Academician's Examination

"Hello, hello, can you hear me? Xiao Yi?"

"I can hear you, Professor Liu."

Xiao Yi faced the computer, responding with a bewildered expression.

Just 5 minutes ago, he was in Chinese Language class reading "Principles of Number Theory" when Luo Penghua called him to his office.

And…

He was even allowed to use Luo Penghua's phone.

Then he learned that Professor Liu, who was attending a mathematics conference in Shangjing, wanted to speak with him about something quite important.

Furthermore, it had to be a video call.

So now, he saw Liu Bin on his phone screen.

It looked like Liu Bin was at some kind of banquet?

Liu Bin smiled and said, "Xiao Yi, how have your studies been recently? Have you read the books I gave you?"

"Of course, I have!" Xiao Yi nodded gratefully. "I had never encountered this kind of data before. After experiencing it, I realized that mathematics could be this interesting!"

Liu Bin immediately burst into laughter and asked, "Is it the book 'Mathematical Analysis'? It's a very good thing that you've become interested while reading this book. When our college's freshmen first learn this book, almost 99% of them look utterly miserable."

"Uh..." Xiao Yi hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Liu Bin noticed his hesitation and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well... it's not just 'Mathematical Analysis', actually."

Xiao Yi said, "These past few days, I've finished reading 'Mathematical Analysis', 'Advanced Algebra', 'Analytic Geometry', ..., 'Elementary Number Theory', and I'm currently studying 'Principles of Number Theory'. The knowledge in these books is quite interesting to me."

"Especially this book, 'Principles of Number Theory'. The problems it proposes and the methods to solve them are very interesting to me."

Liu Bin on the other end of the video call fell silent.

If he heard correctly, Xiao Yi had finished 7 books in these four days and was already starting the 8th.

Even... he was already reading "Principles of Number Theory"?

He remembered that the "Principles of Number Theory" he gave Xiao Yi was a relatively difficult number theory book, mainly for scholars advancing in number theory. And now Xiao Yi was already starting it?

Of course, it didn't matter what book Xiao Yi was reading. The most crucial question was, "How did you manage to read the eighth book in less than four days?!"

Liu Bin finally asked in disbelief.

"I read two books a day, so today I've reached the eighth book," Xiao Yi replied.

Damn it...

Liu Bin didn't know what to say.

Because he genuinely didn't know how to refute Xiao Yi's statement. Two multiplied by four equals eight, who didn't know that?

After a long silence, he finally posed another question: "You read two math books a day, and you understood the content in them?"

"Not entirely."

Xiao Yi's answer finally made Liu Bin breathe a sigh of relief. That made sense. How could anyone understand the content of two books a day? This was normal!

He was about to get serious and criticize Xiao Yi's habit of "seeking understanding without thoroughness." How could one read math books with such an attitude?

However, before he could speak, Xiao Yi's next sentence came: "I basically understood about eighty percent of it."

"Analytic Geometry was okay. The content in that book is relatively simple. After reading it once, I probably grasped about 95%. The most difficult one was Real Analysis. That book is not only thick but also very challenging, much harder than Complex Analysis. So, I spent almost a whole day finishing it, and the amount I understood... was probably less than 70%."

"But that book is indeed very interesting."

"And then there's the 'Principles of Number Theory' I'm reading now. Fermat's Last Theorem, which it discusses, is truly amazing! Mr. Andrew Wiles, who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, is also truly admirable!"

"..."

Liu Bin became even more silent.

Of course, while he was silent, the professors around him also wore expressions of disbelief.

What did they just hear?

Eight books in four days, including Real Analysis, a book that junior math students find most troublesome.

It's a common saying among math majors that one might study Real Analysis ten times. Yet, this student, who only started his sophomore year of high school this year, claimed he not only finished it in one day but also understood 70% of it?

The professors recalled their own experiences studying Real Analysis as undergraduates.

They were able to become mathematics professors naturally due to their talent in mathematics, but they had to admit that Real Analysis was truly difficult to learn.

And yet... what the heck, this young man!

"Hahaha!"

At this moment, a hearty laugh erupted from beside them.

The person laughing was Hu Guangde.

Now, he had truly developed a strong interest in this student named Xiao Yi.

If, at first, it was only because of Liu Bin, then now, it was entirely because of the impression Xiao Yi on the video had given him in these short few minutes.

If what this student said was true, then perhaps he had indeed encountered a genius who could make waves in the mathematics world?

Academician Hu's laughter brought Liu Bin back to his senses. He then cleared his throat and said, "Alright Xiao Yi, let's put these things aside for now. I'll introduce you."

He moved his phone slightly, bringing Hu Guangde into the camera's view, and said, "This is Academician Hu Guangde from our USTC, also an academician from our School of Mathematics. Academician Hu is very interested in you."

Xiao Yi was immediately stunned.

What?

An academician?

He was actually meeting an academician?

Beside Xiao Yi, Luo Penghua's eyes widened as well.

Earlier, Liu Bin had told him he had great news for Xiao Yi, and it turned out an academician was involved!

Good heavens, Luo Penghua couldn't even imagine Xiao Yi's future if he was already favored by an academician before even entering university.

"Young man, your name is Xiao Yi, right?" At this moment, Hu Guangde spoke first.

Xiao Yi quickly nodded, "Hello, Academician Hu, I am Xiao Yi."

"Don't be nervous. Just think of me as a mathematics teacher from USTC," Hu Guangde chuckled and said, "You mentioned you finished so many books in just a few days. Let me test you then."

Soon, Hu Guangde sent over a Word document.

The title was "Convergence of Riemann Integrals and Lebesgue Integrability," followed by an author's name, Zeng Ang.

Clearly, it was a research paper.

"This paper is less than 6 pages long, so it shouldn't take you much time. Take a look and then tell me your thoughts on it."