Chapter 60

Even though Ji Zhixing was mentally prepared for the scale of the press conference, he still couldn't help but feel a little uneasy after receiving eight text message notifications from the director in one day.

In fact, the text messages all conveyed the same thing: the time and place of the press conference.

The time remained the same, but the location changed from the conference room in the administration building to a multi-level stair-shaped classroom, then the area gradually expanded, and finally it was moved to the auditorium...

The auditorium of Guangling University covers an area of ​​3,938 square meters. It is 52.8 meters long from north to south, 46.5 meters wide from east to west, and 25.6 meters high. It has two floors and a total of 3,068 seats.

Unless absolutely necessary, the director would certainly not hold a press conference in the auditorium.

Later, Ji Zhixing learned that major print media, online media, television news programs, radio stations, academic journals, and even foreign news media had sent reporters, some of whom even brought photographers.

Furthermore, the city's top official also came.

Sitting on the stage, looking at the packed audience, Ji Zhixing adjusted his mindset quite quickly.

He'd seen this kind of scene before; the awards ceremony at the end of last semester was pretty much the same. Due to the distance and the lighting, he couldn't really see the situation below the stage clearly, so he simply assumed that everyone in the audience was a classmate from the same school.

The press conference started promptly at 9:00 a.m. The president accompanied the reporter to sit in the first row. Zhu Ren, as the director of the Guangling University Office and the organizer of the press conference, first went on stage to give a brief introduction.

"First of all, on behalf of the school leaders, I would like to thank everyone for attending our press conference..."

Next, Ji Zhixing imitated the director and said a few standard phrases before moving on to the Q&A session.

"Ji Zhixing, may I ask how you solved the Navier-Stokes equations?"

"When did you first come into contact with the Navier-Stokes equations, and how long did it take you to solve them?"

"How did you manage to write and successfully publish nine papers within six months?"

"How do you usually study? Do you have any study methods you could share with everyone?"

What are your thoughts on the fact that the *Acta Mathematica Sinica* made an exception and published a special issue specifically for your paper?

"You published two papers in Science within a year. Do you have any experience to share with researchers?"

...

Whenever there's a question related to the Navier-Stokes equations, Ji Zhixing subtly mentions the zero-gravity seat project, trying to grab a free publicity opportunity.

However, this is also true. His introduction to the Navier-Stokes equations stemmed from his desire to design a zero-gravity seat for a competition. His later breakthroughs were also due to his painstaking efforts to simplify the decompression structure of the zero-gravity seat.

Previously, news about his publication of papers in various journals had already generated a lot of traffic, and there were far fewer news articles online criticizing the concept of "zero gravity".

Now, let's take this opportunity to link the two keywords "zero gravity" and "NS equation" together, and we'll hardly have to worry about zero gravity seats being criticized anymore.

To be realistic, the company can save at least half of its advertising expenses!

Whenever asked about study methods or thesis writing, Ji Zhixing would always emphasize Professor Yan's help and the importance of hard work.

Even though the media nowadays often uses terms like "genius" and "academic genius" to describe him, Ji Zhixing has always believed that he is not the kind of child prodigy who was gifted from a young age.

His breakthrough in the Navier-Stokes equations was due not only to luck and Professor Yan's help, but also to his own persistent and diligent cultivation of knowledge.

Whenever someone asks a question about a journal, regardless of which journal it is, Ji Zhixing always makes sure to steer the focus to "Huaxia Science" and elevate it as a representative academic journal of China.

The press conference quickly came to an end after an hour, and according to the pre-arranged agenda, it was temporarily suspended for a 15-minute break.

Ji Zhixing's mouth was practically raw from talking so much, and his throat was parched. Only then did he realize how hard the principal and director had worked, bombarded by the media recently.

He had a bottle of mineral water and a cup of dried seaweed with him. He had already drunk half of the mineral water, and the dried seaweed was specially brought to him from the principal's office by the director.

He hadn't wanted to drink it at first, but now he didn't care about the medicinal taste anymore and downed it in one gulp. He didn't know if it was just psychological, but his throat felt a little better.

Although his vocal organs were quite strained, Ji Zhixing was in a relatively good mood. This was because the questions asked by the media were quite mild, not at all as sharp or pointed as he had imagined.

You should know that last night, Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang were worried that he would have to face a war of words today, so they specially searched online for various press conference videos to practice, and then played the role of reporters to simulate a press conference.

