Chapter 33 Disillusionment: A Thankless Task
33
As the banquet progressed, more and more people gathered, and she walked around the venue, observing everything.
During this time, there were quite a few well-dressed men and women who noticed her as a new face and came up to chat with her, but the conversation was usually limited to polite greetings. Meng Yao was not a particularly talkative person, and whenever the conversation delved into her family background or certain niche cultural circles, she could only respond with a polite smile.
After the other party noticed, they politely ended the conversation and turned to find someone with whom they had more in common.
After several such incidents, Meng Yao's initial smugness due to her increased fame was quickly dampened by reality.
I thought I had been quite a figure of controversy lately, but only after arriving here did I truly realize that in the eyes of the real elite circles, her achievements were just fleeting topics of conversation, and even the identity of "internet celebrity" carried an inherent and subtle prejudice.
If it weren't for her status as Fang Huaixu's wife, she wouldn't even have the right to enter this place.
A subtle sense of loss quietly swept through my heart.
However, it was fleeting. Self-pity has never been her style, especially since she is only 24 years old. She has carved out her own path on the internet with no one to rely on but her own strength. Now she can face the camera with ease and has overcome countless haters and public opinion crises.
The more she thought about it, the prouder she became. Thinking about her words to the reporter earlier, the corners of her mouth practically turned up to the sky.
Although she benefited from someone else's influence, she is now able to wear haute couture gowns and freely converse at such top-tier charity galas, far ahead of her peers.
She even smugly imagined that if her outfit and performance on the red carpet were captured by some media outlet and posted online, it would attract countless envious glances, greatly benefiting her newly improved public image and making her even more certain that things would only get better and better in the future.
With this in mind, she suddenly understood, and that insignificant internal conflict vanished instantly. She stopped waiting passively and, with a learning attitude, actively sought out conversational circles she could join.
She chose a small group that seemed to have a relatively peaceful atmosphere and stood quietly on the periphery to listen.
They discussed economic trends and investments in emerging technologies. Meng Yao didn't understand many of the technical terms, but she had a good memory and was good at capturing key information. Occasionally, during breaks in the conversation, someone would notice her interacting, and she would gradually begin to offer some of her own opinions and perspectives.
The atmosphere gradually became more harmonious, and she began to make her own plans.
Although she couldn't lead the conversation, Fang Huaixu was the main character at the banquet. By simply posing a few questions, the discussion could easily steer towards Tianmu Group's research and development direction: the clues she could gather on her own were limited, and obtaining professional evaluations from industry insiders would also be beneficial to her judgment.
Finally, someone brought up a familiar topic: "Speaking of which, Mr. Fang is really young and promising. He's been working on precision medicine recently, right? The prospects are very good."
Meng Yao opened her eyes wide and continued to steer the conversation in the direction she wanted to hear: "So President Li is also very interested in Tianmu's business."
Mr. Li smiled modestly: "I only know a little bit about it."
The refined and experienced gentleman beside him shook his head: "Fang Huaixu is a top-notch person, but he is sometimes too idealistic. To be honest, kindness is not necessarily a good thing in the business world."
After he finished speaking, he took a sip of his wine and sighed: "Take that special drug project that he is currently pushing forward. I have seen it. Anyone with eyes can see that it requires a huge investment and has a long payback period. I have calculated the costs with him. Even if everything goes smoothly and it is launched, according to their original plan for universal pricing, it will take at least forty or fifty years to recover the R&D costs invested in the early stage."
“This is a losing business,” Mr. Li sighed. “It doesn’t even include pilot production, capacity expansion, channel construction, and all the potential risks. Right now, major pharmaceutical companies are going crazy with profits. Tianmu’s focus on this niche target is well-intentioned… but it has no business logic and will suffer huge losses.”
Meng Yao felt uneasy after hearing this. Someone next to her spoke up for her, jokingly teasing, "He's a conscientious entrepreneur, spending money on charity. Tianmu has its own R&D team and its size can withstand such losses. You two heartless old foxes are just deliberately cursing him to be unhappy."
Instead of being angry, the group burst into laughter. Mr. Li sighed helplessly, "They're young and inexperienced. Even if they believe they're fulfilling their social responsibility, the business world isn't a laboratory. You can't expect results just by working hard. This is a brand-new drug, which is inherently controversial. Even if they're willing to offer discounts, they can't operate at a complete loss. If there are any problems with pricing or feedback, people will seize on them. How many small and medium-sized enterprises have been stifled like this over the years?"
After Mr. Li finished speaking, a look of regret and sigh appeared in his eyes: "Human hearts are unpredictable. It's truly a pity."
Meng Yao listened quietly, her heart stirred slightly.
Previously, she had only heard Fang Huaixu's obsession with the special medicine from the perspective of his commemoration of his mother and his personal ideals. This was the first time she had heard someone objectively talk about the project from a business perspective, which was almost a gamble that went against the nature of capital.
Thinking of the mountain of research materials in Fang Huaixu's study, she felt conflicted. She had originally been extremely resistant and fearful of letting her grandmother participate in clinical trials, always feeling that it would put her loved one at uncontrollable risk.
But hearing these industry insiders generally pessimistic about the commercial prospects of this project seems to confirm, from another angle, the purity of Fang Huaixu's pursuit of this project.
