The key to his breakthrough was right in front of him. Better yet, the author was right here at the university, in the School of Physics. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity slip by.
He stuffed his reading glasses into his breast pocket, snatched the copy of Discrete Mathematics from his desk, and without even taking a sip of tea from his enamel mug, pushed open the door and strode out.
Li Jianming’s pace was brisk, his mind entirely consumed with how he would discuss the details of that matrix with this reclusive Professor Chen.
A little over ten minutes later, he breathlessly climbed to the third floor of the Physics Building and made his way to the familiar office of Vice Dean Alchemist.
The door wasn’t shut completely, leaving a slight crack.
Without knocking, Li Jianming pushed the door open and walked right in.
Inside the office, Alchemist was sitting in an armchair next to the coffee table, having tea with Fang Yuanming from the admissions office. A freshly unwrapped autumn issue of Discrete Mathematics also sat on the table.
"Old Li? What brings you here?"
Alchemist looked up at the sound, taken aback for a moment to see Li Jianming looking so rushed and covered in sweat.
Li Jianming walked over, pulled out the chair opposite Alchemist, and sat down. He placed the copy of Discrete Mathematics he had tucked under his arm onto the coffee table.
"Old Fang, I need a huge favor. It’s a matter of life and death."
Li Jianming blurted out, not even waiting to catch his breath.
Alchemist glanced at the journal on the table, then back at Li Jianming. He had a vague idea of what this was about. He picked up a water pitcher, grabbed a clean cup, poured some water, and pushed it across the table.
"Have a drink and slow down. What’s this about life and death?"
Li Jianming took a large gulp from the cup and casually wiped his mouth.
"You know about my research project on complex network topology, right? It’s been stuck at a bottleneck for months. The computational cost for the redundant calculations is just too high, and I can’t find a way around it."
Li Jianming pointed to the journal on the table.
"This issue just arrived this morning. I opened it up and saw an article on using matrix dimensionality reduction to solve for connectivity."
Li Jianming’s eyes seemed to glow as he looked at Alchemist.
"Old Fang, this approach is brilliant! It’s like an axe clearing a path through the mountains! I just plugged my data into the model back in my office, and it works perfectly!"
Alchemist leaned back in his chair and nodded impassively.
"That’s great news. So you’ve found your breakthrough."
"It is great news, but the author is listed as C. Zhuo... from our very own Keda."
Li Jianming leaned forward, his voice filled with excitement.
"At first I was puzzled. We don’t have a Professor Chen in the School of Mathematics. Then it hit me—that name was also in the acknowledgments of that top-tier physics journal from Princeton over six months ago!"
Li Jianming slapped his thigh.
"Old Fang, we’ve known each other for years. Don’t hold out on me. This Professor Chen must be some reclusive giant from your School of Physics doing interdisciplinary research, right? I should have noticed after that Princeton paper."
When Alchemist heard the words "Professor Chen," the hand holding his teacup froze for a second.
He shot a sideways glance at Fang Yuanming, who was looking down at his tea, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Alarm bells instantly went off in Alchemist’s head.
Of course he knew who C. Zhuo was.
’If Li Jianming finds out that the author of this graph theory masterpiece is just a sophomore... with how fanatical the School of Mathematics is about mathematical geniuses, they’d probably pack up Chen Zhuo, luggage and all, and haul him over to their department by tomorrow.’
’To make matters worse, my own national key project on extreme fluid dynamics is also stuck. The model derivation is hung up at a critical point in the continuity equation.’
’I’d already made up my mind last night while reading the paper. I’m going to pull Chen Zhuo into my lab and use this set of matrix algorithms as a patch for the model.’
’How could I possibly let go of a once-in-a-lifetime genius like this?’
Alchemist set down his teacup, his expression turning serious, even a little troubled.
"Old Fang, you have to introduce me to this Professor Chen."
Li Jianming, completely unaware of the change in Alchemist’s demeanor, sounded utterly desperate.
