The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 171

Every year, countless companies have their IPO applications rejected by regulatory authorities. Most people don’t pay attention to such news. However, Suhe Biotech had been in the spotlight recently, so when the news broke, it immediately sparked heated discussion.

“Serves them right! A company this unscrupulous deserves to be rejected. They don’t deserve a penny from investors like us!”

“Can this company go bankrupt already? I can’t wait!”

“Thankfully, this happened before they went public. Otherwise, they would’ve just taken advantage of the investors.”

“Ah, I miss Nongan Medical Equipment. Ever since they went under, I haven’t been able to find products as cost-effective as theirs. Li Qingli and Gu Nong were really wronged.”

….

Two days later, Zhai Ning, director of Jiajia Central Hospital, issued a public statement through both the hospital’s and her personal accounts, sharing the results of a soil analysis.

[I am Zhai Ning. After consulting with relevant personnel from the logistics department, the hospital coordinated with the proper authorities to collect soil samples for testing. From one meter below the surface, we extracted pharmaceutical components that match the descriptions in Professor Li Qingli’s paper on Luyinxu. This confirms that this was indeed the site where Luyinxu was destroyed years ago. Our hospital’s pediatric director, Zhou Hong, has been suspended pending investigation. We deeply mourn the victims of past experiments and extend our sincerest apologies to the unjustly harmed Professors Li Qingli and Gu Nong. The hospital will reflect deeply on its mistakes, remind all staff to learn from this, and continue to welcome public oversight in the future.]

One meter underground—past the erosion of rain, bacterial decomposition, and plant roots—evidence was slowly but surely being destroyed.

Had they been any later, perhaps everything would have vanished without a trace.

Fortunately, the Luyinxu buried deep in darkness for so long had finally resurfaced, carrying its truth to seek long-overdue justice for its creator.

Zhai Ning’s statement, bearing the hospital’s official seal, marked the decisive end to the controversy.

“So it’s completely confirmed now. This is just tragic and absurd—they ruined two good people for no reason.”

“Burning Luyinxu openly behind the hospital… how brazen and unrepentant could they be?”

“Everything leaves a trace. I hope all those who act maliciously, thinking they’ll get away with it, remember this. Retribution will come.”

“If only people had stayed rational back then, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Does anyone have a list of the accounts that led the smear campaigns? They should come forward and apologize!”

“There really is someone who saved the screenshots. Here’s the link: @MagicalPhenomenaObservationBot.”

Many followed the lead and found a post from two years ago. The screenshots and text were still intact, with no deletions or added commentary. The blogger had simply documented the real events that unfolded online at the time.

Those unbearable words—

#LuyinxuDeadlyPoison#
#Li Qingli and Gu Nong Must Die to Atone#
#Pray for the Innocent Children Tonight#
#Li Qingli’s Illicit Affair with a Female College Student#
#Gu Nong’s Graduation Thesis#
#Li Family’s Luxury Cars and Mansions Exposed#
…

Over ten trending topics filled with accusations and condemnations against Li Qingli and Gu Nong. These accounts garnered millions of likes, while the comments were rife with irrational, boundaryless insults and curses, their language so vile it was nauseating.

No one could possibly maintain a healthy state of mind under such relentless, intense, and unending online attacks.

People began to recall: Was it really this horrifying back then?

Could there really have been millions of likes and hundreds of thousands of insults?

Why do I feel like I’ve forgotten that kind of rage?

Quickly, anger shifted toward the accounts that had slandered Li Qingli and Gu Nong. But when people searched for these accounts on social media, they discovered that nearly all of them had been deactivated shortly after the incident. Those that hadn’t been deactivated had either deleted their posts or changed their usernames, leaving no trace behind.

“Why did they all deactivate?”

“Most of them can’t be found, not even the top comments or retweets!”

“Did they deactivate their accounts out of guilt after the truth came out?”

“Don’t you all see? These people did it on purpose back then. Even the accounts making moralizing, scornful comments in the replies were intentional. Their goal was to incite public fury, manipulate people’s emotions, and draw those who didn’t have time to investigate the truth into joining the cyberbullying.”

