Chapter 6
The next day was Monday, the first day of school, and on the morning of that first day was the "Mathematical Methods of Physics" class, which terrified countless students.
Of course, none of the professional courses in the School of Physics, such as optics, atomic physics, and theoretical mechanics, are easy to learn, but the Mathematical Physics Methods is the most difficult one, driving many students in the School of Physics crazy, with a failure rate as high as 60% for many years.
The course was taught by Professor Yan Anjin of Guangling University, who was known for his strictness. No student had ever been able to skip roll call during his regular classes, and no unlucky student who scored 59 on the final exam had ever been able to get that fatal 1 point from him. It is said that even when the principal himself pleaded for his nephew, Professor Yan could not make an exception. Ordinary people could not expect him to go easy on them.
This was something that counselor Chen Yan emphasized repeatedly at the college-wide meeting before the start of the semester, so everyone arrived at classroom 103 of Mingde Building quite early today.
Xu Dongyang and Lin Lang, two early risers, were also dragged to the classroom by Ji Zhixing. The three of them were almost the last to arrive, so they had to sit in the only remaining empty seats—the first row.
As soon as he entered the classroom, countless eyes, both overt and covert, focused on Ji Zhixing.
Ji Zhixing has always been famous throughout the college, but he used to be famous for being poor; now he's famous for being rich. The stark difference between his wealth and poverty has been the subject of much gossip for days.
Since it wasn't time for class yet, the few girls in the Physics Department started their gossip group discussion again, and Ji Zhixing, who had just entered the classroom, naturally became the center of their conversation.
It wasn't that they had any romantic feelings for Ji Zhixing. Female students in the Physics Department were generally quite rational, well aware that "men only slow down my sword-drawing speed," and mostly focused on their studies. But everyone has a gossipy streak, and they were no exception, especially since the person in question was a handsome and refreshing young man, which added a bit more interest to the gossip.
Regarding Ji Zhixing's background, more specific versions have now emerged. The more popular ones are: the old-fashioned tragic love story of a powerful tycoon and a pregnant innocent girl who has been separated for twenty years as the only son; the bickering couple story of a wealthy tycoon and his childhood sweetheart, a female celebrity, who secretly have a child through artificial insemination; and the classic conflict story of a real young master who was switched at birth. These three versions each have their own fans on school forums and in gossip groups.
Ji Zhixing later tried to explain that his family was just an ordinary family who had unexpectedly inherited a relative's estate (I'm sorry, great-great-grandson). However, this simple explanation obviously couldn't satisfy the gossip-loving public's appetite, so Ji Zhixing had no choice but to let them create whatever they wanted. Anyway, at the university, one scandal after another was always brewing, and in a few days they would be jumping around in a new gossip field.
However, with no new gossip emerging yet, the old gossip about Ji Zhixing is currently trending. The girls whisper among themselves at the appropriate volume for gossip, while glancing at Ji Zhixing every now and then.
This aroused Liu Shihui's extreme dissatisfaction. After entering university, he desperately wanted to end his twenty-year-long single life. However, he was neither handsome, talented, nor virtuous, and so far no girl had given him a second glance. He refused to reflect on himself, only criticizing girls for being materialistic and infatuated, and he was especially jealous and furious about Ji Zhixing, who was the center of attention for the girls. However, he had just been disciplined because of Ji Zhixing, so he only dared to mutter a few curses in his heart and dared not do anything more.
Sitting next to Liu Shihui, Fan Yongjie was also envious, but unlike Liu Shihui, his target was the most beautiful girl in the Academy of Fine Arts and the only daughter of the richest man in the province in the Academy of Literature. He had no interest in the ordinary girls in the Academy of Physics. What he envied was Ji Zhixing's Armani T-shirt and pants and the limited edition AJ shoes on his feet. Comparing them to his own Senma outfit, he felt even more that fate was unfair.
He was initially quite pleased with himself for getting a Patek Philippe for free from Ji Zhixing, but the thought that even if he got one, Ji Zhixing still had nine made him feel increasingly uneasy. Moreover, he had just noticed that Ji Zhixing wasn't wearing a Patek Philippe on his wrist.
Ha! Hypocritical! False!
His jealous gaze was so intense it was almost tangible, and Ji Zhixing naturally sensed it. He glanced back, then turned away indifferently.
This attitude made Fan Yongjie increasingly dislike Ji Zhixing. The final exams were still four months away, but he was already eager to teach Ji Zhixing a lesson, at least to stop him from stealing his thunder.
After thinking for a moment, he stood up and walked to the first row.
"Student Ji, I have a few words to say about this unexpected match."
Seeing that everyone's attention was focused, Fan Yongjie cleared his throat and said righteously, "First of all, I want to emphasize that my agreement to compete with you is not for any bet. The fundamental reason is that, as the vice president of the student council, I do not want you to incite a vain atmosphere of comparing luxury goods on campus..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Ji Zhixing interrupted his baseless accusations. "I already explained on the forum that day that it was a gift of kindness from my family, not something I bought on my own initiative. Aren't you being a bit unreasonable with your accusations?"
Fan Yongjie's throat tightened. Because his father was an academician at the university, he had been used to a smooth life since entering the school, and no one had ever interrupted him so rudely. Unable to continue his explanation of his righteous motives, he had no choice but to change the subject.
“You’re too impatient. I haven’t finished speaking. Actually, I didn’t mean to criticize you. I just wanted to advise you that studying is a student’s primary responsibility. You have such a loving family, so you should repay them with excellent grades.”
“I do have such a plan,” Ji Zhixing said, deliberately glancing at Fan Yongjie’s wrist. “After all, a first-class scholarship for two semesters can buy an Omega worth over 100,000 yuan.”
