Chapter 83: I Don’t Believe It
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Of course, Lu Zhou did not blame Professor Liu.
Professor Liu probably knew that his cla.s.s was pretty useless for me and he doesn’t want to waste my time. Does he probably mean that I don’t have to attend?
But what if I don’t get full marks…
Lu Zhou felt that the probability was low.
Since Lu Zhou was out of the game, the cla.s.s became more enthusiastic. Luo Rundong, the second genius of the cla.s.s quickly calculated the results and raised his hand to solve the problem.
[…]
[… is the exact differential equation.]
[The general solution is: lny/x+xy/(xy)=C]
Professor Liu gave a concise comment and smiled before saying, “Not bad.”
The cla.s.s bell rang.
Professor Liu was punctual and he finished his last words as soon as the bell rang. He then dismissal cla.s.s.
The students in the cla.s.sroom packed up their stuff and rushed toward the cafeteria.
For the first two months of the year, the cafeteria would be packed. The newly enrolled first-year students were extraordinarily enthusiastic and they would steal the good food before the older students got there. It was horrible.
Lu Zhou also flocked to the cafeteria. He was smart and did not go to the self-service area. Instead, he went to the barbecue rice window counter.
Then…
He was recognized.
“F*ck me, it’s Lu Zhou!”
“Please, go first.”
“Genius, are you still using your advanced algebra notes? I want to buy it… Can I at least copy them? I’ll pay!”
“Student, I heard you got 100% in mathematical a.n.a.lysis and advanced algebra. Do you have any tips for studying?”
These first-year students were too enthusiastic and they even let Lu Zhou cut in front of the line. Lu Zhou thought, “I only want to eat some food, not like this…”
Why are they taking my pictures! It’s enough!
Finally, after Lu Zhou bought his food, he found a quiet corner and sat down.
Just as he sat down, his phone rang.
It was Dean Lu calling. The moment Lu Zhou picked up, he heard, “Lu Zhou, there’s an interview in the afternoon. Come to the laboratory building later.”
When Lu Zhou heard the word “interview”, he instantly felt a headache coming.
“Dean Lu, can we cancel the interview?”
Dean Lu was surprised and asked, “Why?”
“Dean Lu, the excessive attention by the media has affected my daily life and studies. I think Professor Tang is correct. Academicians have to focus on academics and avoid fame,” Lu Zhou said firmly.
It was not that he actually did not want fame.
It was because he was scared.
The last two times he went on trending was during the summer holiday and by the time school started, his fame had pa.s.sed.
However, this time, he was bombarded by the media at the beginning of the semester. He was basically like a giant panda in the zoo. Coupled with the school’s promotion, there was no one in the school that did not know who Lu Zhou was.
Within the time frame of his meal, there were two young ladies talking to him. Three students asked for his WeChat while four other students asked if he was interested in joining some random society or clubs.
There was even a master’s girl student who asked if he wanted to cooperate on an SCI thesis.
Lu Zhou was annoyed and he replied to her in a harsh manner, “Not interested, thank you!”
Awkward, Dean Lu said, “This… I understand your difficulties. I promise you this is the last time! Also, this interview would be giving you a prize. Are you sure you’re not coming?”
Lu Zhou asked, “Prize?”
“Didn’t Dean Qin tell you? The Jin Ling Daily and vice president of the Industrial Commercial Jin Ling will be there, the prize money…”
“I understand, Dean Lu. I’m coming right now!”
Lu Zhou hung up and quickly finished his food. He did not want to waste another second and immediately walked to the laboratory building.
…
The next day, Jin Ling Daily’s headline once again shocked everyone.
[20-year-old student in University of Jin Ling overcomes a world-cla.s.s mathematics problem, wins a million yuan prize!]
The article had a photo of Lu Zhou and Princ.i.p.al Xu where they were holding a ma.s.sive ICBC cheque.
His fame that was about to die down was re-ignited by this one million yuan cheque.
When the crowd saw that string of zeros, they were astonished.
[Oh my G.o.d, a million yuan for a question! Easy money!]