“So… their purpose was to force Li Qingli and Gu Nong to their deaths, turning this case into a ‘sealed fact.’”

“We were all used, turned into weapons for Suhe Biotech to attack those who truly had our best interests at heart.”

“These must have been organized troll armies doing dirty work, just like the marketing accounts that repeatedly cast doubt on Luyinxu in the trending topics. They were Suhe Biotech’s tools for manipulating public perception.”

“Thankfully, people woke up. Thankfully, so many stood up and bravely spoke the truth, stopping Suhe Biotech from succeeding again!”

“This account’s screenshots are undeniable evidence of the truth, something every participant in the cyberbullying can’t escape from. Although what’s done is done and it’s too late to change the past, let’s at least say sorry here.”

“Sorry, for not verifying things myself back then and blindly trusting the narrative spun by malicious people, causing harm to Professors Li and Gu.”

“Sorry, I was just a biochemistry student at the time, full of arrogance, thinking I knew it all and misleading many outsiders online. Now that I’ve learned more, I know to be humble.”

“I don’t even remember why I was so crazed back then. Maybe I’m just a despicable person.”

“Apologies for being misled by out-of-context images and spreading unfounded rumors, actions I regret for life.”

“Sorry for letting my emotions be manipulated and for becoming a disseminator of lies. It’s been two years, and I only learned the truth because of a reality show voting controversy.”

“Sorry, back then I was in a bad place in real life, so I vented my frustrations online.”

“My apologies. I shallowly believed public figures should be subjected to everyone’s scrutiny, not realizing it was all lies.”

“Sorry, I was one of the commenters.”

“Though I didn’t cyberbully, I still feel the need to apologize. I knew the luxury car rumors were false because I’d visited the automotive museum, but I was too cowardly to speak up and clear the air, fearing backlash.”

…

In the blink of an eye, this once-ignored post was now filled with comments expressing regret and remembrance. The screenshots and comments—spanning two years—felt as though they came from two entirely different worlds.

Finally, the names Li Qingli and Gu Nong were no longer tied to crime and deceit. Two years after their deaths, their innocence and dignity were restored.

The account @MagicalPhenomenaObservationBot, which had never shared personal opinions before, reposted this blog post. For the first time in its five-year existence, it made a comment:

[My entire existence is to show that I shouldn’t have to exist.]

The weather was clear, the air in the mountains crisp, and peach blossoms bloomed vibrantly amid the mist.

Li Rong walked slowly through the West Mountain Cemetery toward a modest gravestone tucked in a quiet corner.

Etched into the stone were his parents’ names and their black-and-white photographs.

The weeds around the grave had been carefully cleared, and a peach blossom branch leaned over the wire fence, casting a shadow over the gravestone.

The wind rustled the peach blossoms, scattering petals that fell softly to the ground.

Standing before the grave, Li Rong reached out and gently caressed the youthful faces of his parents carved in stone.

He smiled, his eyes curving in warmth, his tone light and cheery as if he were back home talking to them. “Zheng Zhupan and Zhou Hong have been taken away. The facts are clear now, and they’ll be sentenced soon. He Dayong paid the price for making fake drugs, though his son still won’t forgive him. Who knows when they’ll reconcile? As for Zhai Ning… Well, even though she betrayed your trust, she helped me in the end. I decided, without asking for your approval, to let her go. Restarting Luyinxu will still need her help. As for the others who hurt you, I know you wouldn’t want me to take revenge on all of them. But… I’m really bad at letting things go, you know? So, I guess the trait of being magnanimous… you didn’t pass that one down to me, huh?”

He laughed, but tears rolled uncontrollably down his face.

He felt relieved—truly. He had finally defeated his enemies. He hadn’t wasted this second chance at life.

His persistence had meaning. His fight had meaning. Even when the future seemed dark, he never wavered.

He had ensured that those who wronged him, who hated him, who destroyed him, all paid the price. He could finally stand here, facing loss and death without shame.

But he still felt a trace of grievance—an emotion most natural for a child standing before their parents.

His eyelids trembled, tears clinging to his chin. The wind brushed against his face, leaving it cold. “You guys, in the next life, don’t leave me all alone, okay?”

