Ch 50 (Part 2): Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

They were unaware of the issue of Fang Ziyang’s college entrance exam scores being switched. They simply returned to school to join in the excitement of the professors from Tsinghua University and Nanjing University coming. After all, both of them had applied to these two universities.

As true third-year high school students, they were genuinely excited to have the opportunity to meet professors from their future universities.

The three of them entered the auditorium and hadn’t even sat down when they coincidentally ran into Yan Tong and Fang Qianhao.

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, they become jealous.

Fang Ziyang’s heart was surging with waves, but his expression remained calm.

Yan Tong and Fang Qianhao couldn’t control their emotions and revealed their jealousy and smugness. Especially Fang Qianhao, he had never been able to control his temper before, and now it was even worse. Because of Fang Ziyang and Tang Xun, he had lost everything except his identity as Young Master Fang.

When Fang Qianhao saw Fang Ziyang, his eyes instantly emitted fire, as if he wanted to rush forward and hit someone.

Although Yan Tong was not as impulsive, he couldn’t hide his jealous and triumphant expression on his face. The repeated defeats had made it impossible for him to maintain his previous composed demeanor.

However, in front of everyone, Fang Qianhao couldn’t actually do anything. He could only snort disdainfully and leave.

Fang Ziyang didn’t pay attention to such childish behavior. He remained in a good mood and found a seat to sit down.

The other students, teachers, and journalists who came to listen to the speech also entered one after another.

When the scheduled time arrived, the school leaders and the professors from Tsinghua University and Nanjing University took their seats, and Yan Tong’s speech as the top scorer of the college entrance exam officially began.

…

Because he was afraid of exposing himself, Yan Tong had prepared his speech very carefully today.

He had Sun Zhi retrieve ‘Liu Jia’s’ test paper and answers and thoroughly studied all the steps, just in case he was questioned during the speech.

Although he was still anxious, the fact that the real protagonist, Liu Jia, wouldn’t come and the thorough preparation by Fang Yandong gave Yan Tong confidence during the speech.

However, to be on the safe side, Yan Tong’s speech mainly focused on encouraging younger students, motivating classmates in the same grade to work hard in university, and so on… There was less content related to his own college entrance exam and studying issues.

Principal Zhou and the other school principals from different schools nodded in approval while listening. They thought the speech was well done.

Although their academic qualifications were also good, they weren’t specialized researchers. It was normal for them to miss some deeper insights. They were satisfied with Yan Tong’s emphasis on speaking some superficial words. That’s how a speech should be.

However, Professor Meng from Tsinghua University and Professor Xu from Nanjing University became more and more frowning as they listened.

They came today to hear Yan Tong talk about his own studying, his views on mathematics, and the analysis of his college entrance exam answers. They didn’t come to listen to meaningless speeches.

After enduring for a while, when Yan Tong briefly touched upon the topic of studying again, they had barely listened for two minutes before he finished speaking.

And then…

And then, he started with official nonsense again.

Professor Meng had a quick temper. He had taken the time to fly here specifically today, so he couldn’t waste his time like this.

When Yan Tong paused after another round of nonsense, he finally couldn’t hold back and stood up, patiently asking, “Student Yan Tong, your speech was very impressive, and we are delighted that No. 1 High School has produced a student of your caliber. I came here today specifically because I have a question that I’d like to seek your advice on…”

Note that he said “seek advice” rather than “ask.”

As a professor from Tsinghua University, Professor Meng actually used the phrase “seek advice,” which indicated how much he valued today’s speech and recognized Yan Tong’s “abilities.”

Professor Meng was a mathematician who was deeply passionate about academic research. In his eyes, when it came to judging people, age and gender didn’t matter; he only looked at their abilities. If he recognized someone’s mathematical ability, even if the person was an elementary school student, he would treat them as an equal.

When Professor Meng stood up, Yan Tong felt a bit uneasy, but he couldn’t ignore him.

He forced a smile and said, “Professor Meng, please don’t be so polite. Just ask your question directly. I will tell you everything I know.”

Professor Meng’s face immediately lit up, and he said, “Great, then I won’t beat around the bush. Here’s the thing: I’ve seen your answer sheet for the college entrance exam, and there was a geometry problem. I want to ask why you decided to introduce another variable, x, at that moment.”

“It may seem unnecessary on the surface, but upon careful analysis, it was the key point that greatly reduced the difficulty of the entire problem. By using your method, I was able to make significant progress in my current research on mathematical problems…”

Professor Meng was an academic enthusiast, and he started using various professional terms and explanations.

Yan Tong smiled on the surface but internally he was screaming in frustration.

He understood every word Professor Meng said, but when they were put together, it felt like he was listening to a foreign language. What on earth was he talking about? What x value? What p-value… he couldn’t understand anything!

In fact, in the entire auditorium, except for Professor Meng and Professor Xu from Nanjing University, who were on the same level, only Fang Ziyang could understand what Professor Meng was saying.

Seeing Yan Tong’s composed smile on the stage, Fang Ziyang almost burst out laughing.

Although he wasn’t as impressive as his older brother, who could prove one of the ten major mathematical conjectures, Fang Ziyang had extraordinary talent in mathematics as well.

