Chapter 2646: with translation of chapter title

2547.2450 Fugui'er kept in the dark (Alliance Leader Landi is already nine years old, plus 5 extra chapters)

Sweden, Stockholm.

Professor Rudolf Wagner in a suit, at this moment he is no longer the Fugui'er from Hai Cheng or 912 with a mouth full of coarse grain flavor, he has returned to the demeanor of an elite doctor at the original German Heidelberg University Hospital.

But he has been somewhat tense lately, restless, like ants on a hot pan.

All work has been completed, and the standard materials filled with the hardship of the past little over a year have already been submitted.

After leaving Di Du, Professor Rudolf Wagner has been constantly flying back and forth between Stockholm and Europe and America, visiting each evaluator and each living Nobel Prize laureate, making final efforts for the final push.

The evaluators' attitudes showed a subtle shift, which Professor Rudolf Wagner could clearly sense. Previously expected perfunctory, scolding, and disdainful attitudes were rare from the start. Almost everyone spoke gently, even the most conservative and stubborn evaluators appeared amiable.

Things progressed very smoothly, smoothly as if one were having a beautiful dream.

But precisely because of this, Professor Rudolf Wagner felt somewhat uneasy. He feared it was all fake, that upon waking he would find himself still lying in his home in Heidelberg.

The closer the Nobel Prize evaluation day approached, the more tense Professor Rudolf Wagner became, and his complaints against the Boss gradually increased.

For such a big matter, the Boss doesn't even come in person? That's really going too far. Especially when Professor Rudolf Wagner personally saw many nominees for the Biology Prize arriving with humble faces to visit the evaluators, his grumbling grew more and more.

He knows that the people he saw are only a small portion. Even if some nominees didn't come, the related recommenders are constantly moving about to gain others' support.

But Professor Rudolf Wagner's heart only harbored a slight grumble; the Boss's position in his heart is unshakable. This is not because of a Nobel Prize nomination project, but because each time the Boss performed Shou Bing with apparent ease, accumulating admiration.

The overwhelming superiority of Technique gave the professor especial confidence; this is the Boss's project, and he is merely an extremely fortunate child who has boarded the fast train to the Nobel Prize. The driver is the Boss, always the Boss.

Only after Doctor Lavesen went to Di Du to give a lecture a few days earlier did Professor Rudolf Wagner stop his grumbling against the Boss and give the Boss unlimited praise!

Does the Boss need to visit the evaluators? Perhaps half a year ago it might have been necessary, but now, there is absolutely no need!

The chairman of the Biology and Medicine Prize evaluator committee personally went to Di Du to give a lecture, and Professor Rudolf Wagner could faintly guess his thoughts.

Especially as various rumors from this period corroborated each other, Professor Rudolf Wagner's confidence in winning this year's Nobel Prize was full.

Originally, after Doctor Lavesen returned from Di Du, Professor Rudolf Wagner planned to visit him immediately, preparing to read his expressions and, from the many hints of the evaluator committee chairman, determine the possibility of winning this year's Nobel Prize.

However, the subsequent developments once again deviated from Professor Rudolf Wagner's expectations.

News from Yun Ge'er's side said that Doctor Lavesen had already left Di Du and returned home, but when Professor Rudolf Wagner went to visit, he was told the person was not there.

Doctor Lavesen seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. No matter who you asked, you couldn't get any concrete details.

By this point, Professor Rudolf Wagner had gone completely mad. He dared not contact the Boss anymore, knowing the Boss's temperament. Moreover, Professor Rudolf Wagner suspected that Doctor Lavesen had fallen out with the Boss during his visit.

Professor Rudolf Wagner could even imagine Yun Ge'er using a sharp, sarcastic tone to mock Doctor Lavesen, whereupon the doctor, in anger, left Di Du and, upon returning, shut himself away and refused to see anyone.