The peach blossoms swayed gently, their fragrance bittersweet. The gravestone stood silently, serene.

Li Rong remained in front of the grave for a long time, so long that his body turned cold and his legs grew numb.

He had once thought that, when justice was served, he would move his parents’ graves to a more prominent, honorable location.

But today, he changed his mind. They now possessed the most pristine and untainted souls in the world, accompanied by peach blossoms and caressed by mountain breezes.

Li Rong carefully placed a sheet of paper on the grave, securing it with the incense burner.

On the paper, written in his own hand, were two lines of poetry—a reflection of his will:

“The rain strikes, but the lamp stays lit;
The wind blows, yet the colors grow brighter.”

As the sun set, the cemetery was bathed in a golden glow.

Cen Xiao approached from behind, wrapping his arms around Li Rong and gently wiping the cold tears from his face.

Glancing at the gravestone, now blending with the peach blossoms and sunset, Cen Xiao leaned in and whispered softly to Li Rong: “Baby, if the two of us could return to that year in high school and change everything, then your parents must be able to as well. Maybe they’ve gone back even further—when you were still in elementary school, or middle school. Nothing has happened yet. Everything can still be saved. They’re so smart. I’m sure they’ll change their fate, just like you did. Death isn’t the end. Resilient souls always find a way.”

Li Rong stared at Cen Xiao with tear-filled eyes, momentarily dazed. After listening to him, he managed to smile through his tears and said, “Thank you.”

Those words brought him immense comfort, enough to soothe all the pain and regret in his heart.

Yes, death isn’t the end. Neither he nor his parents would give up their fight against fate.

They were simply fighting on different battlefields, but their bond remained inseparable.

Cen Xiao gently patted Li Rong’s head.

“I hope when they go back, they can remind a certain someone with a cold little face to smile more often at his deskmate. Your deskmate loves you, you know?”

This made Li Rong truly laugh. His eyes curved into crescent moons as he lightly stood on tiptoes and pressed his cool lips to Cen Xiao’s.

After a soft kiss on Cen Xiao’s lips, Li Rong rested his forehead against his and murmured, “That deskmate bullied me all the time, never respected me as the class monitor, and always led Blue Pivot and his gang to cause trouble.”

Cen Xiao encircled Li Rong’s waist, his breath brushing against Li Rong’s lashes. “As long as I keep you in my heart, isn’t that enough?”

The sun dipped behind the mountains, the glowing sunset fading like receding tides.

The two walked down the mountain side by side, not returning to the city immediately but heading toward the development district instead.

In recent days, the old lady had been calling relentlessly, urging Li Rong to come back as soon as possible.

The news online spread quickly, and naturally, the relatives at home had heard all about it too.

When they arrived at the apartment complex, Li Rong quickly went upstairs while Cen Xiao leaned against the car, quietly waiting in the comforting evening breeze.

After knocking twice, the door opened, and the old lady, teary-eyed, rushed forward. “Li Rong! Li Rong, did you see? Your parents have been cleared of all charges!”

Her hair was streaked with white, her face deeply wrinkled, and she looked pitiful and disheveled as tears streamed down her face.

Her legs trembled so much she could hardly stand, and she clung tightly to Li Rong’s arm, sobbing in anguish.

Li Rong had seen so many sides of her before—proud, unreasonable, domineering, manipulative, worldly.

But he had never seen her cry like this, so raw and desperate, as if she was letting out all her pent-up bitterness and resentment, breaking through her mask of stoicism and practicality.

At her age, beyond praying to gods and spirits, she no longer had the strength to pursue truth or justice.

Of course, she felt pain, but to prolong her own existence, she had avoided confronting it.

Now, finally, it seemed as if the heavens had opened their eyes and allowed light to shine into this home.

Naturally, she came to cry on the shoulder of the person she believed would understand her best—Li Rong. But Li Rong had already shed all his tears earlier at the cemetery and didn’t feel like crying anymore.

He supported the old lady, waiting until her tears left her dizzy and out of breath before helping her to sit on the sofa.

