"Do you know what the people in the School of Mathematics are like? They’re a bunch of lunatics. The moment they see a good Miao, they don’t care if you’re a growing kid or if you’re sleeping. They’d chain you to a blackboard and make you derive formulas twenty-four hours a day if they could."
Fangshi reached out and tapped the photo on the fax paper.
"Chen Zhuo has supreme talent in physics, too. That discrete algebra matrix isn’t just a mathematical display; it’s the physical manifestation of his intuition for physics. The fact that he can use this method to solve fluid dynamics problems proves he’s fully capable of becoming a top-tier theoretical physicist. I told him to get some proper rest precisely because I was afraid Old Li and his gang would disturb his normal physics studies!"
The moment he said that, the atmosphere in the office instantly changed.
If, just a moment ago, it was merely two old men bickering over a white lie, then Fangshi’s words now were a true, open declaration of war.
’Disturb his normal physics studies.’
Li Jianming was no fool.
The fury in his eyes completely cooled the instant he heard that sentence.
In its place was an unprecedented sense of crisis and heartache.
He finally understood what kind of trick Fangshi was pulling.
’Declaring a major in his third year.’
’Fangshi is trying to make the situation irreversible.’
Li Jianming slowly straightened up. He didn’t slam the table again. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze falling icily on Fangshi, who was still seated.
"Fangshi."
Li Jianming’s voice had become unnaturally calm.
"You say he has a talent for physics? You say he’s suited for fluid dynamics?"
Li Jianming let out a cold laugh and shook his head.
"Stop kidding yourself. You know better than I do that there’s no physics intuition in that discrete algebra matrix. That is the purest theoretical mathematics, with no impurities whatsoever."
Li Jianming took a step forward, glaring at Fangshi.
"He created a high-dimensional topological map out of thin air, forcibly severing the continuous variables you use in physics! What is that? That’s mathematics cleaning up your mess! It’s shoring up the shoddy work left by your crappy, underpowered computers!"
Fangshi’s expression turned ugly, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t retort.
"A mind of this caliber."
Li Jianming’s voice began to tremble, a shudder born from a mixture of excitement and anguish.
"A mind that can build an algebraic matrix from scratch, publish in *Discrete Mathematics*, and one day found his own school of thought... you want him to calculate engineering parameters for a wind tunnel? You want him to work on approximations for some pieces of junk?"
Li Jianming’s voice suddenly boomed, exploding in the spacious office.
"That’s an insult to mathematics! It’s a criminal waste of a god-given talent!"
Li Jianming turned to Zhou Qiping, his tone firm and decisive.
"Principal Zhou, there’s no room for discussion today. This Chen Zhuo must come to our School of Mathematics! A pure math Miao like this, a one-in-a-million talent, absolutely cannot be ruined in the engineering-focused dye vat of the Physics Department! I’m going to talk to the dean of the junior class right now. I want to see his file!"
The moment Fangshi heard this, he shot up from his chair, not even bothering to pick up the blue folder that had fallen to the floor.
"Li Jianming, have you lost your mind? He’s doing just fine in our lab! What gives you the right to say he’s going to the School of Mathematics just because you want him to? Don’t you understand mutual selection? Chen Zhuo wants to stay in the Physics Department himself!"
"He’s a twelve-year-old kid! What does he know about mutual selection? You tricked him into it!"
Li Jianming roared back without yielding an inch.
Seeing that the two old men were about to come to blows, red-faced and yelling, Zhou Qiping gave a heavy cough.
"Both of you, sit down!"
Vice Principal Zhou’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was filled with authority.
Fangshi glanced at Zhou Qiping and sat back down resentfully. Li Jianming, face still cold, remained standing, his chest heaving violently.
Zhou Qiping rubbed his temples.
The way things were unfolding completely confirmed his suspicions.
’For Keda to have such a Miao is a blessing. The more fiercely they fight, the more precious this seedling is.’
"What’s all this arguing about?"
Zhou Qiping picked up the fountain pen on his desk and twirled it a couple of times.
"Declaring a major is a matter for next year. According to school regulations, we must respect the student’s own wishes. What’s the use of you two bickering here now?"
Zhou Qiping looked at Li Jianming.
"Old Li, didn’t you come running to me today for that complex network topology project? Now that we’ve found the person and he’s right here at the university, are you going to solve your problem or not?"
Those words pulled Li Jianming back to reality.
’That’s right.’
’Poaching the kid is for later. Right now, there’s a stack of Laplace expansions on his desk that he can’t derive any further. That national-level conjecture that’s had him stuck for five months is still at a dead end.’
Li Jianming took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the impulse to snatch the boy away.
Arguing was one thing, but fighting was another.
As long as the boy could help him find the general term formula and solve that problem, he didn’t care if he was a twelve-year-old. Even if Chen Zhuo was a baby who still wet the bed, he, Li Jianming, would accept it.
Li Jianming turned his head and looked at Fangshi.
"Fangshi."
Li Jianming stared at him and said, word by word.
"I’m not going to argue with you right now about which department he goes to. Since the person isn’t some old professor but a twelve-year-old student, this is even easier. He understands graph theory. He understands matrices."
Li Jianming extended a finger and pointed at the internal phone next to Fangshi.
"You are going to call that little monster over here for me, now. Immediately. Right this instant. My eighth-order Laplace expansion is still missing a boundary compensation term. I expect him to figure it out for me today!"
Fangshi sat there, his brows knitted into a tight knot.
He had considered every possibility, but he never calculated that Old Li would be so crazed as to swallow his pride and take on the posture of seeking guidance from a twelve-year-old boy.
He turned to look at Zhou Qiping, hoping Principal Zhou would intervene.
"Old Fang."
Zhou Qiping leaned back in his chair, meeting Fangshi’s gaze. His tone was gentle, but his stance was firm.
"Call him over. I also want to meet this mysterious C. Zhuo of our university and see what kind of young man he really is."
The principal had spoken, and Old Li was blocking the door.
Fangshi knew there was no getting out of it today.
He sighed helplessly, picked up the receiver of the black desk phone, and dialed the internal number for his lab.
The phone rang twice before it was answered.
"Hello, is this Zhang Yuan?" Fangshi’s tone was sour. "Is Chen Zhuo in the lab?"
The person on the other end said something.
"Alright, tell him to drop what he’s doing and come to the Vice Principal’s office on the third floor of the administration building right away."
After speaking, Fangshi slammed the phone down with a CLACK.
The office fell silent once more.
Only this silence was no longer born of anger, but of a taut, intense anticipation.
Li Jianming stared intently at the mahogany door, his breathing somewhat heavy.
He was determined to see with his own eyes what this little monster—who could construct a high-dimensional map on paper out of thin air and run circles around old fossils like them—actually looked like.
Zhou Qiping held his teacup, his gaze also fixed on the doorknob.
Fangshi, still in his chair, bent down to pick up the blue folder from the floor. He dusted it off, mentally calculating how he was going to protect his precious treasure from these two ravenous wolves.
Time ticked by, second by second.
From the end of the hallway, the sound of footsteps gradually grew louder, drawing closer and closer to the Vice Principal’s office.
One step, two steps.
The footsteps stopped just outside the door.

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