"The air quality in the country is really getting worse."
Su Rui stood at the entrance of the airport, took a deep breath of the capital's air. Despite the slight contempt expressed in his words, his face revealed a smile that reflected both nostalgia and satisfaction.
It's been a long time since he had returned to China, and even this air laced with gentle smog was incredibly endearing to him.
He really wanted to shout out "I'm back", but considering the large number of people around him, Su Rui didn't want to be stared at like a fool, and so he restrained his impulse.
"This time coming back, there's no hurry to leave, right? It's going to be a good month or two, isn't it?" Su Rui asked the air, but no one could answer him.
It was only mid-May, and the weather was already heating up. The beauties couldn't wait to change into their summer clothes that they had prepared long ago. Especially at Ninghai Airport, which is teeming with travelers, stunning girls were already dazzling people's eyes.
Su Rui wore a red plaid shirt, the hem tucked into his fitted casual pants, revealing his upright figure. His right hand held a silver briefcase that looked of high quality, giving him all the appearances of a successful man.
However, incongruously, he was sitting on the steps at the airport exit, sipping from a bottle of mineral water and happily eyeing the beauties passing by. His mouth was rarely closed because he was constantly smiling.
Having spent too long in the West, he’d grown somewhat gloomy. Now that he was back in China, it was natural that he needed to relax and adjust his mood.
He perched on the stairs with complete disregard for his image, then took out his cell phone, dialed a strangely long number; it had twenty digits!
"Hey, I've arrived at Ninghai, aren't you going to tell me the exact details of this task?" Su Rui spoke unhappily. Given his status today, there were very few people who could enlist his help. If it wasn't for a promise he made to the man on the other end of the line—that he’ll help out without hesitation if the man ever got into trouble—he wouldn’t have bothered to travel all the way back to China.
What aggravated him the most was that this mission was done for free.
"I knew I wasn't wrong, you really are back … you haven’t changed, you're still that same Su Rui..." The voice on the end of the phone sounded a bit excited.
"Cut the emotional crap, I have no connection with you guys, this is the first time I’m getting involved for free! Let me tell you, after helping this time, there would definitely not be a next one!" Su Rui spat the gum in his mouth violently into the trash bin, looking rather impatient, "Hurry up, what's the matter!"
A passing airport security officer was stunned by his action. Although Su Rui spit the gum perfectly into the trash can, it was actually the one across the street, at a distance of more than ten meters!
"I just need you to help me solve some troubles for a person."
"Helping someone out of trouble? Who?" Su Rui pursed his lips, and softly whistled to the passing beauty, a whistle only he could hear. Whenever a beauty appeared in his line of sight, his mood would recover quickly.
Of course, this might just be a facade.
During the conversation, Su Rui focused only on the person being helped, ignoring the "troubles" mentioned by the other party.
"Bikang Pharmaceutical Group Chairman, Lin Fuzhang. No, to be more precise, Lin Fuzhang's only daughter, Lin Aoxue."
"Why help her? Give me a reason. I don't even know what she looks like."
"Lin Aoxue is a dual major master's graduate in Polymer Science and Management Science from Capital University. She currently serves as the CEO and R&D Director of Bikang Group. Two months ago, she published a paper in the renowned science journal "Nature", causing an uproar both at home and abroad."
"She's a stellar student, huh. What kind of paper did she publish?" Su Rui raised an eyebrow.
"Using polymers to synthesize triathlonolamine at a microscopic level."
"Triathlonolamine? I know, it's the main ingredient in antipsychotic drugs, very expensive."
The male voice on the other side became even deeper: "But what you don't know, and what Lin Aoxue doesn't know, is that this form of triathlonolamine only needs to undergo one more simple chemical synthesis to become the main ingredient of 'X-one'."
"X-one?" Su Rui's eyebrows furrowed. "You mean that new type of drug popular in Europe and America?"
"Correct! Lin Aoxue's synthesis method is more straightforward than the existing refinements in Europe and America, and it reduces costs by at least five times! Both international pharmaceutical companies and underground drug lords view Lin Aoxue's patent as a must-have!"
"Lin Fuzhang has also realized that the publication of this paper has put his daughter's personal safety at great risk, and that's why he came to me for help. We had a life-saving camaraderie from back in the day..."
"So you're saying, the Western underworld has set its sights on this thing?"
Su Rui asked in a low voice, putting heavy emphasis on the phrase "Western Dark World."
Because, he had just returned from there.
"You could say that. I know you're familiar with them..."
"All right, enough small talk. I have a question." Su Rui asked, “What's the deadline for this mission? A month? Or two? You need to realize, I'm pretty busy overseas.”
