Chapter 50
Ji Zhixing spent the last few days thoroughly reviewing the project theory in the library. In the dormitory, he and Lin Lang also went through every line of code in the simulation software on their laptops. He also personally handled the components in the laboratory and found no problems.
Therefore, only one possibility remains in the end.
He asked Lin Lang, who carefully recalled the entire experimental process of the pressure relief team. From the first time the simulation software was connected, Jian Xi had been handling the wiring and parameter input.
This task isn't difficult, it just requires a lot of care and patience. There are 18 sets of parameters, each with 36 items, and each item must be accurate to three decimal places. It will take at least 5 minutes to input them all.
Jianxi volunteered for such a trivial task, and no one else would compete with him for it.
After several failed experiments, Lin Lang wondered if the parameters were entered incorrectly. But Jian Xi assured him that there would be no mistakes, so he didn't investigate further. After all, who would expect a partner who had worked so well with him for so long to deliberately sabotage the experiment?
Therefore, from beginning to end, this intermediate step was handled by Jianxi and was basically not subject to review or supervision.
Although I'm reluctant to accept this possibility, there's a high probability that Jianxi has a problem.
Because there was no evidence at the moment, Ji Zhixing did not tell Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang about his guess, but went to the laboratory to verify it himself.
Ji Zhixing overheard Jian Xi's instigation of discord outside the lab, and considering his unusually flustered demeanor and actions, the truth was clear: Jian Xi was deliberately sabotaging things.
So, what motive would he have to do this? Excluding the possibility of personal vendetta, Ji Zhixing's first thought was Fan Chuanshuo. Only Fan Chuanshuo would have the motive to go to such lengths to sabotage his project.
If Fan Chuanshuo wanted to plant or recruit people to help him sabotage, the only methods he could use were coercion or bribery.
Ji Zhixing recalled that when they went to the office to inquire about renting a laboratory, the director mentioned that Fan Chuanshuo had requested two graduate student slots, but only admitted Xue Hua as a replacement.
Ji Zhixing boldly guessed that the remaining spot was used by Fan Chuanshuo to lure Jian Xi!
Ji Zhixing's unexpected revelation stunned everyone in the laboratory.
The feud between Ji Zhixing and Fan Chuanshuo was well-known at Guangling University. After all, the fact that Fan Yongjie ended up in prison instead of punishing Ji Zhixing in the final exam was a sensation throughout the school.
Therefore, when Ji Zhixing's words almost explicitly revealed the entanglement between Jian Xi and Fan Chuanshuo, everyone instantly understood what kind of disgraceful role Jian Xi played in the whole incident.
These were all students still in the ivory tower, and this kind of underhanded trick gave everyone goosebumps.
Zhang Yunshu quickly walked over to Yan Ru's side; she just wanted to get away from this despicable person. No wonder Jian Xi wasn't doing his job earlier, instead spouting vague, provocative words—so this was his true calling!
Gong Cheng, who had just spoken with Jian Xi, also crossed his arms and looked coldly at Jian Xi. He had almost been dragged into a trap by Jian Xi!
Some soft-hearted people still held onto a sliver of hope, looking at their partners with whom they had worked closely for more than half a year, wondering if it was a misunderstanding.
Jianxi's face turned pale and then flushed. She forced a bitter smile and said, "President, what are you talking about? What does Professor Fan's graduate student spot have to do with me..."
Ji Zhixing didn't want to waste time listening to his excuses, so he interrupted him: "Then explain why the parameters you input are always wrong?"
One or two mistakes are understandable, but making the same mistake every time clearly indicates a problem, right? Yi Deng thought to himself.
Jianxi had already prepared an excuse: "Maybe I was too careless. You know, 18 sets of parameters total over 600 data points, and getting them all right isn't easy. Besides, my parents have been pressuring me to take the postgraduate entrance exam lately, so I'm inevitably a bit restless, so..."
While defending himself, Jianxi avoided everyone's gaze. He wasn't a professionally trained spy and didn't have such good mental fortitude. Although he was defending himself verbally, he couldn't help but panic inside, and his fingers were nervously fidgeting.
