Chapter 194: The Momentum of Thunder

"Old Ji, why didn't you tell me sooner that Ji Xiang was coming to Shanghai for a conference?"

Ji Yongchang's phone was on speaker, his gaze fixed on the numbers and curves on the screen.

"It's just an academic exchange, why take it so seriously?" Ji Yongchang replied casually.

"What do you know! It's Doctor Qin from the Hepatobiliary Hospital who wants to take Ji Xiang as a student. I've asked around; the quality is a bit lacking, it's not worthy of our Ji Xiang," Qian Ying complained on the other end of the line. "If Ji Xiang gets taken on as a student, he'll definitely be influenced in the future."

"Will he not be influenced if he comes back to be a Standardized Training Student? It's meaningless. I think it's enough if Ji Xiang can learn to work steadily during this time," Ji Yongchang said calmly. "These are things everyone must experience when they first step into society. I believe that no matter what choice he makes, Ji Xiang will do well in the future."

"Is that how you act as a father! You don't know how to care about your child at all!" Qian Ying roared in anger.

But no matter how angry she was, her natural, affectedly sweet voice still carried a hint of a sugary, soft tone.

"Ji Xiang has been working very hard and steadily lately; I am very gratified."

"There's an academic conference tomorrow, and Doctor Qin even invited Academician Teng from Jinling," Qian Ying said. "Ji Xiang is going to give his first academic presentation on stage."

"Oh?" Ji Yongchang's gaze shifted away from the screen.

He was focused and serious in his work, but those things could not compare to his son's first time on stage.

"What time tomorrow?" Ji Yongchang asked.

"You can still make it if you fly over now," Qian Ying laughed. "I just spoke to Ji Xiang on the phone; he said he's accompanying a colleague for dinner today and will come see me tomorrow. He didn't even tell me about the conference. Look at your son, being all secretive, just like you—full of that 'scumbag' temperament."

"Alright," Ji Yongchang said immediately. "I'll fly over right away."

"Tell me once you've booked your ticket, and I'll come pick you up."

"Boss, there's no need to be so serious with a young Doctor," Ling Tian comforted Qin. "About the academic conference... you are the closing speaker, just consider it..."

"Slap~"

Qin slammed one hand onto the table in anger.

"Just let it go like this? Where would I put this old face of mine!" Qin roared. "I lowered myself to call little Teng and forced an invitation out of him. What was that for?"

Ling Tian was silent.

He knew all of this, and he understood it, but who could have imagined that the young man named Ji Xiang would be so unyielding.

Was there a problem with the Boss's surgery?

Yes, but also no.

There are plenty of Tumor Reduction Surgeries; hospitals everywhere open a patient up, see that the surgery can't be done, and sew them back up, or perform a simple Tumor Reduction Surgery—these things happen every single day.

At the time, Ji Xiang's persistence and his resolute gaze seemed carved into his heart; Ling Tian would think of it whenever a thought flashed through his mind.

Young people, they really don't tolerate any sand in their eyes.

The most critical thing is that Ji Xiang is not only stubborn, but he is actually capable of pulling off the surgery; he has that skill.

Recalling that surgery, even Ling Tian felt like he was dreaming.

Not to mention Qin, he himself definitely couldn't do it; even Academician Teng, he estimated his surgery would only be at this level, and Ling Tian even vaguely felt that Academician Teng from Jinling couldn't reach Ji Xiang's technical standard.

The Boss wasn't actually angry; he was afraid.

A young man with academic ideals contrary to his own was rising; if he were to mature smoothly and gain a corresponding status in the academic circle, how would his own Boss be described when the final verdict was made in the future?

Ling Tian understood all of this.

He understood too well why the Boss had to "make a mountain out of a molehill," sparing no effort to use his reputation to invite Academician Teng to stand with him and announce to the world that he had taken a Closed-door disciple.

And having been rebuffed by Ji Xiang, he would inevitably use his status as a top national Expert to crush a Standardized Training Student.

Theoretically, the Boss could crush Ji Xiang into powder like an ant with a single finger, but Ling Tian had a particularly bad premonition.

He wanted to advise his Boss.

"Boss, Ji Xiang is just a student, he doesn't even have a Practicing Certificate. Your status is too high; if you really take him to heart, others will laugh at us..."

"No." Qin squeezed a word through his teeth, interrupting Ling Tian's advice. "Go tell Ji Xiang he must come to the conference tomorrow. Be polite when you speak; don't scare him away."

"..."

"The data he brought is indeed very good, but there are also many problems." Qin had returned to normal. He ignored Ling Tian's advice and insisted on using the posture of a lion pouncing on a rabbit to pin Ji Xiang down once and for all.

At the very least, he had to let people know his attitude toward this young man and create countless obstacles during Ji Xiang's rise.

"Go tell Ji Xiang he must come. Then, I speak and you take notes; make a PPT. Don't wait for him to give his report; you will take the final slot and refute him point by point."

Ling Tian realized this incident might have deep-seated severity.

A mistake once is nothing to fear; what is terrifying is that this young man possesses a near-infinite future.

Ling Tian agreed with his Boss's idea, even if it seemed somewhat absurd.

He called Ji Xiang to finalize the conference details and gently placated him, fearing that this young man with keen perception would sense the danger and abandon the conference to return to the Provincial Hospital.

After calling Ji Xiang, Ling Tian began to stay up all night with Qin to study the PPT Ji Xiang had provided.

Honestly, the PPT was truly well-made, especially the data analysis spanning over a decade; it was well-reasoned and evidence-based.

Although the Patients all had Kidney Tumors, underwent Embolization Surgery, and partial Kidney Resection—which was different from liver surgery—regardless of the conclusion, the sheer painstaking effort of over a decade was enough to make one's heart palpitate.

What a pity, Ling Tian sighed once again.

Ji Xiang did not know that his parents were treating his speech at the academic conference like a coming-of-age ceremony, nor did he know that Qin and Ling Tian were sharpening their knives.

He and Zhao Zhe were eating.

Although Zhao Zhe was a bit of a chatterbox and had a severe case of social butterfly syndrome, he was truly interesting. He had a good memory and could talk about anything from all over the world.

When the two chatted, 90% of the talking was done by Zhao Zhe, and Ji Xiang listened with great interest. If they encountered a topic Ji Xiang didn't like, he would just steer it away, and Zhao Zhe wouldn't be unhappy.

"Xiao Ji, Professor Ling called you and even invited us to the conference?" Zhao Zhe asked.

"Yeah, he said Teacher Qin wasn't angry, but that he was feeling a bit unwell. After all, he's getting on in years, and the burden of Interventional Surgery is too heavy," Ji Xiang replied.

Although Zhao Zhe appeared harmless, he had experienced too much nonsense in the hospital, and more or less, he was like an old fox that had been severely wounded, sniffing out danger from far away.

"Let's hope there are no complications; if we go back now, we can just pretend this never happened. But once the meeting starts and we appear before the nationally renowned Experts, some things will be beyond remedy," Zhao Zhe advised, trying to dissuade them.

"Let me think about it."

(End of chapter)