late at night
For the next two weeks, Ren Xiao and Bai Yi were dealing with the accident that occurred when the new drug was being used on mice.
After discussing things again with her senior brother He, who was far away in the southwest, and set a new direction, Ren Xiao started to get busy with her experiments again. Bai Yi came to think about Jian, but was only busy slacking off next to her making perfume.
To appease Ren Xiao, Bai Yi often invited him to dinner in the evenings.
Ren Xiao had been eating at the dinners arranged by Boss Zhong so often that he had no complaints.
When the tea was ready, she called her senior brother and asked him to come to Sijian Pharmacy to pick it up when he had time. Coincidentally, Lu Xin was playing cards with his friends. He glanced at Zhong Yunxi at the card table and asked Bai Yi with a smile, "Junior sister, am I the only one who has it?"
Bai Yi casually said, "You and Yu Shiyuan."
Lu Xin was taken aback: "How come Yu Shiyuan got to get a bottle too?"
Bai Yi was packing her things to leave and didn't say much to him: "I asked him to help me find a certain medicine to repay a favor."
Lu Xin said in a low voice, "Oh, so Zhong Yunxi isn't one, right?"
Bai Yi was speechless: "He has everything he could want, he wouldn't care about this kind of thing."
Lu Xin: ...
"I'm hanging up now. Remember to come pick it up when you have time."
Bai Yi and Ren Xiao left the lab and pressed the elevator button to go to the underground parking garage.
The elevator stopped after going down two floors, and a few people got on.
Bai Yi had visited Sijian several times and knew that this floor was Sijian's board office.
She didn't expect to run into Wen Ying here. Wen Ying was on the phone with someone. When she saw Bai Yi, she nodded slightly, stepped into the elevator, and continued talking on the phone until she got out of the elevator.
As soon as Wen Ying stepped out of the elevator, she reached into her bag, pulled out her keys, unlocked the car, and headed straight for it. She continued her rapid-fire phone conversation without a moment to exchange pleasantries with Bai Yi.
After she walked away, Ren Xiao mentioned to Bai Yi, "I told you last time that the new project director in management was supposedly poached from a foreign company with a hefty sum, and he's really capable."
Bai Yi knew Wen Ying's prowess better than Ren Xiao.
She lost to her at cards, causing Zhong Yunxi to lose 100 million.
The driver took the two to a restaurant. Ren Xiao noticed that Bai Yi seemed inexplicably downcast and was more distracted during the meal.
"Eat properly. Don't act like you haven't eaten at all every time you eat with me. Boss Zhong will think I've done something to you." Ren Xiao reminded him helplessly several times.
Ren Xiao understood her. At least when they were working together on experiments, she wasn't unreasonable; she was much more gentle and docile. Although she had the typical laziness and pickiness of a working person, she wouldn't argue back or hold a grudge if he nagged her a little.
Ren Xiao often sighed that it was nothing to make men like you, but to make women soften their hearts was a real talent.
But who could resist such an adorable partner?
Ren Xiao's nagging at the dinner table had some effect. She ate a few more spoonfuls of seafood risotto.
A few days later, Yu Shiyuan called Bai Yi and said, "Your senior brother said you finished making the perfume for us? He asked me to pick it up and deliver it to him, and he also said that I was just freeloading off him."
Bai Yi was speechless. Lu Xin was really something, making up lies with such seriousness to trick Yu Shiyuan into running errands.
She just laughed and said, "I didn't go to Sijian Lab today, you can go to Ren Xiao to get it."
Yu Shiyuan paused for two seconds, "Let's do it another day, I'm a bit rushed today. Have you been busy with Sijian lately?"
He went to Runhe Pharmacy twice, but didn't see her either time.
Bai Yi hummed in agreement, "A few days will pass in a week."
Yu Shiyuan laughed and said, "Then I'll call you another day when I go. By the way, what scent is your perfume?"
"The aroma of tea."
Yu Shiyuan offered his own reason: "Isn't it difficult to make calamus?"
Bai Yi was too lazy to explain, and simply hummed in agreement.
On the last day of the week, he went to Runhe in the afternoon but still didn't run into Baiyi, so he thought he'd try his luck at Sijian.
Si Jian called Bai Yi, and she said she was there.
"Can outsiders come into the lab, or should I wait for you in the parking lot?"
Bai Yi said, "Come on up, I'll meet you at the elevator."
As soon as Yu Shiyuan entered the lab, Ren Xiao teased him, "You really know how to pick your time."
He guessed that the two of them were going out for dinner that night, and since they were already there, there was no reason not to invite him to join them. He laughed and said, "I happen to have a bottle of wine in the car, so it's not like I'm eating for free."
Bai Yi handed him the two bottles of perfume. "These are for my senior brother. I haven't had time to visit him lately, so please bring them to him when you have time."
