The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 108

He Dayong relaxed slightly, sensing they might be approachable after all. 

“Let’s go to my office.”

He turned and led the way, the soles of his leather shoes squeaking against the dry floor like peeling tape. 

Li Rong followed without hesitation.

Yu Fuyan instinctively raised an arm to stop him but faltered awkwardly halfway, mumbling, “T-Team Leader? Little Li?”

Cen Xiao glanced at him and instructed, “Wait outside. Don’t report to Team Leader Han just yet.”

Yu Fuyan immediately closed his mouth and nodded stiffly, unsure of what else to do.

In truth, he felt this was a major incident that warranted immediate reporting and further investigation into Meijiang Pharmaceuticals.

But since the evidence was discovered by Li Rong, if he intended to negotiate with He Dayong… Yu Fuyan didn’t feel he had the right to intervene.

Geng An patted his shoulder and said quietly, “Don’t overthink it. Trust the Team Leader and Li Rong.”

Yu Fuyan forced a smile. “How could I not trust them?”

Li Rong followed He Dayong back to his office on the top floor. 

This time, only he, Cen Xiao, and He Dayong entered—not even He Dayong’s secretary was allowed in.

Returning to this space, everyone’s state of mind was entirely different.

He Dayong had lost his earlier confidence and composure. Worry etched deep lines into his brow. 

The air-conditioning had finally dried the sweat at his temples and collar. Uncomfortable, he touched his neck, glanced at the tea on his desk, and reached for it—but remembering that Li Rong had praised the tea earlier, he suddenly felt unable to drink it.

Instead, he irritably grabbed a tissue to wipe his neck, exhaled deeply, and turned to face them. His tone was lukewarm. “I underestimated you two. It seems you came prepared.”

Cen Xiao responded coolly, “If you, President He, had been law-abiding and flawless, our visit would’ve been pointless.”

Li Rong, arms crossed and head slightly tilted, stood apart, gazing indifferently at the ink painting behind He Dayong. 

He had no interest in the preliminary verbal sparring—Cen Xiao was better suited for that.

He Dayong shook his head slowly. “Team Leader Cen, you grew up in District 3. You must know there isn’t a single company that’s completely clean. Just as no one can draw a perfect circle, you won’t find a perfectly ethical business. You know this, so why hold me to saintly standards?”

Cen Xiao sneered, “As long as nothing has been uncovered, I assume it’s ethical. But once it’s exposed, it should be dealt with as it deserves. You’re in the pharmaceutical industry, a business that deals with life and death, yet you have the audacity to justify your lack of conscience. You don’t deserve where you are today.”

Li Rong didn’t blink, meticulously examining the brushstrokes of the painting. His fingers rhythmically tapped his elbow, as if he wasn’t in He Dayong’s office but visiting a museum.

He Dayong seemed enraged by Cen Xiao’s words. His thick neck, laden with fat, turned red quickly. His cheeks tightened and puffed up. Pointing firmly at the ground, he emphasized in a deep voice, “The Qingrui I made is a good drug! A drug that heals! A drug that has saved countless lives! Even when I exploited loopholes and smuggled generic drugs back then, I saved countless people! If I hadn’t weathered that fine, there would be no Meijiang Pharmaceuticals, and no Qingrui. The people I helped, the lives I saved—could my conscience save me?”

He Dayong took a deep breath after finishing his tirade, his brain dizzy from oxygen deprivation. He had to brace himself against the mahogany desk.

At this, Li Rong’s eyelids twitched slightly.

However, he still remained silent, calmly observing He Dayong, who was now gasping for air and breaking into a sweat.

Cen Xiao tugged at the corner of his lips, his gaze icy. “You’re good at excusing yourself. Even Qingrui, a drug that can save lives, has data falsifications. What about Yuanhesheng, with its two versions of efficacy, one white and one gray? How do you plan to explain that?”

He Dayong froze slightly, staring at Cen Xiao for a long moment without responding.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected Cen Xiao to have already uncovered the hidden information about Yuanhesheng tablets.

The white-label Yuanhesheng, like the slightly flawed Qingrui, is effective, can treat illnesses, and causes no side effects for most patients.

The gray-label Yuanhesheng, however, is the truly unethical product, its active ingredients heavily reduced and filled with ineffective components.

The gray-label version required double or triple the dosage to achieve the effect of a single white-label tablet.

But as a psychiatric medication that works to suppress rather than cure, its efficacy wouldn’t immediately determine life or death.

