Wang Zhuo couldn't recall how many years it had been since he was this dirty.

Even during his most destitute times, he maintained the good habit of keeping himself clean; if he couldn't afford the public bathhouse, he washed at home, and if he couldn't afford hot water, he endured it with cold water.

But during this month-long medical siege, he had only managed two cursory washes, neither of which was thorough; he just dealt with the areas that got dirty the fastest and called it a day.

Dirty, absolutely filthy! The water in the bathtub was changed again and again, yet Wang Zhuo seemed to have an endless supply of grime on his body.

A simple scrub with the bath towel sent clumps of mud falling off, instantly clouding the water.

Qi Fei and Guan Yingying, tasked with scrubbing him clean, were exhausted.

They felt exasperated and amused, yet a wave of heartache washed over them; in this past month, Wang Zhuo had slimmed down by two sizes, and even his muscles weren't as firm as before.

Gan Shuang was absent.

Campuses had recently enacted lockdown measures, and she only managed to visit by pulling strings.

After watching Wang Zhuo eat a proper meal, she left; it wasn't that she didn't want to stay, but to give Qi Fei and the others space.

Finally, Wang Zhuo was scrubbed clean.

Both women felt their arms ache with fatigue, and though they had planned to take a shower themselves, they now had no intention of moving.

Wang Zhuo chuckled his way back to the living room.

Despite the weight loss, he felt his body was much heavier than before he entered the laboratory; this was due to the drop in physical conditioning and the lack of exercise, requiring time to recover.

Qi Fei rushed forward to help dry his hair, smiling, "The medicine is a success; you're about to become a savior." "Believe in me," and you shall have eternal life," Wang Zhuo adopted the serious pose of a charlatan. "Eternal life might be out of reach, but you truly saved the lives of the An Qi sisters," Guan Yingying shook her head and sighed softly, "And it's not just them; soon countless people will have you to thank." "Even if I hadn't done it, someone else would have eventually," Wang Zhuo said with a faint smile as he settled onto the sofa.

Guan Yingying let out a little snort of laughter. "When you're being humble, I don't sense humility; I only sense falseness." "Here, give this old master a leg massage." Wang Zhuo arrogantly stretched out a hairy leg, resting it across her lap. "This period has truly worn me out, and kept me pent up, too.

Tonight, I plan to properly unwind!" Qi Fei laughed wryly. "With your body being so weak, you should behave yourself for a few days." "Whether I'm weak or not, you'll find out if you try," Wang Zhuo patted the sofa beside him, gesturing for her to sit.

Qi Fei didn't move to sit down, whispering, "Siyuan isn't asleep yet." Just as Wang Zhuo reached out to pull her closer, Siyuan burst out of her room, saying urgently, "Director Wang, a patient has died!" Qi Fei and Guan Yingying were instantly startled, but Wang Zhuo saw through the young girl's trick at a glance—he smiled placidly and asked, "Died from complications, or was it a patient from out of town?" Siyuan immediately replied, "It's one of your patients, someone who just received the new drug injection." "Oh, I see," Wang Zhuo smiled and nodded.

It wasn't blind faith in his own creation, but Siyuan's lie, however vivid, could not deceive his sharp eyes. "Then I know," he continued, "It was organ failure, wasn't it? How long had the patient been receiving treatment? How old were they?" "You guessed all that," Siyuan pouted, sticking out her tongue with a laugh. "It was an old man, seventy-eight this year, with three organs failing." Qi Fei and Guan Yingying were suddenly left speechless and amused—they had been fooled by this little girl into a false alarm! "Even an immortal couldn't have saved him," Wang Zhuo chuckled wryly. "Living to seventy-eight—that's a full life." Guan Yingying countered playfully, "Hmph, who doesn't wish for a long life?" "What's so great about living to a hundred? Food won't taste good, your vision will blur, your hearing will dull, and you won't smell a thing," Wang Zhuo waved his hand dismissively. "Shuliang He had Kong Qiu at sixty-six; I think a man should be content reaching that age.

As for He Hongchao having He Chaoxin at seventy-eight, that's something we dare not hope for." Speechless—nothing but utter speechlessness.

The three women, six eyes fixed on Wang Zhuo, felt profound helplessness regarding his ambitions, unable to offer any comment on this man who seemingly lived for his lower half! The period from September 1st to January 31st of the following year is the nomination window for the Nobel Prize.

The winners are announced in mid-October that year, and the award ceremony takes place on December 10th, because that day marks the anniversary of Nobel’s death.

This year's December 10th was a slightly unusual day.

Switzerland, where the award is held, is in the East One Time Zone, making it significantly earlier than Beijing in the East Eight Time Zone.

Thus, the award ceremony concluded before the "Happy Half Hour" news broadcast even aired that evening.

The recipients for this year had already been confirmed in mid-October; what everyone was truly curious about was who would receive the six prestigious honors at the next Nobel annual meeting.

