Chapter 40: Apricot Blossoms, Spring Rain, Jiangnan

On a relatively high rooftop of the University of Hong Kong, the two police officers had not yet gone far. One of them, Thomas, continued to stare through binoculars at the entrance of the lecture hall where Lin Ran and Chen Jingrun were located, sweat continuously sliding from his plump face down to his neck.

The Chinese man beside him was similarly dripping with sweat:
"Boss, is it really necessary for us to be this polite to him? He's just an American professor, how could he possibly affect us?"

The plump white man, Thomas, turned his head and slapped him on the head. "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. Randolph Lin is a professor at Columbia University, and also Professor Horkheimer’s final closed-door disciple. Right now, among the members of the House of Lords, Horkheimer can directly contact at least one-third of them, and in the House of Commons, at least two-thirds. Maybe he can't help me achieve anything, but he can certainly ruin things for me. I want to go back to London early; I don't want to stay in this ghost place any longer. Besides, he is a world-renowned mathematician. If he casually drops a word in the media, we won't be able to handle the fallout. In your Chinese phrasing, it means we'd be in for a world of trouble."

Thomas felt rather proud inwardly, thinking to himself that this guy still had a lot to learn from him. At this particular time, Hong Kong's economy had not yet taken off, so all the white people who came here wanted to go back, especially those in positions like senior inspectors. In their view, London was much better than this place. It was precisely because of this that Thomas spared no effort in lecturing his subordinate.

Meanwhile, Chen Jingrun packed his academic journals into his bag and left the classroom. Before leaving, he turned to Lin Ran and said, "Professor Lin, thank you."

Lin Ran waved his hand. "Go ahead."

After returning home...
"This is a good thing."
"It's equivalent to clearing you of suspicion."
"Professor Lin is indeed very cautious in his actions."
"However, the initiative is now completely in his hands."
"This isn't very good for us."
"See if you can find an opportunity to invite him to a cafe for a chat—at a cafe designated by us."

Section Officer Zhang was seemingly talking to Chen Jingrun about today's job application at the plastic factory, but in reality, he was discussing the other man's experience today. Officer Zhang had adopted the alias Chen Ruhai and found a job at Mr. Li's plastic factory. He would move away later and come to find Chen Jingrun only in case of an emergency.
......

Over the weekend, at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Lin Ran brought along the music cassette specially recorded for him by Meng Xiaodong to accept an exclusive interview with the station.

"Good morning, dear listeners and friends. Welcome to this special interview program on RTHK Radio 1. I am your broadcaster, Deng Huixin. Next, let us welcome our special guest, Professor Randolph Lin."

RTHK was a public broadcaster established in the 1930s, making it a veteran broadcasting station. Currently, it was divided into Radio 1 and Radio 2, with Radio 1 mainly broadcasting in Cantonese and Radio 2 in English. Deng Huixin was a famous Cantonese broadcaster at RTHK, but she switched to Mandarin specifically for the interview with Lin Ran.

Prior to the interview, RTHK had already run warm-up promotions through newspapers, and this interview would be rebroadcast repeatedly by the station. At this time, most households did not have radios, and people mostly listened to broadcasts in places like teahouses and restaurants, which were equipped with public speakers.

"Ms. Deng, hello." Lin Ran sat facing Deng Huixin.

"It is an honor to be the first media outlet in Hong Kong to interview Professor Lin, and I also thank Professor Lin for his strong support of RTHK. Professor Lin, let's start our interview with the Poincaré—ah, the Fermat's Last Theorem. I believe Hong Kong citizens are very curious about how you ever thought to begin working on Fermat's Last Theorem in the first place?"

Lin Ran said, "For mathematicians like us, we generally keep a large number of problems prepared in our hands, advancing them simultaneously. Because Fermat's Last Theorem is so famous, it had always been sitting on my problem list."

"So in fact, your ability to crack this problem was also a matter of coincidence?" Deng Huixin asked.

Lin Ran replied, "That's right. In the beginning, it was just the idea that 'it seems worth a try.' I persisted for several years and finally worked it out. After working it out, I verified it myself a few times and felt there weren't major issues, so I convened an academic conference. I feel everything went quite smoothly without experiencing any twists and turns."

"You are too modest. It is because your talent in the field of mathematics is so extraordinary that you were able to solve this problem that has plagued the mathematical community for hundreds of years. When you learned that your paper had been recognized by the academic community, how did you feel at the time?"

Lin Ran smiled and said, "I knew I was right. Mathematics is not physics; whether people recognize it or not does not affect its correctness. So I didn't have many thoughts, purely feeling that Columbia University should pay me a bit more salary."

Deng Huixin immediately followed up: "So would Professor Lin be so kind as to reveal your current annual salary? Is it as high as the million Hong Kong dollars rumored in the streets?"

Lin Ran explained, "It's not that much. I'm not very familiar with exchange rates, but in US dollars, it's about 100,000."

Deng Huixin was stunned. "That is already close to one million Hong Kong dollars! Hong Kong newspapers said your annual salary was 30,000 US dollars, but rumors on the street say it's a million Hong Kong dollars. Why is there such a huge gap?"

Lin Ran did not want to discuss this topic too much: "That's because I also hold some other part-time roles, and certain foundations provide me with academic sponsorships."

Deng Huixin joked, "The Hong Kong women listening to our broadcast had better hurry up; opportunities to snag a golden turtle-son-in-law in Hong Kong are rare."

She then continued: "Professor Lin, you are a giant in the mathematical world and have also been teaching young people in Hong Kong for half a month now. What are your thoughts, and is there anything you would like to say to the youth of Hong Kong?"

Lin Ran replied, "My tutoring class started with 50 students, and now there are still 8 students left. It has already exceeded my expectations; being able to persist this long is already considered a lot. What I want to say is that foundational science is like the roots of a tree—a rootless tree, no matter how lush its flowers, fruits, and leaves, will ultimately wither. Scientific research is definitely not a romantic adventure; it requires confronting boring blackboards day in and day out. But if you can experience the sense of beauty within it, then the laws of mathematics might be even more beautiful than a young maiden."

Deng Huixin sighed with emotion: "I hope talented young people in Hong Kong can throw themselves into mathematics with the same passion."

She then asked: "Just now, Professor Lin, you displayed a certain accumulation of Chinese culture, including a very standard Mandarin—even more standard than what I speak."

Lin Ran interrupted, "Of course. I am an American, but even more so, I am culturally Chinese."

"So do you have any plans to return to China to contribute your efforts?"

Lin Ran was silent for a moment before saying, "When I was in America, Chinese people often asked me similar questions. My answer has always been that I am culturally Chinese, but I have no plans to return to China; that land is completely foreign to me. The imagery of apricot blossoms, spring rain, and the Jiangnan region often lingers in my heart. The rain over the ancient land of China has fallen from legend into the present in traditional Chinese classics, falling from a fine drizzle to a mighty torrent, from eavesdripping to rivers and seas. But I do not plan to go back; I am completely unprepared emotionally."