The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 107

He Dayong’s face changed dramatically. The small record book hit him with such force that he stumbled back two steps, not even daring to catch it.

The record book slipped from him, scattering awkwardly across the floor and landing over the tips of He Dayong’s polished shoes.

The once-busy workroom fell silent. The advanced ventilation system seemed as though it had been stuffed with cotton, the narrow corridor’s air pressure rising steadily, squeezing painfully against everyone’s eardrums.

The Qingrui manager froze in place, Li Rong’s words hitting him like a heavy hammer, leaving his scalp tingling.

This was supposed to be foolproof.

There should have been no issue.

Never had he imagined encountering someone who not only understood how to verify raw paper records but could also identify forged aging techniques on the paper itself.

He lowered his head to stare at the records scattered on the floor. The slightly curled, softened, and faintly yellowed edges of the pages betrayed no discernible difference between three years of aging and five. Even with countless pairs of eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to tell.

Time stretched and seemed to freeze, leaving the impression that the scene unfolding before them was nothing more than an absurd farce.

Perhaps, once this act concluded, everything would return to normal.

In less than two days, Meijiang Pharmaceuticals would completely sever its ties with the Blue Pivot United Commerce Association.

So why was this happening?

Why could this young man see through the forgery?

After an indeterminate period of icy silence, the tension finally showed signs of easing.

Yu Fuyan gasped audibly.

He stood beside Li Rong, mimicking his effort to review over thirty record books but hadn’t noticed a single flaw.

He had assumed that Li Rong’s rapid flipping was fruitless, only to realize Li Rong wasn’t scrutinizing the data at all—he had been examining the paper itself.

In mere seconds, Yu Fuyan experienced the thrilling shift from despair to an astonishing turnaround. Since joining District Nine and becoming part of Cen Xiao’s team, he had never imagined such a reversal.

Just moments earlier, Han Jiang had personally delivered their “death sentence.” Du Mingli had already begun his self-reflection, and the entire Ghost Eye team had given up. Yet, in an instant, everything had changed.

The record book containing the raw data wasn’t from Yuanhesheng—it was from Qingrui.

It turned out Meijiang Pharmaceuticals was truly finished!

Geng An stared at Li Rong’s back in stunned silence.

Having worked with Li Rong for months, he had recognized his junior’s exceptional talent, though he had never fully understood how Li Rong had earned a spot in Zhang Zhaohe’s class.

Now, he finally understood why Cen Xiao had sought Li Rong’s assistance.

Li Rong wasn’t just excellent—he was unfathomable.

It all became clear: why Cen Xiao remained composed despite Han Jiang’s message, and why he refused to let anyone disturb Li Rong.

It was trust—complete and unwavering trust in Li Rong.

Even with only two days left, Li Rong wouldn’t allow them to leave empty-handed.

The Qingrui manager stiffly bent down and picked up the record book from He Dayong’s shoes. He buried his face in the pages, feigning serious scrutiny, his eyes roving over the naturally aged-looking sheets. Finally, he raised his head with a forced smile, his voice trembling slightly.

“You must have been mistaken, young man. It wouldn’t do to create a misunderstanding, would it?”

Li Rong shot him a cold glance before turning to He Dayong. His tone was icy.

“President He, why don’t you personally feel the fibers of the paper? If you suddenly find yourself lacking expertise, chemical testing will surely provide us with an answer.”

The muscles in He Dayong’s face twitched slightly. His expression darkened as he silently snatched the record book from the manager’s hands.

As a seasoned collector, he could tell at a glance that the paper’s fibers showed signs of artificial aging consistent with five or six years, and the work was sloppy—not every corner or page had been treated uniformly.

The last investigator, Li Baishou, had failed to notice because of a gap in his expertise.

They had naturally assumed that the raw data records would pass inspection.

But they hadn’t anticipated that a seemingly ornamental university student would uncover the flaw—not in the data, but in the paper itself.

It was absurd. Ridiculous!

These records contained Qingrui’s data—Qingrui, the cornerstone of Meijiang Pharmaceuticals, its vital product.

But Qingrui was reliable, effective, and had passed years of market tests, gaining recognition from countless patients.

Unlike Yuanhesheng, Meijiang hadn’t cut corners with this drug.

He Dayong felt a bitter unwillingness.

Cen Xiao broke the tense silence. “President He, would you care to explain why a conscientious company would falsify its data?”

He Dayong remained silent for a long moment before letting out a low chuckle. This time, however, his laugh lacked its former confidence.

He sighed. “I genuinely don’t see any issues with the paper. Human eyes are prone to error, especially for someone so young. In that case, let’s wait for the chemical test results to confirm.”

At this point, all he could do was stall for time.

Chemical tests wouldn’t yield results immediately, giving him a chance to maneuver.

Once these two days passed and Meijiang Pharmaceuticals exited Blue Pivot, everything could be reshuffled.

