Top Student at Their Peak

If such an outrageous project gets approved, what will those whose projects were rejected for three consecutive years say?

Really, every year there are people applying for funding for the last time. A lot of people are clamoring for support, and it's no longer that there are too few young mathematics practitioners; there are actually too many.

But the Natural Science Foundation has only so much funding, so every year some people have to get hurt. As a reviewing expert, you can only patch things up as best as you can.

Lu Yanxiang didn't even dare to think about the impact if Qiao Yu's project went public.

Honestly, when seeing this topic, Lu Yanxiang felt his blood pressure rise a little.

Yuan Zhengxin and Tian Yanzhen should just go back to their usual banter, letting outsiders like us watch the show. It's nice that way.

Now that the mentor and mentee are not tormenting each other, they're off to bother others, huh?

Yes, deep down, Lu Yanxiang didn't really blame Qiao Yu. After all, what malicious thoughts could a child have? Probably just a pure interest in this topic.

It's an obvious thing, even if Qiao Yu is naive, would Yuan Zhengxin and Tian Yanzhen not understand it? Submitting such a grand proposal, it's clearly intentional.

Isn't it just because their last project proposal didn't get approved? Is there really a need to hold a grudge?

After reading through the entire project proposal, Lu Yanxiang felt a bit annoyed. Such project proposals actually don't require close scrutiny; whether they pass can purely depend on personal judgment.

If you have high hopes for Qiao Yu and think he can solve this global challenge within three to five years, you could approve it under pressure.

Or you could simply reject it, and surely no one would say anything. Even if Qiao Yu actually solves it, everyone... well, at most, they would joke about it like they do about Zhang Yuanling privately.

The latter seems easier to accept.

But if he's rejected for funding twice in a row, and succeeds both times anyway...

At that thought, Lu Yanxiang probably understood why Yuan Zhengxin wanted Qiao Yu to submit such an outrageous project proposal.

Whether it gets approved or not, they don't care. If Qiao Yu can really tackle this topic, any future project he touches could probably pass without a close look...

Who could dare utter a single word of doubt?

But isn't Elder Yuan's confidence in Qiao Yu a bit too much? Does he really believe Qiao Yu can solve this problem in a few years? Or is it simply a gamble?

Can't figure it out, but it doesn't matter. Lu Yanxiang casually picked up the phone and dialed Yuan Zhengxin's number.

At their level, it's best to just ask directly.

It didn't take long for the other side to answer the phone.

"Hello."

"Hello, Elder Yuan, it's me, Lu Yanxiang."

"Oh, Chairman Lu, hello, what can I do for you?"

Initially, Lu Yanxiang intended to exchange a few pleasantries, but since Yuan Zhengxin got straight to the point, he dispensed with the formalities too.

"Elder Yuan, Qiao Yu submitted a Riemann Conjecture project, and it landed on my desk for approval. I heard that you recommended this project, so I wanted to consult your opinion."

"Oh, Qiao Yu's Riemann Conjecture, indeed I recommended it. The child is naive and rather fixated on this project. I even advised him to attempt the Twin Prime Conjecture instead of directly challenging the Riemann Conjecture.

After all, he previously proved the existence of infinitely many prime pairs with a gap less than 6. Just a bit more effort to let K equal 2, and we all believe he can manage it. But the child won't budge! He feels continuing this topic is pointless.

Academician Lu, you have no idea, this kid is just impossible to convince, so I simply went with his wish. But Academician Lu, review it as you see fit. It's okay to reject it, and it might be good for Qiao Yu to understand that project submission is a serious matter."

Lu Yanxiang chuckled: "Since you put it that way, I understand. Alright, I'll act according to the situation."

After that, the two exchanged a few more polite words and then hung up.

Lu Yanxiang also decided that it would be best not to reject it outrightly but instead bring it to the meeting for a collective review.

After all, describing things so nicely from an old man known for his fiery temper suggests something isn't quite right.

He's already analyzed the situation thoroughly, and while Qiao Yu didn't apply for the Twin Prime Conjecture, choosing the Riemann Conjecture instead, let's assume the child is merely being headstrong.

But Elder Yuan and Tian Yan being headstrong together? Lu Yanxiang found that hard to believe.

If Qiao Yu actually finds a way to prove the Riemann Conjecture, that would of course be wonderful.

However, Lu Yanxiang remained skeptical. He studied Qiao Yu's Generalized Modal Axiomatic System, and even proving the Twin Prime Conjecture still requires further extension of the framework.

At least from the current situation, he wasn't confident whether Qiao Yu could truly handle this topic.

But just to be safe, let's let everyone decide together.

If, at that time, the Natural Science Foundation website is too embarrassed to put up a banner celebrating, it can't be just his fault...

After all, this is the Riemann Conjecture, not some new unknown mathematics system that no one knows if can be achieved.

...

In fact, there is no wall in this world that's truly airtight.

Especially not when it comes to the National Natural Science Foundation's projects.

With so many people involved, as soon as the project goes through online submission, many people are already aware of it.

Not to mention, both Qiao Yu and the Riemann Conjecture are topics that easily draw attention.

While Lu Yanxiang was still hesitant about whether to approve it, roughly half of the Huaxia mathematics community already knew about Qiao Yu's intention to tackle the Riemann Conjecture.

As Qiao Yu would put it, those who should know and those who shouldn't know all pretty much knew by now.

Of course, the opinions of the vast majority can be filtered out by Qiao Yu; what project he conducts has nothing to do with those people.

But there's a small number of people to whom Qiao Yu still needs to respond.

Such as Senior Brother Chen.

"Wow, junior brother, it's circulating internally that you decided to switch to the Riemann Conjecture? And you've even applied to the National Natural Science Foundation? Is that true?"

"How did you even hear about this news?"

"Several groups are discussing this. It's hard for me not to know, right? So, is it true? Are you really confident?"

"Who dares say they're confident with the Riemann Conjecture? But when you want to do something, it's not about having confidence first before taking action! Let me tell you a story. Do you know about the small house forum?"

"Wait, are you talking about the story of you solving Professor Xue's equation on the small house forum back then? I watched one of your early interviews, where you talked about it."

"You've heard it, huh? Then you should understand my thinking. At that time, I didn't have any confidence in solving that equation, but the result was that I solved it!

See! For anything you do, you must first have the confidence that you can accomplish it, then you'll be more effective when you actually do it. If you think you're not confident even before you start, you're doomed!"

Qiao Yu replied to the message and then glanced at the nearly completed paper, feeling that this shot of motivation for Senior Brother Chen would certainly have a good effect.

After all, once the most crucial step was completed, the remaining tedious verification work was something someone had to undertake.

The work in the lab was already done, so this part of the work could be conveniently taken over.