Chen Chen walked briskly on the forest path on campus.
It was early spring, with light rain falling in the sky and the fragrance of earth filling the air everywhere.
Among the crowds of people passing by, Chen Chen always attracts a lot of attention.
Chen Chen's appearance is not outstanding, but the temperament he exudes from the inside out makes him the most dazzling one among the crowd.
It was obviously just an ordinary T-shirt and jeans, but in Chen Chen's movements, he looked like a big-name star.
Silently exiting the information page about Xia Yin's mentor, Chen Chen put down his phone and looked thoughtful.
"A very scheming person..."
This was Chen Chen's first response to the other party.
According to the information in the college, the other party's name is Zheng Jian, an associate professor level figure. He is 38 years old and graduated from Saliya University in North America with a double doctorate in biochemistry and pharmacy.
To be able to obtain the title of associate professor at such a young age, the other party's ability and skills are indispensable.
Although this person's status in the academic world is far inferior to that of Wang Xi, he is still a big mountain to Chen Chen.
Once a conflict occurs, Chen Chen has no chance of winning.
Of course, that was before.
Chen Chen checked Zheng Jian's information on the Internet. The information only mentioned that his spouse died of medulloblastoma a few years ago, and the two of them left no heirs.
But only half a year later, Zheng Jian found a new love, the daughter of a high-ranking official.
Along with it was an attached picture of a man sitting at a desk.
The man has thin cheeks, wears gold-rimmed glasses, and has a mean look in his eyes.
In addition, behind the man is a neat bookshelf, and on the desk in front of him are a computer, a pen holder, a thermos cup, and a photo frame.
The photo frame was blurry, and you could barely make out the figure of a woman wearing a white dress.
The reason why we can find these is thanks to the highly developed Internet.
Of course, that's all.
It is impossible to find more detailed information about the other party on the Internet. After all, the other party is not a star in the entertainment industry.
Soon, Chen Chen arrived at the bottom of Office Building No. 3.
"Chen Chen!"
Not far away, Xia Yin trotted over waving her hands, apologizing constantly as soon as they met, "I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, I really didn't expect it to be like this!"
"It's okay, tell me what your mentor means."
Chen Chen waved his hand, and the two of them walked upstairs together.
"My supervisor hopes that you and I can give him the position of corresponding author and first author. In exchange, he can help us successfully obtain the qualifications for graduate research."
Xia Yin said, "Of course, if you have other conditions, that's fine, but..."
"What do you mean?" Chen Chen turned his head and looked at Xia Yin.
"My supervisor is already preparing to apply to the school and ask me to make an exception for my postgraduate qualifications..."
Xia Yin was a little troubled, "I think it's good. Isn't it true that we did this experiment just to protect the research? Now that we have achieved our goal, two papers are nothing, right?"
Chen Chen shook his head and said nothing more.
There is a thinking trap here.
If these two papers are successfully published, Xia Yin and Chen Chen will be qualified for research. Not only that, these two papers can bring huge dividends to their futures.
Using the status of first author and corresponding author in exchange for research qualifications is putting the cart before the horse.
However, Chen Chen didn't say anything against it. After all, Xia Yin invested in this experiment.
If I don't agree to transfer the corresponding author's rights, I will undoubtedly offend Xia Yin's mentor, and it will also end Xia Yin's path to research.
Of course, it is not Chen Chen's character to compromise directly. If you want a corresponding author, you can, but the other party must pay a sufficient price.
And judging from Xia Yin's tone, the other party not only wanted Chen Chen's corresponding author, but also wanted one of Xia Yin's works.
In fact, according to international practice, the first author is the corresponding author by default.
This situation is very common. Generally, the first author is the person who has made the greatest contribution to the paper. Unless the corresponding author is specifically marked, the first author is the corresponding author by default.
And this Professor Zheng is exactly the one who wants to be the absolute leader.
Seeing that Chen Chen was silent, Xia Yin also fell silent.
The two of them went all the way to the fifth floor and arrived at the door of instructor Xia Yin's office.
