, bring me a bottle of Sprite, ice-cold, the glass kind."

Wu Tao shouted towards the kitchen.

Soon, a bottle of Sprite was delivered.

Wu Tao picked up a screwdriver, pried open the Sprite cap, pushed it in front of Chen Zhuo, and then casually pulled a plastic straw from the chopstick holder next to him and inserted it into the bottle.

"Come."

Wu Tao picked up the glass filled with beer in front of him and stood up.

Li Jianming also picked up the small wine cup.

Chen Zhuo stood up with a Sprite in his hand.

"This is the first cup of the day."

Wu Tao glanced at Li Jianming, then at Chen Zhuo, his voice a little hoarse, tinged with the effects of alcohol.

"I'll take on all the scolding from Teacher Xie over the years, and those few lines of deadly matrix from Xie Xiaozhuo."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and gulped down the entire glass of ice-cold beer.

He drank too quickly, and a little spilled from the corner of his mouth onto his white shirt. He casually wiped it off with the back of his hand.

Li Jianming smiled and took a sip of the baijiu in his wine cup.

Chen Zhuo bit the straw and took a sip of Sprite.

The three people sat down.

"Are you hungry? Have some vegetables first."

Li Jianming picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of twice-cooked pork in his bowl.

"The dishes on the table tonight looked nice but didn't taste good, and I still felt hungry."

"you do not say."

Wu Tao immediately took over, picking up his chopsticks to grab some peanuts.

"I was so awkward. Those senior academicians were talking to me with their glasses in hand, and I felt like I wanted to squat under the table to toast them. My back was about to break."

Chen Zhu listened to their complaints and picked up a piece of cucumber to eat.

This is the real victory celebration banquet.

Nobody cares how many papers someone has published in core journals, and nobody cares about world-class mathematical conjectures. All you hear is the whooshing of the fan and the clinking of glasses on the table.

After several rounds of drinks...

Li Jianming's face flushed slightly.

He put down his wine cup and looked at Wu Tao.

"How's the paperwork going?"

Wu Tao put down his beer glass and sat up straight.

"I'll pick up my registration certificate next week; the school will transfer my records directly to my residence permit."

Chen Zhuo listened from the side without interrupting.

"Has it been decided that the Shenzhen Stock Exchange will be listed?" Li Jianming asked.

"It's settled."

Wu Tao nodded, his tone becoming serious.

"They called me again last Friday, urging me to come over as soon as possible."

"What are the conditions?"

Wu Tao glanced at Chen Zhuo, then looked at Li Jianming and held up three fingers.

"After they looked at our network topology model, the vice president in charge of R&D on the other end made the decision immediately."

Wu Tao's voice wasn't loud, but every word he spoke was sincere.

Starting salary: 300,000.

Chen Zhuo paused slightly while biting the straw.

2004 years.

Outside this alley, the average professor at USTC earns only a few thousand yuan a month, while the average salary in Zeyang's hometown is still just over a thousand yuan.

Three hundred thousand.

"besides."

Wu Tao picked up his glass, took a sip of wine to moisten his throat.

"In the past, you would be allocated a single apartment first, and after working for three years, you would be given a quota for an internal housing unit."

The table was silent for a few seconds.

Even the sound of the fan whirring beside me seemed somewhat distant at this moment.

Li Jianming looked at the student he had taught for four years.

The old man's face showed no surprise, nor any haughty disdain.

He suddenly raised his hand and slammed it on the table.

"good!"

Li Jianming picked up the small wine cup, tilted his head back, and downed the rest of the liquor in one gulp.

"Teacher, please drink slowly."

Wu Tao quickly went to get the wine bottle.

"If those who study applied mathematics and network topology all stay in the lab writing papers, then what they learn will be nothing but waste paper."

Li Jianming stopped Wu Tao from pouring the wine.

The old professor had very bright eyes.

"If you take this model to Shenzhen and lay the foundation for our country's own communication network, you can take this 300,000 yuan with a clear conscience."

Li Jianming looked into Wu Tao's eyes.

"When you get there, there are many rules and complicated personnel in the big factory, but remember, the tough attitude that USTC taught you can't be weak. If you do your job well, no one can do anything to you."

Wu Tao nodded heavily.

"I've got it."

The meal lasted until almost 11 o'clock.

