Meeting the Parents
Shen Qi's trip to Hong Kong is coming to an end; he came in a hurry and left in style.
As the youngest recipient of the Chern Prize in Mathematics, Shen Qi officially entered China's high-end mathematics circle, met Academician Wu and Professor Huang, and other insightful figures in the Chinese Mathematics Community. His network of contacts continued to expand, and Shen Qi gained a great deal.
With both career and love flourishing, Shen Qi and Ou Ye attended the banquet together, hosted by Shen Qi's father.
Shen Zhishan had just arrived in Hong Kong. Although he was not qualified to attend the Chinese Mathematicians Congress, he held a banquet in Wan Chai to entertain his son and his son's girlfriend.
Shen Qi took Ou Ye's hand, pushed open the door to the restaurant's private room, and met up with his father.
"Dad, it's been so long! I've missed you so much. This is Ou Ye." Shen Qi formally introduced Ou Ye to his father.
"Hello, Uncle Shen." Ou Ye was dressed elegantly today, without any makeup, looking delicate and graceful.
"Hello, Xiao Ou, come, have a seat." Shen Zhishan gestured for Ou Ye to sit down and instructed the waiter to serve the dishes.
Ou Ye was a little nervous when she first met Shen Qi's father.
Shen Zhishan had seen a photo of Ou Ye and Shen Qi together before. This was the first time he had met Ou Ye in person, and his first impression of Old Shen was good. She was a quiet and gentle girl, clearly from a respectable family.
"Shen Qi came back in such a rush this time. He said he didn't have time to go back to Nangang City, so I came to Hong Kong to see you. Xiao Ou, your Aunt Fan was going to come too, but she was too busy with work at the hospital. This is a small token of our appreciation for our first meeting, please don't be shy." Shen Zhishan took out a red envelope from his handbag and handed it to Ou Ye.
The red envelope was bulging; based on its thickness, Ou Ye quickly calculated that it contained no fewer than 200 banknotes.
They hadn't exchanged more than a few words upon their first meeting, and Uncle Shen had already given her such a generous gift. Ou Ye was hesitant to accept it. She nervously looked at Shen Qi, unsure of what to do.
"This is a small token of our appreciation from your elders, please accept it, Ou Ye," Shen Qi said, then added, "Basic operation, normal procedure, please follow the procedure."
"Well... alright then." Ou Ye blushed as she accepted the red envelope and said, "Thank you, Uncle Shen and Aunt Fan."
It was the first time Ou Ye had received a red envelope from someone other than her parents and relatives. She felt a little embarrassed but also happy.
It is said that when a girl meets a boy's parents for the first time, if the boy's parents are satisfied, they will give her a red envelope, and the size of the red envelope represents their satisfaction.
Some parents prepare several red envelopes of varying thicknesses, adapting to the specific circumstances.
Ou Ye felt that a red envelope containing no less than 200 banknotes was not a small gift, whether it was in RMB or HKD.
In short, the basic procedures have been completed, and Ou Ye has gained the formal approval of Shen Qi's father.
"Xiao Ou must be a top student too, a true heroine." Shen Zhishan chatted as he ate, occasionally asking a few questions.
"It's alright." Ou Ye had a good impression of Uncle Shen; he was much easier to talk to than her father.
"What do Xiao Ou's parents do for a living?" Shen Zhishan asked again.
"My dad is a program planner, and my mom takes care of the housework at home," Ou Ye replied, and soon she was no longer awkward.
"Her father was a soldier, a commando in the elite elite unit," Shen Qi added.
"Really? Well, Old Ou and I are both former soldiers. Come on, Xiao Ou, let me toast your dad and my comrades from the elite unit. You drink for him." Shen Zhishan raised his glass, his emotions running high.
"What kind of alcohol? Girls shouldn't drink alcohol. Xiao Ou will drink water instead." Shen Qi poured Ou Ye a glass of mineral water and pushed his own papaya and snow frog stew in front of Ou Ye: "This is nourishing, Ou Ye, you should eat more."
"Wishing Uncle Shen and Aunt Fan good health." Ou Ye raised her glass with water instead of wine to offer her blessings. Although she was not good at dealing with outsiders, she behaved well in front of Uncle Shen, behaving appropriately and speaking tactfully.
"Okay, okay, all good. I also wish your parents good health, Xiao Ou." The more Shen Zhishan looked at Ou Ye, the more pleasing she became. This girl didn't talk much, was reserved and unpretentious, and showed good manners in her gentleness. Her upbringing was commendable.
The meal went quite well, and meeting the parents wasn't as awkward as Ou Ye had imagined.
January 12, Hong Kong Airport.
Shen Zhishan, Ou Ye, Sun Erxiong, Zhou Yu'an and others went to the airport to see Shen Qi off.
Shen Qi first hugged his father. "You and Mom need to take care of yourselves. I probably won't be back in China until the next Christmas holiday."
"Do you have enough money to live on in the US?" Shen Zhishan asked.
"That's enough. If it's not enough, I'll try my luck with the lottery. The prize money can last me for a while," Shen Qi said.
The prize money for the Chern Prize in Mathematics is 100,000 RMB, which isn't much.
International Math Prize range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with a $1 million reward for solving a Millennium Prize Problem.
It's unrealistic to get rich through Math Prize. Even if you solve all six remaining Millennium Prize Problem, the prize money is only $6 million, which is more than the price of a decent villa in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.
Top mathematicians who really want to make big money have plenty of ways to do so, as long as they're willing to set aside their principles. Shen Qi doesn't expect to break into the Forbes Top 10 list through Math Prize; he's just looking to make some pocket money. Honor is more important than money.
After hugging his father goodbye, Shen Qi's second hug was to Ou Ye: "You have to come to Princeton soon, or I'll have to go back to China after I finish my PhD."
"I... will try." Ou Ye was under a lot of pressure. Dating a god-like boyfriend, the Calculation Ji had to work twice as hard. After all, Princeton Mathematics Department only admits a very small number of students from China each year, with only one or two lucky ones getting the spots.
If Ou Ye were to settle for less and go to Yale, NYU, or Columbia, even though New Haven, New York, and Princeton are not far apart, she still wouldn't be able to see Shen Qi every day, making it a long-distance relationship.
Even more unfortunately, if Ou Ye goes to a university on the West Coast of the United States, such as UC Berkeley, UCLA, or Caltech, he might as well stay in China.
Fortunately, Ou Ye scored 111 on the TOEFL and had a GPA of 4.0, which is enough for her to apply to Princeton. Now she only needs a GRE score.
Ou Ye's strength lies in her rich research experience. She has published papers in the four major international mathematics journals (she is also one of the authors of the proof of the Wash Conjecture), published a SCI paper (SOS National Natural Science Foundation of China project), and a core journal paper (co-authored with Shen Qi during her freshman year. In fact, Ou Ye guided Shen Qi in writing this paper, and the main discussion work was completed by Ou Ye).
However, Shen Qi's progress in the past year or two has been too rapid, so rapid that even a highly talented Calculation Ji like Ou Ye has found it difficult to catch up with Shen Qi.
Shen Qi's third hug was to Sun Erxiong: "I can't thank you enough, Professor Sun. I'm entrusting Ou Ye to you. Please give her lots of guidance."
"When are we going to your wedding?" Sun Erxiong asked.
"Isn't the wedding banquet a bit too early? I'm not even of legal marriage age yet."
"No one will care about you in America. The atmosphere there is open, and there will be plenty of temptations. You must be self-respecting and disciplined, Shen Qi," Sun Erxiong earnestly advised.
Finally, Shen Qi hugged Zhou Yu'an: "Brother, take care."
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