Super God-Level Top Student

Xilin City, Xilin University of Technology Science Building.

Qiao Ze was sitting in Li Jiangao's office, reading through the paper he had refined in collaboration with Li, once again.

Originally, he had been studying in the library with Su Mucheng that afternoon.

However, a little after two in the afternoon, Su Mucheng's peace was disrupted by a phone call and then a message on WeChat...

She said a friend had arrived, and she had to go to meet them, so she left reluctantly.

Left alone in the library, Qiao Ze suddenly didn't know what to do, so he sent a WeChat message to Li Jiangao and was then invited over to work on revising the paper.

How to put it...

After adhering to the standard format, the organization of the content indeed became much clearer.

But it also seemed much more verbose.

Many things that he had considered self-evident had, under Li Jian's patient guidance, been expanded to include many more details.

According to Li, the reviewers, those big shots, were generally not young. Their minds didn't work as quickly as younger ones, so writing out the processes in more detail could speed up the review process.

Qiao Ze accepted this explanation and even added some new illustrations himself because he had begun to realize that not everyone possesses a strong spatial imagination.

This series of amendments expanded the original eight-page paper directly to 17 pages.

However, the overall structure hadn't really changed.

This afternoon had also allowed Li Jiangao to witness Qiao Ze's efficiency firsthand.

He had just completed one process in the morning, with barely any breaks in between. Aside from getting a glass of water and stretching, he spent almost all of his time researching, drawing diagrams, and fleshing out the proof process.

But after Qiao Ze arrived, he listened to Li's explanations, quickly got to work, and in less than three hours, he had filled in all the parts that were deemed too abbreviated and added the illustrations used in the proof process, all in one fell swoop.

This made Li Jiangao fully recognize the gap between himself and Qiao Ze—it was probably as big as the distance between a genius and an idiot...

It was quite a relief.

At least he hadn't sunk to comparing wits with a dog.

Remembering his university days when he was also regarded as a genius by his peers, Li Jiangao felt ashamed.

Indeed, one must remain humble; who knows where there might be a heaven-defying person hidden?

Of course, the young man before him probably didn't need to be modest under any circumstances, ever.

Because Li Jiangao couldn't imagine that if there were someone with a higher IQ than Qiao Ze, how abnormal that would be!

"Phew... that's done. Qiao Ze, what do you think about the paper, where do you want to submit it?"

After composing his complex emotions, Li Jiangao asked Qiao Ze calmly.

Qiao Ze shook his head and replied, "I don't know."

He truly didn't know.

Qiao Ze had never seriously researched journals; he stumbled upon papers by chance, focusing on their content rather than being concerned with where those damned articles were published.

Li Jiangao let out a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, there was something this guy didn't understand.

If he did, Li was ready to hand over his office to Qiao Ze.

"Well, let's put it this way, there are four top journals internationally recognized in the mathematics community. This paper may not reach the top level of these four, but at least it is above the average. However, it's risky to submit to these four right off the bat."

Li Jiangao said this and slowed his speech because he felt somewhat inferior.

If he had more academic achievements and was more famous in the mathematics community, he wouldn't be in this awkward position now.

After a moment's hesitation, he still decided to tell the truth, "Frankly, I don't have the ability to submit to these four for you. Generally, it's very difficult for ordinary scholars to get noticed when submitting to these four, not to mention how long it might take to get feedback.

But if you really want to submit there, I could introduce you to a big-shot mentor who could recommend you, although the corresponding author would usually have to add his name."

Qiao Ze immediately shook his head and said, "No need, you're the corresponding author, and I'm the first author. Even though this paper is quite ordinary, it should only carry our two names. As for which journal to submit to, you decide."

Li Jiangao was stunned, then immediately said, "Not exactly, Qiao Ze, you might not quite understand the role of the corresponding author..."

"I understand that part, the first listed on every paper is the corresponding author," Qiao Ze nodded and then calmly said, "But does that matter? This kind of paper, I can think up easily, I could write many, many of them. I'll wait till I'm famous before I become the corresponding author."

Li Jian Gao felt like crying again.

It wasn't just because he was moved.

But it was the latter half of Qiao Ze's sentence.

If he could write one or two papers in his lifetime that met the standards of the top four academic journals in terms of creativity and academic level, Li Jian Gao would be satisfied.

Qiao Ze's words about being able to write "a lot, a lot more"—which professor could hear that and not be disarmed?

Moreover, there was no way to refute it.

The first draft of this paper took only eight hours.

The revision took a day, but most of that day was because he was learning.

If he had called Qiao Ze over earlier, half a day would have probably been enough.

So Li Jian Gao fell silent and, after a few minutes, smiled and said to Qiao Ze, "Alright, well... it's getting late, why don't you head back to your dormitory." Find out what happens next on m_vl.em,pyr

"Sure, Li Shu, goodbye."

Qiao Ze stood up naturally and left the office.

One could tell from his calm demeanor that he truly had no expectations or curiosity about where the paper would be published.

Li Jian Gao himself started to feel it was all rather tasteless.

Was this the temperament of a future big shot? A top journal publication... what does it even matter!

After watching Qiao Ze leave, Li Jian Gao quietly began preparing the paper for submission.

It was something he was well-versed in.

Truthfully, he felt embarrassed to be the corresponding author, but the harsh reality was that if he published the paper under Qiao Ze's name alone, the other party would definitely not take it seriously.

Unless it was submitted to a low-tier journal...

But this paper, even if it couldn't make it to the top four international journals, should at least aim for an international core journal, not even contemplating those with an impact factor below 5.0.

After all, lower-tier journals might not even find capable reviewers, which would be a true waste of a good manuscript.

In the end, Li Jian Gao chose the journal hosted by the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences—Pure and Applied Mathematics Communications.

This was also considered a top-tier publication in the mathematics field, although not as renowned as the top four.

But the quality of the manuscript and even the impact factor ranking were not inferior to the top four mathematics journals.

Furthermore, its selection criteria placed more emphasis on originality and groundbreaking achievements in the field of mathematics.

Qiao Ze's manuscript was definitely up to par.

But when Li Jian Gao opened the submission system and began editing the corresponding author information, he hesitated for a moment.

In the end, he listed both himself and Qiao Ze as the corresponding authors.

One paper with two corresponding authors wasn't really a big issue.

This way, he could feel a bit more at ease.

Of course, Qiao Ze's name remained as the sole primary author.

Manuscript type, research content, title, abstract, keywords...

As he was about to upload the paper, Li Jian Gao hesitated.

The paper didn't have any references, which made him feel uneasy. He thought about advising Qiao Ze to add some randomly, but then he considered the kid's attitude and decided to let it go...

Finally came the signing of the copyright transfer agreement.

Half an hour later, everything was settled, and Li Jian Gao let out a sigh of relief. Unconsciously, he put himself in Qiao Ze's shoes and amusingly thought, "Editors of Pure and Applied Mathematics Communications, you'd better have a clue."

Really, when Li Jian Gao tried to see the world from Qiao Ze's perspective, he found it—truly freaking interesting to the extreme!