Chapter 267 The Real World (Part Six) What exactly is reality? ...

Two days later, Song Ce, who was having a math class in Class 4 of the second year of junior high school, was called out of the classroom by his bewildered homeroom teacher, Li Wenzhu, and the principal of the Third Middle School, who was smiling like a peony.

"Principal, this is Song Ce from our class. May I ask what brings you here?"

Upon hearing this, the principal of No. 3 Middle School smiled kindly, said nothing more, and led Song Ce to the principal's office.

At this moment, a refined-looking middle-aged man sat in the office, and standing beside him was a young man whose demeanor was almost identical to his. Under the undisguised excited gazes of the two, Li Wenzhu frowned and subconsciously asked, "Principal, may I ask who these two are?"

The principal of No. 3 Middle School quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Teacher Li, don't be nervous. This gentleman is Professor Du Xidun from the Beijing Municipal Institute of Physics, and this gentleman next to him is Dr. Lin Anliang, Professor Du's assistant. They have come to our No. 3 Middle School specifically for Song Ce."

"The Institute of Physics?" Li Wenzhu's eyes widened, and she asked incredulously, "Could it be that physics research institute in Beijing? The one that specializes in physics, mechanics, and engineering control?"

Lin Anliang smiled and added very dutifully, "That's right, it's what you're talking about. Professor Du came here this time indeed for Song Ce."

Li Wenzhu subconsciously glanced at Song Ce beside her, whose expression remained indifferent, her eyes now showing a hint of seriousness and doubt. How could a junior high student who had just recovered from a serious illness and returned to school be involved with a professor from the Beijing Municipal Institute of Physics?

Du Xidun stood up, his gaze falling on Song Ce, his expression unusually gentle: "You must be Song Ce, right? We came all the way from Beijing to talk to you about the manuscript in the post."

"Manuscript?" Song Ce paused, then quickly realized that Professor Du was referring to the manuscript attached to the post he had seen online. He had only made annotations and explanations based on his existing knowledge and understanding to verify a certain hypothesis and sent them to Beijing. He never expected that the poster behind that post would be someone from the Institute of Physics.

"Yes, the manuscript you saw was written by Mr. Huang on his deathbed. The ideas and supplementary theories you outlined in the letter were brilliant and did our Institute of Physics a great favor!"

Isn't that incredibly busy? Only a little over a month has passed since he posted the message, and the young man in front of him has already solved a theoretical problem that had been troubling the entire Institute of Physics for more than half a year! Thinking of this, Lin Anliang's expression became extremely indescribable.

This is incredible! This isn't just the younger generation surpassing the older; it's a giant wave directly crushing the older generation!

Song Ce remained remarkably calm despite the excited expressions on the faces of the two men before him. He smiled slightly, appearing somewhat embarrassed, "Professor Du, I'm simply interested in those physics hypotheses, and I'm happy to be able to help you."

The more Du Xidun looked at Song Ce, the more he felt that he was an undiscovered talent, and he was determined to become Song Ce's mentor!

He pulled over a chair next to him and gestured for Song Ce to sit down. "Song, there are a few points about the supplementary explanations you made in your annotations regarding Huang-Lao theory that I'd like to discuss with you further."

Song Ce took his seat as instructed, accepted the notebook and pen handed to him by Du Xidun, and immediately got to the point, engaging in an in-depth discussion with the two. He clearly and logically explained his supplementary viewpoints and improved theories, and occasionally drew relevant physical diagrams in his notebook.

The principal and Li Wenzhu, standing nearby, were completely bewildered. Boltzmann's law, radiation capacity, wavelength, constants, and so on—they couldn't understand a word they were discussing. They exchanged a knowing glance, both seeing obvious shock in each other's eyes.

Especially Li Wenzhu, although she had been teaching Song Ce for more than a year, she only knew that the child had good grades, but she did not expect that he was so good at physics. Especially now, he was not at all nervous when communicating with the professors of the Beijing Institute of Physics!

Before we knew it, more than two hours had passed...

Looking at the densely filled notes in the notebook, Du Xidun's smile grew even brighter: "Student Song, your idea is so innovative! Especially combining these dozens of points, it requires an extremely deep knowledge of physics! May I ask where you learned this knowledge?"

Song Ce lowered his eyes. He couldn't very well say that this knowledge was stored in his brain by some random thing, could he? He closed his notebook and mumbled, "I usually read books in the Qing City Library during my holidays. When I encounter something I don't understand, I search for relevant information online, and I gradually learn it."

Du Xidun, Lin Anliang, the principal, and Li Wenzhu, who were standing nearby, were speechless.

It took Lin Anliang a while to react. He looked at the boy in front of him in disbelief and blurted out, "You...you don't you think physics is difficult?"

"Difficult? Not really, right? After all, physics is quite easy to learn once you find the patterns."

Everyone again: "..."

Before coming to Qing City, Du Xidun and Lin Anliang had anticipated that Song Ce would study at the library, given its large size and extensive collection of physics books. However, even university and graduate students would likely struggle to understand such materials, let alone a junior high student! The fact that Song Ce could learn to this extent through self-study and research was simply unbelievable!

