Chapter 171 - 127: It’s a Pity I Met You Too Late
A wry smile on his face, Chen Lin looked at the cup of hot tea that was about to overflow. He couldn’t bring himself to refuse Senior Brother Ni’s overwhelming hospitality, so he simply nodded and accepted the gesture.
He sat down on the sofa in the guest area, his gaze casually sweeping across the coffee table in front of him. A magazine lay open on it, the words "Journal of the American Mathematical Society" standing out on the cover.
It was the latest issue of JAMS, the original English edition.
And on page twenty, which lay open, Chen Lin needed only a single glance to recognize the familiar title and layout. It was, in fact, the very paper he had written.
"JAMS should have sent you the publication notice by now, right?" Professor Gu’s gentle voice came from behind his desk.
"Yeah, I received it." Chen Lin nodded, raised his teacup for a sip, and shot a strange look at Professor Gu.
He couldn’t help but start complaining internally.
’Seriously, Professor Gu? The magazine is lying open right in front of me. Is there really a need to ask a question you already know the answer to?’
However, when Chen Lin’s breezy "I received it" reached the ears of Senior Brother Ni, the graduate student standing nearby, it struck him like a clap of thunder.
Ni drew in a sharp breath and adjusted his glasses. As he looked at Chen Lin, his eyes were filled with nothing but utter respect.
’He really is the titan his own advisor holds in such high esteem!’
’Getting a first-author paper published in one of the top four journals of mathematics, and he’s still this calm and collected!’
’What composure! What a different league!’
’If it were him... forget something as incredible as getting a first-author paper in a top-four journal. If he’d gotten a first-author paper accepted by *any* top-tier journal, even one outside the big four, he would have immediately jumped out of his chair in excitement. He would’ve screenshotted it and posted it on his Friends Circle to announce it to the world. Then, he’d take the prize money from the university, call up a few friends, and make a beeline for Haidilao. A massive feast would be the only way to justify all the hair he’d lost working on it!’
’And then there’s Chen Lin...’
Senior Brother Ni was overcome with emotion. ’The world of a titan is truly beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals.’
"..."
Chen Lin’s composure actually left Professor Gu, who had a whole speech of congratulations prepared, momentarily at a loss for words.
He looked at the exceptionally young student before him, his heart a tangle of complicated emotions.
To be honest, when he had first seen the draft of this paper from Chen Lin in his inbox, requesting his help with revisions, he had been a bit stunned.
In Professor Gu’s opinion, Chen Lin’s previous graduation thesis on the "High-dimensional Monge-Ampere Equation" was already far beyond the scope of an undergraduate student in its research depth and academic value. It was even higher in quality than the dissertations of many of the Ph.D. students he supervised.
So, when Chen Lin had said his thesis topic was merely a small branch of his future research and that he intended to delve into the much broader field of "Manifold Boundary and Hallucination Control in Generative Models," Professor Gu had offered words of encouragement. In his heart, however, he hadn’t truly expected Chen Lin to produce any astonishing results in such a short time.
He had no doubts about Chen Lin’s mathematical abilities.
It was no joke. After Chen Lin had aced those five exam papers with perfect scores and then produced that thesis, Professor Gu was already 120 percent certain that he was a once-in-a-century mathematical genius.
But even geniuses had to obey the laws of reality, right?
Professor Gu figured that with Chen Lin’s new company just getting off the ground, what with all the interviews and online trending topics, most of his energy would surely be consumed by the trivialities of business operations. It would be impossible for him to have the peace of mind to immerse himself in mathematical research.
When Director Guo Qizhi had initially proposed that Chen Lin produce some interim results within a month and submit a paper to one of the top four journals, Professor Gu had hesitated, but ultimately decided against voicing his reservations.
After all, in his view, even Chen Lin’s graduation thesis was already good enough to be accepted by a top-four journal.
As long as the mathematics in this new paper was sound, it would be an article of extremely high quality, even if it only advanced a small step beyond the graduation thesis.
However, when Professor Gu received the draft from Chen Lin two weeks ago, the same sense of shock he’d felt upon seeing the graduation thesis washed over him once more.
Just like the draft of his graduation thesis, the mathematical portion of this new paper was airtight and utterly flawless.
What was even more astonishing was that Chen Lin had done exactly what he’d claimed he would. Building on his graduation thesis, he had taken a massive, solid step forward in the grander direction of "Manifold Boundary and Hallucination Control in Generative Models," achieving a breakthrough of immense value!
Although the results in this paper weren’t enough to completely upend the entire artificial intelligence industry, Professor Gu knew from the moment he saw the draft that its publication would undoubtedly send shockwaves through both academia and the private sector.
It wasn’t until the day before, when he saw Chen Lin’s article published with what could only be described as "expedited" speed in the latest English issue of JAMS, that he truly understood. Even though he had tried his best to appraise Chen Lin’s mathematical prowess as highly as possible, he had still grossly underestimated him.
It was more than a mere misjudgment.
He couldn’t even comprehend it anymore.
Normally, a person’s energy is finite. A lack of complete dedication has always been considered a cardinal sin in academia.
But this ironclad rule seemed completely inapplicable to Chen Lin.
Starting a company and conducting research—he was juggling both, and excelling at both to a ridiculous degree.
’It seems this world really does have monstrous geniuses who can completely defy all logic.’
Professor Gu looked at Chen Lin’s nonchalant expression, a myriad of feelings swirling within him. They finally escaped as a long sigh. "Ah, what a pity. I met you too late. Otherwise, even if I’d only been your advisor for a single semester, it would have been an honor I could boast about for the rest of my life."
This was no empty flattery; it was a sentiment that came straight from Professor Gu’s heart.
At not yet forty years old, he had seen his fair share of gifted students. But even if he were to tally up every brilliant peer he’d met in his own student days and all the talented students he’d since encountered, both at home and abroad, Chen Lin’s mathematical talent and skill were in a class of their own—on a completely different plane of existence.
There was one more thing he didn’t say out loud: he already felt that his own abilities were no longer sufficient to guide Chen Lin.
At the very least, he knew that even with a year, he couldn’t produce results that could rival the ideas and techniques showcased in this JAMS paper.
Chen Lin felt a little embarrassed by the sudden, high praise. His cheeks grew warm, and he could only manage a dry laugh. "Professor Gu, you’re giving me too much credit," he said in an exceptionally modest tone. "I just happened to have a flash of inspiration while I was working and managed to write it down. It’s really not as incredible as you’re making it out to be."
"Hah."
A flat, mirthless chuckle rumbled in Professor Gu’s throat.
"..."
That single sound spoke volumes, cutting off all the other modest platitudes Chen Lin had prepared and leaving him utterly speechless.
The sound was a clear expression of his disdain for Chen Lin’s humble-brag.
Even though the graduate student, Ni, was still in the room, Professor Gu was already quite familiar with Chen Lin. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to maintain the calm, composed facade he usually wore in front of his students.