In the restaurant, Li Zheng held his cellphone, listening to Zhang Shandong’s excitement as if a festive event was being planned, his face expressionless as if a young maiden had just heard she was to be married off.
He was still very young and naive, and many things didn’t come to him so quickly.
But Zhou Yi and Zhang Shilei had already helped him clarify everything.
People consider their own interests, which is quite understandable.
Therefore, Zhou Yi made it very clear from the start, although his confidence was limited and he did not expect Li Zheng to achieve any results, since the resources came from the Chemical Institute and the risk was borne by him, Zhou Yi, the benefits should also go to the Chemical Institute. Otherwise, why would he apply for the project or wrest resources from Hu Zengwu?
For this reason, he didn’t even hang any name on it; he only wanted the reputation benefits for the Chemical Institute and a future for Shi Yang.
Zhou Yi might not have been deeply cunning, but his approach was clear from the start—he made a definitive statement—
He didn’t give face even to Dean Yingpei Niu Gang.
As for Li Zheng, although he wanted to give vitality to Yingpei and foster a brighter interdisciplinary future,
the promise to Zhou Yi could not be changed at all.
At that moment, Li Zheng just held his cell phone, trying hard to control his emotions as he responded, "Thank you, Teacher Zhang, for the consideration, but the project has already started here."
"It’s started?" Zhang Shandong asked in surprise, "With whom has it started?"
"The Chemical Institute."
"Did you contact them yourself?"
"Yes."
"Not... How long has it been? Didn’t you give us a chance to discuss and give feedback?"
"You didn’t indicate then that you wanted to go back and discuss it."
"What are you saying? I clearly expressed it, I asked you to wait a bit so we could consult with other institutes’ experts. After all, it’s such a specialized experiment, we ought to be more cautious, how could our three teachers decide lightly?"
"I don’t recall such a statement."
"Rest assured, I definitely expressed it, perhaps you weren’t in the right frame of mind at the time," Zhang Shandong panted, "Let’s not argue anymore. For now, just tell me which professor from the Chemical Institute you are collaborating with, and we’ll formally initiate contact."
"Teacher Zhou Yi."
"Dean Zhou, ah… okay, I got it."
After hanging up the phone in haste, Li Zheng didn’t think further and immediately relayed the full story to Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi responded with only four words—
"Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Zhang Shandong’s call came chasing after him again.
"Li Zheng... Dean Zhou seems to think you are a student of the Chemical Institute... and doesn’t seem very inclined to communicate with us..."
"Mhm."
"You… don’t ignore this, listen to me, Li Zheng..." Zhang Shandong pleaded softly, "From a procedural perspective, the topic was first raised in our institute, this definitely predates the Chemical Institute, right?"
"You can discuss that with Teacher Zhou; I need to get busy now."
"Wait, wait! Just a few more things… specifically about the ownership of the project... Well, I’ll just say it straight, our institute should lead, and if results do emerge, I could even argue for your position as the first author. If Dean Zhou does it, not only will he surely take the position of first author, but he might even arrange for his students to be involved... In the end, you might still be an author, but those team members might not even get a chance to be acknowledged. You are busy working with the Chemical Institute, likely making the wedding dress for someone else, Li Zheng!"
Upon hearing this, anger immediately surged through Li Zheng.
He always prided himself on being very empathetic and understanding of others.
But he really did not know where to begin with this narrative.
"It’s okay, I’m hanging up," Li Zheng said with utmost restraint.
"Wait, Li Zheng, don’t hurry," Zhang Shandong started to soothe him urgently, "listen to me, I would never harm you. Let’s do this: temporarily hold back your project and hand it over to us, since you first raised it in our institute, we will provide you with protection and the rights you deserve, and we will never allow others…"
Snap!
Li Zheng hung up the phone.
This was, of course, very impolite.
But if he had listened any longer, he would have become even more impolite.
After a long time, Li Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief, "I’m going to block this person."
"Zhang Shandong?" Mo Nian asked from across the table, gobbling up vegetarian food, "Do you feel like punching someone?"
"Yeah, haven’t felt this way in a while." Li Zheng looked down at his Fierce Battler fists, trying not to think too much, "I need to avoid this person from now on..."
"Speaking of emotional relief, I have a quick and easy method," Mo Nian pointed towards Lin Moming and said, "Try imagining that person as Lin Moming."
Li Zheng’s eyes widened, and he forcefully turned towards Lin Moming.
"Uh..." Lin Moming shuddered, "Don’t scare me like that."
Li Zheng glared for a long time, trying hard to make Lin Moming appear greasy.
