Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1321 - 999: Secret Investigation

Chapter 1321: Chapter 999: Secret Investigation

Even Principal Ruo now feels surprised by Guan Ruyan’s performance at this defense meeting. What exactly is going on with him? As a young talent of Nandu Medical University, his performance today is clearly unsatisfactory. Even if he is unwell, that should not render him unable to answer the opponent’s questions, especially since all the questions pertain to the content of his research.

"Xiao Guan, nothing serious, right?"

Principal Ruo couldn’t help but ask with concern.

Guan Ruyan was indeed anxious, but he tried his best not to show it. Grasping at straws, he found an excuse, "The computer probably has a virus. A lot of data was mysteriously deleted. Sorry, today is really a bit chaotic. My assistant had a health incident, I myself am not feeling well, and now the computer has a virus. I don’t know what’s going on."

He was clever, deliberately articulating a few sentences that hinted at an underlying implication, as if someone was intentionally sabotaging him, landing him and his assistant in today’s predicament.

In doing so, he subtly shifted everyone’s attention. People couldn’t help but shift from academic problems to a new issue: What exactly happened that caused Professor Guan to end up in such a disheveled state today.

"No need to look for the data, it’s alright. The ones present today are all senior scholars in the field. You just need to simply answer their questions based on your thought process," Principal Ruo reminded Guan Ruyan, urging him not to linger in difficulty, but to get out of it promptly.

What Principal Ruo said was true; those present were indeed senior experts in the field, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to raise such sharp and profound questions. That’s why Guan Ruyan dared not speak rashly.

If he spoke too much, it would be easy to reveal flaws. If he truly had deep knowledge of the research, even forgetting exact data, others would know that he was mostly on target, considering him to have touched upon the core points. If he were a sham, speaking would reveal his level to others.

Scholars from the United States were now wondering, what’s going on? It was just a question about details, and deeper issues had yet to be raised.

Americans may not recognize Professor Guan’s current predicament due to cultural differences; they remained relentless and were too direct in their speech.

"Professor Guan, I really want to know, did you write the paper I mentioned? Did you lead the design of this project?"

Because of Professor Guan’s current performance, the American professor couldn’t help but harbor doubts. If the paper is yours and the project is your design, how could you not know such critical details?

Guan Ruyan hesitated slightly before replying, "Of course, I led the entire project, but my assistant drafted the paper and I was responsible for making the final modifications. There are so many projects and so many papers, and with the passage of time, some data is now hard to recall. I did not deal with many details personally; my role was to macroscopically oversee the design of the project, while we have a large team for the specific experimental operations."

This official and vague answer clearly couldn’t convince the scholars present. Since Professor Guan wasn’t directly answering, the American scholars had no choice. To press on any further would be pointless. The American professor said, "Alright, but I find it hard to believe that this project was personally designed by you."

Once these words were spoken, all the scholars in the room looked at the American professor, then at Professor Guan. This immature statement stirred huge waves in the experts’ hearts. Indeed, how could he not know? Unless the project wasn’t led by him, otherwise, how could he be ignorant of it?

If no one speaks of certain things directly, everyone might deal with them vaguely, but once someone brings it up, everyone reevaluates carefully, and the conclusion might be different.

At this moment, Yang Ping too harbored many doubts, but he kept them to himself for the time being, as they were only suspicions. He decided to find time to talk to Xiao Lu to understand the true situation and to ask what exactly was going on. Guan Ruyan was the designer of the project, while Lu Xiaolu was just an assistant. Why couldn’t Guan Ruyan answer crucial technical questions, yet Lu Xiaolu could do so with ease?

In previous interactions with Lu Xiaolu, he discussed with Yang Ping the very questions that Guan Ruyan couldn’t answer today. Lu Xiaolu had a very profound and unique understanding of these issues.

As the meeting proceeded, although there were some doubts in people’s minds, they did not grill Professor Guan mercilessly. After all, Professor Guan was unwell, and just now his assistant had collapsed in the washroom, not to mention the computer hacking incident; things were already bad enough without adding fuel to the fire.

The subsequent part of the meeting still had to continue, but it was merely perfunctory. Even questions asked were superficial, making the meeting end hastily.

Principal Ruo wasn’t pleased but managed to conceal his dissatisfaction. However, Academician Xiang’s displeasure was visibly etched on his face. Guan Ruyan’s performance today was extremely unacceptable. From an academic’s perspective, it was simply terrible and should not have happened, a stark contrast to the image of a promising young talent he usually presented.

Nevertheless, out of a desire to protect young talents, Elder Academician Xiang said nothing. As everyone left the venue in succession, Principal Ruo kindly instructed Guan Ruyan, "Xiao Guan, pay attention to your health, alright? You can’t work while ill like this next time. Look at today, you and Xiao Lu were both sick and yet held this meeting. If you’re ill, let us know in advance; it’s possible to postpone."

"Thank you, Principal Ruo. I’m really sorry about today, it has caused trouble for everyone. Should we find another time to hold a defense for this project again?" Guan Ruyan still had high emotional intelligence, and even in this situation, he seemed calm and unruffled.