Chapter 776: Things are getting out of hand!
Translator: Legge Editor: - -
Peking University was chaotic!
With such a big thing happening, Dean Pan and the rest couldn't possibly not report this to the higher-ups. The university president and several vice presidents were also startled by this news. After hearing about this matter, their expressions all changed!
"What sort of bad temper does this kid have?!"
"Hurry, get Old Pan to keep trying to contact him!"
"No matter what, this award can't be turned down!"
"It wasn't easy for our Chinese mathematicians to come so close to the Abel Prize, yet he intends to turn down the award? Why is this Zhang Ye always doing things that no one else dares to think about?!"
"Get me Little Zhang's contact number! I'll call him!"
As the matter blew up, it was impossible to keep it under wraps.
...
Beijing Times.
Inside an office at the headquarters.
After suddenly receiving a call, a newspaper editor froze. The phone in his hand slipped out of his grip and dropped onto the table with a bang, making a very loud noise!
The staff in the office were startled by this.
"Old Yu, what's going on?"
"I was nearly scared to death."
"What's the matter? What happened?"
"Brother Yu? What's wrong with you?"
Everyone looked at him baffled.
Old Yu looked at everyone in a daze. "I just received news that Zhang Ye won't be going to America anymore. He wants to…turn down the Abel Prize!"
The moment this was said, the office went into an uproar!
"What?"
"That's impossible!"
"Fuck! How's that possible!?"
"Old Yu, is your news reliable?"
Following that, the people in the office started to receive some calls as well. They were from either their friends or the foreign correspondents of their editorial department. Everyone received the news from their own various channels!
It was true!
Zhang Ye really was turning down the award!!
...
At Beijing Television Station.
The twenty or so staff members of Do You Remember's program team fell silent—they had just heard from the news channel that Zhang Ye had turned down the award!
Hu Fei gasped and observed, "If Little Zhang didn't intend to accept the award, why did he still attend the public meeting at Peking University earlier? He even did a few short interviews? There must be a reason for this to happen now!"
Xiao Lu said anxiously, "I heard that it was the Abel Foundation's people who deliberately made it difficult to approve Teacher Zhang's visa, so Teacher Zhang turned down the award in a fit of anger!"
Dafei facepalmed repeatedly. "Oh my god!"
Hou Di said, "Are the Abel Foundation's people dumb?! Teacher Zhang is such a bad-tempered individual. Tell me, why did they have to provoke him?!"
Hou Ge also exclaimed, "How will this situation end now?"
...
Central TV Department 1.
Zhang Ye's team who had received the news were all stunned!
Ha Qiqi was dumbfounded!
Zhang Zuo was left with his eyes wide and tongue tied!
Everyone was shocked by this piece of news and they failed to react in time!
Even Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director, Jiang Yuan, and several executives of Central TV Department 1 who hated Zhang Ye to his core were taken aback when they heard about this event. They couldn't believe that Zhang Ye would really turn down that Abel Prize! He didn't want it anymore?
Has that Zhang fellow gone crazy?
He even dared to do such a wicked thing that would upset a grandma?!
...
It was the most lively on the Internet.
The latest news had scattered everywhere like crazy!
"A major revelation! Zhang Ye turns down Abel Prize!"
"Zhang Ye turns down award! No line to Peking University!"
"What's the reason behind turning down award?"
"Zhang Ye rejects Abel Prize long awaited by Chinese mathematics field!"
The netizens' comments came as fast as the speed of refreshing a page!
"Heavens!"
"He's really turning down the award?"
"I thought everything was still fine yesterday. There were even many news sources praising him to the heavens. What made the wind change direction today? This turn of events is too great!"
"This is the Abel Prize we're talking about!"
"Teacher Zhang is too fucking fierce! He's turning it down just like that?"
"What the hell! I just got online and I'm already hit with such huge news?"
"Teacher Zhang was still just doing Plants vs. Zombies two days ago. How did he get into a war with the Abel Foundation in just the blink of an eye? He really won't stop fighting unless he dies, isn't that it!?"
"What happened exactly?"
...
The storm was becoming bigger and was getting more and more turbulent!
Meanwhile, Zhang Ye, the person at the center of the controversy, was already back at home. He poured himself a cup of coffee and drank it leisurely. He switched his cell phone to vibrate mode and placed it on the table, leaving it there to buzz nonstop. Zhang Ye did not pick up most of the calls from the reporters and his friends. However, there were still some calls that he could not avoid answering, like the calls from the Peking University heads or the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"Hello."
"Little Zhang, come back to Peking University immediately!"
"Vice President Sun, I'm still busy here and can't get away now."
"Don't try that with me. It's utter chaos here. Hurry up and come back now. We'll pretend that you never mentioned turning down the award. The visa matter will be easy to handle since Johannes from the Abel Foundation has already taken the initiative to contact us, saying that he will coordinate with the embassy staff and complete all the necessary paperwork for your visa application!"
"Vice President Sun, there's no need for that."
"Comrade Zhang Ye!"
"Vice President Sun, I still have something going on. Let's end the call here. I will treat you to a meal as an apology someday."
Following that, a call from Xin Ya arrived.
"Yo, Professor Xin."