The man on the other end of the call chuckled embarrassingly, "Well...we don't know the deadline just yet.”
"Why am I only hearing about this now?"
"I was afraid that if I told you too soon, you wouldn't come."
"Bastard, you've completely fooled me!" Upon hearing there was no set deadline, Su Rui hung up the phone in frustration. He already had a heap of things to deal with abroad, and now this mission supposedly had no deadline!
The more Su Rui thought about it, the angrier he got. This woman named Lin Aoxue, who wrote pointless research papers, had caused him so much trouble unknowingly! The Western Dark World - was this some kind of joke?
He sat on the steps, swung his knee, and kicked a water bottle towards the trash can across the road.
However, the bottle didn't make it to the bin as he intended. Instead, it traced an elegant parabola in the air and hit a beautiful woman's thigh.
The lady looked to be in her twenties, tall and fair-skinned, she was wearing a Bohemian maxi dress. Her smooth figure was an absolutely visual delight, presenting a trembling aura as she walked. More eye-catching than her figure was her face, flawlessly beautiful from every angle, at its pinnacle of refinement.
As she walked up the airport road, she garnered glances from all around, stunning everyone.
After being hit by the water bottle, the lady instinctively let out a yelp, clutched her thigh, and then gave Su Rui a cold look.
The kick wasn’t light. Su Rui estimated that a large, red swelling should have appeared where she was struck.
He didn't expect such a situation to arise and was momentarily surprised.
Of course, the primary reason for his shock was due to the girl's astonishing beauty, coupled with her frosty demeanor that was quite striking. Despite her icy stare, it was still impossible for one to shift their gaze away.
Being glared at by such beauty, Su Rui was momentarily dazed and gave a smiling wave of his hand, completely forgetting to apologize. "Hey, beauty, our meeting must be fated. I have some knowledge of divination, and I notice an ominous sign above your forehead. If you have time, I could explain it in detail."
Hearing this, the beauty's hand eased off her thigh, and she coldly asked, "Who did you say has an ominous sign?"
Any normal person hearing Su Rui's words would interpret it as a curse, and would be upset even if they are normally good-tempered, let alone after being kicked. But how could this frosty beauty know that Su Rui's words contain another layer of meaning – the depth of the Chinese language lays within identical sounds with different meanings.
But to be honest, Su Rui was not normally like this. His recent return to China saw him acting out of character, perhaps trying to compensate for something he lacked.
Su Rui's gaze swept over the beauty's face: "Of course, it's you. Our meeting is fated. This mineral water bottle here is the red thread between us. How about we find a place to sit and chat? I can tell you how to avoid your ominous sign…"
The beauty's gaze became increasingly icy.
Su Rui smiled slightly: "Even if we don't chat, we can at least exchange contact details."
He had kicked her, and still dared to ask for her contact information? This beauty had had enough: "If you say one more word, I'll have you thrown into the Ning River for the fishes."
The beauty coldly warned, her stoic expression only adding to Su Rui's fascination.
"Fiery girl, I really like your type." Su Rui smiled at the beauty's warning, not taking it to heart – everyone loves beauty.
Just as Su Rui was speaking, his face felt cold. The icy beauty had opened the water bottle and poured the remaining water all over Su Rui before walking away!
"This is too much!" Su Rui wiped the water off his face and dried his soaked hair, grumbling indignantly at the beauty's retreating figure: "So what if you have longer legs, a better figure, and prettier looks? Is this worthy of so much admiration, and allows you to randomly douse people in water? If you have the guts, do it again, and I promise not to pull your dress down…"
Sitting wet and grumbling on the steps, Su Rui looked full of resentments and felt wronged.
The icy beauty clearly heard Su Rui's displeasing remarks. She paused for a bit before continuing her walk forward.
At the airport exit, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom was waiting for her. As soon as the men dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses, who appeared to be bodyguards, saw her approaching, they hurriedly opened the car doors, respectfully escorting the icy beauty into the car.
"Wow, looks like a heiress from a rich family. A Rolls-Royce Phantom, worth at least seven million." Su Rui grinned, standing from the floor. There was no trace of his earlier resentment.
"Chatting with a gorgeous lady when there's nothing to do, seems like life ahead isn't bad," Su Rui said cheerfully, hailing a taxi. He got in and instructed, "Driver, take me to BiKang Pharmaceuticals."
"Young man, you seem like you've returned from abroad. Are you going to work at BiKang Group? That's a famous big company in Ninghai, even a security guard earns more than eight thousand a month there," the talkative cab driver chimed in. Taxi drivers in Hua Xia can always hold a great conversation, arguably unmatched by any other profession.
