Chapter 126: Surprise on the Plane

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Qu Xiao collected the registration card in the airport lounge, took a photo, and sent it to Shang Yan. Then, she looked for Lei Qiming’s location.

In the lounge corner, Lei Qiming, who was wearing sunglasses and dressed fashionably, saw Qu Xiao and waved at her.

Qu Xiao almost couldn’t believe her eyes. She slowed her pace and came before him to size him up and down. She gave him a thumbs up in admiration. “You’re completely different from what I imagined.”

Lei Qiming took off his sunglasses, tidied up the collar of his flowery shirt, and fiddled with his styled hair, which used two bottles of styling spray.

“I heard that there are a lot of my fans at the Overseas Forum. I can’t possibly meet them with a sloppy image, right?”

Lei Qiming muttered to himself proudly. Qu Xiao could not help but smile and nod cooperatively. When they heard the boarding hint, they headed to the check-in gate.

Because the school arranged the schedule, they took the economy class for their flight, and the hotel they were going to stay in was also an economy-type chain hotel.

Qu Xiao and Lei Qiming were seated relatively at the back. They arranged their luggage properly and turned on their tablets to discuss the project content.

The flight attendant began the in-flight announcement. And there was an empty seat next to Qu Xiao.

“Dear ladies and gentlemen, passengers. Hello. Welcome to this flight, flying to N City…”

Qu Xiao adjusted the back of her seat. From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure appearing in front and slowly walking toward her.

“He’s so handsome! I wonder if he has a girlfriend?”

“If you like him, go and ask for his contact information!”

The girls in the front row covered their mouths in excitement and could not control their tone as they discussed.

Shang Yan held a bouquet of sunflowers and champagne roses in his hands and stopped at the empty seat next to Qu Xiao. He took out the ticket, handed it to Qu Xiao, and asked, “Can you help me check if my seat is here?”

Qu Xiao was so shocked that she could not speak. She seemed to be able to hear her heart beating violently.

The two girls in front were extremely disappointed. They regained their composure and pushed each other.

They seemed to be embarrassed by their disorganized behavior just now.

The flight attendant reminded them that the plane was about to take off. Shang Yan placed the bouquet in Qu Xiao’s arms and nodded to Lei Qiming after he sat down.

“Why are you here!”

Qu Xiao had asked about Shang Yan’s recent schedule in advance. At this moment, he should be sitting in the Shang Group’s meeting room and having a video conference with the managers of the overseas branch!

Shang Yan’s shoulder was sore. He leaned his head on Qu Xiao’s shoulder and said in a coquettish manner, “I want to accompany my wife on a business trip, so I informed them to have an early meeting at the last minute. And I arranged everything that required my settlement on my way to the airport.”

“I almost missed the plane.”

Shang Yan had stayed up for two to three whole nights for today’s surprise. Right now, he was pretty tired.

Qu Xiao was so touched that she felt as if her heart had melted into a pool of water. She adjusted her sitting posture so that Shang Yan could comfortably lean on her.

The two of them leaned against each other and fell asleep. Lei Qiming leaned against the plane’s window and even started breathing carefully for fear of waking this loving couple up.

The long-distance flight landed. Shang Yan helped Qu Xiao collect her luggage and held her hand as they walked out.

The driver and the MPV, prepared in advance, had been waiting for a long time. Lei Qiming followed them awkwardly. When he saw the street scene outside the window, he lowered his head and looked at the navigation route with confusion. He held it in for ten minutes before finally asking, “Did we deviate from the route?”

Shang Yan explained with a chuckle, “I helped you guys rearrange the hotel.”

It was indeed inappropriate for Shang Yan to stay in an economy-type chain hotel on business trips. Qu Xiao tugged at the hem of his clothes and muttered softly, “But the organizers arranged our hotel stay. If we randomly change it, it might affect…”

“The Shang Group has an overseas organization that is your investor. We can be considered as one of the organizers of this forum.”

“So it shouldn’t be a problem for you to stay in the same hotel as me. Don’t worry.”

Shang Yan spoke with ease. Qu Xiao and Lei Qiming were so shocked that their mouths were wide open. They did not react for a long time.

