Super God-Level Top Student

"To the Editor-in-Chief and the Editors of 'Duke Mathematical Journal': Greetings. Your letter has been received, and I can understand the concern your publication has regarding the potential academic risk of the paper. However, I must clarify that when we look at the new generation with an unchanging perspective, we often make the mistake of experiential dogmatism."

"I do not wish to overemphasize Qiao Ze's talent anymore. In fact, he has invalidated my experience countless times. The reason my name is listed as the corresponding author on this paper is simply because he is still a novice in the mathematical community and unlikely to be taken seriously."

"What comforts me is that you have seen his value and potential. I believe that his next paper will no longer need my support. He will be able to submit directly using his own contact email, and I am certain that at least here at 'Duke Mathematical Journal,' he will be given the attention he deserves, right?"

"Let's get down to business. Indeed, there are many ways I could prove that the original author of this paper is Qiao Ze. Of course, I could also, as usual, undertake the consequences of any academic misconduct through other methods.

But this time, I want to show you a rather unconventional method of proof, which I believe to be Qiao Ze's original creation—at least I have not seen anyone use it before."

"The method is simple. In the proof process of important theorems and lemmas, the author Qiao Ze introduced some special systems of equations, which, when certain variables are chosen from a special range, yield a string of special values. Extracting these values and converting them to ASCII will provide the proof you require. I will include an excerpt in the attachment as evidence.

The same method can be found in many places throughout the paper."

"All of the above is my response to your letter. Thank you again for writing. Li Jiangao, Xilin University of Technology Mathematics Institute."

...

After editing the email and clicking send, Li Jiangao sat back and stretched languidly.

That felt good...

He decided not to involve himself too much in the conversation between Su Lixing and Yu Hongwei.

The main reason was that he had little interest in what the two were discussing.

All he needed to do was ensure that Qiao Ze received the profits he was due.

Even that did not require too much worry from him.

Su Mucheng was even more concerned than both him and Qiao Ze that Qiao might be taken advantage of.

Li Jiangao even felt a twinge of sympathy for Su Lixing.

Raising such a daughter...

Was quite good too.

As this thought crossed his mind, the corners of Li Jiangao's lips lifted slightly, revealing a smile akin to that of a doting aunt.

But before the smile could last a second, it was interrupted by noise from the living room.

"Jian Gao, we're here."

"Xu?" Li Jian Gao quickly stood up, glanced at Qiao Ze who was still working, and decided not to disturb the kid, instead he went out to meet the visitors.

It wasn't just Xu who had come, but also Yang Lichun of the university's Publicity Department.

Li Jian Gao had met him before, but they weren't very familiar.

"Dean Xu, are you here for an inspection?"

"Haha, Jian Gao, you make it sound so formal. Actually, Old Yang and I came specifically to apologize to you and Qiao Ze. Ah, it's just that after receiving your message last night, we were so excited that we almost made a blunder. Ah, at my age, still not meticulous enough in my work, I must reflect on that."

Xu Dajiang spoke with sincere regret, and his expression showed deep remorse, but to Li Jian Gao, it seemed a tad overdone, making him feel slightly awkward.

He was just a humble mathematics professor, after all—how could he deserve such attention?

"No, Dean Xu, this is too much... Well, let me call Qiao Ze out."

Li Jian Gao could tell that Xu had an ulterior motive and promptly turned to call out, "Qiao Ze, stop what you're doing and come here, please."

Shortly after, Qiao Ze walked out.

Xu Dajiang put on an apologetic smile again and said, "Qiao Ze... "

"There's no need to apologize, I heard everything from inside," Qiao Ze interrupted Xu Dajiang, shaking his head, then he tilted his head slightly and asked, "Did you achieve your goal?"

"Ah?" Xu Dajiang was taken aback. Facing Qiao Ze's bright gaze, he immediately became somewhat unnatural.

That was... too direct, wasn't it?

He wasn't at all prepared for this kind of confrontation.

As for Yang Lichun standing behind him, he had already turned to look towards the balcony. It was, in fact, his first time seeing Qiao Ze in person and he just felt that the kid was unexpectedly blunt.

But after knowing about how Qiao Ze came to the school, Yang Lichun felt that this reaction was probably normal.

Being direct might be better after all; trying to play mind games with someone of this intelligence might result in both men failing to outsmart the other.

"Haha, we didn't have any ill intentions. Our main hope is to manage the School of Mathematics better. Qiao Ze, you don't know how difficult it is to develop a faculty these days..."

"So it's almost achieved. Let's have an equivalent exchange, then," Qiao Ze interrupted seriously, raising a finger to make his point.

"Huh?"

"Next month, when the application channel for the Jieqing award opens, the institute is going to strongly support Uncle Li," clarified Qiao Ze.

Xu Dajiang froze for a moment and then looked towards Li Jian Gao.

Li Jian Gao was also staring blankly at Qiao Ze.

In that moment, Qiao Ze's image overlapped with that of his already retired mentor.

There was no helping it; the scene was reminiscent of a mentor fighting to secure resources for his students.

"No problem!" Xu Dajiang, having regained his composure, nodded vigorously.

He had been contemplating how to tie both Li Jian Gao and Qiao Ze to the Xilin Mathematics Institute. Qiao Ze's request wasn't far off from his own aims.