Chapter 67: Pill

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=7288969
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Half an hour ago, at the research institute in the capital.

Jun Youyue met Lu Jinghua for the first time.

From his appearance, he was just an ordinary old man.

His hair was graying, and he had a tuft of white beard. He wore a scarf and earmuffs, walked unsteadily, and needed assistance.

A perpetual smile adorned his lips, along with his facial wrinkles, giving him a somewhat kind appearance.

Even the budgerigar on his shoulder fit the image of an old man from the capital.

But the more he smiled amiably, the more uneasy Jun Youyue felt.

Besides her nervousness, she had an overwhelming anger she couldn't suppress.

He was the one who had harmed her family.

Jun Youyue clenched her hand by her side.

How much she wanted to rush forward and stab this man! But she lacked the means to do so.

She had a life-saving pill in her pocket.

She had an unconscious urge to check if it was still there but restrained herself with sheer willpower.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Jun," Lu Jinghua's voice was also unremarkable.

If he were placed in a park in the capital, anyone who saw him would think he was just an old man out for a stroll with his bird.

Who could imagine that a man with such an appearance had conducted so many unethical, revolting experiments in private?

Jun Youyue closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened her eyes again, most of the distractions in her gaze were gone.

She saw Cheng Xu following behind Lu Jinghua.

With the backing of the Cheng and Lu families, no wonder this person had risen so smoothly.

But these were no longer the main points.

"I remember today was just a regular project handover."

Jun Youyue held the organized materials in her hand, her attitude not particularly respectful, swinging the documents as if she might throw them away at any moment.

Cheng Xu's expression didn't show any embarrassment despite Jun Youyue's disdain.

"Hehe, I'm just an ordinary elder. Today, I'm accompanying my timid grandson here to take a look at the project," Lu Jinghua's expression remained unchanged as if he didn't notice Jun Youyue's actions.

His tone was almost overflowing with affection for his junior, but Jun Youyue felt he was being deliberate as if putting on a show for someone.

With the inexplicably present Lu Jinghua, the entire handover process felt as solemn as attending a ceremony in a church.

The male researcher, who had been ignored by Jun Youyue for some time and originally wanted to provoke her, didn't dare to cause trouble, fearing he would ruin his impression with Mr. Lu.

After it ended, Jun Youyue turned to leave.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Lu Jinghua had a special purpose, not to mention that Jun Youyue had anticipated his move.

But if he said nothing, Jun Youyue would pretend to know nothing.

After all, there was still Plan B with Lu Tingyi.

Revenge is a matter that can wait ten years, especially since there isn't much time left.

"Please wait, Miss Jun." Just as Jun Youyue took a step, Lu Jinghua spoke, as if he only dared to confirm her presence after hearing her footsteps.

The group arrived at a quieter area near the warehouse.

"I didn't expect Xici to take a liking to a scholar like you," Lu Jinghua remarked with narrowed eyes as if he could see through Jun Youyue.

Jun Youyue remained silent.

She wasn't surprised that her connection with Lu Xici had been exposed.

On that day, saving her sister was urgent and took precedence over everything else.

But bringing up this matter now, what did this old man intend to do?

"You resemble your mother quite a bit," Lu Jinghua took another step closer, "assessing" Jun Youyue. If his gaze intensified a bit more, it would seem like he was inspecting a potential match for his granddaughter.

He can't see?

Jun Youyue softened her footsteps and stepped back, but Lu Jinghua remained unresponsive.

Is this the reason he forced her mother to develop and modify drugs?

"What do you mean?" Jun Youyue was displeased.

Just because of this personal reason, it destroyed her family.

This old man is truly a sanctimonious hypocrite.

"I'm praising you. Like her, you're a brain researcher," Lu Jinghua pinched his beard, his tone nostalgic.

Then he adjusted his earmuffs as if listening to someone speaking.

"Ah, what a pity," he shook his head after listening, appearing genuinely regretful.

"All you young ones, why are your minds so rigid? Being so inflexible will only lead to great losses."

It sounded like an old man lecturing his juniors. But Jun Youyue wasn't buying it and found his words rather repulsive.

"I originally said I'd spare you today out of respect for Lu Xici's face. Hehe... But she's as unreasonable as someone from the Jun family."

Lu Jinghua had just heard Lu Xici repeatedly refuse and angrily rebuke him.

