Chapter 650: Chapter 650: His Eyelid Kept Twitching
Qiao Xi spoke those words, but she didn’t feel particularly proud.
In the past, she wouldn’t have bothered wasting her breath on soone like this.
She had no patience for sches or playing the long ga. She would never dig a pit for soone to jump into just to achieve her own goals.
But after more than six months, she had changed completely.
She continued, “Since you know how good Jade Skin Ointnt is, you should have noticed that we’ve tightened its control at the beauty salon recently. I can assure you, from now on, you’ll never be able to obtain Jade Skin Ointnt through any channel.”
Lu Yingxue understood her aning.
Qiao Xi intended to use Jade Skin Ointnt as leverage for a transaction.
For the past two days, Lu Yingxue had been relying on Jade Skin Ointnt smuggled out of Furong Beauty Salon by friends and insiders. All the employees she’d bribed to facilitate these purchases had been fired by Qiao Xi.
Now she realized that the large quantities of Jade Skin Ointnt that had previously flooded out were deliberately allowed by Qiao Xi, who was confident that no one could replicate it. That was strategic, a setup just for her.
After using it for only a few days, her complexion had beco much fairer.
However, after receiving a hard slap from Lu Bannong, her wound had beco inflad again, pushing her to the edge of collapse.
But once she applied Jade Skin Ointnt, the swelling on her cheek subsided, and there was no trace of pus or infection.
This filled her with both relief and jealousy.
Lu Yingxue, accustod to being admired, could not endure imperfections in herself. She would never accept a scar on her face—after all, she was one of the Imperial Capital’s fad “Twin Beauties.”
So, even though she was fully aware that this might be Qiao Xi’s trap, she was tempted.
“Qiao Xi, what kind of transaction do you want?”
“I want to exchange Jade Skin Ointnt for your permission to release that Mada Cheng for dical treatnt. But the Jade Skin Ointnt can only be for your personal use, not for comrcial purposes.” Qiao Xi paused for a mont. eting that Mada Cheng through the Traditional Chinese dicine Association felt like setting a fire right under Lu Bannong’s nose.
No matter what she did, she would be watched.
What if, during the treatnt, Lu Bannong sabotaged things in the shadows?
If sothing went wrong, she would be the one to take the bla.
Her only option was to take Mada Cheng away for treatnt. If the woman turned out to really be Grandpa Cheng’s biological daughter, there was no way she could stay under Lu Bannong’s control any longer.
“That’s impossible.”
Lu Yingxue rejected her proposition without hesitation.
Her father would never agree.
Although she didn’t know the details of what had happened back then, it was obvious her father placed great importance on that woman. Narcolepsy patients were incredibly rare, after all.
How could he possibly allow Qiao Xi to take her away?
But then…
What about her face?
Qiao Xi had anticipated Lu Yingxue’s initial rejection, so she casually nodded. “Alright, as you wish. In that case, I’ll begin by assessing her condition. After all, the vote just approved my trial treatnt plan for her. Whether it’s at ho or the Traditional Chinese dicine Association, it makes no difference to .
But to you, it’s not the sa.”
She spoke with an air of indifference, revealing no trace of personal concern.
She was certain that, at this mont, Lu Yingxue’s mind was anything but calm, despite the mask of composure she wore on the surface.
“I’ll give you three days to think about it. Fresh wounds heal more easily, while old scars are much harder to fade. You can wait—but your facial injury might not.”
After finishing, Qiao Xi picked up her belongings and walked out of the conference room.
Instinctively, Lu Yingxue took two steps after her.
It was only after realizing what she was doing that she beca acutely aware of how humiliating it was.
How had she been led around by Qiao Xi like that?
But…
She reached up to touch her face. As an experienced practitioner of traditional Chinese dicine, she was keenly aware of the vast difference between the Beauty Cream and Jade Skin Ointnt!
The gap between them was like night and day!
