146: Chapter 146 Proves the Twin Prime Conjecture!

Li Yan stood by the side door of the school office building waiting for Zhao Yang.

She was dressed as elegantly as ever, in a beige belted trench coat.

It was well-tailored, and her belt was tied tightly, accentuating her curvaceous figure.

She wore a pair of black high-heeled boots.

Even at a time like this, her makeup was still meticulously applied, with her eyeliner drawn very long, attempting to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

She looked calmer than she had a few days ago, no longer like a frightened bird, though she still maintained a fragile sense of dignity she was struggling to uphold.

Seeing Zhao Yang walk over with his hands in his pockets, Li Yan instinctively took a step forward, then stopped.

"What did you want to see me about?" Zhao Yang walked up to her and asked casually.

Li Yan opened her mouth, her throat moving as if she were organizing her words.

After a few seconds, she finally spoke, her voice very dry: "The police called me."

Zhao Yang did not respond, just watched her.

"My parents... have been arrested." Li Yan frowned slightly, saying in a hoarse voice.

"The police said it was burglary. They went to a villa district in Shunyi, wanting to break in and find some valuables, but that house had an internet-connected alarm system installed.

When the security guards and police arrived, they had a watch and several pieces of jewelry in their pockets; the amount involved exceeded 200,000 yuan."

"They were caught red-handed, and the surveillance footage captured it too, so there is no way to deny it. They might be sentenced to... many years."

Li Yan lowered her head, staring at the withered grass in the cracks of the floor tiles.

Zhao Yang nodded, his face expressionless.

"What do you plan to do?" Zhao Yang looked at Li Yan and asked calmly.

Li Yan was stunned for a moment.

"I do not know." She shook her head, looking at Zhao Yang with complex eyes.

Zhao Yang had told her not to get involved in this matter and that he would help her handle it; the result was what it was now.

Could it be that her parents were sent in by him?

This thought had just arisen in Li Yan's heart when she quickly extinguished it.

"Logically speaking, they are my parents, and I should be crying, trying to find a lawyer, or going to visit them. But..."

She paused and looked up at Zhao Yang.

"Zhao Yang, am I cold-blooded? When I heard this news, my first reaction was actually—finally, some peace and quiet."

"It is not cold-blooded; it is a normal reaction." Zhao Yang's tone was flat.

"Avoiding harm and seeking benefit is a biological instinct.

You have been dragged down by parents like that for so many years; whatever you owed has long been paid off.

They are being reformed inside, with the state providing their meals, and you can live a few years of peaceful life; this is good for everyone."

Li Yan was silent for a long time.

The wind blew through the holly bushes in the flower bed, and the leaves rustled.

She let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping as if she had unloaded a heavy stone.

"Thank you, Zhao Yang." Li Yan said softly, "If it were not for you, I might have really resigned and run away."

Zhao Yang shook his head: "You chose your own path."

Li Yan did not say anything more.

She turned and walked toward the office building, but after a few steps, she turned back and said seriously: "I will pay you back that 50,000 yuan as soon as possible."

"No rush." Zhao Yang waved his hand.

Watching Li Yan walk into the building, Zhao Yang withdrew his gaze.

Li Yan needed some time to convince herself, and also some time to calm her emotions.

But slowly, things would get better; she was now far away from those vampire-like family members.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yang smiled slightly and turned to walk toward the Library.

There were not many people in the Library in the afternoon.

Zhao Yang walked familiarly to the computer section on the fourth floor and found a seat in a corner by the window.

He took a stack of journals and books to read there.

As his academic level improved, the experience point gains Zhao Yang received from reading these journals became more and more significant.

He was increasingly able to understand the advanced technologies and viewpoints in the journals, which was definitely a good thing.

Therefore, the current Zhao Yang, in addition to reading some key academic monographs, also very much liked reading academic journals, especially those in Tier 1 or higher; he would almost always find them and take a special look.

After reading for more than an hour, the sound of a chair being pulled came from beside him.

Zhao Yang did not look up.

A hand placed a copy of "Advanced Biochemistry" and a notebook on the table.

Zhao Yang turned his head to the side.

Gu Qing was wearing a cream-colored sweater with a camel-colored coat over it, her hair casually tied behind her head.

She did not speak, just nodded slightly to Zhao Yang and sat down beside him.

Neither of them started any small talk.

Zhao Yang continued reading the journals, and Gu Qing opened her book to take notes.

There was only the sound of turning pages and the rustling of pen tips across paper.

This quietness lasted until dusk.

Zhao Yang closed his book and rubbed his neck.

Gu Qing also happened to stop writing and turned to look at him.

"Are you hungry?" Gu Qing asked.

Zhao Yang glanced at his watch, it was 6:30: "A little."

"Eat together?"

"Sure."

The two packed their things and went to the Second Canteen together.

It was peak meal time, and the canteen was chaotic.

They found a corner and got two simple meals.

"I heard you made quite a stir back home during the winter break?"

Gu Qing picked up a piece of potato and put it into her mouth, her bright, large eyes filled with curious light as she looked at Zhao Yang and said.

"First a TV station interview, then catching a hacker on the spot; it has spread all over our department's group chat."

"I was forced into it." Zhao Yang said helplessly.

"When someone splashes dirty water on you, you have to wipe it clean."

"Well done." Gu Qing smiled.

As they were finishing their meal, Gu Qing took two tickets out of her pocket and pushed them across the table to Zhao Yang.

"Saturday night, 'Red Cliff (Part 2)'. A friend gave me two tickets."

Gu Qing looked at Zhao Yang, "I have been quite tired from busy experiments lately and want to relax. Want to go?"

Zhao Yang picked up the tickets and took a look.

Saturday night at 7:00, UME Cinema.

He had indeed been tense recently, his brain running at high speed for several months; it was time to rest.

"Okay." Zhao Yang put the tickets into his pocket.

"See you Saturday."

A smile appeared on Gu Qing's face: "It is a deal, do not stand me up."

Returning to Dorm Room 302, it was already past nine in the evening.

The dorm was very noisy.

Li Tianqi and Wang Mian were teaming up to play Dota, the keyboards clacking loudly; it was still the era of Dota 1, and Dota 2 would not have an open beta for another four years.

"Brother Yang is back!"

Seeing Zhao Yang return, Li Tianqi and Wang Mian immediately stopped their game and greeted Zhao Yang.

"Yeah, it is fine, you guys keep playing." Zhao Yang said to the two with a smile.

"Alright!" The two continued playing the game.

And Zhao Yang sat at his spot and turned on his computer.

Zhao Yang opened the arXiv website.

He logged into his account.

Click: Submit.

Category selection: Number Theory.

Title input: On the Boundedness of Prime Gaps.

Author: Zhao Yang.

In the abstract field, he pasted the text he had long prepared:

"This paper proves the existence of infinitely many pairs of adjacent prime numbers with a gap of less than 70 million. This result is achieved by improving the GPY Sieve Method and introducing a new Sieve Method weighting function..."

The core of this paper was that, based on the work of Mr. Yitang Zhang in the original historical timeline, he had taken a further step to provide a path toward k = 2 (twin prime conjecture).

The file upload speed was not fast; computer technology in this era could not compare to later generations.

Zhao Yang watched the screen, his heartbeat steady.

He had checked this paper no less than ten times, not even letting a punctuation mark slide.

"Upload Successful."

A green prompt box popped up.

Zhao Yang let out a breath.