Greasy... greasy... greasy...
However...
It was completely impossible!
The most he could imagine was a little mouse stealing oil.
Finally, Li Zheng lowered his head in defeat, "I can’t do it... the dissonance is too strong..."
"Then just take it out on Lin Moming," Mo Nian said while knocking on Lin Moming’s head, "Like this, bully her a bit, it’ll make you feel much better."
"Hey!" Lin Moming, covering her head, turned her face angrily, "I’ve told you not to treat me like a tool, I’m a key researcher! I bring funding to the group! I’m a language bridge!"
Seeing her defiant look, Mo Nian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Li Zheng, "How about it, feel any relief?"
"Actually, I feel a lot better... it’s magical..." Li Zheng swallowed, then leaned forward to reach out, "Moming, don’t move. Let me pull your ear one more time, it won’t hurt, just once."
"Annoying, annoying!!" Lin Moming, visibly upset, slammed down her chopsticks, covered her ears, and darted behind Keqing, shaking Keqing as she clamored, "Sis, help me scold them!"
However.
Keqing suddenly turned around and grabbed with both hands.
Squeezing Lin Moming’s face, she started kneading it madly.
Li Zheng and Mo Nian were both stunned.
Soft, bouncy, and it even came with "umm umm" sound effects.
So relieving...
This is really so relieving.
After enough kneading, Keqing also had a trace of satisfaction on her face, "That feels so much better."
Lin Moming had already fled with her face covered in sorrow, "I... I’m not playing with you guys anymore!"
"Okay, okay." Mo Nian chuckled, turned around, and pulled out a box of cream puffs from her backpack, gently placing it on the table, "To make up to you, here are some cream puffs."
"!!! You actually had these!" Lin Moming lunged forward but then recoiled cautiously, "Just... just this once... don’t bully me anymore!"
"Of course."
Lin Moming instantly forgot, charged back to the table, and started gobbling up the cream puffs, charging up like she was recharging, functionality fully restored in moments.
It has to be said, her uses are really broad.
Li Zheng took the opportunity to lean towards Mo Nian and asked, "I get the logic, but why do you carry cream puffs with you?"
"To handle her," Mo Nian gestured with his lips towards Lin Moming.
"Is this... is this what fatherly love is..."
"What nonsense," Mo Nian blushed, burying his head to eat his vegetables, "If I had such an adorable daughter, I’d wake up laughing from dreams."
"Hmm..." Keqing pondered on the side, "Biologically it’s impossible... but you could marry Tu Yikou and then adopt a mixed-race child from abroad..."
"???"
"???"
"Not funny, huh..." Keqing shook her head and continued eating, "Then I’ll have to work on my sense of humor..."
It appears not only is Lin Moming...
Keqing, since that day, also seems to be letting herself go, developing new functions.
...
After Zhang Shandong’s call, Li Zheng simply blocked all unknown numbers.
Knowing the character of such people, if he couldn’t persuade them himself, they might inevitably ask a counselor, homeroom teacher, or someone else to mediate. For the sake of convenience in studying, Li Zheng really didn’t want to add so many people to the block list; it would be better not to give them the chance to intervene.
Once he had blocked these people and matters, the world finally seemed beautiful again.
Li Zheng’s focus gradually shifted from experimental procedures to writing papers, leaving the operation of the electron microscope entirely to Mo Nian and Shi Yang.
Perhaps it was the ability of Scholar’s Eye, or maybe just luck, but Li Zheng had never expected that the first time he formed a group to tackle a research topic, everyone would be able to perform at 100% efficiency.
Except for the leader.
It was probably better for him not to fully exert himself for the time being.
Thus, under the vigorous advancement of Science Frontier, by the early morning of Saturday, the first draft of the paper was sent to Zhou Yi’s email, finally titled—
[The CryoEM method MicroED as a powerful tool for small molecule structure determination]
Zhou Yi woke up in the middle of the night and was astonished just by seeing the title.
That scent… that scent…
Yes!
It smelled of "Science"!
Zhou Yi continued to scan downward.
In the authors section, the names of Li Zheng, Shi Yang, and Mo Nian were listed in the top three positions, marked with "†" to indicate they were the first authors.
Chang Keqing, Lin Moming, and Tu Yikou followed closely afterward.
But at the very end, Zhou Yi’s name also appeared, marked with "$" indicating the corresponding author.
Listing Zhou Yi as the corresponding author was not just a superficial gesture.
Placing it at the end wasn’t a sign of disrespect either.
