21st Century Necromancer

Chapter 153 Third Aunt

Rena Shirai and others who had come to find Chen Yu re-entered with embarrassed expressions, after Jounouchi Hiromi stepped out to pass on the message.

"Professor, these two are journalists from Asahi Shimbun, here for an interview with you," Rena Shirai introduced with a blushed face. Even though she had realized that the prior incident was a misunderstanding, the sight of Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi being so intimate still caused the boyfriend-less Rena to feel her face burning.

Despite feeling her face burning, Rena Shirai wouldn't let such matters affect her work, and she continued with the introduction, "Professor, these journalists are here to interview you regarding the publication of your paper in The Lancet, as the administrative department has already notified you."

"Professor Chen, good day. We are journalists from Asahi Shimbun, and we would like to conduct an exclusive interview with you concerning the publication of your paper in The Lancet from the United Kingdom. Would that be convenient for you?" The two journalists took out their credentials, greeted Chen Yu, and then asked.

After glancing at the journalists' credentials, Chen Yu nodded slightly, returned their greeting, and said, "I have been notified of this matter before. Where would you like to conduct the interview? Here, or should we find a conference room?"

"This..." The two journalists clearly saw the redness in Chen Yu's eyes and weren't sure about the professor's condition for the interview, but as their original plan couldn't be changed, they exchanged glances before saying, "If it's convenient for you, Professor Chen, let's find a conference room for the interview."

Chen Yu didn't object; although his office could be used for the interview, it still wasn't that formal, and without a table, it wouldn't be convenient for the journalists to take notes. Although they could write with a notepad on their laps, it certainly wasn't as comfortable as writing on a table.

Chen Yu wasn't one to mistreat others; it costs him nothing to facilitate things for the journalists—better that than they embellish the story in their reporting.

"Shirai-san, please prepare a small conference room for me," said Chen Yu to Rena Shirai at his side.

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As Chen Yu was being interviewed by the journalists, a flight from the Celestial Empire had also landed at Haneda Airport.

A woman in a professional suit, looking very capable, stood at the airport exit, dragging her luggage and reviewing the documents in her hands.

"Sister Hong, let's grab a cab to the hotel. The airport bus stop is quite a walk from here," suggested a much younger looking lackey following behind the woman, glancing at the distance to the airport bus and making the suggestion—after all, they were less than twenty meters away from several taxis.

However, the woman referred to as Sister Hong hit her lackey on the head with a flick and chided her, "A cab in Japan, especially from the airport to the hotel—you think money grows on trees? With the pittance you call a salary, believe it or not, a couple of rides will have you blowing in the wind by month's end!"

"Ow! That hurts." The lackey hastily rubbed her forehead, but didn't complain, knowing the woman only meant well, although she asked in confusion, "Sister Hong, are cabs in Japan really that expensive? How do you know? Have you been to Japan before?"

"In Japan, cabs start at 40 yen and cost 30 yen per kilometer. From the airport to the hotel is at least several tens of kilometers—you do the math," said Sister Hong, looking at her young lackey and citing the exorbitant prices before scolding her, "Don't you do research before going on a business trip abroad? You should at least remember the most basic travel precautions, shouldn't you?"

"I did look it up!" the little lackey somehow pulled out a notebook, flipped it open, and read, "For shopping, go to Shibuya. For monjayaki, go to Tsukishima Island. For a pilgrimage, go to Kamakura..."

The woman silently watched the lackey reciting from her little notebook and couldn't help but smack her on the head again, "We're here on a business trip, not to play! Stop remembering these useless things! Grab your stuff; we're going to find the airport bus."

As she spoke, the woman dragged her luggage towards the direction indicated by the signs.

And the little lackey behind her also hurriedly packed away her notebook, then reluctantly dragged her small suitcase and followed behind the woman.

"Sister Hong, Sister Hong, what's the main purpose of our trip to Japan this time?" the little lackey caught up with the woman and quickly stowed away her grievances, asking the woman again.

The woman turned to look at the lackey, frowning, "What were you doing during the meeting? Didn't you remember something so important? All you thought about was how to play in Japan?"

"I listened carefully! We came to Japan to visit Professor Chen Yu from the University of Tokyo, who published a paper in 'The Lancet,' to persuade him to return to the Celestial Empire and develop his career." The little lackey did remember the purpose of their trip to Japan, but after saying it, she seriously shook her head, "But the problem is, he's not foolish.

Why would someone give up being a professor at The University of Tokyo to go back and develop his career? It's not like right after the founding of the nation when people talked about contributing to national development. Now, with the kind of offer our leaders are giving, only an idiot would agree to return!"

"If you understand all this, there's no need for more talk." The woman, already frustrated, darkened in expression when she heard the lackey say this, "Anyway, we'll do what we need to do. Whether he agrees or not is his business."

"Oh," hearing the woman say this, the lackey immediately dared not say anything more. Although the woman had always taken good care of her and was her mother's best friend, the lackey knew better than to talk back when the woman was obviously very angry.

The woman and her little lackey were staff from a certain medical college in the Celestial Empire, but they were not teaching staff, they were administrative staff. Although they were also called professors, they didn't teach students.

As for the purpose of their trip to Japan, some vice president in charge of administration at their medical college happened to see an academic paper published in 'The Lancet' from the United Kingdom.

Normally, such affairs would have nothing to do with their college, which wasn't a top-tier or even close to third-rate institution within the Celestial Empire, especially since there weren't many academics capable of publishing in 'The Lancet.'

Read the latest on empire

But unfortunately, the paper was published by Chen Yu, and it even had his photo on it, and the vice president just happened to recognize Chen Yu.

Yes, Chen Yu, when he was in the Celestial Empire, studied at their medical college, and the vice president had a memory of him as Chen Yu was the only one to be admitted to the doctoral program of the University of Tokyo Medical School from their relatively young medical college, an achievement the vice president had once boasted about as his own merit.

So naturally, the vice president thought he could leverage his connection to persuade Chen Yu to return and teach in the Celestial Empire. This would not only raise their college's teaching standards but also siphon, yes, siphon—not merely benefit from—Chen Yu's research, which is why the woman was sent to convince Chen Yu.

As for why the woman was sent... she took out her phone, dialed a number, and spoke into the phone: "Ah-Yu, it's your Auntie. I'm in Japan now, in Tokyo."