"You all can ask the questions, and I’ll answer. And uh... this definitely isn’t me being lazy, haha."
The freshmen below the stage laughed again. They felt like East God wasn’t putting on any airs.
A few of the hosting professors exchanged glances.
This segment had been added on the spot; it hadn’t been approved beforehand.
But in the center of the main stage, Professor Tian Gang waved his hand,
signaling for them not to interfere.
After Li Dong said this, a sea of hands shot up from the audience.
The host casually picked one.
A young man with glasses stood up from his seat.
His voice trembled slightly.
"Hello, Li Dong."
"I... I’m a new undergraduate student in the School of Mathematics this year."
He swallowed.
"I’ve loved math since I was a kid."
"What I love is pure mathematics."
"But my family wants me to study applied mathematics."
"They say applied math has better job prospects, while the future for pure math is uncertain."
"I’m caught in the middle, and it’s really difficult."
"Li Dong, should I follow my passion?"
"Or should I listen to my family and choose the safer path?"
When he finished, the entire auditorium fell silent.
Many of the freshmen subconsciously turned to look at the young man with glasses.
The question had clearly struck a chord with many of them.
Li Dong listened, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
"My friend, about that question..."
"To be honest, I don’t know how I should answer you."
"But I would advise most people to study applied mathematics."
The moment he said that, the audience erupted.
Many of the freshmen looked at each other in dismay.
The young man who had asked the question was completely stunned.
He hesitated for a second, then mustered his courage and raised his head.
"Li Dong."
"Do you also think we should prioritize employment and future career development?"
"And give up on our passions?"
Li Dong shook his head.
"No."
"I wasn’t finished with what I was saying."
"When I said I’d advise most people to study applied math..."
"...it doesn’t mean pure math is useless."
"Rather..."
He paused, waiting until all eyes were on him before continuing.
"Pure mathematics is a mountain."
"It doesn’t need that many people."
"Let me give you an analogy."
"Applied mathematics is the plains."
"On the plains, you can grow wheat and rice, build highways, and construct factories."
"It requires many, many hands."
"Every inch of its land has a tangible connection to every ordinary person on this planet."
"That’s why applied math needs lots and lots of people."
"But pure mathematics is different."
"Pure mathematics is a mountain."
"A snow-capped mountain at a very high altitude."
"On that mountain, there is no wheat, nor are there any roads."
"It doesn’t feed anyone."
"Only once every fifty or a hundred years, a small shard of ice breaks off from its peak."
"That small shard of ice falls onto the plains."
"And it’s enough to sustain everyone on this planet for decades."
He paused.
"When Riemann wrote down the zeta function, he wasn’t thinking about bank cards."
"But over a hundred years later, it was precisely his research on the distribution of prime numbers that became the absolute cornerstone of the RSA encryption algorithm behind every mobile payment you make today."
"When Galois placed that stack of manuscripts on his desk the night before his duel, he wasn’t thinking about cell phones."
"But over a hundred years later, it was his manuscript that became the lifeblood of the elliptic curve signature behind the ’Scan’ function you use in WeChat today."
"That snow-capped mountain has never needed a lot of people."
"It only needs those few who can make it to the top and carry that small shard of ice back down to the plains."
"Maybe only one or two in a hundred years."
"Maybe only three to five in five hundred years."
He looked at the young man.
"So when I told you earlier that I’d advise most people to study applied mathematics..."
"...it wasn’t because applied math leads to more success."
"...it’s because that mountain has always belonged to the few."
"What it needs has never been a crowd."
He paused.
"Of course, if in your heart, you have truly set your sights on that mountain..."
"...then climb it."
"Even if you can’t make it to the top in this lifetime, it doesn’t matter."
"Because the path you’ve climbed..."
"...will become the stepping stones for the next person who can reach the summit."
When he finished speaking,
the entire venue was silent.
Several seconds passed.
In the center of the main stage, an old academician slowly rose from his seat.
The vast sea of people below the stage followed suit, all rising to their feet.
Applause erupted with a thunderous roar.
It rolled from the front rows of Yan University’s Centennial Hall all the way to the roof at the very back.
「Half an hour later.」
The two video clips, from Shuimu and Yan University, first made the rounds on their respective campus forums.
In less than an hour, the two clips were edited together and posted on Weibo.
The video’s title was simple and blunt.
[East God’s Dual Opening Ceremony Speeches for Huaxia’s New Generation of Students (Must Watch)]
Two hours later, the topic’s hashtag hit the top of the trending list.
[#EastGodSaysPureMathIsAMountainBelongingToTheFew#]
The comments section absolutely exploded.
[Holy shit, he gave the speech at two of the country’s top universities back-to-back. What kind of special treatment is that?]
[East God, the eternal god.]
[As someone who just finished the college entrance exams, this got my blood pumping.]
["’All the ’you can’t do it’s from the past are null and void starting today.’ I’m carving this sentence on my desk."]
["’Only once every fifty or a hundred years, a small shard of ice breaks off from its peak.’ I’ve never heard anyone explain pure mathematics so beautifully."]
[Honestly, if anyone else said ’pure math is a mountain belonging to the few,’ I’d think they were just being pretentious.]
[But hearing it from East God, all I can think is, goddamn, that’s cool as hell.]
[I suggest this speech be engraved at the entrance of every Project 211 and 985 School of Mathematics.]
[+1 to the comment above.]
Less than three hours after this topic started trending,
a few major domestic media outlets had also picked up the story.
The Guangming Daily ran a short commentary on its front page.
*A Mountain for the Youth—A Review of Li Dong’s Speech at the Yan University Opening Ceremony*.
The body of the commentary wasn’t long.
Its final sentence was screenshotted and shared by countless people.
The era has chosen a mountain.
And a person happened to be walking on it.
「At almost the same moment, in Jinling.」
In front of the main gate of Jinling University, this year’s class of freshmen began to arrive and register one after another.
All sorts of suitcases, duffel bags, and cardboard boxes were piled up from the school gate all the way to the red archway bearing the words "Welcome to Jinling University."
Taxi after taxi stopped outside the archway, then drove off.
「Around noon.」
A dusty Santana pulled up outside the archway.
A short, stout middle-aged man was in the driver’s seat.
In the passenger seat sat a girl wearing a khaki T-shirt.
Her hair was cut to shoulder length.
The girl got out of the car.
She carried a very ordinary suitcase in one hand.
Tucked in her other hand was an acceptance letter.
She waved at the middle-aged man in the car.
"Uncle."
"I can go in by myself."
The middle-aged man nodded, honked the horn, and drove away.
Misha was all alone.
She dragged her small suitcase and walked toward the archway.
The moment she passed under the red archway,
she paused and looked up
at the two large, golden words in the center of the arch.
[Jinling University].
A breeze blew through the archway,
gently sweeping her hair back.
Her lips moved, her voice so soft that she could barely hear it herself.
"I’m here."
With that, she dragged her suitcase and slowly walked into Jinling University.

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