"My project is in dire straits. If he would just take one look at my model and offer some guidance on applying the dimensionality reduction matrix to nonlinear boundaries, this whole project would be saved! I’d owe you a massive favor."
Alchemist sighed softly and leaned forward, adopting a confidential tone.
"Ah, Old Li, it’s really not that I don’t want to help you with this."
Alchemist’s voice slowed. "This... Old Chen. How should I put this? He’s rather reclusive. He can’t stand being disturbed by outsiders. When he’s deep in his research, he hardly sees anyone, not even people from our own department."
Li Jianming froze for a moment, then grew agitated.
"I’m not trying to disturb him, I want to consult with him academically! We’re peers, just discussing a problem. Of course, his name will be on any resulting publications."
"I know you want to discuss your research."
Alchemist made a calming gesture, signaling for Li Jianming to be patient.
"But that’s not even the main issue. The most important thing is, he’s currently deeply involved in that national-level fluid dynamics project I’m managing."
Alchemist paused, his tone growing serious.
"You know how important that project is. The amount of data we’re processing daily is staggering. Right now, he’s in complete lockdown in the lab, tuning the model. He’s so swamped he can’t possibly get away. If I were to introduce you now... forget about whether he’d even agree to meet you, even if he did, he wouldn’t have the bandwidth to look at your topology code."
Li Jianming’s brow furrowed deeply.
’Someone is in the critical phase of a national-level project. It really wouldn’t be right to barge in at a time like this,’ he thought, even though he was practically crawling out of his skin with impatience.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh, his face a mask of disappointment.
"He really can’t spare any time at all?"
Li Jianming hadn’t given up hope.
"Not a minute to spare," Alchemist said decisively.
"Wait until this crunch period is over. After my project concludes and he has some downtime, I’ll find an opportunity to see if I can arrange a meeting for you two. You can have tea together."
Li Jianming glanced at the journal on the table and nodded in resignation.
"All right, Old Fang. You’d better remember your promise. The moment he’s free, you have to introduce me. My project is banking on his approach for a breakthrough."
"Don’t worry, I won’t forget," Alchemist promised with a smile.
Li Jianming stood up, picked up the copy of Discrete Mathematics from the table, and tucked it back under his arm. Looking preoccupied, he gave Alchemist a wave, then turned and walked out of the office.
Only when the footsteps in the hallway had faded away did the composed, helpless expression vanish from Alchemist’s face.
He let out a long sigh of relief, pulled a tissue from the box on his desk, and wiped his forehead.
Fang Yuanming, who had been sitting silently to the side, set down his teacup and finally burst out laughing.
"That was some impressive verbal judo. You conjured a reclusive Professor Chen out of thin air, complete with being in lockdown to tune a model. You had Old Li completely fooled."
Alchemist shot him an irritated glare and tossed the used tissue into the wastebasket.
"And you’re laughing! Don’t you know Old Li? For a breakthrough algorithm, he’d tear Keda apart to find the source. I managed to block him today by using the national project as an excuse, but if he starts asking around campus, it’s only a matter of time before he finds out about Chen Zhuo, the student from the youth prodigy program."
Alchemist stood up and paced back and forth behind his desk.
’In the world of academia, recruiting talent is all about getting there first.’
’As long as Chen Zhuo officially joins my core lab and becomes a legitimate member of the project team, then even if Old Li finds out the truth, trying to poach him would mean stealing a key researcher from another department.’
’Old Li is a man who values his reputation. He probably... possibly... wouldn’t do something like that... right?’
’But first, I have to make this relationship official, and fast.’
Alchemist stopped pacing, snatched the phone from his desk, and dialed Xue Boyong’s number.
The phone rang twice before it was answered.
"Hello? Elder Xue? This is Alchemist."
Alchemist’s tone was curt and to the point. "Could you please check if Chen Zhuo is in his dorm? If he is, have him come to my office immediately. That’s right, not this afternoon. Right now."
After hanging up, Alchemist sat back down in his chair.
He stared at the other, still-unopened copy of Discrete Mathematics on his desk, his fingers tapping lightly on its cover.

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