Chapter 145: Almost Became a Sinner

In the morning, just after arriving at the library, Xu Qingzhou received a call from Professor Gu Zhizhong. Before he could even speak, the other party had already started.

"Come to my office for a moment."

"Alright."

Leaving his things for Song Yao to watch, he stood up and headed toward the School of Mathematical Sciences. Although Professor Gu Zhizhong hadn't said what it was about, he had already roughly guessed.

As early as four days ago, he had received news from the editorial department of *Mathematical Invention* that his paper had been accepted. They would announce this exciting news to the whole world at the same time they published the paper.

Sure enough, when Xu Qingzhou entered the office, before Professor Gu Zhizhong could say anything, Meng Bin had already stood up, preparing to pour tea for Xu Qingzhou.

"Senior Brother, I can do it myself," Xu Qingzhou said with a smile.

"No, please, let me do it."

I don't understand~ I almost suspected whether I had been studying for a fake graduate degree.

Read! {

Tao Fangqi saw Xu Qingzhou sitting there at first glance and said with a smile, "The younger generation is to be regarded with respect. Student Xu Qingzhou, congratulations on solving a world-class problem!"

In the office, Xu Qingzhou and Gu Zhizhong were discussing. Of course, it was mainly Gu Zhizhong asking and Xu Qingzhou speaking.

Gu Zhizhong nodded, looking at Xu Qingzhou with a complex expression, "Little Xu, I've been teaching for decades. It's no exaggeration to say that you are absolutely the most mathematically gifted student I have ever seen."

"Thank you, Dean Tao," Xu Qingzhou said gratefully.

As for Meng Bin, he had returned to his seat half an hour ago, feeling depressed, to work on his current project.

!.

Originally, they had said they would let this kid hit a wall, retreat in the face of difficulties, and settle down to do research, but who knew he had already figured it out.

"Mm," Xu Qingzhou nodded.

"Of course there is! However, your paper was published in *Mathematical Invention*. If we rewarded you according to the school's paper publication rules, it would make us look stingy. We will discuss the bonus matter in a meeting later; it won't be less than what you deserve."

Around 10 o'clock, two figures walked in. They were both old acquaintances: Dean Tao Fangqi and Professor Jiao Mingwu.

Seeing Xu Qingzhou enter, Gu Zhizhong stopped his pen and gestured for Xu Qingzhou to sit first.

At the same time, at the School of Physics.

"Look, I told you that if we came to Old Gu's place, we would definitely be able to see Little Xu. Look... he's even started calculating already."

Meng Bin looked admiring, thinking to himself that he was worthy of being a big shot who could come up with the Cramér conjecture. Even at this moment, he could remain unruffled and so calm. If it were him, he would have already announced his achievement to the whole world.

Girls' dormitory.

Xu Qingzhou thought of the main business, "Dean, I proved the Cramér conjecture. Does the school have any bonus for this?" Doing experiments, there would be no shortage of places to spend money in the future.

And beside him was a pile of manuscript paper.

"You flatter me," Xu Qingzhou said with a humble smile.

One hour passed just like that.

In front of Professor Gu Zhizhong lay the latest English edition of the *Mathematical Invention* journal.

Ding~ The phone rang.

Meng Bin poured the tea and handed it to Xu Qingzhou respectfully, "Big shot, drink some tea."

Gu Zhizhong smiled lightly, "I knew you were thinking about those bonuses."

"Congratulations."

When his old friend called last night, he was completely stunned.

"Eat first, then lose weight," Ji Yunshi let out a long breath, his eyes complex, as if he were digesting some major news.

Song Yao raised an eyebrow and asked, "The project application was approved?"

Such a talent naturally had to be given whatever he requested. As for the experiment not producing any results, so what? Just consider it as giving some money for our genius to play with! On the road, Xu Qingzhou was preparing to go to dinner when he suddenly received a call from Ji Yunshi.