That was the fundamental difference between Yuanhesheng and Qingrui.

He Dayong’s lips moved slightly, as if impulsively wanting to explain something, but he quickly restrained himself.

Finally, he coughed lightly and said, “I don’t want to discuss these matters with you two. You’ve uncovered some things; I know that. But have you considered that if Meijiang Pharmaceuticals is investigated and production is halted, there will be a shortage of Qingrui in the market? This will lead to a drug supply crisis and panic among patients. I also produce many other medications that sustain the supply chain. If production is interrupted, the impact will go far beyond just me. Even from a public interest standpoint, you should give me some breathing room. Besides…”

He Dayong paused, noticing that Cen Xiao did not interrupt him. With a meaningful smile, he said, “Why go to such extremes? I have no grudges against President Cen Qing, and we could still help each other in the future. I, He, am always sincere toward friends and would never betray Team Leader Cen’s trust. District Nine targeting me is merely because Team Leader Han resents me for recruiting some of his people and wants to trip me up. Team Leader Cen, why bother working hard just to benefit someone else?”

“Oh, and this young man here,” he added, turning to Li Rong, “I see you’re quite interested in calligraphy and ancient books. While I know Team Leader Cen’s family doesn’t lack treasures, every collection piece is unique. This painting you’re looking at, Paradise on Earth, is one of a kind on the market. If you like it, I could part with it, reluctantly, and we could become friends. Talents like you, I genuinely treasure.”

Li Rong finally smiled, his eyes curving, his expression unusually cheerful. “At last, President He gets to the point. I almost thought we were hosting a sociology and anthropology seminar earlier, with me having no chance to chime in.”

He Dayong raised an eyebrow. Judging by Li Rong’s expression, he felt his offer had a chance. 

As he had said, no one was without weaknesses. If he could pinpoint the right one and cater to their interests, most problems could be resolved.

And he had keenly observed that Cen Xiao hadn’t contradicted Li Rong, indicating their goals were aligned—they wanted something from him.

Switching to a more courteous tone, He Dayong said, “I got a bit carried away earlier, wanting to speak on my behalf. Since this young brother is so direct, there’s no need for me to beat around the bush.”

Li Rong lazily lifted his gaze toward the painting. His smile gradually faded, his expression turning serious as he murmured, “I do like this painting, but it’s not enough.”

He Dayong froze slightly.

He hadn’t expected Li Rong to be so ambitious. This painting could fetch at least a million at auction—an enormous sum for a student with no means to buy such works.

“And what might this young brother have in mind?” He asked.

Li Rong chuckled softly, pulled a chair over, and sat across from He Dayong. Casually tugging on Cen Xiao’s sleeve, he gestured for him to sit beside him.

Crossing one leg over the other, Li Rong said lazily, “My terms are quite easy to meet and won’t cost you a penny. As long as you agree, Team Leader Cen and I can indeed give Meijiang Pharmaceuticals a chance to breathe.”

He Dayong was taken aback by Li Rong’s statement that money wasn’t involved but didn’t relax.

Money was the easiest demand to meet. Wishes that didn’t involve money were far trickier.

For now, though, he could only listen attentively. He was skilled at persuasion and had successfully bought off many people over the years without fail.

Li Rong’s gaze suddenly sharpened, his lips parting slightly as he enunciated each word: “I want you to tell me everything about the shady business you’ve done for Suhe Biotech over the years.”

He Dayong’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at Li Rong, disbelief written all over his face. “You… your target is Suhe Biotech? District Nine is really investigating Suhe Biotech?”

He was visibly stunned. He couldn’t believe such a deep connection lay behind a small matter involving Yuan Hesheng.

The information he had received suggested that Han Jiang was dissatisfied with Meijiang Pharmaceuticals and wanted to teach him a lesson. How had the focus shifted to Suhe Biotech?

Only moments ago, he had even reached out to Suhe Biotech’s major shareholder for help, thinking that if he couldn’t buy off Cen Xiao, perhaps they could deal with Han Jiang.

And now it turned out District Nine’s real target was Suhe Biotech!

Cen Xiao remained calm as he said, “You don’t need to concern yourself with who District Nine is investigating. What you should consider is that it’s every man for himself when disaster strikes. I hope you recognize the situation.”

He Dayong stayed silent.

He was just a minor figure under Suhe Biotech—a small fish. How could he dare betray them lightly?

He doubted Cen Xiao had the power to challenge Suhe Biotech. If Cen Xiao ended up struggling to save himself, what would become of him?

