sinovels Chapter 1374 The Homeless in Los Angeles
Chapter 1374 The Homeless in Los Angeles
Chapter 1374 The Homeless in Los Angeles
The WeChat group of the Southern Metropolis Medical University Alumni Association in the United States has been in constant turmoil for three days.
The incident started with a photograph.
The photo was posted by Chen Jiaming, an alumnus of Nandu Medical University (class of 2009) who now works as an anesthesiologist at a hospital in Los Angeles. Three days ago, in the evening, he was passing through Chinatown on his way home from get off work when he saw a homeless man squatting on a street corner, dressed in rags, with messy hair and beard, rummaging through a trash can.
He hadn't paid much attention at first; there were many homeless people in Los Angeles. But for some reason, he took another look.
He was stunned at that one glance.
The moment the homeless man looked up, he saw a face that looked familiar.
He stood there, staring at the person for a full half minute. His mind raced, searching his memory, and a name suddenly popped into his head… Guan Ruyan… Professor Guan!
impossible!
What's Professor Guan doing here? How did he end up like this?
He took a few steps closer, trying to get a better look. The homeless man sensed someone approaching, looked up, and stared at him blankly; his eyes held no light, no spirit, nothing at all.
"Professor Guan...?" he called out tentatively.
The person didn't react at all, just glanced at him, then lowered their head and continued rummaging through the trash can.
Chen Jiaming stood there, unsure of what to say or do. He took out his phone, secretly snapped a photo, and then turned and left.
That night, he posted the photo in the alumni group.
"Look at this person, isn't he Professor Guan Ruyan?"
"Holy crap, is it really him?"
How could he have become like this?
"Didn't he go to America?"
"This...this is Guan Ruyan? I can't believe it."
"Rumors had been circulating for a long time that he was homeless, but I didn't expect it to be true."
"I heard that a woman in America swindled him out of all his money."
News kept pouring out, leaving everyone speechless with shock. How could that once spirited young professor, that person who once stood at the pinnacle of academia, have fallen to such a state?
Chen Jiaming later sent several more messages, describing how he saw Guan Ruyan: squatting on a street corner, rummaging through trash cans, with vacant eyes, unresponsive to anyone's words, leading him to suspect that she might have become addicted to drugs.
“I wanted to help him,” he said, “but he was like that, he didn’t recognize me at all. I was standing there, and he didn’t know who I was, or who he was.”
There was a long silence in the group.
Finally, someone posted: "Is he... insane?"
No one answered.
But everyone has their own answer.
No student at Nandu Medical University is unaware of Guan Ruyan's story.
That was several years ago.
At that time, Guan Ruyan was one of the youngest professors at Nandu Medical University, in his early thirties. He published one paper after another, all in prestigious journals. He gave presentations at various academic conferences, speaking eloquently and with great enthusiasm. He was a key figure being groomed by the university, a role model admired by countless young doctors, and a rising star at Nandu Medical University.
He is also Principal Ding's son-in-law.
At the time, President Ding was the vice president of Nandu Medical University, in charge of scientific research and postgraduate education. His daughter, Ding Xinyu, was also a professor at Nandu Medical University; she was gentle, beautiful, and well-educated. When Guan Ruyan and Ding Xinyu got married, many people said they were a perfect match, a match made in heaven.
Guan Ruyan's life seemed bright.
But later, everything collapsed.
Over the years, his papers were actually written for him by Lu Xiaolu, who himself came forward to testify against him.
The university established an investigation team, verifying each email and comparing each paper. The results were shocking: almost all of Guan Ruyan's published high-profile papers were actually written by Lu Xiaolu. Sometimes Lu Xiaolu appeared as the second or third author, and sometimes his name didn't even appear.
Academic fraud, plagiarism... one charge after another was confirmed.
Guan Ruyan was dismissed from public office, stripped of all academic titles, and banned from applying for research projects for life.
Principal Ding was implicated in the matter and suspended from his duties pending investigation. Although he wasn't directly involved in the fraud, as the supervising leader, he couldn't escape responsibility for inadequate supervision and personnel management. The investigation lasted six months, during which he spent almost all his time in the hospital. His pre-existing liver cancer worsened rapidly, reaching its late stage by the time the investigation concluded. Shortly after, Principal Ding passed away, and Ding Xinyu and Guan Ruyan divorced.
