Super God-Level Top Student

He had seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears how Roth Dugan had tried to recruit Qiao Ze, and then he witnessed Qiao Ze extend an invitation to this mathematics luminary to join the faculty at Xilin University of Technology.

After a polite refusal, they even discussed the process of proofreading, reviewing, and the final publication of the paper.

Roth Dugan took the initiative to ask Qiao Ze's opinion on whether to post the paper online first or to synchronize the online posting with the print publication.

When Qiao Ze expressed an indifferent attitude, the editor promised he would have the copy editor complete the proofreading and finalization as soon as possible so that they could publish it in the next month's issue. He also said he would send Qiao Ze dozens of photocopies and original copies of the journal.

Liu Chenfeng felt that was probably the best that old man could do for his prized disciple.

To Liu Chenfeng's speechlessness, Qiao Ze seemed to take it all for granted, not feeling honored in the slightest.

Really, if the old man on the other end of the video had treated him so well...

Forget it, he couldn't daydream any longer, as it would only make reality seem very harsh.

"Okay, Liu, do you have any problems with your thesis?" Qiao Ze asked cheerfully after the video call ended.

"Eh... no problems at the moment. Things have been going smoothly lately," Liu Chenfeng answered tentatively.

"Oh, then keep up the good work," Qiao Ze encouraged casually.

"Sure, boss, I'll work hard. But our project's coming to a close, right? Will you still need people on your side? I'm willing to do anything, and I don't care if there are subsidies or not," Liu Chenfeng asked eagerly.

The project had concluded too quickly.

Liu Chenfeng felt he hadn't had the chance to establish a strong relationship with Qiao Ze before the research team was to be disbanded.

Although he had successfully co-authored a manuscript in one of the four major mathematical journals, anyone would want more when presented with such an opportunity.

For instance, if he got on good terms with Qiao Ze in the future, and if Qiao Ze gave him a topic to independently work on, then asked Qiao Ze to polish the manuscript and casually recommend it to the old man from the video call, even if Qiao Ze was listed as the corresponding author and he was the first author, he would then be able to walk sideways in the Huaxia Mathematical Community.

After all, from the founding of Huaxia Country, the number of papers from within Huaxia that have passed the review process and been published in the four major mathematical top journals did not exceed thirty. Moreover, anyone whose paper was accepted is now or was once a major figure in their field.

This wasn't just a pipe dream for Liu Chenfeng, as he had a point of reference.

Tan Jingrong from the same research group, who had been in the group for a longer time and usually kept quiet, actually had Qiao Ze help him define his research question. Now, his paper had not only been written but had also passed the initial review, and even the publication fee had been paid. It was just waiting for the copy editor to review, typeset, and then publish it.

Although the journal Tan Jingrong was submitting to wasn't a top mathematics journal, the "Applied and Computational Mathematics" had seen a rapid increase in its impact factor in recent years, making it a top-tier journal in the SCI second-quartile journals. More importantly, Tan Jingrong was still a graduate student, not yet a doctoral candidate.

Once he chooses to pursue a Ph.D., he could essentially soar.

Being able to publish independently in a second-quartile top-flow journal during his graduate studies, and being a co-author on multiple top-journal papers, including these achievements in his CV, would dazzle any advisor. It's not an exaggeration to say that at least half of the domestic university mathematics Ph.D. advisors have only about this level of accomplishment.

You can imagine how eager Liu Chenfeng was feeling at this moment.

It would be retribution not to cling tightly to such a thick leg for the future.

After all, the smoke from one's ancestral grave can't keep billowing forever, or it would burn out entirely.

But it seemed Qiao Ze hadn't even considered this issue, as he was unusually taken aback by Liu Chenfeng's question.

After thinking for a while, he said, "The School of Mathematics' research funding pool is about to run out. If we apply for a new project right after closing this one, there might not be funding available."

Although Qiao Ze didn't need the funds personally, there were still protocols to follow.

And there was a sense of fleecing the school.

Following the advice of Li Jian Gao, he used a relatively simple paper to close the project. The school's funding was used to purchase servers, cover publication fees, and subsequently, the school would give additional rewards for the published paper. Altogether, the school was about to shell out eight hundred thousand for what was essentially a semi-developed paper.

