Chapter 20

20. "I look forward to working with you."

Classes hadn't even officially started, and I was already being asked when I would graduate. "..."

Sherlock clearly wasn't interested in how long my undergraduate and master's programs would take. He continued casually, "The length of your program seems utterly meaningless to me."

I thought so too.

In my mind, Sherlock's gaze was sharp, with a flicker of mockery at the corner of his mouth. On the phone, he slowly added, "As for me, I merely happened to glance at the list of professors in your mathematics department during a casual conversation."

"Dean Sullivan Eldersh alone is quite interesting. He had the honor of gaining the favor of the European National Science Foundation, and, as a mathematics professor at the University of London, he not only played love games with his own students but also found an ingenious shortcut in his field. The sponsorship funds he has amassed are like a million-pound lottery ticket in a prize pool. Yet his two prized postdoctoral students somehow managed to turn even Rouché's theorem in complex analysis into a maze of letters."

Sherlock's merciless mockery struck right at the heart of the matter.

"I hope the professors you encounter in the future will be able to explain clearly why constructivism is at the core of computational mathematics."

Sherlock's sarcastic remarks left me at a loss for words for a moment.

I hesitated, then replied, "I hope I can find an excellent adviser."

The flaws in the culture and systems of English-speaking countries had led to the corruption of academic power, and that wasn't a problem I could solve. It was like knowing rain was coming: I could bring myself an umbrella, but I couldn't change the weather.

"I've also heard there are some excellent professors here. That's why I came here to study mathematics."

After Sherlock heard me, the other end of the line fell silent.

I could imagine his expression, his cold eyes seemingly staring straight at me through the screen.

Feeling awkward, I said, "Oh, I forgot to mention, I won't be home for dinner tonight."

Sherlock gave a brief acknowledgment, barely even forming the sound, as if he had merely made a perfunctory noise in his throat. Then he hung up.

I seemed to sense Sherlock's disapproval and couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

But wasn't Sherlock also generalizing from a few examples?

I silently took a bite of my sandwich, then headed to the university library, hoping reading would ease my unease.

I buried myself in books for a while, thinking about many things.

I hesitated over whether to attend the evening's event. But I understood that I couldn't dismiss the entire university because of a few individuals, and I didn't have to place all my hopes for university life here.

At six that evening, I arrived at the appointed place with a bag of books.

It was a Rococo-style hotel near the university. The banquet hall was brightly lit and filled with people in gentlemanly suits and elegant evening gowns. Rather than a serious mathematics seminar, it felt more like a lively social gathering.

I felt as though I'd wandered into another world and was somewhat out of place.

Two other scholarship recipients stood beside me, looking as uneasy as I felt.

The people around us looked at us with a sense of superiority, as though we were curious creatures on display.

But those looks lasted only an instant, almost as if I'd imagined them. Soon, someone came over warmly and explained the evening's program. Professor Sullivan Eldersh would speak onstage and present his research findings. Afterward, the dean's prized pupil, postdoctoral researcher James O'Connor, would host the activities for new students and the evening's mathematics competition.

Each person would receive a number and be paired with its reverse, finding an opponent for a number puzzle contest.

In the mathematics competition, I drew the number 13, whose reverse was 31.

I found my opponent quickly.

It was rare for me to think of a man as pale and delicate. Perhaps it was because of his gentle, refined manner of speaking; his sense of when to stop left me with a very good impression of him.

"I'm William. What should I call you?" he asked kindly.

"Lanny."

"Lanny." William rolled the sound of the name over in his mouth and smiled. "The name means 'laurel wreath.' Did you give it special thought?"

I'd picked it at random.

"I did spend a little time on it," I said.

"It's a good name."

From that point on, the conversation turned into polite small talk, so I didn't pay much attention to what he said. I still preferred good people like Watson, gentle yet steadfast.

Soon, as instructed, he and I went to collect our math problem.

I had no intention of showing off on an occasion like this, so I didn't pay much attention to what the problem was. But when William and I went to collect our number, Mr. James O'Connor, who was holding the box of problems, immediately gave me a sympathetic look.

He told me to enjoy the game and that it was all right if I lost.

His words gave this insincere social event a touch of down-to-earth authenticity. William walked ahead and, like the others, found a small round table and sat down. I followed and took a seat.

He looked very young, twenty-four or twenty-five at most. Geniuses had always been common in mathematics; perhaps he was already a postdoctoral researcher.

William smiled at me. "What did you and James say after we got the problem?"

He'd spoken informally, which suggested that William was probably on the same level as Mr. O'Connor, or at least around the same age.

"He said you were very good."

William was noncommittal. "Are you scared?"

