Sheng Changya's Surprise

Sheng Changya had clicked in after being drawn by Langbo's trending topic.

It had to be said that she possessed a remarkably sharp professional instinct.

At a glance, she spotted work-related information amid the countless reposts from major influencers.

Though she was only a junior product manager, she had been with the company for six years.

Her professional nose was far sharper than that of many of her peers.

Like most people, her peers had automatically ignored the latter half of the announcement when they saw it.

Sheng Changya quickly opened Wei Kang's Langbo homepage, but aside from two notices, the entire page was completely blank.

There was none of the information she wanted to see regarding whitening medicine.

She checked his profile. There was no phone number, no WeChat account, no QQ account—only an email address marked for business cooperation.

After hesitating for a moment, she copied down the email address.

Then she began searching the entire internet for news and videos about Sanqing Pharmaceutical and its New Anti-Cancer Drug.

After watching the trial-medication videos edited by netizens, she went to Cao Jinmei's livestream room to watch several replays, then carefully watched for another ten minutes.

She finally confirmed that Sanqing Pharmaceutical was no simple company, and that the New Anti-Cancer Drug's efficacy was indeed remarkable.

A surge of joy welled up in her heart. It looked like a pharmaceutical company with considerable strength. They probably would not engage in false advertising, right?

She could try contacting them.

She immediately opened a new email, introduced herself, expressed her interest in cooperation, and asked the other party to provide more detailed materials.

"Hello, President Wei. I am a product manager at Oulaiya Group. I saw your announcement on Langbo today and am very interested in the Whitening and Spot-Removing Drug you mentioned. Could you provide specific information about the drug, preferably including data related to its efficacy? I look forward to your reply. Sheng Changya."

After clicking send and watching the email go out, she let out a long breath, her mood instantly turning excited.

She picked up the coffee beside her computer and took a sip, only to find that it had gone cold. Ah, she had been too absorbed in researching just now. Cold coffee did not taste good, but she could not waste it either—it had cost more than thirty yuan.

She raised the coffee and drained it in one go, then tossed the paper cup into the trash. She immediately felt more energized and less sleepy.

Normally, she drank the free coffee from the company pantry, but Starbucks had launched a new drink today, so naturally she had to try it.

Years of working life, coupled with frequent late-night overtime, had left her dependent on coffee. If she did not drink several cups a day, she became unbearably sleepy.

She looked back at the screen, intending to reply to some emails.

Suddenly, she saw a new email. When she opened it, she found it was from President Wei of Sanqing Pharmaceutical. This President Wei replied to emails quickly.

The email's contents were simple, just one sentence: See the attached image for the efficacy. If interested, add WeChat xxxxxx to discuss further.

She opened the image, and a high-definition photo of the back of a hand instantly popped up, filling the entire screen.

Huh? What the hell is this? Sheng Changya was full of question marks as she examined the image more closely.

Only then did she realize it was a comparison photo of the backs of two hands, left and right.

They were men's hands too—thick and large, with distinct knuckles.

What is this supposed to mean? Why send me a photo of hands?

Sheng Changya grumbled inwardly. She took another look, about to close the image. This President Wei was far too unreliable.

Then her gaze suddenly sharpened as she noticed something unusual in the photo.

The skin tones on the backs of the left and right hands were drastically different.

One was white and one was dark, the contrast striking, as though the backs of two different people's hands had been put together.

"Could it be that the left hand was treated with the Whitening Drug, while the right hand wasn't?"

After a brief moment of thought, Sheng Changya was certain of the answer.

Her eyes widened as she carefully examined the skin on the backs of both hands.

Fortunately, Wei Kang had taken a high-definition photo. Even the pores and skin texture were perfectly clear.

The more she looked, the more shocked she became. The skin on the left hand was far too fair and delicate. It practically looked like the hand of a naturally fair-skinned beauty.

The contrast was simply too obvious.

How long had President Wei used it? Had he applied it continuously for a month?

Did men go this far for whitening too? This was absolutely insane.

She sprang to her feet and paced a few steps beside her desk, only gradually calming the shock in her heart.

A cry echoed deep in her heart: Haha, I've struck it rich! With results this good, if we launch a whitening skincare product, it will sell like crazy. Hahaha, my KPI! My long-awaited promotion!

