THD Chapter 29

Ye Xueli rushed back to her own territory like a whirlwind. She had no idea what she was running from, but she knew she didn't want to remain there for another second.

Ye Xiqing watched her retreating figure before turning around.

Meng Xuedong immediately raised both hands in surrender.

"I swear I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose! I just came to ask you something. I didn't hear anything..."

Ye Xiqing fell silent for a moment before asking, "What is it?"

Meng Xuedong looked as though she was about to cry. She finally understood what people meant when they said overworking yourself would bring karmic retribution. Just look at her—she had accidentally overheard her boss's complicated family secrets.

Looking at Ye Xiqing pitifully, she asked, "Boss... now that all the details are finalized, where am I supposed to find people to actually carry out the work?"

"Figure something out yourself."

"I can't! I really can't! My family's been farming for eighteen generations. We don't have a single connection in this industry!"

"Then why did you choose this major?"

"I don't know. The name sounded like it'd have good job prospects, so I picked it."

Ye Xiqing was speechless.

You're certainly bold.

Meng Xuedong's courage had earned her the first major obstacle of her entrepreneurial career.

After a moment, Ye Xiqing asked, "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

"Come with me to visit Professor Yang."

Meng Xuedong froze.

"Professor Yang? You mean Academician Yang Wenqing?"

"Who else?"

"Oh my God! Xiqing, I actually get to meet Professor Yang?"

"Other than Professor Yang, do we have any connections in the pharmaceutical industry?"

"Hehe."

Meng Xuedong puffed out her chest proudly.

"So you admit it yourself, Boss. You don't have many pharmaceutical connections."

Crossing her arms, Ye Xiqing replied calmly, "I don't now. Soon I will."

Meng Xuedong nodded like a pecking chick.

I believe you! Absolutely!

Business concluded, her mind inevitably wandered elsewhere.

Without even looking at her expression, Ye Xiqing knew exactly what she was thinking.

"If you've got something else to say, say it."

Meng Xuedong hesitated.

Can I really ask something like this?

She struggled for quite a while before convincing herself that pretending to be clever in front of her boss might not actually be the smartest choice. Maybe her boss appreciated straightforward, loyal people instead.

She was the boss's number one loyal subordinate!

With renewed determination, she leaned close and whispered conspiratorially,

"Boss... are you preparing to fight for the family inheritance? Do you need my help?"

Ye Xiqing sighed.

"Don't say things like that in public again. Fortunately, I was the one who heard you. If a competitor overheard it—or if it ended up on a security recording—we'd both be finished."

Meng Xuedong nodded vigorously.

"I understand! Internal family conflict! I understand everything!"

"Boss, you're still too kind. Too innocent. Next time something like this comes up, just ask me."

Ye Xiqing looked at her blankly.

What exactly do you think you understand?

As she pushed Meng Xuedong into the room, the latter looked thoroughly satisfied with herself.

A genius boss who scored 746 on the college entrance examination really is different, she thought. She immediately knows sensitive matters should only be discussed behind closed doors.

Thanks to her remarkable composure, Ye Xiqing simply treated Meng Xuedong normally.

"Stop letting your imagination run wild. Do I look like someone who needs to compete with others for an inheritance?"

Meng Xuedong was about to reply, The door's already closed—what's there to worry about? But she stopped herself.

Now that she thought about it, ever since she'd met Ye Xiqing, her boss had always behaved like the one in charge. She never resembled one of those rich second-generation heirs desperately trying to win their parents' favor.

Besides, within the Ye Group, she'd only ever heard the chairman mention his long-lost eldest daughter—who happened to be her boss. She had never heard anyone mention another heir.

Could that delicate, rabbit-like younger sister really compete with such a formidable woman?

Lost in thought, Meng Xuedong remained silent.

Seeing her imagination spiraling again, Ye Xiqing explained simply.

"You can think of it like this. My younger sister and I were both betrothed from birth. When I was kidnapped as a child, that engagement naturally became hers."

"She and her fiancé grew up together and eventually fell in love."

"Now that I've returned, the original engagement technically belongs to me again, so she's worried I'll take her fiancé away."

"Umm..."

Meng Xuedong stared at Ye Xiqing in horror.

"So... you two sisters are fighting over the same man?"

Ye Xiqing rubbed her forehead.

"Use your brain. Which is more outrageous? Two sisters fighting over the same man—or a younger sister falling for the man who abandoned her elder sister crying by the roadside, then worrying that the elder sister will steal him?"

"..."

Meng Xuedong could only make another meaningless sound.

Everything suddenly clicked.

This was obviously the classic wealthy-family melodrama.

The proud, aloof elder sister.

The gentle, innocent younger sister.

Separated by fate, reunited years later, both connected to the same man.

The younger sister, raised in luxury, remained pure-hearted and believed in true love.

The elder sister, abandoned to hardship, returned with resentment in her eyes, determined to reclaim everything—including the man.

Classic.

So classic it could easily become a 180-episode television drama, complete with an endless parade of handsome male leads and supporting characters.

Just as Meng Xuedong was silently lamenting that reality had become one enormous melodramatic novel, Ye Xiqing's next sentence shattered her fantasy.

"Oh, and my younger sister never abandoned me. If I came back and wanted something else, that'd be one thing. Why would I steal the one thing that's hers?"

Meng Xuedong paused.

Actually...

Apart from a wardrobe full of beautiful dresses, the younger sister didn't seem to possess much else.

If there had been another brother or sister, she probably wouldn't even have inherited much of the family fortune.

Looking at the Ye sisters objectively, the difference between them was enormous.

The younger sister had spent eighteen sheltered years inside a greenhouse.

The elder sister had survived countless hardships and grown into a predator.

One already owned shares in the family company while building her own business empire.

The other was still trapped in a love triangle, crying and begging her sister not to steal her boyfriend.

They weren't even playing the same game.

Whether it was competing for the inheritance or competing for a man, the outcome was obvious.

I've been imagining something incredibly stupid.

Thankfully, Xiqing was still perfectly rational.

Compared to any supposed love triangle, her younger sister's hopeless infatuation was clearly the real headache.

In that sense, Xiqing was actually incredibly compassionate.

If it were Meng Xuedong, she'd be delighted.

"I'll give you eighteen years of advantage, and you're still this useless? Then the Ye family belongs to me! Hahaha!"

No wonder Xiqing was like a goddess—noble, virtuous, and even willing to straighten out her hopeless younger sister, even if her methods were somewhat harsh.

Meng Xuedong's gaze toward Ye Xiqing instantly filled with admiration, sympathy, understanding, and respect.

Boss... I have so much to learn from you!

Ye Xiqing looked utterly speechless.

"Can we recruit her into the System to write scripts?"

"No."

"Then you've missed out on a real talent."

The System snorted.

"If things followed her script, Ye Xueli would have secretly recorded everything you just said and exposed your so-called ambition to the whole world."

Ye Xiqing smiled faintly.

"If that were the case, I'd think much more highly of her."

Even a wounded beast roaming the wilderness never loses its instinct to hunt.

But if a rabbit raised comfortably indoors forgets how to bite, it will eventually rot away inside its cage.

Ye Xiqing glanced sideways at Meng Xuedong.

Meng Xuedong immediately straightened up and became perfectly obedient.

Meng Xuedong immediately became obedient. "What is it?"

Opening the door with one hand, Yang Wenqing gave her only a brief glance before saying, "Let's end today's discussion here. We'll continue tomorrow."

Yang Wenqing was an exceptionally meticulous person. If she disagreed with something, she simply would not do it. But once she agreed, she followed through without fail.

Many people had told her that undergraduate teaching was easy and could be left to other lecturers, that a professor of her standing did not need to handle everything personally. Even so, Yang Wenqing still came. She always kept her word.

No matter what Ye Xiqing thought, Yang Wenqing had already promised her a direct bachelor's-to-doctorate program, and she intended to honor that promise.

What she had not expected was that, while she herself was already moving quickly, her student was even more impatient.

Looking at Ye Xiqing, who was now consulting her about establishing a pharmaceutical research company, Yang Wenqing fell silent for a moment.

"Are you really that eager to start your own pharmaceutical research company?"

"Yes. It's always better when it's your own. If I have my own laboratory, I can pursue the research I want without worrying about anyone interfering."

"As my student, no one is going to deny you academic resources."

"But I already have a specific field I want to focus on."

Yang Wenqing raised an eyebrow.

"That's unusual. You haven't even taken a single professional course yet, and you already know your research direction? What is it?"

Ye Xiqing had been waiting for exactly that question.

She straightened in her chair, looked Yang Wenqing directly in the eye, and solemnly declared her ambition.

"At this stage, my primary goal is to develop a cure for menstrual cramps."

Yang Wenqing: ...

Meng Xuedong: ...

That... was unexpected.

Having seen all kinds of people throughout her career, Yang Wenqing remained perfectly composed.

Meng Xuedong, however, looked at Ye Xiqing with unconcealed sympathy.

"Xiqing... you have menstrual cramps?"

Even a genius like Ye Xiqing suffered from them?

That was so pitiful...

Ye Xiqing looked at her helplessly.

"Could you stop pitying me all the time? Just because I'm researching this medicine doesn't mean I suffer from menstrual cramps."

"Then... is it your aunt? Or your older sister? Xiqing, you're so kind, dedicating yourself to research for your family."

Ye Xiqing: ...

I'm glad you're praising me, but could you please stop inventing such strange stories?

Yang Wenqing coughed lightly.

As an elderly woman who had been through menopause for many years, listening to two young women openly discussing menstrual cramps was, admittedly, a little awkward.

To steer the conversation back on track, she adopted a serious expression.

"Many people in our profession chose this path after watching someone they loved suffer from illness. That's a perfectly good motivation to begin with. No matter how small the starting point may be, the desire to relieve the suffering of others is one of the most important beliefs a medical researcher can have."

She paused.

"But—"

"But that's not my motivation," Ye Xiqing interrupted for the first time.

Yang Wenqing looked at her once more.

The young woman's expression remained just as calm and composed as it had been the day they first met.

Sometimes Yang Wenqing wondered whether such a young body truly housed an unusually mature soul.

Meeting Yang Wenqing's gaze, Ye Xiqing calmly revealed what she truly believed.

"'To eliminate suffering for the world' is certainly a noble ideal. If I wanted to, I could easily use that answer to deceive you."

"But the world is simply too peaceful, and my material life is too comfortable."

"My life is so easy that I don't even feel like lying."

"So I'll tell you the truth."

"I'm doing all of this because I want to become a female scientist."

"You might wonder why I emphasize female scientist."

"People say that science has no borders and that scholars have no gender."

"But the borders of science have always existed, just as the gender of a scholar has always existed. Both have constantly challenged my sanity."

"I don't know how other people find motivation through love."

"For me, the driving force has always been negative emotions."

"So I stand here today not for love, nor for justice."

"I stand here simply to declare war—as a woman—against everything that gives rise to those negative emotions."

Yang Wenqing was speechless.

"...You sound more like a politician than a scientist."

"I did consider becoming one," Ye Xiqing admitted. "But Professor Yang's personal charisma won me over."

"Please don't say things like that. It puts far too much pressure on me."

"No," Ye Xiqing replied earnestly. "That's praise you've truly earned, Professor Yang."

Yang Wenqing once again found herself at a loss for words.

As a teacher, she absolutely did not want her student to view science through such a narrow lens.

Technology was a powerful tool. A researcher's ultimate achievements depended on talent, but the direction in which that talent was used depended entirely upon their values.

Everything Ye Xiqing had said sounded dangerously extreme.

Yet when Yang Wenqing stopped thinking as a professor and simply thought as a woman...

She found herself desperately hoping that Ye Xiqing would succeed.

It was an irrational feeling, almost like a zealot whose convictions had been stirred by the passionate words of a much younger person.

In the end, she merely sighed.

"Don't expect me to help you much beyond my responsibilities. I'm your teacher, and I'll teach you everything I'm supposed to teach."

"As for anything beyond that..."

She could not.

Her student was still very young.

But she herself had already grown old.

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