THD Chapter 32

Hou Nianyun gained fame overnight. Like an excavator digging up buried history, she reposted every outrageous comment the trolls had made over the past four years.

"Get up and meet your maker!"

The remarks that had once infuriated people now looked like comedy. The more people reread them, the funnier they became, and the comment section was filled with laughter.

This time, the university forum was flooded not only with students and professors from X University but also with countless outsiders who had come to watch the spectacle.

Everyone watched the chaos with remarkable civility.

"I thought a genius who entered with a score of 746 would be treated like royalty at school. So this is what really happened?"

"Isn't it obvious? Just read the comments and guess the gender. Some people never even tried to hide it."

"Holy crap. X University's pharmacy program was built on Academician Yang's reputation, and these people still look down on women? Are they serious?"

"Honestly, they kept claiming Professor Yang only became famous because she was a woman. Now that's hilarious. They talk as if she's some foreign dignitary. Don't they know female scholars are usually scrutinized far more than they're favored?"

...

Because public opinion had been deliberately manipulated beforehand, the entire internet had questioned the matter.

People wondered whether Academician Yang Wenqing's students had been exempted from their thesis defenses through improper means, whether academic misconduct had occurred, and even whether Yang Wenqing's academic achievements were genuine.

Then Qingqing Technology made a single announcement, and every accusation collapsed.

Qingqing Technology V:

"Our company is dedicated to developing treatments for difficult human diseases. We have recently developed a highly effective drug for endometriosis that addresses the dysmenorrhea suffered by countless women. The drug has successfully completed Phase II clinical trials. We welcome continued supervision and attention from every sector of society."

The post tagged Academician Yang Wenqing, Ye Xiqing of Qingqing Technology, Meng Xuedong of Qingqing Technology, and several others.

Among them, Academician Yang Wenqing needed no introduction.

Ye Xiqing, however, was the center of the so-called "academic misconduct" controversy and had been the legendary academic prodigy from four years earlier.

Four years was not a long time. Many people still remembered her vividly.

When they connected the dots, they were overjoyed.

People always loved watching gifted young people soar to even greater heights. At last, there was a young genius who had not been buried by time.

Those who had never criticized Ye Xiqing simply felt pure happiness.

Those who had slandered her, however, became as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Even then, they never considered the possibility that they had been wrong.

Instead, they convinced themselves that something else had to be wrong.

There had to be a catch.

The paid trolls disappeared as soon as the money stopped coming.

The truly troublesome ones were the ordinary bystanders who had completely believed the rumors. Convinced they were right, they desperately searched for flaws in Ye Xiqing.

"How could someone her age possibly develop something like this? Academician Yang must have done all the work and let her take the credit."

"Oh? So now we're no longer saying Old Professor Yang only became successful because she's a woman? Suddenly she's also capable of developing groundbreaking drugs? Your teammates seem to have forgotten the script."

The antis fell silent.

"Just because the company belongs to Ye Xiqing doesn't mean she invented the drug. If the boss steals credit, would employees dare object? What's so great about being a capitalist? Her researchers probably hate her."

"Really? I looked at Qingqing Technology's technical team, and they're almost all young women. I don't know whether they're the principal researchers, but at least the credit wasn't handed to a bunch of adult film actresses. If you want to say they developed it, then sure. We Ye Xiqing fans are perfectly happy to believe that."

The antis fell silent once again.

No matter how fiercely they argued, Ye Xiqing's fans refused to fight.

They merely laughed and replied with bizarre comments that completely threw their opponents off balance.

Eventually, the trolls lost all composure.

"What's so impressive about making medicine for menstrual cramps? The people developing cancer drugs don't brag like this. Come back after you invent something that actually benefits society."

Unexpectedly, this single sentence ignited public outrage.

"Medicine for menstrual cramps isn't important? Your mother probably suffers from them too. Go ask her whether they're serious."

"What's wrong with treating menstrual pain? If you can't cure my cramps, you won't even be able to crawl away afterward."

"If I'd known you'd grow up like this, I should've thrown you onto a sanitary pad instead. Bringing you into this world was my mistake."

Women could tolerate many things.

But telling them that menstrual pain was "nothing serious" was absolutely unforgivable.

Hou Nianyun herself did not suffer from dysmenorrhea.

One of her roommates, however, endured excruciating pain every month.

Whenever her period came, she looked as though she had just been dragged out of the water.

Once, she had even fainted from the pain in the bathroom.

When she saw Qingqing Technology's announcement, she nearly shoved her face into the screen.

"Can it really treat endometriosis? I have it! I want this medicine right now!"

