I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

The problem is that Yang Changshuo went a bit too far.

He spoke as if losing Chen Ya would be a loss for the Republic. Was Chen Ya some kind of panda?

If he really is a panda, at least he would be known to the world for his scientific research, just like those academic luminaries, right?

Even if he doesn't do well, at least he has an entry on the encyclopedia, that would mean he's made a name for himself, right?

The truth is that not only are there no legends about Chen Ya circulating among the people, but you can't find anything about him online either, and none of his so-called papers have ever been published in any journals.

So what is it about this that Principal Yang is so proud of?

The shaman didn't quite understand.

Li Jiayi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up:

"If it's just a paper that hasn't been published in an SCI journal, that's fine. Writing a paper is actually simpler than people imagine. It's probably just because he's a librarian that it seems so unusual."

“Yes, that’s how it is,” Miao Aoxue chimed in. “I went to university abroad, and my host family’s child was in elementary school. The teacher assigned homework to write a paper about animals, and the child wrote a proper two-page paper about blue whales. They even asked me to help them revise it. It was just a topic, not as sacred as everyone imagines.”

Lu Qingxuan looked at her and said in a somewhat stiff tone:

"I think that for Chen Ya, who only has a junior high school education, it is quite remarkable that his paper was not published in any journal, but was recognized by Professor Yang."

After Lu Qingxuan finished speaking, Gu Yuqing immediately looked at her in surprise.

Her words clearly indicated her intention to protect Chen Ya, even though Chen Ya was not present.

Gu Yuqing began to suspect that Chen Ya had also hooked up with this girl.

Miao Aoxue blushed slightly and said, "I didn't mean to deny him. I just said that this matter is not so incomprehensible."

Liu Ruying suddenly said, "I think it's precisely because this matter is incomprehensible that Principal Yang seems so agitated."

Gu Yuqing turned her surprised gaze to Liu Ruying again.

She was now almost certain that Chen Ya's trip to Beijing had indeed led him to hook up with another girl.

And there's more than one.

The two girls both came to criticize Miao Aoxue, which made her a little unhappy. She said, "I was just telling the truth. Like what Young Master Wang just said, the quality of academic papers these days isn't that high."

Seeing that her woman was being criticized, Li Jiayi naturally wanted to help and said:

"The more you learn, the easier it is to understand. It is impossible to become a talent through self-study with only a junior high school education. Human scientific research has reached an astonishing level. This is no longer an era where you can make a name for yourself through self-study. Most of those who lament that they are not recognized for their talents are amateur scientists."

He turned to Wang Shaoxian and said, "Young Master Wang, you studied science abroad, right? You should understand what I mean. Of course, let me clarify, I have no problem with Chen Ya; I'm just stating an objective fact."

Wang Shaoxian said with great interest, "If you say that some papers these days lack substance, then that's absolutely true. The ghostwriters these days are really better than you can imagine."

For a moment, everyone was talking, but Yang Changshuo remained silent, crossed his legs, sat aside and listened, secretly amused.

He's down-to-earth and enjoys mingling with young people.

Moreover, he had a peculiar habit—the reason he was able to become the president of Peking University as an academic talent was precisely because of this habit—he enjoyed appreciating the ignorance of others.

Seeing that Wang Shaoxian was also on her side, Miao Aoxue got a little excited and said, "Right? Paper mills are really rampant now, aren't they? I heard that even SCI papers are now openly priced."

Wang Shaoxian casually said, "Yes, legal ones cost a few thousand yuan, illegal ones cost tens of thousands. If you pay, you can get SCI publications, at least Q2 journals, and sometimes you can even get into some low-quality Q1 journals."

Liu Ruying, being a literature major, wasn't very knowledgeable in this area and looked somewhat puzzled. Lu Qingxuan was also unsure and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wang Shaoxian played with his fingernails and said, "There are some SCI journals that are considered low-quality. As long as you decide on some popular research directions, it's easy to get published in these journals. There's an industry in China that does this, basically wholesaling SCI papers, which are worthless."

After he finished speaking, he smiled and added, "I originally wanted to buy an SCI paper to publish for fun and brag about it online, but after thinking about it, I decided against it. Exposing it would be like giving these paper mills free advertising, and they don't pay me for it."

Liu Ruying asked, "Aren't these industries in a gray area?"

