Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

Looking at the other person's expression, Lin Ying immediately made a judgment in her mind.

This is an arrogant science and engineering guy.

They exude the confidence of students from prestigious universities, are used to using their academic superiority to intimidate others, and have only an academic hierarchy in their minds.

Lin Ying understood her current situation; she was sixteen years old and had entered through the Cambridge special pathway, with Professor Smith as her key guide; the person in front of her was the professor's most beloved youngest son, and if she confronted him directly, it would put Smith in a difficult position, so there was no need for that.

However, we cannot back down and let the other party look down on us.

Lin Ying smiled and said, "Mr. Matthew, whether mathematics is fundamental or whether physics can change the world is a very broad question. We can discuss it later. Since you graduated with a master's degree in physics from Cambridge, I happen to have a few physics questions I'd like to ask you."

Matthew raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised: "Now?"

"If it's convenient for you."

Smith, who was standing to the side, clapped his hands. "Very good! Matthew, didn't you always say that mathematicians only build beautiful but useless castles on paper? Now you can see for yourself the castle Lynn built."

Matthew chuckled and pulled out a chair: "Father, your favoritism towards this girl is written all over your face."

"Of course I favor her," Smith said matter-of-factly, standing firmly on Lin Ying's side. "Because she's much smarter than you were at sixteen."

Matthew's smile vanished.

Lin Ying ignored the father and son's idle chatter; she directly unzipped her backpack, took out a notebook, flipped to a page with a folded corner in the middle, and pushed it in front of Matthew.

"I've been reviewing the correspondence between mechanics and calculus recently." Lin Ying picked up a pencil and pointed to the derivation steps. "Here's a simplified model: an object moves under the action of an indeterminate external force. If we add the damping term, I can write out its convergent form mathematically."

Lin Ying looked up at Matthew: "Here, I want to know if my processing logic has any loopholes in the real physical world."

Matthew took the notebook, picked up another pencil from the table, and drew a heavy circle at the end of the equation Lin Ying had written.

"Your understanding here is indeed flawed; you've made a common mistake that mathematicians are most prone to. You've treated the damping term as a simple mathematical correction parameter, but in physics, it corresponds to the irreversible transfer of energy from the system to the external environment."

Lin Ying nodded immediately: "So, I've overlooked a real-world physical boundary condition here?"

“Yes.” Matthew wrote a new equation directly in the blank space. “If you’re just solving this equation, your answer is correct on paper; but if you want to use it to explain motion in the real world, you must understand where this energy goes and what it is transformed into; physics requires evidence, not a numbers game.”

Lin Ying glanced at the formula.

Physics cannot simply follow a logical loop on paper; it requires experimental support.

In this respect, I lack systematic formal education; those Cambridge physics graduate students truly have real skills.

"I've learned a lot," Lin Ying nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Matthew," Smith said sternly. "Lynn is here for my math class today, not for your physics tutoring session. You can leave now."

Matthew put down his pencil but didn't leave: "Father, it was she who asked me the question."

"She only asked one question, and you've already talked for ten minutes! Lynn, today we'll continue discussing the algorithmic model we discussed in our last letter."

Lin Ying turned to another page.

Matthew didn't leave; he crossed his arms and leaned against the bookshelf to the side.

Smith turned and stared at him. "What are you doing standing here?"

"Just listening in," Matthew replied. "I want to see for myself why you speak so highly of her."

Smith frowned. "Then shut up and don't say a word."

"Okay," Matthew nodded.

As it turned out, he couldn't do it.

Just as Smith finished writing the first set of algorithmic recursive relationships on the blackboard, Matthew's voice rang out: "Father, if this model were applied to a real physical system, your variable settings would be too abstract, and you haven't considered the overhead."

Smith: "I'll say it again, this is math class!"

"But mathematics must ultimately serve real physical systems." Matthew raised his chin.

"Shut up!"

Matthew shut his mouth.

Five minutes later, Lin Yinggang raised a question about the convergence condition of the model, and Matthew interrupted again: "Lynn, if we consider the noise interference in reality, absolute convergence is impossible, so this condition is meaningless."

Smith's face darkened: "Matthew!"

Matthew spread his hands: "I was just providing reasonable academic supplementation."

"You're forcibly disrupting my teaching rhythm!"

"Academic discussions should not be afraid of being interrupted; truth becomes clearer through debate."

Smith slammed his fist on the table: "Out! Get out!"

Matthew paused for a moment, then asked, "Father?"

"I told you to get out!" Smith pointed to the door. "If you want to discuss your physics, go to the living room now and talk to those char siu pastries on the table! This is my classroom. If you dare to interrupt again, I'll send you back to London tomorrow and let you face that leaky old house back home!"

Matthew looked at his father, who was frowning, and silently picked up his draft paper.

As he passed by Lin Ying, he whispered, "Your mathematical talent is indeed very good. I take back what I said earlier."

Lin Ying looked up at him: "You explained physics very well too."

Matthew didn't expect Lin Ying to respond like that: "Next time, if you still have physics questions, you can bring them to me."

Matthew opened the door and went out.

The study door had barely closed when Professor Smith spoke up: "He's always been this annoying child! For every sentence someone says, he has to add three more. The coldest thing in England is never the weather, it's my son's mouth!"

Lin Ying laughed out loud.

"Never mind that annoying physics graduate student." Smith picked up another piece of chalk. "Let's continue. Lynn, remember, the algorithms we're teaching you today are so that complex real-world problems can be broken down, verified, and replicated by machines."

Lin Ying composed herself, and the special training class didn't end until 1:30 pm.

When Ma Xiuzheng walked out of the study with his schoolbag, he was sitting on the sofa in the living room, flipping through a newspaper. The plate of char siu pastries that Smith often ate on the table was already more than half gone.

Matthew looked up at you: "Lynn, I still have to remind you, never just look at the answer when doing physics problems. You're too much like a pure mathematician, easily detached from reality."

Lin Ying turned her head and retorted: "I also want to remind you, Mr. Matthew, don't always think that mathematicians don't understand the world; without mathematics as the underlying architecture, your physics often can't even find the doorknob of the world."

Matthew smiled upon hearing this: "That statement does have a very arrogant feel to it, typical of the Cambridge mathematics department."

"Then consider it as me getting used to the environment in advance."

Smith's roar echoed from the study: "Matthew! Don't let your awful temper affect my good students!"