[POI Doujin] In the Perfect World

After kissing his beloved wife goodbye, Finch left the apartment with his briefcase and headed to school.

Finch and Grace's home is located on the north side of Washington Square Park in midtown Manhattan, near the southernmost end of Fifth Avenue, a quiet place between bustle and greenery.The apartment with red walls and white windows is not far from the New York University College of Arts and Sciences where Finch works. To get to the school, he only needs to walk south through the entire park and then bypass the building in the Kimmel Center, so he is used to walking to and from get off work.

Finch quite enjoys the leisure during these two periods of walking every day. He doesn’t have to drive through the crowded New York streets, and he doesn’t have to be trapped in traffic jams in the dull cab to occupy his precious time. .Especially after the strange dream happened, this walking time is the best time for Finch to relax and adjust his emotions.

The middle-aged professor passed under the arched door, put some change into the piano case in front of the cellist who was playing under the doorpost, carefully turned sideways to avoid the little blond girl pushing the scooter and her companion, and turned his head I caught a glimpse of the familiar breakfast cart parked in the same place by the bushes on the east side.

After graduating from college, Nathan Ingram chose to accept a job offer from the New York University Department of Mathematics.Under his repeated persuasion, Finch also came to New York City with him.In the first few years, Finch and Nathan rented a small apartment together, and three meals a day were the result of the two "helping each other".By the time Nathan got married, both of them had become well-paid tenured university professors, so they each bought houses near the college.Coincidentally, although there was no prior discussion, the houses chosen by the two were only one block apart.But even though they live close together, there is no reason to disturb the family life of friends even during breakfast time.So before marrying Grace, Finch's breakfast was mostly settled at the breakfast cart of this restaurant. Fried green tea with donuts was almost the same.How old is it? Finch tried to recall, but couldn't find the exact answer from memory.I do remember that the stall owner recommended his specialty Americano to him several times, but unfortunately the overly sweet brown liquid is not Finch’s cup of tea.

Thinking of his favorite fried green tea in the past, Finch seemed to be able to feel the green and slightly sweet tea slipping down his throat instantly, and the faint tea fragrance filled his nose and between his lips and teeth.

It’s been a long time since I drank fried green tea... Finch clearly remembers that since he found out that he had insomnia and high blood pressure, Machine, who loves his father, resolutely forbade him to drink any beverages with meth, even the tea at breakfast every day The drink is also changed to freshly squeezed juice.The green tea stored at home was wiped out by Machine, and even the tea bags he asked Nathan to hide in the office were often caught by the perceptive girl.

Finch let out a long breath, right now he really needs a cup of fried green tea to relax his exhausted nerves that have been tortured by strange dreams for too long.Anyway, my good daughter is already on the way to school at the moment, without the supervision of this ghost, it's not a bad idea to secretly drink a cup of tea to soothe the mood, isn't it?

Before he could make up his mind, Finch's body had already made the decision for him before his mind.When Finch came to his senses, he was standing in front of the breakfast cart.

The business of the breakfast car is a bit deserted today. It is obviously the rush hour for work, but there are no customers. Finch is the only customer. "Harold, it's still the same today, a cup of fried green tea and two donuts?" The chubby breakfast cart owner greeted him enthusiastically, as if Finch was still the regular customer who visited every day.

"John, I've already had breakfast, just give me a cup of fried green tea." Still in a daze, Finch blurted out the words without thinking.

However, before the words finished, Finch felt that his mind was getting more and more confused. Is the owner of the breakfast car called John?He couldn't remember for a moment.But the words spoken a moment ago were so fluent, as if he had discussed the topic of breakfast with a person named "John" countless times.Who else could it be but the breakfast cart owner?

Fortunately, the owner of the breakfast cart quickly "answered" Finch's doubts, "Harold, I didn't expect you to remember my name. You haven't visited my place for a long time. If I didn't often see you passing by the park, I thought you had moved!" "

Finch just smiled apologetically and didn't want to explain further.The boss obviously didn't have the bad habit of inquiring about other people's privacy, just now it was just a customary courtesy with regular customers.He deftly brewed fried green tea for Finch, and the triangular tea bag floated and sank in the paper cup under the infiltration of boiling water, slowly dyeing the water into a light green, exuding a fragrance.

