Chapter 41

The middle-aged man quickly staggered away.

A silence fell over the restaurant, but before long, all the diners were fervently discussing the miraculous effects of the Sanqing Anti-Cancer Drug.

The restaurant quickly became lively again.

Wei Kang and Jian Lianyun soon finished eating, but they did not leave. Instead, they waited to watch the Focus Interview program that would begin in a few minutes.

The other diners paid their bills one after another, yet not a single one left. They all gathered before the television, sitting upright like elementary school students waiting to watch TV.

Focus Interview began soon enough.

Academician Qi appeared on screen looking vigorous and spirited, warmly accepting the host's interview.

He first looked back on his life, recounting the hardships of his early scientific research and recalling the glorious moment when he received the Nobel Prize.

The program also showed several recorded clips from his earlier life.

Then came his return to China, his settlement in Sea City, and the contributions he had made to the development of domestic theoretical physics.

Soon, the host asked the question everyone had been waiting for.

"Academician Qi, what exactly happened with your cancer? Could you tell us about the treatment process in detail?"

Academician Qi was in high spirits as he spoke at length about how he had discovered he had pancreatic cancer. Considering his age, he had chosen conservative treatment, only for his condition to worsen within a few years until he lay in the hospital, slowly waiting to die.

Until the Sanqing Anti-Cancer Drug suddenly emerged.

At Director Jian's strong recommendation, and out of confidence in domestic pharmaceutical companies as well as a desire to support domestic medicine, he had resolutely joined the Phase III clinical trial.

What followed was the suppression of the cancer cells' spread, the disappearance of the tumor, and a recovery process visible to the naked eye.

Finally, after just two weeks of treatment, he had rapidly regained his health and was able to stand again.

Moreover, he had attended the award ceremony and received the Medal of the Republic from the nation's top leader on the podium at the Great Hall.

For all of this, he had to thank Sanqing, and he also had to thank the people. Without the people's support and trust, such a miraculous anti-cancer drug could never have been developed.

For China's pharmaceutical industry to have developed to this point today was truly astonishing.

To witness his motherland's powerful rise in technology, Qi Zhengyang could die without regrets.

And Sanqing Pharmaceutical's research and development capabilities were astounding. They had already reached the world's top level, and this anti-cancer drug was undoubtedly the most effective medicine Academician Qi had ever seen in his life.

With this drug, not only would China's cancer patients be saved, but cancer patients all over the world would be saved as well.

Sanqing Pharmaceutical would surely earn a place in the history of global medicine.

Academician Qi made no attempt to hide his praise for Sanqing. Compliments poured from his mouth as if they cost nothing, drowning both the host and the audience.

Everyone present listened so intently that they lost themselves in it, utterly captivated, as though they too had stood beside Academician Qi and experienced it all with him.

Wei Kang was no exception. However, he was not immersed in Academician Qi's praise. Instead, he stared at the dazzling golden medal on Academician Qi's chest, his eyes shining.

Seeing the longing on his face, Jian Lianyun smiled and asked, "Well? It feels pretty good to have an academician flatter you, doesn't it?"

Wei Kang pressed his lips together and nodded repeatedly. He did not dare open his mouth, afraid that he would burst out laughing and ruin the solemn atmosphere.

He stared at Academician Qi again and again. Only after a long while did he reluctantly shift his gaze away from the medal on his chest and sigh.

"A true man should be like this."

"One day, there'll be a Medal of the Republic for me too."

"If Academician Qi can receive it, so can I."

Jian Lianyun's heart stirred at his words. She slapped the table and loudly cheered.

"Good! Wei Kang, I knew you were a man with great ambition. You truly are worthy of my admiration."

Suddenly, a sarcastic voice came from the next table.

"Oh my, how many bottles did you drink? If you'd had even one peanut with your booze, you wouldn't be spouting such nonsense."

"You think you're worthy of comparing yourself to Academician Qi? Go piss and look at yourself in the mirror."

Wei Kang turned around and saw a skinny young man with a pointy mouth and monkey-like cheeks, eagerly stuffing himself with alternating mouthfuls of beer and peanuts.

