Abroad.
“You know? It seems like a drug that can treat infections has appeared in China.”
“Oh, I initially thought it was just hype... but you know that name, Su, the Chinese Su—that makes it quite credible.”
Who says bad publicity isn’t still publicity? The earlier uproar over her supposed discrimination against white people had already made the name Su Ning well-known overseas.
Congratulations—
It had cost her a pretty penny.
In an era with inconvenient transportation and limited channels for spreading information, achieving a sensational impact was difficult. But as they say, money makes the world go round.
Care about reputation and don’t want to publish unverified news?
Throw money at it!
Despise Su Ning for being a racist against white people?
Throw money—lots of it!
Newspaper space had already been booked.
Needless to say, more money was thrown at it.
And so, the moment Su Ning gave the green light, news about the “miracle drug” and “penicillin” flooded in—both domestically and internationally—except for a handful of stubborn holdouts that simply couldn’t be bought.
At first, not many believed it. It was too bizarre, like a halfhearted scam: a wonder drug claiming to cure everything, and from a backward Eastern country, no less.
But when one newspaper said it,
then another said the same,
and another echoed it,
every available newspaper on the market was reporting on this “penicillin.”
Some were cautious, using words like “maybe,” “possibly,” or “allegedly.” Others were more extravagant and fervent, proclaiming that humanity had stepped into a new era and telling readers how many lives this drug would save worldwide.
It was thrilling, electrifying.
People went from skepticism to “maybe it’s real” to a feverish search for where to get this drug and how to buy it.
Ah, it’s in China.
At a prestigious university, classes had ended.
A group of Chinese students walked out together in the last wave, talking intensely in hushed tones, when they suddenly heard a commotion.
Up ahead, a crowd of local students had blocked a smaller group with black hair and dark eyes, their faces grim. The dark-haired group kept shaking their heads in panic.
The newly arrived students’ hearts sank.
They immediately guessed what was happening—a case of bullying.
In those days, the West looked down on the East.
Though this was a university with generally good faculty and students, there were always troublemakers who liked to pick on Easterners for fun and vent their aggression. If the bully had some influence, the best course of action was to endure it, because no one would stand up for the victims.
Even sympathetic local students wouldn’t bother getting involved.
And this group of foreign “bullies” was well-known—they were members of the university fraternity, from powerful families, and popular campus figures.
This was the worst-case scenario.
The Chinese students exchanged worried glances, even though the trouble hadn’t landed on them yet.
But if fraternity members acted like this, others would soon follow. They could already predict their living environment getting much worse.
Then the situation shifted. The dark-haired group nervously bowed and pointed at the new arrivals, saying loudly:
“Sorry, so sorry for the misunderstanding! We’re not Chinese—they are!”
At that moment, the same thought crossed everyone’s mind: Great. This was aimed at the Chinese.
The fraternity members turned to look their way, exchanged a few words, and seemed to have identified their targets as they started walking over. The dark-haired group let out a collective sigh of relief, lounging around like spectators enjoying the show.
“Are you Chinese?”
“Yes...”
The answers came, some loud, some soft, but no one denied being Chinese.
The fraternity leader smiled.
He raised his hand—
This is it, they thought. We’re going to get hit.
Some closed their eyes in fear, but instead of hearing their classmates’ cries of pain, they heard a surprisingly friendly voice:
“Thank God, we finally found real Chinese people! Honestly, East Asians all look too similar. We’ve searched everywhere—kept running into Japanese or Koreans... I’m Jack. Maybe we could be friends?”
Something wasn’t right.
Luckily, their confusion was soon cleared up, and they let out a breath.
Jack pulled out an old newspaper, pointed at the cold-faced Su Ning in the photo, and asked:
“Do you know her? God, is the penicillin real or not? Sorry, I don’t mean to doubt it, but it’s just too incredible.”
The other fraternity members chimed in:
“What’s there to doubt? Even the Daily Mail has reported it.”
“Su might be a nasty person, but there’s no denying she’s a famous millionaire. She’s got the resources to develop penicillin.”
“My family got confirmed information—a few years ago, some scientist really did discover a mold that kills bacteria, called it that name. But unfortunately, they couldn’t find a way to isolate it.”
“God, and you’re only telling us now?”
“I just found out myself...”
The Chinese students stood there stunned.
They studied hard, rarely left campus due to discrimination, and kept their noses in their books. Though they’d skimmed a newspaper or two, they hadn’t paid much attention.
Now it sounded like penicillin wasn’t just hype—it was real?
Jack’s question about whether they could help buy the drug jolted them back to reality. They shook their heads frantically.
“Sorry, there’s no way.”
One explained, “China is huge and densely populated. None of us here are even from Miss Su’s hometown.”
“Really no way?” Jack pressed.
Their heads just kept shaking.
They all knew of Su Ning, but she didn’t know them—what good would that do?
“That’s a shame,” Jack said. “But we can still be friends.” Given that, alongside Su’s fame as a mega-wealthy tycoon, it was also widely known that she was a rare racist against white people, having Chinese friends made it more likely to get penicillin first, he thought.
So he quickly asked:
“By the way, do you discriminate against white people?”
The Chinese students paused, then shook their heads with wry smiles tinged with bitterness.
“Great. We’re having a party tomorrow. Just fraternity members and a few invited guests. Maybe you’d like to come?”
Would they ever!
Their eyes lit up. This was the shield of the fraternity.
