Chapter 358 - 243: Across the Ocean, Baltimore

Chapter 358: Chapter 243: Across the Ocean, Baltimore

After hanging up the phone, Feng Ye stood in the hospital corridor for a full minute.

Targeted drugs, molecular dynamics simulation.

The combination of those words told him this was no simple task.

After a moment of silence, he turned and went back into the hospital room.

On the hospital bed, his mother, Wu Lan, was propped up against a pillow, watching TV.

With Jiang He covering all her medical expenses and providing the best medicine, Wu Lan had been recovering quickly. The improvement in her complexion was visible to the naked eye.

Seeing her son come in, Wu Lan pointed to the oranges on the bedside table. "Son, have an orange. A nurse just brought them."

Eating oranges was currently in vogue at Affiliated Hospital No. 1.

Apparently, Vice Dean Zhang Sui and Dean Chen had bought so many they couldn’t finish them, so they were giving them out to everyone.

Feng Ye peeled an orange, fed half of it to his mother, and then said,

"Mom, I might not be able to come see you every day for a while."

Wu Lan was taken aback. "What’s wrong?"

Feng Ye said, "The boss gave me a new assignment."

Wu Lan immediately grew serious. "Son, Dr. Jiang is our family’s great benefactor. You must do whatever he asks of you, and do it well."

"I know." Feng Ye nodded. "You just focus on getting better here. Call me if you need anything."

With that, he turned and left the room.

If anyone had been watching Feng Ye from behind, they might have thought the young man was walking with the kind of swagger that disowns all family... It was the sort of madness you see in someone about to go back to work right after the May Day holiday.

This was Feng Ye’s defining trait: a hardcore man from Tongliao.

He might have sounded unconfident on the phone, but once he hung up and confirmed this was what Jiang He wanted him to do, he instantly transformed into a nuclear-powered donkey.

A hardcore man’s execution is like: Don’t know medicine? Then learn it from scratch.

In ’08, supercomputing and distributed computing were still in their infancy in China. To run a simulation of this magnitude—from high-throughput virtual screening and molecular docking all the way to molecular dynamics simulation—he would have to build the environment, master the underlying algorithms, and read a sea of literature...

As Feng Ye walked out of the hospital, he set a small goal for himself.

Jiang He was going to the United States for a conference, which would take about a week.

When Jiang He returned and he went to Hushang to meet him, he absolutely could not show up empty-handed.

He wanted to give his boss a surprise.

’I have to get results.’

’I have to be useful to the boss. I have to be.’

...

...

「Two days later.」

A light rain was falling in the early morning.

Downstairs from the apartment Jiang He was renting, his landlady, Aunt Wu, was holding an umbrella and carrying some pork ribs she had just bought from the market. She happened to run into the real estate agent, Xiaozhang, who was in a hurry.

"Oh, Xiaozhang, out drumming up business so early?" Aunt Wu greeted him with a wide smile.

The 1.2 million had arrived in her account yesterday.

It had solved her family’s urgent financial problem, and now she felt a sense of warmth toward everyone she saw.

Xiaozhang stopped and said, "Morning, Aunt Wu! I’m on my way to show a property. I really didn’t expect Xiaojiang to just buy it like that."

Aunt Wu nodded repeatedly. "That kid Xiaojiang is such a good person. I was just thinking yesterday that after a while, I should take him to meet Fang Mian. Fang Mian is a proper doctor at Affiliated Hospital No. 1, in charge of several beds. It would be convenient for Xiaojiang if he ever has a headache or a fever."

Xiaozhang said politely, "Auntie, could you introduce me to him too...?"

Aunt Wu laughed. "Haha, of course, of course."

Just then, three black Audi A6Ls slowly drove into the residential complex.

The three cars, bumper to bumper, quickly came to a stop in front of the building entrance.

Aunt Wu and Xiaozhang subconsciously took two steps back to clear the way.

"Whose wedding is it? Such nice cars," Aunt Wu muttered.

But Xiaozhang said nothing. His eyes were fixed on the license plate of the lead car:

It was a famous "Yue O" plate, and the number was from a very low-series block.

