Qiming Chapter 41

Chapter 41

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Xu Chengyue sat on the sofa against the wall. A few minutes ago, Gu Yunfeng had been called away by Jiang Hai's attending physician, who had said that all of Jiang Hai's medical records had been sorted out and that he needed to go over and complete the paperwork to print a copy.

Opposite him was Lin Xiangrong, holding a small knife and peeling an apple. She glanced at him from time to time, making him feel uneasy and instinctively touch his own face.

After peeling the apple, she cut a small piece and placed it on a plate, which she then set on the cabinet closest to Jiang Hai. She then took a gentle bite, barely chewing before swallowing.

"Miss Lin, is there something on my face?"

"No." She covered her mouth and laughed, "I keep looking at you because, firstly, you are good-looking, and secondly, because I know you, Professor Xu."

"But I don't know you," he said in surprise.

He had originally thought that, as a full-time housewife dedicated to supporting her husband and raising children, her gentle and virtuous exterior would conceal a soft heart, making her endure repeated domestic violence in silence.

However, judging from Lin Xiangrong's various actions, she showed no hesitation in expressing her hatred for Jiang Yang, yet she did not complain like a resentful woman. The word "weak" had nothing to do with her at all.

"A year ago, you were declared brain-dead at Ruihe Hospital, but after twenty-four hours of rescue efforts, you were lucky enough to survive." She looked envious as she got up and slightly drew the curtain.

"Jiang Yang's older brother, that is, after Jiang Hai's accident, their family had been looking for a hospital capable of performing a similar surgery to wake him up as soon as possible. Your case gave them hope."

"But in the end, you didn't transfer hospitals, did you?"

"That's right." She put away her smile and looked into the distance outside the window. "They were too conservative."

Conservative?

"I actually don't quite understand..." She stood in the sunlight, turned her head, and smiled. "A murder occurred in the Jiang family, why didn't you police go to their home to investigate, but instead came to the hospital first?"

He stood up, spread his hands, and said, "We wanted to see you."

"You, on the other hand, didn't even have time to unpack your suitcase. You just returned to the country, right?"

She smiled gently, not confirming or denying.

"Why is the first thing you did after returning to the country coming to the hospital?"

Xu Chengyue approached her, his gaze sharp. "Worried about Jiang Hai? Worried about your husband's older brother?"

Lin Xiangrong tilted her head and looked at him, slightly surprised by his question. She hesitated for a moment and finally pointed to the bustling cityscape outside the window. "Is there a problem with that? He is my only relative in this city."

"Do you love him?"

"Hmm?" Perhaps startled by this abrupt question, Lin Xiangrong was dazed for a while, fiddling with the curve of her hair before lowering her head and softly saying, "What?"

"I meant him... I was referring to Jiang Hai. Do you love Jiang Hai?" Finding it tiring to stand, he pulled out a chair and sat down. After all, he had been in the hospital for almost half a month, and just the day before, he had been lying in a hospital bed receiving an IV, leaving his body somewhat weak. He coughed a few times, his face looking paler than usual.

"I've read several articles you wrote together. They are forward-looking and innovative, each one is excellent." Noticing Lin Xiangrong's face gradually turning cold, he thought for a moment and continued, "You married Jiang Yang after Jiang Hai fell into a coma, right? Why did it have to be the Jiang family? Was there no other choice?"

Nine years ago, Jiang Hai graduated from Princeton and returned to Nanpu City, where he directly joined Ronghua Biotech to engage in biomedical research. Lin Xiangrong was two years his junior, and she also returned to China after graduation. In terms of timing, she had just arrived in Nanpu City when Jiang Hai was involved in a car accident and fell into a coma. Two years after the accident, she married Jiang Yang. Rumour had it that the couple's relationship had always been strained, with Jiang Yang subjecting her to both emotional coldness and physical violence.

It looked like a transaction devoid of genuine feelings.

Lin Xiangrong crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, forcing her now cold expression into a faint smile with great difficulty. "You're overthinking things, Professor Xu."

After saying that, she calmly took her vibrating phone out from her silver handbag, dusted off her shirt, and pointed outside the door. "I need to take this call."

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The hundred and eighteenth floor of the Nanpu Central Tower housed a revolving restaurant by the river. This was the city's best viewing platform, with a view of various corporate buildings across the river, where history and modernity intertwined, brightly lit and towering into the sky. Below were the surging rivers, lakes, and seas, while above, one could see countless lights and flickering stars.

A middle-aged man, around forty, sat by the window. He wore a white t-shirt with the company logo and a grey linen suit jacket from Kinntailor over it. He poured a glass of water for the spirited old man sitting opposite him.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" He had been feeling very tense recently, even yesterday, his hands had been shaking badly while watching the news. Only smoking and drinking could temporarily relieve his discomfort.

"Go ahead," the old man agreed after staring at his sallow face for a few seconds.

"The day after tomorrow, we will submit our IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. How much do you think it will be valued at?"

The old man shook his head with a smile. "I don't know."