Seeing his boss regain his composure, the Qingrui manager also felt reassured.

After all, they weren’t alone—they had Suhe Biotech and Jiang Zhong, the president of the Sixth District, backing them. There had to be a way out.

Yu Fuyan instinctively grabbed two record books and held them tightly, fearing He Dayong might attempt to swap them out.

Geng An’s frown deepened, his eyes filled with disdain.

He Dayong was clearly making a desperate attempt to salvage the situation. From the expressions of everyone in Meijiang Pharmaceuticals, Geng An was sure Li Rong’s accusation was spot on.

Cen Xiao and Li Rong, however, remained calm. They understood that a cunning man like He Dayong would fight to the very last moment, even as a fish on the chopping block.

Li Rong smiled.

It was a beautiful smile, his features like a delicate painting, with rosy lips and pearly teeth that made it hard to look away.

Yet, for some reason, He Dayong felt a chill of fear.

It was the most oppressive feeling he had experienced since encountering Cen Xiao’s team.

Cold sweat silently slid down the side of He Dayong’s face, soaking a patch of his expensive shirt collar.

Now, every breath this sharp-eyed university student took seemed to jangle his nerves.

Li Rong no longer paid attention to the scattered record books—it was the other team members’ job to preserve the evidence. 

Dusting off the paper debris clinging to his palms, he squeezed out of the crowded workspace and stepped into the clean, bright corridor.

Through the heavy glass, the orderly operation of the Qingrui production line was clearly visible. Each worker, wrapped in triple-layer protective suits, was diligently focused on their tasks, entirely unaware of the turmoil in the adjoining room.

They naturally assumed that this inspection would yield the same result as previous ones: the District Nine team leaving empty-handed.

Li Rong commented, “The Qingrui production line does seem quite standardized and safe. Mind if I change into protective gear and take a closer look?”

The Qingrui manager quickly followed, trying to dissuade him. “The employees are busy, and entering now might disrupt production.”

Li Rong’s tone turned firm. “Well, I apologize in advance for the inconvenience to your production.”

The manager: “…..”

Yu Fuyan leaned in and whispered a reminder to Li Rong: “Last time, Team Leader Du meticulously examined the production process, reviewed the production data, and even conducted private interviews with the operators.”

He stressed the word private to hint that these areas were unlikely to yield any useful information. 

Despite Du Mingli’s caution, even employing the “prisoner’s dilemma” strategy and setting traps to catch the operators off-guard, the effort had been in vain. The workers, well-compensated by He Dayong, gave nearly identical, error-free responses.

Li Rong nodded, signaling his understanding, and then turned to Cen Xiao. “Come with me.”

Cen Xiao placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and replied softly, “Of course.”

Any further attempts by He Dayong to obstruct them would only appear more suspicious. 

Standing behind the manager, he lowered his head and sent a few hurried messages on his phone.

Before entering the semi-clean zone, Li Rong reached out to Brother Yan. “The item I asked you to prepare.”

Still riding the adrenaline rush from the earlier turn of events, Brother Yan blinked, startled, before hastily retrieving a sealed transparent spray bottle filled with a pale yellow liquid from his pocket. “Here.”

The Qingrui manager stiffened with anxiety and immediately asked, “What is that? Will it contaminate our pharmaceuticals?”

Li Rong shook his head. “It won’t. I’ll only use it outside the operating stations.”

The manager was about to demand further explanation, but Li Rong had already tugged Cen Xiao along to get suited up.

He Dayong’s expression turned grim as he pocketed his phone. Glancing at the spray bottle Brother Yan had handed over, he asked, “What’s in that bottle? If it endangers our employees’ health and safety…”

Brother Yan replied flatly, “Oh, nothing dangerous. Just LS biological rapid detection reagent.”

He Dayong frowned. “What LS biological rapid detection reagent?”

He soon found out.

Inside the semi-clean zone, the workers on the line, covered head to toe in protective suits, instinctively halted and turned toward the newcomers. 

Beneath their goggles, their expressions were hidden, but their synchronized movements were eerily reminiscent of a sterile horror scene from a biochemical lab.

Li Rong, holding the spray bottle, calmly approached the metal frames near the operators’ stations, ignoring the watchful, wary eyes behind the protective gear. He sprayed the pale yellow liquid along the edges of four or five frames before stepping aside without a word.

The operators exchanged uneasy glances, uncertain about the purpose of the spray or its implications.

Brother Yan checked his watch and pointed a recording device at the workstations.

After about four or five minutes, a faint purple fingerprint finally appeared on the metal edge of one of the consoles.

Under such stringent protective measures, and in a production line that demands absolute cleanliness, it was impossible for a human fingerprint to exist—unless the environment in Qingrui’s production facility wasn’t as spotless as they claimed. Someone must have operated the console without wearing protective gear!

The operators panicked instantly. Through the protective goggles, their anxious and confused eyes darted toward the glass window outside.

