Paper Published

The morning exam had finally ended.

The shocking cheating scandal was still the talk of the town, and many students continued to discuss it with relish.

Li Qiwei had once again become the center of attention. His bold, confident declaration kept echoing in everyone's ears.

Yet he himself didn't care in the slightest. Instead, his face was dark and cold, his expression warning everyone to keep their distance.

A gentleman never lets an old score go unpaid.

He was going to make Bellam and Miles pay dearly.

By his reckoning, the paper he'd submitted to Nature should be published any day now.

A few days earlier, he'd already received a letter: Nature had accepted his paper.

The letter had come personally from Lockyer, the editor-in-chief, and every line brimmed with admiration for Li Qiwei.

Lockyer had also invited Li Qiwei to visit the headquarters whenever he had time, so they could sit down and talk at length.

Li Qiwei knew how great a sensation the paper would cause once it was published.

With the paper as leverage, he could demand that Sanders dismiss Bellam and Miles.

Without those toadies, Cecil wouldn't be able to make much of a splash on his own.

If Sanders refused, Li Qiwei would simply take his paper and leave for Berlin University to find Planck.

With his reputation and renown, the world's most prestigious universities would be fighting to recruit him.

At that moment, Bellam and Miles stood obediently to one side in the dean's office at Trinity College.

Sanders sat expressionless, writing documents as though the two men weren't even there.

A full five minutes passed. Then came a sharp slap.

Sanders slammed down his pen, eyes blazing with fury. "Tell me—did the two of you deliberately frame Bruce Li?"

"Was it just because he's from the Qing Dynasty?"

"Do you have any idea what confirming that he cheated would do to his life?"

"Damn it!"

The two men didn't dare make a sound, much less defend themselves. Bellam's intentions at the time had been far too obvious.

Anyone with half a brain could put the pieces together by looking at Li Qiwei's reaction.

Though Cecil had played a part in all this, Sanders knew Bellam would never expose him.

How the two men would be dealt with now depended on Li Qiwei's attitude.

If Li Qiwei was willing to let it go, Sanders would naturally go easy on Bellam and Miles.

After all, the matter hadn't been exposed in public. Everyone could still take it for an accident.

Besides, Bellam had served as the dean's assistant and helped Sanders handle plenty of miscellaneous affairs over the years. Sanders couldn't bring himself to be too harsh.

But if Li Qiwei refused to drop the matter, Sanders would be in a difficult position.

So, in a chilly voice, he scolded the two men. "This afternoon, you'll go apologize to Bruce Li. Be sincere and ask him to forgive you."

"When you get back, each of you will write me a self-reflection. If there's a next time, you'll be on your own."

Bellam and Miles were overjoyed. Their eyes glistening with tears, they hurriedly agreed, then cautiously left the office.

As soon as they were out of sight, Bellam's demeanor changed. His gaze turned sinister, his expression vicious.

He sneered at Miles. "He expects us to apologize to that yellow-skinned monkey? What makes him think he deserves that?"

"Neither of us is going. I'd like to see what Bruce Li can do to me. He's nothing but a clown."

"He's from the Qing Dynasty. Does he really think he can throw his weight around in the British Empire?"

Though Miles thought Bellam was an idiot, he looked down on Li Qiwei just as much and had no intention of apologizing either.

He thought just like Bellam: he hadn't left behind any evidence, so there was nothing the other man could do.

So the two of them ignored Dean Sanders's order and went straight back to work.

Little did they know that they would soon regret it for the rest of their lives.

Afternoon came quickly. Professor Keith sat in his office, leisurely sipping tea.

Strangely enough, he hated coffee with a passion, yet was fascinated by tea from the Qing Dynasty and loved drinking it.

That was one reason he felt kindly toward Li Qiwei.

Whenever he thought of that remarkable young man from the East, he couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

But he soon pulled himself together and began his usual daily study: reading papers.

Professor Keith opened the latest issue of Nature, ready to see if it held any new discoveries.

Cambridge University was one of Nature's biggest clients, so every issue was delivered there as soon as it came out.

The moment he opened it, a huge headline leapt into view: "Thoughts on Using Quantum Theory to Explain the Blackbody Radiation Problem."

Good heavens!

Professor Keith felt just as Lockyer had when he first saw it: the author certainly had a lot of nerve.

But when he saw the name, he couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.

Bruce Li (Li Qiwei)?

And Planck, too?

"Oh, my God, what's going on?" Professor Keith blurted out.

The other teachers and professors in the office were drawn over at once.

They wanted to see what the paper said that could make a professor so excited.

Professor Keith paid no attention to them. He spread the paper out and read it carefully.

When he reached the parts about "[Quantum]" and the "[Li-Planck Radiation Formula]," his mind was swept up in a raging tempest. For a long time, he couldn't calm down.

"My God, is Bruce Li about to open up a whole new future for physics?"

The people behind Professor Keith had finished reading the paper too. Their breathing grew heavy, and they could hardly believe what they'd read.

They'd once thought Li Qiwei was simply an ordinary genius with an exceptional grasp of physics.

Now they saw how wrong they'd been—spectacularly wrong!

He could no longer be described as a genius. He was a master.

Most of those present taught physics, so they understood what this paper meant.

It was no exaggeration to say that it could rival Newton's laws of mechanics.

Though the concept of "[Quantum]" was still hypothetical, it had undeniably solved the blackbody radiation problem.

Now, all the theory of "[Quantum Mechanics]" needed was a few more compelling pieces of evidence to take shape.

With that theory, Li Qiwei would be able to join the ranks of the world's leading physicists.

Utterly terrifying!

"My God, Bruce Li is only twenty this year, and he can already write a paper like this?"

"Still, having Professor Planck listed as the Corresponding Author is rather interesting."

"Could Professor Planck have guided Bruce Li through this theory?"

"Impossible. No one would give up the title of first author when it came to such an important discovery."

"Besides, do you think a groundbreaking theory like this is something someone could simply guide him into producing?"

"Then Bruce Li is incredible—he's practically Newton reborn."

By now, Professor Keith could no longer hear the discussion around him.

His mind was filled with the concept of "[Quantum]."

As a theoretical physics teacher, he knew how difficult it was to create a new theory.

Perhaps the concept of "[Quantum]" had yet to be proven, and the so-called "[Quantum Mechanics]" was still an empty shell.

But Professor Keith had a powerful intuition: this theory had to be right.

Energy had to be quantized!

This paper was like a key—the key to opening the gates of a new century in physics.

A fire suddenly kindled in his heart, a blazing flame of idealism. He wanted to devote himself to the study of "[Quantum Mechanics]."

Suddenly, Professor Keith remembered what Li Qiwei had said that morning: light was both a particle and a wave.

Could it be that the other man had already made deep inroads in that field, too?

Whatever the case, he had made up his mind to seek out Li Qiwei more often. Perhaps one day, his own name would go down in history.

Professor Keith also thought of Li Qiwei's wager with Lord Kelvin, and a strange smile crossed his face.

Soon, the entire world of physics would be shaken by this paper.

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