Chapter 12 Love-struck
Inside the highly private club, Yun Jin sent her location to Hua Cheng and then looked up at the man on the sofa opposite her.
The man, around fifty years old, with messy hair, wearing an ill-fitting plaid shirt and cotton-linen trousers, was carefully reading the clauses of the contract, word by word.
Half an hour had passed, and he had only read half of the ten-page contract. Yun Jin's assistant, Xiao Zhou, couldn't help but step forward: "Dr. Li, actually..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yun Jin raised her finger, signaling him not to say anything more.
Xiao Zhou nodded and silently stepped behind her.
The man then adjusted his glasses, looking confused: "What?"
Yun Jin smiled and said, "It's alright, take your time reading."
The man gave a hesitant reply and continued reading the articles.
Xiao Zhou was speechless.
The man in front of me is Dr. Li Yueshu, the head of the Hopkins Laboratory under Goethe Biotechnology and a key figure in the laboratory.
Two months ago, Yun Jin suddenly asked him to find a way to contact the head of the Hopkins Laboratory. So while he was looking for the person through various channels, he also took the opportunity to look into the laboratory.
In the more than 20 years since its establishment, the Hopkins Laboratory has only done two projects. One of them was about the erasure of specific memories. After more than ten years of research, it finally made some progress, but it was abruptly stopped because it was deemed to be "against human ethics and safety".
Another project currently underway is to investigate the relationship between recurrent trauma and brain tumors.
Although it is said to be in progress, in reality, no decent journal article has been published in five years. Goethe Biotech cut off their funding two years ago, and the researchers left one after another. Now, the entire laboratory is left with only Li Yueshu and his two students.
A complete shoddy operation.
Yun Jin didn't seem to think so. From their first phone conversation to today's in-person meeting, she took it very seriously. When she came today, she even made sure he brought a confidentiality agreement.
Oh, what Li Yueshu is studying carefully word by word now is the confidentiality agreement he brought.
Another ten minutes passed, and Li Yueshu began reading page eight.
Seeing that he would be gone for a while, Yun Jin went to the balcony for some fresh air, and Xiao Zhou immediately followed.
"President Yun." He closed the glass door to the balcony and looked at Yun Jin with a hint of hesitation.
Yun Jin: "Do you think I'm desperate and trying anything?"
"No, no..." Xiao Zhou waved his hands in fright, but then hesitated, "Well, I just don't understand. There are tons of labs researching brain tumors, and countless others with higher reputations and more achievements than them. Why did you choose them?"
Faced with Xiao Zhou's question, Yun Jin smiled and leaned against the railing, enjoying the breeze.
Looking at her wind-blown hair, Xiao Zhou's eyes revealed a hint of helplessness: "President Yun, I know you're worried about President Hua, and I'm worried about President Hua too, but shouldn't we be more rational, especially at times like this?"
He's been following Yun Jin since graduating from university, for five years now, and has never questioned her decisions in those five years, but today...
“I have no intention of collaborating with the Hopkins Laboratory,” Yun Jin said slowly.
Xiao Zhou looked up in confusion: "Huh?"
Yun Jin looked at him, her dark pupils clear: "I just want to find Li Yueshu to confirm something."
"ah……"
Knock knock knock.
There was a knock on the glass door. Yun Jin and Xiao Zhou turned around at the same time. Li Yueshu, who was leaning against the door, gave an awkward smile.
The glass door was very soundproof, so they weren't worried about him hearing anything. Yun Jin and Xiao Zhou exchanged a glance and went inside.
"Dr. Li, have you finished reading the confidentiality agreement?" Xiao Zhou asked respectfully.
Despite not recognizing the man's research capabilities, he still had to be extremely polite to him since he was a guest invited by General Manager Yun.
Li Yueshu appreciated his politeness and smiled gratefully upon hearing this: "I've read it, I've finished reading it."
“If you have no objections, please sign your name on the back,” Xiao Zhou said, squatting down in front of the coffee table as he turned the contract to the last page. “Once you sign, President Yun can discuss the details with you further.”
Li Yueshu readily agreed and quickly wrote his name on the pen.
The contract was in duplicate. After he signed it, Xiao Zhou put it away, then took out two thick file folders from his briefcase, placed them next to Yun Jin, and left first.
Only Li Yueshu and Yun Jin remained in the large reception room. Li Yueshu looked at President Yun, who was decades younger than him, and smiled awkwardly again.
Yun Jin smiled and was about to speak when Li Yueshu suddenly stood up.
"The current mainstream view in the medical community is that ordinary, repeated trauma is not a clear mechanism for the formation of brain tumors. However, the human brain is very delicate and complex, and there is no clear research to prove that trauma and its sequelae are completely unrelated to the formation of brain tumors..."
Yun Jin: "?"
“In recent years, there have been many studies exploring the link between tumors and trauma, but they haven’t been helpful for either subsequent treatment or early prevention… Trauma is basically caused by accidents, and as you know, Ms. Yun, accidents are unavoidable.” After Li Yueshu finished speaking, he looked at Yun Jin seriously, as if waiting for her to agree.
Yun Jin: "...Mm."
Li Yueshu nodded and continued, "Because it offers no benefit and has no economic prospect, such discussions remain superficial. Our Hopkins lab is the only one conducting in-depth research. Among our current subjects, one-third had experienced repeated brain injuries before developing brain tumors. I firmly believe that I will soon be able to prove the link between trauma and tumors..."
