The Favored Heiress
Chapter 242: You asking for death is fine, just don’t drag her down with you

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: You asking for death is fine, just don’t drag her down with you

Li Qiao suddenly lifted her gaze to meet Lian Zhen’s smiling eyes, showing a hint of surprise, "So soon?"

Normally, pharmaceutical research was an extremely lengthy experimental process.

And yet, in just a short month, the R&D department had found a substitute medication?

Hearing this, Lian Zhen’s smile faded slightly, and she nodded seriously, "Yeah, I heard that Academician Jiang has reached a cooperation with a certain charitable foundation.

They provided us with a lot of experience in medical experiment technology, including medical equipment which are the most advanced patented instruments internationally.

Especially in the aspect of pharmaceutical development, the foundation gifted us a large volume of ’Clinical Pharmaceutical Literature,’ which greatly shortened the preparation phase for the R&D department."

This explanation plunged Li Qiao into silence.

Since when had charitable foundations started providing philanthropic sponsorship to private labs?

Even if it was under the guise of cooperation, it seemed a bit far-fetched.

"What’s the name of that charitable foundation?" Li Qiao asked thoughtfully.

Lian Zhen pursed her lips, pondering, "Academician Jiang didn’t say. Is there a problem?"

Li Qiao shook her head, contemplating as she looked at the report in her hands.

Academician Jiang’s secrets seemed to have multiplied lately.

...

At eight in the evening, while still busy, Li Qiao unexpectedly received a phone call from the Li Family’s butler.

"Miss, a Mr. Qiu has just delivered two cars over, he said... Do you know about this?" The butler’s voice was dubious, seemingly not quite believing the flashy Mr. Qiu.

Li Qiao was momentarily stunned at the sound, "Two cars?"

Wasn’t there supposed to be only her little Maserati? Why was there another one?

Butler, holding his phone and looking towards the garage, confirmed with certainty, "Miss, indeed there are two, besides your Maserati, there’s also a brand-new purple Lamborghini with starlight finish."

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and then instructed the butler to store the cars for now, cutting the call short first.

When a purple Lamborghini with a starlight finish, newly launched at the beginning of the year, costs over thirty million.

What did Qiu Huan mean by suddenly gifting her a luxury car on a grand scale?

They didn’t seem that familiar with each other to be exchanging presents.

Besides... she could afford one on her own.

Li Qiao, considering a possibility, opened her WeChat, hesitated for a few seconds, and sent a message to Shang Yu: Master Yan, could I get Qiu Shaoyan’s number?

She didn’t want to bother looking up Qiu Huan’s number—asking Shang Yu was undoubtedly the fastest.

The man soon replied with a simple yet discontent ’?’.

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow and smiled, quickly typing on the screen, summarizing the situation briefly.

After waiting for a moment, just when she thought Shang Yu was looking up Qiu Huan’s number, the chat showed three words: Keep it.

Li Qiao: "..."

Helplessly, Li Qiao rubbed her forehead and decided to go around the problem.

She went back to her messages, found Liuyun’s number, and sent him a concise text: Qiu Huan’s number, thanks.

In a second, Liuyun replied with a string of digits, extremely swiftly.

Li Qiao leaned languidly against the backrest of her chair, the corners of her mouth turning up in a sly smile.

It seemed that getting things done through Liuyun might be more convenient and efficient from now on.

Without further delay, Li Qiao saved Qiu Huan’s number and dialed it right away.

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Suburb Bowling Alley, Ou Bai, wearing a POLO shirt, was throwing a bowling ball near the lane while Qiu Huan and Shang Yu sat in the resting area, chatting quietly.

"So, I suspect that Shang Fu is trying to win over several other forces..."

Qiu Huan, uncharacteristically serious, speculated solemnly about Shang Fu’s intentions in coming to the South Sea.

Sitting opposite him, Shang Yu rested his arm on the table, a slim cigar burning at his fingertips. His slightly lowered gaze and the wild arrogance hinted at by the upturn of his lips, he said dismissively, "You’re overthinking it."

Qiu Huan paused in his speech and leaned forward, probing, "So you know why she’s come to the South Sea?"

Shang Yu, with the cigarette between his lips, spoke indifferently and arrogantly, "Her purposes won’t affect the overall situation."

At this moment, Ou Bai had already strode back from the lane, his face overcast, looking very displeased.

Hearing the footsteps, Qiu Huan turned his head to look and couldn’t help but laugh, "Has your technique regressed to this level?"

Only two out of ten pins knocked down—no different from being handicapped.

Ou Bai ignored Qiu Huan’s teasing and sat down with a cold expression, sulking on his own.

"Buzz—buzz—"

Just then, a buzzing sound caught Qiu Huan’s attention.

It was his phone lying on the table ringing.

Qiu Huan furrowed his brows, eyeing the unfamiliar number on the screen with a calm and composed demeanor, he answered bluntly, "Who is this?"

"I’m Li Qiao." The girl’s clear and lazily intoned voice came through the earpiece, strangely floating into the ears of the other two men.

Qiu Huan gripped the phone tightly, his eyes darting to Shang Yu. Seeing his furrowed brows, he knew Shang Yu must have heard as well.

"Ah, miss, what can I do for you?" Qiu Huan crossed his legs casually, giving Shang Yu a sideways glance.

Over the phone, before Li Qiao could reply, the man tapped the table with his well-proportioned fingers and looked intently at Qiu Huan’s phone.

Qiu Huan: "..."

Got it, he wanted him to put it on speaker.

Qiu Huan threw the phone onto the table with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile and casually pressed the speaker button.

Suddenly, Li Qiao’s casually inquiring sentence almost scared him out of his wits, "Master Qiu, why did you suddenly send me a sports car?"

Qiu Huan was stunned. How the hell was he supposed to explain this in front of Shaoyan?

Shang Yu took a drag from his cigarette, his eyebrows raised, watching him with amusement.

Probably not hearing a response from Qiu Huan, Li Qiao’s patience ran thin and she bluntly stated, "Is this because you blocked my car and stepped on it yesterday?"

Blocking the way, stepping on the car.

Shang Yu narrowed his eyes dangerously, a ripple of unrest appearing in the dark depths of his gaze.

Qiu Huan was at a loss for words—as anyone would think he deliberately blocked the way to pick a fight upon hearing those words combined together.

He desolately adjusted the hair on the top of his head and vaguely responded, "Well, you could say that."

Li Qiao ’oh’ed, and before hanging up the phone, she spoke in a tone that was neither cold nor hot, "If this is an apology, I accept your sincerity. Have someone come and take the car. I have three Lamborghini Aventadors with the Starlight option."

After the call ended, Qiu Huan stared at the phone expressionlessly for a long while before raising his head to look at Shang Yu with an indescribable expression, "The latest Starlight model of Lamborghini has only been released in a thousand units globally, how does she have three? Does she switch between them for morning, afternoon, and night?"

Shang Yu’s lips curved slightly, and he drew on his cigarette, his voice tinged with danger, "You stepped on her car yesterday?"

Qiu Huan flashed a dry smile, "I told you, it was just a small misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding requires you to block the way and step on her car?" Shang Yu’s gaze darkened as he tapped off some ash from his cigarette, "It’s fine if you’re looking for death, but don’t drag her into it."

Qiu Huan: "??" Damn it, whose side are you on?