For a few days, Lu Lingxi’s life was very quiet, and Wang Shuxiu’s fear that the Lu family would find Kunnan didn’t come to reality. In fact, it was not that Lu Hengchuan didn’t want to go past Wang Shuxiu and contact Lu Lingxi directly, but he was held back by the events in Zhongjing.
Three days ago, all the major newspapers in Zhongjing suddenly broke the news that the new drug that Hopewell was preparing to put into production was only semi-finished and didn’t meet the standards for the production of new drugs in China. Accompanying this news was the fact that one of Hopewell’s drug developers had reported Sun Li of the Food and Drug Administration Bureau for taking bribes and approving the new drug’s marketing application despite knowing that it wasn’t up to standard.
As soon as these two news came out, the entire Zhongjing was in an uproar. Before Hopewell had time to react and start crisis public relations, Sun Li had been suspended for investigation, and the Lu family, which had a deep relationship with Sun Li in the past, entered the public eye. Compared with Hopwell’s new drug, which had not yet been listed, the Lu family’s origin was health products and drugs. Who knows how many of these drugs launched by the Lu family were like Hopewell’s new drug and had obtained pharmaceutical qualifications that should not have been obtained.
All kinds of suspicions were brewing in private. The first person who jumped out to say that they had used the Lu family’s drugs without any useful effect was followed by the second, the third… Some of these people were arranged by Yan Yue, some were the result of the Ye family’s revenge and some came from other pharmaceutical companies fishing in the muddy waters, trying to take advantage of the opportunity to screw up the Lu family.
The media, the internet, the newspapers… In just three days, the Hopewell incident fermented into a huge storm amidst all kinds of reports, sweeping the three giants, Hopewell, the Food and Drug Administration and the Lu family and pushing all three to the brink of trust bankruptcy.
“Now that the Lu family’s reputation has been tarnished, someone must take responsibility for this.”
In the Lu family mansion, Lu Chengwen, the eldest son of Lu Hengchuan, looked at Lu Wei’an, who was standing aside, with a knife-like gaze and an obvious intent. If it wasn’t for Lu Wei’an’s involvement with the Yin family’s girl, the Lu family wouldn’t be in the situation it was in.
After Lu Chengwen’s words, several other people in the hall nodded. They all understood Lu Chengwen’s meaning, which was clearly to take advantage of Lu Wei’an.
Speaking of which, no one in the Lu family actually liked Lu Wei’an. In the past, it was fine; they saw Lu Wei’an as a sick and miserable person. Although the family’s confinement of Lu Lingxi was a bit unkind, there was no way to distinguish between right and wrong in such matters, so they couldn’t put the blame on Lu Wei’an’s head. But once Lu Lingxi died last year, they no longer saw Lu Wei’an in the same light. This, coupled with the fact that Lu Wei’an was jumping up and down trying to get involved in the Lu family’s business, made the rest of the Lu family even more discontented. If it wasn’t for the fact that Lu Wei’an had hooked up with Hopewell, they would have joined forces to squeeze Lu Wei’an out long ago, having guessed what the old man had in mind. Now that something had gone wrong, someone had to take the blame, and Lu Wei’an was the best candidate to do so.
s
The eyes of the people in the hall focused on him, and Lu Wei’an, who was in the centre of attention, smiled coldly in his heart, but his face wore the expression of self-blame. Although he was the one to pull the strings for the new drug, the entire Lu family was optimistic about the future of the new drug and wanted a piece of the pie. Now, as soon as something happened, they were in a hurry to clear themselves of responsibility. He didn’t believe that those present couldn’t see that someone was deliberately targeting the Lu family this time, otherwise the public opinion wouldn’t have been focused on the Lu family in the incident caused by Hopewell. Lu Wei’an gave Lu Hengchuan a covert glance, more concerned about his grandfather’s reaction than his uncles’ anger. But to his disappointment, his grandfather’s eyes were downcast and expressionless, and Lu Wei’an couldn’t guess what was on his mind.
“Wei’an, what do you say?” Seeing that Lu Wei’an was silent, Lu Chengwen asked him plainly.
Lu Wei’an gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, “It was my mistake in judgement that affected the family’s reputation, I will take the responsibility for this.”