Guan Ruyan ran away quickly; he took a sum of money with him to the United States.
After arriving in the United States, he did do quite well at first.
He went to New York, worked as a visiting scholar at several hospitals, and later landed a job. It wasn't a top-tier institution, but he had finally established himself. He rented an apartment, bought a car, and got a new set of presentable clothes. He thought, let bygones be bygones, let's start over.
Then he met a woman.
She was a Chinese woman, reportedly the only daughter of a wealthy Chinese-American family, living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and driving a Porsche. Guan Ruyan met her at a party.
Guan Ruyan quickly realized that a new step in her life had appeared.
In the past, he always climbed to the top by stepping on women. It seems that he will repeat the same script this time. Guan Ruyan is familiar with the way and quickly won over this rich and beautiful woman with her charm.
They started dating, going to fancy restaurants, Broadway shows, and weekend getaways to Long Island. The woman said she didn't care about his past, that she believed he was talented, that she was willing to start over with him, and that she liked men with a past like him.
Guan Ruyan felt as if she had been reborn and was beginning a second spring in her life.
However, the details of what happened later are unclear, but the ending is that the woman swindled Guan Ruyan out of all his money and left him penniless, and successfully escaped legal punishment.
Guan Ruyan reported the incident to the police. After investigating, the police told him: You've been scammed. This woman is a highly intelligent con artist who specifically targets Chinese men who have recently arrived in the United States and have substantial savings. Every step she takes is meticulously planned and completely compliant with American law. Therefore, your money is unrecoverable.
Guan Ruyan stood at the entrance of the police station, looking at the gray New York sky, and burst into laughter.
As I laughed, tears started to fall.
He recalled how he had climbed to the top by stepping on women back in China.
Ding Xinyu had lost count of how many steps he had climbed up the ladder. Marrying her meant having Principal Ding's protection, access to the school's resources, and the means to climb the ranks. Did he ever love her? No, he loved what she brought with her.
Heaven is good to reincarnate.
Guan Ruyan returned to the apartment, only to find the landlord had changed the locks. He was several months behind on rent, and the landlord had been wanting to kick him out for a while; now he finally had a reason. He stood at the door, watching his meager belongings being thrown into the hallway, speechless.
He had no money, no job, no friends, his credit cards were overdue, his credit had collapsed, he couldn't find a job, and he couldn't rent a place. He quickly fell into a vicious cycle and was strangled step by step.
Those people he knew in the US, after hearing about his story, all kept their distance, afraid he would ask them for money. He wandered around New York for a few days and somehow ended up in Los Angeles.
The photo that Chen Jiaming posted circulated in the group for a long time.
Some sighed, some lamented, some gloated, and some felt a sense of satisfaction. Many people were jealous of Guan Ruyan back then, and now that he has ended up like this, many are secretly pleased.
But there are also some people who genuinely want to help him.
"Where is he? I'll go see him; I used to work in his lab."
"Does anyone know a shelter where we can take him?"
"No matter what he did in the past, it's really heartbreaking to see him like this now. We're all Chinese, so let's help him if we can. I'm willing to donate."
Chen Jiaming sent another message: "I'll go again tomorrow to see if I can get him to the shelter. If anyone is willing to help, please message me privately." The next day, Chen Jiaming went to Chinatown again.
Guan Ruyan was still on that street corner, looking exactly the same. He was squatting on the ground, head down, lost in thought. Beside him was a worn-out suitcase containing all his belongings: a few tattered clothes, a half-empty water bottle, and several scavenged aluminum cans.
Chen Jiaming walked over and squatted down next to him.
"Professor Guan," he called softly.
No response.
"Professor Guan, do you remember me? I'm Chen Jiaming, from Nandu Medical University. You taught me."
No response.
Chen Jiaming sighed, took a paper bag from his bag containing several hamburgers and a bottle of water, and placed it in front of Guan Ruyan.
"Have something to eat."
Guan Ruyan raised her head and looked at him.
There was nothing in those eyes. Not sadness, not anger, not gratitude, not rejection. Just nothing at all. Like two dry wells, parched and devoid of even an echo.
Chen Jiaming felt a pang of sadness.
He recalled Guan Ruyan, whom he had met at school years ago. Back then, Guan Ruyan was full of vigor and confidence; many people recognized him as he walked around campus. When he lectured, the classroom was packed, and the young female students looked at him with starry eyes.