The food was eaten clean, and seven or eight bottles lay overturned under the table.

When I came out of the restaurant, there were hardly any people on the street.

A night breeze blew, and the effects of the alcohol began to rise.

Li Jianming waved his hand, declining Wu Tao's offer to take him back.

"It's just a few steps, why bother delivering it?"

The old man had his hands behind his back.

"You two take a stroll and sober up."

After saying that, he slowly walked along the curb toward the faculty and staff dormitory area.

His back was slightly hunched, but his steps were quite steady.

Wu Tao and Chen Zhuo stood at the intersection, watching Li Jianming walk away.

"Let's go."

Wu Tao pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and put it in his mouth, but couldn't find a lighter after searching for a long time.

"Let's go for a walk around the playground."

The two walked along the school path.

The streetlights cast dappled shadows on the ground through the leaves of the sycamore trees.

There weren't many people on the playground, except for a few couples talking quietly by the stands in the distance.

They walked to the edge of the track and found a bench to sit down.

Wu Tao leaned back in his chair, let out a long breath, took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth, and fiddled with it in his hand.

A breeze blew by, causing the hem of Wu Tao's white shirt to sway slightly.

"Xiao Zhuo."

Wu Tao turned his head and looked at Chen Zhuo sitting next to him.

He had drunk quite a bit, and his eyes were bloodshot, but his gaze was clear.

"Being on stage today was the closest I've ever come to pure mathematical truth in my life."

Wu Tao's voice was very soft.

"When that old man asked that question, I was actually panicking. I work in applications, and my brain is used to processing data with boundaries. The kind of low-level breakdown in extreme cases is something I wouldn't dare to touch."

Wu Tao turned his head and looked at the dark grass in the middle of the playground.

"If you hadn't laid such a solid foundation in algebra, and if you hadn't calculated all those misalignments so clearly on paper, I wouldn't have been able to handle this situation today."

He chuckled.

"I've been at HKUST for almost ten years, and I've always thought I was smart and considered someone important."

Wu Tao leaned back, resting his neck on the wooden slats of the bench, looking up at the starry sky above.

"Until I met you."

"I just realized that God really is biased when creating brains."

Chen Zhuo remained silent.

He was holding a half-empty bottle of Sprite, his wrist resting on his knee.

"This is probably how my life will be."

Wu Tao stretched out a hand and pointed south.

"Go to Shenzhen, build base stations, draw up blueprints, develop communication networks, make some money, buy a house, and get married."

He withdrew his hand and pointed to the night sky above.

"But you are different."

Wu Tao turned his head and stared intently at Chen Zhuo.

"You are from heaven."

"In Princeton, in those mathematical black holes that I can't even understand."

Wu Tao reached out and patted Chen Zhuo's shoulder heavily.

"When you've solved all those conjectures and are going to receive that Fields Medal, I'll be in my office in Shenzhen, with the TV on, the newspapers framed, and bragging to my bunch of young guys every day."

As he was talking, he started laughing at himself.

This kind of heartfelt farewell, tinged with sadness, would probably evoke a few reflections on youth and ideals in most people.

Chen Zhuo switched the Sprite bottle in his hand to his left hand.

He looked at Wu Tao.

"Senior brother."

Chen Zhuo's voice was neither hurried nor slow.

"Um?"

"You just said that if you go to Shenzhen, you'll be allocated a single apartment, and after working there for three years, you'll get a subsidized housing unit?"

Wu Tao was stunned for a moment.

"Ah, yeah."

Chen Zhuo nodded, his tone very serious.

"When I go to the US and come back to China for vacation, can I just stay at your place? After all, I'm just a student and don't have any income yet."

The air seemed to freeze for half a second at that moment.

Wu Tao looked at Chen Zhuo's gentle and calm face.

Suddenly, Wu Tao burst into loud laughter on the empty playground.

Even the cigarette in his hand fell to the ground.

All the sentiments that permeated the area around the bench—about the vast gap between geniuses and ordinary people, about the times and fate—were shattered by this one sentence.

"OK!"

Wu Tao laughed so hard he coughed twice and punched his chest forcefully.

"I'm saving the master bedroom for you! Stay as long as you want!"

Chen Zhuo smiled and held up the Sprite bottle in his hand.

Wu Tao paused for a moment, then raised his hand and touched the glass bottle with a loosely clenched fist.