[A question a night, 100 nights that’s 100 million. I think I found a new way to make money (dog head)]
[From today I’m studying mathematics. I’m turning off my phone, nothing is going to stop me!]
[The University of Jin Ling is too rich…]
[Male G.o.d! ! ! (heart) (heart) (heart)]
[My graduate thesis is about proving the Mersenne primes distribution law. I’ve been working half a year on it, but now that his conjecture is proved, my work is useless! I just want to smoke in silence. (cry) (cry)]
[We need to find a psychologist for that guy above.]
[Even if you tried your best, you will never be better than some people. (dog) (dog)]
The discussion was not only on Weibo but it was spread to every comment section of every major newspaper, from every blog to every forum.
The news was re-posted on the University of Yan’s forum.
[University of Jin Ling? Does the University of Jin Ling have a mathematics department? Aren’t they just a physics school?]
[I’ve read that thesis, the author is a genius! It’s a pity that he didn’t come to Yan University.]
[My PhD advisor told me about this yesterday. Apparently, when Professor Ren went to University of Jin Ling to give a talk, Ren Changming instantly saw that Lu Zhou was extraordinary and he tried to persuade him to come to the University of Yan.]
[What happened?]
[Don’t know, guess he didn’t come. For this type of nutty person, he’s probably looking at schools like Princeton or Stanford!]
Of course, not everyone was jealous and impressed. There was quite a lot of criticism. Some people said that the award was too much. Other people said that the media over-hyped the value of Zhou’s conjecture and that over-hyping might trick the public into being too optimistic about the current education environment, thus hindering the reformation of education…
However, only a small percentage of people were criticizing. After all, having a theorem named after a Chinese man enhanced national confidence.
This was what the advertis.e.m.e.nt departments used to promote Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou was well aware of the things happening online.
His Weibo followers had reached 200k. His direct messages were at 99+.
This time, no one asked for him to write a thesis, instead…
[Lu Zhou, do you have a girlfriend?]
[Lu Zhou, do you date online?]
[Lu Zhou, are you dating? I can cross-dress.]
Lu Zhou: ? ? ?
It’s just an article photo, why are these people so excessive?
“Stay away from me”
Lu Zhou pretended that he did not see these messages and just as he was about to close Weibo, he remembered that this was a good opportunity.
His eyes lit up and his fingers quickly tapped on the screen as he typed an advertis.e.m.e.nt for “Campus Train” before sending it out.
Satisfied, he waited for a bit.
After that, Lu Zhou refreshed Weibo and looked at the comments.
He was shocked.
[This app hasn’t been updated in a month. Is it even alive? (smile)]
[Lu boss walks into a shop. Everyone laughs at him and said, ” Boss Lu, you’re advertising on Weibo again?” Boss Lu didn’t respond, he said to the worker, “One advertis.e.m.e.nt, please.” He pulled out the stack of money and the people shouted: “Your app is dead!” Lu boss said, “Why are you guys lying…” “We’re not lying! Your app is on the bottom of the rankings.” Lu boss was furious, his veins popped and said, “It’s on the bottom because of… The off-season!” Then Lu boss tried to justify his app’s performance with words like “not the holidays yet”, or “students aren’t riding trains”. The crowd started to laugh at him…”
[Chen Duxiu, please sit down, you’re blocking the blackboard from Lu Xun!]
[The only time the genius logs onto his Weibo is when he’s on trending.]
[I’m feeling better now, even a genius has shortcomings.]
[A million yuan can last you for how long!]
[Please, go back to studying mathematics!]
[This guy only posts ads, never responds to messages, unfollowed.]
Lu Zhou: ? ? ?
What the h.e.l.l?!
Why are people hating on me?
Maybe because I forgot to do a giveaway?
These people are so greedy!
Lu Zhou was especially unhappy when he saw people calling his app dead.
What do you mean dead?
How is it dead?
It’s only because I was busy, so I didn’t work on it!
Also, the users are there, it’s just the user activity is low… What kind of student takes the train every day?
F*ck sake!
Lu Zhou was in disbelief.
He was going to be successful!