“What do you think he means by that?” Lu Yixin stuffed her earphones in, indignantly packing her luggage at the same time.

It had already been half a month since that stormy afternoon when she had unilaterally declared their relationship. She hadn’t seen Fang Yongnian for exactly half a month.

She was about to pack up and report to school!

“You mean he’s been busy?” Zheng Ranran was currently tutoring Gu Lili in make-up lessons. To calm down, she had already spent an entire afternoon doing college-level physics, so her tone now sounded rather grim.

“But it’s already been half a month.” Lu Yixin flopped onto her big bed, let out a muffled hum.

Although they had resumed chatting on WeChat, in this half month she had only called him once — around eleven at night.

The one who picked up was her father, Lu Boyuan.

She was so frightened that she stammered incoherently on the phone and almost made her father so angry he had a stroke.

“He left the cat with you for now, didn’t he?” Zheng Ranran set down the exercise book, glanced at Gu Lili’s progress, and sighed.

Lu Yixin turned her head toward the fat cat sleeping soundly on her bed; her indignant expression softened a little.

That night, when Fang Yongnian left, he had left the fat cat with her.

He said he probably wouldn’t have time to come back anytime soon. He had originally arranged for the company’s logistics staff to come and feed the cat every day, but since she would be staying in Huating for the time being, he entrusted the task to her.

When he said this, his tone had been very gentle.

Lu Yixin turned over on the bed.

“But… he still hasn’t formally agreed.” Lu Yixin mumbled, shy and hesitant. Zheng Ranran had already heard this same line so many times that her ears were growing calluses.

“He left the cat with you,” Zheng Ranran patiently repeated. “A man like him, he left the cat with you.”

Lu Yixin looked at the fat cat’s chubby face, and the corners of her lips curled up.

“The messages you send him on WeChat, does he reply to almost all of them?” Zheng Ranran rubbed her temples.

“Mm… he does, when he’s not busy.” Lu Yixin had already been coaxed into a docile little lamb; even her voice turned soft and sticky.

“So…” Zheng Ranran confirmed for the eight-hundredth time, “I don’t know what’s wrong with that Fang Yongnian of yours, but I can be sure — he agreed.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t act so unguarded.

Lu Yixin: “Hehehehehehehe…”

“…I’m going to ask that Fang Yongnian of yours for emotional compensation.” Zheng Ranran was both laughing and crying.

Why did his having a girlfriend mean she had to provide the sense of security?

“Talking about money hurts feelings.” Lu Yixin tried to tug the fat cat’s whiskers, only for the cat to swat her paw away. She obediently drew her hand back. “Give me a little more time.”

“I’m really cowardly right now.” She had never been this cowardly in her whole life.

When Fang Yongnian hadn’t agreed yet, she could act reckless and charge forward without fear. Because to her, the worst that could happen was rejection or being blocked. She had already experienced both, so there was nothing left to fear.

But Fang Yongnian had agreed.

And now, she had started to waver.

She began to fear that maybe that night she had been frightened silly by thunder and imagined it all, or that Fang Yongnian would come to his senses and start to regret it after seeing her too often.

It felt too unreal, that he had actually hugged her back.

He had actually told her that he would wait for her.

After hanging up the phone, she rolled around on the bed again and buried her face in the fat cat’s belly.

“You say, why exactly did your owner agree…” she murmured, her voice muffled against the cat’s stomach.

The fat cat got up, its four paw pads slowly stepping onto Lu Yixin’s face, rubbing back and forth once, then walking to the other side of the bed to lie down flat.

Lu Yixin: “……”

This cat’s attitude was way too familiar…

Could it be that Fang Yongnian raised this cat because it was just like him?

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧ 

Fang Yongnian was indeed very busy.

The generic drug they were currently registering for BE filing had a total of eight specifications. According to European and American standards, Fang Yongnian had chosen the highest 135 mg specification as the reference drug.

This 135 mg specification had not been declared domestically and needed to be purchased abroad as a comparison sample.

A higher specification meant a greater workload, multiplied financial investment, and a much higher research difficulty. Which also meant that when investor Yu Hanfeng saw the end-of-month financial statement, she nearly couldn’t sit still.

“The 135 mg version is practically out of production, why choose that as the reference?” Yu Hanfeng simply couldn’t understand.

She truly hated these stubborn, overly serious intellectuals. They could say “for quality” with no thought of the cost at all.

Fang Yongnian was clearly the one in debt, yet now she, the creditor, had to beg him to lower his standards.

“Our greatest advantage in making generic drugs,” Fang Yongnian said calmly, “is that the medicine we produce ourselves is more suitable for our people’s physiology in terms of dosage and usage.”

“So when it comes to the purity and absorption of the drug, I will not make any concessions.”

Yu Hanfeng felt a headache coming on. “The reason I founded this company was just to secure my inheritance, not to make the best generic drugs in the country.”

She was considered a latecomer to the Yu family. The profitable industries with easy money had long been divided up before it was her turn, so she took an unconventional route — choosing a field that required high expertise but promised great returns if done well.

She had started this company only to seize inheritance rights, not to build a reputation.

“A pharmaceutical company without competitiveness can’t help you seize the inheritance,” Fang Yongnian rubbed his brow.

He was exhausted and wanted to go home and sleep.

“And doing things your way makes it competitive?” Yu Hanfeng raised an eyebrow.

She didn’t believe it. In her view, this was nothing but Fang Yongnian and Lu Boyuan, two people who had failed at developing original drugs, now trying to regain a sense of worth here.

She had consulted others — many of the pharmaceutical indicators and material sourcing channels they used were, in fact, unnecessary.