He didn't expect that the problem would be discovered just over a month after the start of the second phase of the experiment. In the first phase, in order to stay safely in Zero Gravity Society, he dared not make any rash moves and remained in hiding for so long.
Actually, he hesitated at that time. He thought he might as well stay with Zero Gravity, since most people were optimistic about the project and he also felt it had great potential.
However, the rudimentary experimental conditions in the first stage were extremely disappointing to him, especially after seeing Professor Fan's advanced laboratory.
Moreover, Professor Fan said that after his research on "new iron-based electric materials and magnetoelectric coupling physics" yields results, he will follow Professor Yan's example and share the profits with his students.
Jianxi felt that receiving tens or hundreds of millions at once, like Ji Zhixing and the others, was much better than waiting anxiously for a formal employee status at Zero Gravity. Therefore, he later solidified his stance.
Although he was being questioned by Ji Zhixing to his face, he knew that Ji Zhixing did not have any substantial evidence.
He and Professor Fan didn't meet often, and they were both very careful not to leave any records. Even if Ji Zhixing checked the surveillance footage and examined his phone, he would find absolutely nothing unusual.
Professor Fan had already promised that regardless of whether his actions succeeded or failed, he would retain the graduate student spot for him, so he was determined not to admit that he was acting under Professor Fan's instructions.
Now, as long as he insists it was carelessness, and he officially becomes Professor Fan's graduate student, even if there are some rumors, without substantial evidence, Ji Zhixing can't do anything to him.
As Jianxi thought this through, she gradually calmed down.
Ji Zhixing indeed had no evidence, and they hadn't officially established a company yet; all experiments were being conducted in the name of the club. Even if the police were called and the matter went to court, there was no legal basis to prosecute Jian Xi for this act of disrupting club activities.
He watched as the panic in Jianxi's eyes gradually disappeared, and said coldly, "Do you know what I saw on my way here?"
Jianxi wasn't sure if Ji Zhixing was just being mysterious, so she didn't speak, nod, or shake her head.
Ji Zhixing chuckled inwardly. He was quite cautious, but could he really guard against an old fox like Fan Chuanshuo?
"Xue Hua has been taken away by the procuratorate. Guess what charge Fan Chuanshuo has leveled against him?" Ji Zhixing suddenly dropped a bombshell.
Jane was instantly shocked by the news.
He had always envied Xue Hua, who didn't have to go through the trouble of being an undercover agent and was simply lucky enough to be admitted as a formal graduate student before him. He had also heard about Xue Hua's extraordinary treatment in Professor Fan's lab and had always thought that since he had been infiltrating the Zero Gravity Society for Professor Fan for so long, he would definitely receive special treatment in return.
But now, Xue Hua has been taken away by the procuratorate? Judging from Ji Zhixing's words, it's related to Professor Fan?
The words "prosecutor's office" still carry a lot of intimidation for ordinary students, especially when Jianxi knows that what she did was indeed something that couldn't be brought to light.
Jianxi wanted to ask for clarification, but she was also feeling guilty, afraid that asking would be tantamount to indirectly admitting her abnormality.
He couldn't help but let his mind wander, various thoughts racing through his head, making him restless.
Ji Zhixing continued to put mental pressure on him: "We're both graduate students admitted through the supplementary admission process, so guess what will happen to you?"
“Impossible…” Jianxi murmured, taking a step back, his mind a mess. He couldn’t hold back any longer; he had to ask clearly and find out what all his hard work had been for!
Watching Jian Xi's hurried departure, Ji Zhixing sighed wearily. He had only been bluffing Jian Xi; Xue Hua being taken away by the prosecutors didn't mean he was convicted. Besides, he didn't know the reason for Xue Hua's arrest, but it was definitely related to the public opinion campaign Fan Chuanshuo had been building up for so long.
Ji Zhixing closed his eyes heavily. He was so tired. He would rather spend his whole life studying the Navier-Stokes equations, which might never have a result, than get entangled in this kind of backstabbing and intrigue.