There were countless whitening products on the market.
But effective, scar-healing products were rare—especially sothing as potent and side effect-free as Jade Skin Ointnt. If Qiao Xi and Cheng Han had indeed spent considerable ti developing it, Lu Yingxue knew she wouldn’t be able to replicate their success in the short term.
If she accepted Qiao Xi’s terms, she could avoid scarring. Not only that, but her use of the ointnt would serve as excellent promotional material for Qiao Xi’s beauty salon!
As Furong Beauty Salon thrived, Yingyue Pavilion would inevitably suffer setbacks.
This infuriated Lu Yingxue!
A perfect two-pronged strategy—the rural bumpkin had learned to sche!
…
anwhile…
Qiao Xi walked along the corridor as an orderly led her toward the inpatient ward.
Heavy unease weighed in her chest—sothing felt off.
Suddenly.
A shadow passed by.
Qiao Xi imdiately stopped in her tracks as Old Chen agilely flipped himself onto the ground.
It seed he had climbed in through the exterior of the Bell Tower. The orderly was so startled that they nearly scread.
Old Chen quickly clamped his hand over their mouth. “It’s alright, I’m one of us. I’m here to find our Young Madam.”
He cautiously released his grip, and the orderly stared at him in a bewildered mix of fear and amazent.
Truly bizarre.
“Young Madam, it’s a relief that you’re okay. I watched everyone leave the eting, but when you didn’t co out, I got worried. Honestly, the Bell Tower’s security is terrible—it was way too easy for to get in.”
Old Chen’s eyelids were still twitching.
Qiao Xi looked at him and said, “I’m fine. They wouldn’t dare try anything here. If sothing happened to at the Traditional Chinese dicine Association, it’d be hard to cover up. I’m heading with the orderly to see Mada Cheng now. Are you coming?”
“Of course, I’m coming with you. I can’t let you go alone.”
Just standing outside made Old Chen uneasy, afraid that so clueless fool might disrespect their Young Madam.
Fortunately, nothing had happened.
But why wouldn’t this ominous twitching of his eyelids stop?
He couldn’t help feeling like he’d missed so critical detail.
Qiao Xi, unaware of his thoughts, followed the orderly toward the inpatient section of the Traditional Chinese dicine Association.
Mada Cheng’s room was a private suite, furnished with everything one could possibly need.
But the door was secured with a padlock. As the orderly unlocked it, they explained, “Mada Cheng tends to wander when she’s awake. President Lu was worried she might get into an accident, so he had her locked inside. However, she spends much of the year asleep and doesn’t cause much trouble.”
Qiao Xi asked, “What does she do when she’s awake?”
“Mostly stares into space. Occasionally, she talks nonsense. I’ve worked here for over ten years. When I started, she was still a beautiful woman and stayed awake for longer periods, even making so sense in conversations. But over ti, she beca more and more confused.”
Confused?
Severe narcolepsy could indeed lead to such aftereffects.
If she continued sleeping so much, she’d eventually lose even her sense of identity.
The orderly opened the door and said, “Vice President Qiao, feel free to take a look. I’ll wait for you outside. President Lu cares greatly for this patient—please be careful not to harm her.”
“I understand. Thank you for the reminder.”
Lu Bannong wouldn’t value soone for no reason—there had to be a secret tied to this Mada Cheng.
Huo Xingzhou had said she might be Grandpa Cheng’s daughter—or perhaps a trap set by Lu Bannong.
Qiao Xi approached the bedside, where the woman lay emaciated, with sunken cheeks, still asleep.
She instinctively reached out to take her pulse.
Old Chen stood to the side, montarily entranced as he scrutinized the woman’s bone structure. His skill in reconnaissance and profiling had been his survival tool for many years.
He frowned slightly and said, “Young Madam, don’t you think she resembles Lu Yingxue a little?”
Those words landed.
And Qiao Xi’s hand froze in place.
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