Chapter 176 The path is one's own choice. The consequences, too, must be tasted by oneself.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

Those who were trying to get a bargain looked rather displeased.

They understood Gu Baobao's unspoken message:

Our formula is our moat; don't waste your time trying.

DuPont's director spoke at the opportune moment, definitively concluding the outcome of this public testing:

"The test results clearly show that Dr. Gu Baobao's products are safe, effective, and uniquely designed. The other sample, however, contained clearly harmful substances. The truth is out."

He glanced at Gu Ningbao in the corner, his eyes stern:

"Ms. Su Ning, you are suspected of manufacturing and selling drugs containing prohibited ingredients, endangering public health, and will face a serious legal trial."

Gu Ningbao suddenly raised her head, her face already streaked with tears, her features distorted by despair and fear.

Gu Baobao stopped watching the farcical ending. She turned to Sui Jianguo and the delegation members and nodded.

Sui Jianguo's spirits lifted. He stood up and addressed the crowd, especially the client representatives who had been jumping around the most enthusiastically, in a deep voice:

"The truth is clear for all to see. Our Chinese delegation prioritizes integrity and technology. Our doors are always open to truly trustworthy partners. As for others... we will make our own judgment."

The words were spoken subtly, but carried a strong threat. The representatives' faces flushed red and then turned pale.

Gu Baobao then approached Dean DuPont and several experts who had expressed their goodwill, politely thanked them, exchanged a few words, and agreed to have a purely academic discussion at a later time.

Just as she was about to leave with the delegation, a hoarse scream, filled with resentment and bitterness, came from behind her:

"Gu Baobao!!!"

Gu Baobao paused, but did not turn around immediately.

Gu Ningbao, drawing strength from who-knows-where, broke free from the policewoman's slight restraint and stumbled towards her, only to be stopped again. Her hair was disheveled, her makeup a mess, and she looked like a madwoman, screaming:

"Why?! On what grounds?! Just because you're more talented than me?! Just because you're lucky?! I refuse to accept this!!!"

This roar, carrying a code word only time travelers could understand, left those around it bewildered, dismissing it as the ravings of a loser.

Gu Baobao slowly turned around.

She showed no anger, no sarcasm, and not much emotion whatsoever. She simply looked at the seemingly insane woman before her with clear, calm, even somewhat sorrowful eyes.

She looked at that face, both familiar and unfamiliar, and at the jealousy and resentment that had burned within it for decades without ever being extinguished.

Then she spoke, her voice low, just so Gu Ningbao could hear:

"Talent?"

Gu Baobao repeated the word, a faint, almost bitter smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"I learned about medicine at the age of six, identified acupoints at the age of seven, and began to memorize the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic and the Treatise on Febrile Diseases at the age of eight. Every word was dry and obscure, and I would vomit from memorizing them. I even dreamed of medicine names and prescriptions."

"While other children were playing jump rope and hide-and-seek outside, I was sorting medicinal herbs with my master in the pharmacy. My hands were always covered with the smell of herbs and fine marks left from cutting them."

"At fifteen, I treated an external injury independently for the first time. My hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't hold the needle. My master scolded me severely. I cried while biting the blanket at night, and continued to practice the next day with swollen eyes."

"To figure out the proper processing temperature for a single herb, I can stay by the small medicine furnace for three days and three nights, observing every subtle change in color and aroma."

"No holidays, no fun, no freedom of choice. My life consists only of medical books, herbs, patients, and the frustration of never meeting my master's expectations. And the operating room!"

She moved closer to Gu Ningbao, her gaze like a mirror, reflecting the panic and emptiness in the other's eyes:

"And you, Gu Ningbao?"

When she clearly uttered the name, Gu Ningbao was struck dumb, her whole body trembled violently, and she stared at her in disbelief.

"At the family gathering, while you were showing off your new dress and jewelry to your cousins ​​and discussing where to go for the next trip, I was carrying out prescriptions in the backyard."

"While you were choosing which island had better scenery or which party was more lively during summer and winter camps, I was working the night shift in the emergency room of a hospital, treating bloody and mangled wounds."

"While you were complaining that your major was too difficult and your professors were too strict, and you were thinking about how to use your family connections to get a degree, I was in the lab, working on a set of data until the early hours of the morning."

"You said you didn't like the smell of disinfectant, you didn't like the groans of patients, you didn't like the endless classic texts you could never finish memorizing... You chose the easy, glamorous, and popular path."

Gu Baobao's voice was still very soft, but every word carried immense weight, striking Gu Ningbao's heart:

"So, stop talking about talent."

"All the talents you think I have are muscle memory that I have painstakingly built up over countless days and nights, giving up all the ease and enjoyment that you should have at your age, with sweat, tears, and even blood."

"It's the height that's built up from the time you spend playing, complaining, and scheming."

"The path you choose is your own. And you have to taste the fruit yourself."

After saying that, she stopped looking at Gu Ningbao's face, which had turned deathly pale and seemed devoid of any soul, and turned to walk towards Sui Jianguo, Lu Zhanming, and her comrades who were waiting for her.

His back was straight, and his steps were firm.

That pitiful creature, limp and exhausted, finally felt a belated sense of remorse for his absurd two-life existence.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the laboratory window, falling on the corridor where Gu Baobao had left—bright, open, and unstoppable.

Her battlefield lies ahead, in a wider world, in the places where she is truly needed and where her talent and effort are worthy of her dedication.

And all the scheming, jealousy, and resentment of those evil spirits will eventually be washed away by this sunlight.