On the contrary, the corresponding author often plays a pivotal role.
The corresponding author typically handles the funding of the project, supervises the paper, and is responsible for submitting it, communicating with peers and the editorial reviewers.
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
Placing the corresponding author at the end differentiates their role, on one hand giving due honor to the first authors, and on the other, clearly showing who the big shot responsible for the resources was.
Though this system of authorship may not be perfect, it is much better than indiscriminately keeping prominent names always at the forefront.
As for Zhou Yi, after all the work put in, both substantively and ceremonially, he indeed deserved the title of the corresponding author.
With his name so placed, it wouldn’t be easy for Zhou Yi to ask Li Zheng to remove it, so he could only laugh bitterly and continue reading.
The paper wasn’t lengthy; 21 pages of content, with experimental diagrams making up half of it and just ten pages of text, of which two were taken up by referenced works.
At first glance, it seemed rather slim.
But this is actually the golden ratio for such papers.
Considering the strictness of the wording, the elegance of the layout, and the comfort of the images.
Zhou Yi truly couldn’t believe that this was written by a native Chinese speaker, nor could he believe it was the work of someone writing a paper for the first time.
When one reads a clear and confortable paper, one’s mood inevitably improves. Zhou Yi smoothly read through the 21 pages in just 20 minutes, made three to five trivial suggestions, and then sent the email back.
Only then did he notice that the initial draft email had also been cc’ed to Hu Zengwu, asking for his guidance.
Just as he was about to shut down the computer and go back to sleep, the webpage chimed. Hu Zengwu, also a night owl, had already sent a reply—
[Read. Although I had heard some from Yi Yun, seeing the first draft still shocked me.]
[The results are extremely open-ended, and the paper’s completion is peak level. Yi Yun is far from its standard.]
[If Dean Zhou is indeed the corresponding author and willing to take responsibility for the experimental data and results, I suggest submitting it immediately. I will contact friends at "Science" to give the first-time authors a chance for revision.]
[Considering the simplicity and easy access of the experiment, publication should be expedited.]
[Eagerly awaiting your prompt reply.]
At this, Zhou Yi was again utterly astounded.
He understood now!
What does currying favor mean? This is it!
There was no need for flattering or gifting fruit and such.
Just send results at first instance.
Was there any better way to curry favor with Hu Zengwu?
Unexpectedly, the most challenging part of the process turned out to be the smoothest.
It was Yingpei’s part that should have been the most supportive...
Forget it, forget it.
At least it wasn’t as bad as Yi Yun...
Once Zhou Yi understood the situation, he didn’t dare delay and quickly composed a follow-up reply.
[Professor Hu:]
[The draft has no major issues; I also provided full guidance on the experiment, and all data and conclusions are authentic.]
[I will suggest to Li Zheng to list you as the corresponding author to ensure publication.]
Within half a minute, Hu Zengwu replied again.
[No need to list me. Just send the final draft my way.]
[Don’t reply now. You’ve already awakened me twice this night.]
When Li Zheng received these many messages, he too was extremely exhilarated and spent five minutes making a final round of edits before once again waking Hu Zengwu.
Hu Zengwu became agitated.
But then he considered the time difference, and wondered if now was actually the best time to communicate by phone; was Li Zheng reminding him of this fact?
So, to get a good night’s sleep, he immediately sent out submissions by email, and made two phone calls on the side.
Finally.
[Submission done; microscope will be returned tomorrow.]
[Don’t disturb me again.]
...
No one besides Li Zheng expected that the research project would unfold and conclude at such breakneck speed.
Next came the long wait.
There might be revisions, outright rejections, may need to wait a month, or even half a year.
In any case, there was that feeling similar to an unknown writer, as if the submitted manuscript was still tethered to him, making his heart quite uneasy.
Given Li Zheng’s style of doing things, he obviously shouldn’t be just twiddling his thumbs waiting now, but should be starting a new project.
The trouble was, his system interface had been locked due to a glitch... no chance of working on anything else until this technology was officially unlocked.
It seemed that just producing results and writing papers was not enough to unlock technology; probably it had to be published and generate an impact first.
In such a sticky situation, Li Zheng had nothing else to do...
So he just went to classes.
Thus, on that Monday, when Li Zheng stepped into that classroom.
The previously relaxed atmosphere among the students of the School of Physics instantly tensed up.
Even Lin Yujing, who was catching up on homework while munching on bread, was startled by the familiar aura and turned around abruptly.
As their eyes met.
One hastily dodged.
The other forcefully pushed forward.
The monster slayer was back!