Chapter 362 - 247: Centennial Auditorium

In the suite, Shen Yu was reading a book and diligently taking notes.

When she heard the door opening, she immediately brightened up.

'That's the sound of Jiang He coming back!'

She had wanted to run to the entrance, ready to give Jiang He a big hug the moment he opened the door.

But Jiang He was too fast. Shen Yu had only taken two steps before the door swung open.

It didn't matter, though. She kept running, rushing toward Jiang He.

She threw her arms around him!

Instant rejuvenation!

Jiang He was grinning from ear to ear.

He felt his wife was sometimes like a little cat. She would see him off at the door when he left for work, and then she would "respawn" at the door when he came home.

'This feels so good.'

Shen Yu looked up, met his gaze, and broke into a smile. "Is your meeting over?"

Her smile was impossibly sweet, and her voice was soft and gentle.

—Someone, get the insulin over here, quick!

Jiang He held her, his eyes full of deep affection. He couldn't resist kissing her. "Mhm."

The two of them looked at each other and smiled.

Then, like woodpeckers, they pecked each other with several more kisses.

Finally, Jiang He gave her lip a little nibble and said, "The kitchen in the lounge just baked some French macarons. I tried one, and it wasn't too sweet, so I brought some for you to try."

Shen Yu took the bag, pulled one out, and took a bite.

"It's still sweet~"

Having controlled her sugar intake for a long time, Teacher Shen now found even the slightest sweetness to be very sweet.

She held the remaining half up to Jiang He's mouth. "You eat it~"

Jiang He ate the other half right from her hand.

The moment her fingers were in his mouth, Shen Yu's mind suddenly conjured up a lewd image.

'Like, at night, Dr. Jiang always likes to do this sort of thing, making her suck on his fingers and whatnot.'

'Ugh... Pervert, pervert!'

When they were hugging, Jiang He was actually recharging himself.

Teacher Shen was his exclusive fast charger.

Just one hug and his battery would quickly be full...

Afterward, he led Teacher Shen to the desk and glanced at what she was reading.

On the desk was a monograph on stress response and neuropsychology.

Jiang He: "So you've just been studying hard while I was away?"

Shen Yu nodded. "I have my own things to do, you know. Today, I figured out the limbic system activity during the REM sleep stage."

Her tone was a little playful, clearly fishing for praise.

A wave of tenderness washed over Jiang He's heart.

He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Teacher Shen is very smart, a first-rate learner. I'm going to take a shower first."

"Go on, go on."

Jiang He finished his shower quickly.

When he came out, he found that Shen Yu had gotten a basin from somewhere.

Inside it were a medicinal herb packet and hot water.

Jiang He was surprised. "Where did you get this?"

Shen Yu giggled. "Sister Yu has her ways. Come on, the water is perfectly hot."

Jiang He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his feet in the water.

Shen Yu, in turn, sat on the bed, straightened her legs, and offered her lap as a pillow for Jiang He.

Jiang He obediently lay down, and she began to massage his head.

"Is the pressure okay?"

"It's fine."

The room gradually fell silent.

Jiang He breathed in Shen Yu's scent, feeling himself slowly sinking.

In the past, on a winter night like this, and so close to December 21st... he most likely would have been unable to sleep.

He would have needed melatonin just to get a few hours of light sleep, and the slightest disturbance would startle him awake, drenched in a cold sweat.

Even after his rebirth, this sense of loneliness etched deep into his soul had never truly disappeared.

But now, with her here, everything was different.

Just hearing her voice, smelling her scent, feeling her presence... and drowsiness would wash over him.

It was much more effective than melatonin.

Jiang He's breathing gradually evened out...

Shen Yu felt the water must be getting cool, so she carefully got off the bed, grabbed a clean towel, and dried Jiang He's feet.

Then she helped Jiang He onto the bed.

She turned off the light, slipped under the covers, and snuggled into Jiang He's arms, pulling the corner of the blanket tight.

After a moment of silence,

Shen Yu still snuck a little kiss on Jiang He and said, "Goodnight, Dr. Jiang."

"Goodnight."

Jiang He tightened his arms, pulling her closer.

Sleepiness engulfed him almost instantly.

His consciousness drifted on the edge of waking and sleeping.

The most natural words just slipped out:

"Wifey, I love you."

Shen Yu: "!!!"

Question: How did Teacher Shen feel, being called "Wifey" for the first time?

She couldn't quite describe it. It just felt like her whole body went soft in an instant.

Love surged through her, almost taking her breath away.

Shen Yu buried her face deep in Jiang He's chest, so happy she felt like she might explode, but at the same time so shy she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.

Her toes curled up, but the corners of her mouth fought to curve upward as she let out a dopey giggle.

"Hehe, hehe..."

"You're so annoying... so annoying!"

After a little while, she calmed down a bit and asked, "Dr. Jiang, are you asleep?"

No answer.

Jiang He's breathing was even.

He was sound asleep.

Seeing this, Shen Yu gathered her courage and replied in a tiny voice next to his ear:

"Hubby, I love you too~"

After saying this, Jiang He had no reaction, but Teacher Shen made herself shy all over again. She started giggling and squirming in his arms.

