In the morning, three people were having breakfast together when Zhang Xinlan felt something was amiss, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Shihua, you got up so early today. Did you sleep well last night?" Zhang Xinlan casually asked.

Liu Shihua woke up extremely early today, so early that she didn't even know when the big star had gotten out of bed!

"I slept quite well!" Liu Shihua said while spreading jam on her toast. "But you snored when you slept last night!"

"Really?" Zhang Xinlan covered her mouth in surprise. "I never snore in my sleep!"

"Maybe you've just been too tired these days," Ye Chen interjected.

"Maybe."

Zhang Xinlan couldn't help but feel a bit distracted; she had indeed been exhausted from running around these days.

"..."

"Ring! Ring! Ring!"

Just then, a series of phone rings sounded.

"Hello?" Ye Chen pulled out his phone and pressed the answer button.

"..."

"Alright, I'll come to see you in a bit," After a brief conversation, Ye Chen hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Zhang Xinlan asked.

"Chu Yanran!" Ye Chen said.

"So it was her!" Zhang Xinlan exclaimed in understanding.

"Whether I can rise or not all depends on this!"

Ye Chen took a deep breath; Empress Chu had finally arrived. It was time to formally negotiate about the pharmaceutical company.

"Make the most of it. If you aim to build a wealthy household, this is undoubtedly your best opportunity!" Zhang Xinlan said.

Ye Chen had boundless ambitions. He was not content to be a dragon swimming in shallow waters and yearned for a wider stage!

Zhang Xinlan knew about Ye Chen's aspirations; the guy didn't just want to start a company, he wanted to establish a dynasty!

"I will!"

Ye Chen confidently smiled, his face revealing an inexplicable charm. If he was to live in this mundane world, then he should rightfully stand at its pinnacle.

"Ye Chen, if you become rich in the future, you must not forget about me!" Liu Shihua teased, her words carrying a rich subtext.

"Of course not, after all, you're my sister-in-law!" There was also deep meaning in Ye Chen's reply.

...

Ye Chen drove his Phantom-grade Rolls-Royce to a five-star hotel in the harbor area.

"Ye Chen, I'm here!"

Ye Wushuang had been waiting at the doorway for a long time, and she showed an inexplicably excited expression upon seeing Ye Chen.

"How's your health recovery going?" Ye Chen greeted her.

Ye Wushuang and Tong Xingtong had previously been afflicted by a malign gu, which devoured a significant part of their vital energies, leading to a decline in their looks. He wondered if they had now fully recovered.

"I'm still a bit weak, but I've mostly recovered. My complexion isn't as bad either!" Ye Wushuang smiled before expressing her gratitude. "Thank you so much for everything; without you, Xing Tong and I would've been in big trouble. If we hadn't died, we'd have turned into old hags with sallow faces!"

"Hmm, I think you look even prettier!" Ye Chen complimented her.

Ye Wushuang was already extremely beautiful, and today, having carefully applied light makeup, she looked even more stunning. Furthermore, dressed in a black business suit with matching high heels, her long legs were accentuated, captivating any man who saw her.

"Really?" Ye Wushuang's face lit up with joy upon hearing Ye Chen's praise.

In fact, knowing that she was going to meet Ye Chen today, Ye Wushuang had deliberately dressed up. For some reason, she wanted Ye Chen to see her at her most beautiful and captivating.

"Really," Ye Chen nodded earnestly.

"Empress Chu asked me to wait for you here. She has been waiting for you for quite a while. I'll take you to her," said Ye Wushuang.

"Good!"

...

At their reunion after several months, Chu Yanran thought she would throw herself into Ye Chen's arms without hesitation the moment she saw him.

However, after making eye contact with Ye Chen, Chu Yanran abandoned that notion.

"I feel like you've become a stranger to me!" Those were the first words that Chu Yanran uttered. For some reason, she felt that Ye Chen had changed.

"I've always been this way, it's just that you never truly understood me," said Ye Chen in a nonchalant tone, while Chu Yanran still maintained her majestic dignity, as if she were an empress ruling over the world, superior and devastatingly beautiful.

Chu Yanran slowly nodded her head. His face was still familiar, his smile was still the same, but she just felt that Ye Chen had become a stranger to her.

"How is Xiao Chenchen's illness? Have the people around him suffered any influence?" Ye Chen asked. Xiao Chenchen was Chu Yanran's son, born with the Heavenly Destitute Star fate, and it was because of him that she and Ye Chen formed a connection.

"Yes, with your Pure Yang Elixir suppressing it, the nefarious energy in his body has dissipated a great deal, and overall, he has become much livelier and nearly indistinguishable from normal children!" Chu Yanran's heart warmed upon hearing Ye Chen's concern. "However, he misses you a lot. Xiao Chenchen often tells me that he wants to see the uncle who made him feel warm again!"