They racked their brains for questions, some sentimental like "What do you want to say to your family?", some sarcastic like "Do you plan to take this opportunity to go abroad?", and some gossipy like "What are your views on choosing a partner?"

A wide variety of questions were listed across eight large pages.

However, the questions from reporters today were all polite and proper, which made him breathe a huge sigh of relief.

In the audience, Ji Zhe flipped through the photos he had just taken on his camera, sighing inwardly.

Around this time last year, he photographed Ji Zhixing once. At that time, Ji Zhixing won the first prize in the CUPT competition, and he was completely unfazed by the prize worth 110,000 yuan.

He felt that this young man had potential at that time, but he did not expect him to achieve this a year later.

Ji Zhixing was simply unlucky. A decade or so ago, he could have been directly elected as an academician based on these seven top-tier journal papers!

At that time, the number of papers published annually in the four top mathematics journals nationwide could be counted on one hand.

However, in recent years, the Chinese academic community has made great strides, with the number of articles published in major journals steadily increasing. Nevertheless, getting published in the four top mathematics journals remains extremely difficult.

Moreover, no one has ever been able to publish 1+7 top journal papers in almost the same time as Ji Zhixing, and the topic is the millennium problem, the Navier-Stokes equations!

It can be said that even if Ji Zhixing were to retire from this life, he could still make a living based on his achievements at the age of 21.

If he wanted to enter the entertainment industry, with his good looks, academic achievements, and popularity among netizens, there would be plenty of investors willing to pay him to act in their projects.

If he continues his studies, it goes without saying that he will be eligible for various talent programs such as the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the Young Thousand Talents Program, the Ten Thousand Talents Program, the Thousand Talents Program, and the Hundred Talents Program. Becoming a Yangtze River Scholar or even an academician is just around the corner.

It can be said that life will be smooth sailing from now on!

He was just wondering if some brainless colleague would jump out and nitpick, but he didn't expect everyone to be so clear-headed.

That makes sense, though. People who become journalists are generally not stupid. Asking stupid questions during interviews is often because they are malicious.

Ji Zhixing is now clearly someone the state protects—the muscular security guards at the gate have biceps strong enough to burst through their uniforms. Every time a reporter enters, they give them a scathing, murderous look from head to toe.

The origins of these security guards are self-evident from their imposing presence.

Furthermore, given the overwhelmingly positive reception Ji Zhixing receives from netizens, anyone who tries to attract attention by contradicting him will have to consider the potential backlash from the negative online traffic.

Ji Zhe flipped through the photos in his camera one by one, planning to take a few more during the second part of the press conference. These old photos could be reused countless times for future reports on university students' academic activities, or when Ji Zhixing made new achievements.

He'd already planned it out: write a report on the press conference, then a review of Ji Zhixing's performance in the CUPT competition, and combine the two pieces of material to create another piece. Great! That makes three articles!

Ji Zhixing's papers are SCI-indexed, but his media coverage is a KPI. It's tough being a working person...

After the second agenda item began, foreign journalists, who had been virtually invisible during the first agenda item, started asking questions.

"Mr. Ji, as far as I know, all eight of your papers are on the same topic. Why don't you just combine them into one paper for publication?"

The implication is that Ji Zhixing's papers are suspected of being low-quality or superficial.

Ji Zhixing raised an eyebrow. Ah, here comes a sharp question.

"In fact, that's exactly what I wrote at first," he chuckled. "But when I submitted it to a prestigious international journal, it was quickly rejected for 'lack of novelty.'"

"At the time, I didn't understand where the criticism of 'lack of novelty' came from. I suspected it was due to language or...some other factor, so I submitted the paper to my homeland's journal, *Huaxia Science*, and it was accepted smoothly."

Ji Zhixing did not elaborate on the academic discrimination he may have encountered, since the unpleasant experience at New Advances in Mathematics stemmed from the arrogance and prejudice of an academic editor.

The academic editor was later fired, and the editor-in-chief, Mr. Balk, sincerely apologized. There was really no need to dredge up this point in public and continue to embarrass the person.

Of course, those sitting below were all experts in pedantry; if they came up with something that could only be understood intuitively, that was none of his business—Ji Zhixing felt as if his heart had darkened a little.

He continued, "At the same time, based on a bit of youthful enthusiasm, and also in order to quickly verify whether the various viewpoints in my paper were correct, I split the content into seven separate articles according to different focuses and submitted them to the editors of different journals for review."