“It’s a gray area, but most of it is legal.” Wang Shaoxian’s expression was quite interesting. “So, these days, many things aren’t as mysterious as people imagine.”

Miao Aoxue raised her face and immediately felt much better, even a little smug.

She was already upset enough when it was suddenly revealed that Chen Ya was the boss of Jiang Lizhi's company, but the person she chose, Li Jiayi, was also the future leader of the Xuanyuan Chamber of Commerce, and the gap between her and Chen Ya was not too big.

As a result, her understanding of the world is being challenged time and time again.

First, Qin Yunchu and Chen Ya had a very good relationship, and then Gu Yuqing and Chen Ya had an ambiguous relationship.

These two women are far more than just ordinary beauties. Think about it: a young and promising boss who is on good terms with the rising leaders of both the Gu and Qin families—what kind of social circle does that represent?

If used properly and without any mishaps, the future potential is limitless.

Just a moment ago, heaven knows that Miao Aoxue almost gritted her teeth in anger, her heart pounding with hatred.

It hurts, it hurts too much.

Why didn't you keep in touch with Chen Ya back then?

With her looks, even without offering herself in return, just keeping him hanging on, given Chen Ya's straight-male style at the time, would probably have been enough.

How did things come to this, that they've become enemies and their relationship is worse than that of strangers?

It was already painful enough, but Yang Changshuo added insult to injury, constantly praising how amazing Chen Ya was academically.

Miao Aoxue didn't like listening to it at all.

That's why she's more inclined to want to prove that being able to write papers isn't particularly remarkable.

Although this did not affect Chen Ya's extensive network of friends and even his good relationship with Yang Changshuo, it made Miao Aoxue feel a little better. She could tell herself that Chen Ya was not so omnipotent and that she was not blind to his abilities at the time.

It's less about persuading others and more about persuading yourself.

"Tap, tap, tap!"

Cao Kunguan, who was sitting next to them, tapped his pipe in the jar, making a loud sound that startled everyone.

Cao Kunguan, expressionless, said in Yang Changshuo's direction:

"I'm fairly familiar with Lao Yang. Call it being an acquaintance or a karmic entanglement, but based on my understanding of him, he's a man of his word. He never flatters or belittles anyone. If he says something is awesome, then it's definitely awesome."

After Cao Kunguan finished speaking, everyone fell silent, except for Yang Changshuo, who nodded in satisfaction: "You were right this time."

Cao Kunguan stuffed new tobacco into his pipe as he said:

"Moreover, his standards are higher than most people's because he uses his own level as the standard. He seems to think that what he can do is not impressive, and what he can't do is impressive. So since he boasts to this extent, I generally think that Chen Ya is more impressive than him."

Yang Changshuo's expression changed: "You've gone a bit too far."

Cao Kunguan put his pipe in his mouth: "Isn't that right? I don't know much about academic matters, but when you look at it from all other perspectives, isn't Chen Ya amazing?"

Yang Changshuo was a little embarrassed for a moment: "That's true."

Gu Yuqing and Qin Yunchu looked at each other in bewilderment.

This Director Cao Kunguan seems to know quite a lot.

After Yang Changshuo finished speaking, he immediately changed the subject and said, "However, we are talking about the academic field now. Since you don't understand the academic field, then don't speak casually."

Cao Kunguan sneered: "I don't just say things casually, and you're stammering and being vague. Just tell me, what level is Chen Ya at in the academic field?"

Yang Changshuo sighed and was about to say something when he looked up and suddenly saw a sly glint in Cao Kunguan's eyes.

"You old fox, are you trying to provoke me? You think I'll fall for your trick?" Yang Changshuo was practically spitting out saliva. "You just want to find out more about Chen Ya and get closer to him, don't you?"

Cao Kunguan was exposed, but he wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, he said frankly, "You think too badly of people. Why can't it be that I'm just curious?"

"Curious, are you? If you just want to satisfy your curiosity, then I'll give an evaluation of Chen Ya's academic level."

Yang Changshuo cleared his throat and said very solemnly:

"Please note that the following is my opinion as a seasoned researcher and educator, not a top-tier scientist. A leading scientist would likely have a more insightful assessment of Chen Ya, but this is only my perspective..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Chen Ya's academic level has surpassed the stage of being described as a genius, and it can't even be described as a prodigy. He is a monster among monsters."