If he were pursuing commercial success, he would never choose such a path with such little reward. Based on her understanding and investigation over the past few days, the option she had so firmly rejected no longer seemed so unacceptable.
She quietly withdrew from the conversation and went to a corner to think. Chen Jie suddenly came to her side and whispered, "President Meng, President Fang has some urgent business to attend to and may not be able to leave after the banquet. He asked me to tell you that if you feel bored, you can go back now."
Fang Huaixu was always very busy with work, so Meng Yao didn't have much doubt: "Okay, you go ahead and get busy, I'll go back by myself later."
Chen Jie responded and left.
Meng Yao exchanged contact information with several people she got along well with, and estimating that it was about time, she got up to leave through the back door.
But halfway there, she suddenly remembered that the cumbersome shawl had been given to Chen Jie and placed in the lounge. Meng Yao thought of reminding Chen Jie and sent him a message, but he was probably busy with work and didn't reply. She asked a staff member and learned that the lounge wasn't far from there, so she took a detour back.
But the backstage area was larger than she had imagined, with long, winding corridors that seemed to stretch endlessly. The room signs were also unclear, and Meng Yao found herself somewhat lost after wandering around for a while. She quickly stopped a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, how do I get to Mr. Fang Huaixu's lounge?"
The man pointed to the end of the corridor: "It's a room at the very end, there's a nameplate on the door."
After thanking the man, Meng Yao walked in the direction he pointed. The door to the room at the end was ajar, and she could vaguely hear some noises and voices coming from it.
Was Fang Huaixu talking to someone in the lounge?
She was puzzled and unconsciously slowed her pace, not wanting to disturb them, until a soft, almost sticky breath suddenly came from inside.
Meng Yao froze instantly, her mind went blank, but she was already standing at the door.
Through that tiny crack, she could clearly see two entangled figures on the sofa inside the door, clothes scattered all over the floor, and a beautiful and familiar profile fiercely pressing down on the woman's neck.
The woman gripped his arm tightly, her soft voice urgent: "Mr. Fang, please don't... Huai Xu..."
In an instant, the world spun around.
Meng Yao's eyes widened, her pupils constricted, and she could not believe what she was seeing.
The comments about him I heard at the banquet still lingered in my ears, and his deep and sincere praise in the car was still imprinted in my mind. All the carefully constructed understanding and budding feelings I had built up collapsed at this moment with the ambiguous address.
She didn't know how long she had been frozen like that, until her eyes stung with tears. Then a strong feeling of nausea surged up from her stomach, and she abruptly covered her mouth, almost staggering as she turned and fled.
She ran fast and fast, the sound of her high heels hitting the ground was particularly jarring in the empty corridor, each beat more rapid and broken than the last, her heartbeat accompanied by a dull pain in her heaving chest.
In her panic, she just wanted to find a secluded place to calm down, and eventually rushed into an empty restroom, gasping for breath.
That person just now... Fang Huaixu, how could he be...?
She frowned deeply, unable to express her feelings. When she looked up, her face, as pale as paper, was reflected in the mirror, filled with shock and hurt.
Anger, sadness, frustration, and an indescribable sense of loss surged up instantly. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost pierced her palms.
How could it not be him...? How could she be so foolish as to trust someone who came from the same background as Lin Tianhai after less than half a year of getting to know each other, and even consider including him in her life-or-death decision-making process?
She felt her breathing tremble and quickly turned on the tap to wet her face, trying to clear her head. But the moment the cold water touched her skin, she trembled even more violently, and the feeling of nausea became clearer.
"Oh? All alone, beautiful?"
Just then, a man reeking of alcohol appeared behind her without her noticing, put his arm around her shoulder without any sense of boundaries, and offered her a cigarette: "Here for a smoke? Have one with me."
The strong smell of smoke mixed with alcohol made her so nauseous she almost vomited. Without any politeness, she shook off his hand and turned to leave.
She had barely taken half a step when the man, relentless, grabbed her wrist forcefully: "Don't be so disrespectful! We're all here to have fun, what are you pretending for?"
He practically shoved the cigarette in her face: "You look unfamiliar, new to the scene? Let's chat, if we have a good chat, we can become friends..."
Meng Yao's wrist was gripped so tightly it hurt. She tried to break free, but the drunkard was unexpectedly strong. People occasionally passed by, but they only gave her indifferent or amused glances. This man seemed to have some influence; his arrogant demeanor made people reluctant to provoke him.
She was feeling nauseous and anxious, and was quickly weighing the consequences of turning against him when a slender hand suddenly reached out and slapped away the person's hand that was offering her a cigarette!
A loud, shrill curse rang out: "This is a banquet hall, not a pigsty! You two lowlifes, you've had a little horse piss and you're already acting like idiots! One of you can't control your lower body, and the other pounces on anything decent, blocking your grandma's way to pee!"
Meng Yao looked in the direction of the sound and froze again.
The female voice came from none other than Lin Yue, who hadn't been seen in public for a long time.
Author's Note: Failed to add an extra chapter (collapses in despair). I'm not going to make any promises. I've been traveling for work, but the project ends next Wednesday. I'll definitely update as much as I can then to make up for it. For now, I'll update as soon as I write something.
Rest assured, Fang Huaixu is clean and pure. [Good]
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