Top Student at Their Peak
Chapter 338 - 127: No Choice but to Double the Efforts!_2

Chapter 338: Chapter 127: No Choice but to Double the Efforts!_2

Otherwise, what if this guy finds out about their project through other channels and solves it effortlessly?

At least in the current situation, they can still say that their previous research was valuable, at least helping Qiao Yu organize the framework of the problem.

With this problem solved, he can finally start tackling the next phase of the project!

The world is so wonderful.

...

The distance from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Berkeley City, California is about three thousand kilometers, which is also the distance from the East Coast to the West Coast.

For many smaller countries, where a weather forecast can be summarized in one sentence, it’s probably hard to imagine what it feels like to be so far apart yet still part of the same nation.

The answer is probably not so pleasant, especially when a country does not use the same time zone.

Being part of one big family yet having a three-hour time difference makes internal communication troublesome, especially for large companies and scholars who need to communicate frequently. Mixing up the time for important meetings happens often.

While Zhang Xinwen felt relieved and excited, Professor Ronald in Berkeley City had also completed the missing steps in the work.

Unlike Zhang Xinwen, Ronald completed the comprehensive proof process while video chatting with Li Lixing.

Although it was already 1:30 a.m. in Cambridge, it was only 10:30 p.m. in Berkeley City.

So Ronald could express his emotions more freely than Zhang Xinwen.

"You know, Li, when you said we should add a kid to the team, I initially wanted to refuse. It would make academic research less pure! If it weren’t for that Qiao finding the loophole in the Geometric Langlands Conjecture proof, honestly, I would have definitely refused!

Now, it seems that decision wasn’t right. Luckily, you convinced me back then. Of course, it wasn’t you who convinced me, but him with that flawless proof process! Do you know? Now, I really want to know how he came up with it! The idea is just brilliant!"

Ronald said excitedly to the camera.

Clearly, the professor doesn’t hide his feelings when he’s thrilled.

But it doesn’t matter, back when Li Lixing suggested adding some fresh blood to the project team, Ronald wasn’t keen on the idea, especially considering the candidate was just a sixteen-year-old boy.

In fact, Berkeley Branch also accepts many students whose grades are not up to standard, which makes Ronald feel disgusted.

The only blessing is that these students often don’t enroll in the Mathematics department.

Initially, Ronald thought Qiao Yu might just be one of those students.

He believed someone hoped to use their project results to pave the way for the future of this sixteen-year-old from Huaxia. Such things are actually quite common in academia and what made him angry was that there was no exchange of resources...

The other party seemed genuinely to believe that such a sixteen-year-old child could help with their project.

He had raised doubts back then.

It wasn’t until Li Lixing compiled some of Qiao Yu’s achievements into an email and vouched for him with his own academic reputation that he reluctantly agreed to allow Qiao Yu to participate in the research.

However, they also agreed that if Qiao Yu didn’t make any contributions in the project group, he would have the right to refuse Qiao Yu’s name on the paper in the end.

But now it seems, that agreement is already nullified.

Qiao Yu has already made significant contributions to the project group, and even if he makes no further contributions, he is still qualified to have his name on the paper.

If this project can yield results, it deserves to be published in a top journal.

Due to the rigorous academic standards of top journals, or at least their apparent rigor, the authors will still need to specify the specific contributions of each person in the appendix.

Undoubtedly, overcoming one of the most challenging theorems in this paper not only grants this once-doubted sixteen-year-old the qualification to be listed on the final paper but also prompts the team to seriously consider where Qiao Yu’s name should appear once the project is completed.

Jumping from one dilemma to another.

This is based on the assumption that Qiao Yu no longer focuses on this project. If Qiao Yu does make more significant contributions, Ronald even thinks the team might need to start considering the awkward issue of whether to give Qiao Yu the first author position.

"I don’t know either, but I’ve already told Qiao Yu that we’ll hold a team meeting in about seven or eight hours, where he can tell you in person about the inspiration behind constructing this series of proofs."

"Alright, but why not now? You know, I’m too excited to sleep! It’s cruel of you to make me get up so early!"

"Ronald, you have to consider that Professor Zhang is in Cambridge City, and there’s still a three-hour time difference between you. If he misses this meeting, he’ll probably be furious. Of course, if you need to ensure your sleep, you could move the meeting to nine hours later, at 10:30 p.m. Huaxia time, and I believe Qiao Yu wouldn’t be asleep yet."

"Oh, right, the damn time difference! You know, when I first learned that Huaxia spans five time zones but doesn’t have the concept of time difference internally, how envious I was? Really, that feels like a complete country! Unlike this mess, where different states can’t even unify their time!"