The people in the lab remained silent. Being betrayed by a partner they had spent more than half a year with would be painful for anyone.
In the prosecutor's office interrogation room, Xue Hua was completely bewildered as to how things had come to this. He had been conducting experiments in the lab that morning, and by the afternoon he had been taken away by a group of judicial police. He was completely dazed throughout the entire process, and it wasn't until he was escorted into the interrogation room that he began to come to his senses.
He looked at his chair. He had only ever seen this kind of interrogation chair in legal news, the kind that criminal suspects sat on, but he hadn't committed any crime!
Xue Hua looked nervously at the two judicial police officers sitting opposite her, fearing that she had been wrongly accused: "Um...did you arrest the wrong person? I've been at school these past few days, I haven't gone anywhere, and I haven't had any chance to commit any crimes!"
Shen Xun, the judicial police officer in charge of interrogating Xue Hua, asked, "What is your relationship with Fan Chuanshuo?"
“He… he’s kind of my mentor,” Xue Hua said hesitantly. Could it be that Fan Chuanshuo had done something that implicated him? So she quickly defended herself, “Actually, it was just a nominal relationship. I didn’t really study under him. Our relationship was very superficial. I don’t know anything about what he did!”
Shen Xun didn't delve into the depth of their teacher-student relationship. He took out a few documents from the file folder, flipped to the signature section, and showed them to Xue Hua: "Did you sign this yourself?"
Xue Hua leaned forward and looked closely. It was indeed his signature, but he still spoke cautiously: "I need to check the header of the document to confirm."
After seeing the headings of several documents, Xue Hua remembered that these were the purchase contracts for instruments and materials he had previously purchased under the name of Fan Chuanshuo's laboratory, as well as the technical service contracts for hiring professional researchers to assist in the research.
Could it be that Fan Chuanshuo held a grudge against him for spending too much money and therefore sued him? What an ungrateful scoundrel!
"All of this was permitted by Fan Chuanshuo!" Xue Hua explained urgently. "You may not know this, but I saved his life before. To thank me, he gave me access to all the instruments and materials in his lab. Later, when he didn't have some of the instruments and materials, he said I could use his lab's name to purchase them, which would make reimbursement easier!"
At first, he was just happy to borrow the equipment and materials for free. But Fan Chuanshuo's endless indulgence gradually bred his appetite; he would buy whatever he needed without a second thought, and Fan Chuanshuo never complained. Looking back now, he realizes that this despicable man never genuinely wanted to repay his life-saving debt!
Shen Xun neither confirmed nor denied this statement, but pointed to the figures on the contract and asked, "Are you aware that there is a significant discrepancy between the fees listed in the contract and the actual fees?"
Xue Hua's eyes darted around, and her heart started to race. She whispered, "Isn't that what everyone does? Taking a kickback or something..."
"Is it 'a little'?" Shen Xun pointed to a materials purchase contract and said, "This contract alone has discrepancies totaling 320,000 yuan."
"Impossible!" Xue Hua's voice trembled with excitement. "I only asked for 100,000 yuan out of so many contracts!"
On the other side, Fan Chuanshuo, with tears streaming down his face, said with great sorrow, "I never expected him to be so audacious. Ever since he saved my life, I have been repaying him by admitting him as my graduate student and fully supporting his research. But I never imagined that he would forge contracts and embezzle my lab's research funds."
"You knew absolutely nothing about these contracts?"
"No, I was aware of the first contract for the purchase of magnetron sputtering cathodes. I agreed to let him make the purchase in advance under my lab's name because I thought my project would need it in the final stage. But I never expected that after he learned about the procurement process, he would dare to steal the lab's official seal and forge the contract!"
The procuratorate had also visited Guangling University beforehand, and all they heard were words of Xue Hua's greed and insatiable desire for favors, while the voices of sympathy were mostly directed at Fan Chuanshuo.
