Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo arrived at Xiao He's Office.
Xiao He stood up with a smile and said, "Alright, I'll take you to meet someone."
Professor Xiao got up and led Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo to the third floor.
Walking down the hallway, Ye Chen was somewhat surprised to see the nameplates hanging on both sides.
The nameplates were all for professors; as expected of Peking University, it truly lived up to its reputation.
This kind of faculty strength was truly terrifying.
An average University is already impressive if it has one or two professors in residence.
Yet here, almost everyone was a professor.
The Professor Xiao He was taking Ye Chen to see was very famous at Peking University and even in the national mathematics community; he could be described as a leading figure of the Taishan-Beidou level in China's mathematical world.
The three of them reached the end of the hallway, where Ye Chen saw a nameplate hanging on the door with three large characters: Li Tongming.
Seeing those three characters, Xia Yingluo was also stunned.
This man was China's most famous mathematician.
Xiao He knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
An aged voice came from inside.
Xiao He led the way in, and what met their eyes was a very large bookshelf filled with all kinds of books.
Almost all of these books were famous works on mathematics.
The variety was startlingly large; it was clear that Xiao He usually loved reading very much.
Two elderly men were sitting in the Office, one of whom was Old Man Xia.
The two were discussing something and seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.
Li Tongming said with a smile, "Little Xiao, are these the Jiang Province Top Scholar and Runner-up that you and Old Xia keep talking about?"
Old Man Xia smiled and said, "Yes, these are the treasures Old Xiao brought back from Jiang Province."
Li Tongming was somewhat surprised that these two young people could be so highly praised by Old Man Xia.
Old Man Xia and Li Tongming were both heavyweight figures at Peking University.
In the past, Old Man Xia had never done something like this, praising young people so highly.
Xiao He said, "Elder Li, these two students have always greatly admired you, so I brought them to meet you."
Ye Chen also understood that Elder Li probably wouldn't easily meet students under normal circumstances; if Old Man Xia and Xiao He hadn't intentionally tried to help them, they might not have had the chance to meet him.
Li Tongming looked at the two of them, his expression unchanging.
As a heavyweight at Peking University, Professor Li devoted his whole heart to mathematical research and didn't pay much attention to other matters.
However, since Old Man Xia was also a heavyweight figure at Peking University, he still had to give Old Man Xia some face.
Xiao He said with a smile, "Elder Li, Ye Chen is no simple student; he got a perfect score in mathematics, and he's the record holder for the highest score in the Chinese National Higher Education Entrance Examination with 749 points."
Hearing Xiao He's words, Li Tongming was also momentarily stunned.
"Oh, so you're that student who got a perfect score on the exam."
Ye Chen shook his head, "No, I scored 749 points."
Li Tongming said with a smile, let me tell you a secret: "Actually, your score should have been 750 points."
Ye Chen was stunned upon hearing this; wasn't it 749? Why was one point deducted?
Li Tongming said, "Because a perfect score has never appeared in the history of the exam, one point was deducted from your score. As the saying goes, 'when the water is full, it overflows.' A point was deducted from your essay mainly because we were afraid you would become too proud."
"Actually, I read that essay of yours, and it was written very well. I saw the future of China through you."
As the head of the exam review committee for this National Higher Education Entrance Examination, Li Tongming had a vivid memory of Ye Chen's essay.
In all these years, it was a rare essay that could truly make someone's eyes light up.
Li Tongming smiled and said, "Alright, don't just stand there, take a seat."
Although Li Tongming was highly respected at Peking University, he wasn't an arrogant person and was very easygoing with the younger generation.
After they sat down, Li Tongming said with a smile, "Actually, our generation is just a bunch of old men now; China's future depends on you."
Ye Chen looked at the easygoing old man before him and was also surprised.
The outside world praised Li Tongming immensely, even elevating him to the status of a god.
But in Li Tongming's own heart, he was just an ordinary old man, nothing extraordinary.
Ye Chen smiled and said, "Professor Li, I have always loved mathematics, and you have always been my idol."
Ye Chen's words were from the bottom of his heart; he had actually read many mathematical papers, many of which were written by Li Tongming and contained unique insights.
Ye Chen also held great admiration for this mathematician.
After all, Li Tongming had made many contributions to China.
Li Tongming's influence could be seen behind aerospace and many other high-tech fields.
It could be said that Professor Li Tongming was a pillar of the nation, a true Scholar of the State.
Li Tongming laughed and said, "Actually, I'm just an ordinary old man."
Ye Chen smiled, took an envelope out of his bag, and said, "Professor Li, my visit today is mainly because I have a problem I'd like you to take a look at."
Seeing the envelope Ye Chen handed over, Li Tongming was momentarily stunned.
He had thought Ye Chen was just visiting, but he didn't expect the other party to have a math problem to consult him on, which immediately sparked his interest.
Xiao He also said with a smile, "This kid... he asked me to help him with something, then said he had a problem he wanted someone to look at. I originally said he could just show me, but he didn't trust me. Don't you think that's irritating?"
Xiao He had been brooding over this matter.
Since he started teaching at Peking University, no one had ever doubted his level of expertise.
Nevertheless, because of the connection with Old Man Xia, he still helped Ye Chen contact Li Tongming.
Li Tongming became even more curious after hearing Ye Chen's words.
What kind of math problem was in Ye Chen's envelope that even Xiao He wasn't qualified to look at?
Li Tongming opened the envelope and picked up the manuscript: "Then let me see just how difficult this problem is."
Li Tongming took out a thick stack of scratch paper from the envelope.
As for what the content was inside? Xia Yingluo, of course, knew what it was.
Xia Yingluo was also very curious; had Ye Chen really solved Goldbachs Conjecture, one of the three great conjectures of the world?
Li Tongming only took one look, and his gaze could no longer be moved away.
His body trembled slightly, and his eyes held a shocked expression.
The more Li Tongming read, the more alarmed he became, and even his aged hands began to tremble.
About ten minutes later, Li Tongming looked up and asked with some excitement, "You did this problem?"
Li Tongming knew all too well what was in his hands.
When he was young, Li Tongming had spent over a decade researching Goldbachs Conjecture.
But in the end, he had failed.
Furthermore, Li Tongming knew that many Mathematicians around the world had been trying to break through this difficult barrier, but even now, no one had succeeded.
Li Tongming could never have imagined that this problem, which left the world's Mathematicians helpless, had actually been cracked by a freshman.