“Making generics is a bit like buying a membership on a video site to watch a licensed movie,” Fang Yongnian, too tired to elaborate, used the simplest analogy he could think of.

He had always been good at this sort of comparison when tutoring Lu Yixin before.

“Since you’re not watching it in the cinema, the audio and visual quality can’t possibly compare, but the content is the same.”

“With identical content, the only way to open up the market is to improve the picture quality. The higher the membership tier you pay for, the better the quality.”

Yu Hanfeng said nothing.

“The current investments are all worthwhile,” Fang Yongnian said, holding the financial report and marking several lines in the record. “These few items are pharmaceutical equipment, they can be reused in future production.”

“These few pharmaceutical supply channels, although much more expensive than the market price, are already the most cost-effective ones I could find. Once the finished drugs are produced and the cost is divided, it won’t actually be too high. After all, medicine is sold long-term.The more you sell, the lower the cost.”

“I’m helping you build the product’s competitiveness. Only a competitive finished product can open better sales channels.” After saying this, he dropped his pen and closed the notebook.

He was dead tired and needed sleep.

“If you didn’t owe me money, you wouldn’t even bother explaining any of this to me, would you?” Yu Hanfeng almost laughed out of anger.

Just look at him, couldn’t wait to get off work.

“I haven’t closed my eyes for nearly three days,” Fang Yongnian stated plainly.

Indeed, if he didn’t owe her money, he would have gone straight home before she even arrived.

He hadn’t even settled accounts with her yet. The moment he rented the house to Lu Yixin, a pile of work landed on him. Because of a financial report, he had spent several consecutive nights checking data with the finance department. He hadn’t been home for half a month.

Actually, that wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

After what happened, he did need some time to calm down and think about what to do next.

But in his heart, there was still uncertainty.

Ever since that afternoon, Lu Yixin had suddenly gone quiet.

Their WeChat conversations were polite and proper. Aside from talking about the cat, there was nothing else.

Her behavior made him uneasy.

“Fang Yongnian, you know how much I’ve invested in this company,” Yu Hanfeng said seriously. “This is a path where success is the only option.”

“Don’t worry. I know exactly how much I owe you.” Fang Yongnian stood up, picked up his briefcase.

That was a clear signal for her to leave.

Yu Hanfeng stood up as well. “I’ll give you a ride.”

He looked like he could fall asleep standing.

Fang Yongnian didn’t refuse. He opened the office door and gestured for Yu Hanfeng to go out first.

As they stepped out, they ran into Lu Boyuan, who had just returned from a nap. Seeing the two of them leave together, he winked at Fang Yongnian.

His expression was gossipy. The kind that said, I know everything, good luck.

Expressionless, Fang Yongnian pressed the elevator’s close button.

His head was pounding so badly he almost wanted to perform a “smash-the-chest-with-a-boulder” act on the spot to vent.

“The young lady’s at home?” Yu Hanfeng caught on and laughed.

Finally, revenge — she had never met such an arrogant debtor before.

“She’s across from my place,” Fang Yongnian corrected her.

What did she mean at home?

“You really should thank me, you know.” Standing in the elevator, Yu Hanfeng’s delicately made-up face softened with a smile, looking several years younger than usual.

“Enough is enough,” Fang Yongnian said coldly.

He was already being very restrained. He hadn’t blamed her for meddling in his personal affairs, nor had he pushed her straight out of the elevator in front of Lu Boyuan.

Although he very much wanted to.

“You’re not interested in developing original drugs?” Yu Hanfeng suddenly changed the subject once they got into the car.

Fang Yongnian looked at her, somewhat surprised. “What do you mean?”

“You know I don’t do losing business deals. Renting the house to Lu Boyuan, of course I charged interest.” Yu Hanfeng shrugged as the car drove out of the underground parking lot.

Fang Yongnian frowned.

“Lu Boyuan gave me that set of documents. I had someone verify it, Wu Yuande didn’t lie to you this time.”

She spoke simply, but Fang Yongnian understood.

Lu Boyuan had given Yu Hanfeng the project proposal that Professor Wu had left behind — the Kang Mo project.

“What do you think of that project?” Yu Hanfeng asked again.

“I have no opinion.” Fang Yongnian leaned back against the seat and spread his hands. “I haven’t read the documents, but based on what Lu Boyuan discussed with me earlier, the target of this project has been a major research hotspot in recent years. Judging by the current research environment and progress, it’s reasonable and feasible.”

But that was all.

The process of developing an original drug was far too long; the financial investment was like a bottomless pit. There were too many variables in between, and each one of those variables could lead to failure.

Especially for diseases like Alzheimer’s — decades of research, yet still no significant breakthrough.

“You’re not optimistic?” Yu Hanfeng fixed her gaze on him.

Fang Yongnian met her eyes and repeated his stance. “I have no opinion.”

He had no opinion — regarding everything about original drug research, he held no view, no position, and no desire to be involved.

Yu Hanfeng smiled.

“Alright.” She nodded.

The road ahead was still long. She knew that Fang Yongnian’s obsession with that fruit shop was probably just his way of venting his anger.

She had invested so much money into this company, there was no way she would let him run off after just five years.

She had already placed Lu Yixin right across from him. For what lay ahead, she was quite optimistic.

That little girl Lu Yixin, Yu Hanfeng thought she was simply full of promise.

___

Author’s note:

On the surface, Fang Yongnian appeared calm and composed, as if everything were under control — but in truth, he was deeply fractured.

I think for someone like him to find wholeness, it would take far more than just love. And what Lu Yixin could give him was, in fact, far more than love alone.

They were only just beginning.