The Physics Department's first-class scholarship is 5,000 yuan, which adds up to only 10,000 yuan over two semesters. Fan Yongjie must have gotten financial assistance from his family to buy that Omega watch. What right does someone like that have to accuse him of being materialistic and vain?
Those around them also understood Ji Zhixing's implied meaning and began to scrutinize Fan Yongjie's wrist.
Fan Yongjie felt a pang in his heart, but then calmly explained, "You have family members who are willing to spend a fortune on you, and I naturally have family members who love me too. In my heart, your Patek Philippe is not as valuable as this watch."
Ji Zhixing said, "Oh."
Fan Yongjie couldn't respond to his cold attitude, so he could only pretend to be magnanimous and encourage him: "You actually have a chance to win, after all, I have to spend a lot of time and energy on the CUPT competition this semester."
Fan Yongjie deliberately pronounced the words "CUPT Competition" very clearly, which indeed elicited a soft gasp of surprise.
The "CUPT Competition" is the highest-level competition in the field of university physics in China. Although there are no strict restrictions on the number of participants, those who are capable of participating are generally senior students. Therefore, Guangling University stipulates that as long as you get the third grade in the national competition, you can be recommended for postgraduate studies.
Fan Yongjie is only a sophomore and he's already aiming for the CUPT competition. He seems very confident, which makes everyone admire him.
Just as Ji Zhixing was about to speak, the bell rang. Fan Yongjie, who had just gained the upper hand verbally, had no choice but to regretfully return to his seat.
Professor Yan Anjin strode onto the podium as the bell rang. His voice was as serious as his personality, and his first words were a warning.
"Every year, 60% of students fail this course, but the word 'giving the time' doesn't exist in my dictionary. If you can't learn it, keep learning; if you can't pass the exam, keep taking it. The fact that you were able to get into Guangling University and the Physics Department proves that you're not unintelligent. If you can't learn it or pass the exam, it simply means you're not putting in the effort. I'm not going to let students like that pass so easily."
The crowd, who had been casually gossiping, suddenly became serious and tense.
Seeing that everyone was taking it seriously, Yan Anjin picked up the chalk with satisfaction.
"This course consists of two main parts: complex functions and mathematical physics equations. The most important task is to teach you how to translate various physics problems into mathematical boundary value problems and to master multiple methods for solving boundary value problems. Physics uses mathematics as its language, so I require you to read at least the books 'Introduction to Special Functions' and 'Special Functions' outside of class. This will help you understand and master this course."
Seeing that everyone was taking notes on the two book titles, Yan Anjin said, "Before we start the class, let's look at an example problem."
He turned around and quickly wrote the question on the blackboard:
In D=2-dimensional spacetime, the Siegel action takes the form of…
After writing the six lines of questions, Yan Anjin continued by writing down the following:
Substituting the Fourier transformations of Φ(x) and λμv(x) into the action S, we derive the form of the Siegel action in the momentum representation.
Then he turned around and said:
"I can give you a hint: the repeated index represents summation, and μv represents the second-order total antisymmetric tensor."
The classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one raised their hand, no one spoke, and no one even started writing, because many people couldn't even understand the questions.
Previously, no matter how much the counselor and Professor Yan emphasized the difficulty of this course, many people only had a superficial understanding of it. Now, after seeing this question, they truly understand from the bottom of their hearts just how difficult this course is.
Liu Shihui buried his head in anguish. He had failed three subjects last semester, and this semester he was destined to fail another one! Why did he ever think of applying to the School of Physics?
Many students share his thoughts, but most are gearing up for a long-term battle.
Yan Anjin observed the changing expressions on everyone's faces and nodded inwardly; this was his purpose. He didn't actually expect the newly enrolled sophomores to solve the problem; he simply hoped to use it to make everyone understand what the course was testing and to prepare them mentally for hard work.
Among the students struggling with their questions, Fan Yongjie appeared remarkably calm and composed. He had already solved this problem two months ago under his father's guidance.
He slowly raised his hand: "Professor, I think I have a rudimentary idea."
All eyes immediately focused on Fan Yongjie, and Yan Anjin also looked at Fan Yongjie: "Okay, come up on stage and give it a try."
What followed was practically Fan Yongjie's personal show. Although for him it was just repeating the problems he had already solved, he would still pause from time to time to appear deep in thought.
A dozen minutes later, Fan Yongjie finished writing on the blackboard and put down the chalk, his elegant posture like a knight-errant sheathing his sword.
"Wow!" A long gasp of amazement rippled through the audience.
In reality, most people wouldn't understand Fan Yongjie's derivation process, but everyone could understand the final words, "In summary, the action S in the momentum representation is..." Combined with Fan Yongjie's confident demeanor, it's safe to assume that the derivation was successful.
"Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable!"
"Is this the difference between an average student and a top student? And it's only the beginning of the semester!"
Some people stole glances at Ji Zhixing, and once again became certain that Ji Zhixing would lose the final exam.
Fan Yongjie, basking in the astonishment of the crowd, turned around and humbly said, "Professor, I don't know if my thinking is wrong. Please give me some pointers."
Yan Anjin gave Fan Yongjie a meaningful look: "Your derivation process is very standard."
Fan Yongjie felt that Professor Yan's words seemed a bit strange, but he still humbly said that he had only previewed the book in advance, which was why he was able to answer the question with difficulty.
Yan Anjin didn't say much and waved for him to leave.
When Fan Yongjie stepped down from the podium, he made a point of glancing at Ji Zhixing.
A note from the author:
"How to translate various physics problems into mathematical boundary value problems, and master multiple methods for solving boundary value problems."
"Physics uses mathematics as its language."
The above two sentences are from the Baidu Encyclopedia entry for "Mathematical Physics Methods".
The question is from the internet.
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