"Is that really necessary?"
Lu Chengwen was about to lose his mind. "I haven't done anything, and I wasn't planning to do anything bad either. What is the protagonist coming here for? Shouldn't whoever wrote this have used their brain? The villain hasn't done anything bad, so what is the Male Protagonist picking a fight over?"
System: "Oh, oh, my apologies. You weren't planning to do something to Leng Qingqiu?"
"I have defective products worth over six hundred million waiting for me to destroy overnight at the pharmaceutical factory. What could I possibly do to her? Where would I find the time?"
System: "Oh, oh, over there... let me see... Xu Xuejiao is there too... So you're planning to make a move on both female leads at once. Mm-hmm, understood. You're trying to raise the rescue difficulty for the Male Protagonist, Long Aotian. Received! By the way, this is a brilliant move!"
"Received my ass! I wasn't planning to make a move on anyone! I was just going to destroy the medicinal materials! The medicinal materials! The defective medicinal materials!"
System: "Is that so? That wouldn't make for a very interesting plot. We still hope that you can be more proactive and harbor more improper intentions toward the female leads. That way, the Male Protagonist's plotline can get started more smoothly."
"Listen to me!" Lu Chengwen tried his hardest to remain rational and reason with the system. "Whether Long Aotian wants to get started or not is his business. I absolutely will not make another move! I'm not interested in the female leads, not a single one of them. Tomorrow, I'll settle things with both of them, cleanly and without dragging things out!"
"Settle things? You mentioned the phrase 'settle things.' I understand! In other words, you're planning to make a move on both Main Heroines tomorrow, and it will definitely be the kind of utterly deranged, heinous, heartless, inhuman act that wipes out all decency, correct?"
Lu Chengwen cried.
"Big sister, spare me! I've died six times, and every time was miserable. Can't you just let me scrape by for a while? I won't touch either of those women. Also, can you make them stop hovering around me all the time? I'm not the protagonist! Shouldn't they be spending their leisure time with Long Aotian... having all sorts of flirtatious moments... all sorts of... pleasing-to-the-eye stuff? At the end of the day, the plot fell apart like this on the very first day. You people bear direct responsibility for that, okay?"
"The host has misunderstood. In reality, every person, event, and object here is real. We merely exist as observers and supervisors. The only things we can do are advance your plotline, improve your abilities, and provide limited external communication. We cannot control, nor are we interested in controlling, what the Male Protagonist and female leads do, where they go, or whom they become close to."
Lu Chengwen suddenly calmed down and began analyzing things.
"Real? It's all real? That means... I must have done something... something that made them deliberately get involved with me... But that doesn't make sense. I didn't do anything!"
"I wanted to break off the engagement with Leng Qingqiu, but she refused. And tonight, she was the one who came looking for me."
"Xu Xuejiao... with Xu Xuejiao, Long Aotian was about to pull something shady, and I stopped him. Could she know? No, she shouldn't know. At the pharmaceutical factory... she seemed very certain that I would destroy the substandard medicine..."
System interrupted, "A reminder: if you survive the first day, you can successfully claim the First Day Gift Pack!"
"The First Day Gift Pack, packed with great items and amazing value! The First Day Gift Pack will become your aid on the road to self-destruction, allowing you to fully engage in confrontation plots with the Male Protagonist. Before you're beaten to death, enjoy the ultimate exhilarating experience, so that you may die without regrets and smile even in the afterlife!"
Lu Chengwen shook his head. "You're such a dog."
After settling Leng Qingqiu in a clean guest room and letting her sleep, he called Zhao Gang and rushed to the pharmaceutical factory.
If he died, he died.
If the King of Hell wanted him dead at midnight, the system definitely wouldn't keep him alive until dawn.
But according to the system's explanation, this was a... real world?
Was the system a group of highly intelligent beings above this world? They would not interfere with or forcibly alter the logic and operation of this world—was that what it meant?
No matter what, he would deal with it after getting through today. The First Day Gift Pack's advertisement was pretty good; it had gotten his blood pumping. Though it seemed to be hoping for his death, only by getting it would he qualify to keep living.
Long Aotian, I'm locking horns with you!
You want to beat me to death?
I refuse to believe it. If I don't do a single bad thing and kneel the moment I see you, would you really have the nerve to beat me to death?
The process went smoothly.
Under the supervision of several parties, batches of finished medicine poured into the pulverizers, turning into scraps and waste that a third party collected as recyclables.
Throughout the entire process, Lu Chengwen kept watch.
Xu Xuejiao also stayed up all night, overseeing the entire process.
Xu Xuejiao was very serious and didn't overlook a single detail. Naturally, the other relevant people in charge were the same.
Everyone was nervous, and everyone knew what this meant.
As Lu Chengwen watched the last batch of medicinal materials turn into waste, a calm smile appeared on his lips.
Phew. I guess I did something good after all, huh?
Lu Chengwen thought with a bitter smile.
No matter what, once this batch of medicine was destroyed, no one would be harmed. If he was going to die in this world tomorrow, then at the very least, he had done something meaningful today.
It was worth it!
Xu Xuejiao stood some distance away, looking at Lu Chengwen's profile and hearing those thoughts. She was deeply shocked.
Was this guy going to die?
Had he suddenly changed because he was about to die and become a good person?
Impossible. He was Lu Chengwen. A professional private medical team tracked the health of his entire family. If someone had a serious problem, that team couldn't possibly have stayed so quiet!
What exactly was going on?
Still, this guy... when he got sentimental, he really did look a little like a melancholy prince.
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"President Xu."
"Huh?" Xu Xuejiao quickly turned around.
The engineer nodded with relief. "It's all done."
"Understood."
A leader from the Drug Administration Bureau went over to shake Lu Chengwen's hand.
"CEO Lu, I know that making such a decision requires immense courage and moral conviction. No one knows what kind of storm the Ninth Pharmaceutical Factory will face tomorrow. But as someone in the pharmaceutical industry, I would like to represent all my colleagues in expressing our highest respect and gratitude for your decision."
Lu Chengwen smiled. "It's not as serious as you think. At worst, the factory shuts down and the media curses me out as a piece of dog shit."
The leader smiled and patted Lu Chengwen on the shoulder. "Then we're wrapping things up here. Contact us if you need anything."
"Thank you. Everyone has worked hard."
Dawn was nearly here.
At the distant horizon, a streak of rosy light was slowly rising.
Lu Chengwen was exhausted.
On his first day after transmigrating here, he had avoided two direct conflicts with the protagonist, Long Aotian. He had met each of the two Main Heroines twice and managed to keep his distance both times, doing his best to sever the ties between them.
Although none of it had gone very well, he was still alive and both his legs were still attached. That was good news.
The people who had worked overtime all night headed out one after another, starting their cars and going home to rest.
Lu Chengwen wearily walked up to his car when Director Zhang came over. "CEO Lu."
"Oh, Director Zhang. I'm exhausted. If there's something, let's talk about it tomorrow, okay?"
Director Zhang gave a bitter smile. "Just one sentence."
Lu Chengwen was utterly frustrated. He truly had no energy left to deal with these people.
"Fine, fine, fine. Hurry up and say it. I'm exhausted."
"Thank you." Director Zhang gave him a deep bow. When he straightened up, his eyes were moist, but his smile was relieved. "I'll resign tomorrow. You don't need to worry."
Director Zhang turned to leave, but Lu Chengwen stopped him. "Wait. Why are you resigning?"
"I..."
Lu Chengwen understood. This time, he had "caused" himself to lose several hundred million, so he was resigning.
Lu Chengwen smiled. "Teacher Zhang, you're the Sea Calming Needle of our Ninth Factory. If it hadn't been for you with this batch of medicine today, I wouldn't even dare imagine the consequences. You can't resign. If you leave, then when something like this happens again, who will warn me? Who will help me correct my mistakes? Even if you hate me and think I'm not human, you must still have some feelings for Ninth Factory, right? Those patients, those sick people who truly need good medicine, effective medicine—they need you to stay here and keep watch for them."
Director Zhang could hardly believe such human words had come out of Lu Chengwen's mouth.
He was both shocked and deeply moved.
"CEO Lu, I want to say this from the bottom of my heart. I misunderstood you before, and I apologize. What you did today truly opened my eyes. From now on..."
"Enough, enough, enough..." Lu Chengwen said. "Teacher Zhang, I truly don't have the strength to accept your apology or gratitude. Get some rest and continue working tomorrow. I'm tired. Let's talk tomorrow, okay? Today was awful."
"Oh, then... then all right. Please get some rest early."
Lu Chengwen let out a breath. Zhao Gang gave him a thumbs-up. "Young Master, you're incredible! That performance just now was perfect."
Lu Chengwen was expressionless. "Was it?"
"Absolutely Oscar-level acting. That Old Man Zhang was practically crying!"
"Shut up. Drive."
"Yes!"
Just then, a familiar voice rang out beside him. "Brother Chengwen, you're leaving already?"
Lu Chengwen had already pulled open the car door. He turned his head and saw Xu Xuejiao standing some distance away. She had apparently been there for a while and had seen his exchange with Director Zhang.
"You're pretty good at winning people over," Xu Xuejiao said. "Teacher Zhang is probably going to admire you to the point of complete devotion now."
Lu Chengwen rested his forehead against the car door frame for five seconds before raising his head. "Whatever you want to do, wait until tomorrow. I'm not doing anything else today. If you have the ability, tell Long Aotian to come beat me to death right now!"
"Why do you keep mentioning that person?" Xu Xuejiao yawned as well. "It's already morning. Buy me breakfast."
Lu Chengwen looked at her and shook his head. "Tomorrow, after the press conference. Either you transfer all the shares to me, or I transfer all the shares to you. From then on, we'll have nothing to do with each other until death. Neither of us will know the other. Is that okay?"
Xu Xuejiao had no idea what had gotten into this man. How had she offended him?
Why was he so sick of her?
Xu Xuejiao felt hurt.
Ever since she was young, boys who liked playing with her had come by the truckload. Which one of them hadn't praised her as beautiful as a fairy and clever and charming?
Why did this guy look at her like she was a pile of dog shit?
Xu Xuejiao was unhappy. "Why are you suddenly so sick of me?"
Lu Chengwen pulled open the car door. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. Goodbye."
Without another word, he got in and closed his eyes to rest. "Zhao Gang, go home."
Xu Xuejiao watched Lu Chengwen's car drive away.
She felt so wronged she could barely stand it.
That bastard definitely had a problem!
When we were little, he always lied to me and said he would become my doctor. How could he treat me like this now?
You want to stay far away from me? I'll cling to you instead! I'll annoy you to death!
When Lu Chengwen got home, he took off his coat and tossed it onto the floor. Then he flopped straight down, stiff as a board, and fell asleep the moment he hit the bed.
The sun was already high in the sky.
Lu Chengwen finally showed signs of waking up. His arm moved unconsciously and landed on a soft little mound.
Hm?
He squeezed it twice. Pretty soft.
What was this?
He opened his eyes.
I was dead.
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