"Don't 'yo' me, come back quickly and finish your visa application!"
"I won't listen to you regarding this matter."
"Does it make you uncomfortable if you don't cause trouble for a day? I already know all about the matter. That incident with the visa was just a small misunderstanding, so it's fine as long as it's settled."
"In my opinion, it isn't a small misunderstanding. Professor Xin, I won't say any more."
"How can you be like that! Although the Abel Prize in an individual award, do you know this also concerns the honor of our country's mathematics field?! Alright, since I can't persuade you, then I'll give your girlfriend a call! I don't believe you won't listen to Sis Wu!"
"Go ahead and call her, but don't worry, Old Wu will definitely listen to me regarding this matter. There has not been a single time that she did not support me before."
"You…I'm hanging up! You're making me so mad!"
After hanging up, a call from a certain Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also came in!
"Hello, Fellow Zhao."
"What's wrong with you, Professor Zhang!"
"Hur hur, I just decided at the last minute that I do not want to go."
"Do you understand what this award means to the Chinese mathematics field? And what this award means to the Chinese academic world?"
"I know, but it's precisely because I know that I'm turning down the award!"
"You're turning down the award even though you know what it means to us?"
"Then let me ask you a question: What do you think is more important to a mathematician of any country, the award or our dignity?"
The other side of the line suddenly fell silent.
Zhang Ye said: "Getting the award is to showcase our mathematicians of China to the world and earn dignity and respect through it. But setting our dignity aside to gain the award and then using the award to earn us back the dignity, do you think that is meaningful? Isn't it a bit ridiculous? Fellow Zhao, I am not a professional academic, so I admit that I can't quite understand the desire of wanting to be recognized. But I know that if others don't respect me, you shouldn't expect me to show respect to them either. However others treat me, I will treat them the same many times over! That's the kind of person I am!"
Zhang Ye remained impenetrable and did not give face to anyone!
...
Soon after, more news was published!
Even the television stations followed up on this matter!
"Problem with visa application, Zhang Ye denied by embassy!"
"Internal staff reveals reason for Zhang Ye's snubbing of award is due to Abel Foundation's contempt and ignorance of him. Clearly invited by them to receive award, Zhang Ye was then denied a visa!"
"Hidden rules within Abel Prize?"
"Abel Prize's authority met with doubt!"
"Source confirms news, Zhang Ye's visa application denied!"
Very soon, with the many headlines, the truth and insider news of the incident was uncovered bit by bit!
Some netizens were still crying "what a pity," hoping for Zhang Ye to go and receive the award.
"Didn't you see the news? You guys don't know a fart! It was the Abel Foundation's people who schemed and purposely made it difficult for Teacher Zhang! They invited Teacher Zhang to receive the award yet refused to approve his visa application. What's the fucking meaning of this? This is too infuriating! Even I got furious when I heard that, so you don't even have to mention a bad-tempered person like Teacher Zhang! I knew that Teacher Zhang wouldn't turn down the award for no good reason. Although Zhang Ye doesn't have a good temper, he isn't an unreasonable person after all. So that was what happened!"
"I'm unconditionally giving all my support to Zhang Ye on this matter without a doubt!"
"Johannes? What an arrogant snob!"
"Fuck, that bunch of foreigners really look down on us too much! Such contempt! Teacher Zhang did well! That's the way it should have been handled! Do you think we fucking want your lousy award!?"
"Teacher Zhang is awesome! Beautifully handled!"
"That's right! This is really uplifting for our countrymen!"
"The prerequisites of giving and receiving awards should be respect for each other. If you don't show any respect to our Chinese mathematician? Then it's better to not receive the award! We don't care if you are Abel or Uber! We don't want it! How can such an important award in the global mathematics field be infused with personal emotion? Would that make it an impartial award? How utterly disappointing!"
"Hahaha! Zhang Ye is still as charismatic as ever!"
"The only person in the country capable of doing such morally upright and uplifting things is Zhang Ye alone! Speaking of boldness, no one in the country can match up to Zhang Ye! Not everyone has the determination to make such a decision as turning down the award! Not only does he need to withstand the pressure from the different fields in the country, he even has to bear with the doubt from the global mathematics field! Brothers and sisters, this is the moment when Teacher Zhang needs us. If we don't support him now, then when should we support him?"
"That's right!"
"Go to hell!"
"Teacher Zhang, you are way too fucking domineering!"
"Losing the Abel Prize is definitely not a loss to us. The loser here is the Abel Foundation!"
"This is what I've always liked about Zhang Ye. Even if it's the most prestigious award in the mathematics field, if they angered this bro, he would still turn it down, much less the Abel Prize. What can they do about that?!"
"Losing the award and honor isn't a big deal, but Zhang Ye has won us back our dignity, and that is more important than anything else!"
The netizens' vocal support was flooding in overwhelmingly!
Of course, there were still some critics. A few members in the mathematics field cast doubt and criticized Zhang Ye's behavior. Some even cursed at him, saying that he had embarrassed all Chinese citizens by turning down such an important international award. In the future, be it the Abel Prize or some other international awards, who would still dare to award it to someone from China?
All the different voices were clumped up into a big chaotic mess!