"Still the same candy?" the boss raised his head, holding tweezers in one hand and a sugar cube bowl in the other, and asked Finch.

"Old rule, a piece of candy. I'm old, I don't dare to drink too sweet." Finch adjusted his glasses and replied, inadvertently meeting the boss's eyes.The other party's eyes were obviously dark brown, but at that moment, they were the green color of fried green tea.

"I haven't guessed your favorite color yet~" A deep and gentle voice seemed to whisper in my ear.who is it?Who is talking? Finch fell into a trance again, and the familiar and nostalgic feeling surrounded him as if it had substance.who is it?Is it my hallucination?He looked around, and there were many passers-by passing by, but no one was talking to him.

"Harold, your tea is ready." The breakfast cart owner woke Finch up from his coma, handed him a cup of fried green tea with the lid on, and said with a smile, "Young people like to play guessing games now, Even in a relationship, you have to guess the color that the other party likes..." Seeing Finch staring at him blankly, the boss pointed to the not far away, "Just now the boy was still telling his little lover that he didn't Guess what color she likes!"

Finch followed his fingers and looked over, and indeed saw the backs of a young couple, the boy seemed to be talking to the girl non-stop.Looking at the owner of the breakfast cart again, his eyes were still the familiar dark brown. The green water waves before should be just an illusion caused by the light. Finch heaved a sigh of relief, it seemed that he was completely paranoid, not hallucinations, not dreaming.

Finch said goodbye to the boss, and walked slowly along the edge of the circular fountain with a cup in his hand.The repeated gaffes just now showed that the haze of last night's dream still enveloped him. Before arriving at the office, he had to calm down his emotions. Finch silently warned himself not to affect his work.

There is a row of wooden benches beside the avenue beside the fountain. The luxuriant green leaves just cover the sun that is getting hotter above. The blooming period of locust locusts in late spring has not yet passed, and clusters of white flowers are hidden among the green leaves. Exudes a pleasant aroma.

Finch sat down on the bench under the tree, holding the paper cup in both hands, slowly sipping fried green tea, the sunlight poured down from the gaps in the leaves, and fell finely on him.Curiously like a child, he reached out and fiddled with the branches that had fallen from many flowers, and the dew left between the petals soaked his fingers.The sweet and fragrant locust fragrance lingers on the middle-aged professor, and the light fragrance magically soothes Finch's restless mood caused by inexplicable dreams.

Your own life is so beautiful and peaceful, don't be mediocre. Finch closed his eyes halfway, took a few deep breaths, let the fragrance of the flowers fill his chest, squeezed away the remaining boredom in the corner, and slowly lifted his mood.

You see, Harold, it's easy to make yourself happy.The middle-aged professor leisurely drank the half-cold fried green tea in his hand, thinking to himself not without complacency.

"Okay, if there are no other questions, this is the end of today's class. The next class will discuss Bayesian decision theory in pattern recognition. I will still be in the office every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. Do you have any questions about the course?" You can find me in the office. Of course, if you need my help with the final paper, you can also come during the above-mentioned time." Finch closed his laptop, smiled and watched the students leave one by one.This is his long-standing habit. Compared with some teachers who pack up their things and leave as soon as get out of class is over, Finch pays more attention to equal communication and respect for students.Therefore, all the students who have listened to his class have also developed the habit of saying goodbye to the teacher after class, instead of leaving in a swarm.

After all the students had left the classroom, Finch bowed his head to tidy up the things on the table.An all-too-familiar voice came from the door, "Harold, seeing your leisurely appearance now, I really regret agreeing to allow you to only teach elective courses this semester without students." Who else could have spoken to Finch in that tone but his best friend of decades, Nathan Ingram.

Finch looked up and saw Nathan leaning against the wooden door of the room with his hands folded across his chest. He was wearing a fitted silver-gray three-piece suit, light yellow dark silver-patterned tie, and his blond hair was combed meticulously, with a friendly and charming smile on his face.It was not the signature smile when dealing with official business and donors. Although Nathan was sincere, humorous and personable at that time, it was a happy smile from the heart when facing friends.