She covered her face as she sat before the computer, unable to stop herself from giggling.

After quite a while, she finally calmed down and added Wei Kang on WeChat, preparing to ask for the experimental data report.

This time, the other party did not reply so quickly. Quite some time passed, yet her friend request still had not been approved.

Sheng Changya worked while waiting for a message on WeChat.

Several times, WeChat chimed and she nearly jumped up in excitement, only to find messages from other friends or colleagues.

Why is time passing so slowly? Why hasn't he approved my request yet? Wasn't he the one who told me to add him on WeChat to discuss things in detail?

For a while, every day felt like a year. Several times when colleagues came over to discuss work matters with her, she was distracted.

Finally, just before the end of the workday, Wei Kang approved her request.

Her hands trembled slightly as she immediately sent the message she had drafted long ago.

"President Wei, my name is Sheng Changya. I am the Oulaiya product manager who emailed you today. The results in the photo are excellent. May I ask whether you have more detailed test data and experimental reports?"

The other party replied quickly. It was only a short sentence, but it instantly chilled her to the bone.

"No."

She looked speechlessly at the sky, then clutched her chest and replied, "How can there be none? Haven't you conducted any clinical trials at all?"

"Oh, there are clinical trials. It's just that this Whitening Drug of mine is an improved formula, so it is currently undergoing Phase II trials. The data report will not be available until the end of the month."

Sheng Changya took a deep breath. Good. There was still experimental data. Then she would wait.

"Alright. Please remember to send me a copy of the experimental data when the time comes, President Wei. That way, I can report this matter to my company."

Wei Kang readily agreed. After all, this was the first cosmetics group to approach him, and they seemed quite sincere after getting in touch.

As for requesting experimental data, that was also a perfectly normal procedure.

But perhaps he could be a little more convincing.

An idea came to him, and he asked, "How about this? If you still have doubts about the efficacy, I can provide you with a sample to try."

Sheng Changya said delightedly, "That would be wonderful. This is my address: xx Street, xx District, Sea City, xx."

"Alright. I'll send it out by SF Express tomorrow. If you think the results are good, please give me some feedback. It can count as a piece of experimental data too."

Sheng Changya agreed, and anticipation immediately filled her heart.

Wei Kang took out the remaining ointment from his earlier experiment. There was not much left, roughly ten grams. This ointment had not been diluted. Since he was sending out a sample, he would naturally send the most effective one.

He intended to give that Oulaiya product manager a surprise.

Surely she would understand his good intentions.

After all, there was only this much of the system-produced original formula left.

There would be no more after this.

Any future batches would be diluted versions of the formula.

Because the cities were close together, Sheng Changya soon received the sample Wei Kang had sent.

"Is this for real? Why does this stuff look so unreliable, like some unlicensed product?"

After washing up that evening, Sheng Changya took out the sample and frowned at the transparent plastic box in her hand.

"There isn't even a hint of fragrance. It smells like chemicals, doesn't spread well, feels hard, and is difficult to apply. Once spread out, it's white like paint."

Sheng Changya muttered to herself. This suspicious knockoff product made her a little afraid to apply it to her face.

After all, she was never short of high-end skincare products in her daily life, and their user experience completely crushed this suspicious ointment in her hand.

But when she thought of the results in the photo, she could not help feeling eager to try it.

"Whitening products can remove spots too. Since I don't dare apply it to my whole face, why don't I test its spot-removing function instead?"

Sheng Changya leaned close to the mirror, examined several tiny stubborn dark spots on her face, and resolutely applied the ointment to them.

After applying it, she let out a breath of relief.

"Alright, I'll apply a little every day. That way, it can last longer. I hope there'll be at least some effect once I've used it all."

Early the next morning, Sheng Changya got out of bed with a yawn and walked into the bathroom, preparing to brush her teeth and wash her face.

The moment she glanced at the mirror, the electric toothbrush in Sheng Changya's hand suddenly fell into the sink.

Her face was filled with disbelief as she stared straight at her reflection as though she had seen a ghost.

The face in the mirror had an even complexion, white and tender like a peeled egg.

There was not a single spot on it.

Yes, not a single spot.

But she had only applied the ointment to the dark spots last night.

Right, the ointment!!!

"Oh my god!"

Sheng Changya covered her mouth, unable to suppress her cry of shock.