A perfectly good wife-to-be had suddenly turned into a wiggling grub, so to speak...

...

...

「The next morning.」

The weather hadn't improved.

The rain was even heavier.

Turning on the TV, the news channel was running a continuous weather alert.

Some outlying suburban areas were already experiencing small-scale power outages, the roads were severely iced over, and the transportation department advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel.

But the symposium at Johns Hopkins University's Centennial Auditorium was a long-scheduled international academic conference, so it wasn't canceled at the last minute due to the weather.

The doorbell rang right on time.

Jiang He opened the door to a neatly dressed Su Zhi.

"Mr. Jiang, good morning. The weather outside has gotten very bad; the ice storm warning has been upgraded. However, the conference schedule remains unchanged. I contacted the hotel's shuttle service in advance, and the car is already waiting outside the lobby."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. We'll be down in ten minutes," Jiang He nodded.

He woke Shen Yu, and the two of them finished washing up.

The group gathered in the hotel lobby.

The three senior professors, Zhou Deming, Fu Yunshu, and Guo Fengwan, had grim expressions.

They were not only worried about the weather but also steeling themselves for the upcoming academic confrontation.

Wen Xuyang, meanwhile, clutched his briefcase tightly, his lips pressed into a pale line. He clearly hadn't slept well, and his anxiety was written all over his face.

They got into the car and drove slowly toward Johns Hopkins University.

The number of vehicles on the streets had noticeably decreased; the whole of Baltimore seemed to have been frozen solid.

Soon, the group arrived at the Centennial Auditorium.

Countless discoveries that had changed the course of human medicine had been born here, and many standards of modern medical education had been established within these walls.

The interior of the auditorium was spacious and bright, with an extremely high, vaulted ceiling.

English, German, French.

All sorts of languages could be heard all around.

Su Zhi led the way, with Jiang He holding Shen Yu's hand as they followed. The three senior professors and Wen Xuyang trailed further behind.

A group of East Asian faces looked somewhat conspicuous in this venue dominated by the white elite.

Many people along the way gave them a second glance.

Of course, most people would flash a polite smile or nod in acknowledgment.

They appeared to be very civilized.

But who knew what they were actually thinking?

The group walked down the red-carpeted hallway toward the main hall.

In a lounge area at a corner of the hallway, they ran into some familiar faces.

It was Hayes and Carter, whom they had seen in the lounge yesterday.

The two of them also saw Jiang He, and their reactions differed.

Hayes didn't look pleased. After all, yesterday's incident was a big deal, and he was still holding a grudge.

Carter, on the other hand, was much more polite. He even gave a slight nod, looking refined and easygoing.

Wen Xuyang clicked his tongue behind Jiang He and was about to speak when Jiang He cut him off. "Don't be hasty. Let our abilities do the talking."

"..."

Wen Xuyang let out a breath. "Okay."

Just then, someone approached from a distance.

When Hayes and Carter saw him, the expressions on their faces changed instantly.

They became humble and respectful, like two big white dogs seeing their master.

Jiang He followed their gaze and saw a white man of about sixty, holding a cup of coffee.

He seemed to have noticed their line of sight.

The man turned his head, his gaze passing over Hayes and Carter to land on Jiang He.

Their eyes met mid-air.

Although they had never met, both of them quickly realized.

'This is my main opponent for today.'

Then,

Miller smiled and gave a very gentlemanly nod.

Jiang He remained silent.

'For a thing in human form that uses academic hegemony to commit reviewer plagiarism... giving him even the slightest smile would be letting him win.'

Miller turned back, handed his coffee cup to Hayes, and after whispering something to Carter, he strode with him toward the seats in the front row.

"Dr. Jiang..."

Wen Xuyang said nervously,

"That must be Miller, right? ...I'm a little afraid that when I get on stage later, my mind will go blank as soon as they start questioning me."

Jiang He comforted him, "Relax. You're the one who ran all the basic data, pulling countless all-nighters in the lab. No one knows this report in your hands better than you. Just do your best."

Wen Xuyang swallowed hard and nodded heavily. "Mhm!"

Jiang He: "By the way, if you feel you can't do it, remember you're in Baltimore."

Wen Xuyang: "Huh?"

Jiang He: "So you can *be more* confident."

Wen Xuyang: "?"

Shen Yu quickly explained from the side, "Dr. Jiang is telling you a joke."

Wen Xuyang: "Oh, oh, uh... Ha, haha?"

'So what am I supposed to do now? Should I just give a small laugh, or a big one?'

Wen Xuyang was stunned by the awkwardness.

After thinking it over, he had a flash of inspiration and decided to fire back with a dad joke of his own.

"Dr. Jiang, why can't Conan and Xiaolan ever play cards?"

Jiang He: "???"

After a moment of silence, he said, "Alright, let's all stop telling jokes. We should think of some other way to relax."

Wen Xuyang: "Agreed."

Shen Yu: "Huh?!"

Wen Xuyang: "What's wrong, Sister-in-law?"

Shen Yu scratched her head. "Oh, nothing, nothing. It's just that you remind me of an old friend..."