"Chen Chen, over the past three months, I have noticed your ability. If it doesn't work for you, just reject him..."
As if she mustered up the courage, Xia Yin suddenly said such a sentence.
"Don't worry, I know what's going on."
Chen Chen shook his head, suddenly picked up his phone, and said to Xia Yin, "By the way, who is the woman on your instructor's desk?"
"Ah?" Xia Yin tilted her head and looked, "Well, this is his ex-wife who passed away. What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's okay."
Chen Chen nodded, turned around and knocked on the office door.
"Please come in."
A hoarse voice came out, and Chen Chen opened the office door and walked in.
This is an office of fifteen square meters.
Just like the picture I saw online, the office furnishings are exactly the same, even the positions of the pen holder and photo frame on the desk are exactly the same.
"Hello, Professor Zheng."
After a brief look, Chen Chen withdrew his gaze and nodded towards the middle-aged man in front of him.
"Oh, you are the Chen Chen that Xiao Yin said, come on, come on, please have a seat!"
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man in front of him actually stood up and shook hands with Chen Chen enthusiastically.
Seeing Chen Chen's somewhat flattered expression, the middle-aged man couldn't help but chuckle, "Xiao Yin, you go back first, I want to have a good chat with classmate Chen Chen."
"Okay." Xia Yin nodded, secretly gave Chen Chen a wink, turned and left the office.
It wasn't until Xia Yin went out and closed the office door that the middle-aged man straightened his expression.
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Zheng Jian, and I am Xiao Yin's mentor. I heard from Xiao Yin that it only took you three months to complete a very innovative pilot project. It was really not easy. .”
"Fortunately, it's not all my fault. Xia Yin and my other roommate also helped a lot."
Chen Chen sat on the sofa and looked at the office while answering.
Zheng Jian's office is not big. Apart from a desk and a bookshelf at the back, the only thing left is a mahogany pendulum clock at the entrance.
This pendulum clock is a floor-standing clock, two meters high. The pendulum below is golden yellow. Through the transparent glass, you can see it swinging continuously. It looks very luxurious.
Chen Chen looked interested. He stood up and walked to the pendulum clock, looking at it carefully.
"Why, are you interested in my pendulum clock?" Zheng Jian said with a smile.
"Professor Zheng, is this pendulum clock from the Netherlands?" Chen Chen asked.
"Hey, classmate Chen Chen is so knowledgeable about pendulum clocks?"
Zheng Jian said in surprise, "Yes, this pendulum clock is indeed imported from the Netherlands. I thought it looked good, so I put it here."
"The pendulum clock made in the Netherlands has the most classical charm, but unfortunately it has never been accurate enough and often needs to be adjusted."
Chen Chen nodded, "Professor Zheng, do you know what time it is now?"
"Now..." Zheng Jian looked at the time on the clock, "Isn't it 9:35 in the morning?"
"But it says 9:40 on my phone."
Chen Chen said, directly opening the dial protective case of the clock and setting the time back five minutes.
Zheng Jian frowned, but finally said nothing.
"Now, the time is right."
Chen Chen smiled, turned around and sat back on the sofa.
As if sensing something was wrong in the atmosphere, Zheng Jian glanced at the pendulum clock and then said, "Classmate Chen Chen, let's get straight to the point."
Chen Chen suddenly looked like he was listening.
"You have to know that Xia Yin is my student, and I have every reason to be responsible for the experiment she invested in."
Zheng Jian said seductively, "But since you have contributed enough, I will not treat you badly. After all, I am very satisfied with this experiment, and your abilities and ideas are even more amazing. I am very optimistic about you. I’m willing to invest in you.”
Chen Chen didn't speak, but his expression seemed to be wavering.
"Let's do this. When you are in your junior year, choose me as your tutor. I will directly apply for you to be a graduate student in our school, and I will try my best to use you in future projects and topics!"
Zheng Jian struck while the iron was hot, "Besides, I can also try my best to help you win scholarships and so on, but I only have one condition, and that is..."
"In this experiment's paper, you must give up your signature as the corresponding author!"