Chapter 437: Neither of Them Has the Non-Champion Vibe

After helping Song Yao finish her model, Xu Xu Qingzhou's own progress was also going smoothly.

He had already calculated the quantized version of the classical Hamiltonian as: 【\hat{h}=\hat{p}+\hat{p}\hat{x}】.

Currently, he was trying to link the energy level density of the quantum system with classical periodic orbits, hoping to derive a trace formula.

He attempted to correlate the distribution of zeros of the zeta function with the statistical properties of classical periodic orbits, such as closed orbits in chaotic systems.

Although no clear path toward solving the Riemann Hypothesis had yet emerged, the direction was at least clear—perhaps one day, when the mist cleared, he would suddenly find mathematical truth right ahead.

Deep down, Xu Xu Qingzhou even felt he was about to part that veil of mist.

So, for this period, he stayed indoors, devoting all his energy to finding suitable physical tools.

Yet, several major events had indeed occurred in the mathematical community during this time.

Professor Shirley Acosta of the Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Jianqiao announced a Jieduanxing achievement in estimating upper and lower bounds for nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function.

She successfully proved that all zeros have real parts between 0.45 ≤ Re(s) ≤ 0.515, surpassing the accuracy of Professor Maynard's team.

Mathematician Caucher Birkar announced his proof of the finiteness of Fano varieties, resolving a long-standing conjecture in algebraic geometry regarding minimal models.

As a result, two more names were added to the shortlist for the August Fields Medal.

Xu Xu Qingzhou, however, paid little attention—he continued his calculations methodically, and on April 16, he even went to campus.

Professor Roberts had said yesterday he noticed an interesting phenomenon during computation and asked if Xu Xu Qingzhou wanted to collaborate.

When he arrived, only Horn was in the office.

After not seeing him for a while, Horn had grown a long beard; he smiled and greeted Xu Xu Qingzhou: "Xu, Professor Roberts will be here in ten minutes—we can have some coffee first."

"Gladly."

Xu Xu Qingzhou sat down with a smile—Horn's coffee was truly exceptional.

Horn asked: "Any good news?"

"Regrettably," Xu Xu Qingzhou shrugged.

"Aren't you going to publish your paper on the upper and lower bounds for nontrivial zeros?" Horn thought of the recent news from Jianqiao.

"I'd rather keep calculating than spend ten days polishing an imperfect proof," Xu Xu Qingzhou said helplessly.

His calculations had reached a critical stage—he couldn't afford to waste time organizing a paper.

Or rather, he had a bit of confidence that no one else could narrow the bounds of the zeros to his current range in the short term.

Horn shook his head, staring at Xu Xu Qingzhou with exaggerated disbelief: "Xu, even though I'm used to your insanity, I still have to say—you're fucking incredible!"

"But you have the ability—I believe no one in this world is closer to uncovering the truth of the Riemann Hypothesis than you."

After his remark, Horn extended an invitation: "Want to grab a drink tonight?"

"Sorry, I've got plans," Xu Xu Qingzhou shrugged. Though the bars around weren't too rough, he had no fondness for them.

Besides, he was going jogging with Song Yao in the evening.

"Alright, let me tell you about yesterday's problem—model distillation. We're trying to transfer knowledge from a complex model to a lightweight one, but no matter how we calculate, it only worsens the long-tail effect."

Horn handed over the manuscript.

Half an hour passed.

Professor Roberts returned, smiling: "I heard from an old friend that your name's on the Fields Medal shortlist. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Xu Xu Qingzhou smiled in thanks—he was certain to win the Fields Medal.

That was precisely why so many schools and professors had reached out to him.

It was like reserving a Fields Medal slot for the institution.

"Xu, I really suggest you act a little more excited—otherwise, me and the professor will be crushed."

Horn said, sounding morose.

"I'll try harder next time."

"."

Next time?

Only at 6 p. m. did the three finish their discussion, concluding two solutions—the rest was left to Professor Roberts and Horn.

After several days of light rain, Tuesday finally cleared. The sun was pleasant; as evening approached, its light softened, and walking by the river, one could smell the fresh scent of mud and algae.

Two young people strolled leisurely along the riverbank.

Xu Xu Qingzhou nodded toward a snack cart in the distance and turned to Song Yao: "Want to grab a bite?"

"No," Song Yao shook her head firmly.

They'd promised to lose weight—months had passed, and she'd shed only one pound. Xu Xu Qingzhou was her downfall.

Xu Xu Qingzhou sighed. Song Yao wasn't fat at all, yet no amount of persuasion worked.

At a corner, Song Yao pulled Xu Xu Qingzhou around a bend, taking a different route—though it added ten minutes, it perfectly avoided the snack stalls.

Control your mouth, move your legs—that's the best way to lose weight.

Xu Xu Qingzhou spotted a lottery shop called Joe's Market: "If I'm lucky, maybe I can find a loophole in the lottery."

"You're more likely to win by just buying tickets," Song Yao shot back coldly. Someone had once calculated lottery loopholes, but now it was impossible.

"Forget the lottery—let's buy scratch cards," Xu Xu Qingzhou was tempted.

"Waste of money."

Song Yao wasn't keen—she and Ding Jiahui had scratched those fifty-cent cards before and rarely won.

"If you had the luck of a non-champion and won five million, you could finally afford to support me."

Xu Xu Qingzhou had already made up an excuse for her.

"Alright then."

Song Yao hesitated—maybe she'd try dreaming of supporting Xu Xu Qingzhou.

The two entered the shop and spent forty dollars on two scratch cards.

Xu Xu Qingzhou scratched his card quickly, paused, stared again, unwilling to accept it—he examined it for ages, finally making out the words written all over the surface: "No Win."

A loser's failure.

Xu Xu Qingzhou sighed inwardly and leaned over to look at Song Yao's card.

Unlike Xu Xu Qingzhou, Song Yao scratched hers with ritual precision—one row at a time, methodically moving to the next.

And then—no win either.

The ritual meant nothing.

Neither card yielded a prize—not even the lowest prize of twenty dollars.

Song Yao pulled Xu Xu Qingzhou out, face stern—clearly, neither of them was the type to take shortcuts. Yet this guy still wanted to buy two more, claiming he couldn't believe his luck was this bad.

Pfft—if they spent another forty, how were they even going to live?

Xu Xu Qingzhou glanced back at the lottery shop, disappointed: "I'll keep that five million saved—come back for it next time."

"No next time. Let's go!"

Song Yao winced at the thought of forty dollars wasted—it could've bought groceries for two full days.

(End of Chapter)