’Are you daft, Auntie? You call these borrowed wedding cars? Where are you going to borrow a dedicated car from the Provincial Party Committee compound!’

The front passenger door of the middle car opened.

Su Zhi, dressed in professional attire, stepped out holding a long-handled black business umbrella and made a phone call.

Then, four capable-looking men in dark jackets got out of the front and rear cars and stood by them, waiting for orders.

After a moment, Jiang He came out.

He was wearing a simple black casual jacket, which was relatively formal for him.

Teacher Shen wore a long trench coat, looking elegant and classy.

The story behind her clothes was actually pretty funny.

Jiang He had wanted to see what clothes Teacher Shen had brought with her to Southern China, and whether she had anything formal to wear.

But when he opened her suitcase, he found very few formal outfits. Instead, it was mostly filled with things like sexy little dresses and cute little socks, which made him chuckle.

He then deliberately teased Teacher Shen about it, making her blush completely. She started playfully hitting Jiang He, saying, "Why did you secretly open my suitcase? You’re so annoying, annoying, annoying!"

In the end, to make sure she had enough pretty clothes for the trip to the United States, Jiang He specially took Teacher Shen shopping, and they bought a huge haul.

In short, he had now dressed up his wife-to-be gorgeously.

"Mr. Jiang."

Su Zhi came forward and opened the umbrella.

She escorted Jiang He to the rear seat of the middle Audi A6L, pulled open the door, and placed her left hand on the top of the doorframe to shield his head.

"We’ll take the luggage." Two staff members had already hurried forward and taken the suitcases from Jiang He’s hands.

As Jiang He was about to get into the car, he caught a glimpse of the dumbfounded Aunt Wu standing by the flowerbed.

He gave her a polite nod. "Morning, Aunt Wu. Out grocery shopping?"

Aunt Wu opened her mouth, her tongue feeling as if it were tied in a knot. "Ah... ah, Xiao- Xiaojiang, you’re...?"

"Going to the airport for a business trip." Jiang He smiled. "The temperature’s dropped the last couple of days, so be sure to stay warm. See you later."

With that, he ducked his head and got into the car.

The three black Audi A6Ls started smoothly and soon disappeared from sight.

Aunt Wu swallowed hard and said, "Xiaozhang... Xiaojiang is... what’s going on?"

Xiaozhang was silent for a moment before saying, "Auntie, did you get a good look at that license plate? It’s a special series plate from the provincial government. And the people who opened the car door for Mr. Jiang just now... you can tell from the protocol that they’re very high-level."

"How high-level?"

"Have you seen the evening news on TV? They’re like the special aides who accompany national leaders abroad or receive foreign dignitaries. We’re talking about the level of official interpreters. That person was shielding the top of the car door for Mr. Jiang!"

Aunt Wu: "!!!"

She suddenly remembered that just a moment ago, she had been thinking about asking her distant nephew, Fang Mian, to look after Jiang He at the hospital.

What was Fang Mian’s rank? A resident doctor at Affiliated Hospital No. 1.

And what was Jiang He’s rank? She had no idea, but it seemed to be very, very, very high...

A cold sweat broke out on Aunt Wu’s forehead.

She muttered to herself, "It’s over, it’s over... I actually told Xiaojiang—uh, no, Jiang He—uh, no, Mr. Jiang, that I’d have Fang Mian show him the ropes..."

Xiaozhang sighed. "Auntie, don’t even worry about your nephew. Someone of Mr. Jiang’s status wouldn’t mind such a trivial thing. We should just be grateful we were able to sell the house to him and bask in some of his good fortune."

...

Baiyun International Airport.

The VIP terminal.

Inside the VIP lounge, three familiar faces were seated.

Zhou Deming, Fu Yunshu, and Guo Fengwan.

The three senior, respected, old-school professors who had returned from abroad were all dressed in formal attire today. They were also accompanying Jiang He to the United States.

The reason given was that they were more familiar with the situation over there and could be of some help.

Although their hair was graying, it was combed meticulously. Sitting on the sofa, they exuded an incredibly powerful aura.

