The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 97

Three days later, Cen Xiao officially received his work credentials for District Nine, granting him the authority to inspect Meijiang Pharmaceuticals on behalf of the Ghost Eye Team.

With this new authority in hand, Cen Xiao planned a meeting with his five team members to summarize the information he had gathered and to solicit their thoughts. 

Naturally, Li Rong attended the meeting as an observer, skipping another half-day of classes without hesitation.

The meeting was held at a teahouse near A University.

The teahouse’s storefront was small, and its ground floor was narrow, but the second floor revealed a spacious and private space. It primarily catered to local community residents, earning modest profits but maintaining a loyal clientele.

Cen Xiao’s team members were all around thirty years old. While their specific skills were unclear, they at least seemed full of energy.

Li Rong, not intending to participate in the discussion, deliberately chose a seat in a corner to lower his presence. 

Even so, his entrance immediately drew everyone’s attention—one because he was unfamiliar but secondly because he was strikingly attractive.

Cen Xiao gave him a quick glance before providing a simple introduction. “This is my friend, a biochemistry student at A University.”

He emphasized Li Rong’s field of study, indirectly explaining his reason for being there.

“What a coincidence. I graduated from A University’s biochemistry department over a decade ago,” said Geng An, a man with bushy eyebrows and prominent eyes, though his receding hairline betrayed his age.

Li Rong deduced that this was the senior Cen Xiao had mentioned—the one who had transitioned from education into District Nine. 

Wanting to encourage him to talk more, Li Rong asked, “Does that make you an expert in this field, Senior?”

Geng An chuckled awkwardly and waved his hand. “Far from it. Honestly, I wasn’t fond of biochemistry and only ended up there due to department adjustments. I barely paid attention in class and went straight into education after graduation.”

Another member of the team, a baby-faced man named Yu Fuyan, who had just finished his master’s in supply chain logistics, asked curiously, “Isn’t education a thriving field? Why switch careers after over a decade?”

Yu Fuyan had joined District Nine out of desperation after failing to secure a job during campus recruitment. He hadn’t expected to pass the entrance exam.

Geng An sighed as he looked at the fresh-faced Yu. “Running a brick-and-mortar business is tough. The competition is fierce. After so many years without much progress, I saw the writing on the wall. I didn’t want to keep worrying about funding and decided to move on.”

Yu Fuyan remarked naively, “Still, you’ve done better than me. I sent out over 20 resumes and didn’t get a single response before this.”

Geng An smiled politely. “Getting into District Nine at twenty-five is impressive enough.”

Yu Fuyan looked a bit embarrassed at the praise and quickly deflected. “But Captain is the real standout. He’s only nineteen!”

Hearing this, Li Rong raised his eyebrows slightly and exchanged a glance with Cen Xiao. 

If they counted his past life, Cen Xiao was actually twenty-five.

The remaining three team members were pure liberal arts graduates, with no connection to the fields of biochemistry or pharmaceuticals. 

Over the past few days, they had managed nothing beyond basic onboarding procedures and gathering publicly available promotional materials about Meijiang Pharmaceuticals. 

They understood their limitations and resigned themselves to being errand runners.

Privately, they doubted Cen Xiao’s ability to take on Meijiang Pharmaceuticals, especially compared to another team led by Du Mingli. Du’s team had former pharmaceutical industry insiders and had already unearthed substantial insider information.

But Cen Xiao’s side?

The helper they had brought along was about the same age as Cen Xiao—a bright and pretty student.

No matter how capable Cen Xiao was, he was still relying on his identity as the son of the District 3 president. He simply had a better understanding of Blue Pivot’s operational model and started preparing for the District 9 exam earlier.

After all, he was only nineteen, a first-year college student who hadn’t even glimpsed the complexities of society yet. How could he possibly outwit the old foxes at Meijiang Pharmaceuticals?

Initially, they thought Cen Xiao might come across as arrogant, but to their surprise, the atmosphere during the conversation was quite pleasant.

At that moment, the owner of the teahouse approached their table with servers, carrying elegant tea sets.

Cen Xiao had ordered xiaoqinggan, a tea made by wrapping ripe Puer tea in dried mandarin peel and sun-drying it.

The owner stood by the table, silently demonstrating the tea preparation process.

He poured hot water over the teaware to rinse it, skillfully cleaned the tea, and placed the mandarin-wrapped Puer into a strainer, rinsing it again.

While the owner was busy, the group avoided discussing serious matters and casually picked up their phones to scroll through social media.

Just as Li Rong was about to say something to Cen Xiao, his phone buzzed.

Looking down, he saw a message from Zhang Zhaohe.

[Zhang Zhaohe: Classmate Li Rong, you’ve missed several classes now. I don’t know why you chose the biochemistry program in the first place, but since you’re here, you shouldn’t waste your time. Or perhaps you’ve realized this program doesn’t match your expectations? There’s another opportunity to change majors in the second semester of freshman year.]

Li Rong wasn’t sure how to react.

This man, who was said to be indifferent to students’ grades and just coasting toward retirement, was surprisingly concerned about his attendance.

