The WeChat group of the Nandu Medical University’s alumni in the United States hasn’t quieted down for three days.

The cause of the matter was a photograph.

The photo was posted by Chen Jiaming, an alumnus from the class of 2009 at Nandu Medical University, who is currently working as an anesthesiologist at a hospital in Los Angeles. Three evenings ago, he was passing through Chinatown after work and saw a homeless man squatting at the street corner, dressed in rags, with tangled hair and beard, rummaging through the trash can.

He initially paid no attention, as there are many homeless people in Los Angeles, but for some reason, he glanced a second time.

And that second glance left him stunned.

In the instant the homeless man lifted his head, he saw a face that seemed familiar.

He stood there, staring at that person for a full half-minute. In his mind, he rapidly searched his memories, and suddenly a name popped out... Guan Ruyan... Professor Guan!

Impossible!

How could Professor Guan be here? How could he end up like this?

He took a few steps forward to get a clearer look. The homeless man sensed someone approaching, lifted his head, and stared at him with vacant eyes, devoid of light, devoid of spirit, devoid of anything.

"Guan... Professor Guan?" he called out tentatively.

The man had no reaction, just glanced at him before lowering his head again and continued rummaging through the trash.

Chen Jiaming stood there, not knowing what to say or do. He pulled out his phone, secretly snapped a photo, and then turned around and walked away.

That night, he posted the photo in the alumni group.

"Take a look at this person, isn’t he Guan Ruyan, Professor Guan?"

"Damn, is it really him?"

"How did he end up like this?"

"Didn’t he go to the United States?"

"Is this... Guan Ruyan? I can’t believe it."

"There have long been rumors of his wandering, but I didn’t expect it to be true."

"I heard he was swindled out of everything by a woman in the United States."

Message after message erupted with shock, leaving everyone speechless. The once-spirited young professor, standing at the academic pinnacle, how did he descend to this?

Later, Chen Jiaming sent more messages, describing how he saw Guan Ruyan squatting at the street corner, rummaging through trash with vacant eyes, unresponsive to anyone’s words, suspecting he might have fallen into drug use.

"I want to help him," he said, "but in his current state, he can’t recognize me. I stood there, and he didn’t know who I was or even who he was."

The group remained silent for a long time.

Finally, someone sent a message: "Has he... gone insane?"

No one answered.

But everyone had the answer in their hearts.

Everyone at Nandu Medical University knows the story of Guan Ruyan.

It all happened a few years ago.

Back then, Guan Ruyan was one of the youngest professors at Nandu Medical University, in his thirties, publishing paper after paper in prestigious journals. He gave speeches at various academic conferences, eloquent and spirited. He was the key figure being cultivated by the school, a role model admired by countless young doctors, he was the bright future of Nandu Medical University.

He was also Principal Ding’s son-in-law.

At that time, Principal Ding was the vice-principal at Nandu Medical University, in charge of research and graduate education. His daughter, Ding Xinyu, was also a professor at Nandu Medical University, gentle, beautiful, and well-educated. When Guan Ruyan and Ding Xinyu got married, many people said it was a perfect match, a union made in heaven.

Guan Ruyan’s life appeared bright.

But later, everything collapsed.

Over the years, his papers were actually all written by Lu Xiaolu, who stood up to testify against him.

The school formed an investigation team, verifying email after email, comparing paper after paper. The results were astonishing, almost all of the heavyweight papers published by Guan Ruyan were written by Lu Xiaolu. Sometimes Lu Xiaolu appeared as a second or third author, and sometimes Lu Xiaolu’s name didn’t appear at all.

Academic fraud, plagiarism of others’ work... one charge after another was confirmed.

Guan Ruyan was dismissed from public office, all academic titles revoked, and permanently banned from applying for research projects.

Principal Ding got implicated because of this, suspended for investigation. Although he was not directly involved in fraud, as the supervising leader, he was held accountable for insufficient oversight and poor personnel decisions. The investigation lasted half a year, during which he was almost bedridden in the hospital. His pre-existing liver cancer deteriorated rapidly, and by the end of the investigation, it was already in the late stage of liver cancer. Shortly after, Principal Ding died, and Ding Xinyu and Guan Ruyan divorced.

Guan Ruyan fled swiftly, took some money, and went to the United States.

After arriving in America, initially, he did have some success.

He went to New York, worked as a visiting scholar at several hospitals, and later got a job. Though it wasn’t at a top institution, at least he had found his footing. He rented an apartment, bought a car, and put together a presentable appearance. He thought, let bygones be bygones, start afresh.

Then he met a woman.

She was a Chinese-American woman, said to be the only daughter of a wealthy Chinese-American family, living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, driving a Porsche. Guan Ruyan met her at a party.

Guan Ruyan quickly realized a new step in his life had appeared.

Before, he had always leveraged women to advance his career, and it seemed this time he was destined to repeat the script. Guan Ruyan, adept from experience, quickly charmed this rich and beautiful woman with his charisma.

They started dating, went to upscale restaurants, attended Broadway shows, spent weekends on Long Island. The woman said she didn’t care about his past, said she believed he was talented, that she was willing to accompany him for a new beginning, said she liked men with stories like him.