Chapter 241 - 181: Submission Invitation

Chapter 241: Chapter 181: Submission Invitation

When Xiang Wentian heard this, his pale lips twitched, and he slowly shook his head.

"Move back?" His voice was soft, as if he were talking to himself. "My children have their own lives. I don’t want to be a bother to them anymore."

His gaze drifted out the window toward the distant, azure lake, his eyes filled with a hint of reminiscence.

"When I was working, I was always in the Imperial Capital. Back then... I was young, full of energy. I wish I could’ve turned one day into three."

A bitter smile touched the corner of Xiang Wentian’s lips. "At first, I was doing research day and night, practically sleeping in the lab. Later, it was more of the same—working around the clock on projects, leading teams, pushing to meet deadlines..."

"I always thought back then that once I retired, I’d sell our place in the Imperial Capital, and my wife and I would travel the country and see all its magnificent landscapes."

As he spoke of this, Xiang Wentian’s voice grew noticeably hoarser.

"But in the end, just when I finally made it to retirement, my body suddenly gave out. And my wife... she’d already passed on."

He paused for a moment, as if suppressing a wave of emotion, then laboriously raised a hand and pressed the button on the bedside remote.

The electric hospital bed let out a faint WHIR as it slowly rose, adjusting his body from a flat to a half-seated position.

Xiang Wentian turned his head to look out the window.

It was afternoon, and the warm, bright Yuxi sun cast itself upon the gem-like azure surface of Fuxian Lake, making the water glitter and sparkle.

The distant mountains, wreathed in clouds and mist, appeared and disappeared from view. By the shore, a few white water birds would occasionally fly past, carving elegant arcs through the air.

A faint, yet profoundly serene smile appeared on his face.

"Liang... this place... I chose it for myself. It’s where I’ll say goodbye to this world."

Xiang Wentian’s voice was perfectly calm, as if he were discussing the most ordinary of matters.

"I never got to see all the great landscapes of our country with her, but at least, for this final stretch of time, I can look at this lake and these mountains every day. I suppose... it makes up for a little of that regret."

Liang Tianshi listened in silence.

After a long while, Xiang Wentian finally drew his gaze back from the window and turned to his old friend sitting beside him.

"Out with it, Liang." A glint of light returned to his clouded eyes. "What is it you’ve really come for this time?"

He paused, then added, "You have a habit of visiting me mid-month. You’re early this time, so it must be something important, right?"

Liang Tianshi gently nodded.

"There is," he said, not beating around the bush. "I’m here about a young man named Chen Lin."

"Chen Lin?"

Hearing the name, Xiang Wentian paused for a moment. He then furrowed his brow, thinking for a few seconds.

A few seconds later, a look of realization dawned on his face.

"Are you talking about the kid who’s been all over the news the last couple of days?"

A flash of surprise crossed Liang Tianshi’s face.

"Oh? You’ve heard about him?"

"How could I not?" Xiang Wentian chuckled. "I’ve seen reports about him several times on the news these past couple of days. You know, headlines like ’20-Year-Old Math Genius,’ ’Demonstrates New AI Algorithm Live,’ ’Stuns the Audience’—each one more sensational than the last."

He paused, then said in a playful tone, "But you know how news reports are. They love to exaggerate, but the actual details are always vague. I found myself wondering, ’What did this kid actually do to get such extensive coverage from the state media?’"

Liang Tianshi nodded and proceeded to give Xiang Wentian a detailed account of Chen Lin’s situation.

He started in July, at the National Collegiate Mathematical Contest in Modeling, where he had tested Chen Lin with a problem on the spot, only for Chen Lin to solve it in an instant.

Then he moved on to how Chen Lin, as the first author, had published a paper on Differential Geometry in the world-renowned mathematics journal JAMS, sending shockwaves through both academia and the artificial intelligence industry.

He continued, describing how Chen Lin had assisted a joint research team from Yannan University and the Science and Technology University, resolving a key mathematical bottleneck in their solid-state battery research and helping Huaxia achieve a major breakthrough in new energy technology.

And finally, he recounted the most recent event: at the International Congress of Mathematicians in the Imperial Capital, Chen Lin not only delivered a brilliant presentation but also, in front of several of the world’s top mathematicians, derived a completely new artificial intelligence algorithm on the spot. This algorithm directly solved the "model hallucination" problem that had plagued the AI industry for years.

Liang Tianshi’s account was meticulous. He recounted, in exhaustive detail, every one of Chen Lin’s accomplishments over the past six months.

Xiang Wentian listened in silence, not interjecting once.

When Liang Tianshi finally finished, a brief silence fell over the hospital room.

Xiang Wentian remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking, his face filled with sincere admiration.

"It seems the news reports were far too vague."

He smiled, a rare spark of life appearing on his pale face.

"He certainly is an interesting young man."

With that, he turned his head. His gaze fell on Liang Tianshi’s face as he asked in a playful tone, "So, Liang, you’re here because you want me to recommend Chen Lin to the higher-ups? For a spot in the ’Ten Thousand Talents Program’ as an ’Outstanding Talent’?"

Liang Tianshi nodded.

"Yes. If you’re the one to recommend him, his chances will be very high."

He paused, then corrected him with a serious expression, "But, Old Xiang, I must correct you on one point. It’s not about *giving* Chen Lin a spot."