You Win, I Win

Xu Kaizhi looked toward Feng Zechun: "Old Feng, have you finished reading the paper?"

"Not yet, I was waiting for you to arrive," Feng Zechun said. "I'm getting on in years and my brain isn't as sharp as it used to be. I'm afraid of missing something critical, so I thought I'd go through it with you. It'll be easier to exchange ideas that way."

Xu Kaizhi smiled cordially. "Student Huang Tian, you might have to sit and wait for us for a while..."

"It's fine."

"Alright then, Old Feng, let's start going through it page by page!"

Xu Kaizhi and Feng Zechun placed the stack of manuscripts on the glass table, took pens and clean scratch paper from the side drawer, and began to review the paper sheet by sheet.

The reading difficulty of the entire article was not particularly high for the two of them, as the key to this paper lay in a brand-new way of thinking and innovative research methods; the computational complexity was not very high, and they quickly worked through the slightly more complex calculations on paper.

Whenever they encountered a point they couldn't immediately grasp, they would ask Huang Tian. Huang Tian would then break it down and explain it in detail, allowing the two to understand it easily and nod continuously.

Time passed slowly, from the sun reaching its zenith to the sunset. The magnificent orange-red sunlight shone through the clean glass windows, casting an even glow over the sofa, the chairs, and the people.

Xu Kaizhi and Feng Zechun took a deep breath and turned their eyes to the final small step in the manuscript. If there were no issues with the last step, it would mean the entire paper was undoubtedly correct.

At this moment, relying on the mathematical intuition they had cultivated over a long period, they actually had a very strong premonition that the final step would not have any problems.

"Constructing an approximate solution, perturbation model..."

Xu Kaizhi muttered to himself, continuing to bury his head in the papers.

A long time passed.

When the sunset had completely dipped below the horizon and only streaks of pink clouds remained in the sky, Xu Kaizhi and Feng Zechun finally put down their pens. They exchanged a glance, then looked together at the quietly waiting Huang Tian, their faces blooming with smiles.

A look of extreme admiration appeared in Xu Kaizhi's eyes. "Congratulations, young man. You have achieved an outstanding accomplishment."

Feng Zechun even stepped forward to pat Huang Tian on the shoulder, laughing heartily: "Unbelievable! I never thought that among my students, someone like you would emerge! Hahaha, I'm so happy! Huang Tian, don't be in a rush to head back later. Your teacher is treating you to a meal; let's stay and have a good dinner to satisfy our appetites!"

It was common practice in academia to reward oneself with a good meal after achieving a breakthrough.

Huang Tian did not refuse: "Then thank you, Teacher."

"What are you being polite for? It's just a meal," Feng Zechun said happily, then looked at Xu Kaizhi. "Old Xu, what do you think of Huang Tian's paper?"

This question wasn't asking if the paper was correct, but rather which journal to submit to and whether the school could approve the publication fees.

Xu Kaizhi took his phone out of his pocket: "We've never really had a situation like this before, where a graduated student produces such a masterpiece. I need to discuss this with Principal Yang."

Principal Yang was the vice-principal of Chang University and a big name in the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence.

"I'll go outside to make a call and be right back."

Xu Kaizhi went to a corner of the hallway outside the door and dialed the number.

Inside the lounge, Feng Zechun said to Huang Tian: "Don't worry, you are a student of our school. Even though you've graduated, you're still one of our own. Old Xu will definitely be able to secure some excellent terms for you."

Huang Tian nodded with a smile. Relying on his superhuman hearing, he had already clearly heard what Xu Kaizhi was saying on the phone. Xu Kaizhi was indeed very reliable; the moment he started, he made it clear to Principal Yang that Huang Tian must be the first author of the paper, which was a crucial point.

The first authorship was the most important aspect of a paper; whether it was for evaluating professional titles, obtaining projects, or giving reports, people cared most about the first author.

Then, Xu Kaizhi began to discuss the submission and publication fee matters...

About twenty minutes later, Xu Kaizhi walked back with a beaming smile. Seeing his expression, Feng Zechun quickly asked: "Old Xu, what's the word?"

Xu Kaizhi looked at Huang Tian and said quite candidly: "Huang Tian, your paper is of immense value. Whether it's breaking the decades-long incorrect consensus in the mathematical community regarding the defocusing nonlinear wave equation, or in terms of methodology, introducing complex-valued solutions to provide a brand-new approach for studying other similar stabilizers, it is absolutely worthy of the 'Big Four' journals.

I personally suggest you submit the paper to Inventiones Mathematicae. The other three major journals don't accept many papers in the PDE field, but Inventiones Mathematicae is different; the editors have a broader range of interests, making it easier to get accepted.

Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. If you want to submit to other journals, something like Forum of Mathematics, Pi is also an option. Although it has only been established for a little over ten years, the papers it publishes are all heavyweight, and its recognition in the academic community is on par with the 'Big Four'."

The preferences of the review editors for each journal vary; if you want to submit, it is best to submit to the appropriate journal, otherwise, even if your paper's results reach the journal's level, the editor might still reject it.

Huang Tian had always accepted the advice of professionals in fields he wasn't very familiar with, so he said decisively: "I'll submit to Inventiones Mathematicae."

"Good. Now that the journal is decided, let's talk about a few other things."

Xu Kaizhi said: "First, you are the first author of the paper. We will not allow anyone to compete with you for it or steal your achievements. Second, the school will reimburse you for all expenses, including publication fees. Once your paper is published, the school will also award you 300,000 in research funding. It's not a huge amount, but I will try to fight for more for you later..."

As he said this, he looked a bit embarrassed and rubbed his hands together, a rare sight: "It's just... the school has a small request. We hope you can be listed as a member of the Mathematics Department's project team and fill in our Chang University as the affiliation on the paper..."

Chang University's mathematics major was not ranked at the very top of the academic world, nor was it at the bottom; it was roughly in the upper-middle tier. They had published quite a few papers in top journals, but for them, publishing in the top-tier 'Big Four' was still a very, very rare occurrence, which was why the school made this request to take the opportunity to gain some prestige.

How could Huang Tian refuse such a small request? He had nowhere else to list anyway; he couldn't very well write the name of his former company, that would be too ridiculous.

Not to mention, the school was also willing to give him a significant research reward. Even though 300,000 might not seem like much, for an ordinary family, it was already several years' worth of total income.

"That's a small matter," Huang Tian said with a smile.

Xu Kaizhi immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Then there are no problems!"

Feng Zechun let out a hearty, childlike laugh and grabbed both of their arms: "Since everything is settled, let's go enjoy a big meal together right now!"