Chapter 47 The Medicine Is Poisonous

Zheng Shao was instantly thrown into a panic. In his haste to host this press conference before Yisheng Company, his preparations had been rushed. He had spent the entire night producing the cream according to the formula, and then hurried off to contact Mona. With time running short, he could only pull in one of the company's young female employees for product testing.

Back then, Gu Xiangnan had concluded that the cream produced different reactions in different people: the older the woman and the more aged her skin, the more violent the reaction; young people, however, experienced almost no adverse effects. Just now, when Wu Meiyu introduced Mona’s situation to Gu Xiangnan, he had already anticipated such a scene might unfold.

The audience below the stage stood up nervously, all eyes fixed on what was happening. Gu Xiangnan strode swiftly onto the stage and decisively pulled away the white cloth covering Mona’s face.

A shrill, agonized scream pierced the air as Mona, in pain, reached up to her face. Her manicured fingers, long and sharp, raked several shocking wounds across her cheeks in an instant. Blood welled from the ghastly cuts, staining both her fingers and her face red.

The audience erupted in cries of alarm, thrown into utter chaos. People recoiled in terror as if they had seen a ghost.

Her face was ruined!

Su Hanyan’s heart clenched. No, this wasn’t right! During their own company’s testing, the young female employee had indeed found the itch unbearable and kept scratching her face. But when she broke the skin, no blood came out—rather, new, tender white skin was revealed. But Mona was bleeding profusely; something was seriously wrong.

Mona’s hands trembled as she stared at the blood that covered them, her voice rising in panic, “Ah! My face... my face is ruined!”

Gu Xiangnan unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and poured it over Mona’s head, rinsing the beauty cream from her face. The itching gradually subsided, leaving only intense pain.

Mona regained some of her composure, clutching her injured face as she turned to Zheng Shao and demanded, “Why has this happened to my face? You promised I’d look twenty again, but now I’m disfigured! My career is over—how are you going to make this up to me?”

Zheng Shao had no idea why this had happened. He didn’t even understand the basics of pharmacology, and stammered helplessly, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

Gu Xiangnan then picked up the microphone onstage and spoke in a steady, commanding tone, “Everyone, please be quiet. I have something important to announce.” Though his voice wasn’t loud, it resonated with force, instantly quieting the entire venue.

Seeing Gu Xiangnan about to speak, Zheng Shao was seized by a sense of impending doom. He tried to rush forward and grab the microphone, but with a wave of his hand, Gu Xiangnan sent him tumbling aside with a blast of force.

“The chaos today is because this beauty cream contains toxic ingredients!” Gu Xiangnan’s words exploded through the press conference like a thunderclap.

“Is that true?”
“Did Zheng Shao really dare to sell a toxic product?”
“What about Mona’s face now?”
“Who is this man? How does he know all this? Is he just making slanderous claims?”

Hearing this, Mona recalled the pain she had just endured. With trembling fingers, she pointed at Zheng Shao and sobbed, “How dare you! You poisoned me! I’m going to sue you. I have a one-billion policy on my face—get ready to pay up!”

Zheng Shao, alarmed, scrambled up from the floor and immediately tried to shift the blame. “If you want compensation, don’t come to me—go to him!” He pointed at Gu Xiangnan.

“What a joke! It was your company’s product that did this to me. Why would I go after him?”

“He was the one who developed the formula. If there’s poison, it’s his doing and has nothing to do with me!” Zheng Shao blurted out without thinking.

The audience was in an uproar.

Only now did everyone realize that Zheng Shao had stolen Gu Xiangnan’s formula.

Click! Click! The reporters in the room had already recorded everything he said.

One reporter seized the moment to ask, “So, Zheng Shao, when you said earlier that you had poured your hearts into developing this formula, was that all a lie?”

“Zheng Shao, may I ask how you managed to steal this gentleman’s formula?”

Another reporter approached Gu Xiangnan, curiosity in his voice, “Sir, which company do you represent? How did you know there was poison in the formula?”

Gu Xiangnan smiled faintly. “Unlike this spoiled young man, I love to read and I understand pharmacology. By now, I think everyone here can see there’s a problem with this formula, can’t you?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zheng Shao, having already been exposed, tried to drag others down with him.

“Friends from the media, this man’s name is Gu Xiangnan, and he’s from Yisheng Company. In five days, their new product launch will use the very same formula. Make sure you attend!”

He shot a provocative look at Su Hanyan, grinning.

Su Hanyan was about to retort, but Gu Xiangnan spoke first. “Our formula wasn’t stolen, and our product isn’t toxic, Zheng Shao. Don’t make baseless claims. Five days from now, all media friends are welcome to attend our launch and see for yourselves.”

Su Hanyan added, “That’s right. Zheng Shao never stole our formula—he’s just trying to frame us.”

Now everyone was thoroughly confused. Had the formula been stolen or not?

Zheng Shao, however, refused to back down. “Hmph, even if we can’t bring our product to market, don’t think you’ll have it easy. In five days’ time, I want to see what you can possibly produce.”

Gu Xiangnan sneered, “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time? Are you itching for another?”

Zheng Shao suddenly remembered that Yang Dianfeng had a close relationship with this young man. Instantly wary, he backed away.

Seeing his goal accomplished, Gu Xiangnan took Su Hanyan’s hand and left.

On the way back, the two of them rode together in the same car.

Su Hanyan asked, “Xiaonan, did you get a good look at Mona’s face?”

“I did.”

“She bled after tearing off the outer skin, but during our own testing, there was no bleeding. What do you think happened?”

Gu Xiangnan pondered for a moment before answering, “I’ve analyzed it, and I think there are two reasons. First, Mona has undergone too many cosmetic procedures. Each one causes trauma to the skin and muscle tissue, and over time, this has seriously damaged her body. Second, the age she publicly claims is false. In reality, she’s much older than we think.”

Su Hanyan replied worriedly, “I hope that’s all it is. Even if we denied this was our formula, in five days, the truth will come out. We need to come up with a decisive solution before then.”

Gu Xiangnan, for once, fell silent.

When they returned to the villa, neither had any desire to finish what they’d left incomplete before. Each went to their own room; Su Hanyan took a nap to catch up on sleep.

Meanwhile, Gu Xiangnan lay on his bed, turning over possible solutions in his mind.

If nothing else worked, he’d have to call his mentors.

He picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts until he found the one marked “Rou Rou,” and dialed.

After five or six rings, no one answered.

Just as Gu Xiangnan was about to hang up, a gentle female voice came through, “Hello? Xiaonan?”

It was his second master—Rouci the Alchemical Immortal.

“Hello, Second Master!” Gu Xiangnan exclaimed excitedly. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“Xiaonan, what’s brought you to call so suddenly? Did you get yourself into trouble?”