They seemed to be waiting for instructions, but the production line, cold and lifeless like a cage, separated them from He Dayong, who stood outside the glass.

The operator whose fingerprint had appeared was the first to break down. Staggering back a few steps, he nervously defended himself: “It wasn’t me! I didn’t use this console yesterday!”

The others quickly lost their composure as well, scrambling to absolve themselves of blame.

“I didn’t use it either!” 

“It wasn’t me!”

“I always wear my protective gear properly!”

“Why are we assuming it was yesterday’s operator’s mistake? Who was the first to come in this morning?”

“Why blame the first one in? Everyone wore protective gear properly today!”

…

Li Rong and Cen Xiao watched the chaotic scene of finger-pointing unfold with nothing but cold smirks.

This was indisputable, on-site evidence that He Dayong couldn’t refute.

Brother Yan couldn’t help but marvel. “When Little Li told me to prepare this, I didn’t expect it’d come in handy. We thought President He would be too cautious to leave any traces.”

Indeed, He Dayong was usually meticulous, but Cen Xiao’s sudden arrival had left him with no time to properly prepare Qingrui’s production line. His efforts had been focused solely on the Yuanhesheng line.

Faced with the fingerprints on the console, He Dayong had no way to deny it, but his frustration only grew.

True, there had been negligence regarding cleanliness standards, but Qingrui’s drugs were effective—genuinely beneficial medications. 

If Cen Xiao’s intervention caused Qingrui to shut down, the harm wouldn’t stop at him alone.

No domestic company could immediately replace the numerous Qingrui production lines run by Meijiang Pharmaceuticals. Countless patients would be affected, their conditions potentially worsening due to treatment delays.

This was He Dayong’s lifeline.

The person in charge of Qingrui looked helplessly at He Dayong, hoping to find some hint of confidence in his expression.

The stakes weren’t just the future of the company; his own career was on the line. 

As Qingrui’s lead, any failure in Qingrui or Meijiang Pharmaceuticals would cast a shadow on him for life, possibly leading to industry ostracization.

But He Dayong’s expression remained cold and unyielding. He offered no reassurance.

Yu Fuyan was nearly ready to celebrate victory. 

He gazed at Li Rong’s figure as though beholding a beacon of righteousness.

What kind of person is this? It felt as if Li Rong had anticipated He Dayong’s every move, targeting his vulnerabilities with surgical precision and achieving remarkable results at lightning speed.

With this evidence submitted, Meijiang Pharmaceuticals would inevitably face consequences. They didn’t even need to inspect Yuanhesheng anymore. Compared to Qingrui, Yuan Hesheng was irrelevant!

Meanwhile, Geng An’s thoughts turned elsewhere.

Du Mingli’s earlier apology now felt premature. The understanding and forgiveness extended by District Nine had also come too soon.

Du Mingli’s public self-reflection in the workgroup had been a calculated move. 

As someone who collaborated extensively with the other teams in District Nine, his recent efforts had been demanding and visible to all, earning sympathy and understanding.

By voluntarily apologizing, Du Mingli positioned himself as a figure of high standards, humility, and courage in facing failure.

For Cen Xiao, who arrived later, no matter how sincere or thorough his own reflection might be, it would inevitably feel less impactful. While no one would outwardly criticize him, they would likely see Du Mingli as holding the moral high ground, with Cen Xiao merely emulating him.

But Captain Han and Team Leader Du couldn’t have anticipated this outcome!

They had succeeded!

They had struck at the heart of Meijiang Pharmaceuticals, accomplishing what neither the old nor the new teams of the Ghost Eye Group had managed to achieve.

As Li Rong and Cen Xiao stepped out of their protective gear, He Dayong approached them, his expression unreadable. His eyes lingered on their faces, his previous dismissiveness completely gone.

He said in a low voice, “I’d like to speak with you privately.”

By now, he could see clearly: Li Rong wasn’t just an ornamental figurehead. He was the soul of the team—Cen Xiao’s secret weapon.

Yu Fuyan, with his sharp hearing, caught He Dayong’s words and immediately retorted with scorn. “What’s left to talk about? Once we submit the evidence, you can discuss matters with District Nine and the relevant authorities!”

But He Dayong kept his gaze fixed on Li Rong’s eyes. Skilled in persuasion, he believed that no one was without weaknesses, not even Cen Xiao or Li Rong.

Yu Fuyan fully expected Li Rong and Cen Xiao to reject He Dayong outright, delivering a decisive blow befitting the Ghost Eye Group’s reputation.

However, neither spoke, and Yu Fuyan’s triumphant mood gradually waned. 

He glanced at Geng An in confusion, only to find him equally perplexed.

But neither dared to act rashly. Cen Xiao was their leader, and any evidence they had would only be submitted to Team Leader Han on his orders.

After a long pause, Li Rong smiled faintly, his tone calm. “Alright, let’s talk.”