He spoke passionately, and soon his mouth was dry and foam appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Yun Jin poured a glass of water and gently pushed it in front of him.
"Thank you," Li Yueshu said, picking up his glass and downing it in one gulp. His eyes shone as he looked at her. "Did you understand?"
Yun Jin carefully considered her words before speaking: "Actually, I already knew about your research a long time ago, so there's no need for you to go through with it again."
Li Yueshu was stunned: "No...you don't need to?"
As the head of the laboratory, he often had to go out to solicit sponsorships and was quite familiar with the process.
Generally speaking, when wealthy people fund research projects, they will ask the person in charge to give a speech. Although they may not understand a word, it has become a necessary procedure, just like washing hands before meals.
Yun Jin then said...no need?
Yun Jin smiled and spoke again, "No need."
"Ah..." Li Yueshu didn't know what to say.
Yun Jin pushed the file folder next to her to him: "Take a look at this."
Li Yueshu quickly took it with both hands and hurriedly took out the documents inside.
The first page contains CT scan images.
Li Yueshu expressed surprise: "Such a large area of diffuse tumor is extremely rare."
Yun Jin smiled politely, but there was no smile in her eyes.
Li Yueshu wanted to say something more, but suddenly caught a glimpse of the name in the upper left corner of the document.
Huacheng.
...If he remembered correctly, this CEO Yun's husband, the chairman of the board of directors of Yuncheng Technology, also had this name.
Li Yueshu immediately fell silent, flipping through the documents page by page, even slower than when reading the confidentiality agreement.
Yun Jin was very patient and sat there quietly waiting for him to finish reading.
Nearly an hour later, Li Yueshu finally looked at her and asked, "What is your purpose in showing me these materials?"
Yun Jin smiled gently: "You have come into contact with many brain tumor patients who have suffered severe brain injuries in recent years. I would like to ask you to judge whether his tumor is related to repeated trauma."
Li Yueshu carefully reviewed the video footage, saying in a low voice as he did so, "Based on this data, there are certain similarities between them and my research subjects who suffered brain injuries before their illness... Has President Hua also been injured before?"
Yun Jin nodded: "When he was twenty, he worked in a rather chaotic place and was even kidnapped. He suffered three brain injuries in just six months. In addition, he had previous injuries, so he should meet the criteria for 'recurrent trauma' that you mentioned."
“No wonder…” Li Yueshu flipped through a few more pages, “At twenty, the brain is undergoing its final maturation. Frequent injuries during this period, without systematic rehabilitation, can easily lead to cell damage, resulting in further intracranial trauma…”
"So you also think that he became ill because of repeated trauma?" Yun Jin asked.
Li Yueshu, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, suddenly looked troubled: "President Yun, although I believe my research will succeed sooner or later, it hasn't been recognized by the medical community yet, so I can't..."
"I just want an answer." Yun Jin looked straight at him.
Li Yueshu remained silent for a long time before saying, "I see that these medical records include genetic screening, and all the common factors that cause brain tumors have been ruled out. So... it's very likely that the brain cells are cancerous due to repeated trauma."
A qualified researcher cannot draw such conclusions without substantial data and experimental results to support them.
But looking into Yun Jin's eyes, he couldn't help but give an affirmative answer.
“President Yun, regarding President Hua’s condition…” Li Yueshu sighed as he looked at Hua Cheng’s lesion image, “You need to be mentally prepared.”
Yun Jin ignored his words of comfort, casually tapping her wristwatch on her left wrist with her right hand: "So, if he hadn't suffered those injuries when he was 20, would he not have gotten sick?"
"Theoretically speaking, that's true."
Unfortunately, theory is theory, and reality is reality. Time cannot be turned back, space cannot be reversed, and there are not so many "what ifs" in the world.
Li Yueshu pursed her lips, her face showing sympathy.
Yun Jin simply smiled, stood up, and elegantly shook hands with him: "Dr. Li, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to see me. I will have my secretary transfer the sponsorship funds for the laboratory within a week. If you encounter any financial difficulties in the future, you can also contact me directly."
"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Yun..."
After saying goodbye to Li Yueshu, Yun Jin didn't let Xiao Zhou see her off and walked out alone.
The weather is nice today. The air is cool and refreshing, with the pleasant feeling of autumn, but not too cold. It feels like there's still some warmth left over from summer.
Yun Jin carried her bag and slowly walked out of the club.
Across the wide, empty road, an SUV was parked quietly. Hua Cheng was leaning against the car door, lost in thought, when he saw her and immediately smiled.
He arrived three hours ago, and because Yun Jin told him to wait, he obediently waited until now.
He is 32 years old this year. They have known each other for 11 years. When they first met, he wasn't so obedient until they started dating.
Hua Cheng always seems shrewd and cunning in business, but he's actually a hopeless romantic. Being friends, partners, or family with him is not as good as being in a romantic relationship with him.
He will only obey unconditionally if you establish a romantic relationship with him.
Yun Jin stood by the roadside, looking at Hua Cheng across the street, her right hand casually resting on her wristwatch.
Having spent so much time with President Hua, it's time to go back and visit her little waiter.
A note from the author:
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Friends, let's get down to business (this sentence sounds so cheesy, haha).
The next chapter will be available for purchase. It will be updated tomorrow night at midnight, so please remember to check back!
Note: As of September 14, 2025, the medical community does not agree that recurrent trauma is one of the causes of malignant tumors; all information is based on the assumptions presented in this article.
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