Hou Nianyun understood her desperation, but as her roommate she still wanted to be responsible.

"It's only passed Phase II trials. There are still later stages of testing. There could still be unknown side effects. Maybe you should wait a little longer?"

"Aaaah! I can't stand this anymore! Can I volunteer for the Phase III trial? I'd rather risk being poisoned than keep living with this pain! Does anyone know how to contact the pharmaceutical company?"

Hou Nianyun looked at her and felt something stir inside.

Although Ye Xueli had entered X University through a special ballet admission program, X University was primarily an academic institution rather than an arts school.

Its dance department was not especially strong.

The university had admitted her only because she had won numerous international awards. Since she had enthusiastically chosen to apply to X University herself, the school naturally accepted her.

Because of the nature of the arts faculty, however, many students lived off campus.

Ye Xueli's decision to stay in the dormitories was entirely personal.

As there were not enough rooms for a dedicated dance dormitory, she shared accommodation with students from other faculties.

The roommate who suffered from severe menstrual pain was an arts student.

Hou Nianyun herself was majoring in media studies.

For years, she had known "Xi Shen" online.

Now she finally had the chance to meet her idol in person.

...

"A senior media student from X University wants to interview me?"

Meng Xuedong nodded so enthusiastically that he looked like a chick pecking at rice.

"Yes, Xi Shen! You're incredibly famous right now!"

Since the interviewer was a fellow student rather than an outsider, Ye Xiqing readily agreed.

She nodded gently.

"Please show her in."

Hou Nianyun entered nervously.

Contrary to her expectations of a grand, luxurious research company, the office was simple and unpretentious.

It truly felt like a startup founded by university students.

Apparently, the company wasn't particularly wealthy.

That might be an interesting angle for her interview.

When she saw Ye Xiqing, the latter was still wearing a sterile laboratory gown.

Calmly, she said,

"Let me change first. Please wait in the conference room."

Hou Nianyun almost screamed.

The person she had admired for four years was standing right in front of her.

It felt unreal.

Still dazed, she allowed herself to be led into the conference room while recalling all the times she had imagined meeting Ye Xiqing.

She was nothing like Hou Nianyun had expected.

She was tall.

Although she was only twenty-two or twenty-three years old, she possessed the calm authority of someone accustomed to leading others.

Previously, Hou Nianyun and her online friends had jokingly called Ye Xiqing "Junior Sister."

After today, she realized she would never dare use that nickname again.

Ye Xiqing changed quickly, pulled out a chair, sat down, and got straight to the point.

"What would you like to ask?"

Only then did Hou Nianyun remember she was here as a reporter.

She hurriedly opened her laptop, switched on her recorder, and began the interview.

"Hello, Miss Ye. Although we've never met before, as a fellow alumna I've admired you for a very long time."

"When I learned about your recent achievements, I immediately wanted to conduct an exclusive interview with you. I won't take up too much of your time, so I'll go straight to my first question."

"My roommate suffers from endometriosis, so I've learned a little about the disease through her. Could you explain the differences, as well as the advantages and disadvantages, between your newly developed treatment and conventional medications?"

Ye Xiqing leaned back in her chair.

She appreciated direct interviewers.

It made conversations much more enjoyable.

"Since you're already somewhat familiar with the condition, I'll give you a brief explanation."

"Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common gynecological disorders affecting women, and endometriosis is among its leading causes."

"During menstruation, menstrual blood can sometimes flow backward into the pelvic cavity, carrying living endometrial cells with it."

"In healthy women, the immune system clears these misplaced cells. However, patients with endometriosis have abnormal immune responses that fail to eliminate them effectively. The ectopic endometrial tissue survives, resulting in pathological lesions."

"Current treatments mainly consist of medication and surgery."

"Drug therapy generally works by regulating hormone levels while reducing inflammation and pain."

"Regardless of the treatment chosen, both approaches negatively affect the endocrine system and cannot completely eliminate the underlying lesions."

"With that in mind, we changed our research direction and decided to target the root cause by developing a drug that enhances the immune system's ability to remove abnormal endometrial cells."

"After the combined efforts of our entire research team, we finally identified a new therapeutic target."

"It acts primarily on abnormal endometrial cells during menstruation while minimizing its effects on the body's normal circulation."

"We named this target BKMT-12."

"The core principle behind drugs targeting BKMT-12 is to activate the patient's own immune system."

"Compared with traditional treatments, the burden on the body is much lighter, and the drug acts directly on the lesions themselves, making complete remission no longer an impossible dream."

"Of course, as a newly developed medication, it also has obvious disadvantages."

