Chapter 69: Extra 1 - Lu Jinghua's Fate
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=7288969
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
That night.
To Lu Xici and the others, there were two major events.
First, Jun Youyue's identity was exposed, along with the news about the Jun family from over three years ago.
This caused quite a stir.
Lu Xici had already been at the center of a storm recently. Some netizens got annoyed at the mere mention of her name. Regardless of the truth, they would criticize her.
When they saw the trending topic about the Jun family's academic fraud with "conclusive evidence," they immediately started cursing Lu Xici's ancestors.
Even fans, after seeing those old news reports and searching for verification online, couldn't defend Lu Xici.
The Lu (陆) family had said the two were connected. Could the source be wrong? That was Lu Xici's family by blood. No matter how bad the relationship was, they wouldn't lie about her, right? Many fans could only try to defend Lu Xici by suggesting she might not have known about her partner's true nature.
They didn't know Jun Youyue was Lu Xici's ex-wife. They thought she was the rumored new assistant, now being called Lu Xici's rumored girlfriend.
Otherwise, they wouldn't say such things.
They had been married for three years and were very much in love. How could she not know what her partner was doing?
There were still many active fans unfollowing her, though their words were not too harsh, only expressing disappointment.
Lu Xici's side had not prepared thoroughly.
At this moment, the Lu family's exposure of Jun Youyue's identity caught them off guard.
Moreover, if they immediately revealed the truth, it would seem very deliberate, as if the Jun family was trying to create a buzz, lowering public perception.
But keeping quiet was too frustrating. The Jun family hadn't done anything wrong. Why should they endure such unwarranted criticism?
Lu Xici took the tablet from Jun Youyue's hands.
"Don't look. Be good. In a couple of days, the truth will come out and they'll calm down."
She glanced at the insults aimed at Jun Youyue and the Jun family and couldn't stand it.
She didn't want Jun Youyue to be hurt by these comments anymore.
Jun Youyue lowered her eyes, maintaining her usual calm and quiet demeanor. She obediently did not try to take back the tablet and moved closer to Lu Xici, loosely hugging her.
Jun Youyue had just been looking at Lu Xici’s Chaohua.
Her Weibo account was a major fan account for the Movie Queen x Assistant CP. Many people were sending her private messages, asking her to express her opinion.
As a party involved, she could only pretend like a quail and say nothing, not even daring to post the new video she had edited yesterday.
As a result, her account was also losing followers.
She was indeed sharing the hardship with her wife.
Lu Xici was frantically making calls and sending messages, trying to smooth things over.
Her mother still has matters with the Lu family to deal with, so she took Jun Youning away who was bored and probably thinking about things online. For now, they couldn't help.
Jun Youyue wasn't actually very upset.
She knew the news was false and that it would soon be cleared up.
She felt more for Lu Xici, who had to work late into the night because of this.
Moreover, she couldn't help with anything herself.
Jun Youyue was just depressed.
Her imaginary dog ears unhappily drooped.
Despite her calm expression, the frustration was evident in her brows.
Recently, she realized that apart from doing research and experiments, she was quite clueless about other matters and couldn't do anything.
But she also knew that life couldn't be all about work.
She had a wife and a family now. Not only could she not help ease her wife's troubles, but 90% of the problems were caused by her.
At times like this, Jun Youyue could only recall what Lu Xici had said to her last time.
Then, she found something to do to forget the anxiety of feeling useless.
Speaking of which, now that the big trouble was solved, should she propose to Lu Xici?
Jun Youyue suddenly got excited.
She quietly turned her back, took out her phone, and started searching for engagement rings.
Lu Xici was temporarily too busy to notice Jun Youyue.
This gave Jun Youyue the perfect opportunity to secretly choose a diamond ring.
She immediately ruled out mass-produced designs.
It's not thoughtful enough, and not worthy of Lu Xici.
Jun Youyue started browsing custom-made options.
When Jun Linyi left, she left a substantial inheritance for the two sisters.
Jun Youyue hadn't used much of it over the years, but now it was time to put that asset to use.
She first logged onto the website of a highly-rated jewelry store and tried to contact customer service.
As expected, customer service had already closed for the day. Jun Youyue continued browsing the official store.
In truth, she found most of these rings to be quite similar.
She couldn't say anything flashy, after all, it's for her wife, so what her wife likes is most important.
What she didn't know was that a few days ago, Lu Xici had quietly browsed diamond rings too, but from a jewelry designer friend of hers.
Lu Xici had even discussed design elements with her friend.
She wanted a ring with moon and vitality elements, with the main stone being the best-quality blue diamond.
Originally, she was going to use a sapphire, but the designer happened to have a blue diamond that was excellent in all aspects. The deep and steady color of the blue diamond suited Jun Youyue better.
With May approaching, wanting to present the result before Jun Youyue's birthday, there wasn't much time left for her designer friend.
But Lu Xici had financial means. She believed her friend would show her the initial version in less than two weeks.
Jun Youyue hadn't looked at many options when she received a phone call.
Seeing the name in the caller ID, she was more than a little surprised.
The caller was Xun Changhong, Jun Youyue's former mentor.
It had been nearly four years since she last mentored Jun Youyue.
She hadn't taken a clear stance when trouble arose in the Jun family.
Essentially, she did nothing and stayed out of trouble.
Jun Youyue wouldn't elaborate much. Human nature was like this; she could only say not everyone was like Lu Xici, capable of loving and caring for her without expecting anything in return.