"Without him, our country's breakthroughs in certain scientific research fields would have been delayed by one or two decades. These one or two decades could have been decisive, because once we are so many years behind other countries and have our core technologies blocked, we may never be able to make progress again."

"And through corporate operations, he rapidly commercialized these scientific research results, enabling our country to achieve leapfrog development in this field and lead the world."

"A peerless genius, renowned throughout the world, and unparalleled in his talent—that is my assessment of him."

After Yang Changshuo finished speaking, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Miao Aoxue opened her mouth, but no words came out.

This……

She had thought that Yang Changshuo's evaluation would be a fair assessment of Chen Ya's hard work and effort from the perspective of a senior.

but……

Why does it feel like his evaluation is a bit far from what I imagined?

……

……

"You mean, Chen Ya is your 'leader'?" Lu Qianzi asked in surprise.

Ishikawa Takashi nodded: "Yes, he's always been the boss. Any questions?"

Chen Hai patted Lu Qianzi on the shoulder and asked, "What are you talking about? What boss?"

Lu Qianzi's mouth could fit an egg. The documents she had found in the Eagle's Nest were still vivid in her mind.

The leader of the Eagle's Nest is the one who commands the three Eagle's Nest heroes.

When Lu Qianzi saw those meeting minutes, she was quite surprised—because in her impression and understanding, the Three Heroes of Beichen were the founders of Beichen, and Beichen was founded by the three brothers together.

At the time, she and Liu Ruying discussed the matter of this "leader" for a long time. The main question was why this "leader" disappeared later.

According to the meeting minutes, the "boss" chaired every meeting and proposed all directions.

He should have been a mentor and guide for Beichen, so why did he disappear later?

At the time, Lu Qianzi and her friends concluded that this "leader" was probably a highly respected professor or someone else on the Peking University campus.

After Beichen was founded, this "leader" retired after achieving his goal, but did not give up his teaching position to join Beichen.

Besides this conjecture, there is another, rather sinister one: this "leader" who devoted himself to the cause in the early stages has already been kicked out by the three heroes of Beichen.

However, little did he know that this "leader" was actually his half-brother, Chen Ya!

"So that means Chen Ya led you to found Beichen in the early stages???" Lu Qianzi asked, her beautiful eyes wide.

"Oh yeah? What's wrong?" Ishikawa Tō looked completely bewildered, as if the answer to her question was obvious and she didn't understand why she had to ask such a question.

This answer surprised everyone around him.

Especially Chen Hai.

He's a bit confused right now.

"What? Chen Ya founded Beichen? What are you talking about?" Chen Hai asked anxiously.

"Don't make a scene," Lu Qianzi pushed him away and continued to ask, "Then, then, what about now? Why isn't Chen Ya in charge anymore?"

Ishikawa Toru looked at Lu Qianzi, speechless again, and said, "Who told you there's no one in charge right now?"

Lu Qianzi said, "You mean..."

“Beichen has always been led by Brother Ya, he’s the absolute leader,” Shi Chuan Dong said, then suddenly paused, “Wait, didn’t you guys know that?”

"Cough cough cough..." Zhao Yuanhai coughed from the side.

He felt that Ishikawa Dong had revealed information he shouldn't have.

Since Chen Ya didn't reveal this secret to his family, it means he probably didn't want them to know.

Zhao Yuanhai sensed something was amiss after Shi Chuan Dong's reckless revelation.

However, the profound meaning behind his cough was not understood by Ishikawa Tō.

"Although Brother Ya says he doesn't sit in the office and that we are responsible for the company's specific affairs, he is still in charge of the overall command. He has 100% leadership over Beichen. With just one word from him, Beichen Company can turn 180 degrees on the spot. Or rather, that's how it has been all these years."

Ishikawa Takashi spoke eloquently, and after finishing, he was somewhat smug: "Facts have proven that Beichen is right, and Beichen being right proves that Brother Ya is right. Brother Ya is always right. Over the years, we have done so many right things, which is why Beichen has become number one in the world."

After Ishikawa Takashi finished speaking, he suddenly realized that everyone around him was completely still and expressionless.

"What's wrong with you all? You all seem petrified?"

"Ishikawa Toru is so simple," Ishikawa asked.

Chapter 293 He was the boss all along, wasn't he?

"Brother Ya has always been the leader."

Although Ishikawa Takashi's words were not serious, they were resounding and resonated with everyone.