Du Xidun took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and his eyes became even more eager.

"Song, with your talent, it's a waste for you to stay in Qing City. I, Du Xidun, on behalf of the Institute of Physics, would like to invite you to join us. Although you are still young and cannot formally participate in project research, you can learn from us in Beijing. The Institute of Physics will provide you with the best resources and the most professional guidance. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, both the principal and Li Wenzhu in the office were stunned. The Beijing Institute of Physics! That's a top-tier physics research institution in the country, a place countless scientists would kill to get into. And now, they're actively inviting a junior high student to join? If this got out, the entire nation would be shocked and in an uproar!

For some reason, Song Ce felt that the scene in front of him was somewhat familiar, but when he tried to recall it carefully, he couldn't remember anything.

Oh dear, has this kid gone crazy from studying? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and agree! Even if No. 3 Middle School loses a potential Tsinghua or Peking University student, this is the Institute of Physics! And it's the Institute of Physics that students from No. 3 Middle School went directly to! It's much more prestigious than the alma mater of Tsinghua and Peking University students! He couldn't help but imagine the next ten years or so, when he would be invited to give speeches on how he nurtured such a brilliant physics prodigy...

The principal of No. 3 Middle School scratched his sparse hair, wishing he could make the decision for Song Ce on the spot and agree.

Du Xidun continued, "...all tuition and living expenses are free, and we'll even provide you with independent housing. You can tell us what you need!"

"Okay, I'll think about it."

Everyone: "???"

Before Du Xidun could speak, the principal of No. 3 Middle School couldn't sit still any longer. "Song Ce, what else are you considering?" He paused for two seconds, then realized his tone wasn't very gentle, and quickly added, "After all, that's one of the top physics research institutes in the country!"

All eyes in the office turned to the gifted young man. After a moment, he spoke softly, explaining, "Professor Du, Principal, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that I'm not an adult yet, and my mother doesn't know about this!"

Du Xidun was taken aback. He almost subconsciously ignored the age of the person in front of him and treated him as an equal. It was only then that he realized that Song Ce was just a second-year junior high school student. No matter how talented or intelligent he was, he still had to listen to his guardian's advice.

"Song, I didn't think this through. How about this, you go back to class first, and we'll take care of the rest, okay?"

Song Ce nodded, said goodbye to everyone in turn, and then came out of the principal's office.

Du Xidun watched him leave, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He had been engrossed in his research for so many years, and this was the first time he had encountered a student like this. He was only a junior high school student, yet he possessed a composure far beyond his years and an incredible mind.

No matter what, he was determined to bring this rough gem back to the Institute of Physics and nurture it under his wing so that it could grow properly!

On the other side, as soon as Song Ce entered the classroom and sat back down, Chen Dingyu quickly came over and deliberately lowered his voice: "Song Ce, what did the homeroom teacher and the principal want with you just now? Did you do something wrong? Tell me about it."

Song Ce glanced at him indifferently and said nothing.

Chen Dingyu was clearly oblivious to the situation. He wanted to ask more questions, but just then the math teacher walked in with the lesson plan and said loudly, "Students, be quiet! Come up and get your unit quiz papers from yesterday. We'll go over the questions we got wrong first."

Seeing the notoriously short-tempered math teacher's long face, Chen Dingyu didn't dare to speak anymore and sat up straight, looking rather sullen. But his eyes were still restless, glancing at Song Ce from time to time, as if he wanted to get to the bottom of things.

Meanwhile, Tianxiang Biomedical Park.

Just as Song Yuanshuang finished organizing the LA-ICPMS experimental data of last week's samples, she heard several deliberately hushed voices coming from outside the data room.

"Hey? Sister Zhao, why has Song Yuanshuang been taking so much leave lately?" The speaker was Liu Fengmei from the experimental department. She usually liked to get together with some older colleagues and gossip about this and that, and she wasn't very popular at work.

"You don't know? I heard that her son wasn't in good health and had been in a coma in the hospital for over a month. He was just brought back to life!"

"There's no need to take leave for more than half a month straight! I think there might be something else going on."

Listening to Liu Fengmei's probing speculation, Li Yuli whispered in agreement, her voice loud enough for Song Yuanshuang inside to hear clearly: "That's right! I went to the tea room a few days ago and saw her dressed up in a seductive way, getting really close to Teacher Cui. They were practically whispering to each other! You didn't see it, Teacher Cui's eyes were full of affection for her, unlike how he looked at us!"

"Xiaoli, what you said reminds me! Didn't Teacher Cui divorce his wife a while ago? I think it's most likely because of her, Song Yuanshuang!"

"Fengmei, really?" Zhao Baiying's voice suddenly rose, then she quickly lowered it again. "No wonder Teacher Cui has been coming to our data department so often lately, it turns out it's all for her!"

"What else could it be? Sister Zhao, you're just too honest! Some people, you can know their face but not their heart!"

"Exactly! If you ask me, Song Yuanshuang is really something. She pretends to be a strong single mother while still managing to seduce a married man, and in the end, she even gets him to divorce his wife for her. Her methods are extraordinary!"

-----------------------

Author's Note: [Shrugs]