Three First-Author Papers in Top Journals

"Ahem, wasn't that..."

Wang Hongfa mumbled something afterward, but Wu Chen was too far away to hear it clearly.

Still, they must have slept together.

Because Liu Ping swung her fist and hammered Wang Hongfa's arm a few times.

After a little more small talk, the two walked into the conference room, all lovey-dovey.

Wu Chen went back to his office first and copied the recording from his phone to his computer. Only then did he pick up a pen and paper, ready to go to the office.

But just as he stood up, QQ suddenly started flashing in the bottom-right corner. The profile picture belonged to Chen Beitao.

Wu Chen sat back down, wondering whether she had produced another result.

But not this time.

Instead, she had sent a long string of words in large, bold red font, followed by several rows of exclamation marks.

Beibei: [Congratulations, big shot! Three papers published online at the same time!!!]

Beibei: [Big shot, you're sho aweshome!!!]

Beibei: [Tearful cupped-fist salute.jpg]

Wu Chen froze.

Online publication meant a paper had been accepted by a journal and posted online, but had yet to be assigned to an issue, typeset, or printed.

It didn't count as fully published yet, but there was basically no chance of anything going wrong!

No, he had to make sure.

Wu Chen opened his email immediately.

He had spent the past week lecturing until his head spun and hadn't had time to check his inbox.

The webpage took a few seconds to load.

Sure enough.

Three online publication notices lay quietly in his inbox!

Wu Chen clicked into them one by one.

"Dear Mr. Wu, We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript...Congratulations on your excellent work! Sincerely, ICIP Editorial Office"

"Mr. Wu Chen, your paper...Thank you for your support of our journal! Journal of Software Editorial Office, September 14, 2008."

"Professor Wu Chen: The paper you submitted to the Chinese Journal of Computers...Please log in to the submission system and confirm the final version within 15 days. If the deadline passes, it will be considered automatically confirmed. Chinese Journal of Computers Editorial Office."

That settled it.

Wu Chen slowly pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and slowly took one out, not caring whether smoking was prohibited in the office.

He lit it.

He took a deep drag, drew the smoke into his lungs, and exhaled.

Through the haze, he suddenly remembered something from his previous life.

At thirty, he had spent a full year writing a paper and submitted it to the Journal of Computer Applications. He had revised the abstract alone eight times.

When the acceptance notice arrived, he had video-called his parents to share the good news.

He had said, "Dad, Mom, I got a paper published."

They had said, "That's wonderful, son! Does this mean you can become an associate professor?"

He had smiled without saying anything.

His parents had understood then, but they were still happy, because their son had done something they couldn't.

And now, with three first-author papers in top journals, he had done something many people couldn't.

They would probably be even happier.

After a long while, he stubbed out the cigarette, took a sip of his instant coffee, which had gone cold, and sent Chen Beitao a reply.

[Nothing special.]

Beibei: [Big shot, you're showing off, aren't you, aren't you, aren't you!!!]

Wu Chen sent back a smiling emoji.

In truth, he knew that Chen Beitao's academic background and recommendation must have played a major part in getting the papers accepted and published online so quickly.

But there was no need to say too much in thanks.

He could just carry her to more victories in the future.

Picking up his pen and paper again, Wu Chen got up and headed for the conference room.

Because he had been delayed, more than a dozen teaching assistants and lecturers were already seated inside.

The moment Wang Hongfa saw him enter, he looked over, a vicious light flashing in his triangular eyes.

It seemed Wang Hongfa still couldn't get over Wu Chen backstabbing him twice at the Jiangdong Pharmaceutical Factory.

After all, being less skilled than someone else was no big deal. They were all lousy chess players; it just came down to who could bullshit better.

Deceiving people was no big deal either. Pretending to do research to swindle money out of companies was common enough.

But being driven to a faint by a subordinate and ending up in the hospital was a serious problem.

The whole school was still relishing that bit of entertainment.

Wu Chen couldn't be bothered with him. He lowered his head and found a seat in the back row.

Like the government system, universities placed great importance on hierarchy and rank, enough to rival the Indian caste system.

Take the lecturers and teaching assistants attending today's meeting: though they were all trash below the rank of associate professor, there were still distinctions among them, just as there were higher and lower ranks among Dalits.

First of all, lecturers definitely ranked above teaching assistants.

Then, for those with the same title, it came down to their alma maters, their advisors, their research achievements, and their relationships with the leadership.

In short, once all the comparisons were done, the higher someone ranked, the closer they sat to leaders like Wang Hongfa.

As for someone at the bottom like Wu Chen, who had gotten his bachelor's degree at this university, his master's at an ordinary overseas school, and returned on a two-year teaching assistant contract, he wasn't even qualified to sit at the table.

He could only sit in a little chair by the wall and unfold the small writing tablet on the armrest to take notes.

Once everyone had arrived, Wang Hongfa finally began his address.

"The semester has been underway for a week now, so everyone should have settled in..."

After a round of pointless opening remarks, Wang Hongfa finally put on a stern face.

"...Some people still haven't done any research at all. They just coast along and scrape by from one day to the next!"

"As you all know, our university is actively applying for the 2011 Plan. After that, we won't be taking just any stray cat or dog!"

"At minimum, a doctorate!"

"So those of you with master's degrees had better figure something out!"

Wu Chen raised his eyelids and met Wang Hongfa's gaze.

The old bastard hadn't mentioned him by name, but it was already obvious whom he meant. Several people in the room had turned to look at Wu Chen.

"Also, teaching assistants weren't previously required to secure industry-funded projects, but starting in the second half of the year, they must have them too, worth at least 50,000 yuan!"

"If you can't meet the target, have your family sell their house or take out a loan. I don't care how you do it; I only care about results!"

Well, it looked like he had made the old bastard start strictly enforcing the up-or-out policy several years ahead of schedule.

"And as for research requirements, the school has decided that teaching assistants must publish at least one paper in a top journal during their contract period. Otherwise, whoever they are, they're out!"

This time, the target was even more obvious.

There were only three teaching assistants present. Apart from Wu Chen, the other two already had results, and they had connections too.

So everyone looked over at him again in unison.

Wu Chen lowered his head and concentrated on drawing circles on his paper, minding his own business as he relaxed his brain.

He wondered what expressions these people would make if they knew he had just published three papers in top journals, with another five in the queue.

"Wu Chen!"

Just as he was imagining their shocked faces, he suddenly heard Wang Hongfa call his name.

He looked up and asked, a little puzzled, "What is it?"

Wang Hongfa's expression twitched, as though anger had made him laugh.

"Haven't you noticed everyone is looking at you?"

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"You have no results. Aren't you worried?"

He rapped on the table and fired off three questions in succession, and the conference room instantly fell as silent as a graveyard.

Even Wu Chen was a little surprised.

Wang Hongfa might have been trash, but he was still a dean-level figure. It was rare for him to mock Wu Chen so openly. He had shown no self-restraint at all, a far cry from the image he had worked so hard to cultivate.

But Wu Chen quickly caught on.

He had been reborn more than a decade in the past, bringing his experience from later years with him. But Wang Hongfa hadn't been a dean for long at this point and hadn't yet cultivated the art of keeping his temper.

Things had really gone too smoothly for the old bastard before.

He would give him a little setback, then.

Wu Chen smiled calmly.

"Top journals?"

"I have papers in them."