America."It"s ours!"
"Well done!"
"It"s James!"
"Hahahaha!"
…
England.
"Sure enough, it was won by an American!"
"There"s almost no suspense for the Physiology or Medicine Prize."
"Hai."
…
The Netherlands.
"Congratulations to him."
"The medical world has another doctor who has ascended to the top."
"The Americans have occupied this position for the past three years."
…
China.
"When will the Literature Prize be announced?"
"The Literature Prize and Peace Prize have always been the last to get announced every year."
"I can"t wait to find out!"
…
At the venue.
James"s acceptance speech ended.
Round after round of applause rang out from the audience until James left the stage. All of the world"s media were still showing him on their live broadcast. At this moment, he was the star of the show and the focus of attention of the entire world. Perhaps some people didn"t know about James"s contributions to the medical field or this their first time hearing his name. However, that was not important now because everyone knew what it meant to be able to win a n.o.bel Prize.
Ha Qiqi applauded.
Zhang Ye was also clapping.
After some time, the live broadcast cut back to the main stage.
The foundation"s director stepped back onstage.
The director said, "Next up, I will be revealing the recipient of this year"s n.o.bel Prize in Mathematics."
All of a sudden, the Mathematics Prize nominee zone fell silent.
Zhang Ye turned his attention to their direction with a look of interest.
Little w.a.n.g said with a tinge of regret, "It"s a pity we didn"t get shortlisted for that award."
Ha Qiqi said, "Yeah. If Director Zhang had been willing to make a push for it, we might have gotten nominated for the n.o.bel Prize in Mathematics as well. However, each person can only be nominated for one award each year. Otherwise, we could have vied for the Mathematics Prize, the Physics Prize, and the Literature Prize. Who knows, we might"ve won all three of them. Then that would truly be unprecedented!"
Zhang Ye rolled his eyes in response. "Old Ha, you"re overthinking things."
Ha Qiqi laughed and said, "In any case, we"ll be vying for the n.o.bel Prize in Mathematics someday too."
Little w.a.n.g said, "And the Physics Prize as well!"
Zhang Ye laughed. "We don"t even know if I can get the n.o.bel Prize this time, but you two are already thinking about winning three of them? I don"t even dare to think that far and high!"
On the stage.
The director said in a clear voice, "The recipient of this year"s n.o.bel Prize in Mathematics is—English mathematician Hank House!"
Anthony cried out in surprise, "It"s one of our English mathematicians!"
Everyone in the venue turned to look.
All the cameras were now aimed at an old Englishman in his 70s!
Hank House was slightly startled, although his expression didn"t make him look particularly excited. However, when he pushed himself out of his chair, everyone discovered that his hands were trembling. They were trembling with excitement.
There was thunderous applause!
Bba bba bba bba!
When the old man went up on stage to receive his medal, the applause became even more enthusiastic!
It was as though all of the world"s applause was for him alone in this moment!
Little w.a.n.g asked, "Director Zhang, do you know him?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I"ve heard of his name before, but I haven"t had any dealings with him. He"s a very famous mathematician in the global mathematics world and was nominated for the n.o.bel Prize when he was still in his 50s. This time, his wish has finally been fulfilled."
The compet.i.tion for the Mathematics Prize this time was a very close one. At least four of the candidates were very strong contenders for the prize, which had made it very difficult to distinguish who would win. Perhaps due to a variety of reasons and also after discussions by the committee, they decided to present the award to House in the end. He was a veteran in the field who had dedicated his entire life to mathematics.
Next up.
The Chemistry Prize.
The Physics Prize.
The Economics Prize.
The recipients were announced one by one!
Each time they announced the results, the entire venue would shake from applause as it filled the auditorium. One after another, new n.o.bel Prize winners emerged. Right now, only the Literature Prize and Peace Prize remained to be awarded. These were also the prizes that attracted the most attention of the people each year and were the highlights of the award ceremony! Although there were cases of these two awards getting announced first in the previous years, it didn"t happen often. By and large, they were announced at the end of the awards ceremony. These were also the n.o.bel Prizes that this world"s people were most familiar with and the most interested in.
…
In the rest of the world.
France.
"We didn"t even win a single one this time!"
"What a pity!"
"The Americans actually got two of the awards!"
...
In Germany.
"The Physics Prize is ours!"
"Hahahaha!"
"It"s enough winning one!"
"We"re still the authoritative voice in the field of physics!"
…
Korea.
"There"s nothing for us?"
"We were only nominated for the Economics Prize, but it was won by an American."
"Hai, when will our country finally have a n.o.bel laureate of our own?"
"Don"t worry, there will surely be one in the future."
"The Chinese are in the same boat as us. They"ve never had any of their citizens win a n.o.bel Prize before."
"Haha, I feel better hearing that."
…
India.
"It"s here!"