Furthermore, since the current evidence shows that although Fan Chuanshuo was negligent, the embezzlement of research funds was done by Xue Hua alone, considering Fan Chuanshuo's age and academician status, he was allowed to return to Guangling University first, but he was not allowed to leave the local area so that he could cooperate with the investigation at any time.
In the taxi, Fan Chuanshuo leaned heavily against the back seat and closed his eyes wearily. This was the first time he had been so embarrassed since being elected an academician. He hoped that he could pass this test smoothly as well.
He kept his embezzlement of research funds very discreet, and tried to get all contracts done through his students. The agencies he worked with for many years were also very careful and cautious, and there had been no problems for over a decade.
Even though he was reported by that rebellious student two years ago, the problem was never discovered in the end.
However, even the most meticulous plans can have flaws.
At the beginning of the year, he spent a lot of money on various favors to find someone to help his son get a parole or a reduced sentence, almost emptying his savings, and only now has the matter started to make some progress.
The middleman said at least another million would be needed before any real results would be seen. He was also very impatient, saying that if things dragged on for a few more days, the son would be in court and the damage would be irreversible!
Having no other choice, he resorted to manipulating research funding.
Before the Lunar New Year, he applied for another grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China for the project "Research on the Physics of Novel Ferroelectric Materials and Magnetoelectric Coupling," and the 2.5 million yuan grant was just allocated.
Because of the urgency, the methods used to embezzle funds were crude. As a result, nearly ten million yuan was thrown in, but nothing came of it.
After realizing there was no hope of saving his son, he decided to find a scapegoat to cover up the truth.
The first choice was naturally Ji Zhixing; if it weren't for him, his son wouldn't have gone astray. But no matter how much he pleaded with Ji Zhixing in the principal's office, Ji Zhixing wouldn't take the bait. And that guy Yan Anjin even interfered and took Ji Zhixing away.
His son was suffering in prison, and he was absolutely unwilling to let Ji Zhixing enjoy himself outside.
However, before he could even make a move, the relevant departments began investigating whether he was involved with foreign forces. He knew it was only because of his son's involvement and wasn't a serious problem, but he still dared not act rashly for the time being.
He lay low for three months until the investigation was completely over, only to find that it was time for the semi-annual audit of research funding.
Ji Zhixing remained vigilant. He didn't have time to slowly lure him into the trap, so he had to find another scapegoat first.
His former graduate students are now very cautious, preferring to be expelled rather than get involved in any contracts, so he has to look for outside help.
Among the many students preparing for postgraduate entrance exams that year, he took a liking to Xue Hua, who had just left the Zero Gravity Club and was arrogant and conceited. He set a trap, and Xue Hua fell for it. Under his indulgence, Xue Hua continued to swell in arrogance, and he was able to transfer previous debts into the various contracts that Xue Hua had signed.
Now comes the most crucial moment. As long as we can get through this smoothly, everything will be fine afterward.
Back at school, Jianxi came to my door.
Fan Chuanshuo could tell from Jian Xi's expression that he had been caught red-handed; it was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.
He preemptively demanded, "How could you be so careless!"
Jianxi was stunned for a moment when he was suddenly questioned, before he realized that he was the one who should be questioning.
"What happened to Xue Hua?" Jian Xi's voice trembled with anxiety, anger, and panic.
Fan Chuanshuo was extremely impatient: "It's none of your business!" Once Jian Xi was exposed, she was no longer of any use to him.
On second thought, now is a crucial time, and if Jianxi were to bite and bark irrationally, it would be a troublesome matter.
So Fan Chuanshuo softened his tone and comforted him: "Xue Hua brought this upon himself. He embezzled a lot of research funds, which is a public matter. You are different. Disputes in school club activities are private matters. If you make a big fuss, the school will at most give you a disciplinary action. If you insist on denying it, nothing will happen to you."
"Well then, you can't stay in the Zero Gravity Society anymore, so come to my lab next week."
After saying some comforting words, they finally managed to send Jane away.
Fan Chuanshuo closed the door, a bad feeling creeping into his heart. Ji Zhixing must be able to guess that Jian Xi was backed by him; would he let this go so easily?
