"Please, heroine, stop coming over!

Lu Chengwen felt that... the author of this book really needed to fill the holes in their brain with cow dung.

What kind of nonsense is this!?

What kind of female leads are these!?

Do they even have any shame!?

With their level of awareness, they're not even fit to be female leads!

Complaining about the cost of saving someone... I've never even heard of such a thing!

But it's no use. His ultimate goal was to get these two main female leads as far away from him as possible. Long Aotian could only disappear for one day, and after that, these two women would become the triggers for the plot.

Lu Chengwen hugged Xu Xuejiao again and said with a smile, "Xuejiao, I'm Lu Chengwen, the bad guy! I saw you standing up for that girl earlier. I'm not bluffing you. Could you spare eighty or a hundred thousand to save her? Or... fifty thousand would do?"

Xu Xuejiao slowly shook her head. "No, I can't."

"Ugh, you're really... How about this? As long as you hire her, I'll pay her salary. You don't have to spend a single penny. How about that?"

Xu Xuejiao still shook her head. "Oh, I see. You're trying to extort me!"

Lu Chengwen's face turned beet red with anger.

"What am I extorting from you? You don't even have to pay, and she'll work for you. Isn't that a good deal?"

"How could such a good thing fall into my lap?" Xu Xuejiao said. "You must be trying to plant a corporate spy in my company. Don't think you can fool me! I'm very smart!"

Lu Chengwen suppressed his anger and whispered, "Are you stupid? She's not a corporate spy. Even if she were, you could just assign her to some remote position where she wouldn't have access to any core information!"

Xu Xuejiao said, "I'm in the medical and pharmaceutical business. The people I hire must be reliable. This woman, from the way she's acting so subservient, doesn't seem like a good person!"

Lu Chengwen completely lost his temper.

"How is she not a good person!? She's the most filial, smart, capable, and patient girl I've ever met!"

"She's just a young girl. She gave up her studies at a young age to work because her mother was sick. No one else wanted to be my secretary, but she came even though she knew I was a pervert, a scumbag, and a bastard, just because the pay was good!"

"She's been with me for five years, working diligently without a single mistake! Every time I touched her thigh, lifted her skirt, peeked at her, or made inappropriate jokes, she endured it all just to earn money to treat her mother's illness!"

"She bore all the office gossip alone, never explaining or arguing. Every day she endured my harassment at work, and after work, she didn't go clubbing, eat hotpot, watch movies, or shop... Except for her work clothes, she only wore cheap streetwear. Do you know why?"

Lu Chengwen said angrily, "It's because she's afraid of losing her job and wants to save as much money as possible to treat her mother's illness! How could a girl like this be a bad person? How could she seem like a bad person?"

"Oh? Brother Chengwen, you seem to know her very well!"

"Of course! It's been five years!" Lu Chengwen said excitedly. "Xu Xuejiao, I misjudged you! I thought you were kind-hearted, lovely, caring, warm, and compassionate. I thought you would never hesitate to lend a helping hand to those in need. But now, I don't even know what I'm saying..."

Lu Chengwen slapped himself repeatedly.

[Damn it, why am I getting so worked up? What am I even saying? That's the tone of a righteous male lead! Why am I acting like a big shot here?]

The two women watched as Lu Chengwen sat down on a chair, frustrated, with his elbows on his knees, rubbing his temples in annoyance.

Jiang Shihan was stunned.

Director Lu... is that how he sees me?

Is he actually a kind and caring person?

Then why... does he always bully me? If you... want to help me, you can do it yourself. Why do you have to make me follow Director Xu?

I don't understand. This person is completely out of it today.

Xu Xuejiao smiled and said, "Brother Chengwen, my secretary just texted me. The press conference is about to start. I'll go get ready now!"

Lu Chengwen didn't even look back, just waved his hand irritably, as if to say, "Go away, you demon."

Xu Xuejiao stifled a laugh and walked out the door. As she turned back, she saw Lu Chengwen slapping himself like a fan and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

...

At the press conference.

Lu Chengwen forced himself to read the script provided by his secretary team.

The script was actually well-written, emphasizing how the Ninth Pharmaceutical Factory had faced a choice between profit and morality and had resolutely chosen morality.

It also promised the media and society that the factory would conduct a thorough self-examination and internal investigation.

As expected, halfway through the press conference, the phones of Lu Chengwen and the other executives kept ringing, and the stock price plummeted.

Such an embarrassing press conference usually doesn't include a Q&A session.

But the reporters were too eager.

One reporter stood up and said, "Mr. Lu, does this counterfeit drug incident have any symbolic significance? Could something like this happen again in the future? How can your factory ensure that all drugs produced in the future will bequalified? Can you even guarantee that similar incidents haven't occurred with drugs already produced and sold by your factory?"

Jiang Shihan immediately said, "I'm sorry, we didn't plan for a Q&A session. Please..."

Lu Chengwen waved his hand and leaned closer to the microphone. "If something like this had happened before, this press conference would have been held earlier. If it happens again, this press conference will be held again. I can't guarantee that our production process will always be perfect and flawless, but I can guarantee that if something like this happens even once, we will destroy the products and hold a press conference like this. In fact, the fact that we have the courage to hold this press conference is to announce to society that the Ninth Pharmaceutical Factory will always prioritize morality over profit."

Jiang Shihan was surprised.

This guy usually never speaks seriously, but his answer today was quite good.

A beautiful female reporter stood up. "Mr. Lu, I heard that you are about to have an engagement ceremony with Ms. Leng Qingqiu, the CEO of Qianfeng Group. Is this true? There are rumors that you have been pursuing Ms. Leng for a long time and that this time you used your family's influence to force the Leng family to agree. Is there any truth to this?"

