It was the afternoon of the day the Chern's Mathematics Prize was announced.

Institute of Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Sitting in the office, Academician Xiang Huanan, with old 'flower' glasses, carefully stared at the mathematical yearbook on the table, the pen in his hand, and counted on the paper from time to time.

To learn is to live and learn.

Especially for those engaged in mathematics research, new achievements are born almost every month, such as the top journal of mathematics, which the old gentleman never misses, and whenever a new edition is published, he must read it as soon as possible.

Just then, an unexpected guest visited his office.

As soon as he entered the 'door', he shouted with a smile.

"Old Xiang, what are you doing?"

Xiang Huanan raised his head and saw Wang Xiping walking into the office, took off his old 'flower' glasses, and said with a smile.

"Yo, rare guest."

As he spoke, he looked at the student at the desk next to him: "Xiao Li, go and pour a cup of tea for Professor Wang." ”

"Okay."

The student named Xiao Li put down his pen, skillfully brought the electric kettle, and respectfully poured a cup of tea for the two old professors.

It's not the first time I've come here to have tea, Wang Xiping is naturally not polite, after taking the cup, he sat next to the coffee table placed on the wall of the office, and leaned comfortably on the sofa.

While flipping through the periodicals, Xiang South China said in a casual 'tone' to this old friend.

"If you don't go to the math conference, what are you doing here?"

"It's not to give me an award, I'm going to join in the fun, why don't you come here and blow the air conditioner for a while." Wang Xiping smiled and continued, "But although I didn't go, I heard that this conference was a bit interesting, and the opening ceremony in the morning actually invited Qiu Chengtong, and awarded the Chern's Mathematics Prize to the young man in his twenties. Originally, it was rumored that this Chen Award belonged to Yang Zhiguang of your Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ma Changan of Aurora University, but it seems that the surname Ma was kicked out. ”

The amount of information is a bit big, and the big one is surprising.

However, what surprised Mr. Xiang was not who won the award, but ......

"Wang Shicheng, that old guy, actually bowed his head to Qiu Chengtong?" Looking away from the journal, he looked at his old friend in South China, and his tone was full of surprise.

Because of the matter of a professor surnamed Tian, Mr. Qiu and the Department of Mathematics of Yan University had an unpleasant quarrel, which can be said to be a well-known thing in the mathematics community.

In 01, Yan University packaged Professor Tian, who was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and pretended to be a full-time professor of Peking University to select domestic academicians. However, Qiu Chengtong was very faceless, and criticized in the newspaper by name, "A doctoral student I took before was second-rate in mathematics, and he had to get a high salary in China", and later in 05 he accused him of academic fraud, and listed seven papers that were plagiarized.

This incident caused a stir in China at the time, but in the end it ended in a low-key manner.

However, Mr. Qiu and Liang Zi of the Yan University faction have never been unraveled. It is precisely because of this that the Yau Center for Mathematical Sciences finally settled in Mizuki University, rather than Yan University, which has the highest mathematics department in the country.

Of course, although there are many mountains of domestic academic circles, not everyone belongs to a certain faction, after all, not everyone is keen on power.

Especially those old professors who are already old, they have already achieved fame, their names are academic capital, and their own theories have become their own in the world, and some things are not too obsessed and not accounted for at all. After all, for them, a lot of things are very light.

For example, Professor Wang Xiping belongs to people who do not attach much importance to fame and fortune, and belongs to old professors who are really keen on education.

It is precisely because of this that although he teaches at Yan University, he has always had a good relationship with Qiu Chengtong, and he often comes to the Chinese Academy of Sciences to visit the 'door'. And Academician Xiang South China, who often visits the 'door', also belongs to the kind of old scholars who stay away from the academic circle and do their studies quietly.

Wang Xiping took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "If you don't bow your head, it's not okay, if you let Ma Changan, an old man who doesn't learn and has no skills, win the Chern Mathematics Award, you have to lose your face to the other side of the Pacific Ocean." ”

"And that said?" Xiang Huanan frowned and asked.

"Or else? Why do you think Old Man Qiu came back? When he came back, he didn't do anything else, so he brought a message to Academician Wang Shicheng, saying that the Federal Mathematical Society was researching and awarding this year's Cole Prize in Mathematics to Lu Zhou, who had made a report at Princeton. ”

There was a hint of abruptness in his expression, and Xiang Huanan immediately said with a smile: "This problem is indeed a bit serious, no wonder Academician Wang actually swallowed this breath." ”

Those who deserve the prize don't get the prize, and those who shouldn't get the prize get the prize, and that's nothing. But if the people who didn't win the prize went to the other side of the Pacific Ocean to get the prize, and people turned the two winners out and compared them, it might be a bit of a big problem.

If it is known by someone who cares, the media will inevitably have to make an article about the gossip in the mathematical world, and then make a 'yin' conspiracy.

And a young man in his twenties, you can't expect him to have that "ideological awareness", suffered a secret loss, and pushed off the Cole Prize for the sake of Wang Shicheng's face as a few old academicians, right?

But no normal person would be so stupid.

After all, the weight of that thing is much heavier than the Chern's math prize.

"Then it seems that this conference is still a little interesting, Wang Shicheng's old man actually took the initiative to shake hands with Qiu Chengtong, it's a pity to miss it." Academician Xiang said with a smile.

Wang Xiping also smiled and said: "It's 'quite interesting', I'm going to go over there tomorrow." I heard that the kid had a 30-minute lecture, and it seemed that he was studying the 'Bo' Liniac conjecture and came up with some kind of group construction method, and I 'got' to read the paper submitted to the conference, and it was 'very' interesting. That kid's report will not be easy, so it's a pity not to listen to it. ”

"That kid's level is really 'quite' high, and I can see it when I defend him." Xiang Huanan said with a smile, "It's a pity that I didn't succeed in digging the foot of the wall at that time, and I was cut off by the old man Lu Jianshen, otherwise I would have taken him to receive the award at this time." ”

"Don't talk about it, I'll be angry when I say it," patted his big 'leg', Wang Xiping said indignantly, "You said that the surname Lu, a person who is engaged in physics, crossed over to our mathematics community to dig people, what is this called." ”

"Heh, you have the ability to say this in front of Lao Lu, what's the use of saying it in front of me." Xiang Huanan said with a smile.

Wang Xiping laughed dryly, "This...... Forget it, that old thing can't afford to joke, I'm afraid he's going to have a heart attack. ”

Xiang Huanan shook his head with a smile, and turned the pages of the journal in his hand.

However, at this moment, he was suddenly stunned, and his whole person did not move.

After a quick scan of the paper in front of him from beginning to end, his expression became more and more serious. Turning to the last page, his gaze swept to the last line, and he stopped there for a long time.

After a long pause, Xiang Huanan suddenly spoke.

"The report you said would ...... What time is it? Where is it? ”

Wang Xiping, who was drinking tea, didn't notice the change in his old friend's expression, and said casually.

"Three o'clock in the afternoon, Beijing Normal University, what's wrong? You go too? ”

"I have to go......" Xiang Huanan sighed softly, put the mathematical yearbook in his hand on the table, and sighed softly with approval in his tone, "You can read it yourself." ”