Relatives in the room, wiping their eyes, tried to comfort Li Rong: “Rong Rong, things are finally looking up. Your parents’ names have been cleared, and now you can live openly and with pride.”

“This world still has good people. Someone finally stood up for your parents and set the record straight.”

“That d*mned Zheng Zhupan is done for. Your family did good deeds, and heaven has been watching.”

“Your grandmother hasn’t slept in days, staring at the news online, terrified something would go wrong again. Why did you take so long to come back?”

The old lady’s eyes were bloodshot and cloudy. She gripped Li Rong’s hand tightly as she sat on the sofa and said, “Rong Rong, all the bad guys have been arrested. It was all Zheng Zhupan from Suhe Biotech’s doing. He targeted your parents because they stood in the way of his profits. Everyone online knows now that your parents were innocent. You must be so happy. Grandma is too…”

Li Rong looked down at her rough, withered hands. His eyelids trembled slightly, and he murmured, “It’s not enough.”

The old lady seemed not to have heard him clearly and asked in a tearful voice, “What did you say?”

Li Rong met her tear-filled, blurred eyes with a cold gaze. “It’s not enough yet. I will drive Jiaketing out of the market. I’ll make sure Zheng Zhupan personally watches as I destroy the empire he’s spent his whole life building.”

The old lady shuddered at his icy tone, loosening her grip on his hand. “What… what are you talking about?”

Li Rong looked at her calmly and said nothing.

The old lady’s hand trembled as she pointed at him, her pupils dilating. “You… are you saying… you’re the one behind all of this?”

Li Rong curved his lips slightly. “My father’s research papers, Zheng Zhupan’s downfall, Jiang Zui, He Dayong, and Zhai Ning coming forward to testify… Do you really think justice just falls from the sky?”

The old lady froze, staring at Li Rong in disbelief as though she had been turned to stone.

Her grandson, who had seemed so composed and restrained ever since the tragedy, as if the death of his parents hadn’t affected him much, now revealed a deeply unsettling tenacity and daring.

Every time she had lectured Li Rong about avoiding trouble, he had brushed her off as though he couldn’t wait to dive into it.

If everything that had happened was truly orchestrated by him, then his mind was far more calculating and his determination far more terrifying than she had ever imagined.

Her daughter and son-in-law had been such simple, honest people. How could their son…

She realized she didn’t understand Li Rong at all. She didn’t even know where he had been living or what he had been doing for the past two years.

The relatives in the room were equally stunned, unable to believe such words had come out of Li Rong’s mouth.

Li Rong pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the old lady’s tears. The tears had settled in her wrinkles, making them hard to clean, but he was patient and careful with his movements.

“Do you remember what I once said? Kindness is innocent. What’s guilty is being unable to protect kindness. I won’t just clear my parents’ names. I’ll also make sure every hypocrite unworthy of their position falls from grace!”

After speaking, he tossed the tissue into the trash.

In that moment, the old lady felt the coldness in his touch.

She suddenly realized that deep within Li Rong was a long-suppressed madness.

To her, today’s outcome was already enough. But clearly, for Li Rong, it wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted to drag more people down, to make more of them pay.

It was like walking on the edge of a knife, licking blood—it wouldn’t stop until it was too late.

Stammering, the old lady said, “You… you’re talking nonsense. You’re just a kid. How could you possibly bring down a big company?”

However, they soon realized that Li Rong wasn’t simply making empty claims—everything began unfolding exactly as he had predicted.

On the very day Zheng Zhupan was taken into custody, other partners at Suhe Biotech attempted to save themselves by slashing the price of Jiaketing. Yet that very evening, a massive wave of public outcry erupted online.

Led by a handful of justice-seekers, hundreds of thousands of netizens began calling on the Hongsuo Research Institute to relaunch Luyinxu.

“We urge the Hongsuo Research Institute to take responsibility and restore the reputation of its scientists!”

“Please use Luyinxu to cure our children!”

“Don’t let Luyinxu be tarnished. Fulfill Professor Li’s lifelong wish and let this drug reach its full potential!”

“The time has come—relaunch Luyinxu!”