"Little boss, what are you talking about? The School of Mathematics is very rich now! You don't know, do you? My advisor diverted a huge sum of money from the international student subsidies, I'm not bragging, but it's definitely several million. As long as you complete this project and apply for another, he guarantees it will be approved faster than anyone else's!" Liu Chenfeng exclaimed excitedly.

It was as if the dean of the School of Mathematics was not his advisor but him.
Experience tales at empire

"Oh, then let's continue to delve into the next project, the proof of the 2D Yang-Mills theory on the Riemann surface. Continue to work on it if you don't think it's a waste of time, but you'll have to sacrifice some time to read the previous papers," Qiao Ze nodded and said.

Starting from the surface to conduct a unified study was a good choice.

"I have no problem with that, doing a PhD is a process of learning. At worst, I'll just extend it by two years, it's no big deal," Liu Chenfeng immediately replied.

For Liu Chenfeng, being able to follow Qiao Ze, even if it meant delaying graduation by two years, was indeed not a problem.

If one wants to pursue a research career in academia, two years of improvement under Qiao Ze would ensure graduation without issue, and the starting point after graduation would certainly be higher than other mathematics PhDs. Not to mention that he's only in the initial phase of his third year of the doctoral program, so taking five years to graduate wasn't a problem at all.

There was a whole bunch of his senior brothers and sisters who took seven years to graduate.

"Alright," Qiao Ze agreed.

"Thank you, little boss. I'll go work on the problems then."

"Mhm," Qiao Ze nodded.

...

Walking out of Qiao Ze's office, Liu Chenfeng was utterly delighted.

He was certain of being the third author in "Mathematics Annual"!

This was Xi Gong University, and the School of Mathematics was not considered a strong discipline. In the history, it seems there was only one alumnus who had ever published a paper in this journal, but that person did their PhD at Yanbei University. As for faculty within the school, none had ever published in the top four journals until now.

After the excitement subsided, Liu Chenfeng suddenly remembered he had to inform his own boss.

When he joined the research group, Xu Dajiang repeatedly told him to report any progress with Qiao Ze's projects immediately.

And this was not considered leaking information.

After all, Qiao Ze getting a paper published in "Mathematics Annual" was great news for the university, only worthy of praise.

Not to mention Liu Chenfeng felt that Qiao Ze had a pretty good relationship with his own big boss.

Hadn't he seen Su Mucheng and Ms. Lu going shopping, and the first person Qiao Ze thought to call for help with carrying bags was his own big boss?

Therefore, Liu Chenfeng did not go directly back to the research group's large office but instead immediately called Xu Dajiang from the corridor: "Boss, I've got something to tell you, great news! Qiao Ze's paper has just been accepted, guess where?".

"Liu Chenfeng, are you drifting off lately? Don't you know how much I hate riddles? And you've learned to play coy in front of me? Qiao Ze has written so many papers, which one are you talking about? Where was it published exactly?"

"No, no, boss, which paper could I be talking about? It's the one I participated in for the project! Published in 'Mathematics Annual', Princeton's 'Mathematics Annual', and Qiao Ze gave me third authorship."

There was a moment of silence from the other end.

Liu Chenfeng knew the significance of the news and gave the other side time to react.

After a while, Xu Dajiang's voice came through: "Are you sure? Has the journal actually responded? Is it the editors who have started proofreading, or has it just passed the review?"

"I am one hundred percent sure, Qiao Ze just finished a video call with the editor-in-chief Roth Dugan of 'Mathematics Annual.' It was editor-in-chief Roth Dugan himself who examined it; Qiao Ze was responsible for answering his questions, like a defense.

After completing, the editor-in-chief personally said it would be passed to the editors for proofreading tomorrow and also made a firm commitment to publish it in the October issue."

"What? Qiao Ze's newly applied project is finished? And the paper is confirmed for 'Mathematics Annual'? Liu Chenfeng, this is serious, don't joke!"

"What joke? Boss, I was sitting right there, watching his entire conversation with the editor! You don't know, their conversation was so brilliant, professor Dugan even warmly invited Qiao Ze to Princeton in the video. He also said, if Qiao Ze nods, he can join his research group immediately to work on the N-body problem, to teach Newton a lesson."