How many more surprises did he have that she did not know!

𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢

Qu Xiao blinked her eyes and looked at Shang Yan with admiration. She felt as if she had hugged a golden mountain!

In a bungalow-styled hotel near the seaside, Shang Yan asked the staff to check in Lei Qiming. He held Qu Xiao’s hand and came to the seaside villa with French windows.

“Oh, wait!” Qu Xiao didn’t even have time to enjoy the beautiful scenery as she was pushed onto the bed by Shang Yan.

“You… Do you want to take a shower?”

Qu Xiao pushed Shang Yan, thinking of all reasons to delay.

Shang Yan figured out what she was thinking, pursed his thin lips, and smiled lightly. He carried her by the waist and walked to the bathroom. “Why not together?”

The hotel bathroom had an outdoor bathtub. Because it was a bungalow villa, the environment was well-concealed so that no one could peep.

Shang Yan carried Qu Xiao into the water, separated his two long legs, and let Qu Xiao sit across his waist.

There was the sea breeze, the coconut trees, and birds chirping, but Qu Xiao could only focus on Shang Yan’s eyes, which were filled with lust and love, and she was immersed in them.

Qu Xiao rode on the ripples and held Shang Yan’s head, saying seductively, “I like today’s surprise very much.”

Chapter 127: The Crisis at the Forum

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Lei Qiming and Qu Xiao rushed to the venue with the project information at the Overseas Forum.

Shang Yan’s identity was special, so he did not accompany Qu Xiao. He was afraid that the scientific research faculty of other organizations would view the results of Lei Qiming and Qu Xiao’s hard work capitalistically and discount their efforts.

Qu Xiao followed the process of participating in the forum and handed the information and project declaration to the staff in front of the exhibition board.

The tanned man glanced at the information column of the application form and vaguely urged Qu Xiao to hand in other specific information.

Qu Xiao narrowed her eyes suspiciously and communicated with the other party in fluent English.

“You clearly stated that we only need to provide an introduction, and there was no need for specific details.”

“Which regulation are you relying upon now that requires us to hand in all the information?”

The man couldn’t answer, so he could only use rough movements to urge and push Qu Xiao.

A waiter from the forum passed by with a tray and accidentally spilled red wine on Qu Xiao. Half of her clothes instantly became wet.

Qu Xiao grabbed a tissue and wiped it. After informing Lei Qiming, she went to the bathroom to deal with it.

Lei Qiming stood alone on the spot. The eyes of the man who was in charge glinted, and he once again used mixed language and strong body movements to force Lei Qiming to hand over the USB that contained all the information to him. When Qu Xiao returned, she found Lei Qiming sitting on the bench, and she immediately had a bad feeling.

Half an hour later, the forum was held as scheduled.

Chinese medicine scholars from all over the world expressed their opinions. As the event progressed, the organizer prepared the list of winners and read it aloud, “The bronze award goes to the team from Canada, the silver award goes to the team from Switzerland, and the gold award goes to…”

Lei Qiming was already preparing to adjust his tie, muttering the thank you speech he needed to give when he went on stage.

“The gold award goes to the team from Korea.”

Lei Qiming had already stood up halfway. He looked at the team next to him awkwardly as they stood up to cheer and hug, and he sat back down grumpily.

Qu Xiao narrowed her eyes, feeling strange.

Their research could not possibly lose to anyone. Even if they could not win the gold award, they should still win the silver award!

Just as the Korean team was about to ascend the podium to receive the medal, Qu Xiao suddenly saw a familiar figure flash past their team. She suddenly realized the issue. She lowered her voice and asked Lei Qiming. After receiving an affirmative answer, she raised her hand and said in a booming voice, “I have objections!”

“I want to see their award-winning project!”

Qu Xiao stood up abruptly. The Overseas Forum’s Award list was transparent and open. The award winners would also discuss academic issues and project progress with other scientific research faculty every year. However, it was rare to see people openly provoke them as Qu Xiao did.

The organizers looked at each other. They originally wanted to refuse, but someone recognized Qu Xiao.

“She seems to be CEO Shang’s wife.”

