Orion Crest, Series_1

Chapter 118: An unforgettable night scene

　　In terms of show off, Orion felt he was still slightly behind.

　　For the old gentleman later added softly. "Of course, you are merely hopeful."

　　Orion: "......"

　　Faltings actively struck up a conversation with him, seemingly just to say those two words. Once that was said, the older gentleman held his knife and fork attentively as he broke down his steak, indifferent to what was going on next to him.

　　It was as if even now, he was thinking about some mathematical problem.

　　As for the scholar sitting on the other side of him, he had an expression like he was on pins and needles.

　　It could be seen that this big shot next to him was causing him a lot of pressure.

　　After the banquet in the Blue Hall, there was the ball in the Golden Hall.

　　Flickering candlelight poured down from the copper candlesticks on both sides of the hall, shining on the polished and clear floor tiles, and the Goddess of Lake Mellaren sat on the mural in the centre, gazing at the dancing crowd on the dance floor with her wisdom-filled sight.

　　As for Orion, he stood at the edge of the dance floor, a glass of champagne in his hand, laughing and joking with Professor Stanley, who had also travelled from afar.

　　Earlier in the banquet, they were too far apart to greet each other, but now they had the chance to meet.

　　"I can't believe that it's only been a year, but your growth has been so rapid, you've even received the Crafoord Prize, it really puts us to shame."

　　After pausing for a moment, Stanley smiled and continued, "So, how long do you plan to stay in Princeton? Are you still coming back?"

　　"A year or two in the short term, three or five in the long term, I guess." Orion chuckled, "Back for sure."

　　Stanley smiled and said, "It's good to come back, are you interested in coming to my side as a professor?"

　　Orion smiled and said, "I think that the environment of Gordon University is still more suitable for me."

　　"Alright, it seems that you have your own plans," Stanley sighed and said in a joking tone, "But we don't have the luck to invite you to be a professor, but it's okay for you to come to our side to give lectures or presentations once in a while, isn't it?"

　　Orion smiled and nodded, "My pleasure."

　　The ball was already halfway through, but Orion had absolutely no intention of participating in it.

　　It wasn't because he wasn't interested at all, it was simply because he had come in a bit of a hurry this time, and he didn't even have a dance partner, let alone a relative to bring along like the other two winners.

　　But he was not the only one who could not dance, so it was not awkward to stand on the sidewalk with a bottle of champagne and chat with his peers.

　　As long as no one comes over and asks him to dance ......

　　But, that was obviously not going to happen.

　　Just as Orion and Stanley were chatting about the dinner they'd just had at the banquet, a lady in a long evening gown approached and flashed him a smile.

　　"Hello Mr. Orion, may I have a moment of your time?"

　　Orion gave her an unexpected look, "Of course ...... May I ...?"

　　"Maryna Viazovska," smiled and extended her right hand, "or you can just call me by my first name if you find my last name too difficult to pronounce."

　　At the sound of that name, a flash of dawning realisation appeared on Orion's face.

　　Maryna Viazovska, the winner of the Salem Prize in February this year, like that mentor of Morina's, was also a favourite candidate for the Fields Medal in '18.

　　And also, this year, she solved a famous mathematical problem that is nearly two hundred years old, the problem of filling a high-dimensional sphere in 8 and 24 dimensions.

　　The problem is closely related to both crystal physics and string theory in theoretical physics, making it a not-so-highly-known but widely-used proposition, so to speak.

　　"Thank you for the invitation, but I can't dance."

　　Shaking hands with the legendary goddess of mathematics, Orion politely expressed his regret, however, he was about to release his hand when he realised that the other party had no intention of letting go.

　　"But you always have to learn, don't you?" Maryna said with a smile, "I can teach you, and I'm sure it won't be a difficult task for a genius who won the Crafoord Prize at the age of twenty-one."

　　Orion didn't expect her to say that and froze.

　　Anyway, are all Slavs this enthusiastic?

　　But I really can't dance ......

　　Orion gave Stanley, who was next to him, a look of help.

　　However, as a result, the old gentleman obviously got the wrong meaning and thought that Orion wanted him to leave, so he laughed and said.

　　"Then I, an old man, won't bother your young people with your business, I should also go and say hello to a few old friends."

　　After saying that, the old man put his hands behind his back and walked away with a smile.

　　......

　　Dancing was just a normal way of socialising, and had no special meaning. It was said that a certain Nobel Prize winner was so excited while dancing that he even let his shoes fly out, and everyone just laughed heartily.

　　In fact, the two just danced together and even discussed mathematical problems during the dance.

　　As for why they suddenly chatted about maths problems, it was mainly because Orion was trying to cover up his embarrassment at the dance, so he purposely threw out a mathematical proposition in an attempt to divert her attention. After all, dancing was something he was a complete novice at.

　　Perhaps he really should take the time to learn these things himself. Orion figured that one day he'd come back here once more. And, in a different way.

　　After the ball, the guests dispersed.

　　For the scholars, there were presentations to prepare for tomorrow. And for the couples who had made eyes contact with each other on the dance floor, they didn't really want to waste all their time here.

　　Dragging his tired body back to the hotel, Orion threw his clothes on a chair and collapsed on the bed, letting out a long breath.

　　Today was definitely the most exhausting day of his year.

　　Even when he ran into a problem he couldn't figure out while challenging Goldbach's Conjecture in closed-door and paced around the house all day, he was definitely not as physically and mentally exhausted as he was today.

　　The joy of it, however, was also quite wonderful.

　　It wasn't just the honour of the Crafoord Prize, but also the half a million dollars in prize money ......

　　Orion was about to put the medal aside when he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have almost forgotten something important.

　　This joy of winning the award, it seems that he has not yet had the time to share it with his fans.

　　Thinking of this, Orion sat up and walked idly to the window.

　　Still facing the window at night, only in the camera, there was an additional golden colour medal.

　　This time, Orion did give his tweet a line of text, revealing the mystery of last night's post.

　　[An unforgettable night scene, may I visit again soon!

　　-2016-5-26, in Stockholm].