Ji Zhixing, having been betrayed by Fan Chuanshuo, was naturally not going to let him off so easily. However, being a law-abiding citizen, he wouldn't resort to any underhanded tricks. He simply provided the procuratorate with a clue: Fan Chuanshuo's project had received central government funding the year before last, and had been reported by his graduate students for falsifying materials and embezzling research funds.
Of course, the procuratorate could have continued investigating this lead, it would have just taken a day or two longer. But it was precisely because of that one or two days earlier that the judicial police were able to apprehend Fan Chuanshuo at the airport, who had received word of the plot to flee overseas.
Breaking news! Professor Fan Chuanshuo of our school has been arrested by the procuratorate!!
College students, who had been staying at home for more than a month during summer vacation, were extremely bored. When they saw such a sensational headline, they all flocked to it.
"Damn, Fan Chuanshuo is Fan Yongjie's father, right? This is a case of father following son's footsteps!"
"What exactly happened? Can anyone tell me?"
"It seems to be because of the embezzlement of research funds."
"Didn't we vaguely hear that Xue Hua did it? The forum has been deleting posts non-stop."
"Back then it was just a suspicion, but now it's been investigated and it's been found out that Fan Chuanshuo couldn't cover up his crimes, so he set up a scheme to make Xue Hua a scapegoat!"
"Wow, what a vicious idea! I remember there was a huge thread on the forum before, wasn't that when they started manipulating public opinion?"
"This kind of person is really scary! Fortunately, the prosecutor's office is very thorough in its investigation."
Wasn't he also reported by name for embezzling research funds in his previous project?
"Yes, I remember that too. It seems that later they said it was actually the graduate student who reported him who was to blame, and it had nothing to do with Fan Chuanshuo."
"Now it seems that it may not be unrelated."
“That graduate student is my friend. His research results from his first year of graduate school were directly taken by Fan Chuanshuo and used to gild Fan Yongjie.”
"Damn, that's too much!"
"So he kept an eye on Fan Chuanshuo and finally discovered his crimes. Unfortunately, he couldn't produce any evidence and almost took the blame for Fan Chuanshuo. In the end, he went back to his hometown."
"Oh no!"
“When the procuratorate contacted him this time, he told them everything he knew before. Based on this case, the procuratorate was able to confirm that Fan Chuanshuo had been embezzling research funds all along.”
"It is said that Fan Chuanshuo has been very discreet, with several companies working with him. This time, in order to get Fan Yongjie out of trouble, he was in a hurry to raise money and pull strings, which is why he made a mistake."
"Tsk tsk tsk, it seems the fight against corruption really relies entirely on family members!"
"Why doesn't Fan Chuanshuo just focus on scientific research? I remember his last project was 'Research on Novel Ferroelectric Materials and Magnetoelectric Coupling Physics,' which was very promising. Look at how much patent fees Professor Yan earned from one successful project; isn't that much better than staring at that little bit of research funding?"
"But you have to have the capability. My friend said he discovered that Fan Chuanshuo's project had serious theoretical problems. It obtained central government funding by forging false materials, so the project was destined to fail."
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a huge rat! I wonder how much money he embezzled."
Later, the procuratorate found that Fan Chuanshuo had embezzled more than 35 million yuan of research funds over a period of more than ten years through fraudulent means.
The People's Court sentenced Fan Chuanshuo to 12 years in prison for embezzlement and fined him 3 million yuan. The seized research funds were confiscated and turned over to the national treasury, with any shortfall to be recovered.
After the verdict was announced, Fan Chuanshuo appealed, but the second instance upheld the original verdict, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences subsequently revoked his academician title.
At this point, this person disappeared from Ji Zhixing's life trajectory.
A note from the author:
Fan Chuanshuo is offline! Hooray!
Additionally, depending on the circumstances, the units that verify research funding may be the audit bureau, the discipline inspection and supervision commission, or the procuratorate. Here, we will simply use the procuratorate to avoid making the explanation too verbose.
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