"Because of its potency, it cannot be taken regularly as a preventive medication before symptoms begin."

"Nor can it permanently correct the immune abnormality, so recurrence remains possible after treatment is discontinued."

"According to our trial data, taking the drug when symptoms first appear relieves pain within about twenty minutes and reaches stable efficacy within sixty minutes."

"The most common side effects are drowsiness and gastrointestinal irritation if taken on an empty stomach."

"Continuous monitoring has not identified any other serious adverse reactions."

"After completing one course of treatment, participants reported that their original menstrual pain did not return during the following cycle."

"According to our survey data, recurrence could be delayed by approximately three to six months."

"Following our Phase II evaluation, we have tentatively concluded that this delayed recurrence is indeed related to the drug's effectiveness."

"However, obtaining more precise conclusions will require..A larger sample size is needed to determine whether drug resistance will develop and reduce the drug's effectiveness. This also requires long term monitoring."

Hou Nianyun listened while typing rapidly. When she heard this, her eyes widened.

"So doesn't that mean that after taking this drug, menstrual pain that used to occur every month could become seasonal, or even only every six months? It's like treating the flu?"

Ye Xiqing considered the question for a moment before smiling.

"I really like your analogy. I was a little disappointed because the medicine didn't perform as well as I had hoped, but your words encouraged me. Perhaps delaying the pain before completely eliminating the disease is a victory in itself."

Hou Nianyun froze.

She had been praised!

Being praised was always a happy thing, especially when the praise came from someone she had admired for so long.

Feeling as though she had sipped a fine wine, Hou Nianyun became more and more relaxed.

"From what you're saying, it sounds like you have even greater ambitions. What direction are you pursuing now?"

"Unfortunately, the current level of technology limits my thinking. But as I continue my research, I have a strong feeling that gene editing may be the key to achieving all of this."

"Gene editing is a term that feels like Pandora's box. As one of the pioneers in this field, what are your thoughts on the development of this technology and the social problems it might create?"

"Asking a scholar about social issues is asking a bit too much. Fortunately, I'm someone who enjoys exploring knowledge outside my own field."

"I believe Pandora's box will inevitably be opened one day. Humanity itself is like Pandora, driven by endless curiosity. Even if the future leads to destruction, people will continue opening one box after another."

"So I've decided not to stop it. I'll simply keep the key in my own hands. When future generations stand between destruction and hope, I want to be the Pandora who opens the box."

Hou Nianyun fell silent.

The deeper she looked into Ye Xiqing's soul, the more she could sense the immense forces of destruction and creation coexisting within her.

She trembled before that terrifying beauty, yet found herself irresistibly drawn into its depths.

This interview had far exceeded her expectations. Her thoughts had never flowed so freely. One question followed another almost without conscious effort.

Only after turning another page of her notebook did she realize just how many questions she had asked.

Glancing at the time, embarrassment washed over her. She had occupied far more of Ye Xiqing's time than she had intended.

Still, there was one final question she had to ask. It was the question she had wanted to ask for the past four years.

"One last question. As an academic role model, especially for women, so many people of your own gender admire you and place great expectations on you. Do you ever feel pressured?"

Even someone with Ye Xiqing's stamina was beginning to feel the effects of the lengthy interview.

She relaxed into her chair, resting both hands along the backrest.

"Why did you use the words 'admire' and 'expectations' instead of 'support'? Your wording has always been precise. Why hesitate to use 'support' for your last question?"

Hou Nianyun was speechless.

"I always thought support had to be something tangible. Can admiration alone really be considered support?"

"If the voices people give us for free had no value, then the marketing profession wouldn't exist."

"You've given me so many voices. If that isn't support, then what is?"

"So keep liking me. Don't let my successes or failures become your burden. I won't treat your voices as my entire world, because we're walking on two parallel paths."

"But don't leave me without saying goodbye, whatever the reason may be. I need your voices just as much as you need my victories."

Hou Nianyun fell silent once again.

She already knew that Ye Xiqing was a genius who had scored 746 on the college entrance examination, someone who had written nearly perfect essays in addition to acing every objective question.

But what kind of person could speak words that moved people so deeply?

Ahhh! Goddess Xi! I'm your fan! Can you please give me your autograph?!

Ye Xiqing readily signed her name on the title page of Hou Nianyun's notebook.

It was truly remarkable that she had managed to maintain this persona for so long.

"Goddess Xi, my roommate wants to sign up for the third phase of the clinical trial. Is that alright? Is it safe?"

"Of course. Please thank your roommate for her contribution to humanity and to medical science."

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