Chapter 456: Song Yao: Wait Until I Support You

At this end, Xu Xu Qingzhou and Song Yao crossed the street and turned a corner into Yandong Garden.

Xu Xu Qingzhou thought of the two people he'd just met and still felt the vibe was off; he muttered strangely, "These two have progressed fast."

Song Yao, seeing Xu Xu Qingzhou's odd expression, asked, "Envious?"

Xu Xu Qingzhou smiled and teased, "Of course I'm envious—I'm waiting for someone to support me too."

Song Yao snorted and said, "I already have several SCI papers—I'll graduate early for sure, and I'll support you eventually."

At the current pace, she could graduate two years early, but still lagged behind this guy.

She still had to work and save for her dowry.

The task was daunting.

Both were somewhat tired; back home, they wasted no time and collapsed into bed.

The room was very quiet.

Meanwhile, online, the internet had exploded.

At noon, the Peking University News Center and Renren had released press releases, complete with ceremony photos and summaries of academic contributions.

Thus, Xu Xu Qingzhou's report once again topped the trending list.

"Holy shit, he's already a Peking University Honorary Professor and an MIT math professor at 21—my 21-year-old self is still dominating the Summoner's Rift."

"The gap between people is bigger than the gap between people and dogs."

"Xu Shen is awesome!"

"So it means Xu Xu Qingzhou is mainly teaching at MIT, and his position in China is just honorary."

"Before long, he'll probably become an American citizen—Tsinghua and Peking University do this every year."

"Training talent for America—old tradition."

"Here come the conspiracy theories again."

Online was buzzing, but Xu Xu Qingzhou's side remained normal—he simply had no time to care about online gossip.

In the afternoon, Song Yao went home to review materials, while he went to the lecture hall for the symposium.

The symposium proceeded as usual—fast; the 28th and 29th passed in a blur.

In academic atmosphere, Peking University did lag behind MIT and Princeton.

But Xu Xu Qingzhou still gained immensely.

On the first day, everyone studied whether the zero distribution correlated with random matrix theory or ergodicity in chaotic systems.

Together with Academician Chu Chu Jiangfeng, they introduced analytic techniques from sieve theory to optimize error terms in sieves, hoping to expand the boundaries of prime number distribution research.

Some scholars also asked whether the statistical pattern of zero spacings followed the GUE distribution.

But this was not currently within Xu Xu Qingzhou's research scope.

Additionally, scholars studying the abc conjecture, like Germany's Professor Spencer Owen, demonstrated reconstructing the analytic portion of the inter-universal Teichmüller theory in the abc conjecture using Xu Xu Qingzhou's analytic methods.

The two-day symposium went smoothly.

There were, however, skeptical scholars.

For instance, Professor Huo Jinchuan from Fudan University demanded Xu Xu Qingzhou explain whether the term-by-term integration in Section 6.3 satisfied uniform convergence.

To save paper length, Xu Xu Qingzhou had glossed over this part in his paper.

He performed the calculation on the spot, citing the Lebesgue dominated convergence theorem, drew a contour on the complex plane, and annotated residue computations.

The symposium lasted only two days, yet its content rivaled MIT's; Xu Xu Qingzhou was utterly swamped, working nonstop for two days, and his jet lag was completely reversed.

This busyness lasted until June 30, Saturday, when he finally had a moment to breathe.

At 2:30 p. m., the cottage welcomed two visitors.

Of course, Guo Guo Ziyang and Ding Ding Jiahui—whom he hadn't seen in half a year.

The four sat down to catch up, too lazy to eat out, and decided to buy groceries to cook hotpot themselves.

The two girls went to the kitchen to prepare ingredients and whispered girl talk, while the two boys lounged lazily in the living room.

Xu Xu Qingzhou tossed an apple to Guo Guo Ziyang: "How've you been?"

The guy had dark circles under his eyes—he looked more exhausted than Xu Xu Qingzhou, who'd just adjusted his jet lag.

"I was debugging code until 1 a. m. last night."

Guo Guo Ziyang didn't peel the apple—he bit into it with a crunch and sighed, "Now I finally understand how exhausting being a salary slave is. College life was so much easier."

"What are your plans?"

Xu Xu Qingzhou silently sighed—everyone had to get beaten down by society before appreciating their past lives.

"I'll just work for now, save money for two years. Actually, two friends approached me about starting a small studio together, but—"

Guo Guo Ziyang shrugged. "We've all just graduated; our past projects all had professors guiding us. No experience, no funding, no connections—too risky to start a business."

Xu Xu Qingzhou strongly agreed.

In the kitchen, the two girls were also exchanging life experiences.

Ding Ding Jiahui tilted her head, glancing at the two boys in the living room, and lowered her voice: "Yao Yao, do guys really like touching and fiddling around?"

"Huh?" Song Yao froze mid-washing vegetables. Had Xu Xu Qingzhou's weird behavior been exposed?

"You know, groping and stuff—and like I said before, he really likes playing with my hands."

Ding Ding Jiahui didn't notice her friend's reaction and sighed: "Since we moved in together, I realized he's nothing like the quiet guy he looks like. I read some online explanation saying guys and girls are different…"

"Maybe."

Song Yao felt guilty.

Ding Ding Jiahui asked curiously: "Is Xu Xu Qingzhou like that too?"

"A little bit." Song Yao decided not to reveal Xu Xu Qingzhou's weird habits—after all, she sometimes encouraged them herself.

"Then it's normal."

Ding Ding Jiahui relaxed and muttered, "But with your personality, Xu Xu Qingzhou wouldn't dare bully you—I should learn from you."

Song Yao felt even guiltier.

At six p. m., the hotpot bubbled vigorously, its aroma filling the living room and dispelling the dust and mildew from long disuse.

"Toasting to our reunion," Xu Xu Qingzhou raised his glass.

"Toasting!"

Everyone raised their glasses.

Ding Ding Jiahui suddenly remembered something important: "Xu Xu Qingzhou, has your one-million-dollar prize been deposited yet?"

"You look like a money-grubber."

Xu Xu Qingzhou chuckled helplessly: "Not yet—it has a two-year verification period."

According to the Clay Mathematics Institute's standards, a proof published in a reputable international journal must pass a two-year verification period and review by an expert panel before the prize is awarded.

"Oh well, I thought you were already a millionaire." Ding Ding Jiahui looked disappointed.

Xu Xu Qingzhou said, "Money's trivial—your sister will earn money to support me eventually."

"Yao Yao, listen—Xu Xu Qingzhou wants to live off you!"

Ding Ding Jiahui immediately complained to Song Yao.

"Mm, I agreed."

Song Yao nodded calmly.

"."

The meal lasted until past 8 p. m.; Xu Xu Qingzhou and Guo Guo Ziyang took charge of cleaning up without hesitation.

Song Yao had washed the bedding the day she arrived; the spare room was still usable, so Guo Guo Ziyang and Ding Ding Jiahui had no rush to leave.

Next, the four sat down, pulled out their phones, and started two games.

By 11:30 p. m., after a quick wash-up, the campus beauty was claimed by Ding Ding Jiahui—the two girls held hands and headed to the master bedroom, leaving the spare room to the two guys.

The small gathering ended; the next morning at 11 a. m., they bid farewell to their two friends, and Xu Xu Qingzhou and Song Yao boarded a flight to Rongcheng.

(End of Chapter)