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

"So, who should I say hello to?"

Upon hearing Ji Bai's words, Old Wang fell silent.

He seemed to detect a hint of resentment in those words.

"I see!"

Ji Bai: "No, what do you understand? Aren't you overthinking it?"

This time, Old Wang laughed too: "Before you said that, I was also worried that I might be overthinking things."

"But after you said that, I might not have thought about it too much, or even thought about it too little!"

"Alright, come back as soon as you finish the conference. Also, the people from the embassy should be waiting outside. They might call you later."

"You'll stay with the embassy staff for now."

"I will relay your message to my superiors!"

I hung up the phone.

Ji Bai shook his head.

What do I mean?

Are you overthinking this?

Forget it.

do not care.

I had just put my phone back in my pocket when it rang again.

The words "Old Teacher" appeared on the screen. Ji Bai raised an eyebrow and swiped to answer the call.

"Ji Bai, are you... are you alright?"

"It's great. We just landed, and the sunshine here is lovely."

Ji Bai leaned against a pillar at the airport, a slight smile playing on his lips: "What's wrong, old teacher, you missed me?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a soft gasp, as if the other person was a little embarrassed or annoyed by what he said.

"Who misses you! I just... I just heard you ran off abroad without a word, so I wanted to check on things."

Li Mei's voice softened, and after a pause, she couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Then... will you come back?"

"Is there any reward for going back?"

Li Mei bit her lip, and after a long while, she managed to utter a sentence, her voice barely audible:

"If you come back obediently, I... I'll make you some noodles!"

She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth, her cheeks burning instantly, and she hurriedly added another sentence.

"Don't get the wrong idea! It's just like the old saying, 'dumplings before boarding, noodles upon arrival'! It's a welcome feast to wash away the dust of your journey!"

Ji Bai chuckled softly, a mischievous glint in his eyes at the end: "I know what you mean! Handmade, freshly rolled, seafood flavored, right?"

"Ji Bai!" Li Mei was both ashamed and angry.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you." Ji Bai knew when to stop, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

"Don't worry, I'll be back right after the meeting. I'll be waiting for you to welcome me back."

After hanging up the phone, Ji Bai stroked his phone case and gave a wicked smile.

Ah, women.

I hadn't walked two steps when the phone rang again.

This time it was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello, Ji Bai, this is Zhu Yingjiang..."

"We have been instructed by our superiors that we will be fully responsible for all your travel and safety arrangements during your stay in the United States! Please feel free to raise any needs you may have, and we will fully cooperate."

Ji Bai looked up towards the airport exit and, sure enough, saw several people dressed in formal attire, standing ramrod straight, holding signs with his name on them, their eyes carefully searching through the crowd.

The boy raised an eyebrow and dragged his suitcase toward the exit.

Fine.

"Okay, I'll be right out. Thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all! It's our honor to serve our national treasures."

……

Meanwhile, domestically...

After Old Wang relayed Ji Bai's question, "Who should I greet now?" verbatim, a long silence fell over the solemn conference room in the capital.

"It seems the child is still holding back his anger."

After a long while, someone slowly spoke, their tone carrying a hint of protectiveness and heartache.

"After all, he's only eighteen years old. It's normal for him to feel wronged after being splashed with dirty water, labeled, and bullied by academic cliques."

"Then let's vent our anger for the child."

"The lines have been cast long enough, and enough fish have been caught; it's time to clean things up!"

"Okay!"

……

Thus began a thunderous storm that swept across multiple fields.

First, Renren Daily published a front-page headline article titled "The Young Emperor Opens the Heavenly Gate Again!"

When people saw this headline, countless people rubbed their eyes, thinking they had misread it.

This is Renren Daily!

The official top newspaper, which has always been known for its seriousness and solemnity!

Why did they use such a trendy, chuunibyou-esque title?

Turning to the text, every word and sentence carries immense weight:

"An eighteen-year-old boy single-handedly solved five major mathematical problems of the century and made a historic breakthrough in the field of superconductivity at room temperature and pressure."

From the pinnacle of mathematics to the foundations of materials science, he, with the youthful vigor of a teenager, blazed a completely new path for national science and technology—a truly groundbreaking achievement!

"From Goldbach's conjecture to the Poincaré conjecture, from the BSD conjecture to room-temperature superconductivity, this eighteen-year-old boy has used a pen, a blackboard, and an old factory to prove to the world what it means to 'when the youth are strong, the nation is strong'."

The article concludes with a pointed statement: "We must do everything in our power to nurture the growth of young talent, resolutely crack down on academic misconduct, online trolls spreading rumors and smears, and foreign forces infiltrating public opinion, so as to create a clean and healthy environment for the true pillars of the nation!"

When this statement was widely shared on various social media platforms, the comment section erupted into chaos.

"Renren Daily calls Ji Bai 'Emperor'! An officially appointed Emperor! Who else has this kind of status?!"

"Is this editor a royalist spy? Their wording is even more childish than our fan group's!"

"Editor: I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean, I'm a royalist."

Before netizens could recover from the shock of Renren Daily's report, a second bombshell followed.

The Chinese Mathematical Association has issued an official statement:

[After careful consideration, it has been decided to remove Zhou from his position as Vice Chairman, effective immediately. This is hereby announced.]

The news sent shockwaves through the academic community.

When Academician Zhou from Wuhan University received the notification, the teacup in his hand crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Academician Zhou sat in his office, staring at the coldly worded dismissal notice on his computer screen, his hand trembling as he held the teacup.

Then he slowly leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

He knew this was just the beginning.

The vice chairmanship is just a nominal position; the real danger lies in the subsequent chain reaction.

Academic standing, research funding, and doctoral student recruitment qualifications are all interconnected and must be addressed accordingly.

His academic standing and reputation, built up over most of his life, vanished overnight.

Following closely behind, Aurora University issued an announcement: Huang Mingyuan was removed from his position as Vice Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences and his postgraduate student recruitment qualifications were suspended.

Even the leader of this intellectual alliance couldn't escape that blow.

Not only him, but all seventeen people who went to No. 99 Middle School that day were punished to varying degrees.

Dismissal, demerit, warning, probation, etc.

The worst case was a master's student who wore glasses and was expelled on charges of academic misconduct!

While the academic world was undergoing a purge, the entertainment industry was also experiencing a major upheaval.

The tax authorities publicly announced that, after investigation, singer Shen Mouzhen was found to have evaded taxes and was ordered to pay back the taxes, late payment fees, and a fine, totaling 1.2 million yuan; musician Yan Mouhai was fined 3800 million yuan for concealing his business income.

The announcement caused an uproar online.