Take a Break

The one-month contract romance between Yuan Chen and Ouyang Keke finally came to an end. Because the reason for the breakup seemed slightly cliché, the public quickly lost interest, and all sorts of discussions surrounding Yuan Chen completely subsided.

Whether it was the earlier rumors or the later scandals, they seemed to be nothing more than insignificant little interludes. Just when everyone thought life had returned to normal, no one expected that the seemingly peaceful daily routine would usher in a blockbuster bomb.

The incident occurred on a Wednesday morning. Minister Yan of the Patent Strategy Department was pale and practically unable to stand steadily as he came to request an audience with President Yuan.

"I have an emergency to report to President Yuan. It's about the new drug patent."

This man, who had always looked down his nose at others, was trembling with his hands. Shen Yi immediately realized something major had happened.

President Yuan was on the phone with an overseas branch, and there was a scheduled meeting thirty minutes later, but facing such an emergency, the tight schedule had to be temporarily shelved.

"Pass the word down: the three o'clock meeting is postponed. In addition, convey that there might be overtime today."

"Understood, Minister."

After issuing instructions swiftly, Shen Yi immediately began drafting a memo. Minister Yan, standing and waiting in the middle of the office, swallowed continuously, his gaze tightly following Shen Yi.

Subsequently, Shen Yi held the memo and softly knocked on the office door. The knock was very light, barely audible.

In this space that was clean to the point of being inhuman, the man who always carried the greatest presence was sitting upright in his chair.

Amidst complete silence, the low-pitched English conversation continued.

Yuan Chen held his phone in one hand while tapping the desk lightly with the other, continuing to converse with the person on the other end of the line. His tone remained solemn and restrained.

Shen Yi walked silently to his side and placed the memo on the desk. That indifferent gaze first fell on Shen Yi's face, then lowered.

Yuan Chen's gaze swept over the neat handwriting on the paper, then he covered the memo with his palm. The veins on the back of his hand bulged faintly.

"Sorry, an unexpected emergency has forced me to interrupt the call. I'll contact you again tomorrow at the same time."

The moment the call ended, that sharp gaze was immediately cast over. Shen Yi caught the meaning and quickly turned to open the door, letting Minister Yan, who had been waiting anxiously outside, enter.

The situation was more severe than imagined. A serious confidential leak incident had occurred within the R&D team responsible for new drug development.

"Yuzhi Technology has already applied for the patent ahead of us."

Carrying the sentiment of pleading guilty, Minister Yan detailed the course of the event.

When the patent team checked the Patent Office's update information as usual this morning, they unexpectedly discovered the new drug patent applied for by their competitor.

This compound looked exceptionally familiar; it was precisely the project independently developed by the Akit research team, which was about to be launched as the next-generation new drug. Not only was this a major project that had invested huge amounts of capital, but the initial research alone had taken nearly a year.

Although it was possible for competitors to develop similar substances, the situation this time was that the chemical structure and components were completely identical, almost like a perfect replica. If internal personnel hadn't leaked the research materials, this was virtually impossible to happen.

After listening to the report, Yuan Chen pressed his temples and remained silent for a long time. Because he was biting down hard on his back molars, his jawline appeared exceptionally distinct. He was desperately suppressing his anger.

It was simply unbelievable. This wasn't some small or medium-sized enterprise, but a top-tier large domestic pharmaceutical company, yet such a serious oversight had happened.

That gaze, sharp as thorns, shot directly at Minister Yan. Minister Yan did not dare to look him in the eye, lowering his head as he asked timidly:

"Who is the leaker?"

"We are currently investigating. There are a few suspects at the moment, but the evidence is insufficient, so we can't jump to conclusions yet..."

"Are we supposed to just sit by and do nothing? Do you think this is reasonable?"

The cold questioning made Minister Yan lower his head deeply. Yuan Chen averted his gaze and cursed in a low voice, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

Although he had barely managed to suppress his anger, he was clearly furious beyond measure.

"Call an emergency meeting immediately. No, I'll go to the research institute myself."

Yuan Chen stood up abruptly, putting on the suit jacket hanging on the coat rack while staring sternly at Minister Yan.

"Notify the legal team and all personnel of the Patent Strategy Department to stand by on high alert. Minister Yan, you're coming down with me."

"Yes, President Yuan."

At the same time, Shen Yi had already contacted the driver to prepare the car. If they were going to the research institute located in City B, today's schedule was bound to be entirely readjusted. While busy coordinating President Yuan's affairs, he rapidly sorted through the items requiring priority handling in his mind.

Looking at President Yuan's furious expression, Shen Yi swallowed unconsciously. This was the first time he had ever seen Yuan Chen fly into such a rage.

The entire Akit company instantly descended into chaos. After Yuan Chen personally went to the research institute to grasp the situation, he reconfirmed the fact that secrets had been leaked.

Upon returning to the company, the entire group entered a state of emergency. Starting with tracking down the leaker, lawyers and patent attorneys arrived one after another to begin formulating countermeasures.

Long meetings were held back-to-back. At the same time, to prevent this matter from leaking and affecting stock prices, everyone was instructed to keep it strictly confidential.

Starting from the day the incident occurred, Yuan Chen completely abandoned his personal life, devoting himself heart and soul to company affairs.

