Fang Zhixing knew nothing of the friction between the two men. Uncertain of Xiao Fengtai’s stance, he could only pose a few innocuous questions regarding Huaqing’s product pipeline. Fortunately, Jiang Tong performed well, answering with such clarity and thoroughness that the situation remained somewhat respectable.
While Jiang Tong and Fang Zhixing went back and forth, Xiao Fengtai initially sat with his arms crossed, lost in thought, before lowering his head to fiddle with his phone. He practically wore his lack of interest on his sleeve. Fang Zhixing watched his behavior out of the corner of his eye, thinking the project was likely dead in the water, and silently sighed for Jiang Tong.
It was still strange. Fang Zhixing thought as he mechanically recorded Jiang Tong’s answers. Xiao Fengtai was usually the epitome of social grace; even if he looked down on someone, he would maintain a facade of politeness and respect. To Fang Zhixing, seeing him display such raw, blatant, and unprofessional emotion in a formal setting was the equivalent of seeing Xiao Fengtai streaking down the street.
But how could these two have ever crossed paths? One had been raising mice and washing test tubes on the West Coast, while the other had been drifting through Asia’s high society.
*Could the boss be suffering from a manic episode because of the recent fundraising pressure?*
Regardless, this phase of the fund was nearly fully invested. If Xiao Fengtai didn't want this hot potato, Fang Zhixing would just have to find someone else later and recommend Professor Jiang to another reliable fund.
Fang Zhixing, his mind split between two tasks, prepared to wrap up the Q&A session and see the guest out. He followed the standard script, beginning to thank Jiang Tong for the roadshow, but the word "thanks" caught in his throat as Xiao Fengtai, who had seemed checked out the entire time, suddenly looked up.
"Professor Jiang, I have a few questions I’d like to ask."
Jiang Tong seemed to startle for a moment. "Ah, please go ahead."
Xiao Fengtai placed his phone face down on the table. "How many patients were enrolled in the Phase I clinical trial for BTK27?"
Fang Zhixing turned to look at Xiao Fengtai. *Hadn't he been spacing out the whole time? How did he manage to ask about a specific R&D detail the moment he opened his mouth?*
Fortunately, Jiang Tong remained composed. "Fifty."
"Are you conducting simultaneous clinical trials in China and the US?"
"...Only in China."
"Is the control group using the original drug or a placebo?"
"A placebo. However, compared to the original drug, our molecular structure—"
Xiao Fengtai interrupted him. "I’m sorry, I haven't finished my questions."
The corner of Jiang Tong’s eye twitched. Their gazes locked in a brief, sharp clash. He took a deep breath. "Please, continue."
"It’s a simple math problem," Xiao Fengtai said, tapping away on his phone. "Based on market rates, the clinical cost per patient is thirty thousand. Hospital labor costs are at most one million, and CRO fees are five hundred thousand. All told, a Phase I trial should cost three million."
"The two drugs currently in development are still in animal testing, which doesn't cost much. Even at the most expensive rates, two million per experiment brings the total to four million."
Before Jiang Tong could even react, a cold sweat broke out on Fang Zhixing’s back. It had been a long time since Xiao Fengtai had been this aggressive. If Jiang Tong messed up, he could just walk away, but Fang Zhixing would likely face a severe scolding.
Xiao Fengtai was oblivious to his subordinate’s complex inner turmoil. He simply stared into Jiang Tong’s eyes. "Huaqing completed its Series B financing six months ago with a post-money valuation of eighty million. The ten million newly raised should have been enough for twelve months of R&D expenses."
"Why are you out seeking funding again now?"
"Where did that previous ten million go?"
*Professor Jiang, now is the time to show your strength!* Fang Zhixing cheered for Jiang Tong in his heart, hoping he would use his eloquence to seize control of the situation as he had earlier.
But he was wrong. With every word Xiao Fengtai uttered, Jiang Tong’s face grew paler. He stood before the conference room whiteboard, his posture straight, yet he projected a sense of swaying, fragile weakness.
He remained silent.
The sweat on Fang Zhixing’s back was chilled by the central air conditioning. A cold draft seemed to blow straight into his heart.
"Professor Jiang," Xiao Fengtai said, enunciating every word, "don't think you can fool me by playing deaf and mute. The investment circle is only so big. My own fund isn't massive, but I do have quite a few friends."
"Biomedical investment is currently the industry's 'it' thing. Startups are appearing like schools of carp crossing a river; it's inevitable that the good and bad are mixed together. It would be a great service to everyone to call out companies that only sell concepts without any execution, saving everyone time. Don't you agree?"
Xiao Fengtai observed Jiang Tong with great interest. This man, who had once made him cry, beg, and lose his dignity, was now standing before him, enduring the way Xiao Fengtai used words to strip away his disguise layer by layer.
"It’s strange. Professor Jiang looks like a kind man, not a crooked businessman who would deceive investors." He sighed with feigned confusion. "But if you won't speak, I’ll just have to ask my other friends. Who participated in your Series A and Angel rounds? I checked online; Bosch and Jiahsin seem to be involved. I just happened to have drinks with the partners of those two funds last week—"
"The Phase I clinical trial for BTK27 was retracted," Jiang Tong interrupted him quickly. His voice was dry and cold; stripped of his professional, polite warmth, this was his true self.
"Some patients did not meet the enrollment criteria. The existing data quality was too poor and lacked statistical significance. The Phase I results were invalidated, and we are preparing to re-recruit patients."
"Why did this happen?" Xiao Fengtai’s smile deepened. "I looked at the management team's bios. Your partner came from a well-known domestic CRO. How could the clinical quality be so poor?"
"It seems Mr. Xiao has many doubts about Huaqing’s business model." Jiang Tong stiffly averted his gaze, finally unable to maintain his strained smile. "Since you have little interest in the company, perhaps we should end it here for today and save each other some time."
