Chapter 305: Yuanxi Pharmaceutical
Xiao Yating, of course, didn’t believe anything would happen to Yan Liming. She nodded without hesitation. "Fine, I’ll take that bet with you, Brother Yuan! But if you lose, you can’t say anything bad about Liming anymore."
"Fine."
Amidst a chorus of flattery, the reception came to a perfect end.
Cheng Yuan hailed a cab and went home.
Yan Liming, however, didn’t feel like going home. He booked a deluxe suite at the Qingyuan Hotel and looked at Xiao Yating with a wide grin.
"Yating, we’ve both been drinking, so we can’t drive. Why don’t we just stay here for the night?"
Before her bet with Cheng Yuan, Xiao Yating would have certainly feigned resistance before giving in. Her adoration and idolization of Yan Liming had reached an extreme; she was certain he was her man, and she wouldn’t have had a problem giving herself to him.
But now that she had made a bet with Cheng Yuan, the scales in her heart had tipped, and she was beginning to waver.
After struggling internally for a long moment, Xiao Yating rejected his proposal. "Liming, let’s just go home. My parents will be upset if I stay out all night."
"Yating, we’re about to get engaged. Our parents won’t be upset. I can just give them a heads-up if you’re worried. Don’t you want to sleep with me?"
Yan Liming spoke matter-of-factly, already considering Xiao Yating his woman. He stared at her with a burning gaze.
Xiao Yating’s heart pounded in her chest, and she was on the verge of impulsively agreeing. Fortunately, the image of Cheng Yuan flashed through her mind, and she remembered her bet with him.
Xiao Yating took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse. She said with great seriousness, "Liming, you know I was raised in a very traditional family. I want to give you the best, most complete version of myself on our wedding night. Can you respect that?"
’The best, most complete version of myself?’
Yan Liming subconsciously gulped, his gaze growing even more intense.
’No way...’
’Yating’s still a virgin?’
’If that’s true, then I’ve really hit the jackpot!’
Yan Liming trembled with excitement. Not wanting to spoil something so precious, he nodded emphatically. "Yating, I respect your choice! We’re getting engaged soon anyway, and the wedding won’t be long after. I can wait! I’ll call for a designated driver to take us home."
"Oh, Liming, you’re the best!"
Xiao Yating affectionately linked her arm through his.
=====
「The night passed uneventfully.」
Cheng Yuan cultivated all night, consuming over a dozen Essence Pills and Essence Enhancing Pills. All the True Essence in his body finished condensing and completely fused with his Spiritual Power and physical form, allowing him to smoothly break through to the Grandmaster realm!
After becoming a Grandmaster, Cheng Yuan finally understood why the gap between a Grandmaster and the Divine Realm was so immense.
A Divine Realm Expert can only store True Essence within their Dantian, but a Grandmaster can store energy in every single cell of their body!
The difference in their energy reserves was more than tenfold!
The feeling of immense power made Cheng Yuan want to let out a long, unrestrained roar.
With the advantages of the Celestial Witch Heart Method and his unique constitution, Cheng Yuan could now easily fight opponents two realms above him! He could effortlessly crush over eighty percent of all Martial Emperor experts!
After his successful breakthrough, Cheng Yuan was in high spirits. He decided to head to the Provincial City to see his wife. He hadn’t seen her in days and was really starting to miss her.
Cheng Yuan boarded a high-speed train and headed straight for the Provincial City.
=====
「Provincial City. The Lin Family Estate.」
Lin Jianan had summoned all the direct members of the Lin Family.
Everyone from the Lin Family wore a solemn expression.
Seated in a grand armchair, Lin Jianan thumped his cane heavily on the floor. "Can anyone tell me," he asked in an icy voice, "why Bauhinia Pharmaceutical has been targeting Lin Pharmaceutical lately? Half of our distributors have been poached! Over thirty partner hospitals have severed their contracts! If this goes on, Lin Pharmaceutical will be completely ruined!"
The younger members of the family all lowered their heads, daring not to get on Lin Jianan’s bad side.
Only Lin Xingchen was slightly excited. The last fiasco at the Huanya Auction House had caused his influence within the Lin Family to plummet, and there were signs he was being overshadowed by his younger brother.
But now, Lin Xingchen had finally gotten the perfect opportunity to turn the tables!
From the moment Bauhinia Pharmaceutical began to gain momentum, Lin Xingchen had realized that a war between it and Lin Pharmaceutical was inevitable.
That was why, a long time ago, he had planted a mole within Bauhinia Pharmaceutical.
All these years later, that mole had risen to a high-ranking position within the company.
Thanks to this mole, Lin Xingchen had already ascertained Bauhinia Pharmaceutical’s true strength, seized the initiative, and in doing so, now held the very lifeline of Lin Pharmaceutical in his hands!
Lin Xingchen stared at Lin Jianan, his eyes burning with determination. ’Father, I will prove to you that I am your most outstanding son! Only I am qualified to succeed you as the chairman of the Lin Group!’
Lin Jianan scanned the room. When no one spoke up, he began to call on people. "Xingchen, what are your thoughts?"
"Father, I’ve just received news that Bauhinia Pharmaceutical has a new owner! This new owner is the one targeting us!"
Lin Jianan’s gaze sharpened. "Bauhinia Pharmaceutical has a new owner? Who is it? And why are they targeting Lin Pharmaceutical?"
Lin Xingchen didn’t answer him directly. In a solemn voice, he said, "Father, at two o’clock this afternoon, Bauhinia Pharmaceutical is holding a press conference to officially announce their new name: Yuanxi Pharmaceutical!"
Yuanxi Pharmaceutical?
BOOM!
The Lin family estate erupted into chaos. Everyone instantly understood what was happening and began furiously denouncing Lin Ruoxi.
"The new owner of Bauhinia Pharmaceutical is Ruoxi? How is that possible? Where did she get the money to buy the entire company? That auction house must be making a fortune!"
"Is Ruoxi declaring war on the Lin Family? We raised her, gave her everything, and she repays our kindness with betrayal! She’s nothing but an ungrateful wretch!"
"Outrageous! This is completely outrageous! This is a blatant betrayal by Ruoxi! Patriarch, we absolutely cannot let her get away with this!"
Lin Jianan slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair. "All of you, shut your mouths!" he roared.
The room fell silent.
Lin Jianan’s hawk-like eyes swept over his descendants. "All you know how to do is make noise! Talk is cheap. Bauhinia Pharmaceutical has already seized nearly half the market share in Dongshan. It’s not even clear if Lin Pharmaceutical will survive, and you want to talk about punishing Ruoxi? With what? Does any of you have a plan? Xingyu, you were the loudest one. Do you have a plan?"
Lin Xingyu lowered his head. ’What fucking plan could I have?’ he thought. He had just been trying to put on a show for the old man.
Lin Jianan heaved a long sigh. He never expected Ruoxi to grow so powerful so quickly, to the point that she now threatened half of the Lin family’s entire enterprise.
If he had known it would come to this, he never would have used Ruoxi’s marriage as a bargaining chip to save the family.
But alas, there are no ’what ifs’ in this world. Once the arrow is loosed, it cannot be recalled.
The only option now was to find a way to get back on good terms with Ruoxi, to appeal to their family ties and persuade her to stop targeting Lin Pharmaceutical, to give the company some room to breathe.
Just as Lin Jianan was sinking into despair, Lin Xingchen spoke with immense confidence. "Father, do not despair. I have a way to make Bauhinia Pharmaceutical—no, Yuanxi Pharmaceutical—collapse in an instant! When that happens, Lin Pharmaceutical will be the sole power in the entire Dongshan Pharmaceutical Community!"