Just as he finished speaking, Lu Chengwen’s eyes lit up and he was about to speak when Lu Hengchuan, who had been silent, coughed, attracting everyone’s attention. Lu Wei’an looked over with an expectant expression, and Lu Hengchuan gave Lu Wei’an with a faint glance and said in an authoritative tone, “Since Wei’an has admitted his mistake, the investigation into the bribery of Hopewell will be handled by Wei’an. You will take care of the rest and try to suppress the impact of this matter.”
By saying this, Lu Hengchuan was obviously ready to give up on Lu Wei’an. Now regarding the investigation of Sun Li’s bribery, the whistleblower said conclusively that it was someone from the Lu family who was involved and there was the relevant evidence in his hands. Although a discerning person might not believe it if the Lu family put the blame on Lu Wei’an, it was a good enough explanation to the public.
After hearing Lu Hengchuan’s words, Lu Chengwen quickly agreed. The eyes of the people in the hall fell on Lu Wei’an’s face, and Lu Wei’an’s fist, hidden in his sleeve, clenched up tightly as he smiled reluctantly at Lu Hengchuan, “I understand, Grandfather.”
Under the different gazes of the people in the hall, Lu Wei’an didn’t know how he had managed to get out of the Lu family mansion. He glanced back. Obviously, the weather was good today, a rare day with high clouds and no smog, but he felt that the whole Lu family was shrouded in a shadow.
s
Lu Wei’an laughed in a low, cold voice. He knew that his eldest uncle and the others didn’t like him because they thought he was too cold-blooded and heartless, sacrificing Lu Lingxi for his own life. But was leukaemia something he’d chosen to have? If he hadn’t been born prematurely, how could he have grown up in poor health and had leukaemia after a cold? He watched others alive and kicking, and he could only lie on the hospital bed. Who knew his pain these years? He was obviously worse than dead, but he had to hold on to survive for the sake of his mother’s obsession. Was this also his fault?
Lu Lingxi… Lu Wei’an closed his eyes and expelled the name from his mind. A child who wasn’t even born to his mother; even if his body retained the bloodline of the Lu family, when he was alive, no one recognised him as a member of the Lu family. Now that he was dead, all sorts of irrelevant people were jumping out and accusing him, Lu Wei’an, of being cold-blooded, selfish and lacking affection. It was fucking ridiculous! A bunch of hypocritical villains. Why didn’t they appear when Lu Lingxi was alive? Just because Lu Lingxi died and he survived, all the sins were his? Should he live in Lu Lingxi’s shadow for the rest of his life? Why should he!
Lu Wei’an opened his eyes and clenched his fists in hatred.
The Lu family’s dark tide wasn’t known to Lu Lingxi, who was far away in Kunnan. Meanwhile, Wang Shuxiu didn’t see Lu Hengchuan for several days in a row, and only after watching the news did she know that something had happened to the Lu family. She vaguely felt strange; how could there be such a coincidence? As soon as Lu Hengchuan got into trouble with her, something happened to the Lu family in Zhongjing?
She told Xiao Feng of her suspicions, “Yan Yue didn’t do anything, did he?”
Xiao Feng wasn’t sure either and said, “This is such a big deal, it couldn’t have been done overnight. Yan Yue has only known about Lu Hengchuan for a few days, so he probably has nothing to do with it. Besides, even if Yan Yue did it, it’s not a bad thing. Look at all the unethical things the Lu family has done, someone should have dealt with them.”
“That’s true.” Wang Shuxiu said bitterly. She was furious at the thought of Lu Hengchuan coming to her door and saying something about wanting Xiao Xi to acknowledge his ancestors. She couldn’t wait for the Lu family to go bankrupt and see what other crazy thing they would come up with.
The two of them talked for a long time, but Wang Shuxiu remembered one more thing, “Do you think we should tell Xiao Xi about the Lu family? The Lu family shouldn’t be able to care about finding Xiao Xi now, right?” In the end, she still didn’t want Lu Lingxi to know about this; she thought it would be good if Lu Lingxi didn’t know anything like now and was safe.
“It’s better to tell Xiao Xi.” Xiao Feng persuaded, “In case the Lu family doesn’t give up, it’s better for Xiao Xi to be psychologically prepared in advance.”
Wang Shuxiu sighed, knowing that Xiao Feng had a point; better safe than sorry.
