Actually, I Don't Understand Math at All

"Yes, I need some new passions, like Mathematical Physics or Algebraic Geometry."

The Riemann Hypothesis was much more difficult than he had imagined. Shen Qi felt he needed to temporarily return to the right path, since Mathematical Physics and Algebraic Geometry were the two directions he had chosen first, and number theory was just a hobby, not his main profession.

However, Shen Qi wrote two papers related to number theory and submitted them to two of the four major mathematics journals, but made no progress in his main field. This made Shen Qi feel ashamed of his professional competence and original aspirations.

Jonas smiled helplessly, "Volvo has already been acquired by you Chinese. Next might be IKEA, if all the Chinese are as crazy as you."

"Acquiring products in application-oriented fields is outside my area of expertise," Shen Qi said, shrugging his shoulders.

"During the day, your body and mind belong to math, but at night, they belong to you. So forget about math tonight, go dance, and relax," Jonas said.

"Dance?"

"Your dance partner is waiting for you," Jonas said, pointing towards the pool table.

There were several young women there, with white, black, yellow, and red skin all gathered together, embodying a prosperous and harmonious scene of global unity.

"Shen Qi, you need girls, yes, energetic girls. Go dancing, invite one of them. As far as I can remember, you've never danced before, that won't do. At Princeton, dance skills are just as important as academics." Jonas raised his glass and smiled elegantly at the group of girls.

The girls smiled and waited for the handsome guys to invite them.

The fair-skinned and red-skinned girls both had their eyes on Jonas; their flirtatious glances said it all.

The girls with dark and yellow skin were quite curious about Shen Qi; their fingers lightly rubbed against their wine glasses, as if hinting at something.

The Tiger Inn Food Club requires members to Princeton University and have spent more than two years at Princeton University.

A student who has studied and lived at Princeton University for more than two years has essentially met the legal drinking age requirements under U. S. law.

Tiger Inn is a social place; how can you make friends without drinking?

The female students around the pool table were clearly experienced players, not newcomers from the Princeton University.

"But I can't dance," Shen Qi said listlessly.

"Then you should learn to dance, right now. Do you need me to teach you?" Jonas gentlemanly extended his right palm, gesturing for Shen Qi to dance.

"No need, thank you." Shen Qi got up and left the bar, walking towards the pool table.

At the pool table, a Black woman said to an Asian woman, "Is this handsome Asian guy yours or mine?"

"Of course it's mine," the Asian girl said matter-of-factly.

Black woman. "Okay, have a nice night."

A yellow-skinned woman with chestnut-colored hair downed her drink in one gulp. "So-hot!"

It was too hot, so the Asian girl took off her jacket, revealing a black tank top underneath. Her fingers moved back and forth on the tablecloth, waiting for a man's invitation.

Shen Qi passed the pool table but didn't stop; he continued walking towards the corner.

Shen Qi didn't invite any of the girls. He went to a corner table for two and sat down.

"This..." The Asian girl felt disappointed and angry. How could this guy do this? I'd already taken my clothes off and this is what he showed me?

The corner was dimly lit, and the person at the table was curled up in the corner, drinking alone.

"Mary, are you celebrating something, or drowning your sorrows in alcohol?" Shen Qi asked. Mary was drinking at the table, and Shen Qi noticed Mary hiding in the darkness.

Mary looked up, her eyes blurry with drunkenness. "What's there to celebrate?"

"That's drowning your sorrows in alcohol." Shen Qi noticed that only a third of a bottle of Jack's was left, and the second detail was that Mary's wedding ring was missing from her finger.

"Dancing or drinking... you choose one... or both." Mary, her face flushed, unbuttoned the second button of her fitted white blouse. She was wearing a bra with green trim today.

"You've had too much to drink," Shen Qi said, neither dancing nor drinking.

"What... boring man..." Mary slumped onto the table and didn't say another word; she was drunk.

Jonas asked the waiter to carry Mary to the bar lounge, while Shen Qi returned to his apartment, charged his phone, and turned it on.

"You kept this from me for so long!"

This is a WeChat message from Ou Ye.

Shen Qi replied, "Are you in class or studying?"

Soon after, Ou Ye made a transoceanic check-in call, "Is it past 2 a. m. in the US?"

"Yes, how have you been lately?" Shen Qi asked.

"Okay, oh ****."

Shen Qi: "Are you preparing for the TOEFL?"

"At the end of this month. Also, did you submit a paper to JAMS?" Ou Ye asked.

JAMS stands for the Journal of the American Mathematical Society. Shen Qi said, "Yes, that's the paper we co-authored."

Ou Ye: "You didn't tell me, I heard it from Professor Sun."

"It hasn't been approved yet, has it? I wanted to surprise you... yawn..." Shen Qi yawned, he was too sleepy.

Ou Ye: "Get some rest early, goodnight, don't overwork yourself!"

The following morning, Shen Qi received feedback from the Journal of the American Mathematical Society, stating that his paper, "Proof of Diophantine Equation Wash Conjecture," required minor revisions.

"Great!" Shen Qi rubbed his hands Shen Qi, which meant that he was about to have a paper published in one of the Top Four Journals.

Shen Qi immediately made minor revisions based on the expert's advice. The changes were minimal and were completed in one morning. He then uploaded the final version of the paper to the Journal of the American Mathematical Society's submission system.

In the afternoon, Shen Qi went to the Lud Hall to attend a class on Algebraic Geometry.

There were more than a dozen students in the classroom, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

At exactly 2:00 PM, a man wearing glasses entered the classroom, carrying a thick book, "String Theory."

This professor had a natural air of wisdom, and he looked somewhat like the American actor Bob Gunton, the one who played the warden in The Shawshank Redemption.

"Mr. Witten, you've come to the wrong space! This is three-dimensional!" The students exclaimed excitedly, both surprised and delighted.

Professor Edward Professor Witten walked to the podium. "Three-dimensional it is, let's begin the lesson. Oh, by the way, Professor Smith has something come up, so I'll be teaching this class."

This was the first time Shen Qi had met Edward Witten in real life. He had wanted to choose Witten as his mentor, but Witten did not accept him as a disciple.

As the only physicist to win the Fields Medal, Witten has his own unique style. He brings a copy of "String Theory" to his math classes. "Actually, I don't understand math, and you can interrupt my lecture at any time if I make a mistake."