Associate Professor Zheng Jian

Chen Chen walked briskly along the tree-lined path through campus.

It was early spring, and a fine drizzle fell from the sky, filling the air with the fresh scent of damp earth.

Amid the flow of passing students, Chen Chen always drew countless glances.

Chen Chen was not particularly handsome, but the aura he exuded from within made him the most eye-catching person in any crowd.

He was clearly wearing nothing more than an ordinary T-shirt and jeans, yet every movement of his carried the air of a major celebrity.

After quietly closing the webpage containing information about Xia Yin's supervisor, Chen Chen put down his phone and fell into thought.

"A very calculating person..."

That was Chen Chen's first impression of him.

According to the university's records, the man was named Zheng Jian. He was an associate professor, thirty-eight years old, and had graduated from Saria University of North America with dual doctorates in Biochemistry and Pharmacy.

To obtain the title of associate professor at such a young age, he had to possess both ability and influence.

Though his standing in academic circles was far below Professor Wang Xi's, he was still an insurmountable mountain to Chen Chen.

If a conflict arose, Chen Chen would have had no chance of winning.

Of course, that had been true before.

Chen Chen looked up more information about Zheng Jian online. At most, it mentioned that Zheng Jian's spouse had died of medulloblastoma several years ago, leaving no children behind.

Yet only half a year later, Zheng Jian had found a new lover—the daughter of a high-ranking official.

There was also an attached image. In it was a man seated behind an office desk.

The man had thin cheeks and wore gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze carrying a hint of harshness.

Behind him stood a neatly arranged bookshelf. On the desk in front of him were a computer, a pen holder, a thermos, and a photo frame.

The photo in the frame was blurry, but he could barely make out the figure of a woman in a white dress.

He had only been able to find this much thanks to the highly developed internet.

Naturally, that was as far as it went.

It was impossible to find more detailed information about the man online. After all, he was not some entertainment celebrity.

Before long, Chen Chen arrived at the base of Office Building No. 3.

"Chen Chen!"

Not far away, Xia Yin waved and jogged over. The moment she reached him, she began apologizing repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I really didn't expect things to turn out like this!"

"It's fine. Tell me what your supervisor wants."

Chen Chen waved it off, and the two headed upstairs together.

"My supervisor wants us to give him the corresponding author designation and first-author position. In exchange, he can make sure we qualify for guaranteed graduate admission."

Xia Yin said, "Of course, if you have other conditions, that's fine too, it's just..."

"And what do you think?" Chen Chen turned to look at Xia Yin.

"My supervisor has already prepared to submit an application to the university so I can be admitted to graduate school by special recommendation..."

Xia Yin looked troubled. "I think it's pretty good. Didn't we do this experiment so we could get into graduate school? Now that we've achieved our goal, do two papers really matter?"

Chen Chen shook his head without saying anything.

There was a trap in that line of thinking.

If those two papers were successfully published, Xia Yin and Chen Chen would have qualified for guaranteed graduate admission anyway. More than that, the papers could bring enormous benefits to both of their futures.

Trading the first-author and corresponding author positions for guaranteed graduate admission was putting the cart before the horse.

However, Chen Chen did not voice any objection. After all, Xia Yin had funded the experiment.

If he refused to transfer the corresponding author designation, he would undoubtedly offend Xia Yin's supervisor—and effectively cut off Xia Yin's path to guaranteed graduate admission.

Of course, outright compromise was not Chen Chen's style either. The man could have the corresponding author designation, but he would have to pay a sufficient price.

And judging from Xia Yin's tone, he did not merely want Chen Chen's corresponding author designation—he also wanted Xia Yin's first-author position.

In fact, by international convention, the first author was generally assumed to be the corresponding author.

This was very common. The first author was usually the person who had contributed the most to the paper. Unless a corresponding author was specifically indicated, the first author was considered the corresponding author by default.

What Professor Zheng wanted was precisely the undisputed first-author position.

Seeing that Chen Chen remained silent, Xia Yin also fell quiet.

The two continued all the way to the fifth floor, stopping before the door to Xia Yin's supervisor's office.

