Chapter 110: Chapter 83: The Value of the Medical Record
Being able to gain a Spirit Attribute just by attending a class made Chen Jue all the more certain that his decision to audit lectures at Jiang University had been the right one.
However, Zhou Chuan’s recent discourse on the relationship between the gallbladder and courage had only scratched the surface of the gallbladder’s mysterious functions, failing to completely resolve the questions in Chen Jue’s mind.
‘The gallbladder is probably just a small part of his research topic.’
‘Besides, that paper was just a collection of excerpts. He skipped around and didn’t show the full thing!’ Chen Jue thought. He felt it was necessary to get in touch with this “academic fiend” in private.
…
Zhou Chuan’s presentation lasted only a few minutes. Other students were waiting to ask questions, and the Q&A session wasn’t his personal stage.
So, after briefly presenting the excerpts from his paper, Zhou Chuan unplugged his USB drive and returned to his seat.
However, the hypothesis Zhou Chuan presented was so advanced and well-supported by data that he was a tough act to follow. The students who got up to ask questions and share their own ideas afterward seemed rather lackluster in comparison.
Even Xia Xue, the teaching assistant, didn’t raise many objections. This only increased the students’ respect for Zhou Chuan, the upperclassman renowned on campus as the “academic fiend.”
When the dismissal bell rang, most of the boys watched with longing expressions as Xia Xue left, her trench coat fluttering as she carried her bag and books. Only a few people went up to Zhou Chuan to discuss the novel viewpoints he had raised in class.
And Chen Jue happened to be one of those few.
“Zhou Chuan, I’d like to buy you lunch! Would you do me the honor?” Chen Jue asked, catching up to him. He struck up a conversation and gave a brief self-introduction.
“Buying me lunch?”
Zhou Chuan was taken aback. He sized Chen Jue up, then suddenly remembered seeing him from the lectern. This older student in front of him was the one who had started the applause.
Although he didn’t know why Chen Jue was so interested in him, Zhou Chuan couldn’t bring himself to turn away someone who had shown such initiative and support.
So, after a brief chat, the two of them headed to the nearest student cafeteria together.
…
Inside the cafeteria, Chen Jue ordered several nice dishes, found a table, and invited Zhou Chuan to sit down.
As they ate, Chen Jue began to voice the many questions on his mind.
“Zhou Chuan, I noticed that in your paper, it seems you’ve left out a lot of key data and information.”
“For instance, regarding the relationship between the gallbladder and courage, and the influence of environmental factors, you only chose to present a few selected sections.”
“Could I see the full paper? I’m extremely interested in your research!” Chen Jue asked earnestly.
He quickly explained that he was only an auditing student and had no academic intentions for reading the paper.
He simply wanted to understand the relationship between the gallbladder and courage, as well as the impact of environmental factors, to more effectively treat his own gallstone disease.
“Brother Jue, you have gallstones?”
“But my paper hasn’t been published yet. A lot of the key data is still being analyzed, so you’ll only be able to see the full version after it’s published in a professional journal.”
Zhou Chuan was surprised. He hadn’t expected the older student so interested in his paper to be a patient himself.
However, needing to protect his research, Zhou Chuan still tactfully declined Chen Jue’s request.
Cases of academic fraud were common these days, and Zhou Chuan wasn’t about to casually share the results he had worked so hard to achieve.
If someone plagiarized his ideas, it would be a huge loss for him.
Although others saw Zhou Chuan as an “academic fiend,” a madman in his studies, his emotional intelligence was by no means low.
On the contrary, he had an excellent handle on navigating social situations. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have so easily sailed through the combined bachelor’s-master’s program at Jiang University, let alone already secured a Ph.D. position with a Linchuan medical academician.
The tactful rejection didn’t discourage Chen Jue. ‘It is my first time meeting this ‘academic fiend,’ after all. If he trusted me this easily, he wouldn’t live up to his reputation.’
“So, about how long will it be before the paper is published?” Chen Jue asked curiously.
“Probably not until after I finish my master’s degree!”
“It’s still missing a portion of the survey data, which I’ll need to raise funds to purchase from a professional data firm,” Zhou Chuan said after a moment’s thought, deciding not to hide the details.
During their meal, Zhou Chuan had taken a look at the electronic medical records Chen Jue had shown him on his phone.
The records were from Dongfang Hospital, which was currently the nation’s top hospital for gallstone surgery, so he could tell they were authentic at a glance.
Realizing he might have to wait a year or two to see the paper, Chen Jue started to feel antsy.
This was for his health; he couldn’t afford to wait a single day, let alone a year or two.
So, Chen Jue changed his approach. Instead of asking for the entire paper—”A Discussion on the Influence of Regional Environments on the Function of Inner Organs”—he proposed just seeing the excerpt on courage and the onset, prevention, and treatment of gallstones. He was even willing to pay to see the parts that had been omitted from that section.
‘These days, you even have to pay to read novels online. It only makes sense to pay a fee to read a professional research paper written by an expert.’
However, upon hearing the offer of payment, Zhou Chuan put down his bowl and chopsticks. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, “Brother Jue, how much money do you think you could offer for this paper?”