The Beauty CEO's Personal Expert

Although Mr. He had told Ling Chen to wait three days, the very next night, Ling Chen received a call from He Honggang.

"Sorry, I couldn’t find a fourth candidate similar to us, but I do have a backup plan."

Hearing this, Ling Chen thought to himself, just as expected. People like Ling Gengqiu weren’t exactly easy to find. "Mr. He, what do you mean by backup plan?"

"I’ve invited a few people over. They’re all Heavenly List experts, and they count as top-tier even on the Heavenly List. Their combined strength is enough to fill our gap. Now, as long as the person standing behind you nods, we can start the operation anytime." Pausing for a moment, He Honggang continued, "There’s one more thing I forgot to tell you: you can choose one person to go along with Ling Gengqiu. First, to make up for the shortage; second... think of it as a favor I’m giving you for free."

"A favor?" Ling Chen was stunned. This counted as a favor? He didn’t really know what He Honggang was planning to do, but since he had gathered so many experts, the purpose definitely wasn’t simple, and the danger involved was even less to be ignored. Otherwise, why would he be looking for a top expert like Ling Gengqiu?

Seeing that Ling Chen didn’t speak for a long time, He Honggang on the other end of the line seemed to guess what he was thinking. "I admit this operation carries a huge risk," he said, "but the risk matches the reward. If you come, you’ll have a greater chance of gaining greater benefits. Trust me, the benefits I’m talking about are absolutely not vulgar money, but something everyone dreams of."

"Mr. He, since you’ve already said this much, why don’t you just tell me what exactly we’re going to do?"

"I’m sorry, but unless you agree to take part in this operation, I won’t reveal it to anyone. In short, this may be an opportunity you’ll never encounter again in your life. If you miss it this time, you’ll never get another chance."

"Alright, then let me think about it."

"Because of certain reasons, we don’t have much time to waste. Tomorrow at the latest, you have to give me a definite answer." With that, He Honggang hung up directly.

Holding the phone, Ling Chen’s brows furrowed slightly. For He Honggang to only give him one day to think it over meant they were already impatient to get the operation started. To be honest, he was very interested in the operation He Honggang had mentioned. Just what kind of secret was it that made He Honggang so tight-lipped he wouldn’t reveal a single bit of information?

If possible, he really wanted to take part in this operation. Unfortunately, his current condition didn’t allow it. The toxins in his body hadn’t been purged, his body had been weak and powerless all this time. Forget combat power, even an ordinary person was stronger than him.

After some thought, he still called Ling Gengqiu and relayed what He Honggang had said.

"Hmph! He’s pretty good at playing mysterious, isn’t he."

"Bro, are you going or not?"

"Something everyone dreams of... You think he’s just putting on an act to lure us in, or is there really some secret?"

"How would I know that." Ling Chen replied, "I don’t know Mr. He that well, but to be honest, I’m a bit worried. He invited you and Chen Younian over—what if he secretly set up a trap?"

"That shouldn’t be the case," Ling Gengqiu said. "You think Chen Younian is that easy to fool? Chen Younian is even more cautious than I am. The fact that he accepted the invitation means this is no ordinary matter. Anyway, he really has piqued my interest. How about this: help me pass on a message. Tell him to fix a time and place, and I’ll definitely be there on time."

"Okay."

Hanging up, Ling Chen was just about to sleep and get some rest. At that moment, he heard a series of knocks—"dong dong dong"—at the door.

"Come in!" As soon as he spoke, Zhu Xiaozhu came in from outside, carrying a tray. Walking up to the bedside, she set the tray on the nightstand, then picked up a syringe and drew a bottle of dark purple medicine into it. Seeing what she was doing, Ling Chen asked, "You’ve developed the antidote?"

"How could it be that easy? The mixed poison in your body is too complicated. Although I’m confident I can develop an antidote, it’ll take too much time and has to go through repeated testing. I’m worried you won’t hold out that long, so I’m giving you this half-finished antidote first. It can’t clear the toxins in your body, but it can suppress them and buy you more time." As she spoke, Zhu Xiaozhu took out a ball of alcohol cotton, wiped his arm, then inserted the needle into his vein.

As the semi-finished antidote was injected into his body, Ling Chen immediately felt drowsy, and even the image of Zhu Xiaozhu in his eyes began to blur.

He didn’t know how long had passed when he finally woke up from his deep sleep. Opening his eyes, he found that he was still lying on the bed, covered by a thick quilt. Not only that, he felt the inside of the quilt was sticky and uncomfortable.

Lifting the quilt, he saw that his clothes and the bedsheet were already soaked. Not only that, the sweat seemed to carry a faint black tinge and smelled awful. Climbing off the bed, Ling Chen couldn’t be bothered with anything else. He charged straight into the bathroom and rinsed the filth off his body with hot water.

After the shower, Ling Chen felt completely refreshed. Ever since he’d been poisoned, he’d been sickly and lethargic for days, unable to summon any energy. But now he felt brimming with vitality; even his strength had returned.

"Could it be that Xiaozhu’s semi-finished antidote worked?" Thinking of this, Ling Chen changed into a set of clothes and headed straight for the infirmary. At this moment, Zhu Xiaozhu was still busy in the infirmary. Seeing him rush in excitedly, she couldn’t help complaining, "Your body has only just started to recover. Can’t you rest properly?"

Ling Chen scratched his head and said with a grin, "I feel like the toxins in my body have all been cleared."

"No way it’s that fast. Right now, the toxins have all just been suppressed. For a short time they won’t harm your body, so you’re pretty much the same as a normal person right now. But you still need to be careful."

"Xiaozhu, I knew you were amazing." As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Chen leaned in and stole a quick kiss on her tender, flawless cheek, then waved and quickly ran out of the infirmary.

Touching the spot where Ling Chen had just kissed her, a faint blush rose on Zhu Xiaozhu’s pretty face, and a hint of joy and shyness flashed in her bright eyes.

Leaving the infirmary, Ling Chen took out his phone and directly called He Honggang, passing on Ling Gengqiu’s decision to him.

"Good. Now that everyone’s here, I’ll send you the time and place for the rendezvous in a bit."

Although the other man’s tone was very flat, Ling Chen’s sharp senses picked up the hint of relief in He Honggang’s voice, as if a weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders.