Qin Lie stood in Cheng Che's living room, stunned for several seconds.
Then he took out his phone, looked down, and started searching.
He first searched for "Annals of Mathematics".
His finger paused for a second when the page loaded.
Annals of Mathematics is one of the four top journals in the mathematics community.
Founded in 1884, it has published only the highest-level mathematical research results for over a century.
Einstein's paper on Theory of Relativity has been published, Gödel's Completeness Theorem have been published, and Wiles's paper proving Fermat's Last Theorem has also been published.
Publishing a paper in that journal is a dream for mathematicians all over the world.
Many university mathematics professors never publish a single paper in their entire careers.
Qin Lie scrolled down and saw a line of data: the journal accepts no more than fifty papers a year, with an acceptance rate of less than five percent.
His fingers began to tremble.
Then he searched for " Integer-Coefficient Polynomial Root Distribution Conjectures ".
When the page loaded, his expression changed from surprise to shock, and then from shock to bewilderment.
This conjecture was proposed in 1965 by Poland number theorist Andrzej Schinzel and Germany mathematician Hans Zassenhaus, and no one has provided a complete proof for the past sixty years.
Proving this conjecture requires traversing three branches: p-advanced number theory, complex analytic potential theory, and algebraic number height theory. It is extremely difficult and has been listed as one of the "unsolved problems of the century."
Qin Lie stared at the screen, speechless for a long time.
He looked up at Cheng Che as if he were looking at an alien.
Cheng Che felt a little uneasy under his gaze and frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"
Qin Lie snapped out of his daze and gave a wry smile.
"Tell me the truth," he said seriously, "When did this happen?"
Cheng Che leaned back on the sofa and thought for a moment.
"I've been working on it all along. I just suddenly had an inspiration recently," he said. "When I was in Spring City, I didn't leave my room for three days and managed to get it verified. Then I asked Professor Liu to help me submit it for publication."
Qin Lie remained silent for a long time after listening.
Then he said, "I feel like it's a waste of talent to have you playing tennis."
Cheng Che smiled but didn't reply.
He knew that in many people's eyes, scientists and those who do scientific research are superior.
But he doesn't think so. He might focus more on academics in the future, but not now.
This conjecture proves that it doesn't really help with real-world technology; it's just famous.
Moreover, this "fame" is limited to academic circles.
But Qin Lie doesn't see it that way.
He's the agent; he sees one side of the story.
"You have no idea how much this will benefit you." Qin Lie stood up, paced back and forth a couple of times, his tone becoming increasingly rapid. "People in the entertainment industry flaunt their high IQ personas by solving math problems or participating in intellectual programs. Those are all fake, and the audience knows they're fake. But yours is the real deal. Nineteen years old, Peking University undergraduate, independently proving a sixty-year-old mathematical conjecture, published in the world's top mathematics journal. This kind of story is legendary in any country."
He stopped and looked at Cheng Che.
"Once the publication is released, your popularity will skyrocket. Not just in the entertainment industry, but also in academia, education, and even official media will pay attention to you. This level of popularity is worth more than any endorsement."
Cheng Che thought for a moment.
Qin Lie is right.
Wouldn't it be foolish not to jump on this bandwagon?
He nodded.
Qin Lie immediately took out his phone, started scrolling through his notes, and muttered to himself:
"You can follow the normal procedures in academia, but in the entertainment industry, we need a different approach. We can't do a massive, ubiquitous campaign like endorsements; we need to go for a high-end strategy. Find a few top media outlets for in-depth interviews, coinciding with the release of Annals, and link the labels of '19-year-old mathematician' and 'tennis Champion ' together. Oh, and we also need to contact Peking University to see if they can cooperate—"
He became more and more excited as he talked, and had already started designing a complete marketing plan in his mind.
Cheng Che stood up and picked up the car keys on the table.
"I need to go to Peking University," he said. "The dean and Professor Liu are waiting for me."
Qin Lie looked up. "Should I give you a ride?"
"My car hasn't been driven in ages." Cheng Che shook the keys in his hand. "You're bringing it to me, so isn't my car just for decoration?"
Qin Lie looked at him, sighed, and put his phone away.
"Okay, you drive yourself. Be careful."
Cheng Che put on a mask and hat and went out.
He walked into the underground parking garage, opened the door of the Volvo, got in, and started the engine.
The car was very quiet; you could barely hear the engine.
He gripped the steering wheel; it still felt right.
He drove for half an hour and arrived at Peking University.
The School of Mathematical Sciences' office building is located deep within the campus; it's an old-fashioned gray brick building with a sign that reads " School of Mathematical Sciences " hanging at the entrance.
Cheng Che went inside, went up to the third floor, and stopped at the door of a conference room.
He knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Cheng Che pushed open the door and went inside.
The meeting room was small, with a long table and a few chairs.
Five people were sitting at the table.
Professor Liu was sitting by the window. When he saw him come in, he smiled and nodded.
Sitting next to me was the dean of the Department of Mathematics, an elderly gentleman in his sixties with gray hair, but in good spirits.
The other three are professors from the department. Cheng Che had met them once or twice before in Professor Liu's office.
The dean stood up and extended his hand to him.
" Cheng Che." His hand was thick and he gripped it tightly. "Congratulations."
Cheng Che bowed slightly. "Thank you, Dean."
The dean asked him to sit down, and then spoke.
"We have confirmed with the editorial office of Annals that your paper will be published in the next issue. This is the first time since the School of Mathematical Sciences was founded that an undergraduate student has published a paper in Annals of Mathematics as the first author. You have brought honor to Peking University."
A professor nearby chimed in:
"It's not just Peking University, it's the entire mathematical community in Xia Country. With this conjecture proven, the entire field of algebraic number theory needs to re-examine some fundamental problems."
Another professor smiled and said, " Old Liu really struck gold this time. When we first made him the corresponding author, we said he was just lucky. Now it seems he had a good eye for talent."
Professor Liu waved his hand. " Cheng Che did it himself. I just put my name on it."
The dean looked at Cheng Che, his tone becoming serious:
"Once the journal is officially published, there will be a wave of discussion in academic circles. At that time, we hope you can return to Peking University to give a lecture. It can be addressed to all faculty and students, and we can also invite scholars from other universities. Would you be willing?"
Cheng Che nodded. "Okay."
Then he smiled and added.
I'm still a student at Peking University.
A moment of silence fell over the conference room.
Then everyone laughed.
The dean laughed the loudest, slapping the table and saying, "Yes, yes, you're still a student. Our student."
Cheng Che smiled too.
He sat there, among a group of gray-haired professors, wearing an ordinary gray hoodie, his mask and hat just removed to reveal an excessively young face.
But nobody thought he was young.
The way they looked at him was as if they were looking at a peer.