He then opened it and tried it, laughing and saying, "Could I perhaps use this bottle to mask the odor?"
Bai Yi glanced at him: "This thing is worth at most two hundred yuan on the market. Are you serious? I doubt even your senior brother has ever used such cheap perfume."
Making perfume for Zhong Yunxi, although it took some time to design and select raw materials, was just a side project during the new drug experiment. Lu Xin and Yu Shiyuan's projects were even more effortless by chance.
Yu Shiyuan just smiled and didn't say anything more.
He sat in the lab watching the two of them busy at the lab bench; there was still an hour before he was supposed to get off work.
Bai Yi wasn't as quick as Ren Xiao when conducting experiments. Her movements were meticulous and orderly, unhurried and easy to watch.
When I left Sijian, I ran into Wenying in the underground parking lot. She was standing next to the elevator, her hands in her pockets, her coat collar slightly turned up, outlining her elegant jawline, as if she was waiting for her driver.
Wen Ying stared unfocused at a Rolls-Royce Phantom in the distance. She knew it was Zhong Yunxi's car, but she hadn't seen Zhong Yunxi come to Sijian's board office that afternoon.
Seeing someone approaching out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head and saw Bai Yi. She realized the car was there to pick up Bai Yi. She nodded slightly as usual. When Bai Yi got closer, Wen Ying asked with a smile, "I haven't seen you at dinner parties much lately. How about we get together for a small gathering tonight?"
Bai Yi shook his head: "I made plans to have dinner with some friends."
Wen Ying laughed and said, "I won't drag you to play cards anymore."
Bai Yi: ...
"It wasn't because of playing cards..." she tried to defend herself, but she didn't sound very confident.
Wen Ying took a small box out of her bag and handed it to her: "I just received this bracelet today. It's for you. Last time you lost at cards, Zhong Yunxi gave me a good project as a thank you gift."
Bai Yi declined, "No need. You already gave it to me last time."
But Wen Ying still said the same thing: "If you don't like it, you can give it away. In business, we believe in reciprocity. That project really did benefit from your help."
Wen Ying then asked with a smile, "Is it because Zhong Yunxi is afraid you'll lose again that he's not letting you go?"
Bai Yi: ...
She shook her head. Zhong Yunxi wanted to introduce her to social circles, but she didn't like them.
In the end, she accepted Wen Ying's bracelet.
Before parting, Wen Ying briefly introduced herself to Ren Xiao and Yu Shiyuan.
As soon as they got in the car, Bai Yi handed the bracelet to Ren Xiao.
She didn't know why, but she felt awkward accepting Wen Ying's friendliness. Unlike Meng Shuang and Ren Xiao, Wen Ying was a work partner and it was natural for them to be close.
Because of the women Zhong Yunxi knew, she already wanted to avoid them psychologically.
Ren Xiao looked puzzled: "You know her? I didn't hear you mention her when we met last time."
Bai Yi didn't know how to explain, "I don't know her. She knows Zhong Yunxi, and they seem to be quite close. They're in the same circle of childhood friends."
Ren Xiao hesitated, knowing that the elite circles were definitely more entangled than the middle-class circles like theirs.
The middle class often focuses on fulfilling emotional needs within their own families, offering only small-scale financial assistance. In contrast, the considerations behind the connections within wealthy families often extend to the rise and fall of families spanning decades or even centuries.
Ren Xiao had never heard of Boss Zhong's gossip and scandals before, and Bai Yi seemed reluctant to talk about Boss Zhong with her, so she didn't think much of it.
But today she saw Bai Yi talking to Wen Ying, and although Wen Ying had been with Sijian for more than half a month and they had never interacted, she often heard people from other departments say that Wen Ying had a strong personality and acted decisively.
Ren Xiao was alarmed to learn that Bai Yi was Zhong Yunxi's childhood friend. If there were any real entanglements, Bai Yi would be no match for Wen Ying, and it would be easy for Wen Ying to steal Bai Yi away.
Yu Shiyuan also asked, "You're forming a small clique? You must know all of them, right?"
Bai Yi nodded.
Ren Xiao looked at the bracelet, put it away, and said with a smile, "Are you guys so generous with gifts?"
Bai Yi shook his head: "I didn't know that before. They only played cards for winning and losing, so I stopped playing cards with them."
"What? You can't beat them?" Ren Xiao laughed at her.
Bai Yi glanced at her, pursed his lips, and remained silent.
Ren Xiao laughed uncontrollably: "Even Boss Zhong doesn't care about you?"
"It's not easy to cheat, since he'll be the one who loses anyway."
Ren Xiao still offered a suggestion: "You should socialize with Boss Zhong more often. Anyway, he's very wealthy. If you give him a few bags, he'll be overjoyed."
Bai Yi shook his head. "It's boring."
