(The author’s first book. I’d be grateful for your feedback.)
Physics prodigy ✖️ Math genius
Originally titled To the Power Of
Original school-life story with two male leads, both top students. The main story has an open ending; the extra chapters have a happy ending. There’s sweetness and heartbreak.
Physics & mathematics, Pan Xian & Shen Han
The world we inhabit is something precisely constructed through the complementary nature of mathematics and physics.
Physics is reality; mathematics is abstraction.
Abstract theory can truly take shape only when verified by reality;
Dull reality can make limitless progress when guided by abstract logic.
If physics and mathematics were a pair of compasses,
physics would be the fixed leg, and mathematics the drawing leg.
The fixed leg stands at the center, anchoring the circle in its precise position;
the drawing leg can reach beyond the page, tracing a smooth curve around its circumference.
From beginning to end, they cannot be separated from one another. They rely on and verify each other.
The clashes of the past will eventually fade with time, giving way to years spent side by side.
“What are the odds that we’d meet?”
“One hundred percent. Beyond mathematics.”
“Then I’ll be your power.”
“Starting from zero, we’ll explore their nature; starting from one, we’ll build their world.”
“To build their world, we need abstract concepts and concrete shapes.”
“See you tomorrow, my dear mathematician.”
“Probability only applies to things that haven’t happened. The moment we can discuss the odds here, its definition no longer applies.”
“Have I become meaningful within the domain of your life?”
“You have. You’re the only solution in the domain of my life.”
This campus novel with two male protagonists takes the romance of science students to the extreme. The images of functions and parabolas run through the entire story. The love words in the novel are both geeky and heart-wrenching. The author's writing is delicate, and the arc of Shen Han and Pan Xian from tit-for-tat to mutual redemption is clear. The background setting of the physics competition adds a layer of youthful passion to the emotional line. The images of the daisy brooch and the five-year-old bullet are used in a restrained and touching way. It is full of BE aesthetics and is suitable for readers who like deep sadomasochism.