Li Dong was taken aback, not expecting Chen Nan to lead with that.
"I’m only a freshman. I’ve still got three more years."
Liu Qiang rolled his eyes from the side.
"Come on, Brother Dong. I feel like you’re gonna ascend next semester. Can’t say if it’ll be to a master’s or a Ph.D., but it definitely won’t be as an undergrad."
Wang Hao was the calmest of the three. He said coolly,
"It’ll definitely be a Ph.D. Then you’ll graduate in a year or two, and by that time, I can apply to be Brother Dong’s graduate student."
Liu Qiang and Chen Nan were stunned on the spot.
’You’ve got to admit, Haozi’s quick on the uptake.’
’The guy’s already planned things out for the year after next.’
Chen Nan pounded on the bed frame. "Wang Hao, you son of a bitch, you don’t play by the rules."
Liu Qiang also added,
"Brother Dong, to be honest, Old Chen and I have also thought about applying to have you as our advisor, but with Professor Wang... it’s a bit hard to turn him down."
Li Dong shot them a look.
"Get lost. I don’t even have a Ph.D. yet. How could I possibly accept you as students?"
"And stop trying to kiss up to me."
Wang Hao just chuckled and didn’t reply.
Li Dong couldn’t be bothered with them anymore. He stuffed the notebook he had organized into his backpack and got up to head for the door.
The dorm room door opened.
Li Dong jumped.
About twenty people were standing outside the door, just staring at Li Dong with wide eyes.
Their gazes... were very strange.
As Li Dong walked out, the students on both sides automatically parted to make a path with nearly every step he took.
A braver guy pretended to casually brush his arm against Li Dong’s back, muttering under his breath.
"East God, please help me get into a graduate program."
Li Dong: ...
"East God, please help me score over 450 on the CET-6."
Li Dong: ...
"East God, please make that girl from the class next door look at me just once."
Li Dong: ...?
’Fine, fine, fine.’
’He’d make sure to hang a donation box on himself next time.’
He quickened his pace and left the dormitory building.
「Yan University, Jingchun Garden.」
This was the location of Yan University’s International Mathematical Research Center.
Li Dong walked around a rockery and pushed open the door to the small meeting room.
There weren’t many people inside.
Wiles was sitting on the sofa, with Penrose next to him.
Liu Ruochuan was seated by the window.
Across from him sat Mateo Levan.
Only after Li Dong had fully entered the room did he see an elderly, gray-haired man sitting in the very back: Qiu Chengtong.
Li Dong truly hadn’t expected Qiu Chengtong to be here today.
Normally, Qiu Chengtong’s relationship with Yan University wasn’t exactly good.
For him to appear in Jingchun Garden, if any busybodies were to spread the word, it would likely start rumors that Qiu Chengtong had conceded to Tian Gang.
Seeing Li Dong enter, it was Qiu Chengtong who, contrary to expectations, spoke first.
"Li Dong, come, sit next to me."
Liu Ruochuan’s hand, holding his teacup, froze for a moment, but he didn’t speak up to stop him.
After all, even though Qiu Chengtong had a poor relationship with Yan University, his seniority was undeniable. He was a titan in the world of Chinese mathematics, so a junior like Liu Ruochuan naturally couldn’t say much.
Li Dong politely greeted everyone in the room.
Then he sat down next to Qiu Chengtong.
As soon as he sat down, Qiu Chengtong didn’t immediately start talking about the paper, as everyone had expected.
He spoke in a very casual tone.
"Your teacher, Yang Shengguo—Shuimu has already contacted him."
"Our center plans to offer him a position as a special-appointment researcher."
"Your teacher has already accepted."
After hearing this, Li Dong wasn’t actually surprised.
Given this paper, Yang Shengguo could take his pick of any university in the country that researched automorphic forms.
And Shuimu was indeed a very good choice.
The Qiu Chengtong Center for Mathematical Sciences had a certain international reputation, and the offer was for a "special-appointment researcher."
For someone like Yang Shengguo, who lacked a formal Ph.D. but had a top-tier journal publication to his name, this was practically a tailor-made pathway.
More importantly...
’If he, Li Dong, needed to use Shuimu’s resources in the future, he’d have a connection.’
Li Dong nodded.
"Thank you, Mr. Qiu."
Qiu Chengtong waved his hand dismissively.
"With his achievements, he deserves to go anywhere. In fact, it’s Shuimu that has seized the opportunity."
As he said this, Liu Ruochuan’s smile at the side looked a little stiff.
Yan University had actually approached Yang Shengguo as well.
But at the time, everyone was more focused on Li Dong, and Yan University hadn’t immediately realized that "the middle school teacher from Jiangcheng Seventh Middle School in the author list" was also a treasure.
By the time they realized and sent someone to contact Jiangcheng, Shuimu’s phone call had already gone through.
’They were half a day too slow. They couldn’t blame anyone else.’
Qiu Chengtong looked at Li Dong. "I have one more, somewhat presumptuous, request."
Li Dong sat up a little straighter.
"Please, Mr. Qiu. If it’s something I can do, I won’t refuse."
"When you have time, come to Shuimu and give a lecture to the students."
Li Dong was taken aback.
He had thought Qiu Chengtong was going to ask about a specific academic detail, not this.
He didn’t look at Liu Ruochuan beside him, but instead thought it over himself.
’Shuimu is, along with Yan University, one of the two most prestigious universities in Huaxia.’
’Its students are among the best of the younger generation.’
’Giving them a lecture... emotionally, he had no reason to refuse.’
’And in terms of his future development, he planned to dabble in various fields, so building a good relationship with Shuimu certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing.’
So he nodded.
"Alright. Once things here have settled down, I’ll go."
Qiu Chengtong grunted in acknowledgment and said no more.
A subtle silence fell over the meeting room.
Just then, Wiles spoke up.
He rarely initiated a topic of conversation, but this time, he looked directly at Li Dong.
"Li Dong, now that you’re done talking with Yau, I’d also like to ask for your opinion."
"I want to recommend your conjecture to Carlson."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone in the room froze.

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