From the drizzling rain at King's College to the lakeside at Cambridge, from the coast of Rehovot to the glittering stars of Silicon Valley, Levitt had encountered many brilliant students from around the world over the years.
Among them, the level of genius Chen Yuanguang displayed ranked in the upper tier, though he was still some distance from the very best.
But given the occasion and timing, this was an unexpected gain from his business trip to China. Levitt wanted to give Chen Yuanguang an opportunity. The implication behind offering him second authorship was an opportunity to become his student.
As long as Chen Yuanguang proved through experiments that his theory was feasible, Levitt would help him publish it in Nature and recruit him for his PhD program.
"No problem. I'll return to Jiang University as soon as possible and produce the results. Once I have them, I'll send you the paper with the results attached for a look. If there are no issues, I'll submit it," Chen Yuanguang said.
Because Chen Yuanguang understood the situation, Levitt's opinion of him rose another level. Geniuses always had personality; the greater the genius, the stronger the personality.
Humility was merely an outward appearance. Most geniuses needed tempering to grow quickly. For geniuses pursuing scientific research, research problems were the trials they had to face. No matter how talented one was, there would always be problems that might take an entire lifetime to solve.
It was not easy for someone like Chen Yuanguang to quickly accept another person's opinion, especially when that opinion put him at a slight disadvantage. Levitt felt that Chen Yuanguang's temperament was well suited to research. Scientific research was not a solo battle; it also required navigating human relationships.
Especially now, when the fruit was becoming harder and harder to pick.
"Alright. Send it to me when the time comes. I'll have students in my lab verify it again. Once there are no problems, submit it to the main journal of Nature. I'll speak with Das then and have him find reviewers as quickly as possible," Levitt said with a smile.
Das was the head of Nature's biotechnology editorial team. As a Nobel Prize winner, Levitt had such "privileges."
Chen Yuanguang said softly, "Professor, I have one small request."
Levitt looked at him. "Go ahead."
Chen Yuanguang said, "Could you write me a recommendation letter? I'm in my final year of undergraduate study and about to graduate. I want to apply for a PhD at American University."
The smile on Levitt's face froze. "Weren't you applying for my PhD program?" Levitt waved the paper in his hand.
Now it was Chen Yuanguang's turn to be surprised. He had failed to catch Levitt's implication. "Sorry, that wasn't what I meant."
"Then what is this paper for?" Levitt asked.
Chen Yuanguang explained, "Professor, this paper is proof to obtain an endorsement."
Levitt was speechless. "Whose PhD program do you want to attend?"
Chen Yuanguang said, "At the moment, I'm more interested in Moungi Professor Bawendi at MIT. I'm more interested in his research direction."
Levitt felt a wave of helplessness. He had just been thinking that this kid understood the situation, yet so quickly, he no longer did?
When Levitt had phrased it as a rhetorical question, he had thought that even if Chen Yuanguang had not originally intended to apply for his PhD program, he should have gone along with it and said that studying under him would be an honor.
Instead, the other party had actually stated his true thoughts.
Of course, Chen Yuanguang knew that saying this would make the other man unhappy. He continued explaining, "Professor, I'm more interested in Moungi Professor Bawendi's research direction."
"Fine. Bring me the recommendation letter. I trust you've already prepared it," Levitt said, no longer wanting to talk.
Levitt glanced over the recommendation letter and felt it was written a little too modestly. He signed his name. "My promise regarding Nature still stands. I won't refuse to recommend you just because you aren't doing your PhD under me."
Chen Yuanguang nodded. "Thank you, Professor."
Guo Wei had understood all of the conversation that followed, and he was completely numb. Could someone actually turn down an olive branch from a Nobel Prize winner?
Levitt had won the Nobel Prize in 2013. Not many years had passed since then, and he was only seventy years old. Among living Nobel Prize winners, he was considered young.
Being young meant that he still had the energy to personally provide guidance.
After seeing Levitt Professor back to his room, Guo Wei could no longer hold it in. "Yuanguang, I don't know who Moungi Bawendi is, but Levitt is a Nobel Prize winner!"
Moungi Bawendi would not win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry until 2023.
"Even if you're more interested in Meng Ji's research direction, you should have thought it over some more. You rejected him too decisively. You gave him no face at all!"
Chen Yuanguang smiled. "The main purpose of entering this competition was to meet him and have him write me a recommendation letter.
If I hadn't rejected him decisively, I wouldn't have achieved my goal."
"You entered the competition and won an award just to get a recommendation letter from a Nobel Prize winner?" Guo Wei asked.
"That's right."
"You were that certain you would win an award and persuade Levitt?"
"Of course." Chen Yuanguang answered as though it were only natural. "If I took the conventional route and published the paper, I'd have to wait at least half a year. There was also the possibility that the paper would be scooped. I would most likely have to take a gap year, so I came up with this method."
Guo Wei was convinced. What kind of godlike person was this? He could no longer understand the workings of Chen Yuanguang's mind at all.
He asked again, "The recommendation letter is for studying abroad, and Levitt is a professor at Stanford. Stanford is a top university. I'm a little confused now—was the recommendation letter the goal, or was studying abroad the goal?
Did you mistake an intermediate goal for the final goal?"
Chen Yuanguang explained, "It was precisely because he's at Stanford that I rejected him. If he weren't at Stanford, I might have hesitated."
Guo Wei felt that his brain could no longer keep up with Chen Yuanguang's logic. "Huh? Isn't Stanford a top university?"
"Because Stanford is in Silicon Valley, and Silicon Valley is too far from New York. My friend is in New York, while MIT, where Moungi Professor Bawendi is, is in Boston. Boston is much closer to New York.
Think about it. Boston is only a little over three hundred kilometers from New York, while Silicon Valley is over four thousand kilometers away. It'll be much more convenient when I visit my friend. For a trip of just over three hundred kilometers, four hours of driving is enough."
To Chen Yuanguang, it made no difference where he went or whose PhD program he attended.
Guo Wei's face had gone blank. "Just because of that?"
What kind of friend was that?
Chen Yuanguang nodded. "Just because of that."
Guo Wei felt there were too many things to criticize and was nearly at a loss for words. Brother, what kind of immortal are you? Did you descend to the mortal world just to toy with the rest of us mortals?
"You're amazing. If Levitt Professor learned that this was the real reason, he'd probably rush out and tear up the recommendation letter he gave you."
Chen Yuanguang burst out laughing. "It's already too late."
Later, this incident became Guo Wei's standard story whenever he chatted with others. As Chen Yuanguang's fame grew greater and greater, Guo Wei grew ever more enthusiastic when recounting it. Every listener was astonished, all sighing that geniuses truly were different.
Ya had something to do tomorrow morning, so tomorrow morning's update might be delayed until noon or the afternoon. However, there would definitely still be two chapters tomorrow.
Before you continue