Chapter 45 Baby, Don't Be Afraid
As if struck by lightning, Ying Shixue was stunned.
Xi Bojian turned around, opened the drawer of his desk, took out a reagent syringe, turned it to the white label side, and the cold glint of the needle tip flashed in the air.
The label was yellowed at the edges due to its age, and even the small black characters on it had faded and become blurry. Ying Shixue glanced at it, and Xi Bojian laughed: "You've seen this before, haven't you?"
The logo, formed by two intertwined Möbius strips, twists and turns like an unsolvable mystery. Below, the words "Medical Equipment" are faintly visible, and at the top, two silver dots resemble the sinister vertical pupils of a venomous snake.
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"Which dose of the drug have we tested today?"
"K47, sir, several patients have experienced severe rejection reactions and data is being recorded in the observation room."
"Yes, be careful. The checks have been strict lately. They even moved the lab once. It wasn't easy to get these kids with the same blood type as the young lady."
Young Ying Shixue collapsed weakly to the ground. For two or three days, she was only allowed to drink a little water to maintain her vital signs, supposedly to ensure that the experimental data would be more accurate and not be affected.
An experimenter had just finished drawing a vial of his blood; on the syringe label, the Möbius double ring resembled a cold, ouroboros.
He lay sprawled on the ground, his overly long black hair spilling out in front of his eyes, obscuring his vision. His arms, which were even bony for a child his age, were covered with countless needle marks of varying sizes.
He understood what those people meant: once the new reagent was injected and rejection occurred, the test subject would not be treated immediately. Instead, they would be moved to an observation room, where various data and reactions would be carefully recorded. During this time, no matter how much the test subject cried out in pain and begged for mercy, they would not be treated until they reached the critical value for life.
Will I one day die quietly like that...?
"Consciousness is already fading," Ying Shixue thought vaguely.
Most of them are orphans, abandoned from birth, without relatives or friends, with no one to grieve or rejoice for them. They live alone and die alone.
Like a piece of duckweed, forever adrift and lonely, until finally, without a trace, it is silently swept away by the torrent and completely disappears into the flood.
What's the point of living like this...?
Suddenly, my chin was lifted by a warm palm, and I felt a slight dampness on the tip of my nose.
Like a dying fish desperately drawing water, Ying Shixue tensed up and didn't even care about his appearance as he drank the little water. The water dripped down his lips as he gasped for breath. Suddenly, a piece of bread was brought to his lips.
What is this? Ying Shixue strained to see clearly, staring at the food in front of her with surprise and uncertainty.
Was this phase of the experiment over, or was it some new experimental method? Overwhelmed by hunger, he couldn't think too much and began to swallow and chew greedily.
Her throat couldn't adapt to his rough way of stuffing her throat in, and it protested uncontrollably. Ying Shixue was completely unaware of this, and a woman's low sigh rang in her ears.
"This place is going to explode in three hours."
"When the time comes, run away, run far away, and absolutely, absolutely do not look back."
-
Ying Shixue stood in the top-floor president's office of Sheng'an. The sun had already risen, shining on the window frame and reflecting a dazzling white light.
His throat muscles were so tense that they were trembling. He stared intently at the mark, his fingers twisting slightly.
Xi Bojian approached him: "Don't you think this trademark looks very similar to the trademark of a certain company in Fancheng?"
——Tianzhe Medical Equipment.
"Eight years ago, this company emerged as a dark horse, its iconic symbol 'X' signifying that medicine also holds countless unsolved mysteries..."
"And the predecessor of this Tianzhe was the former Zhifei Medical Devices Company under the SK Group."
Like a golden bell striking the sky with a resounding clang, a buzzing sound filled Ying Shixue's ears.
Ten years ago, a huge fire raged, illuminating half the sky in the dark night. The belated fire trucks sounded their sirens, and the red and blue flashing police lights drew the attention of the townspeople who had rushed from afar.
With his lungs nearly empty and his feet bleeding profusely from being stabbed, he looked back through the crowd, thinking, "One day I will bring all these bloody injustices and the innocent suffering of all these bewildered souls to light."
But what if he was on the wrong track from the very beginning?
Ying Shixue's lips trembled, and her whole body felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
If there was more than one mastermind behind what happened back then, and if SK had been involved for a long time, then so too had they.
In a flash, he recalled a photo he had stumbled upon in the exhibition hall during the Vanke City Business Summit, showing Song Zehe and Xi Zongbo shaking hands and chatting happily under the spotlight after reaching an agreement.
The black ouroboros coiled upwards, transforming into a colossal python that tightened its grip on its prey.
Fate, finally revealed its sinister smile through layers of mist and the depths of time.
-
Looking at the trembling, frail figure before him, Xi Bojian clicked his tongue in pity.
He took off his coat and draped it over the shoulders of the still-young boy who needed to wipe away the snow, saying, "You came out in too much of a hurry; you're all so cold."
Ying Shixue looked up at him; his pupils were as black as ink, and his skin appeared as white as if it had been washed with water in the light.
He spoke, his voice hoarse: "From the very beginning, you planned to prevent SK from escaping unscathed, didn't you?"