"What a shame." After saying this, he raised his hand, and a group of people rushed out from around the warehouse, surrounding Jun Youyue.

Lu Tingyi's description of Lu Jinghua was indeed accurate.

His rhetoric is clever, framing everything unfavorable to himself as others' faults.

He cares deeply about saving face; even when planning to capture someone, he uses polite words like "please."

Moreover, if he wants to coerce someone, he will definitely find a justification.

He places great importance on family relationships, as implied both directly and indirectly in his words. If Lu Xici returns to the Lu family, Lu Jinghua will certainly treat Jun Youyue with apparent respect.

As for whether he would exploit familial ties to abduct them secretly, the answer is affirmative.

No wonder he previously attempted to force a divorce between her and Lu Xici.

Once there's no relationship between her and Lu Xici, it conveniently justifies his actions.

If she was still the granddaughter-in-law of the Lu family, there would be no way that this proud old man would take action easily.

After all, if this matter were to be spread, he would be branded as a more vicious villain than a tiger.

Lu Jinghua is very afraid of these things.

Therefore, he handled those dirty deeds behind the scenes with unparalleled perfection, not even heard by Lu Tingyi.

Jun Youyue lowered her eyes, sweeping her gaze over the people surrounding her.

If Jun Youning had encountered trouble on that day earlier, Jun Youyue would have discovered that the same group who chased Jun Youning that day was now surrounding her.

Though they didn't carry weapons, their bulging pockets were their confidence.

"You're blind," Jun Youyue thought for only a second.

Just surrounding her instead of directly catching her indicates that she has a trump card Lu Jinghua fears or desires.

Most likely, it's the pills left behind by her mother.

"Yes," Lu Jinghua didn't even evade the question.

In the past, accusations of him being old or in poor health would have angered him greatly, but today he was unusually calm, even amiable.

"Faults carried from the womb. Originally, I could still see." 

He turned towards Jun Youyue, his unfocused eyes staring meaninglessly into the sky.

"Thanks to Jun Linyi and Yang Wanqing. They played a trick on me," Lu Jinghua said, turning his head towards where Jun Youyue should have been.

If his eyes could focus, they would have looked at Jun Youyue with the gaze reserved for the dead.

From his words, Jun Youyue could probably guess the situation in the past.

Lu Jinghua pressured Jun Linyi and Yang Wanqing to develop unethical drugs.

When they refused, they created supplements that could be considered poison, dealing Lu Jinghua a near-fatal blow.

"Back then, they developed two pills. One was for me, supposed to restore my vision in three layers over ten years, but my health deteriorated, and I spent most of the year in the hospital. Three and a half years ago, I went completely blind."

Lu Jinghua then added details that Jun Youyue hadn't anticipated.

No wonder everything erupted three and a half years ago.

"There's a saying, 'the sins of the father are repaid by the son'. If Lu Xici had been willing to return to the Lu family honestly, you would have been considered half of the Lu family, and I would have treated you like a granddaughter-in-law, never pressuring you like this."

After Lu Jinghua finished speaking, the black-clad men surrounding Jun Youyue took out some kind of regulated weapons, pointing them at her.

Jun Youyue remained unchanged in expression.

Even though she should have been anxious.

Anyone in such a situation would not be able to remain so calm.

She simply took out the pill from her jacket pocket.

"So, you want this," Jun Youyue revealed her trump card.

Lu Jinghua couldn't see.

But the black-clad men beside him could see, and they whispered to him, informing him of what Jun Youyue had taken out.

"Are you sure it's white and not yellow? It looks like a pearl," after confirming multiple times, Lu Jinghua visibly became excited, his beard trembling.

"Ha, good, very good! I originally said I needed to 'invite' you to help me research until we get results. Who knew they really left this thing to you..."

The black-clad men stepped forward, attempting to take the pill from Jun Youyue's hand.

Jun Youyue sidestepped, evading the group of black-clad men holding weapons, who were eager to act but unsure whether to pull the trigger.

"The method of administration is in my hands," with just one sentence, the agitation around them subsided.

Lu Jinghua raised his hand, signaling the black-clad men to lower their weapons.

"Hmph. All of you from the Jun family are really good at acting.

"Your sister too, with that look of being willing to die rather than yield, almost made me believe this thing was in her hands.

