At the same time, in a private dining room on the third floor of the hotel, Li Jian Gao was chatting with a few friends from the mathematics community.
Dinner had actually been finished already.
However, these academic friends were spread all over the country in various universities and research institutes, and it was not easy to meet up regularly, so naturally, they wanted to chat a bit more.
As the conversation picked up, someone suggested going to the tea house in the hotel to have a cup of tea in the afternoon, and everyone responded eagerly.
Li Jian Gao checked the time and then shook his head, "Why don't you go ahead, I have something to do this afternoon, so I won't join."
"Professor Li, the conference doesn't start until tomorrow. What could you possibly have to do this afternoon? It's not easy for us all to gather together, don't be a killjoy!"
"It's not that, I've got a kid to take care of," Li Jian Gao explained with a wry smile.
"A kid?" Everyone was taken aback in unison.
They all knew that Li Jian Gao was not married, so it was naturally even less likely that he had a child.
This left Li Jian Gao at a loss for an explanation, so he could only vaguely say, "A truly mathematically gifted child, but there are some issues with his personality, um, social anxiety, I guess? His parents have entrusted him to me these days, and right now, he is still alone in the room looking at the computer."
"Social anxiety? Then he really should be exposed to more social interactions. Here's the plan, Li, we'll first go to the tea room and reserve a private booth, then you go back to the room and bring the kid down. We can all sit together and chat. A child you feel has a real talent for mathematics, we'd like to see just how impressive he is."
The professor who spoke was named Zhang Chunlei, from the School of Mathematics at Jiangcheng University, a senior professor and the oldest and most experienced among this group of mathematics teachers. At 48, he had also received the title of Yangtze River Scholar, so Li Jian Gao really couldn't afford to snub his face.
After hesitating for a moment and considering that the few people gathered together actually had agreeable personalities, he smiled and nodded, "Well… okay then, the kid's name is Qiao Ze. It's true that his personality is flawed, I will go and ask for his opinion. But let me say this in advance; if he says something out of line later on and offends everyone, you all better not take it too seriously!"
"Haha, Li, who do you think we are? Would we really stoop to the level of a high school student? Go on and bring the person. The tea room is on the second floor; I'll reserve the private booth and send you a WeChat message."
...
Li Jian Gao returned to the room and saw Qiao Ze still sitting in front of the computer. The eaten meal boxes had also been tidied away neatly, which further improved his impression of the kid.
At least he wasn't the type of child who, aside from having talent, was useless in other aspects.
But before he could offer any praise, Qiao Ze spoke first, "Professor Li, I have been thinking about the problem you mentioned just now, and I've come up with a solution. When publishing papers, I can subtly lay a few traps. If anyone wants to steal my paper and fails to discover the traps I've set, I can expose them.
However, this solution is not perfect. Because, as you said, there are currently no more than twenty people specializing in this problem, and in the worst-case scenario, if they all collude, it might take the academic community more than ten years to prove that I am right. Even if the case is overturned by then, it would be meaningless to me.
So I think I should follow your advice. I need to build up my knowledge, figure out how to get to university, and when I'm strong enough, then I can formally tackle this issue. This way, I have double insurance! Thank you for talking to me about this. From now on, with anything involving interests, I will think through at least two layers of safeguarding before I make it public."
Li Jian Gao was stunned.
Actually, what he had wanted Qiao Ze to think about was not this.
It was to make the kid understand the importance of normal social interactions by realizing that it takes more than one person to help a hero.
But clearly, Qiao Ze's interpretation was far different from what Li Jian Gao had intended, yet it could not be said that Qiao Ze was wrong.
After all, "a cautious pilot steers a ship for years" is a bona fide principle of life.
In the end, Li Jiangao chose to nod with a smile and said, "The fact that you've thought of these things is already very good. By the way, there's something I want to tell you; I introduced you to some friends and colleagues of mine over dinner. They're now downstairs having tea—all professors who have immersed themselves in mathematics for ten, twenty years. Would you like to come down with me and meet them?"
After finishing, he added, "I think it would benefit you to interact with them early on and get to know the university circle better. Eventually, when you go to university, you'll have to learn how to deal with your professors."
Qiao Ze thought for a moment and then nodded, saying, "Alright then."
Li Jiangao, seeing how straightforwardly Qiao Ze had agreed, was at a loss whether to be happy or alarmed since he couldn't quite trust the boy's disposition. So, he added, "Then let's go together, but I have a request for you. Before you speak, think it over in your head like you do with every decision—whether you should say it or not. Can you do that?"
Qiao Ze pondered for a while before nodding and replying, "I should be able to."
Seeing the boy's somewhat uncertain look, Li Jiangao sighed internally, but still managed to smile and say, "Okay, then let's go."
He couldn't possibly cure a child with communication barriers to become normal in such a short time, even if he were a deity. But at least things were moving in a positive direction. This was enough to comfort Li Jiangao greatly, and he even felt a full sense of achievement.
...
Li Jiangao led Qiao Ze out of the room.
As they stepped into the elevator and were alone, Qiao Ze suddenly spoke, "Teacher Li, actually I have a secret, and if I tell you, can you promise not to tell anyone else? Including my mom."
Li Jiangao nodded without hesitation and said, "Sure! I promise I won't let anyone else know."
Qiao Ze pointed to his head, saying, "There might really be something wrong here, it's just that the hospital can't detect it."
Li Jiangao pursed his lips, really wanting to kindly tell the boy that he actually knew, and that the hospital had already diagnosed him... it's Asperger's Syndrome, isn't it!
But Qiao Ze quickly added, "I know the route, no, my mom is very anxious. But actually, not every time I take an exam do I purposely leave a blank script. Because if the exam questions don't engage my mind, after a while, when I look at the test paper again, the words and symbols turn into little dancing people, and then my mind wanders off elsewhere."
Li Jiangao was stunned.
Originally, he was thinking that if the child's psychological issues could be resolved in these three days, he would be able to perform well in the college entrance exam, and scoring over 600 points wouldn't be a problem.
In previous years, the admission score for Xilin University of Technology in Xingcheng was around 660 points.
With the boy's intelligence, scoring around 660 was entirely feasible, and if the score was just a bit short, he could think of a way.
If the score could be even higher than expected, even if Qiao Ze chose a better 985 university than Xilin University of Technology, such as one of the top institutions in the Capital, Li Jiangao wouldn't mind.
But if this was the situation, they could only rely on the university's independent admission process.
Arranging sufficiently challenging questions with the professors should allow the boy to focus fully on the exam, right?
Li Jiangao, who hadn't cursed since graduating from college, now felt like swearing directly at someone...
What kind of divine problem is this?!