10 minutes passed, and Xu Qingzhou came out of Professor Gu Zhizhong's office, sending a message to Song Yao saying he was waiting for her at the library entrance.

On the side, Meng Bin had already handed over the manuscript paper and pen.

A moment later, he picked up the phone, and after hearing it connect, he said with a smile, "Little Xu, your project application has been approved. It is currently a key research project of the school. The specific documents will be sent to you in the afternoon."

Ji Yunshi answered the phone, nodded slightly, and his expression gradually became serious, "What?!... We didn't expect it either. Don't worry, I will definitely do a good job with the publicity in this regard."

"Being able to prove the Cramér conjecture has an element of luck," Xu Qingzhou said with a light smile. He wasn't actually being entirely humble; in scientific research, a flash of inspiration is sometimes very important.

"Mm."

"Little Xia, our project has been approved!"

"It is I who should thank you. This time, you have really brought great honor to our Jingda!"

Xu Qingzhou took a look and then said, "Here, the squares on both sides can be transformed (lnpn)^2≈(pn/n)^2. Setting the difference between pn and the successor prime pn+1 to 2k, (pn/n)^2 is divergent."

Gao Junjie's experiment was easier to produce results, and there was Professor Zhang Feng overseeing it. Xu Qingzhou's experimental plan was very rigorous, but listening to other professors' analysis, it was very difficult for this experiment to produce results, and the operational difficulty was on par with some professors' experiments.

As he spoke, he pointed to the journal and said, "It just so happens that you are here yourself. I still have to lead the MCM team, and time is limited. Tell me how this place was bypassed to pn+1-pn=(pn/n)^2=(nlnpn/n)^2=(lnpn)^2."

Xu Qingzhou asked, "Professor, are you doing the verification of the Cramér conjecture?"

Song Yao said, "Treat me to dinner tonight. I want to eat a big meal."

There was only one sentence in his heart: Damn it, is this something a human can solve?! "Luck is also a part of strength," Gu Zhizhong said with a smile. If it weren't for absolute strength being there, even if the opportunity were placed in front of him, he wouldn't have discovered it.

One was Professor Zhang Feng's proud student, Gao Junjie; the other was a rising new star, Xu Qingzhou.

Amidst his emotions, Gu Zhizhong felt incredibly fortunate. Fortunately, he and Old Jiao hadn't poured too much cold water on him at the beginning. Otherwise, the two of them would be sinners in the field of number theory.

Ji Yunshi was comparing the two proposals on his desk.

On the way to eat a big meal with Song Yao, Xu Qingzhou first called Ren Xiaoling to tell her the project was established, and then sent her a pile of experimental data, telling her to take a good look at it.

Ren Xiaoling clenched her fists excitedly.

Xu Qingzhou actually proved the Cramér conjecture!

It seems that these old guys are really not good enough; they don't have the drive of the young people.

"Not losing weight anymore?"

Although she said this, Ding Yongxia shook her head in her heart, still feeling that it was too embarrassing to follow a freshman junior to do a project.

If it weren't for an accidental "epiphany," he might have given up too.

Actually, after listening to Professor Gu talk about that weakened version of the Cramér conjecture last time, he, like this Junior Xu, had really studied the Cramér conjecture, but on the 5th day of contact, he decisively gave up.

Jiao Mingwu's expression was somewhat emotional. He originally thought this kid had already given up; who could have imagined he would throw a deep-water bomb directly into the field of number theory.

A freshman, he hadn't even touched the experimental equipment much, what good things could he come up with.

In January, the weather in Kyoto was cold, especially on a gloomy day like this. The wind scraped against the skin like needles. Song Yao was wrapped up like a penguin, revealing only two round, big eyes.

Looking at the rice noodle shop, Xu Qingzhou was between laughter and tears, "This is the big meal you were talking about?"

"This is something I found with great difficulty. I just don't know how the taste compares to the first shop we ate at," Song Yao pouted, pulling Xu Qingzhou into the shop.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 146 =====