Chapter 360 - 245: Turning the Tables

「Half an hour ago.」

The three senior professors, Zhou Deming, Fu Yunshu, and Guo Fengwan, had arrived early.

Despite the long flight, they didn't feel tired at all.

On the contrary, driven by the meticulous habits of old-school academics, they dropped off their luggage, quickly washed their faces, and immediately went downstairs to the lounge.

They had come to the United States this time to help Jiang He strategize, though there wasn't much they could do to help on a professional level.

So, they had to at least be proactive in their attitude!

Traveling all this way just to freeload was not their style.

The professors planned to do an internal run-through of the next day's speaking order, potential questions from the American side, and their response strategies.

In the corner of the lounge was a small, semi-open meeting room.

"Yunshu, Fengwan, wait here for a moment. I'll go ask to use that meeting room." Zhou Deming stood up, straightened the hem of his suit, and walked toward the bar.

The lounge bartender was a young white man in his early twenties, his head bowed as he polished a wine glass.

Zhou Deming approached him and spoke in English, "Hello, we need to use that semi-open meeting room in the corner for an internal discussion that will last about two hours."

The bartender shook his head politely. "Sorry, sir, that meeting room can't be used freely."

Zhou Deming explained, "We are the delegation invited to tomorrow's medical symposium at Johns Hopkins University. We need a whiteboard to outline some of our procedures for tomorrow."

The bartender replied, "I'm very sorry, sir, but it's hotel policy. During the conference, the meeting room is prioritized for scholars who have a core presentation tomorrow. If you just want to drink coffee and chat, the sofa area outside is very spacious."

"We're not just here to chat. We also have a core presentation segment tomorrow."

The bartender shrugged, indicating he was powerless to help.

His prejudice was bone-deep.

'How could a Chinese person possibly have a speaking slot?'

'They're clearly just peripheral members here to observe. Maybe they just want to sit in the meeting room for a souvenir photo.'

Just as Zhou Deming was about to continue the conversation, a white man holding an Americano walked over.

He wore a Johns Hopkins University conference badge that read "Dr. Hayes."

"It's all right, let me handle this."

Hayes turned to the bartender with a smile before facing Zhou Deming.

"Hello, I am Professor Hayes."

Professor Zhou said, "Hello, my surname is Zhou. You can call me Professor Zhou."

Perhaps hearing Professor Zhou's Chinese accent, and fearing he wouldn't understand, Hayes "politely" drew out his words:

"Pro—fes—sor—Zhou—wel—come—to—Bal—ti—more."

Zhou Deming's expression darkened instantly.

This was blatant mockery.

Hayes took a sip of coffee and continued, his articulation unnaturally precise, "The bartender did nothing wrong. He's just enforcing the Hilton's policy. This meeting room is typically reserved for expert teams who need to present original, first-release data."

"I presume the team from China is here as observers, are you not? Your main task is to learn. Since you're here to observe and learn, I don't think you actually need to use a whiteboard to run through anything."

Zhou Deming clenched his fists.

Not far away, several well-dressed white doctors turned their heads. One of them, a man in a fleece vest, chuckled.

His female companion, holding a wine glass, commented objectively:

"Dr. Hayes is just helping them save time. Observers really don't need to occupy the strategy room. That old gentleman is overreacting."

Zhou Deming wanted to argue, to shout at this arrogant bastard that what they were going to present tomorrow would be enough to shake all of Hopkins!

But it was as if his throat was blocked.

Anger clouded his thoughts, but it was also because of the inhibitions ingrained in him as an old-school academic.

'This is the United States, a diplomatic occasion, an away game.'

'If I cause a scene in the lounge, we'll become the laughingstock of the Western medical community tomorrow. They'll say Chinese scholars have no manners and are of low quality.'

This feeling of being constrained was incredibly frustrating for Zhou Deming.

Just then, Jiang He walked in.

He turned to look at Zhou Deming and asked in Chinese, "Elder Zhou, what's wrong?"

Zhou Deming's tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He sighed and briefly recounted what had just happened.

"Let it go, Xiaojiang."

Zhou Deming shook his head and reached for Jiang He's arm.

"If they won't let us use it, then so be it. Let's go back to my room to talk. It's not worth getting into an argument with them here and affecting our important business tomorrow."

Zhou Deming's meaning was clear: Take a step back to find a broader sky. We'll accept our loss and go somewhere else.

"Why should we compromise?" Jiang He asked in return.

Zhou Deming froze.

'Why? I don't know... My subconscious reaction is to compromise...'

Hayes began to speak with a smile, "This young gentleman, I was just explaining to Professor Zhou, as observers for tomorrow's event, you don't really need..."

"Allow me to interrupt."

Jiang He said, "Seeing as you're so enthusiastic about the lounge's meeting room allocation and seating arrangements, I mistook you for the hotel's guest relations manager or the lobby supervisor. So... you're also a conference representative for tomorrow?"

Nearby, the smiles on the faces of the few white doctors who had been watching the spectacle froze.

Everyone's first reaction was confusion, quickly followed by a question that popped into their minds:

'How dare this kid talk like that? He's clearly mocking him.'

The ridiculous part was, when Hayes had mocked Professor Zhou, they had all pretended not to notice.

But when Jiang He returned the mockery, they understood it instantly.