President Yuan didn't even have time to eat or rest, which caused his colleagues in the Secretariat to also work overtime along with him. At a juncture like this, any minor mistake could trigger serious consequences, and everyone braced themselves with twelve-point focus to work.

Putting the busy work aside, President Yuan's mood had plummeted to rock bottom. Anyone could see that his anger had reached its peak.

Although it was already April, the atmosphere inside the office was as biting as the dead of winter. Everyone walked on eggshells, not daring to breathe loudly. Facing this situation, Shen Yi served President Yuan with even greater detail and attentiveness than usual.

One week after the leak incident, today was another overtime night. Although it was already past three in the morning, the lights in President Yuan's office were still on.

Shen Yi remained alone in the outer room to tidy up his desk. Facing a walking-on-thin-ice working atmosphere every day, fatigue was inevitable, but the more it was like this, the more one had to keep the surroundings in good order to maintain inner composure.

Shen Yi propped his elbows on the freshly cleaned desk surface, cupped his chin with both hands, and looked toward the office with sleepy, blinking eyes. Through the glass window, he could see that President Yuan still maintained an upright posture, reviewing documents. He had been working continuously like this for hours.

He had pulled an all-nighter last night too. Unlike Shen Yi, who had taken turns resting with the other secretaries earlier that morning, Yuan Chen had not closed his eyes for over forty hours.

How could his body handle this if it went on like this? Even a top-tier Superior Alpha wasn't made of iron, but strangely enough, he had never been seen showing a look of fatigue.

I have to say, his physical stamina is truly astonishing.

Shen Yi muttered to himself and spun his chair around.

He lowered his arm gently and opened the secret drawer beside the desk.

The compartment beneath the drawer was packed with all sorts of "survival supplies": fatigue recovery agents, high-concentration vitamins, and even stimulants used to perk oneself up when exhausted to the extreme.

Shen Yi took out a can of high-caffeine energy drink and took a stealthy sip. After passing thirty, pulling all-nighter shifts truly wasn't as easy as it used to be.

But President Yuan was definitely an exception...

He pressed the drink can against his lips and glanced at the wall clock. No matter what, he had to persuade him to go home and rest today. Even if he got chewed out, he had to say it. What if he collapsed from exhaustion? Wouldn't that be even worse?

Shen Yi made up his mind alone. His eyes, blurred by sleepiness, reignited with fighting spirit. In one go, he finished the rest of the drink.

Holding the fatigue recovery agent prepared for President Yuan, Shen Yi roughly adjusted his attire, knocked lightly on the office door, and without waiting for a response, pushed the door open himself.

Continuous high-intensity work had left President Yuan's condition in a very poor state. His tie was loose, his shirt was wrinkled, and even his usually immaculate desk was in complete disarray.

The dark circles under his eyes proved that he wasn't a robot and was made of flesh and blood. Yuan Chen glanced at the personal secretary who had entered without permission, then continued to focus on his phone call, but his complexion was even worse than before.

This was one of Yuan Chen's habits: the greater the pressure, the tighter his brow furrowed, and the deeper the lines on his forehead became.

Shen Yi walked over quietly, placed the fatigue recovery agent within Yuan Chen's line of sight, and then began silently tidying up the messy desk.

"I know what lawyer Liu wants to say, but even so, I have no need to consider your predicament, do you?"

That harsh phrasing was laced with exhaustion. While listening to the contents of the call, Shen Yi secretly sighed. What kind of mess was this?

He, Yuan Chen, and the lawyer who still had to answer calls at three in the morning-they were all equally pitiful.

"Please drop the idea of persuading me. Do you think I'm staying this late just to engage in this kind of consumable debate?"

Yuan Chen irritably yanked off his tie. Looking at the tie casually tossed onto the floor, Shen Yi immediately picked it up and rolled it up carefully. Before he knew it, the cluttered desktop had been tidied until it was spotless.

"Alright, let's discuss it at work tomorrow. I want all lawyers from the legal team in my office before nine."

After the call ended, the office plunged into an unsettling silence.

Yuan Chen still furrowed his brow, massaging his temples. Pressure and exhaustion had reached a critical threshold, and right now he looked like he didn't want to do a thing.

Shen Yi understood him. Yuan Chen was a man who planned his actions and pursued perfection, utterly loathing any mistakes in the work he was in charge of.

Especially since the aftershocks of this incident would be massive; a meticulously crafted project was facing collapse due to an internal leak. Such a flaw in a perfect career was even harder for him to bear.

Unable to watch any longer, Shen Yi walked over to his side and carefully straightened his flipped-up shirt collar.

His broad back trembled slightly from the sudden touch, but Yuan Chen said nothing, only resting his head against the back of the chair as if he didn't even have the strength to move a finger. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"President Yuan, how about calling it a day? Go home and rest a bit before working."

Shen Yi finally blurted out the purpose of this trip. He secretly observed President Yuan's face-it wouldn't even be surprising if he suddenly collapsed right now.

President Yuan, let's go home. If you pull another all-nighter today, you really aren't a mortal anymore, Shen Yi muttered inwardly, scrutinizing his features closely.

...Huh?

But something seemed a bit wrong. Yuan Chen's skin appeared redder than usual. Hesitantly, Shen Yi reached out and lightly touched the back of the president's neck.

The skin he touched was exceptionally scorching.