Yu Shiyuan glanced at her through the endoscope and said, "If you don't like it, don't go. There's no need to cater to other people's preferences. Zhong Yunxi can't even balance this kind of thing, can he?"
Ren Xiao didn't speak again; some things shouldn't be said too bluntly. He just let out a long sigh. He secretly cursed Yu Shiyuan, thinking, "A man's heart is unfathomable; he probably couldn't be happier."
While Bai Yi, Ren Xiao, and Yu Shiyuan arrived at the restaurant, Wen Ying took her seat at another gathering.
Besides those playing cards and drinking, there were also people singing in the private room today.
Wen Ying glanced at the seats and went to sit not far from Zhong Yunxi. It wasn't that she was deliberately getting close; she genuinely had work-related matters to discuss with him.
Zhong Yunxi had his jacket draped over the back of the sofa, and his tie, though slightly loosened, was still on, suggesting he had come directly from the company.
Inside the music room, colorful light balls on the ceiling were spinning. When Wen Ying looked to the side, the lights reflected off his profile and the corners of his eyes, creating a colorful and shadowy effect.
She felt a sense of familiarity, and after a moment's thought, she recalled a scene from a New York bar five years ago.
She was actually drunk at the time, but she remembered the calm and indifferent look on his face very clearly.
Zhong Yunxi was arranging the cards in his hand when he saw Wen Ying come over to clink glasses. He picked up his glass, gave a slight nod, took a sip, and then put it down, discarding a card.
Wen Ying mentioned to him, "Sijian has several biopharmaceuticals and chemical drugs under development. I plan to cut some positions in the R&D department and have them cooperate more deeply with CRO companies. Although Sijian has also tried outsourcing, it's mainly production outsourcing, which is not enough. They still handle a lot of cumbersome tasks in the R&D process themselves. The cost is too high. Now, leading pharmaceutical companies have already outsourced very deeply. Sijian is still too conservative in this regard."
Zhong Yunxi looked at the cards in his hand, seemingly pondering whether to play a card or to consider Wen Ying's words. After a dozen seconds, he drew a card, threw it out, and nodded: "No problem. Since the management rights have been transferred to M&K, just follow your plan."
Wen Ying added a few more words of explanation: "M&K Capital has many CRO company resources, so there won't be any problems. This decision will likely need your approval vote at the board meeting."
Zhong Yunxi answered almost without hesitation this time: "Okay."
He makes decisions quickly and without saying a word of unnecessary words; his calm and efficient nature is so great that it can be intimidating.
Those in high positions should avoid micromanaging and refusing to delegate power. Otherwise, subordinates will repeatedly ask for instructions and be pulled back and forth, eventually leading to a blurring of power and responsibility.
But Zhong Yunxi's attitude of "I'll give you all the power you want, you'd better do something to satisfy me" makes people feel even more guilty.
Wen Ying had never seen him show any warmth or pity, except for Bai Yi.
The more she drank, the more agitated she became. Wen Ying opened a bottle of sparkling water and took a few sips to calm herself down.
She feigned composure: "I knew you would agree. I came from Sijian today and saw Baiyi having dinner with two friends, so I gave her a little something."
Zhong Yunxi then looked up, his brows furrowing slightly. "There's no need for that in the future. I'll arrange her gift. She doesn't like complicated social interactions. If you set this precedent, other partners will follow suit, and she won't be happy about that."
It is very common for business partners to take shortcuts by giving gifts to family members in order to deepen their relationship or to climb the social ladder. Zhong Yunxi's family members are basically not in Hong Kong and have not thought much about such things in recent years. Now that Baiyi is involved, it is inevitable that some people will have such thoughts.
Wen Ying laughed and said, "It's not all business."
"That's not necessary. Her social circle doesn't overlap with yours. If she doesn't come, you don't need to bother her." Zhong Yunxi knew that Bai Yi didn't like his social circle and never forced her to come. He didn't want to cause her any trouble because of himself.
After finishing a hand of cards, he shook one finger, indicating that he wouldn't play the next round. The atmosphere at the table had become awkward, and someone tried to smooth things over with a smile, "Anyone want to request a song?"
"Please play 'Forever My Old Love'."
A moment later, music started playing, and Wen Ying heard a gentle and melancholic female voice singing.
"...
...
Now, love and hate are intertwined, destined to be apart, forever a former lover.
Could you provide a substitute who resembles you?
Unfortunately, a certain memory from a certain day has pierced my soul.
To remain clear-headed, we must refuse to let tragedy become an excuse for indulging in misery.
Now, powerless to control love and hate, I bid farewell to my former lover.
Looking back, I was too harsh that day; I didn't mean what I said.
If they stay and there's no further attempt to salvage the relationship, then the story will have no future.
I'll give you your freedom, even if you're not happy about it.
...
..."
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