Therefore, he had some extra thoughts when it came to taking the math test.

During the exam, he used obscure and simple steps in his solutions. It wouldn’t affect the teachers’ grading, but it would allow those who were “in the know” to understand the points he wanted to emphasize.

Those seemingly ordinary steps actually had a significant impact on the calculations of many difficult math problems.

Nowadays, all countries around the world pay increasing attention to technological development, and China was no exception.

Mathematics is the foundation of all scientific research, so Fang Ziyang believed that top-notch universities like Tsinghua and Nanjing University would definitely review the perfect score math papers each year to identify talented individuals in mathematics.

And now it was being proven. His idea was validated.

“…So, Student Yan Tong, can you explain in detail why you thought of introducing this x value? Your approach is truly novel,” Professor Meng concluded after a barrage of professional terms.

Professor Meng’s eyes were full of curiosity as he looked at Yan Tong.

The old man’s enthusiasm for mathematics was so adorable.

Yan Tong had no idea how to respond. His forehead started to sweat.

What novel approach? Wasn’t it just a random choice of an x value in the solution method? Could it really have a significant impact on the calculations of math problems? Wasn’t it a bit too fantastical?

Staring at Professor Meng, who was full of fervor, Yan Tong clenched his fist with his nails digging into his palm. He could only force a smile and give a generic answer.

“Well, regarding this question… I’m sorry, Professor Meng. It was just a momentary inspiration. Right now, I only have a vague idea of a new approach, and there are still some parts I haven’t figured out. It would be embarrassing for me to discuss it with you without clarifying those doubts. Can I take some time to refine my thoughts and discuss it with you later?”

Although his reasoning was somewhat weak, inspiration could indeed strike during mathematical calculations.

Professor Meng was extremely disappointed, but since Yan Tong had explained it so clearly, he couldn’t continue to press him. It was normal for someone not to want to share when they hadn’t fully understood it themselves.

“Alright.”

Professor Meng sat down, feeling a bit unhappy. He had come here today with high hopes.

Seeing the old man sit down, Yan Tong breathed a sigh of relief.

But in the next moment, Professor Xu from Nanjing University stood up.

Professor Xu was much younger than Professor Meng and looked like a middle-aged bookworm with his black-framed glasses.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Hello, Student Yan Tong. I came here today because I also have a question about one of your answers in the college entrance exam. In the third question of your applied math section, I noticed some calculations related to the Collatz conjecture. Are you conducting research on the Collatz conjecture?”

As Professor Xu said this, the fervor in his eyes was no less than that of Professor Meng.

The Collatz conjecture was also one of the ten major mathematical conjectures in the world, and it was on par with the Goldbach conjecture previously verified by Tang Xun. It was also a focus of attention among mathematicians worldwide.

Even the students who couldn’t understand the professional terms had some understanding of this kind of problem.

Suddenly, everyone in the auditorium looked at Yan Tong with different eyes.

The Collatz conjecture! One of the ten major mathematical conjectures! Yan Tong was actually researching this! How could there be such a huge difference between him and the other high school seniors?

Fiery gazes stared at him.

Yan Tong was at a loss.

Of course, he knew what the Collatz conjecture was, but knowing it made him even more confused. Wasn’t Liu Jia just an ordinary student with slightly better grades? Why would he be researching the Collatz conjecture, which was so impressive? This was a rhythm that was going to drive him crazy!

Yan Tong stood on the stage with a forced smile, unable to utter a word, his mind blank.

And Professor Xu didn’t notice anything wrong with him.

Professor Xu was in the midst of discovering a like-minded mathematical genius. Seeing that Yan Tong didn’t respond immediately, he thought Yan Tong didn’t know which question he was referring to.

So, he took off his suit jacket, climbed onto the stage, and grabbed the computer to start typing on the keyboard.

Then the problem and its solution process that he mentioned were projected onto the screen through the PPT presentation, appearing in front of everyone.

Professor Xu excitedly pointed at the screen and passionately said to Yan Tong, “It’s this question. Look, these are the steps from your answer sheet that I have reconstructed…”

“Take a closer look, here and here, these processes are commonly used in the calculations related to the Collatz conjecture. Only someone who is researching this mathematical problem would habitually solve it like this. Yan Tong, you must be researching the Collatz conjecture, right?”

All eyes in the auditorium were fixed on Yan Tong.

Yan Tong stood there in a state of panic, not knowing how to respond.

What could he say? Should he admit it? But what if they asked him about the extent of his research? What if they gave him some problems to solve on the spot?

Should he deny it? Then how could he explain why his solution steps coincided with someone else’s research habits?

Yan Tong swallowed nervously, trying to come up with a generic response.

“Bang!”

A sound of tables and chairs colliding came from the auditorium.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the noise.

They saw Fang Ziyang standing up, his expression a mix of shock and anger. His eyes were red, and he pointed at the PPT on the stage, loudly demanding, “Yan Tong, why did my math solution end up in your answer sheet? Why are your solution steps exactly the same as mine, even down to the extra calculations?”

His words echoed through the silent hall.

The entire audience fell into silence.

Yan Tong’s mind exploded with a bang, and he stood there motionless.

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