Chapter 428 - 271: A Top Journal Hat-Trick

Published back-to-back, or even as a triple publication.

The same author publishing three heavyweight papers in a single issue of Nature.

Such a thing was unheard of anywhere in the world.

Jiang He wasn't really trying to show off; he just wanted to rapidly advance his research...

But actions are judged, not intentions.

Outsiders wouldn't care what his intentions were.

The shockwave these three papers would send through the world would be no less than that of the press conference in Baltimore.

It was as if one person had single-handedly pushed global anti-cancer drug development forward by several years.

The night was late, and the laboratory was silent.

Jiang He was engrossed in his work.

Yi Xiangwan pushed the door open and walked in.

Yi Xiangwan hadn't seen much of him lately. He'd heard Jiang He was skipping classes, spending every day in the library to push his research forward.

Now, looking at him, though he appeared weary, his spirits were clearly high.

Jiang He set aside his work. "It's so late. What brings you here?"

Yi Xiangwan placed a stack of printouts on the table.

"Boss, I've run some simulations and have some results. I brought them for you to take a look."

Surprised, Jiang He picked up the printouts.

It was a set of preliminary screening data for molecular docking.

Ever since Gu Yizhou had been forced to leave the group to care for his sick girlfriend,

Yi Xiangwan had become a different person.

He was usually the group's clown, fond of telling bad jokes and poking fun at his own height.

But lately, silence had become his new default state.

Jiang He flipped through the data.

He grew more and more surprised as he read.

The data Yi Xiangwan had submitted was a bit rough in places, and the model construction wasn't perfect, but... there was definitely something to it.

What surprised Jiang He even more was that Yi Xiangwan hadn't followed the direction he'd previously laid out.

Using a novel method, he had started with an unconventional scaffold compound and worked backward to fit the volume of the allosteric pocket.

It was an incredibly clever angle.

Even Jiang He himself had never considered this approach.

This unassuming, short young man was ferociously unleashing his talent.

Jiang He looked up. "Xiangwan, this angle... did you come up with it yourself?"

Yi Xiangwan nodded. "Yeah, Boss. I wasn't sure if it would be any help... I just brought it over for you to take a look. Is it useful?"

"It's useful. Xiangwan, this is brilliant work."

Jiang He had expected Yi Xiangwan to be his usual smug self after receiving such high praise.

He thought he would follow it up with a terrible pun.

Something like: Why do dwarves prefer beer to wine? Because they run into trouble at the grape-gathering stage...

But Yi Xiangwan was completely different now.

He just nodded seriously and said, "That's good. Well, Boss, if there's nothing else, I'll get back to my research. I'll try to have the second half of the data run by tomorrow morning."

With that, he turned to leave.

Jiang He was taken aback for a second. Watching Yi Xiangwan's retreating figure, he couldn't help but call out, "Xiangwan, how long has it been since you've slept? Make sure you get some rest."

Yi Xiangwan replied, "I'm fine. Thanks, Boss. I'll head right to bed."

He said that, but he clearly had no intention of doing so.

As Yi Xiangwan turned away into the night,

the image of Gu Yizhou, his face streaked with tears in the hospital, surfaced in his mind once more.

He was speechless, his heart filled with nothing but pain and self-reproach.

Yi Xiangwan silently told himself:

'A dwarf's mind holds only half a bucket of water. It can't compare to the Boss's vast ocean, nor to the minds of other geniuses. But that's okay. As long as I work twice as hard, this half-bucket can be just as useful as a regular person's full one.'

'I have to work hard enough for Brother Gu's sake, too.'

—And when he comes back, I'll tell him so, so many more jokes.

...

...

Circles were crossed off on the calendar one by one.

The days passed, one after another.

In the lab, the rhythmic clicking of pipettes rising and falling echoed the falling of the autumn leaves outside the window.

December 31, 2008.

New Year's Eve.

Jiang He hit "Save."

The final dataset for the second paper had been successfully run and embedded into the main text.

He stretched his back.

'I'll take the paper to the hospital later for my teacher to review.'

'My teacher is probably going to be surprised again.'

Jiang He glanced out the window, lost in thought for some reason.

Then he dialed Teacher Shen's number.

The line rang... and rang...

...until a recorded voice announced: "The number you have dialed is not available at the moment. Please try again later."

Jiang He frowned slightly and checked the time. It was five in the afternoon.

'Teacher Shen doesn't have class today. They're probably studying in the library.'

He typed out a message and sent it: "Teacher Shen, are you in the library? The group is having a dinner party tonight. Since it's the end of the year, we're all getting a meal together. Text me back when you're free, okay?"

After a few minutes, there was still no reply.

Jiang He didn't think much of it.

'They probably just didn't hear it in the library.'

He gathered the papers on his desk, took off his white lab coat, and left the laboratory.

Tonight was New Year's Eve.

A time-honored Chaoshan beef hot pot restaurant near Affiliated Hospital No. 1 was bustling with people and filled with billowing steam.

When he pushed open the door to their private room, he saw that everyone had already arrived.

Chen Hao, Feng Ye, Meng Shiyu, Yi Xiangwan, Lin Yue, Yang Xu, Wang Xiaoqing, Cheng Xiyao... everyone was there.

The others needed no introduction.

But Meng Shiyu was worth a special mention.

The kid had been putting in a lot of effort at the hospital lately. He hadn't just gotten on good terms with Jiang He; he'd also built solid friendships with everyone in Jiang He's circle.

And so, he'd been invited to join them for their gatherings.

Meng Shiyu pulled out a chair for Jiang He. "The boss has arrived!"

Before sitting down, Jiang He made sure to greet his seniors. "Hello, Teacher. Hello, Professor Wang."

Yang Xu chuckled. "My student's here."