"And you too, cozying up to Lu Xici while still appearing at the research institute. With all the effort spent causing so much trouble, why not cooperate with me?"

Even Lu Jinghua remained somewhat calm, attempting to negotiate with Jun Youyue.

"Why should I cooperate with you? I can research this on my own," Jun Youyue steered the conversation in a different direction, testing the waters.

She toyed with the pill in her hand, noticing that some of the people around her showed signs of being moved, their eyes revealing a greedy expression as they stared at the pill.

"On your own? Hah! With the vast resources of the Lu family, how could we possibly mistreat you? In terms of resources, my Lu family is among the top three in the capital."

Lu Jinghua wouldn't fall for such an easy trap, leaving no openings for Jun Youyue.

"You won't even grant inheritance rights to Aunt Lu," Jun Youyue attempted to throw this pill, realizing that Lu Jinghua's subordinates weren't as loyal as they seemed.

"That's her side of the story. How does she know that if she returns to the Lu family now, I won't give Lingding to her?" Lu Jinghua couldn't see Jun Youyue's actions; otherwise, he might have gone mad.

He had pursued it for more than ten years, spent so much effort, callously driven one person after another to their deaths for this pill that could restore sight, and extend life. How could he allow this inexperienced girl to toy with it like this?

"Lingding is on the decline," Jun Youyue understood.

Lu Jinghua wanted Lu Xici to return home for another reason: to use the technology in Lu Tingyi's hands to save the Lu family's company.

It was truly shameless.

If Jun Youyue hadn't been so composed herself, she might have lost her cool now.

"That's better than the small company she created," Lu Jinghua was growing impatient.

With a naturally bad temper, he was now patiently discussing with Jun Youyue solely because of this life-saving pill.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=7288969
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Jun Youyue's watch vibrated, signaling something.

She couldn't extract any more words.

"You want this pill, right? This pill, when taken, can increase strength, speed, agility by a hundredfold, enhance senses several times beyond normal, and even extend life by decades." Jun Youyue spoke while observing the reactions of the black-clad men.

Without waiting for Lu Jinghua to say anything else, Jun Youyue threw a crumpled paper square along with the pill.

"This is the method of administration."

The black-clad men immediately became restless.

They jostled and pushed, engulfing Lu Jinghua in the crowd.

"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous! You people, eating and drinking at my expense, dare to rebel! Get lost! Get lost, all of you! The pill is mine!!"

Lu Jinghua's parrot on his shoulder was almost crushed.

As an old, weak, and disabled man, he stood no chance against the greedy and spirited guards.

"I pay your wages, your lives are in my hands! Go deal with that ** woman! How dare you compete with me for things?!"

He angrily started swearing and using the umbrella he carried to strike people.

It was at this moment that Lu Xici and her group arrived.

Using her location tracking, she found Jun Youyue and then witnessed the chaotic scene.

Lu Xici quickly pulled Jun Youyue away, leaving behind a group of enraged and frenzied black-clad men fighting violently near the quiet warehouse.

"Did you give it to them?" On the way back to the Lu residence, Lu Xici carefully inspected Jun Youyue from head to toe.

If they weren't outdoors at the moment, she would have examined her wife thoroughly inside and out.

"Mm," Jun Youyue reassured, touching Lu Xici's hand.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. The watch recorded the video, but he kept quiet," Jun Youyue said, slightly shaken and annoyed.

Seeing Lu Xici was like finding her own panacea, calming her down.

"There was just a little mishap. I adjusted my strategy."

Lu Xici saw the recent scuffle.

"The old man will probably need hospitalization after being pushed and trampled a few times."

"Mm. A'Ci..." Jun Youyue hugged Lu Xici tightly.

It was only in Lu Xici's presence that she could relax her emotions.

Right now, she was finally feeling a bit tired.

"I'm fine too. Thanks for your hard work. I caught someone surnamed Ji."

She gently stroked Jun Youyue's hair, sensing she might have overheard something about her mother.

“Mm... What about that thing?" Jun Youyue nestled in Lu Xici's arms, not particularly concerned about the person surnamed Ji.

Lu Xici flipped open a black box she pulled from her small bag.

She didn't take it out, just opened it under the car's light.

Inside lay a milky white pill, unmistakably identical to the one she had just thrown at Lu Jinghua!

Author's Note:

Continue tomorrow~