"Chen Chen, over these past three months, I've seen your abilities clearly. If it really comes down to it, just refuse him..."

As if gathering her courage, Xia Yin suddenly said this.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Chen Chen shook his head, then suddenly raised his phone and asked Xia Yin, "By the way, who's the woman on your supervisor's desk?"

"Huh?" Xia Yin tilted her head and looked. "Oh, that's his late ex-wife. Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Chen Chen nodded, turned around, and knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

A somewhat hoarse voice came from inside. Only then did Chen Chen push open the office door and walk in.

It was a fifteen-square-meter office.

Just like the photo he had seen online, the office was furnished exactly the same way. Even the positions of the pen holder and photo frame on the desk were identical.

"Hello, Professor Zheng."

After briefly looking around, Chen Chen withdrew his gaze and nodded at the middle-aged man before him.

"Oh, you must be Chen Chen, the one Xia Yin mentioned. Come, come, have a seat!"

To his surprise, the middle-aged man actually stood up and warmly shook Chen Chen's hand.

Seeing Chen Chen's slightly flattered expression, the middle-aged man could not help but chuckle. "Xia Yin, you can head back first. I'd like to have a proper chat with Chen Chen."

"Okay." Xia Yin nodded, secretly shot Chen Chen a meaningful look, then turned and left the office.

Only after Xia Yin left and closed the office door did the middle-aged man's expression turn serious.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Zheng Jian, and I'm Xia Yin's supervisor. I heard from Xia Yin that the two of you completed a highly innovative experimental project in just three months. That's truly impressive."

"It was alright. It wasn't all my doing. Xia Yin and another one of my roommates helped a lot too."

Chen Chen sat on the sofa, answering while looking around the office.

Zheng Jian's office was not large. Apart from an office desk and the bookshelf behind it, there was only a mahogany grandfather clock by the entrance.

The clock was a floor clock, nearly two meters tall. Its pendulum was golden, and through the transparent glass, Chen Chen could see it swinging constantly. It looked exceptionally luxurious.

Chen Chen showed an interested expression. He stood and walked over to the grandfather clock, examining it closely.

"What, are you interested in my clock?" Zheng Jian asked with a smile.

"Professor Zheng, this clock is Dutch, isn't it?" Chen Chen asked in return.

"Oh? Chen Chen, you know quite a bit about grandfather clocks?"

Zheng Jian said in surprise, "That's right. This clock was indeed imported from the Netherlands. I thought it looked nice, so I put it here."

"Dutch grandfather clocks have the most classical charm, but unfortunately, they've never been very accurate and often need adjusting."

Chen Chen nodded. "Professor Zheng, do you know what time it is now?"

"Now..." Zheng Jian glanced at the clock. "Isn't it 9:35 in the morning?"

"But my phone says it's 9:40."

As Chen Chen spoke, he directly opened the clock face's protective cover and moved the hands forward by five minutes.

Zheng Jian frowned, but in the end, he said nothing.

"Now the time is correct."

Chen Chen smiled and turned to sit back down on the sofa.

Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere was a little off, Zheng Jian glanced at the grandfather clock before saying, "Chen Chen, let's get straight to the point."

Chen Chen immediately assumed an attentive expression.

"You should know that Xia Yin is my student. Since she invested in this experiment, I have every reason to take responsibility for it."

Zheng Jian spoke earnestly. "But considering how much effort you put in, I won't treat you unfairly. After all, I'm very satisfied with this experiment, and your abilities and ideas have impressed me even more. I think highly of you and am willing to invest in you."

Chen Chen did not speak, but his expression seemed to show that he was beginning to waver.

"How about this? When you reach your junior year, choose me as your supervisor. I'll directly apply for a guaranteed postgraduate admission slot at this university for you, and I'll make every effort to bring you onto future projects and research topics!"

Zheng Jian pressed his advantage. "Besides that, I can also do my best to help you secure scholarships and the like. And I only have one condition, which is..."

"For the paper from this experiment, you must give up being listed as the corresponding author!"