The peculiarity this year was the rampant global spread of the Mad Mosquito Disease, with casualties increasing geometrically.

Even the award venue was permeated with the strange scent of insecticide spray.

Many were speculating whether a team could develop a cure for this virus before the final nomination deadline on January 31st, potentially even clinching the next year's Nobel Prize in Medicine.

While nations, both civilian and political, worried themselves sick over this frantic virus, the "Happy Half Hour" went on air! When a new drug can rescue people from dire straits, save the world from immediate peril, and bring enormous security and political benefits to a nation, its emergence is guaranteed to be sensational.

No matter how humble its origins or how low its cost, it deserves a grand reception.

So, the 7:00 PM news broadcast that night opened with a grand and fervent declaration, kicking off the proceedings! Unlike the suspense and layered revelation tactics of the 7:38 PM "Hot Topic Interview," which sought to engage viewers in solving a puzzle and building intrigue, the main news broadcast was a supreme authority—a political barometer for the sacred land of Shenzhou, directly concerning national economy and people's livelihood.

It was serious, and governments worldwide arranged for specialized personnel to watch it live.

So, at the very start, the anchor immediately addressed the topic: the global scourge of the Mad Mosquito Disease virus had been conquered by Chinese scientific researchers! Who conquered it? The screen showed two elderly gentlemen with white hair who looked like immortal sages, and a kind-faced elderly woman—these three were the leading authorities! A sudden silence fell over Wang Zhuo’s wetland villa, which immediately exploded into chaos. "What the hell is going on?! Didn't Wang Zhuo develop it independently? Where did these three old fogeys spring from?!" "This is plagiarism, this is theft!" "How can people be this shameless!" "Academic fraud, I’m reporting them!" "Someone dares to steal Wang Zhuo's glory? What in this world can still be trusted?!" People were filled with righteous indignation.

A celebration party had been organized tonight for Wang Zhuo, attended by his close friends and family, only for this mood-killing news to suddenly erupt.

Ding Baoji was the first to explode.

Of all the people he knew, Wang Zhuo had achieved the most, and the respectful way he called him 'Brother Ji' brought him immense pride.

Moreover, after Ding Ren laundered his reputation, he and his followers hitched a ride on the massive wealth train of the Prosperous Dynasty, making fortunes along the way, making Wang Zhuo his financial benefactor.

Therefore, Ding Baoji immediately leaped to Wang Zhuo's defense. "Wang Zhuo, these people are too shameless! Take them down!" Wang Zhuo's classmates immediately followed suit.

These male students had been excitedly anticipating how they would brag to their relatives about their friend saving the planet like a superman, and now the happy news broadcast had dumped a bucket of cold water on them, instantly enraging them! Even He Ye quietly pulled Xu Chu aside to ask what was happening; Xu Chu was equally clueless and got a busy signal when she called her grandfather.

When everyone finally found Wang Zhuo, he was emerging from the washroom, adjusting his clothes.

Fu Xinran, passing close to him and entering the washroom right after, froze just as she closed the door behind her.

Because when she looked up, she saw the great actress Ning Yao pressed awkwardly against the wall, her attire disheveled, and her bright makeup ruined, with only her lipstick smeared! Fu Xinran immediately understood everything, shocked by the boldness of both of them.

The party was only halfway over, and no guests had left, yet they dared to sneak into the washroom for a private moment—weren't they afraid of being discovered! Ning Yao was mortified but had to bravely whisper, "Miss Fu, please keep this between us." Fu Xinran nodded with a bitter smile, truly unable to believe that Wang Zhuo was involved even with a superstar who could be his aunt by age.

It was unbelievable.

Seeing Fu Xinran's complicated expression, Ning Yao had to offer a forced, wry explanation, "It's all my fault; I indulged him too much..." Fu Xinran was speechless, wondering what that meant—was she deflecting blame? One hand can't clap; she might as well have just said Wang Zhuo dragged her in! While she was feeling a bit annoyed by Ning Yao's attitude, the great actress walked awkwardly to the sink, picked up a small ball of red fabric placed there, unfolded it, and bent over to tuck it beneath her skirt.

Only then did Fu Xinran grasp Ning Yao's predicament.

That scoundrel Wang Zhuo was truly reckless; things were clearly not limited to just kissing, as she had initially guessed.

The little hoodlum had even managed to pull off the actress's undergarments; Ning Yao was clearly not a woman who indulged in reckless promiscuity—this was all Wang Zhuo's doing! She wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, so Fu Xinran opened her mouth, then changed the subject, "You, you should touch up your makeup quickly.

I need to pee." The washroom was about twelve square meters, so sharing the space wasn't exactly cramped, but awkwardness was inevitable: one person was making rushing water sounds while the other was reapplying the lipstick Wang Zhuo had messed up during his liberties.