Jiang Shihan immediately said, "Sorry, this matter is unrelated to the topic of today's press conference. We will not answer such questions."

The beautiful female reporter clearly wasn't backing down and continued, "There are rumors that you are a profit-driven capitalist who only cares aboutbenefit and not morality. Is this destruction and press conference just a show to convey to the public that your factory is serious and responsible?"

Lu Chengwen looked at this annoying woman and suddenly remembered.

Damn it, another main female lead.

Long Aotian had been locked up by him for a day, but why were all his harem members showing up?

He couldn't afford to offend a female reporter at a press conference.

Lu Chengwen smiled and said, "I am a capitalist, but whether I'm profit-driven or not isn't for me to say—it's for you to judge. As for whether this press conference is a show, that's also for you to judge. But I am indeed conveying an attitude to the public. First, we are conducting a thorough self-examination. Second, we are serious and responsible. Thank you."

Jiang Shihan immediately said, "Thank you to all our friends in the media for coming. Today's press conference is now over."

Lu Chengwen stood up and left, with the security team immediately surrounding him as he walked out.

A group of reporters rushed forward, especially the female reporter, who pushed to the front and held up her recorder. "Mr. Lu! With such a major flaw in your factory, can a single press conference make it all go away? Will there be similar flaws in your production process in the future? Was this mistake due to human error or an accident? If it was human error, who should be held responsible for this major mistake..."

Lu Chengwen walked away with a dark expression, ignoring her.

Damn Long Aotian, you jerk.

You've settled down, but my troubles haven't decreased at all.

Why do you have so many women?

Yes, most male leads in novels have multiple wives and concubines, but you... are way too promiscuous!

Yes, I envy you, but you... are way too shameless!

Yes, I want to be like you, but you... are really quite carefree.

Leaving the hall and walking into the private passage, Lu Chengwen strode forward.

A team was also walking towards him, led by a young woman in a cheongsam and high heels, walking directly towards him.

Lu Chengwen immediately recognized her.

Graceful figure, perfect body, stunning looks...

Another main female lead, Chen Mengyun.

Chen Mengyun was the granddaughter of Chen Qiushou and the older sister of Chen Moqun and Chen Mohuan.

Now she was the CEO of the Chen family's conglomerate, holding great power and being extremely arrogant.

But back in the day, she had been his official girlfriend, his childhood sweetheart and first love.

Because of Chen Moqun's mischief, they had parted on bad terms, leaving his first love in a mess and utterly disheveled.

Meeting an old flame like this was inevitably awkward.

Fortunately, Lu Chengwen was in a hurry, so he decided to pretend not to see her and walked past her with big strides.

Chen Mengyun, seeing her first love, was clearly taken aback and instinctively stopped in her tracks.

But Lu Chengwen acted as if he hadn't seen her and walked right past her.

[You don't see me, you don't see me, you don't see me...]

[Just pretend you don't see me!]

[I was wrong in the past, and I'm too ashamed to face you. Let's just each go our own way from now on.]

Chen Mengyun turned around and watched Lu Chengwen's retreating figure.

This guy... am I hallucinating?

Thinking this, Chen Mengyun smiled bitterly.

Am I still not over him?

Lu Chengwen hadn't walked far when Xu Xuejiao appeared, blocking his path.

"Brother Chengwen! Hehe, I just saw Sister Mengyun walk past! Sister Mengyun!"

Lu Chengwen was going crazy. "Don't... don't call her!"

"Sister Mengyun, over here!"

Chen Mengyun also wanted to leave. She felt ridiculous.

It had been over three years since she and Lu Chengwen broke up, and in those three years, Lu Chengwen hadn't even invited her to dinner or apologized, let alone called or texted her.

It was as if they were complete strangers.

Seeing him today, her heart still skipped a beat.

After all, he was her first love, someone she had once loved. A girl's first man is someone she can never completely forget.

Even if she were in her seventies or eighties, sitting in a wheelchair, she would still remember her first boyfriend, unless she lost her memory.

Now, with Xu Xuejiao's shout, the two of them had no choice but to face each other.

Among the four major families, saying they were closely connected would be an exaggeration, but they all adhered to certain etiquette.

This was high society, after all. No one would really sever ties with a major figure or a large corporation.

These second-generation rich kids didn't have much friendship among themselves, mostly just nodding acquaintances who often ran into each other at various events.

When they met, they would exchange pleasantries and say a few polite words.

Chen Mengyun turned back and walked over, smiling. "I thought the person who just walked past looked familiar. So it's you, Director Lu. How have you been? It seems like you've changed your style recently?"

Lu Chengwen laughed, forcing himself to appear natural. "Oh, sorry, sorry. I've been so busy lately, always lost in thought when I walk."

Xu Xuejiao, having called the two of them over, suddenly fell silent.

She knew these two had a history and was deliberately stirring the pot to watch the show.

After Chen Mengyun finished her polite remarks, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Lu Chengwen explained himself and then also found his mind going blank, unable to come up with anything to say.

The two of them looked at each other, mouths moving but no words coming out.

The three of them stood there in an awkward silence.

Xu Xuejiao looked back and forth between their expressions.

Lu Chengwen opened his mouth but then closed it, only managing to force a polite smile.

Chen Mengyun was also extremely embarrassed, wanting to say something but not knowing what, so she slightly tilted her head and adjusted her hair tocover up her discomfort.

The awkwardness had reached its peak.

[Xu Xuejiao, you troublemaker, why did you call her over!?]

[This is so awkward, I wish I could just disappear into the ground.]

[Mengyun has become even more beautiful, and her chest has really developed well. I used to pinch it back then. What a pity, I didn't manage to win her over back then...]

Chen Mengyun was shocked and asked suspiciously, "Director Lu, what did you just say?"