Plagiarism Check

"Xiao Yi? How is that possible?!"

Academician Hu's face was filled with disbelief.

How could a mere high school student write a paper like this?

Did he start studying mathematics in the womb or something?

He considered himself well acquainted with all kinds of geniuses. Whenever he visited foreign countries, he often heard about various mathematical prodigies.

The most famous among them was Terence Tao. This genius, known as the "Mathematical Mozart," won a gold medal in the IMO International Mathematical Olympiad at the age of thirteen, completed his undergraduate degree at sixteen, finished his master's thesis at seventeen, and earned his master's degree.

From that perspective, Terence Tao seemed more impressive than Xiao Yi.

However, Terence Tao back then would not have been able to write the paper Xiao Yi had produced now.

For professors in their school, publishing a paper in a second-quartile journal was already quite good. A first-quartile paper was even more remarkable; they could probably stroll around campus for an entire semester and receive respectful greetings everywhere. As for a top journal, that was on another level entirely. They would instantly become one of the university's leading figures. If professors across the school encountered mathematical problems in their research, they might come knocking for help. The university would probably even hold a special commendation meeting, since such a paper would play an important role in improving the school's rankings.

And now, such a paper had actually appeared in the hands of a high school student—well, perhaps he could not simply be called a high school student anymore. In less than a month, he would enter university and become an undergraduate.

Thinking of this, Hu Guangde suddenly felt that their school had stepped in the luckiest pile of dog shit imaginable.

This year had to be their school's lucky year.

A genius like this had, through all sorts of coincidences, come to their university.

It felt unreal.

Hu Guangde confirmed it with Liu Bin once more. "Are you sure you're not joking? Xiao Yi really wrote this?"

"Of course it's true." Liu Bin said helplessly, "I wouldn't lie to anyone, much less you. It's not April Fools' Day, and there's nothing to lie about anyway."

"That's also why he didn't write it in English, and why the abstract and formatting looked so unfamiliar. After all, it really was his first time writing a paper."

Hu Guangde fell silent.

Everything matched up.

So... had he ruled out the correct answer from the very beginning?

After thinking for a long time, he suddenly asked, "By the way, have you run a plagiarism check on this paper?"

Liu Bin froze, then shook his head. "No, I haven't. But... this paper should have been completed by Xiao Yi. It can't possibly be plagiarized, can it?"

Because he trusted Xiao Yi, and because of the bond they had built through their many interactions, he had never considered that question from an emotional standpoint.

Hu Guangde, however, had only met Xiao Yi once through a video call on a phone. He did not have any particularly deep attachment to him, so he remained rational at this moment.

Of course, that did not mean he suspected academic fraud. He simply wanted to use this method for one final confirmation.

"Run a plagiarism check first. It'll also provide a safeguard for the paper."

Hu Guangde said, "Once we decide to publish it, submit it directly to IHES. When I was a visiting scholar in France, I got to know Bojielun, the editor-in-chief of IHES. When the time comes, I'll ask Editor-in-Chief Bojielun for a favor and get it moved up the queue."

Liu Bin nodded and said nothing more.

Then came the plagiarism check.

Liu Bin sent the electronic copy of Xiao Yi's paper to Hu Guangde's computer, then entered the plagiarism-checking website and began the process.

A plagiarism check was the final step that every paper had to go through after completion, used to determine whether the paper might be suspected of plagiarism.

The check took some time, so the two began to wait.

At this point, even Liu Bin was curious about what Xiao Yi's similarity rate would be.

After some time passed, the results came out.

They opened the plagiarism report, which showed a similarity rate of 3.14%.

Liu Bin let out a long breath, then smiled.

A 3.14% similarity rate was absolutely qualified!

It met the unquestionable standard.

After all, even the most strictly required doctoral dissertations only needed a similarity rate below 10%.

And this 3.14% similarity rate was enough to prove that Xiao Yi's paper had been independently created by him.

Liu Bin laughed. "See? Xiao Yi's mind is full of nothing but solving difficult math problems. He'd never do something like this."

Hu Guangde also breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, all right. I understand."

He checked the time. "It's getting late. Go back and get some rest. Once I finish reading this paper, I'll give you an answer."

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you, Academician Hu."

Liu Bin nodded, then did not linger any longer and left Hu Guangde's office.

Hu Guangde turned his gaze back to the plagiarism report displayed on the computer and smiled faintly.

Perhaps this student would bring true revival to the School of Mathematical Sciences at USTC!

Three days passed quickly.

At noon on the fourth day, Hu Guangde called Liu Bin to his office.

Having guessed why Academician Hu had summoned him, Liu Bin entered the office with an expectant look and asked, "Academician Hu, have you finished reading Xiao Yi's paper?"

Hu Guangde smiled and nodded. "Yes. I spent the past few days reading it."

"What did you think?"

Hu Guangde pondered for a moment before finally giving his evaluation. "From my perspective, although the paper still reveals a beginner's immaturity in certain details, taken as a whole, it is a perfect mathematical paper."

Yes, from a mathematical perspective, the paper was exceptionally perfect.

There were no steps casually skipped with phrases like "it is obvious" or "it follows readily." Every necessary process had been written out in full. Perhaps because it was Xiao Yi's first time writing a paper, he had brought his habit of solving high school proof problems into academic writing.

And precisely because of that, every conclusion derived was sufficiently rigorous. There were no possible loopholes to be found, nor any flaws that could be challenged—at least, Hu Guangde had found none over the past three days.

"If I were an editor or reviewer, I would be more than willing to review a paper like this. Moreover, its value is very high. It could even be called the best paper in the field of Far Abelian Geometry in recent times."

Liu Bin finally smiled. "Good! I'm sure Xiao Yi will be very happy when he hears your evaluation."

"I'll notify him right now!"

As he spoke, Liu Bin was about to take out his phone.

"Mm." Hu Guangde smiled and nodded. At the same time, he added, "Also, remind him to translate this paper into English and prepare to submit it to IHES!"

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