He was probably the first student in years to catch Zhang Zhaohe’s attention.

Li Rong looked at Cen Xiao. “Zhang Zhao…”

Before he could finish, Geng An suddenly slapped his thigh, holding up his phone. “Unbelievable! Times really do change, don’t they?”

His exclamation was so loud that even the tea-making owner glanced over.

Realizing his voice was too loud for the enclosed and echo-prone tearoom, Geng An apologized, “Sorry about that! I was just looking at an old classmate’s post, and it got me thinking.”

He had been reflecting on his own circumstances, which stirred up strong emotions, prompting his outburst about the unpredictability of life.

After all, fresh out of college, he had been full of ambition. Who would have thought that over a decade later, he’d have to start over again?

Yu Fuyan asked curiously, “What did you see? If it’s okay to share…”

Geng An sighed. “Ah, it’s nothing too private. Back in school, we had a class beauty. Last week, word spread that she was getting married. I even prepared a wedding gift. But today, I saw her post saying the wedding was canceled. Apparently, the guy didn’t want to marry her because she wasn’t a virgin.”

Li Rong frowned at the remark.

Cen Xiao also showed no interest in such gossip.

Yu Fuyan, however, sympathized. “What era are we living in? Who still cares about that?”

Geng An shook his head. “It’s probably an excuse. There must be another reason. That guy dated her for years—there’s no way he suddenly cared about this now. Honestly, she’s a good person. She only ever had one boyfriend before, back in university, and that was ages ago.”

Yu Fuyan scoffed, “That guy wasted her time. What a scumbag.”

“Pretty, but unlucky,” Geng An sighed. “Even her university boyfriend was a mess. Speaking of which…” His eyes lit up as he scanned the room. “I’ve got a bit of juicy insider info.”

Li Rong stifled a yawn behind his hand, growing visibly impatient.

He hadn’t skipped class to listen to tales of a campus beauty’s romantic escapades.

Just then, the shop owner returned with tea, pouring each of them a small cup before placing the teapot in the center and retreating.

Once the door was shut, Geng An leaned in and lowered his voice. “Word is, her university boyfriend was… Han Jiang’s son, Han Ying.”

Li Rong, who had been sitting lazily, suddenly lifted his sharp gaze. “Han Jiang’s son?”

He had only started paying attention to District Nine after graduating and joining the Hongsuo Research Institute. By that time, Han Jiang had already been replaced by Du Mingli and had disappeared from the public eye.

Cen Xiao furrowed his brows. “Didn’t Han Ying study abroad?”

Growing up in the Blue Pivot United Commerce Association, Cen Xiao had an excellent understanding of personnel across districts.

Although Han Jiang was the leader of the Ghost Eye Group and carried an intimidating air of authority, he was very loving toward his wife and children. He protected his family’s privacy so well that even when attending significant events, he never brought them along.

As a result, over the years, few people had ever seen his wife or children, and even fewer dared to disturb them.

However, Cen Xiao had seen them before.

When he was very young, Xiao Muran had taken him to an art salon where Han Jiang’s wife had coincidentally brought along Han Ying. Cen Xiao had caught a glimpse of Han Ying back then. All he remembered was that Han Ying was tall; other than that, he didn’t have any strong impressions.

When Cen Xiao questioned Geng An, the latter immediately grew uneasy. After all, Cen Xiao had a deeper understanding of District 9 than he did.

“That’s why I said it’s just a rumor,” Geng An muttered. “Might even be a case of a duplicate name. Anyway, the class beauty’s roommate claimed she was a sweet, honest girl but got completely wild after hanging out with Han Ying—staying out all night and even meeting people in labs for dates. Back then, they were talking about getting married after graduation. Oh, and Han Ying was three years younger than her. Now that I think about it, he was probably just stringing her along. Then one day, Han Ying suddenly transferred schools, and they broke up. A bunch of guys in our class wanted to swoop in, but the class beauty was pretty down, so nothing ever came of it.”

Li Rong caught an important detail: “Three years younger?”

Cen Xiao responded calmly, “The age matches. But from what we know, Han Ying went abroad immediately after graduating from high school and has been overseas ever since. He’s never attended college in China.”

Geng An grew even more embarrassed. “It’s just gossip! I shouldn’t have run my mouth. It’s probably not Group Leader Han’s son. Must’ve been the girls making things up, seeing a similar name and jumping to conclusions.”

Li Rong’s gaze fell to the xiaoqinggan tea in front of him.

The cup’s white inner wall made the translucent reddish-brown tea appear even more striking.

Steam rising from the cup gradually dissipated, leaving a rich, fresh scent with hints of citrus that filled the room.

Li Rong picked up the cup, took a sip, and let the fragrant citrus flavor flow warmly into his stomach.

Then, in an offhand manner, he asked, “Staying out all night and messing around in labs—what kind of irresponsible teacher did you guys have?”

Geng An blurted out, “Zhang Zhaohe. No idea if he’s retired yet. That guy never cared about his students.”