"The next award to be presented is the Literature Prize?"
"You can do it, Bangalore!"
"It"s all up to you now!"
"The Chinese and j.a.panese writers definitely can"t beat you!"
"Bring home the n.o.bel Prize for India!"
"The award should have been yours 10 years ago!"
…
China.
"It"s finally time!"
"I"m so nervous!"
"Will Face-smacking Zhang stumble at the finish line?"
"Who knows what the n.o.bel Committee will choose!"
"Honestly, I still feel that Bangalore has a greater chance of winning."
"The main reason is that Zhang Ye"s works are too few in number. In the global novels industry, he only has Gone with the Wind as his representative work. If he had more time to write a few more novels, he would stand a much greater chance of winning the award."
…
At home.
His mother was staring wide-eyed as she waited. "It"s almost time!"
His father took a deep breath and sat bolt upright.
Wu Zeqing was smiling with Sisi in her lap.
Sisi was also staring intently at the television with wide eyes.
…
At Zhang Ye"s Studio.
Everyone was here today.
"It"s time for our turn!"
"Ahhh, Director Zhang, you can do it!"
"Give the award to us! Give the award to us!"
"We"re only one step away from breaking into the international celebrity rankings!"
…
Zhang Yuanqi"s house.
Ning Lan was visiting today.
"Sister Zhang, do you think he can win it?"
"I don"t know."
"If he can do it, he will be making a great contribution to the country."
It wouldn"t just be a great contribution. He would be hailed as a national hero."
"Yeah, the n.o.bel Prize is too important to China!"
…
At Spring Garden"s place.
"Amy, come quickly!"
"I have a stomachache!"
"They"re giving out that award soon!"
"Ah? They are? Aiyo, wait, wait, let me pull on my pants first!"
"Quick! Hurry up!"
…
j.a.pan.
"They"re about to announce the Literature Prize recipient!"
"Just don"t let Zhang Ye win it!"
"Right, I"d rather the Indian writer win this n.o.bel Prize!"
"It mustn"t be given to that Chinese writer!"
…
The outside world was in a mess!
Countless people were guessing about who would win!
Countless people were debating who should win!
Compared to the announcements for the Mathematics and Economics Prizes, the Literature Prize was causing a great debate across the world before the winner was even announced. The amount of comments on the Internet made it obvious, with three, four, or even five times more comments than the discussions that the other prizes had generated. Perhaps everyone around the world already had their choice of winner.
Anthony gave Zhang Ye a nudge. "It"s all up to you."
Zhang Ye said helplessly, "Everyone stands an equal chance of winning it."
Felicia was also holding her breath.
The Literature Prize nominees around them also looked very tense in this moment.
The gaze of many of the reporters and other n.o.bel Prize nominees were directed over here as well!
They saw how calm Zhang Ye looked.
They saw how conflicted the j.a.panese author was.
They also saw that haughty and arrogant look on the Indian author"s face.
The live broadcast camera was pointing at all of them, and everyone"s expressions were different.
The n.o.bel Committee"s director was already standing onstage.
The medal.
The card.
They were right beside him.
When the card was flipped open, the name of the Literature Prize recipient would be announced.
n.o.body knew if the director was doing it intentionally, but he took out the card very slowly, likely because he knew that the global viewers.h.i.+p was at its peak and that the attention given to the Literature Prize and Peace Prize was completely different from the previous awards.
The director smiled. "There are still two more n.o.bel Prizes to announce."
The people in the audience could no longer sit still!
Many of the viewers watching TV were also getting very anxious!
The director said, "So then, I"ll first announce the recipient of the n.o.bel Prize in Literature."
Gulp.
Gulp.
The sound of him swallowing could be heard.
The director said in a slow manner, "The recipient of this year"s n.o.bel Prize in Literature is—"
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The director looked into the audience and announced, "Indian author Bangalore!"
Little w.a.n.g face fell. "It"s over!"
Anthony could only give Zhang Ye a squeeze on the shoulders. "Alas!"
Felicia kept shaking her head. "As expected!"
The j.a.panese author sighed.
Only Bangalore was smiling with delight. It was the first time a lot of people saw him smile.
However, the applause at the venue wasn"t enthusiastic in the least. This was because everyone viewed him as the hooligan of the literary world!
Ha Qiqi felt a little dejected and said, "Director Zhang?"
Zhang Ye let out a chuckle and said, "It"s alright, there will be another chance in the future."
"B-But how can we wait any longer?" Little w.a.n.g said bitterly.
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I"m lucky if I get it; it"s my fate if I don"t."
He knew that his chances of winning this n.o.bel Prize were not that great. If he could win it, he would naturally be very excited. But not winning it was expected as well. Ever since Zhang Ye boarded the plane in Beijing to come to England, he knew.The n.o.bel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the n.o.bel Prize in Economics