Clinging to Suhe Biotech seemed far more reliable. After all, when he was at rock bottom years ago, nearly driven to despair by fines, it was Suhe Biotech that had extended a lifeline to him.

He Dayong feigned confusion, adopting an innocent tone: “I’m not sure what you’re asking me to confess. From what I know, Suhe Biotech is a benchmark in our industry—a leader shouldering the responsibility of developing innovative drugs. They have a strong sense of corporate responsibility and never abandon patients with rare diseases. I greatly admire them for that.”

Li Rong gently pinched his fingers, his gaze lowered slightly, though his eyes lifted to peer upward sharply.

Their current predicament was lacking hard evidence to tie Suhe Biotech to the Li Qingli case.

Suhe Biotech was merely the beneficiary of the situation, and no law dictated that beneficiaries must be perpetrators.

He Dayong was their breakthrough point. They needed the information he held as a lead to investigate Suhe Biotech.

But if He Dayong insisted on feigning ignorance, maintaining Suhe Biotech’s innocence, they’d be stuck.

Yet, according to He Changfeng, He Dayong was closely connected to Suhe Biotech’s higher-ups. Suhe Biotech had indeed supported Meijiang Pharmaceuticals over the years. Li Rong had a strong hunch that He Dayong must know some dark secrets.

No partnership was impenetrable. A self-serving opportunist like He Dayong was bound to sway to whichever side seemed more advantageous.

Right now, He Dayong believed they couldn’t win against Suhe Biotech, so he was willing to risk failed negotiations to absolve them.

Li Rong shook his head and chuckled, placing a hand lightly on Cen Xiao’s shoulder. His long, slender fingers grazed the curve of Cen Xiao’s collarbone as he spoke in an unhurried tone, “He Dayong, District Nine isn’t the only one keeping tabs on Suhe Biotech. If you really have connections, perhaps you should inquire about the GT200 file spearheaded by Jiang Weide at the Hongsuo Research Institute last month. Suhe Biotech’s overreach has drawn significant attention. If they’re looking to monopolize this market, they’d better consider whether the Hongsuo Research Institute is willing to let them.”

This was, in truth, a bluff. Li Rong didn’t know the specific contents of the file.

All he knew was that Jiang Weide had named his project GT201, and the prior GT200 file had caused quite a stir in Hongsuo’s internal circles during his freshman year.

While few knew the file’s actual content, the rumors surrounding it had grown increasingly dramatic, describing it as something capable of shaking the industry to its core.

Looking back, Li Rong hadn’t noticed any major upheaval following its release. But currently, the whispers were spreading externally, and He Dayong, being in the industry, must have heard of the file’s reputation.

Li Rong’s statement was a calculated gamble. The more elusive the truth about GT200, the more unsettled He Dayong would become.

Since District Six had been disbanded, the Hongsuo Research Institute’s influence had naturally surged. The market was finite, and without the Blue Pivot United Commerce Association’s support, the Hongsuo Research Institute targeting Suhe Biotech was entirely plausible.

Cen Xiao gave Li Rong a deep, searching look.

GT200 and GT201 were matters Li Rong would typically encounter in the future. 

Mentioning these project codes before He Dayong meant Li Rong was no longer concealing his rebirth in Cen Xiao’s presence.

When urgency dictated action, one had to play their strongest cards to intimidate.

Cen Xiao clasped the hand Li Rong rested on his shoulder, a silent understanding conveyed through their touch. They didn’t need to voice every detail aloud.

Cen Xiao lifted his gaze, his low voice exuding a commanding pressure.

“Jiang Zhong has exploited his authority for personal gain over the years, using his position as District Six’s president to benefit Suhe Biotech. Do you think the other chairmen were unaware or unopposed? I know you have connections across the districts. Why don’t you find out for yourself—what role did Jian Changli in District One play that our information teams in District Nine couldn’t uncover?”

“Jiang Zhong could have remained untroubled as president, continuing to profit for Suhe Biotech. But he was suddenly notified that District Six was being disbanded. Meanwhile, Hu Yuming in District Four, who’s had ongoing commercial conflicts with District Six, played a part in that decision. What does that tell you?”

“And my position, you know it well. If Han Jiang entrusted me with investigating Suhe Biotech, it’s because he recognizes the support I receive from District Three.”

“District One, District Three, District Four, District Nine, and the Hongsuo Research Institute—think carefully about which side you should stand on.”

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