Having come all the way to the final step, how could things be messed up so badly? Professor Rudolf Wagner felt each day like a year, constantly worrying whether if the Boss could come to Sweden and apologize to Doctor Lavesen, there might still be room for reconciliation. But such thoughts were just wishful thinking; Professor Rudolf Wagner knew it was absolutely impossible.

This year's evaluation process began a few days earlier than usual, with the Literature Prize evaluation committee starting its activities at the beginning of October.

Behind closed doors, it is said that they argue every day until their faces flush red.

Professor Rudolf Wagner pricked up his ears to listen for news, but at this time he could not find any trace of Mei Ha'er, as everything remained under secrecy.

However, the Biology and Medicine Prize evaluation committee showed no movement whatsoever—not even holding a meeting, and even the committee chairman, Doctor Lavesen, didn't know where he was.

Professor Rudolf Wagner spent a day in utter confusion, not knowing what had happened.

Without communicating with Di Du, Professor Rudolf Wagner believed that even if he stayed in Stockholm unaware of things, the Boss and Yun Ge'er would certainly not know either.

Although Yun Ge'er kept saying not to rush, that the chances of winning this year's prize were high, Professor Rudolf Wagner could not help but feel anxious.

Beneath the Calm surface, who knows what stormy waves lie hidden.

October 9th, aside from the evaluations for the Medicine and Biology Prizes, all other awards had already been decided.

Next, they would make phone calls to notify the Nobel Prize laureates.

Professor Rudolf Wagner still had not received any news; he felt bewildered and helpless.

Sometimes Professor Rudolf Wagner even had an illusion that everyone was deceiving him, while in fact the evaluation committee had already secretly convened and determined the winners of this year's Biology and Medicine Prizes.

It was not the Boss's, his own, or Yun Ge'er's project; the final winner was someone else. All well-intentioned and malicious concealments cut him off from any news of the Nobel Prize.

Thus, Professor Rudolf Wagner was extremely despondent. Yun Ge'er had said the chances of winning the prize were extremely high, yet the more he thought about it, the more wronged and helpless he felt, and Professor Rudolf Wagner even began to drown his sorrows in alcohol, using it to numb himself.

At night, sitting in a bar, Professor Rudolf Wagner drank alcohol sorrowfully.

He liked simple liquor, especially the iodine‑tasting Lafuge, which when drunk tasted just like performing Shou Bing. Each time he drank Lafuge, he would recall how he had been constantly performing Shou Bing over the past year for the Nobel Prize project.

After hard work for a little over a year, leaving home behind, having given too much, Professor Rudolf Wagner felt a sense of lament.

Professor Rudolf Wagner sat alone in the bar, savoring Lafuge, sadly recalling the experiences of the past year. The surrounding clamor and bustle seemed unrelated to him; he only wanted to drink alone in silence, silently savoring the taste of Shou Bing.

"Rudolf, drinking alone?" a hand rested on Professor Rudolf Wagner's shoulder.

It was Raymond Brage, a professor at Berlin University researching chemistry. It is said he has been nominated for ten consecutive years, yet each year he has missed the Nobel Prize by a narrow margin.

"Raymond, sit down and have a drink." Professor Rudolf Wagner slapped the table, his voice somewhat out of control. Under the strong effect of alcohol, he seemed to forget all his worries and sorrows.

"Rudolf, I heard your project this year has a high chance of winning the Nobel Prize; I'm truly envious. May Heaven bless you." Raymond sat down, his face somewhat gloomy, "Unlike me, I have no hope at all. Next year I won't bother coming; those old fogeys simply don't understand the value of my research."

"At first I thought the same, but... sigh. At least you still know a bit of news; I don't even know whether the evaluation meeting has taken place." Professor Rudolf Wagner sighed long and deeply, holding the bottle of Lafuge, he complained.

Raymond staggered a moment; Professor Rudolf Wagner's words confirmed a point—the evaluators were extremely pessimistic about his project, not even a familiar evaluator secretly leaking a bit of information to him.