"Any game that draws you in is a good game. The emotions a game brings are part of the experience, so even being scared is interesting."

At my words, William tilted his head and studied me instinctively.

Meanwhile, I unfolded the slip of paper for the game. It was called Lucky 999, and it read: "Two players take turns choosing any three different positive numbers from 1 to 1,000. The first to obtain a subset of three numbers that add up to 999 wins."

In other words, William and I would take turns choosing different numbers. Whoever first had three numbers among those they had chosen that added up to 999 would win.

We would inevitably choose more than three numbers over the course of the contest, but any three that met the condition later on would count.

For example, {993521} contained four numbers, but 993 + 5 + 1 added up to 999, making it a success.

"Shall I let you go first?" William asked after reading the problem.

The game didn't allow pen and paper.

A smile played on William's lips. "Have you played this game before?"

"In second grade, I saw other people play something similar. Back then, they chose any three of the nine numbers from 1 to 9 to make 15. I found it very interesting then. That's when I started thinking about what I wanted to pursue in the future. If I ever got the chance to study mathematics, I wanted to figure it out."

"Second grade?" William said with a laugh.

"This is an age when knowledge is becoming more accessible. It's normal for the things people learn now to be harder than before. Especially since we're all so competitive."

William seemed to be listening with great interest.

"Are you really going to let me go first?" I asked curiously.

"After all, it's a game of luck."

I did admit it was a game of luck. It depended on who your opponent was, their memory and mental arithmetic, and their personality.

Me: "334."

William: "125."

I blinked instinctively and continued, "330."

This game was a contest of strategy. Starting with the second player's second move, he had to begin blocking the first player from winning. It went back and forth like that until one side won.

Sure enough, William moved to block me. "335."

I said, "539."

I paused, then continued, "I've won."

William raised his gaze to meet mine. After a moment's silence, he smiled and said, "You certainly have."

My numbers so far were {334, 330, 539}.

William's numbers were {125, 335}.

He had two choices before him: deal with 334 + 539 by choosing 126, or deal with 330 + 539 by choosing 130.

Whichever number he chose, I would still have the other option.

The game had lasted less than five seconds.

"You know how to play." William handed me the slip of paper and said graciously, "You calculated very quickly, and your approach was interesting."

"Compared to seriously seeking the truth and proving it, I may be better at little games like this."

When I remained seated after speaking, William asked curiously, "Aren't you going to keep playing?"

"One game is enough. I got to take part, and I'm not all that interested in the gift. Besides, I don't want to hear people say you lost. You did give me the advantage in the first place."

I thought that because the game favored the first player, the first player was more likely to win than the second. Even if the second player was careful, the first player still had a good chance of winning.

This kind of game was only a social courtesy anyway.

I didn't really want people talking about William.

After I finished speaking, William froze for a moment, then smiled. "Even if I hadn't given you the advantage, you wouldn't necessarily have lost, would you?"

Unless one had a particular artistic ambition in making 999, such as forming the three numbers being added from the digits 123456789.

Something like 125 + 376 + 498 or 168 + 379 + 452.

Seeing that I wasn't interested in that sort of talk, William naturally changed the subject and began chatting. "You don't look like you wanted to come to the party. Why did you come?"

"I just wanted to meet the mathematics professors. What about you, William? Why did you come?"

Hearing me call him William directly, he smiled, his manner very easygoing.

"Same as you." William held out his hand to me. "Maybe we could be friends. If you have any questions about mathematics assignments, you can come to me anytime. I have a lot of experience with that."

I shook his hand.

William really was a nice person.

I said, "If you're bored, we can play Lucky 999 again. But this time, instead of taking turns choosing numbers, we'll name combinations. We take three groups of three digits from 1 to 9 to make three three-digit numbers, without repeating any digits, and see who can name more."

"I'd be delighted."

William played with me all evening, and afterward, we exchanged phone numbers.

I had a very good impression of him.

Then, before the first class of the first week, I ran into William again. I walked to the seats while William went up to the lectern and smiled as he met my eyes in the front row.

"Hello, everyone."

"I'm your professor for the fundamental theory of computational mathematics."

Up to that point, I could still understand.

After all, mathematics produced geniuses in abundance.

It wasn't all that surprising to me.

However, William wasn't done introducing himself. He continued, "My name is William Moriarty, and I'm a new professor. Because the orientation schedule was tight, the department didn't get my photo posted in time. But we can get to know one another starting now."

He smiled. "You may call me Professor Moriarty. I look forward to working with you."

He had an elegant, intellectual air.

He spoke with poise and grace.

As soon as the young professor finished speaking, a round of welcoming applause broke out.

As for me, it was like a blow to the head, and I couldn't calm down for a long time.