"How much money do you need me to prepare for you to study abroad?" Shen Zhishan asked Shen Qi.

"I don't need money, I just need you and my mother to support me spiritually. Shen Qi said.

Shen Qi has hundreds of thousands of yuan in his bank card, and this income comes from various channels, such as book sharing, scholarships, essay awards, etc.: "Of course, Princeton's tuition is not cheap, and I strive to get a full scholarship in the United States, including Princeton's scholarship and the U.S. government's scholarship." ”

"How much scholarship can Americans give?" Shen Zhishan asked.

Shen Qi: "It's tens of thousands of dollars, it should be enough for the first school year." I'll have my own way to survive in the next few years, don't worry. ”

"After you went to college, I bought you two tickets without giving you a penny. Shen Zhishan's business has become bigger, and he wants Shen Qi to fight for his father, but Shen Qi doesn't give his father this opportunity.

"The top student who ranks first in comprehensive scores does not need to use the family's money. Shen Qi smiled.

During the Spring Festival holiday, Shen Qi completed the compilation of the 9th paper "Proof of the Walsh Conjecture of the Diophantine Equation", which was co-signed with Ou Ye and sent to the receiving mailbox of Acta Mathematica Sinica.

During the Chinese New Year, the editors did not go to work, and to be on the safe side, Shen Qi pre-recorded this paper on arVix.

arVix is a global academic website that provides a platform for scholars from all over the world to communicate.

The period for a paper to be officially accepted by a journal is often long, and during the review process, some authors will upload the paper to arVix for pre-recording to prove originality.

After the winter vacation, Shen Qi returned to Yanda in early March.

The good news is that Shen Qi's application from the Princeton Department of Mathematics has been approved, and Shen Qi will participate in a round of interviews, and if the interview is also passed, he will get an offer.

The interview took place in the capital, and the interviewer was an American, who was in charge of interviewing in Greater China.

"Shen, your data on paper is very good, and it can even be said to be dazzling. The American interviewer is full of compliments.

Shen Qi said in English: "Thank you." ”

"Your hardware meets Princeton's admission requirements, but you also have a lot of competitors, and in September this year, two people from the entire Greater China region will report to Princeton, and the number of applicants will exceed 100. ”

Suffice it to say, all applicants on paper met Princeton's admissions requirements, and those who didn't meet the requirements didn't have the courage to submit their application essays to Princeton. ”

"Then Shen, please tell me about your wonderful experience like no other. The interviewer said with a smile.

Shen Qi also smiled: "Before my sophomore year of high school, I was a student with very poor grades, and yes, I never passed a math exam. ”

The interviewer was a little surprised: "It's really different, the applicants I interviewed before, all of them have excellent transcripts since elementary school. ”

Shen Qi continued: "Suddenly, one day, I felt that such a life was meaningless, so I bought a few college math textbooks for self-study. Since then, I haven't scored more than a perfect score in math until my sophomore year. ”

"So magical?" the interviewer was attracted by Shen Qi's story.

"The Oscar-winning film "Forrest Gump" you made, I like it very much and have watched it many times. Shen Qi said.

"Run, Forrest, run!" Shen Qi shouted in imitation of the tone in the movie, very into the play.

Forrest Gump, who couldn't walk, suddenly ran one day and became the best running man in the United States. ”

"I'm probably the same, I've been running on the road of math like this, and I don't know where the end is, where my Jenny is. ”

"When I got to the IMO field, I realized that I had run so far. ”

"Then keep running, so I started writing essays, eight at a time. Oh yes, I should still be able to publish two math papers by September, and the number ten means perfect for Chinese. ”

"It's not over the race, and maybe Princeton isn't the end. ”

"I'll keep running until the day I can't run. ”

"That's all I've been through, and there's nothing particularly exciting. Shen Qi spread his hands and said.

He has perfect marks for his expressive skills, the interviewer said in his heart.

In fact, Shen Qi's dazzling paper results have been recognized by the Princeton Department of Mathematics, and the interviewer mainly tests the applicant's verbal expression ability, words and deeds.

"Wait for the news, good luck. The interviewer shook hands with Shen Qi, and the interview ended.

Three days later, Shen Qi received an offer from Princeton's mathematics department.

The main content of the offer includes the following points:

1. You have been admitted to the Department of Mathematics at Princeton, and the supervisor of the master's and doctoral programs is Mr. A. Mueller.

2. Please report to Princeton before September 1 this year.

3. You will receive a full scholarship to Princeton.

"OK, it's done!" Shen Qi's heart was over, and the only regret was that Edward Witten had not become his mentor.

In the application essay, Shen Qi expressed his willingness to learn from Fields Medal winner Edward Witten.

The choice was a two-way street, and Witten did not choose Shen Qi as his student.

Mr. Mueller?

Shen Qi checked Mill on Princeton's official website, and this person will be his mentor in Princeton's mathematics department.

Müller is a German, a surname that is as common in Germany as the surname Li in China.

U.S. universities have a hired system, and foreign professors can also teach at Princeton.

According to the data, Professor Müller has won several small prizes, but has not yet touched any of the three mathematics awards of F and A.

Of course, the people who can teach in Princeton's mathematics department are not idle people.

The famous Edward Witten works at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and it is difficult to become his student.

Anyway, Shen Qi has already got an offer from Princeton, let's go and talk about it, take a step at a time.

"Shen Qi, you're finally leaving. Zhou Yu'an said reluctantly.

Shen Qi: "I'll be back in a few years." ”

"Leave him without a plan, and let him go. Zhou Yu'an wrote a sentence to send to Shen Qi, which is a famous sentence by Liu Ruyi, one of Qin Huai's Bayan.

"Brother, I'm sorry for you for the past two years. Shen Qi was also a little sad and a little self-reproachful: "You complain that I often pretend to be B in front of you, but in fact, it is not my will, I promise you that I will try to refrain from it in the future." ”

"You go and talk to Ouye, see if she agrees with your restraint. Zhou Yu'an waved his hand, looking like he had seen through the red dust.

"She hasn't been back to school yet, it's coming, just these two days. Shen Qi said.

"Be nice to her. Zhou Yu'an said seriously, "Confess to Ou Ye before going abroad, officially confirm the relationship between the two of you, you are a man, you must take the initiative, is it possible for Ou Ye to open his mouth and say to you, Shen Qi I like you, be my boyfriend, right?"