What a poor fellow—he can't even get the Nobel Prize, and he doesn't have any news at all; he can only sit here alone drinking.

"I heard that starting tomorrow morning they will gradually phone to announce the Nobel Prize affiliation, and at noon the website will publish the final news." Raymond took a big gulp of alcohol, "Those damned bastards never understand how important my work is. I really don't want to see Lincoln's ugly face after he gets the Nobel Prize."

Professor Rudolf Wagner struggled to open his drunken eyes, using the last shred of clarity to ask: "Tomorrow they'll make the phone call? So fast? What date is today?"

"Rudolf, I think you should go get a good night's sleep." Raymond looked at Professor Rudolf Wagner's bloodshot eyes and said pitifully, "Take a good wash, relax, damn the Nobel Prize!"

Professor Rudolf Wagner had already fallen into despair; tomorrow they would phone to announce the Nobel Prize affiliation, yet tonight he didn't even know whether the evaluation meeting had taken place. He sank into deep confusion and bewilderment, even feeling some self‑reproach.

Bottle after bottle of Lafuge was drunk until finally Professor Rudolf Wagner was stinking drunk.

He didn't notice a reporter constantly sneaking glances at him; Professor Rudolf Wagner was already immersed in sorrow, unable to pull himself out. Tomorrow they would phone to notify the Nobel Prize laureates; now the Biology and Medicine Prizes have surely finished evaluation, yet he still hasn't received any news.

Damn it, truly damn it! How could this be! Even if he passed out drunk, Professor Rudolf Wagner's heart kept cursing.

……

……

Mei Ha'er stood by the window, looking at the lights in the night sky, as if pondering something.

Doctor, the meeting is finally set for tomorrow morning at eight. His assistant held a tablet, opened the latest email and said.

Oh? Lafusen finally replied?

Yes, Doctor. The female assistant's voice was as cold as ever, like a cold winter wind. "The news from Yingguo Royal Brompton Hospital: the pathological diagnosis is clear, it's adenocarcinoma. Because it was detected early, it's estimated that no chemotherapy or radiotherapy will be needed after surgery."

Really fortunate. Mei Ha'er's words were flat, one couldn't tell if it was regret or some other emotion.

Doctor Lavesen had the chest tube removed this morning and has already boarded the ship.

Why rush back? A remote meeting wouldn't work? Mei Ha'er muttered, but his eyes sparkled with joy and pleasure. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, like a waving flag.

If there's nothing else, I hope you can rest early. The female assistant said.

Got it. Mei Ha'er laughed and said, "After dragging this on for so long, finally being able to see the moment the ice breaks, I think tonight's night sky calls for a drink."

Your heart can no longer tolerate alcohol's stimulation; if you insist on this, I will inform your lady.

Mei Ha'er waved his hand, slightly regretful.

The female assistant left, and Mei Ha'er still stood by the window watching Stockholm's night sky. That little guy far away in Di Du is really not bad; I originally thought I would have to pay an extremely high price to win him a little opportunity, but I didn't expect him to do far beyond my imagination.

Even Lafusen, that old stubborn fool, gave up his prejudices and flew straight to Di Du. Just thinking about this, Mei Ha'er's smile grew richer.

He could even imagine how that old stubborn fool felt when going to Di Du; Zheng really is an interesting person, he persisted all the way to the end. He put all the pressure on Lafusen, forcing Lafusen to give up his dignity and go to Di Du.

However, Lafusen's luck was also not bad; because of this trip to Di Du, Zheng diagnosed his lung cancer.

Otherwise, after the Nobel Prize settles, there would be another delay of about a month, and by then the deadly lung cancer might have metastasized, which would be bad.

Zheng, truly a person kissed by Heaven, Mei Ha'er gazed into the distance, raising his hand high, as if holding a goblet filled with rich wine.

This glass, a toast to victory.