The assistant with sharp eyes whispered into the forum manager’s ear. The manager immediately put on another expression and nodded in agreement, “Since this lady wants to know, we’ll invite the team that won the gold award to explain the concept of the project…”

The members of the gold award team looked a little embarrassed. They stuttered and plugged the USB into the computer but did not continue for a long time.

The participants below the stage noticed something was off and began to discuss.

Qu Xiao calmly walked to the front of the stage and skillfully opened the PowerPoint. She pointed to the watermark on the title page and said mockingly, “The time you took to steal the results was tight. You had time to change the name on the cover, but you didn’t notice that we inserted a watermark on every page, right?”

“With such a complicated operation process and composition, you can fool the judges, but you can’t fool your peers below the stage.”

Qu Xiao ridiculed the judges openly. The peers below the stage were all shocked with their eyes wide open, waiting for the organizers to withdraw the gold award in anger.

But what surprised them was that the organizers nodded and even complied with Qu Xiao’s words. “In the future, we will review the qualifications of the judges more seriously. This will not happen again. The gold award team of this forum goes to Ms. Qu Xiao and Mr. Lei’s team.”

𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢

“And your names will be removed from the forum in the future. We will not tolerate any team of thieves and plagiarists to participate.”

After the organizers finished speaking confidently, Qu Xiao raised her hand and invited Lei Qiming to walk onto the stage. She stuffed the gold award certificate into his arms and leaned over to Lei Qiming’s ear to say, “Professor, it’s up to you now. Quickly say your thank you speech!”

Lei Qiming’s emotions fluctuated like a roller coaster. He cleared his throat and said a few words into the microphone, “Thank you.”

“We will continue developing and promoting China’s Traditional Chinese medicine culture!”

Qu Xiao could not help but snicker while she took the lead in clapping when she heard his lofty thank you speech.

Soon, waves of applause erupted within the forum venue. Lei Qiming was so excited that he rubbed his eyes as he could not help but shed tears.

“Thank you.”

Lei Qiming thanked Qu Xiao from the bottom of his heart. If it were not for her, the results of his years of hard work would have been given to others for free.

Qu Xiao shook her head. “I should be the one thanking you.”

Chapter 128: Requesting a Thorough Investigation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At three in the morning, at the Qu Group.

The pharmaceutical department’s punching machine made a ding sound as Qu Zhen dragged her exhausted body out of the laboratory. She hung her protective clothing in the closet and patted her face to keep herself awake as she walked into the parking lot.

Ling Chi saw her figure and threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

Qu Zhen sat in the front passenger seat with her eyes closed. Ling Chi held the steering wheel and secretly observed her condition. He sounded her out, “The new drug research is nearing its end, right? When will it be released for clinical trials?”

“It’s around the weekend.”

Qu Zhen answered vaguely. Ling Chi nodded. He saw the red light at the intersection and stepped on the emergency brake.

The violent inertia made Qu Zhen lean forward and almost hit the windshield in front of her. She stared at Ling Chi with slightly sober eyes and asked, “Why? You seem to have something on your mind.” Ling Chi remembered Qu Qi’s urging and forced out a smile. “I’m just worried about your body.”

“Has the composition of the new drug been determined? I heard from a friend that there are two new prescription herbs recently. The prices are low, but the medicinal effects are the same. Why don’t you try replacing them? It might bring better profits to the group, and the pricing of the new drug will also be lower.”

Ling Chi was a layman. Qu Zhen smiled gently and patiently explained the differences between the Chinese medicines to him.

“The effects and side effects of different herbs are different. The products and symptoms they produce are also different.”

“This is the third time you’ve mentioned those herbs to me. I’ve done a very detailed investigation, and they are not suitable for developing the new drug.”

Qu Zhen gently held Ling Chi’s hand and patted it in a comforting manner. “I’ll use them when I have the chance.”

She thought Ling Chi was trying so hard to recommend her because he could get a commission, so she apologetically rejected him.

Ling Chi furrowed his brows tightly and took a deep breath to barely raise the corners of his mouth.

