Chapter 186 - 139: You Still Have to Rely on Yourself
「October 13th, Monday. 9:00 AM.」
Yannan University. Third-floor conference room, Administration Building.
An impromptu university-level meeting was underway.
The meeting was personally chaired by Principal Chang Kai, who had just rushed back, travel-worn, after reporting on his work in the Imperial Capital.
In attendance were the deans of the university’s core schools, as well as the heads of key administrative departments like the Academic Affairs Office and the Propaganda Department.
The atmosphere throughout the conference room was rather grave.
The meeting had only one core agenda item: how to respond to the article titled "Behind the Halo: A Three-Fold Reflection on the Chen Lin Phenomenon," and the controversy it had sparked online.
The insidious nature of this article was that it didn’t attack Chen Lin directly. Instead, it used an extremely subtle method to imply that Yannan University, in its effort to create a model student and drum up publicity, might have tampered with Chen Lin’s academic achievements.
Even more maliciously, the latter half of the article suggested that Yannan University had a so-called "systemic suppression within its academic environment."
This was no longer an attack on Chen Lin as an individual; this was putting the entire Yannan University in the hot seat.
"How outrageous!" The head of the Propaganda Department, a hot-tempered middle-aged man, slammed his hand on the table and roared, "This is a complete fabrication, malicious slander! I suggest we immediately initiate legal proceedings and send cease-and-desist letters to this Official Account and the bloggers who reposted it!"
Principal Chang Kai, seated at the head of the table, remained calm. He raised a hand and gently gestured for him to settle down.
"Old Li, don’t get so worked up." Principal Chang’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a steadying weight. "We will be sending the letters, but letters alone won’t solve the root problem. What netizens want to see right now isn’t our position, it’s our proof."
Just then, an old, white-haired professor from the School of Software pushed up his glasses. He stood up unhurriedly and said in a composed tone, "Principal Chang, colleagues, regarding student Chen Lin’s JAMS paper, I organized a special seminar last Friday with several relevant doctoral and graduate students from my school."
All eyes in the room focused on the old professor.
"The conclusion is clear," the old professor said unequivocally. "This paper, in terms of both its theoretical depth and its practical application value, has reached an exceptionally high standard.
"Especially the core mathematical proof. After the seminar, I discussed it with several professors from the School of Mathematics, and they all agreed that the ideas and techniques within it are so incredibly ingenious that even they would need to spend a great deal of time and effort to even begin to fully grasp it."
At this, he glanced around the room, his voice rising slightly.
"I’d like to ask everyone here: for a paper of this caliber, if it were plagiarized, would an undergraduate dare to claim it as his own? Would he even have the ability to?"
"With this paper, any impostor would be immediately exposed and utterly discredited the moment someone asked them a slightly more in-depth question in public!"
The old professor’s words were forceful and his logic clear, instantly quelling much of the anxious tension in the conference room.
Indeed, any rational person knew that plagiarizing a paper of this level would bring them nothing but harm.
Dean Zhuang and Director Guo Qizhi from the School of Mathematics, who were sitting in the corner, along with Professor Gu Ming behind them, all showed looks of approval at these words.
Professor Gu Ming, in particular, was the most composed. As the person who had the most contact with Chen Lin and possessed the deepest understanding of his mathematical ability, he was actually the calmest one in the room.
Just then, Dean Zhuang discreetly glanced at Professor Gu Ming, giving him a meaningful look.
Gu Ming understood at once. He cleared his throat, picked up where the old professor left off, and stood to make a suggestion: "Principal Chang, leaders, since a major focus of the current public outcry is questioning student Chen Lin’s mathematical ability...
"...why don’t we publicly release, in detail and through official channels, the five perfect-score exam papers he previously completed, as well as his outstanding graduation thesis? We can use the most direct academic evidence to respond to these baseless speculations."
However, Principal Chang Kai, sitting at the head of the table, pondered for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"Gu, your idea is a good one, but it won’t be very effective." His fingers tapped lightly on the mahogany conference table, making a steady sound. "That information was actually already released to the public when student Chen Lin gave his interview last time.
"The people who don’t believe it now... even if you slapped the original documents right in their faces, they would just claim our university forged the evidence to help Chen Lin cover up the lie."
Unlike many of the professors, Principal Chang Kai had a certain understanding of online public opinion.
"A war of public opinion online is never a battle of logic and proof; it’s a clash of emotions and allegiances."
"The principal has a point!"
Director Guo Qizhi, who usually had the friendly demeanor of a next-door grandpa, had lost his customary cheerful smile. His expression was now completely serious.
He adjusted his glasses and said in a heavy voice, "I also read that Official Account article very carefully yesterday. From beginning to end, that piece was never written for people who understand academia or mathematics.
"Especially its opening argument, claiming that the sudden explosion of Chen Lin’s mathematical ability ’defies common sense.’ The moment you hear that, you know the author has absolutely no in-depth knowledge of the field of mathematics whatsoever!"