One look was enough to tell they were definitely leaders.

The attire of leaders, the hairline of leaders.

The airport’s VIP services manager was personally serving them tea, his movements careful and deferential.

He secretly wondered, ’These three old gentlemen must be heading to some important conference, right?’

Just then, Jiang He walked in, holding Shen Yu’s hand.

He looked like a university student taking his girlfriend on a trip during winter break.

The manager, smiling, was about to step forward to assist them.

The next second, the three old professors on the sofa stood up at the same time and strode forward to greet them, each one beaming:

"Xiaojiang, you’re here!"

"Jiang He, regarding what we discussed at the provincial department, I went back and did some more research. I have a few small questions I’d like to discuss with you, if you have a moment..."

Guo Fengwan chuckled beside them and said, "No rush, no rush. Let Xiaojiang have some tea first."

The VIP manager stood frozen in place, completely baffled.

’This young man... What’s his deal?’

Jiang He, however, looked perfectly composed. He smiled and said, "You’re too kind, Professors. Our chat that day was a bit rushed. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss things in detail later."

"Good, good. We have plenty of time ahead of us," Zhou Deming nodded repeatedly.

Su Zhi walked in and reported softly, "Leader Jiang, Professors, all the procedures have been taken care of. You can go directly through security to board the plane."

After passing through a dedicated security channel, a spacious and comfortable Coaster bus was already waiting for them on the tarmac.

The bus drove smoothly across the wide tarmac, finally stopping at the boarding stairs of a massive Boeing passenger jet.

As the central figure of the trip, Jiang He was naturally arranged to board first.

As he stepped into the cabin, a flight attendant bowed at the door. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Jiang."

Inside the first-class cabin, the spacious seats could recline completely flat, offering excellent privacy.

Shen Yu sat by the window, took off her coat, then turned her head to look at Jiang He, who was adjusting his seatback.

From the private car service downstairs to the professors fawning over him like a star in the VIP lounge, and now to this first-class cabin.

Although Shen Yu had maintained a quiet and proper smile the whole time, she was actually deeply moved.

She knew Jiang He was incredible.

But seeing that incredibleness manifest as a tangible reality still left her feeling a little dazzled.

’This is my fiancé.’

Shen Yu whispered in Jiang He’s ear, "Dr. Jiang, you’re so amazing."

Jiang He turned his head to look at Shen Yu, a smile playing on his lips.

Under the cover of the blanket, he took Shen Yu’s small hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You think this is amazing? The even more amazing part is coming in the next couple of days. Teacher Shen, you’ll have to applaud for me then."

"Of course! I’m your number one fan. I’ll applaud for you with all my might!"

’Applaud with all my might... applaud for love?’ ... ’Damn, why did my mind go there again!’

Jiang He truly didn’t think of himself as a pervert.

Teacher Shen stared at him and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Jiang He said, "Haha, it’s nothing. Let me tell you a joke. Why are skeletons so calm?"

Shen Yu: "Why?"

Jiang He: "Because nothing gets under their skin."

Shen Yu: "???"

She tried to force a smile, but failed. Her expression eventually turned into that of the ’sweating smiley’ emoji as she said,

"Dr. Jiang, I think I’ll just focus on how I’m going to applaud and cheer for you."

Hearing this, a certain phrase suddenly came to Jiang He’s mind: ’Never has there been such a wonderful start. Please cheer for me, ch-ch-cheer for me.’

’So bold!’

Jokes aside, this was the first time in this life that he had flown on a plane with Teacher Shen, and Jiang He felt truly happy.

’It’s probably because I’m so happy that I’m thinking of all these cheerful things.’

She looked at the scenery outside the window, and he looked at her.

’Let’s stay like this for a lifetime, Teacher Shen.’

"VMMMMMM—"

The passenger jet accelerated down the runway, its nose lifting as it soared into the sky.

Outside the window, the gloomy rain of Yangcheng was left far below the clouds.

What opened up before them was a vast, clear sky, and the red sun rising in the east.

Destination—

Across the ocean, Baltimore.