Li Tongming never expected that within his lifetime, someone would actually solve Goldbachs Conjecture, one of the three major conjectures.
To him, and even to the entirety of China and the global mathematics community, this was a miracle.
Ye Chen said, "I solved this problem, but I don't know if it's correct, so I'd like to ask you to help me verify it."
The conversation between the two left Xiao He and Old Man Xia, who were standing nearby, looking shocked.
Goldbachs Conjecture?
Good heavens, you've got to be joking.
Ye Chen actually solved Goldbachs Conjecture.
Both Xiao He and Old Man Xia were very clear on the value of Goldbachs Conjecture.
Originally, the two of them didn't believe it at all.
But seeing Professor Li's slightly trembling hands and excited expression, the two found it hard to believe.
Could it be that this young man really solved it?
Xiao He and Old Man Xia had never seen Li Tongming lose his composure like this.
The two of them grew increasingly curious as they looked at the manuscript papers in Li Tongming's hands.
Could it be that Ye Chen really solved Goldbachs Conjecture, which countless Mathematicians have struggled with for hundreds of years?
After hearing Ye Chen's answer, Li Tongming scrutinized Ye Chen seriously, a sharp light flashing in his cloudy old eyes.
"The new generation really surpasses the old. Student Ye Chen, you are truly incredible."
Li Tongming couldn't help but laugh loudly.
One must know that in the world of mathematics, countless Mathematicians have battered their heads against this problem until they were bloodied, yet were unable to solve it.
Many Mathematicians even felt that this was an unsolvable conjecture.
Who would have thought that this conjecture would be solved by an eighteen-year-old young man?
And this young man was even a first-year freshman.
Most importantly, he was a Chinese person.
If the verification and calculation process proved correct, Ye Chen would be the pride of the whole world.
Looking at the young man before him, even Li Tongming felt a sense of shame.
From the first glance at these scratch papers, he could see that Ye Chen's line of thought was correct.
Ye Chen's problem-solving method was very novel. It could be said that while he had tried countless methods before, he had never thought that this method could be used to solve the problem.
Furthermore, after looking through it, he found that the answer to this problem was correct.
Goldbachs Conjecture had never been solved by anyone before.
However, the correct answer did exist.
Over these many years, with countless Mathematicians following one after another, one-third of this conjecture had already been breached, but those materials were top-secret.
Moreover, those materials were kept in an archive in Country M, where ordinary people couldn't see them at all.
Li Tongming had also gone to great lengths to see those materials.
That was how he knew the final answer.
Just now, Li Tongming had seen the problem-solving process.
Ye Chen's method was very special, and most importantly, the resulting answer was correct.
Li Tongming was very much looking forward to verifying the calculations in this manuscript.
In this lifetime, he had completely dedicated himself to the cause of mathematics.
Therefore, for Li Tongming, he was very clear about the weight of this stack of scratch papers.
Ye Chen said, "Professor Li, then I'll have to trouble you to help me verify if my process and results are correct."
Li Tongming nodded with satisfaction.
After all, the value of these scratch papers could be said to be priceless. If these papers fell into certain hands, they would surely harbor ulterior motives; after all, the impact of this thing was simply too great.
These scratch papers could be exchanged for infinite wealth.
But in Ye Chen, Li Tongming saw a love for mathematics.
Not for fame or profit, but solely for academia. Li Tongming even saw a shadow of his younger self in Ye Chen.
Li Tongming said, "Leave your things with me for now. I'll head to the headquarters of the Department of Mathematics in a moment to verify them. Your problem will likely require at least half a month and a massive amount of manpower to calculate whether the results are correct."
"Once the results are out, I will notify you immediately."
"Then I'll trouble you, Professor Li."
Looking at the young man before him who remained incredibly calm from start to finish, a thought suddenly occurred to Li Tongming.
As soon as this thought appeared, he could hardly suppress the excitement in his heart.
Although he had once said he would no longer take on disciples, at this moment, he was truly moved.
Ye Chen was truly too talented.
Li Tongming took a deep breath and finally spoke, "Ye Chen, are you willing to be my student?"
Hearing Li Tongming's words, Xiao He, who was standing to the side, was shocked.
Li Tongming had once said in a public setting that he would no longer take on disciples in the future.
But this time, Li Tongming had actually brought it up proactively.
This was enough to show how outstanding Ye Chen was for Li Tongming to make an exception and take him as a disciple.
Xiao He was very shocked; it seemed Old Man Li had truly been moved by such talent.
Xiao He could even see a hint of nervousness on Li Tongming's face.
After all, if he missed out on a student like Ye Chen—confident, steady, talented, and genuinely fond of academia—he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Ye Chen stood up, bowed to Professor Li, and said, "Thank you, Professor Li. I am willing."
Hearing Ye Chen's words, a gratified expression appeared on Professor Li's face.
He laughed and said, "From today onwards, you are my student."
Xiao He, standing nearby, was completely dumbfounded.
Xiao He had also always wanted to take Professor Li as his master.
But despite mentioning it many times, both directly and indirectly, he had been rejected by Professor Li.
Xiao He used to comfort himself, thinking that Professor Li was getting old and perhaps didn't want to take on students anymore.
But what was the situation now? Professor Li had actually taken the initiative to accept a disciple.
Xia Yingluo was also so startled that her small mouth fell open.
None of them expected that Li Tongming would take Ye Chen as a disciple.
Who was Li Tongming?
He was the universally acknowledged number one in mathematics in China, and even in the world, he ranked among the top three.
For such a person to actually take the initiative to accept Ye Chen as a disciple was simply too unbelievable.
But now the facts were right before their eyes. They had no choice but to believe it.
The four of them, including Ye Chen, came out of Li Tongming's Office.
Xiao He, Old Man Xia, and Xia Yingluo all looked at Ye Chen with somewhat strange expressions.
Especially Xia Yingluo, whose eyes were full of joy.
To be able to take a big shot like Li Tongming as a master, Xia Yingluo was naturally happy for Ye Chen.
Although Xiao He was also very envious, he was a loyal fan of Li Tongming.
His lifelong goal was to be able to become Li Tongming's student.
Xiao He hadn't expected to be beaten to it by a student.
Xiao He couldn't help but sigh that the younger generation was to be feared.
Though envious, Xiao He was not jealous of Ye Chen.
After all, for Ye Chen to be able to make Li Tongming take the initiative to accept him as a disciple, he must have his outstanding qualities.
Goldbachs Conjecture was not something an ordinary person could solve.
"Little fellow, impressive. I have high hopes for you." Xiao He patted Ye Chen's shoulder and then turned to leave.
Old Man Xia also said with a smile, "Young man, you did well. I am very satisfied."
Old Man Xia's words left Ye Chen a bit bewildered.
I'm not your student, what are you satisfied about?