Fatal Desire

Chapter 7 Add friends

Zhao Chengyou not only sent Zhao Yansen's WeChat contact, but also his phone number to Song Xi.

The WeChat nickname and a string of numbers displayed on the phone screen perfectly overlapped with Song Xi's memory.

It turns out that he hadn't changed his phone number or WeChat account all these years.

Song Xi first saved the phone number into her contacts, then opened the chat interface with Zhao Chengyou and clicked on Zhao Yansen's WeChat.

Not everything is as it was before.

His WeChat profile picture has changed.

His WeChat profile picture used to be a picture of the moon over the sea that she took; now all that's left is an endless expanse of blue sea.

Zhao Yansen's initial WeChat nickname was Z, the first letter of Zhao's pinyin. Later, Song Xi changed it to S, telling him it was the S from Sen's name.

Little did they know, it was Song's S.

Song Xi requested to add a friend, typed "I am Song Xi" once, felt it was too dry, and deleted it again, but "brother" was too vague.

After a moment's thought, she typed in the application form: "Brother, I am Song Xi."

After clicking send, Song Xi stared thoughtfully at the page.

Old Mu drove his Mercedes into a CBD commercial building, but there were still no messages from his WeChat friend requests.

She exited WeChat, pressed the button on the side of her phone, and turned off the screen.

Shang Shixu was an upperclassman whom Song Xi met while studying at Harvard University through the international student community.

He was two years ahead of her and in the same major.

Before Shang Shixu graduated, the two co-founded Morningside Biotechnology Co., Ltd., headquartered in Beijing. Song Xi mostly worked remotely while in the United States.

Today is her first official day at the company.

Wearing a well-tailored coffee-colored suit, she exudes a capable and efficient aura, instantly giving off the impression of a beautiful and sophisticated heiress, elegant and intelligent.

"With the implementation of the new policy on innovative drugs, the 'Full-Chain Support Plan,' the review period for clinically urgently needed drugs has been shortened to 60 days."

Inside the meeting room, the manager, who was presenting his work using a PowerPoint presentation, kept glancing at Song Xi. This wasn't the first time he had reported to Song Xi, but they had always done so via video conference before.

Nowadays, when we're face-to-face, it's always inevitable to feel nervous.

"...Bispecific immuno-oncology drugs and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are currently hot topics for innovation."

Song Xi flipped through the documents in front of him, looked up, and asked unhurriedly, "What about the cycle positioning upgrade?"

The manager immediately said, "The three-cycle resonance indicator, the policy is being implemented moderately, dual-antibody and triple-antibody products are being launched in quick succession, and the capital markets are seeing the fifth set of standards reformed for Hong Kong stocks and the Science and Technology Innovation Board..."

The biotechnology industry itself involves high investment and high risk, and financing is difficult. Many innovative projects are hampered by a lack of funding.

As market mechanisms gradually improve and policy support increases, the financing environment may become easier.

Morningside Biotech is involved in the field of innovative drugs, invests heavily in research and development, and is crucial to the development of the industry.

After the meeting, Song Xi and Shang Shixu came out of the conference room.

“Your office is right next to mine. It’s well-lit and well-ventilated, which should be your type.” Shang Shixu pushed open the office door and introduced the layout to Song Xi.

The overall environment is simple, clean, and comfortable.

Song Xi was quite satisfied. She leaned back in her office chair, turned around, and looked out at the city.
"It's better to do experiments at night. In the past, there were more people in the biology building at 11 p.m. than during the day."

"I remember when you first came to the school, you were afraid to go into the lab, but the professor didn't force you and allowed you to study on your own by watching videos after class." Shang Shixu opened the curtains, and the bright sunlight poured into the office, making it warm and cozy. "Fortunately, after half a year of hard work, you dared to go into the lab, otherwise I would have worried that you wouldn't be able to graduate."

Song Xi smiled and said, "It wasn't easy." Shang Shixu asked, "Should we transfer my secretary over first?"

The HR department hasn't found a secretary that Song Xi is satisfied with yet. She conducted video interviews with several candidates while she was in the United States, but none of them were quite right, so the position is still vacant.

"Need not."

The computer notified Song Xi of a new unread email. She clicked on it with the mouse and found it was a reply from Zhongrui Group.

She packaged the revised business plan and related documents together and sent them to Zhongrui, where they agreed to meet at their group headquarters at 3:30 pm.

Song Xi instructed HR to order afternoon tea and coffee for the company employees, with the bill to be paid privately by her. She then went to Zhongrui Group with Shang Shixu.

On the way, Song Xi opened her phone and checked WeChat.

The friend request remained untouched.

After reviewing the documents, Shang Shixu turned to Song Xi and asked, "Do you know any senior executives at Zhongrui Group?"

If it were a normal procedure, China and Switzerland wouldn't respond to small, new companies like theirs so quickly.

“I know them, but we’re not close,” Song Xi said. “I used some connections to contact their CEO’s secretary, and the secretary will handle it.”

The car was parked at the Sino-Swiss Building.

Skyscrapers soar into the clouds, their glass curtain walls gleaming in the sunlight, reflecting the capital's dazzling prosperity.

China-Switzerland Headquarters.

When Song Xi stepped into the company, the receptionist called to inform the secretary that someone from Chenxing Company had come to see President Zhou.

Therefore, as soon as Song Xi and Shang Shixu stepped out of the elevator, their assistant appeared the next second, smiling and leading them to the CEO's office.

Just then, the secretary escorted Qiao Yifan out of the office.

Qiao Yifan's smiling face froze for two seconds when he saw Shang Shixu, before he revealed an arrogant look in his eyes.

"Who do we have here? It turns out to be the illegitimate son who was kicked out of the Qiao family."

Shang Shixu and Qiao Yifan are half-brothers.

Shang Shixu's mother had been with Qiao's father when she was young. Later, after Qiao's father got married, she took a breakup fee and went abroad to relax, only to find out that she was pregnant.

Ms. Shang couldn't forget Mr. Qiao, so she secretly gave birth to Shang Shixu.

When news broke that the Qiao family was keeping an illegitimate child outside the marriage, their stock price plummeted. Forced by the situation, the Qiao family had no choice but to take back Shang Shixu.

Once the situation stabilizes, the pieces are no longer useful and are discarded.

Shang Shixu and Qiao Yifan have never gotten along, so their encounter here is truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road.

Song Xi smiled faintly and looked directly at Qiao Yifan: "Mr. Qiao, are we here to discuss cooperation?"

The girl in front of me was stunningly beautiful, had a warm and friendly smile, and was very polite and charming.

“Of course.” Qiao Yifan raised his chin, his smugness evident. “Little sister, let me give you a piece of advice: there’s no future in Chenxing if you follow Shang Shixu. You might as well resign as soon as possible.”

"Mr. Qiao, you're joking," Song Xi said with a smile. "Our CEO is here today to discuss cooperation, how could there be no future for us?"

"Cooperation?" Qiao Yifan glanced at Shang Shixu with disdain. "How could Zhongrui possibly cooperate with him? Wishful thinking."

Qiao's is one of the top pharmaceutical groups in Shanghai. If Zhongrui were to cooperate, they would definitely choose a large, stable company with a long history.

As a startup, Morningside Biotech merely caught the market opportunity and luckily reaped some benefits.

Without any real ability, how can you expect to rise to the top in one step by relying solely on luck?
(End of this chapter)