Chapter 20: Qin Ningbing was Shocked Again and Again, and Her Delicate Body Trembled!
"Young Master Shen... thank you!"
Qin Ningbing closed her beautiful eyes, letting out a soft sigh that carried the weight of years of stress. She looked a bit haggard, her impeccable makeup unable to fully hide the fatigue etched into her fine features.
Her life had been a series of tragedies and battles. Her mother passed away early, leaving a void that never filled. Her father also died in an accident a few years ago, thrusting her into the shark tank of the business world before she was ready.
Fresh out of university, Qin Ningbing took over the Magic City Renxin Hall Pharmaceutical Company, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. She fought tooth and nail to keep it afloat.
She also had a second shareholder like Wang Hai, a viper in human skin, who rallied a group of executives to oppose her at every turn, trying to seize control and operate the company for a quick IPO cash-out.
Unexpectedly, even one of the few elders she trusted, Divine Doctor Lu, was bribed by Wang Hai. That betrayal cut deeper than any business loss.
This made her feel very tired. Bone deep tired.
Just then, her cold little hand was clasped by a warm, large hand. The heat was shocking, grounding her in the present.
Qin Ningbing was startled. She opened her eyes and saw Shen Anyu's warm, sincere smile. It wasn't the predatory smirk he wore earlier; it was something softer, protective.
"Baby, I told you, with me here, no one can hurt you!"
"I will protect you, for all eternity!"
Qin Ningbing stared blankly at Shen Anyu. The words were cheesy, something out of a romance novel, but coming from him, after he had just dismantled her enemies with ruthless efficiency, they hit differently.
Then, she suddenly chuckled, covering her red lips with her free hand. Her eyes filled with amusement, the ice melting just a little more. She even joked with Shen Anyu, saying:
"Young Master Shen, Ningbing is not some naive little girl; these sweet nothings and vows of eternal love should be saved for those little girls who still believe in fairy tales."
[Ding! Detected that destined heroine Qin Ningbing's favorability +10! Plundering +30,000 Destiny Points!]
Shen Anyu's expression was peculiar. He squeezed her hand gently.
'Oh, women,' he thought. 'Your name is 'saying one thing but meaning another.' If you really didn't like it, your favorability wouldn't have just jumped.'
She clearly wanted it in her heart, craved that protection, but her words were the opposite, a defense mechanism honed over years of solitude.
Qin Ningbing's pretty face flushed under Shen Anyu's playful gaze. She realized she was enjoying his touch a little too much. She cleared her throat and changed the subject, saying:
"Young Master Shen, how do you plan to research the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pill? We made a bet, remember?"
"Three months is a very tight deadline! Even with the Shen Family's resources, setting up the trials alone takes weeks."
Shen Anyu smiled faintly, releasing her hand but stepping closer.
"Three months? I can't wait that long!"
"Three hours should be enough."
He planned to conquer her tonight, inside and out, front and back; why would he wait three months? If he gave his 'little brother' three months off, he would be very unhappy!
He couldn't fight valiantly yesterday with Su Hongmian due to interruptions, so today's surprise should be doubled.
"What?"
"Three hours is enough?"
As Shen Anyu's words fell, Qin Ningbing felt as if she had misheard. She looked at Shen Anyu with bewildered surprise, her eyes wide.
"Young Master Shen, I didn't mishear, did I? Three hours??"
Even if the Yanxia Shen Family was a thousand-year-old clan with terrifyingly profound foundations, capable of gathering all top experts, scholars, and divine doctors from home and abroad, three hours wouldn't even be enough for a plane to arrive, let alone solve a chemical puzzle that had stumped them for years!
This wasn't a joke? Was he mocking her life's work?
The surrounding researchers, who had been pretending to work while eavesdropping, also pricked up their ears. They exchanged looks of disbelief.
Three hours? What a joke. Even three months wouldn't be possible.
They had spent three years, and even with Divine Doctor Lu's meddling, they knew how difficult the research and development of the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pill was. The molecular stability alone was a nightmare.
They were all groping in a dark maze, unable to find direction.
However, because Shen Anyu had waved his hand earlier and dozens of black-clad bodyguards appeared to drag away their boss, they knew he was an important figure—a dangerous one. They dared not speak out, keeping their heads down and eyes on their microscopes.
They all speculated which wealthy young master had come to pursue their company's famous beautiful CEO. Using such an unreliable excuse to show off... he would probably be rebuffed again!
"Hmm, you misheard. It's not three hours," Shen Anyu said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
Qin Ningbing breathed a sigh of relief and said with a nervous laugh:
"I knew it, Young Master Shen, you startled me. I thought you were serious."
At this moment, Shen Anyu suddenly grinned, a wolfish expression.
"To be precise, it takes me three minutes to make the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pill; the three hours is for you all to verify it! I need you to run the tests."
Qin Ningbing and the surrounding researchers were speechless. Their jaws dropped. Not believing it at all. Three minutes? That wasn't even enough time to boil water!
And at this moment, under everyone's watchful eyes, Shen Anyu turned and leisurely walked to the herbal medicine storage shelves lining the wall.