When he saw Wei Kang looking at him, he snorted coldly and said disdainfully.

"What are you looking at? Got drunk in front of a pretty girl? What bullshit are you bragging about?"

Wei Kang shook his head speechlessly, rose to his feet, and said to Jian Lianyun, "Let's go. There's no need to lower ourselves to his level."

Jian Lianyun nodded, shot the young man a fierce glare, and got up to head for the door.

As she passed the skinny young man, she could not help curling her lip and saying, "He owns Sanqing Pharmaceutical, and he invented this anti-cancer drug. That alone qualifies him to compare himself with Academician Qi. Hmph!"

The skinny young man froze, then flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "Pah! I exposed you, and you're still bragging?"

He did not believe Jian Lianyun at all. Instead, it only strengthened his conviction that they were boasting. Otherwise, why would they not dare confront him face-to-face and instead slink away?

"You don't know when to quit while you're ahead. You have no shame at all. I'm going to expose you online and let all the netizens condemn your shameless attempt to ride Academician Qi's coattails."

He took out his phone, snapped several side-view photos of Wei Kang at the entrance, and posted them on Langbo along with a mocking caption.

"I was having a pretty good day after watching the news while eating, but then I ran into some young punk who doesn't know his place. He showed no respect whatsoever for Academician Qi, a pillar of the nation, and only knew how to brag. He actually said things like, 'If Academician Qi can receive the Medal of the Republic, so can I.' It's simply the biggest joke I've ever seen in my life."

He was a verified Langbo influencer account, and it quickly drew a crowd of onlooking followers.

"Ha ha, what kind of person is this? Bragging without even drafting a script first."

"He probably saw the news about Academician Qi receiving the Medal of the Republic today. The kid's pretty ambitious."

"That's not ambition. That's stupidity, isn't it?"

"What a pity. His aspirations are lofty, his ideals are full, but reality is painfully thin."

"The blogger's being a little petty. So what if the guy bragged? It's none of your business. Who hasn't been young?"

"Exactly. A man remains a boy until the day he dies, single-mindedly dreaming of the Medal of the Republic."

"Ha ha ha..."

Seeing the ridicule from the netizens, the skinny young man felt smug and couldn't help adding, "Heh heh, he even said he was the owner of Sanqing Pharmaceutical. If he's Sanqing's boss, then I'm Boss Ma of Penguin."

Yet strangely, the netizens did not join in this time. Instead, they fell silent.

After a while, the netizens erupted.

"Ahhh, it really is President Wei! No wonder he looked kind of familiar to me!"

"Oh my god, Blogger, you're blind as a bat. You actually ran into President Wei and didn't recognize him?"

"Blogger, you're so lucky! Can you post the location? I want to run into President Wei too."

"Exactly! President Wei is worth tens of billions, yet he's eating on some tiny rundown street. He's so down-to-earth."

"Wow, even candid photos of President Wei are this handsome. I'm claiming this husband."

"Come on, let me point the blind blogger in the right direction: President Wei's Langbo @Sanqing Pharmaceutical Wei Kang. Blogger, go see an eye doctor already."

The skinny young man was instantly dumbfounded. His trembling finger tapped into Wei Kang's Langbo and saw Wei Kang's profile picture.

"Ah!" he let out a miserable cry. This misunderstanding had blown up completely. It was utterly humiliating.

At that moment, the netizens' mockery came flooding in like a tide.

"Ha ha, the blind blogger failed to recognize greatness, posted President Wei's private photo, and got slapped in the face hard."

"Blogger, you were wrong. President Wei really might receive the Medal of the Republic."

"Yeah, as long as President Wei invents a few miracle drugs, the Medal of the Republic will be within reach."

"Wow, my husband is amazing. The youngest Medal of the Republic recipient in history."

"Don't fight me for him upstairs. He's obviously my husband."

The skinny young man's vision swam, and he could not say a word.

Trembling all over, he hurriedly deleted the Langbo post he had just made completely.

Then, dejected, he paid the bill and left.