She got up and answered the call.
The caller understood Jun Youyue's personality and didn't exchange pleasantries, getting straight to the point.
"I have the original data from your aunt and uncle's experiment. Do you need any help?"
Jun Youyue hadn't expected this to be the reason for the call.
"No need," she replied. She already had evidence given to her by her sister.
Xun Changhong sounded a bit urgent. "Are you sure you don't need help? It's crucial. I saw the reports online... I've felt sorry for you for years, not helping you back then. At least let me help you now."
Jun Youyue wasn't sure how to feel about this.
Most likely, Xun Changhong omitted how those people had threatened her, how she had weighed her options, and then abandoned Jun Youyue, not standing by the Jun family during the whole incident.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=7288969
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Honestly, repentance four years late was somewhat meaningless as a remedy.
Both remained silent for a while.
Just as Xun Changhong, filled with guilt, was about to speak again, Jun Youyue finally spoke up. "Do you have evidence about their human experimentation?"
After the call ended, Lu Xici emerged from her previous call.
Armed with the new information, Jun Youyue sat down with Lu Xici to discuss.
The second thing was that a stampede occurred in the blind spot of the institute’s surveillance. The cause was unknown, but the old man of the Lu family happened to be present at the time.
By the time rescue personnel arrived, they found Mr. Lu barely conscious, clutching a round button torn from someone's clothing.
Mr. Lu Jinghua remained unconscious and was admitted to the ICU.
One of his personal guards died, and three escaped.
The Lu family was thrown into chaos.
This news spread rapidly, driven by Lu Tingyi and Lu Shaoning's deliberate efforts.
Within a night and a day, all the influential figures in the capital knew that the patriarch of the Lu family, who had been overseeing them, had encountered a major incident and was unlikely to survive. The heir apparent to lead the family officially shifted to Lu Zhiheng.
Everyone knew what kind of person Lu Zhiheng was—impatient, reckless, and definitely not someone who could win over the masses.
While silently lamenting in their hearts, everyone had the same thought: the Lu family was likely to undergo a major overhaul.
In times of crisis, everyone wanted a bite of the meat; otherwise, they would be foolish.
Sure enough, Lu Jinghua did not survive the second day.
He breathed his last at eleven o'clock in the middle of the night.
According to younger members of the Lu family who were by his side, before his death, Lu Jinghua reportedly opened his eyes and muttered words like "pills," "transformation," and other incomprehensible phrases.
He even ignored the needles still in his hands, waving them around in an attempt to find something.
Even in death, Lu Jinghua failed to achieve what he had pursued for half his life, dying with unresolved issues.
His eyes, once used for discernment, were now completely necrotic, resembling mere decorations.
He never regained his sight or health until the end.
Lu Jinghua's funeral was scheduled for three days later, considered an auspicious time.
Upon hearing this news, Jun Youyue and Lu Xici were busy organizing the evidence provided by Xun Changhong.
It was unclear what had prompted their mentor to provide such damning evidence, almost revealing every dirty secret.
It was only then that Jun Youyue truly understood.
Aside from the human experiments, the largest research institute in the country also conducted more repulsive and unethical experiments.
The Jun family had opposed the institute's actual owner on multiple occasions.
Even in an era when the internet was not well developed, the Jun family openly opposed the owner of the institute, thoroughly offending him.
The owner had intricate ties to Lu Jinghua, almost as if they were once brothers, though the specifics are lost to time.
No wonder the Jun family was so thoroughly suppressed back then.
If it were only Lu Jinghua's greed, it wouldn't have been enough to cause such complete suppression.
It was only these past few days that Jun Youyue learned about the intricate and tangled web of power within the research institute, where corruption and deceit ran rampant.
Inside this web lay an extreme stench of evil, while outside appeared peaceful.
Over the years, numerous talented young researchers who opposed them had been disposed of by the institute for various reasons.
Meanwhile, those without real capability, like the middle-aged man with the surname Ji who now lay in the basement of the Lu estate, had prospered through deceit.
One thing is certain: they had covered their tracks very well.
Those outside the network were completely unaware, and even insiders, tangled in various interests, dared not speak up even if they sensed something amiss.
Lu Xici also felt a deep sense of sorrow upon learning these facts.
What should have been an ivory tower* had long been tainted and corrupted to the core.
*a state of privileged seclusion or separation from the facts and practicalities of the real world, often associated with academia. If used positively, it means the person is uncorrupted; negatively, it means the person is clueless about the hustle and bustle of the real world
Fortunately, the higher echelons were likely unaware rather than unwilling to intervene.
With evidence in hand, she believed they would cooperate with them.
As for how to make contact... the Cheng family had their ways.
Finally, Jun Youyue understood why Jun Linyi and Yang Wanqing had initially discouraged her interest in biology and later didn't directly stop her.
The former was a typical parental concern for their child, while the latter was a refusal to let their child's talents be extinguished by those problematic individuals.
Moreover, perhaps Yang Wanqing wanted to use the opportunity from three and a half years ago to make Jun Youyue disillusioned with experiments.
But no one expected Lu Xici to lend Jun Youyue a hand.
Emotions are something that cannot be calculated or anticipated as an unexpected outcome.
Author's Note:
The research institute and researchers in this article have no real-life prototype. The author respects and admires all diligent and kind-hearted researchers.
See you tomorrow~