"I think that in the past, approximate solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations could be published as a separate paper in journals, so topics such as smoothness, existence of solutions, exact solutions, and general solutions should be even more valuable as independent papers."

The implication is that you, an outsider, should shut up and criticize me. Either you go and critique all my previous papers that focus on minor details of the Navier-Stokes equations, or you have no right to call my papers shoddy!

"Which journal rejected your paper?" the foreign journalist continued, finding it hard to believe that such an idiot could be among the editors of a top journal, and suspecting that this was just an excuse from Ji Zhixing.

Ji Zhixing shrugged: "Let bygones be bygones. In fact, I might have to thank the editor who rejected my paper. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have become a paper-writing tycoon overnight."

Laughter erupted from the audience, and many reporters applauded Ji Zhixing's witty remarks.

Rather than bitterly denouncing academic editors for their blindness or complaining about past injustices, this slightly contemptuous smile is actually the best way to deal with criticism.

In the cheerful atmosphere, the foreign reporter reluctantly put down the microphone and sat down unwillingly. If he continued to insist on dwelling on it, it would only highlight his ill intentions.

After the other reporters finished laughing, they each pondered to themselves. Although Ji Zhixing didn't say it explicitly, everyone could guess which journal it was from the sound of his voice.

The fact that three of the four top mathematics journals were missing one has already caused some disappointment among many. Some researchers were particularly distressed for Ji Zhixing, lamenting that the paper he submitted to *Science* could have easily been submitted to *New Advances in Mathematics*!

Now it seems there's more to this story. The reporters all decided that once they got back, they would definitely dig into the unknown twists and turns and put together another report.

Another reporter stood up in the foreign journalists' area. He seemed much friendlier than the previous one, and he asked questions with a smile.

"Mr. Ji, according to the rules set by the Clay Mathematics Institute, you are eligible for a one million dollar prize for your achievement with the Navier-Stokes equations. How do you plan to use this money?"

Ji Zhixing hadn't thought about this yet. He said, "It's too early to consider this now. According to the rules set by the Clay Mathematics Institute, any solution to the Millennium Problem must undergo a two-year verification period before it can be truly recognized and receive a prize."

"Oh? Then do you feel a little disappointed about this rule?"

"Of course not!" Ji Zhixing felt that there was a hidden barb in those words, as if they were implying that his research results might not last more than two years before fatal errors were pointed out, thus losing the possibility of winning the prize, or as if they were implying that he was greedy for money.

Of course, it's also possible that he's overthinking it.

The general solution and derivation of the Navier-Stokes equations will inevitably be subject to questioning, debate, and scrutiny from the entire academic community before they can gain widespread recognition. Ji Zhixing does not intend to make any definitive statements at this moment.

He downplayed the issue, saying, "Speaking of the prize money, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my alma mater, Guangling University."

A few days ago, after he returned from the research institute, the director pulled him aside and talked to him about several important matters. The third one was that the school had decided to award him a bonus.

Different universities have slightly different reward schemes for scientific research achievements, including SCI papers.

Some schools primarily use the impact factor of the journal in which the paper is published, while others use the journal's ranking. The prize money also varies considerably, ranging from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of yuan.

At Guangling University, the prize money for SCI papers is divided into five tiers, with the first tier being over 500,000 yuan and the fifth tier being less than 10,000 yuan.

Previously, Ji Zhixing, Yan Jiusheng, Zhao Yi, and Sun Er had their manuscripts published in Science and Nature, and the university awarded each of them a bonus of 20,000 yuan.

This is actually quite a lot, because they didn't produce results through independent research projects.

However, Ji Zhixing's paper this time is not suitable for calculation using conventional methods, because his topic can truly be described as earth-shattering.

The school held a special meeting to discuss how much of a bonus to award Ji Zhixing, and everyone from the president to the deans of the various colleges agreed that an exception could be made.

The discussion about the prize money lasted all morning. Considering the far-reaching impact of Ji Zhixing's actions, they finally decided to match the prize money awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute.

At the current exchange rate, 1 million US dollars is equivalent to about 6.7522 million yuan.

The principal gritted his teeth and raised the price to 8 million yuan!

"This is more generous. Otherwise, using fractions and whole numbers sounds timid and petty."

There are several reasons why the school is willing to offer such a large sum of money in prize money.

