To marry into the family in place of his brother? Impossible!

Jiang Jinhuan smiled helplessly.

Professor Chen waved his hand: "Alright, let Professor Ji handle this himself. You go back and get back to your work. Don't let these trivial matters interfere with your important tasks."

Jiang Jinhuan nodded, stood up, and walked out.

As he reached the door, Professor Chen called him back, "By the way, Jin Huan, keep a close eye on Su Ping in the future."

Jiang Jinhuan paused, glanced back at Professor Chen, and seeing the rare seriousness in his teacher's eyes, nodded earnestly: "I know, teacher."

He stepped out of the office building, the sunlight falling on him, carrying the unique clarity and coolness of early spring.

Just like his current mood, this incident wasn't big, but it was disgusting enough.

If the root cause is not removed, this disgusting thing will definitely not be the first time.

He has neither the time nor the energy to waste on such trivial matters!

After leaving Professor Chen's office, Jiang Jinhuan called Luo Qingyi. "Qingyi, the new energy project is on hold. I need to re-examine the patent ownership issue!"

Luo Qingyi asked doubtfully, "Jin Huan? You mean there's a problem with this patent? Professor Ji, however..."

"It's not necessarily Professor Ji's problem. I suspect someone is tampering with the patent, or has already done so! This could very likely lead to unclear patent ownership, which would be fatal to us!"

Luo Qingyi said, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away!"

Jiang Jinhuan hung up the phone and sighed. This incident really served as a wake-up call for him.

If Su Ping dares to meddle in such matters, he cannot meddle in patents.

Professor Ji clearly still relies heavily on Su Ping, and Su Ping's hostility towards him makes him realize that this cooperation will not be so smooth.

He is very optimistic about this new energy project, but it's not indispensable for him!

While the machines haven't been deployed yet, there's still time!

Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Wan'er was standing by the window in Professor Ji's office at that moment.

She heard the conversation just now.

At this moment, a hint of doubt appeared on her face: "So his excuse is that Su Ping got the time wrong?"

"So... he wasn't late?"

Professor Ji sat in his chair, a hint of self-reproach in his voice: "It's still not certain whether he misremembered or Su Ping misspoke!"

Zhao Wan'er said, "So, one of them is lying!"

After hanging up the phone, Professor Ji sat in his office in silence for a long time.

"Would Su Ping really lie to me?"

Her face darkened.

Zhao Wan'er, standing nearby, said, "Why don't we just ask?"

Professor Ji narrowed his eyes.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Su Ping walked in.

A fawning and ingratiating smile graced his face.

He was holding two cups of coffee, which he placed on the table.

"Teacher, senior sister, this is freshly ground coffee I made especially for you!"

Zhao Wan'er frowned slightly. She looked at the other students outside the door, who were all busy doing experiments and comparing data.

Compared to them, isn't Su Ping a bit too idle?

In Professor Ji's view, spending so much time grinding coffee is simply a waste of life.

Professor Ji frowned, her eyes already showing displeasure. She asked, "Su Ping, yesterday I asked you to invite Jiang Jinhuan to dinner. What time did you schedule for him?"

Su Ping's face stiffened for a moment, then he regained his composure and said, "Teacher, didn't you just ask? I scheduled it for 6:30!"

Professor Ji nodded without saying anything.

Zhao Wan'er, standing nearby, said, "But what I heard was that you told him it was 8:30!"

Su Ping abruptly raised his head and hurriedly said, "How is that possible?"

Then Su Ping coldly laughed and said, "Teacher, as you know, there has been a lot of news about him recently, but none of it is good news. I'm not saying anything bad, but I think this person's character is really bad!"

Of course, it's also possible that he simply misheard the time!

Professor Ji's eyes darkened. "Alright, this is none of your business. You can leave now."

As Su Ping left, he glanced at Zhao Wan'er beside him with a burning gaze!

After Su Ping left, Zhao Wan'er snorted coldly: "It seems that guy really is no good. He's late and he's making excuses for himself!"

"Forget it, this kind of person isn't worth my attention. Mom, I have to go now!"

After Zhao Wan'er finished speaking, she strode out of the office with her enviable long legs.

After Zhao Wan'er left, Professor Ji also stood up, picked up his phone, and went out the door.

Instead of going back, she went directly to Professor Chen's office.

Professor Chen was somewhat surprised to see her return: "Professor Ji, what's wrong?"

Professor Ji walked in, his face somewhat grave: "Old Chen, I don't think this matter is as simple as it seems."

She sat down and recounted the process of confirming things with Su Ping.

"Although Su Ping may have some ulterior motives, he wouldn't lie to me about something like this. I'm here to tell you that your student probably has ulterior motives. If necessary, shouldn't we cancel this external hiring position?"

Professor Chen frowned: "So, you think it wasn't Su Ping who sent the wrong time, but that Jin Huan deliberately didn't go, and then tried to shift the blame?"

Professor Ji didn't speak, but his silence was tacit agreement.

Professor Chen said, "I don't believe Jin Huan would be that kind of person. Besides, don't you find this strange? Jin Huan needs your help right now, why would he act like a big shot in front of you?"

After saying that, Professor Chen dialed Jiang Jinhuan's number again: "Jinhuan, come here for a moment!"

After hanging up the phone, Professor Chen continued to Professor Ji, "We'll know whether it's true or not just by asking! One of the two of them is definitely lying."

Less than ten minutes later, Jiang Jinhuan reappeared at the door of Professor Chen's office.

He was slightly taken aback when he saw Professor Ji there, then greeted him, "Professor Ji, hello!"

Professor Ji looked at him and softened his tone: "Jin Huan, don't be nervous. I just want to ask about the specifics of what happened yesterday."

Su Ping told me that he had arranged to meet you at 6:30, and asked me to tell him in detail about the situation on your end.

Jiang Jinhuan was silent for two seconds, then nodded.

Instead of immediately defending himself, he took out his phone from his pocket, unlocked the screen, flipped through a few pages, and then pressed play.

"Senior Jiang, I'm Su Ping, Professor Ji's student."

The voice in the recording is clear and complete, with Su Ping's unique tone.

Professor Ji said he'd like to have dinner with you at 8:30 PM, at Tingyuxuan Restaurant in the east of the city!

The office fell silent for a moment.

Jiang Jinhuan then pulled out his phone's text message interface and handed it to Professor Ji.

The message from Su Ping was clearly displayed on the screen: "8:30, Tingyuxuan, don't be late."

At the time she sent this message, she, Zhao Wan'er, and Su Ping were in that private room.

In other words, Su Ping sent this message with the wrong time to Jiang Jinhuan right under her nose!

Professor Ji looked at the text message, his fingers slowly tightening around his phone.

Her face didn't show much change in expression, but Professor Chen, sitting next to her, noticed that the corner of her mouth pursed slightly, a small gesture she only made when she was angry.