Chapter Sixty-Two: Sleepless
Wu Tong finished her proof late in the evening. Li Yisheng spent considerable time verifying the subsequent reasoning, so by now the city was shrouded in deep night, the streets ablaze with lights, and it was truly quite late.
“People are made of iron, food is steel. Let me take you to eat, teacher’s orders. After dinner, you must go back and rest well. Take care of your health—don’t keep burning the midnight oil like this! You’re young now, so you may not feel it, but so many scholars neglect their bodies, fall prey to illness, and their ambition for research is thwarted. It’s such a pity! Never be careless about this!”
By eight or nine in the evening, most of the dining halls at Jing University had closed, but a few restaurants stayed open until nine or ten. Li Yisheng found a nearby kitchen, ordered a few dishes, and shared a combined lunch-dinner late meal with Wu Tong, then ensured she got back to Shaoyuan, advising her to rest early. Only then did Li Yisheng, humming softly, set out to digest the shock of what he had witnessed.
Late at night, Li Yisheng lay awake on his large bed at home, tossing and turning, his mind half consumed by the undigested astonishment, half filled with meteor-like mathematical formulas streaking across his thoughts.
In the end, his restless tossing drew the forceful intervention of his bedmate—a slap landed on his back. “What are you doing up in the middle of the night, keeping everyone awake?”
“Today, I realized we really are just ordinary people. From now on, let’s not have any expectations for Li Yueling—so long as he’s healthy and upright in character, that’s enough!” Li Yisheng felt he truly needed to adjust his mindset.
If a child’s grades aren’t exceptional, the root cause may lie with the parents—having only given him ordinary genes, they should not demand too much.
Li Yisheng’s wife, Ms. Chen Xuelin, currently served as a professor at Jing University’s Huaguang College, renowned as an expert in economics. She pulled her hair back and sat up halfway; what on earth was this man doing late at night, acting so strangely?
“What’s gotten into you? Did you cross over into the Chinese department today? Why the sudden sentimental turn?” There was already one eccentric in the house; the man was usually reliable, but hopefully he hadn’t been infected by their wayward son.
Otherwise, with one dragging along two, this household would surely fall apart.
“That child I mentioned before—Wu Tong—do you remember?”
“Of course. This year’s CMO, first place with a perfect score even after the difficulty was raised, and a perfect score on the national team exam. Li Yueling getting those results is more than I’d dare to dream!” Ms. Chen Xuelin considered herself quite laid-back. With Li Yueling’s grades hovering at the passing line, and his Chinese scores so atrocious they were an eyesore, she hadn’t even scolded him.
Such children belonged to other families. When Li Yueling was young, she could still hope, but now, she didn’t even think about it. At least, the admissions office was efficient this year and managed to recruit Wu Tong to Jing University.
“Wu Tong proved the Zhou Conjecture today. I verified her reasoning—found no errors. A mystery left unsolved for nearly twenty years may soon be conclusively resolved by a sixteen-year-old girl! Compared to a child like Wu Tong, all our previous pride is meaningless; we’re just ordinary people, so let’s not be too demanding of Li Yueling!” Li Yisheng sighed, stating the facts.
“The Zhou Conjecture? Proven?” Chen Xuelin was utterly stunned. With a mathematician for a husband, she knew all too well the weight of conjectures. If she remembered rightly, Li Yisheng himself had once ambitiously tried to tackle the Zhou Conjecture, only to fail, his efforts ending in defeat.
“No surprises—it’s been proven,” Li Yisheng confirmed with a nod.
“My god… this world is truly mad!” And so, another sleepless soul joined the night.
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[On the Proof of the Zhou Conjecture Concerning the Distribution of Mersenne Primes]
[Abstract: This paper studies the distribution of Mersenne primes and proves 2^(2^n)...]
[Cited References: The Distribution of Mersenne Primes...]
In the Shaoyuan dormitory at Jing University, Wu Tong’s mind was at its most active. She opened her laptop and began editing her paper, referencing the formatting of articles she had seen in mathematics journals—from the title, to the abstract, to cited references, and the main body…
Wu Tong started to edit. This paper required only a single reference, so there was no need for lengthy exposition—a relief, as tracking down sources could otherwise be quite time-consuming.
Compared to the earlier sections where she had to carefully craft her wording, the hardest part—the logical formulae—were now much easier for Wu Tong. Having mastered the document’s mathematical symbol editor, she flew through it. The reasoning she had developed was etched deeply in her memory; she didn’t even need to glance at her draft paper, editing directly from memory.
After two days, Wu Tong finished the first draft of her paper, during which she also spent half a day attending the closing ceremony of the first IMO national training camp selection.
At this closing ceremony, the Chinese Mathematical Society sent representatives, and team leaders from all provinces and cities gathered. The list of those advancing to the second stage of training was announced on site by society officials.
In the tiered lecture hall usually used for seminars, almost everyone present, except a few who were confident of their results, was tense, holding their breath as the names were read aloud.
“First place: Wu Tong, average score 126. Congratulations to Wu Tong, who again ranked first with perfect scores in all four training exams, advancing to the second round!” The team leader from the Chinese Mathematical Society was delighted—a remarkable talent had emerged this year, so consistent in her performance that they could hope for great results at this year’s IMO!
Thunderous applause broke out below, an involuntary expression of admiration from everyone present.
A perfect score in one exam is dazzling enough; but to achieve it in every exam is truly divine. This was the IMO training camp, with each test harder than the last. The students were repeatedly tormented to the brink of despair, beyond the limits of most, but this was not the limit for her.
Every teacher and student present was genuinely awed. Perhaps they were all false prodigies; before this genius, none dared claim to be one.
“Second place: Guo Jiachen, average score 113. Third place…” The list for the second round of the training team was announced. Those whose names were called were so excited they nearly wept for joy; those eliminated could not hide their disappointment—they had truly given their all.
Alas, there’s always someone stronger, and this year, a top genius reigned supreme.
Fortunately, making it into the training team already proved their excellence. Most in attendance had secured recommendation to prestigious universities; it was just a pity that their Olympiad journey ended here, and they could not compete internationally.
This year, Central Plains Province’s strength was considerable; holding the fourteenth spot, another student from Central Plains, Feng Yueyue, also advanced to the second round. Wu Tong applauded from below, proud of her province.
Feng Yueyue glanced in Wu Tong’s direction. Her former sense of rivalry had transformed into heartfelt admiration. Compared to Wu Tong, who had blossomed in adversity, Feng Yueyue had grown up with favorable conditions, but remained untested by hardship.
Wu Tong’s effortless grace made Feng Yueyue’s former pride in her own achievements seem laughable.
Fortunately, she had awakened in time; it was not too late. Even if she couldn’t catch up immediately, she could give her all and keep chasing. She believed her own day of glory would come, worthy of her family’s scholarly tradition.
Wu Tong had set a splendid example. No matter the praise or achievement, she remained steadfast and continued diligently on her academic path.