First, Ji Zhixing's achievements this time are truly remarkable, and Guangling University will benefit greatly from them in both the short and long term.

For example, the school's reputation, influence, and public recognition, as well as government policy support and the Ministry of Education's funding allocation, etc., offer too many tangible and intangible benefits.

Secondly, it demonstrates the university's appreciation and support for talent by investing heavily in its faculty. A university cannot thrive on just one or two outstanding scholars; to achieve sustainable and long-term development, it must attract a continuous stream of talent.

To attract talent, everything else is secondary; money is the most tangible thing! Settling down, securing research projects—all of these require money.

Thirdly, thanks to Yan Anjin, the university unexpectedly gained an extra 100 million yuan in funding that it could allocate independently. Of that 100 million, 8 million yuan was allocated as bonuses, which most professors could accept.

Although the principal personally approved the award amount of 8 million yuan, he still had to take nitroglycerin pills before signing the form to the finance office.

Compared to the billions of yuan in funding for universities each year, 8 million yuan is not much, but it still hurts to spend it all at once!

However, when Ji Zhixing announced the figure of "eight million" in front of reporters from across the country and abroad, the entire room erupted in cheers and flashes of light. The principal felt from the bottom of his heart that the money was well spent!

Ji Zhixing expressed his gratitude to the school and casually brushed off the foreign reporter's question.

During the third item on the agenda of the press conference, Ji Zhixing received another surprise, or rather, a huge sum of money.

On behalf of the Guangling Municipal Government, [name omitted] presented him with a 1 million yuan award for outstanding young talent!

□□ did not give a long speech, but simply expressed the importance and support for talent, emphasized the basic policy of revitalizing the country through science and education, took a few photos with Ji Zhixing on stage to provide material for the news, and then left first.

As the top official in the city, it's already quite remarkable that he could spare two hours to listen to this press conference, as he has a mountain of government affairs waiting for him to handle.

The fourth agenda item was not open to all reporters. Zhu Ren arranged for staff to ask most of the reporters to leave the school, leaving only CCTV reporters present.

The main agenda involved Zhu Ren accompanying reporters to various locations on campus to film footage of Ji Zhixing's learning activities, including classrooms, the library, and laboratories.

Ji Zhixing felt that going to the lab would give him another chance to promote the zero-gravity chair, so he was quite cooperative.

You should know that CCTV's advertising fees are calculated by the second, and during prime time, they can even reach millions or tens of millions. How can you miss such a great opportunity to make a profit!

CCTV reporter Yang Shi and his team took a few photos in the classroom before moving on to the library.

"How much time does Ji usually spend in the library each day?"

Ji Zhixing said frankly, "I come whenever I have time."

He didn't want to portray himself as a genius who could accomplish anything with ease, so he didn't hesitate to show off his diligence.

Genius is practically a miracle that the general public cannot reach. Promoting the idea that diligence can make up for lack of talent and that success lies in perseverance is the only way to truly inspire most students' desire to learn.

The visit to the research institute made Ji Zhixing realize once again the importance of building an academic journal system, but this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. He earnestly hopes that everyone will join in and contribute to the development of Chinese academia.

As soon as they started talking, Yang Shi knew that Ji Zhixing was not a talkative person, so he kept chatting casually to ease the interview atmosphere and encourage him to start talking.

“I’ve seen some photos of you in the library online before, and it seems like you have a preference for a certain spot, is that right?”

"Ah, yes, right there."

Yang Shi followed the direction Ji Zhixing pointed and came to the table by the window.

The tables and chairs in the library are all solid wood, and the color is uniformly dark brown. But the table in front of me is a little different; the one near the window has a light white tint.

Yang Shi couldn't help but recall an experience he had had when he went to Shaolin Temple for an interview.

The floor tiles in the training room are broken and mottled, because countless martial monks have been tirelessly training their muscles and bones and sweating here.

Does the mottled desktop before us also testify to Ji Zhixing's diligence during his thousand days and nights at Guangling University?

Yang Shi asked this question with great emotion.

"No, it's from the sun," Ji Zhixing explained, pointing out the window. "Ultraviolet rays in sunlight are high-energy photons. When certain groups in the organic molecules of the paint on the table absorb the energy of the ultraviolet rays, such as the delocalized π bonds of the conjugated double bonds, they will detach and become free radicals. Losing free radicals means that the original structure of the paint molecules is destroyed, and the color is gone."

Yang Shi: ...

A note from the author: