Ji Xi, who had been idly bored, suddenly jerked his head up at those words.
The CEO of Haitian was still gathering information, his expression visibly darkening by the second.
"Why didn’t it pass quality inspection?"
Ji Xi had personally crafted the product after obtaining the data, testing it repeatedly. How could there possibly be an issue!?
After hanging up the phone, the Haitian CEO shot him a furious glare. "We’ve been played!"
"That set of data was tampered with!"
Ji Xi was no longer lounging around reading documents. He stood up, disbelief written all over his face. "Impossible..."
He was even more unwilling to believe it than the Haitian CEO.
How could he have missed manipulated pharmaceutical data? Who could have pulled this off without anyone noticing?
...
An hour after the news broke that Haitian’s new product failed quality inspection, Weilan Biotech, a subsidiary under the Ji Group, announced a collaboration with the Chen family to launch a new product—their first in years.
Rumors had already been circulating about JDJ02, a restorative agent targeting wounds, accelerating healing and stimulating skin regeneration.
"Is this the same restorative agent Haitian recently promoted?"
"Weilan Biotech previously emphasized that their restorative agent was exclusive. Why did Haitian release an identical product? Which side borrowed from the other?"
"Does Haitian’s failure to pass quality inspection have anything to do with Weilan Biotech?"
"Why is it labeled '02'? Is there an '01'?"
"Can you confirm whether the so-called 'genius pharmacist' Ji Xi is actually Ji Tingzhou’s child?"
Just as bodyguards stepped forward to remove the reporters asking inappropriate questions, Bruce stopped them with a glance.
"Our restorative agent has been under development by Ji Group’s pharmacists for four years. I wonder if Haitian, established just two years ago, can provide earlier proof."
(It was actually seven years. Anyone daring to forge evidence could claim it was a "mistake"—good luck explaining that.)
"As for that self-proclaimed 'genius'—I won’t comment on personal matters, but as a fellow pharmacist, I can certainly weigh in on his so-called talent."
"A true genius’s work wouldn’t fail quality inspection, would it?"
The implication was clear: it was all hype.
No one expected him to be this blunt. The reporters buzzed with excitement, eager to dig up more.
Unfortunately, the bodyguards weren’t about to let them derail the event with unrelated questions. Several were promptly escorted out, quieting the rest.
Ji Nian watched the live stream, her headphones in, observing Bruce’s confident demeanor and those striking blue eyes. She mused that this "blue-eyed tomato" was getting better at speaking Mandarin.
With the last exam over, the school was abuzz. Students who hadn’t finished clearing out their belongings strolled leisurely, chatting, their faces relaxed regardless of grades, discussing summer travel plans.
Amid the lively atmosphere, Ji Nian noticed the sudden hush around her. She removed one earbud and glanced around.
Her gaze locked onto the school gate.
A man stood there, dressed in an absurdly stylish long coat despite the summer heat. His brilliant emerald-green eyes outshone even the jade studs on his ears.
Beside him, a towering figure—likely a bodyguard—held an umbrella over his head.
Ji Nian blinked in surprise, overhearing a girl nearby gasp, "Oh my god, the male lead from novels just came to life."
She thought, Wrong guess.
Ji Tingzhou couldn’t be a novel’s male lead. Forget whether the female lead would tolerate him—readers would revolt at the mere idea of him having a fourteen-year-old daughter.
"You’re slow as hell. Need me to borrow a cane from Old Man Chen?"
And there was the second disqualifier.
Bad temper, sharp tongue—any heroine would slap him ten times a day.
"You’re the one overdressed," Ji Nian retorted, flicking his coat collar. "Who wears this much in summer?"
Ignoring her fashion critique, Ji Tingzhou lazily lowered his gaze, the shade of the umbrella deepening the green of his eyes. "How were your exams?"
"Decent," she answered honestly.
As they talked, phones discreetly snapped photos nearby. Murmurs rose: "That’s Ji Tingzhou, right?"
"Yeah, look at his green eyes—exactly like in the livestreams."
"Ji Nian looks so much like him. He could pass for her brother, not her dad."
The chatter didn’t faze them.
With the school on break, parents were allowed inside. Despite complaining about the heat, Ji Tingzhou made no move to leave. "Take me to your teacher," he ordered.
Ji Nian had wanted to ask where he’d been the past few days. Surprised but compliant, she led the way.
The bodyguard instinctively shifted the umbrella to cover both of them as he followed closely behind.
Amid the bustling school campus, many caught sight of Ji Tingzhou walking alongside Ji Nian.
Both shared the same jet-black hair and emerald-green eyes, their resemblance extending beyond looks to their very aura.
"Wait… isn’t that Ji Nian? Who’s that with her? They look so alike…"
"That’s Ji Tingzhou, her dad. Haven’t you heard about what’s been going on lately?"
A few quick-witted students trailed behind, watching as Ji Tingzhou led her into the office.
Eavesdropping, their eyes widened in shock. As the conversation neared its end, they hurriedly scattered.
One of them dashed to his friends and blurted out breathlessly, "Holy crap, Ji Nian’s dad is insane! Last time, he came anonymously pretending to be Lu Jinghuai’s parent for the school tour. He said the classroom air quality was trash, the auditorium was falling apart—claimed even his dog’s kennel would be too good for materials like that—and then dropped 80 million in donations on the spot. He gave the school one summer to renovate everything. Oh, and he wants the artificial lake filled in because he’s worried his daughter might fall in."
The words spilled out in a frantic rush, drawing a crowd of curious students.
Catching his breath, he added, "Oh yeah—he also said the cafeteria food smells like pig feed."
The irony was brutal. S High’s pride and joy was its legendary dining hall, rumored to serve food so delicious it could "melt your tongue," with an endless variety of dishes.
The guy shook his head. "And, uh… he roasted the dean’s haircut too."
The listeners exchanged glances, some stifling laughter.
"My mom wouldn’t even spoil me that much…"
"So the ‘Lu Jinghuai’s parent’ thing was just a cover for his inspection?"
"What about Ji Xi, though?"
"Who knows? My mom said Ji Tingzhou only ever acknowledged one daughter. Even if Ji Xi is part of the family, it doesn’t mean squat if he doesn’t claim her."
"Speaking of, Ji Xi keeps bragging about being a chemistry prodigy, but my sister’s in Ji Nian’s class. She says Ji Nian’s grades are way better."
"Too messy… Either way, Ji Nian’s clearly winning right now."