"That high?" Su Rui found it difficult to believe.
"Absolutely, they say they pick their security guards out of tens of thousands of applicants. And they have to have some foundation in martial arts. Do you think just anyone can get a job at the BiKang group?" When the taxi driver mentioned BiKang, he looked quite proud. The rise of this pharmaceutical giant in their hometown of Ninghai was a source of pride for the locals.
"I think I'm supposed to apply," said Su Rui, somewhat uncertain after a moment of thought.
"Just supposed to? What do you mean by 'supposed to'? With such lack of conviction and confidence, how do you expect to get a job at the BiKang group?" The taxi driver scolded him in disappointment.
Su Rui laughed lightly, not taking the remarks seriously and stopped engaging in conversation as if something from his past emerged in his mind.
The car stopped in front of BiKang Plaza. As Su Rui got out and looked at the towering BiKang Headquarters Building and the widespreading plaza, he couldn't help but comment, "What an extravagantly prosperous place!"
With that, he stepped into the grand building.
"Good day sir, how may I assist you?"
Without a worker’s permit, Su Rui was stopped by two receptionists as soon as he entered the lobby.
Irritated, Su Rui said, "I'm here to see Lin Fuzhang."
"Lin Fuzhang? Why does this name sound so familiar?" said a slightly dazed receptionist, yet to come around.
"Lin Fuzhang is our chairman!" exclaimed another receptionist.
No wonder, as for a mega-pharmaceutical company like Bekang Pharmaceuticals, the chairman always resembles the high and mighty Jade Emperor, rarely seen by the regular employees.
"I'm here to see your chairman!"
"May I know your surname, sir?"
"My last name is Su." Facing two lovely-looking girls, Su Rui naturally couldn't continue to vent his dissatisfaction.
The receptionist rapidly flipped through the chairman's schedule, but couldn't find an appointment for a Mr. Su.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but the chairman's schedule is fully booked today. We don't see your appointment. You can't go in there." Seeing Su Rui storm over, the two receptionists assumed he had some past relationship with the chairman, but with no appointment, it seemed he was misleading them.
"Oh, that's rich. Here to solve his issue, yet they won't even let me through the door." Su Rui scoffed, then told the receptionist, "You'd better call Lin Fuzhang and have him come meet me himself, or I'm not planning on helping with the Triharm Amitriptyline issue."
"What's Triharm Amitriptyline?" The two receptionists exchanged a glance, clearly not understanding Su Rui's words. They replied, "Sorry, but we don't have the power to report to the chairman directly. You should leave."
"No matter. You don't need to call. I'll tell you the truth: I'm the chairman's future son-in-law. Have you considered the consequences of not allowing me to go up?" Su Rui didn't even know whether that Lin Aoxue was beautiful or ugly, yet he was going all out to assist.
"The chairman's son-in-law? You mean... the CEO's boyfriend... This... is... impossible?" The receptionists obviously hadn't seen much of the world and were easily fooled by Su Rui.
You need to understand, Lin Aoxue was known as the number one beauty of Ninghai's business world. Many rich bachelors wished to marry this peerless beauty and become the dragon-rider son-in-law of the Bekang Group. Come Valentine's Day or Qixi Festival, the flowers she received needed to be loaded with a truck! But Lin Aoxue was whole-heartedly devoted to her business, treating others coldly, without a trace of interest in personal relationships!
"Why is it impossible? Lin Aoxue and I have been secretly together for many years!" Su Rui said with a beaming smile.
Back in his home country for the first time, he was feeling quite playful. If his Western friends were to see him like this, they'd likely drop their jaws in surprise.
At this moment, an extremely cold sentence came from the entrance of the hall.
"Who did you say has been with you for many years?"
Upon hearing this voice, the two receptionist girls immediately fell silent, as if cicadas on a cold winter day. Su Rui found the voice somewhat familiar. He quickly turned around, only to find out that the one who uttered those words was the beauty he had earlier declared to have an "omen of doom" above her head.
With this beauty standing here, the entire hall seemed to shine a bit brighter due to her breathtaking looks.
Such a coincidence!
Su Rui thought about how his head and face were previously doused with mineral water and wasn't in the mood to admire beauty. Angrily, he stepped forward and confronted the aloof beauty: "Hey, miss, what does it matter to you who I have been close to for many years? Judging by your countenance, cloudy and ominous, no matter how pretty you are, no man would dare to take you!"
PS: New book under the Flame series! Starting from scratch, I'm asking for your support! Please add to your collection, click, vote, boost, all the support welcomed! Please help me out, brothers!
