The Lure of Medals, Wei Kang's Ambition

The middle-aged man soon staggered away.

The entire restaurant fell silent, but before long, all the diners began heatedly 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 interview that was about to begin.

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

The interview soon began.

Academician Qi appeared on screen looking energetic and in high spirits, kindly accepting the reporter's interview.

He first looked back on his life, recounting his arduous years of scientific research and reminiscing about the glorious moment when he won the Nobel Prize.

The television simultaneously played 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 theoretical physics in the country.

Very soon, the reporter asked the question everyone had been waiting for.

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

Academician Qi was full of vigor 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 a few years later, leaving him lying in the hospital and slowly waiting to die.

Until the Sanqing Anti-Cancer Drug burst onto the scene.

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

What followed was the suppression of cancer cell metastasis, the disappearance of the tumor, and a recovery process visible to the naked eye.

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

Moreover, he attended the award ceremony and wore the National Honor Medal onstage.

All of this was thanks to Sanqing, and thanks to the people as well. 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 awe-inspiring.

To be able to witness the powerful rise of China's technology, Qi Zhengyang truly had no regrets even in death.

And Sanqing Pharmaceutical's research and development capabilities were astonishing, having already reached world-class standards. This anti-cancer drug was undoubtedly the most effective medicine Academician Qi had ever seen in his life.

With this medicine, 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 though they cost nothing, drowning both the reporter and the audience.

Everyone present listened so intently that they forgot themselves, utterly engrossed, as if they too were standing beside Academician Qi and experiencing it all with him.

Wei Kang was no exception, though 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, "So? It feels pretty good to be praised by an academician, doesn't it?"

Wei Kang pressed his lips together and nodded repeatedly. He did not dare open his mouth, afraid 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, the National Honor Medal will have my name on it too."

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

Jian Lianyun was stirred by his words as well. She slapped the table and loudly applauded him.

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

Suddenly, a sarcastic voice came from the next table.

"Oh? How many bottles did you drink? If you had even one peanut to go with your booze, you wouldn't be spouting such nonsense, would you?"

"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 thin, weak-looking young man with a pointed chin and monkey-like features, eagerly drinking beer and munching peanuts.

When he saw Wei Kang turn to look at him, he snorted coldly and said disdainfully.

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

Wei Kang shook his head speechlessly, then stood up 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 lips 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 for a moment, then flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "Pah! I exposed you, and you're still bragging?"

He did not believe Jian Lianyun's words at all. Instead, he became even more convinced that they were bragging. Otherwise, why would they not dare confront him face-to-face and simply slink away?

"You people have no shame at all. I'm definitely exposing you online and letting the masses of netizens condemn your shameless act of trying to leech off Academician Qi's name."

He picked up his phone, quickly snapped several side-profile pictures of Wei Kang at the entrance, posted them on Langbo, and added 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 something like, 'If Academician Qi can receive the National Honor Medal, so can I.' It's simply the biggest joke I've ever seen in my life."

He was a verified Langbo influencer account, and before long, he attracted a large crowd of followers.

"Haha, what kind of person is this? Bragging without even bothering to draft a script."

"He probably saw the news about Academician Qi receiving the National Honor Medal today. The kid's got ambition, at least."

"That's not ambition, that's stupidity."

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

"The blogger's being a little petty. So what if someone's bragging? We've all been young before."

"Exactly. A man remains a youth until death, with his heart set on an Honor Medal."

"Hahaha..."

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

Yet strangely enough, 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 little rundown street. He's so down-to-earth."

"Wow, even candid photos of President Wei look this handsome. I've claimed this husband."

"Here, let me point the blind blogger in the right direction—President Wei's Langbo: @SanqingPharmaceuticalWeiKang. Blogger, go see an eye doctor soon."

The skinny young man was instantly dumbfounded. His fingers trembled as he tapped into Wei Kang's Langbo and saw Wei Kang's profile picture.

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

And now, the netizens' ridicule came flooding in like a tide.

"Haha, the blind blogger failed to recognize a great man, posted President Wei's private photo, and got slapped in the face hard."

"Blogger, you got it wrong. President Wei really might receive the National Honor Medal."

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

"Wow, my husband is amazing—the youngest National Honor Medal recipient in history."

"Stop fighting me for him upstairs. He's obviously my husband."

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

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

Then, with his head hanging low, he paid the bill and left.