He moved with casual grace, swiftly grabbing piles of medicinal herbs with both hands. Ginseng, Wulingzhi, Angelica... he grabbed them in handfuls, without even needing a scale to measure the precise grams.
A researcher in a corner, looking at the herbs Shen Anyu grabbed, couldn't help but mutter softly to his colleague:
"The 'Eighteen Incompatibilities' and 'Nineteen Antagonisms' of Traditional Chinese Medicine clearly state that ginseng cannot be used with Wulingzhi! That combination is toxic! Isn't this just messing around?"
"Grabbing herbs like this... can the dosage really be clear? They're all mixed together in a heap!"
"And three minutes? Isn't that not even enough time for grinding? What can he make? A salad?"
The other researchers, though not daring to speak out, were all disbelieving, waiting to see the show crash and burn.
Qin Ningbing's beautiful eyes showed a slight disappointment. She had to admit that a ripple had stirred in her heart earlier when he protected her. She wanted him to be competent.
But now, it seemed a bit unreliable... He looked like a child playing in a sandbox.
However, this also made Qin Ningbing breathe a sigh of relief; the more unreliable Shen Anyu was, the better. If he failed, she won the bet. Then she would be safe. No need for 'inside and out' or anything.
However, the next scene left Qin Ningbing and many researchers completely dumbfounded.
They saw Shen Anyu turn back to the table. He didn't use a grinder. He didn't use a burner.
He casually waved his hand.
BOOM!
[Internal Energy] erupted from his palm, invisible yet palpable as a gust of wind.
With a muffled bang, the pile of herbs in his hand was directly shattered into fine powder by the sheer pressure of his Qi.
Then, under the powerful control of his [Grandmaster Internal Energy], the powder began to swirl in mid-air. The friction and energy generated intense heat. The powder was directly heated, rapidly melted into a liquid, impurities burned away in puffs of black smoke, and then solidified again.
It formed into perfectly round pills, fluctuating and spinning in mid-air, held up by nothing but his energy.
Seeing this scene, Qin Ningbing's rosy little mouth widened into a perfect 'O'. It was an expression so cute it made one want to stuff something into it.
"How... how is this possible?"
She was utterly stunned. Was this how medicine was made? Was this scientific? This was alchemy!
The other highly educated researchers were also wide-eyed and dumbfounded, almost doubting their decades of scientific training, life experience, and world views. Newton was rolling in his grave.
For a moment, the entire laboratory was silent, everyone staring blankly at Shen Anyu and the floating pills, their minds a blank white sheet.
"Alright, three minutes are up!"
Suddenly, Shen Anyu's calm voice broke the silence.
With a flick of his finger, the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pills, harmonized by Internal Energy and glowing with a faint luster, shot through the air like bullets.
Zip! Zip! Zip!
They flew directly into the open mouths of the small white mice suffering from heart disease in the cages.
Visibly, almost instantly, those sickly white mice actually perked up. Their dull fur regained a sheen. Their labored breathing smoothed out.
As if they had regained vigorous vitality, they started running on their wheels.
Shen Anyu's leisurely voice sounded, dusting off his hands:
"I'm in a hurry, so I took a shortcut with [Internal Energy]! It acts as a catalyst."
"You all hurry up and test them; verify the data. If it exceeds three hours... hehe, I'll see who else is an accomplice like that Divine Doctor Lu! Don't test my patience."
Boom!
As Shen Anyu's words fell, the threat hanging in the air, the many researchers moved as if an engine had been pressed. They roared into action, scrambling to their equipment, quickly beginning to test the blood and vitals of the white mice.
Each of them was sweating profusely. Divine Doctor Lu's miserable state earlier—broken legs and ruined reputation—was still vivid in their minds. They worked like their lives depended on it.
However, as the data started coming in, the many researchers also had fervent and excited looks in their eyes.
That miraculous scene earlier gave them great confidence. This wasn't a trick; the mice were healthy!
Perhaps the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pill really could succeed.
At that time, it would surely shock Yanxia and even the world's medical community! They, too, would be able to bask in some of that glory as the team that verified it.
Finally, under the full-throttle testing of these researchers, the results came out an hour early.
"CEO Qin! Look at this!"
"The heart tissue... it's regenerating!"
All the small white mice suffering from heart disease, as long as they took the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pill refined by Shen Anyu, recovered completely. The effects were extremely obvious, bordering on miraculous.
If taken long-term, it was even very likely they would be completely cured! It was the holy grail of cardiology.
Qin Ningbing stood holding the report, her hands trembling. She was dumbfounded, staring blankly at Shen Anyu.
She said with a trembling voice:
"You... do you mean you already had the prescription for the Ginseng Nourishing Heart Pill? You knew how to make it all along?"
Shen Anyu tilted his head, looking at Qin Ningbing with a half-smile, his eyes dark with desire.
"Yes. I even thought you were sending me benefits by proposing such an easy bet."
He stepped closer, taking the report from her unresisting hands and tossing it aside. He grabbed her waist, pulling her flush against him.
"Baby, now it's your turn to fulfill your promise!"
"A bet is a bet!"
Qin Ningbing was struck by lightning, her delicate body trembling in his arms!
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