Finch had to admit that Nathan's first impression was closer to Manhattan's business elite than to an academic professor on a college campus. Nathan has always been well-dressed, and Finch's current taste in clothing is the result of his years of perfection. Nathan has excellent leadership skills, which can be fully confirmed from the president of MIT's student body to the administrator of the largest college in New York University.Moreover, he is frank and enthusiastic, and he also has an extraordinary affinity and can quickly gain trust from strangers. Finch experienced it when he first met him in the MIT student dormitory.A person who can make Finch, who has always regarded privacy as life, become a close friend, cannot do without two brushes.

"You just don't see when I'm busy." Finch stuffed a stack of handouts into the folder, and he was most relaxed in front of Nathan, "I heard from Will that you messed up the living room last night and got drunk again? "

Nathan spread his hands, shrugged helplessly, "Last night was the school's fundraising party, and you know how difficult it is for those investors to deal with."

This also sounded like a manager who was busy dealing with shareholders, Finch couldn't help but chuckled in his heart, and he didn't relax his mouth, "Master Dean came to the Math Institute in his busy schedule, what advice do you have?"

Nathan walked slowly to the podium, put his arms on the edge of the table and looked directly at Finch, "I heard that you applied to resign from the course management committee, why?"

Finch ducked his gaze as he tidied up his belongings, "You know, I'm not used to long-term collaborations with people other than you."

Nathan sighed, "Harold, to be honest, what's going on with you recently? First, before the semester started, you said you didn't want to take on graduate students, and now even the course committee has to withdraw. What happened? Can't even I tell you? "

Finch stared closely at the fingertips he was pressing on the table. Due to excessive force for a long time, the fingertips were strangely bluish-white.There is no reason, he just instinctively does not want to tell anyone the truth, even if the other party is Nathan, the strange dream is the deepest secret in his heart.Fortunately, he quickly found an appropriate excuse, "Do you remember that I told you a long time ago that I was trying to prove the Riemann Hypothesis?"

Nathan straightened up instantly, his blue eyes were full of shock, "Harold, are you almost done? This is one of the "Seven Millennium Problems" of the Clay Institute of Mathematics, not only can you win a million dollar prize, And if you could create a sieve tool out of this, gosh, you'd be subverting the security mechanisms of the existing Internet! "

Finch quickly interrupted his friend's reverie, "You misunderstood, I just made some new breakthroughs in the zero-point area to the critical zone, and there is still a long way to go before completing the proof, let alone summarizing an algorithm that can be used in practice. "

Nathan was a little bit shocked when he heard the words, but soon cheered up, "It's good to have a breakthrough. Harold, do you need more time to concentrate on the proof work? It's okay, I can help you block other unnecessary affairs, I can also find a way to replace the teaching." Nathan rubbed his hands and chattered non-stop.

"Don't bother, this course doesn't take much time and energy. It's just that I may have been too focused on the calculation work a while ago, and the pressure was a bit high, which caused me to lose my mind and forget things easily. Therefore, I decided to resign from the course management committee. You also You know, I have always done one thing and must do it well, now that I can’t take care of it, I might as well quit early and make way for those who are capable of doing it well.”

"Since you are so persistent, I have no choice but to give up my original plan." Nathan walked to Finch's side and put his arms around his shoulders, "I originally hoped that you could strengthen your relationship with other colleagues in the academy through the opportunity to work on the committee." Communication. But compared to the proof work you are doing, these are not important. When you won the Fields Medal, I asserted that you would definitely achieve greater achievements, Harold, I was right!"

Seeing his friend excited about his casual lies, Finch secretly felt deeply guilty, but he didn't want to tell the truth, and he couldn't help feeling dizzy under the agitation of the two-phase embarrassment. Fortunately, Nathan beside him helped him in time he.

"Harold, are you okay? Just now you said that it was just a lack of energy, how could it be so serious?" Nathan stared at Finch with a worried face, and his tone became extremely severe, "How long has it been since you went to the hospital for a physical examination?"

Finch watched the other person's tense expression, but his thoughts uncontrollably recalled the inexplicable nerve pain at home in the morning.At that time, I also planned to visit Professor Groves, a colleague and a psychologist, today, and ask her to do a psychiatric treatment for me.Later, when my mood improved in the park, I gave up my original plan.The current situation is that he has to go to the hospital for a physical examination.

Finch thought with a wry smile, it seems that he must have an appointment with the doctor today.

TBC

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Note: The content of the Riemann Hypothesis in this chapter comes from the American drama "Numb3rs". If there are any inappropriate quotations, please forgive me......