Xi Bojian hummed in agreement and laughed, "But I did complete the content of our collaboration... Well, that makes sense."
He already had a cold and sinister appearance and spoke casually. Now, the ruthlessness in his eyes and brows was even more chilling: "Xi Zongbo is at this age, he won't live for many more years. Once the old man dies, Sheng'an will fall into my hands."
“Over the past few decades, Shengan has stayed in Liancheng for too long. The southern market is saturated and it is difficult to make further progress, while the northern market is firmly occupied by SK... But my heart is no longer satisfied with what I have gained.”
"The cake is only so big; it's something that Xi Chengxu and those old fogies on the board of directors can't accomplish..."
He slowly shifted his gaze to Ying Shixue's exquisite, beautiful, and jade-carved face, a strange smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn't helped me so much with the project, I might have had to spend much more time to secure the position of the next successor."
"Things from so many years ago should have been forgotten, but you insisted on bringing them up again, determined to find some evidence and seek some justice..."
He reached out and pulled Ying Shixue's coat closer to her shoulders. To outsiders, they were actually very close, almost like lovers in an intimate pose.
Xi Bojian leaned close to his ear, her voice gentle, like that of the most tender lover:
"How does it feel to stab the person you least want to hurt with your own hands?"
Ying Shixue clenched her fists so tightly that even her knuckles showed bluish-white marks from the excessive force.
Xi Bojian stepped back slightly at the opportune moment: "By doing this, you have almost completely exposed yourself to Xi Zongbo. How could he possibly tolerate anyone who has something on him and harbors hatred towards him existing in this world? Today, I'm just here to talk to you..."
The underlying meaning is self-evident. If Xi Zongbo were to personally send someone to his door one day, Xi Bojian would look at him and say, "Song Mingli is struggling to take care of himself right now. He can't protect you. But I can give you a second option."
“Come with me,” he sighed, his eyes filled with deep ambition. “Together we will bring the Song family down. They’ve been on top for too long. I’ll help you take control of SK, and together we’ll crush all those who looked down on us.”
Ying Shixue's brows remained unchanged, but her eyelids lifted slightly. Xi Bojian smiled patiently and waited. Finally, Ying Shixue spoke—
"roll."
-
Economic activities have been suspended, and everyone in the company must have seen the news and is in a state of panic. Fang Zhi greeted him as soon as he saw him and said to Ying Shixue, "Pass down the notice that we will be on holiday starting tomorrow. Keep a low profile during this period and don't say anything unnecessary to the outside world."
Fang Zhi quickly wrote it down. He looked at Ying Shixue's cold profile, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back.
He ate a few bites in a hurry at noon. For a group as large as SK, it is simply impossible to stop all major economic cooperation. Ying Shixue's phone was ringing off the hook all afternoon. He communicated with and reassured the partners. By the time things were almost over, it was already 8 p.m.
Fang Zhi was also exhausted. He thought to himself that President Ying didn't seem to be in good health, but he didn't expect him to work so hard: "President Ying, shall I take you home?"
Ying Shixue shook her head and said calmly, "You should go back too. I need to go back to Fancheng."
Fang Zhi was taken aback: "It's so late today, it's not safe to drive on the road, how about tomorrow..."
“It’s alright,” Ying Shixue said, taking the car keys from the drawer and walking away.
The journey from Liancheng to Fancheng takes about four hours. Ying Shixue parked the car downstairs at the villa, but instead of going inside, she leaned on the car door with one hand and gazed at the warm light shining from the third-floor window.
That glimmer of light seemed to vanish in the boundless night, and he was hidden between the light and shadow. Finally, Ying Shixue turned off her phone, turned around to leave, and before she had taken two steps, the door suddenly opened.
Perhaps because of the high indoor temperature, Song Mingli was not wearing an outer garment. His black shirt accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his sharp and slender forearms as he slowly walked towards him.
It was clear that he hadn't rested well either, as there was a light bluish stubble on his lips.
Ying Shixue slowly raised his right hand, his knuckles slender and his fingertips trembling, trembling as he tried to get closer, without even realizing it himself.
Song Mingli grasped the back of his hand in mid-air, pulled him closer, lowered his head, and gently rubbed half of his face against his palm.
The slight tickling sensation of stubble against his palm made Ying Shixue tremble involuntarily, his eyelashes drooping. "I..." he began, only to find his throat dry. "SK..."
"Was it what happened during the day that scared you?" Song Mingli's palm was large, easily covering the entire back of his hand: "I've read those testimonies. If you really did it before, then admit it. If you didn't, no one can force a charge on you."
Ying Shixue: "Then, what if...?"
Song Mingli smiled and said, "Are you suggesting that SK might go bankrupt?"
The business world is like a battlefield; one wrong move can lead to total defeat. "Doing business well can be very rewarding, but high risk and high reward always go hand in hand. Every businessman is prepared to face the consequences of either making a fortune or losing everything before he takes action."
"After so many years in this business, I have a clear conscience and have nothing to hide. So, for a true businessman, the worst outcome is simply starting all over again."
He held Ying Shixue's hand reassuringly: "Baby, don't be afraid. I'm not one of those cowards who are useless without their parents. I won't let you suffer with me."
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