What bullshit elite class? They were all just a bunch of hypocrites bound by common interests.

Hayes's expression shifted, and he tried to save face. "I am the deputy director of Professor Miller's team at Johns Hopkins University..."

"So? Who told you our team from China is only here to observe?"

Hayes was stunned.

He hadn't expected to be interrupted again.

Jiang He slowly walked up to him and repeated the man's title. "The deputy director of Miller's team."

A look of realization dawned on his face. "No wonder."

Hayes was baffled. "No wonder what?"

Jiang He replied, "No wonder you're so comfortable with the idea of taking things that belong to others, whether it's a meeting room someone else requested first, or someone else's research paper."

At these words, the expressions of the surrounding foreign doctors all changed.

'Taking a research paper? As veiled as it was, wasn't that an allusion to the plagiarism incident?'

'Everyone here knew why they'd come.'

'Weren't they all here to support Miller tomorrow?'

Hayes immediately warned, "Young man, watch your words. You are standing on American soil right now. What you just said is serious slander against a professor at Johns Hopkins University. If you can't take responsibility for your claims, the lounge security will escort you out..."

Jiang He interrupted him again, stating his name directly. "My name is Jiang He. Does that ring a bell?"

The pronunciation was a bit unfamiliar to Hayes, but something seemed to flash in the back of his mind.

Jiang He continued:

"I'm the first author of the early prediction model for Severe Acute Pancreatitis (SAP). In other words, the true owner of the paper that your Professor Miller maliciously rejected using his reviewer privileges, then attempted to steal and publish himself."

CLINK—

Not far away, the female doctor's coffee spoon clattered onto her saucer.

But no one paid any attention to the spoon. All eyes were fixed on Hayes and Jiang He.

Hayes's mind went blank for a moment.

Of course he knew about the SAP prediction model!

But he never imagined that the original author of the model with that terrifyingly high AUC score would be so young.

He was even more shocked that the man would dare to lay everything out so bluntly on their home turf.

Hayes quickly retorted, "This is absolute nonsense! You will not tarnish Professor Miller's academic reputation with your slander. Our model was independently developed based on years of clinical cases at Hopkins. This baseless accusation of yours..."

"Baseless?"

Jiang He chuckled softly.

"Dr. Hayes, it seems Miller doesn't consider you a true core member of his team. Did he not tell you that the WIPO has issued an international search report, and that even the revised manuscript you submitted to the Lancet has been frozen by the journal's ethics committee?"

Hayes's pupils contracted sharply.

'The journal froze it?' He knew nothing about this!

Jiang He took in his expression and his tone became even calmer. "You come out here to be his public face without even knowing your boss is under internal investigation. The man himself is sitting right here and you don't recognize him, yet you're here telling the Chinese delegation how to act. Dr. Hayes, self-awareness is a clinician's most valuable quality. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have it."

Hayes's lips moved as if to say something, but the gazes of those around him burned into him.

No one present was a fool.

The fact that Jiang He dared to bring up the WIPO and the Lancet's ethics committee meant this was definitely not just empty talk.

If the plagiarism scandal turned out to be true, the higher he postured now, the harder he would fall tomorrow.

Hayes stared daggers at Jiang He, his chest heaving.

Mustering his last shred of dignity, he said in a low voice, "Young man, I hope you can maintain this eloquence during the Q&A session at the conference tomorrow."

With that, he turned, struck a dashing pose, and fled the lounge.

Standing behind Jiang He, Zhou Deming's eyes were filled with shock.

'So this is what it feels like to be blunt... it's so satisfying...'

'But if I put myself in Jiang He's shoes... ugh, I still don't think I could have said all that!'

All his thoughts boiled down to one sentence: Jiang He was incredible.

Jiang He looked at the young white bartender, who had long since been struck dumb by the scene.

"Now then, according to the first-come, first-served rule, may we use the meeting room?"

The bartender snapped back to his senses and nodded repeatedly. "O-Of course, sir. Please, you and your team, feel free to use it."

"Thank you. And could you please prepare a pot of hot tea? The professors aren't used to drinking coffee."

"Yes, right away! Sir, our kitchen just finished a batch of French macarons. May I bring you a complimentary portion?" The bartender's attitude had become almost excessively eager.

In this society that worships strength, Jiang He's casual takedown of Hayes had clearly earned his respect.

"Sure." Jiang He turned to Zhou Deming. "Elder Zhou, let's go in."

Even after sitting down on the leather sofa in the meeting room, Zhou Deming's fingers were still trembling slightly.

It was the instinctive excitement that comes after releasing long-suppressed emotions.

"Xiaojiang..."

"You must think us a laughingstock today. If you hadn't come over, we old-timers would have made a complete fool of ourselves. These people... these people are arrogant to the bone. They can't stand to see us do well."

"Exactly. We're used to being reasonable. When we run into this kind of passive-aggressive nonsense, and our English isn't as fluent as theirs, we get so angry but can't find a way to vent."

Jiang He said calmly, "Elder Zhou, Elder Guo, Elder Fu, Hayes is just an errand boy. He's not worth our time. Let's focus and go over the specifics for tomorrow's conference."

The three senior professors exchanged a look, and they could all see the utter bewilderment in each other's eyes.

'This young man... after a takedown that cool, shouldn't he be savoring the moment a little?'

'Isn't it a bit much to jump straight back to work?'