"Ten years ago, when Zhiyin Technology went public on the New York Stock Exchange, it was valued at only twenty billion dollars. Ten years later, its value has increased tenfold. We, too, have grown from a small department into a split-off listed company. Our IPO valuation should be close to sixty billion Hong Kong dollars."

"Isn't it great, you've been promoted." He applauded. "I saw today's news, you said Zhiyin Biotech is not a traditional biotechnology company and aims to connect biomedicine with AI for the benefit of humanity."

"Don't make fun of me, Dean Dai." The middle-aged man extinguished his cigarette, took a deep breath, and lit another one. With the cigarette between his lips, he continued in a slurred manner, "Others might not know, but you do, it's not easy to make money in our field. Before research results come out, we have to spend a lot of money. For entrepreneurs, making money is the priority. Whether we can benefit humanity... depends on luck."

"The current challenge for Zhiyin Biotech is that we're constantly exploring new points of innovation and profit, but the regulatory scrutiny is too tight. If we're not careful, we'll be called in for a meeting."

He took a gold-foiled match from his pocket, struck it gently, and watched the dancing flame burn on its own.

"Of course, being called in for a meeting is nothing. But General Manager Wan from Zhiyin Technology is scared. He's afraid that one day the investigation will reach him, and he won't be able to explain himself, so, he split off our department, hoping I'd take the fall for him." His eyes reddened with frustration. "You know, I was once a brother who started a business with him, why do I have to be the one involved in this mess?"

"This bomb might not explode." The old man sipped his tea. "If it does, you spend a few years in prison. If it doesn't... you become a hero who made a significant contribution to human technological progress."

"It depends on what risks you can bear, you could be remembered for eternity or infamous forever. Of course, you could also resign tomorrow and pass the bomb to someone else." The old man picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks. "Eat up, if you don't, it'll get cold. This restaurant is so expensive, I feel sorry for you."

The middle-aged man, still looking troubled, picked at the food with his chopsticks but didn't touch his rice, downing glass after glass of white wine.

"I resign, and then get smeared in a bunch of press releases to take the fall for them?" He gritted his teeth and swallowed a piece of braised pork whole. "And who knows, I might even get unexpectedly killed."

"That's right. So, you better stay in your position and do your best to avoid any trouble," the old man advised.

He took off his jacket, and a waiter came in to hang it in the closet before quickly leaving. The long, continuous chime of the clock outside penetrated their private room.

"The soundproofing in this room isn't great."

"We're not discussing any business secrets." The old man, sitting upright with a grey hat by his side and dressed in a proper suit, lowered his voice and asked, "I saw in the news that Ronghua Biotech has completely collapsed?"

"Yes, it's been on the decline for a while." The middle-aged man finally found his appetite, taking a large bite of steamed abalone, which was tender and juicy. "We never considered them a competitor, a stagnant family business is bound to fail sooner or later."

"Didn't you arrange for industrial spies to steal their confidential technology? Don't dismiss them as entirely worthless."

"Steal their confidential technology? That's what Jiang Ronghua said." He put down his chopsticks and let out a few cold laughs. "All our products are independently developed. That old guy made a malicious accusation. In the end, without evidence, he lost the lawsuit. The court's decision was clear and fair, the court isn't stupid."

"The homicide in his family, it has nothing to do with you, right?"

"Huh?" The middle-aged man's hand instinctively shook, causing the food he was holding to fall back onto the plate.

"Ai, no, what's that got to do with me?" He looked bewildered, knocking on the table three times as he questioned back. "Although he and his son were quite hated, the others were innocent, would I need to do such a thing?"

The old man chuckled. "Don't get so worked up, I heard it was you who reported their illegal drug sales."

"Who asked them to be involved in that, and they got caught by me." The middle-aged man draped his arm over the back of the chair, leaning back to stare up at the crystal chandelier. After maintaining this position for nearly a minute, he sat back up, his eyes boldly meeting those of the old man with thick, dark grey hair who seemed to be wearing a wig.

"I was maintaining industry order, preventing Ronghua Biotech from harming humanity with those illegal drugs." He slapped his thigh and took a few nonchalant sips of his drink. The alcohol's taste filled his mouth and nose, spreading throughout the room. The light above shone just right, dimly embedded in the night.

He placed the glass on the table, feeling slightly drunk. "I had people report them, so they should hate me and want to kill me, why would I harm their family?"

"But what about you, Dean Dai?" He emphasised the word "you" with a sense of authority. "Zhiyin has sponsored you with so much funds over the years, how are your experiments going? After all that effort and a large sum of my money, you've only succeeded once, right?"

The glass window reflected his sombre, grey face. He straightened a few stray hairs while looking at the plane flying across the night sky.

"We had a bit of a mishap a few days ago, but it's fine now. Rest assured, we constantly monitor his vital signs and physical data. We'll be notified automatically at the first sign of abnormality."

The old man shrugged, glanced at his watch, and then took out his phone. He snapped several pictures of the night view and the dishes, finally taking a selfie. "It's my first time at this restaurant, I forgot to take photos before eating. I need to post on my moments."

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The author has something to say:

Gearing up.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 16, 2024 by Angel

Edited: September 12, 2024 by Angel