Ye Chen smiled, his grin as radiant as a blooming flower. Was this Chu Yanran's subtle way of expressing her feelings?

"Let's get straight to the point!" Ye Chen decided to no longer talk about personal matters. "You must have come to a realization to seek me out here, my pills have moved you!"

"Yes, your medicine is very effective, especially that Revitalizing Pill. My 'something' has grown back!" Chu Yanran said, her cheeks flushed.

"The Revitalizing Pill, that's just a specially made medicine. The main market should still be for Revitalizing Pills, Body Sculpting Pills, and the like!" Ye Chen coughed lightly. Why did Chu Yanran bring that topic up for no reason? Having taken his medicine, that layer would definitely regrow; wasn't that obvious?

"Yanran, can you please speak sensibly?" Finally unable to hold back, Tong Xingtong who had been standing to the side chimed in. "First, let's honestly discuss the pharmaceutical company matters. We can talk about personal issues later, okay?"

Tong Xingtong knew that Chu Yanran couldn't stop thinking about Ye Chen, but this was a business discussion, and emotions shouldn't be mixed into it!

Chu Yanran shot a slightly reproachful glance at Tong Xingtong; she wanted nothing more than to have a heart-to-heart talk with Ye Chen.

"I'll go first then, discussing the company's concept!" Ye Chen took the initiative. "I think you should set up a colossal pharmaceutical company, ideally dominating the entire Asian medicinal market, even becoming a mainstream power in the global pharmaceutical sector!"

"Asking for the lion's share, are you now? Do you know how much investment that would require?" Tong Xingtong laughed.

"I believe you're not short of money, and my elixirs are worth your investment!" Ye Chen claimed with unfazed confidence. Since Chu Yanran had come to see him, she certainly wouldn't leave empty-handed. Being known as Empress Chu, she surely wielded the boldness ordinary people could scarcely comprehend!

"Is all the capital going to be from your side?" asked Chu Yanran. If they truly followed Ye Chen's suggestion to dominate the pharmaceutical market of Asia, possibly even the world, it would require an astronomical sum, not just one or two billion. Even for Yanran International, such an undertaking would be costly!

"Naturally, I'll only provide the medical technology!" explained Ye Chen with a shrug.

"So much for your worthless technology," Tong Xingtong sneered. "How about this, I'll give you a billion to buy the patents for your various pills, what do you say?"

"Who's being foolish here, you or me?" Ye Chen chuckled in response. "If you have come to me, it means you've seen the value in my elixirs, and even if you have samples, you can't decipher the components and methods used in their creation!"

"You think you can get the patents for my pills with a billion?" Ye Chen laughed softly. "Better go back home and keep dreaming!"

"It's been a long time since we met, but you've become much smarter!" Tong Xingtong laughed.

"I've always been this smart," Ye Chen affirmed.

"Hahaha, that's hilarious, I wonder who it was that I drugged and imprisoned, nearly starving to death over a month—so smart, and you claim to be?" Tong Xingtong laughed wildly.

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen nearly choked on his own blood, recalling the greatest setback in his life.

"Ye Chen, I have great faith in those prescriptions of yours. I'm willing to invest ten billion to dominate Asia's pharmaceutical market. Tell me, how much of a share do you want?" Chu Yanran inquired.

"Yanran, have you lost your mind? Wasn't it agreed that we would invest at most one billion? How did it suddenly jump to ten billion?" Tong Xingtong exclaimed, evidently unaware of Chu Yanran's decision.

"Ye Chen's formulas are worth that price!" Chu Yanran declared, as though reaching a firm decision.

"Okay then!" Tong Xingtong thought it over carefully and didn't object.

The profits generated from Ye Chen's formulas could be unprecedentedly immense. Even this ten-billion investment could likely double within a few years!

"Ye Chen, tell me, how much of a share do you desire?" Chu Yanran asked.

Ye Chen pondered. He wanted ninety percent of the shares, but could he dare say it? Probably before he could finish, he'd be drowned by these women's saliva.

"Let me put a number on it, twenty percent of the shares, meaning of that ten billion, two billion is yours!" Chu Yanran proposed.

Ye Chen's heart stirred; this seemed to be a good offer. Simply providing several formulas and getting twenty percent of the shares seemed to reach the position he had in mind.

"Empress Chu, it's said that seeing is believing, and you do have a way with things! Wanting to secure my husband's pill formulas with merely twenty percent of the shares, did you do this with my consent?" Just then, a graceful figure approached from a distance.

Upon seeing the woman's true appearance, a look of ecstatic joy crossed Ye Chen's face.

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