The red light suddenly changed, but Ling Chi did not notice it. It was not until the car behind him honked impatiently that he let go of the brake and drove a few meters away. Qu Zhen stared at his side profile and felt that something was wrong, but she couldn’t figure out the problem.

That night, Qu Qi called Ling Chi and asked in a dissatisfied tone, “Did you get it?”

Ling Chi hesitated. “Shall we forget about it? After all, it’s a matter of life and death. If this were blown out of proportion, I’m afraid we won’t be able to end it.”

Qu Qi gritted her teeth fiercely, and her pitch inevitably became a little higher. “You want to retreat now?”

“Then all the preparations we made earlier were in vain! Do you want to see Qu Xiao continue to step over us?”

“As long as you replace the information, I will handle the internal affairs of the Qu Group!”

“Follow up on the post-clinical situation of the drugs put through the clinical trial! We will definitely be able to take down Qu Xiao and make it impossible for her to stand up again. Don’t you want to see that day come?”

Qu Qi’s voice was bewitching. Ling Chi frowned and thought for a moment. He still clicked the mouse and typed on the keyboard to send the information.

On the weekend, Ling Chi accompanied Qu Zhen to the hospital and saw the patients who were undergoing the clinical trial.

After Qu Zhen understood the situation with the doctor, she returned to the laboratory to make adjustments. Meanwhile, Ling Chi found the family members of the patients and stuffed a stack of pink bills into their hands. He warned them in a low voice, “You must remember what I said. You must not tell the doctor about their true condition.”

“These medicines are used to treat illnesses. If the reaction of the patients is strong, they will be conservative and stop the medicine.”

Most of the patients lying in the intensive care unit were severely ill and poor families who could not rely on themselves to pay for the treatment.

𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢

When they heard Ling Chi’s words, they firmly believed him and nodded their heads in agreement, “My husband vomited three times last night. He has a slight fever, but his other conditions are very stable. He’s much better than before he took the medicine. Will he recover soon?”

Ling Chi looked at the patient’s hopeful eyes and frowned as his conscience was reprimanded. He nodded his head in a perfunctory manner.

Walking out of the hospital, Ling Chi received a text message from Qu Zhen.

[The new drug will be promoted in the market next month. We must find a place to celebrate!]

The research and development of the Qu Group’s new drug had already stirred up a lot of discussion. People on the streets praised the Qu Group as a group with empathy. Ling Chi saw the netizens posting about the situations they were facing and saw them talking about the helplessness and pain when they were sick.

Ling Chi struggled and struggled. He tried to call Qu Qi but ended the call before it was picked up.

Then, Ling Chi entered a string of numbers on his phone and nervously put it to his ear. When he heard the beeping sound, he said with a hoarse voice, “Hello? I want to report the quality issues of the Qu Group’s new drug.”

“It doesn’t meet the listing standards. I want to thoroughly investigate the Qu group and seek justice for the patients who don’t know the truth.”

Ling Chi hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief as he collapsed on the sofa. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, he felt as if he had been relieved of an extremely heavy burden.

Chapter 129: Seizure of the Qu Group

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

That night, the relevant department that received a report acted immediately.

They used the fastest speed to seize the pharmaceutical department of the Qu Group and took all the relevant documents away as evidence.

Qu Xiao received a summon from the relevant department and rushed there overnight to be questioned.

Shang Yan drove her to the designated location. He originally wanted to accompany Qu Xiao in, but the staff blocked him outside and said with a serious expression, “I’m sorry. Those who have nothing to do with this case, please wait outside. Don’t affect our work.”

Qu Xiao turned around and squeezed out a comforting smile. She said softly, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Shang Yan watched as Qu Xiao’s figure gradually blended into the darkness. A wave of panic and uneasiness suddenly surged in his heart.

In the enclosed room, a few recording cameras were aimed at Qu Xiao.

A staff member in uniform was tapping on the computer keyboard to transcribe. They compared Qu Xiao with their information and asked in a cold tone, “You personally promoted the research and development of the Qu Group’s new drug. Are you aware that there are serious side effects during drug development and that the new drug does not meet the relevant market regulations?”

Qu Xiao frowned. She replied carefully, “I was not aware of it.”