This person is now squatting on a street corner in Los Angeles, rummaging through trash cans.
“Let’s go,” Chen Jiaming said. “I’ll take you to the shelter. There’s food and lodging there, it’s better than here.”
Guan Ruyan did not move.
Chen Jiaming reached out to help him, but he shrank back and mumbled something.
Chen Jiaming didn't hear clearly, so he leaned closer.
"what?"
Guan Ruyan muttered it again, and this time Chen Jiaming heard it clearly.
He said, "I wrote it."
Chen Jiaming was stunned for a moment.
Guan Ruyan raised her head and looked at him, a glimmer of light suddenly appearing in her eyes. The light was strange; it was hard to tell whether it was from lucidity or confusion, from seriousness or madness.
He said, "Those papers... I wrote them all."
Chen Jiaming didn't know what to say.
Guan Ruyan continued, her words incoherent and rambling: "They said it was written by Lu Xiaolu, no, it was written by me. I wrote it, I wrote it word by word. I've been writing it for so many years, so many years... They said it was someone else's, no, it's mine, it's mine... Actually, it was... written by Lu Xiaolu... Why did you lie to me..."
After listening for a while, Chen Jiaming finally understood.
He was talking about those papers, those papers that made him famous in China and then ruined his reputation. In the mind of the mad Guan Ruyan, those papers were still written by him, word by word, not by Lu Xiaolu.
He lived in his own world. In that world, he didn't plagiarize, forge, exploit others, or commit marriage fraud or resource hoarding. In that world, he was a true scholar, a true genius, and a person who earned his living through his own abilities.
Chen Jiaming looked at him, suddenly unsure of what to say.
He wanted to tell him the truth, to tell him that he really didn't write those papers. But he opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Why bother?
He's gone mad. The mad Guan Ruyan lives in his own world, perhaps happier than when he's sober.
Chen Jiaming stood up and pushed the paper bag toward him.
“Eat,” he said. “I’m leaving.”
He turned and left, but after a few steps, he looked back again.
Guan Ruyan was still squatting there, head down, muttering something. Sunlight shone on him, on his tattered clothes, and on his dirty face.
Chen Jiaming suddenly remembered a sentence:
I watched him build a tall building, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his building collapse.
He sighed and turned to leave.
The photo and the story behind it quickly spread back to China.
Guan Ruyan became a topic of conversation again in the alumni group of Nandu Medical University. But this time, no one hated him anymore, and no one cursed him. Everyone just sighed.
"That's terrible."
"They were so successful back then, but now..."
"His father-in-law also passed away."
"I know about Principal Ding's case, liver cancer..."
Lu Xiaolu later heard about Guan Ruyan's matter.
He sat in his spacious office, looking at the photo on his phone for a long time.
He had heard rumors a few times before that Guan Ruyan was homeless in the United States, but now that there were photos to prove it, he had no choice but to believe it.
The person in the photo is unrecognizable; it's my former senior, rummaging through trash cans on the streets of Los Angeles, walking unsteadily.
He thought, "Should I be happy?"
Finally, I've seen the retribution come; finally, I've seen him end up like this.
But he couldn't smile. This was his senior, and they had studied together in Germany, rented apartments together, and were as close as brothers.
Hey……
He then thought of Principal Ding, the man who had always sponsored his studies and whom he regarded as a father.
If Guan Ruyan hadn't betrayed Principal Ding, Lu Xiaolu would never have testified against Guan Ruyan.
Lu Xiaolu recalled Principal Ding's final days. At that time, Principal Ding was in the late stage of liver cancer and was so thin that he was unrecognizable. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.
Lu Xiaolu stood by the bed, unsure of what to say.
After a long silence, Principal Ding finally spoke: "Xiao Lu, I'm sorry!"
Lu Xiaolu's tears flowed down her cheeks.
He hated Guan Ruyan, but he never hated Principal Ding. Principal Ding had helped him during his most difficult time.
But now, Principal Ding is no longer here.
Looking at the photo, Lu Xiaolu felt only emptiness and a piercing pain in her heart.
"Hello, could you please give Guan Ruyan some money for me?" Lu Xiaolu added Chen Jiaming in the alumni group and sent him a private message.
"Buy him some more food..." Lu Xiaolu added.