I Just Want to Be a Quiet Top Student

"How much money do I need to prepare for you to study abroad?" Shen Zhishan asked Shen Qi.

"I don't need money, I just need the spiritual support from you and my mother." Shen Qi said.

Shen Qi’s bank card has hundreds of thousands of RMB in it. This income comes from various sources, such as share of book publishing, scholarships, paper awards, etc.: “Of course, Princeton’s tuition is not cheap. scholarships, including Princeton scholarships and U.S. government scholarships.”

"How many scholarships can Americans give?" Shen Zhishan asked.

Shen Qi: "It's worth tens of thousands of dollars. It should be enough for the first school year. I will have a way to live in the next few years, so don't worry."

"After you went to college, I didn't give you a penny, but I bought two air tickets for you." Shen Zhishan's business grew and he wanted Shen Qi to fight his father with confidence, but Shen Qi didn't give his father this chance. .

"The top student in the comprehensive score doesn't need to use his family's money." Shen Qi laughed.

After a leisurely Spring Festival holiday, Shen Qi completed the preparation of the ninth paper "Proof of the Walsh Conjecture of the Diophantine Equation", co-signed it with Ouye, and delivered it to the receiving mailbox of "Acta Mathematica Sinica".

For Chinese New Year, the editors do not go to work. To be on the safe side, Shen Qi pre-recorded this paper on arVix.

arVix is ​​a global academic website that provides a communication platform for scholars from all over the world.

The period for a paper to be officially included in a journal is often long. During the paper review process, some authors will upload their paper to arVix for pre-recording to prove originality.

After the winter vacation ended, Shen Qi returned to Yanda in early March.

The good news came that the Department of Mathematics of Princeton passed the preliminary review of Shen Qi's application. Shen Qi will participate in a round of interviews. If he passes the interview, he will get an offer.

The interview location is in the capital, and the interviewer is an American, who is in charge of the interview work in Greater China.

"Shen, your paper data is very good, even dazzling." The American interviewer was full of praise.

Shen Qi said in English: "Thank you."

"Your hardware indicators meet the admission requirements of Princeton, but you also have many competitors. In September this year, there will be two people from the Greater China region to report to Princeton, and the number of applicants exceeds 100."

"It can be said that the paper data of all applicants meet Princeton's admission requirements, and those who do not meet the requirements do not have the courage to submit application documents to Princeton."

"So Shen, please tell me your unique and wonderful experience." The interviewer said with a smile.

Shen Qi also smiled: "Before the second year of high school, I was a student with poor grades, yes, I never passed the math test."

The interviewer was a little surprised: "It's really different. The applicants I interviewed before, all of them have excellent transcripts since elementary school."

Shen Qi continued: "Suddenly one day, I felt that such a life was meaningless, so I bought a few college mathematics textbooks for self-study. Since then, I have never scored anything other than full marks in mathematics. Sophomore."

"So amazing?" The interviewer was attracted by Shen Qi's story.

"Forrest Gump, the Oscar-winning film you made, I like it very much and have watched it many times." Shen Qi said.

"Run, Forrest, run!" Shen Qi shouted imitating the tone in the movie, very engaging.

"Forrest Gump, who can't even walk well, suddenly started running one day and became the best running man in America."

"It's probably the same for me. I keep running on the road of mathematics, and I don't know where the end is, where is my Jenny."

"When I ran to the IMO arena, I realized that I had run so far."

"Then keep running, so I started writing papers, and I wrote eight papers. Oh, by the way, I should still be able to publish two mathematics papers before September. The number ten means perfection to Chinese people."

"This long-distance race is not over, and perhaps Princeton is not the end."

"I will keep running until the day I can't run anymore."

"This is all my experience, and there is nothing particularly exciting." Shen Qi spread his hands and said.

His expressive ability is perfect, the interviewer said in his heart.

In fact, Shen Qi's dazzling paper grades have been recognized by the Princeton Department of Mathematics. The interviewer mainly tests the applicant's oral expression ability, words and deeds.

"Just wait for the news, I wish you good luck." The interviewer shook hands with Shen Qi, and the interview ended.

Three days later, Shen Qi received an offer from the Princeton Department of Mathematics.

The main content of the Offer includes the following points:

1. You have been admitted to the Department of Mathematics at Princeton, and your supervisor for the master-doctorate program is Mr. A. Muller.

2. Please report to Princeton before September 1 this year.

3. You will receive a full scholarship from Princeton.

"OK, it's done!" The big thing in Shen Qi's heart was over, and the only regret was that Edward Witten did not become his mentor.

In the application document, Shen Qi expressed his willingness to study under the Fields Medal winner Edward Witten.

The choice is two-way, Wei Teng did not choose Shen Qi as his student.

Mr. Mueller?

Shen Qi looked up Muller on the Princeton official website, who will be his tutor in the Princeton Department of Mathematics.

Müller is a German, and this surname is as common in Germany as the Li surname in China.

American universities adopt an employment system, and foreign professors can also teach in Princeton.

According to the data, Professor Muller has won several small awards, but has not yet gotten involved in any of the three major mathematics awards of F, W, and A.

Of course, those who can teach in the Princeton mathematics department are by no means ordinary people.

The famous Edward Witten works at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, so it is probably difficult to become his student.

No matter what, Shen Qi has already got an offer from Princeton, let's talk about it after going there, and take it one step at a time.

"Shen Qi, you still have to leave at last." Zhou Yu'an said reluctantly.

Shen Qi: "I'll be back in a few years."

"There is no way to keep him, let him go." Zhou Yu'an wrote a line for Shen Qi, which is a famous line by Liu Rushi, one of the eight beauties of Qinhuai.

"Brother, I've been sorry to you for the past two years." Shen Qi was also a little sad and blamed himself: "You complain that I often pretend to be B in front of you, but I don't actually want to. I promise you, try to exercise restraint in the future."

"Talk to Ouye and see if she agrees with you to restrain yourself." Zhou Yu'an waved his hand, looking disillusioned.

"She hasn't returned to school yet, soon, it will only be two days." Shen Qi said.

"Treat her better." Zhou Yu'an said seriously, "Before going abroad, confess to Ouye and officially confirm the relationship between the two of you. You are a man, so you must take the initiative. Is it possible that Ouye should tell you, Shen Qi I like you, will you be my boyfriend?"