"Who said I wasn't interested?" Xiao Fengtai asked in feigned surprise. "These are just a few small questions about company operations. Why are you so nervous, Professor Jiang?"
"These involve trade secrets. It’s inconvenient to reveal too much before signing an NDA... Please understand."
He still remembered to use the formal "you."
Amidst the absurdity, a sense of admiration for Jiang Tong welled up within Xiao Fengtai.
"Since Professor Jiang insists on being secretive, I’ll say it for you." He looked Jiang Tong up and down, not wanting to miss a single reaction. "Your entire R&D and clinical team was poached by a competitor with high salaries. When you couldn't convince them to stay, you were extremely harsh with the separation terms. You didn't expect the former team to suffer in silence; they struck back, leaving the BTK Phase I trials in a total mess."
So that was it.
*He knows everything,* Jiang Tong thought.
He knew everything, yet he still pressed on, step by step, finally exposing Jiang Tong's failure in public. He was mocking him.
Jiang Tong had always been a man of great pride. He should have felt humiliated and angry, yet he only felt a sense of relief. This was how it should be. He looked at Xiao Fengtai; the androgynous beauty of his youth had faded, yet he was even more captivating than Jiang Tong remembered.
The indescribable grace in his every gesture stemmed from an extreme confidence in his own attractiveness. Just as Jiang Tong had imagined, after leaving that small, toy-like garden in the South Seas, Xiao Fengtai had finally realized how precious the things he possessed—money, fame, a beautiful youthful body, and a sharp mind—truly were.
He had also finally discovered how insignificant the things he had once humbly prayed for were.
The little creature with soft teeth, who would expose his belly if teased even slightly, had seen blood in the jungle and now understood his own power. The hunter who had once cruelly toyed with him had made a mistake and fallen into the beast's territory; how could he still hope to escape unscathed?
"How did you know?" he asked calmly.
Xiao Fengtai waved his phone at Jiang Tong. "I told you, I have many friends."
"So, can Mr. Jiang answer my question?" Xiao Fengtai flipped through the Huaqing roadshow materials. "BTK27 was just an expedient measure to boost cash flow and valuation. Your true trump card is CD30."
"Broad-spectrum anticancer, low side effects, and a progression-free survival rate longer than any existing chemotherapy drug. If the clinical trials succeed, the hundreds of millions in annual revenue from BTK27 in China won't even be a fraction of what CD30 could bring—of course, if the trials fail, Huaqing is worthless, with or without BTK27."
Jiang Tong found himself becoming curious about what Xiao Fengtai was really up to. "And then?"
"CD30 might be a good thing, but Huaqing is not," Xiao Fengtai said bluntly. "We can sign an NDA and begin due diligence, but I demand two seats on the board, the right to directly intervene in company management, and the transaction price must be lowered further."
Jiang Tong suddenly recalled that hexagonal study facing the sea from many years ago. When they first met, Xiao Fengtai had been a handsome, cold, and rebellious youth starved of love. He rarely smiled, and his gaze toward Jiang Tong was three parts wary and five parts defiant. He would argue and talk back to Jiang Tong’s face, yet secretly paid double the already high tuition fees just to make him stay.
"I appreciate your kindness, Mr. Xiao," he said slowly. "It’s true that Huaqing is in a difficult position right now. Many people have left the team—and I personally take primary responsibility for that."
"But BTK27 was the first to be approved for clinical trials in China. Even if we have to redo Phase I, we are still ahead of our competitors. And then there’s CD30... In short, I’m afraid I cannot accept your proposal."
He gave a bitter smile. "Many people... left, but some stayed. I have to be responsible for those who stayed."
The smile on Xiao Fengtai’s face faded slightly. "Agreeing to my terms is being irresponsible? Professor Jiang, you should be well aware of what a Phase I clinical failure means for a company that only has a product pipeline."
"By industry standards, these terms aren't particularly excessive. I hope Professor Jiang can keep business as business and not let personal feelings interfere with the transaction."
Jiang Tong looked as if he had heard a particularly funny joke. "Are there any 'personal feelings' to speak of between Mr. Xiao and me?"
"Your time is valuable, so I won't take up any more of it." He cut through the tension, bringing the roadshow to an abrupt end. "I have another meeting in an hour. I’ll take my leave. If there are follow-up questions, we can communicate via email."
Fang Zhixing and the young analyst, having witnessed this grand drama, suddenly realized they still had roles to play. They hurriedly stood up and escorted Jiang Tong out with forced smiles.
The moment the elevator doors closed, Fang Zhixing’s strained smile collapsed completely. The short walk from the elevator to the office took him fifteen minutes, yet he still hadn't figured out how to excuse this disastrous roadshow.
His heart pounding, he knocked on Xiao Fengtai’s office door with feigned composure, only to find his boss flipping through the Huaqing materials, his expression unreadable.
"Go and look into this CD30," Xiao Fengtai said before Fang Zhixing could speak. "Jiang Tong’s old papers, our expert team, the portfolio companies in the US... use any channel you can. I want to know if this thing is really as miraculous as Jiang Tong says."
"I know this man very well. Anything that could make him abandon his professorship to start a business in China and get his hands dirty must have value."
Fang Zhixing was startled and spoke his mind instinctively. "Are we really going to invest in this company? Didn't you say Huaqing was worthless?"
"Just a negotiation strategy," Xiao Fengtai sneered. "He’s in trouble now; naturally, I’m going to push the price as low as possible."
"In my opinion," Fang Zhixing said cautiously, "Jiang Tong’s mood wasn't very good when he left."
*You practically chased the man away in a rage; how could there still be a chance for cooperation or financing?*
"No need to worry about that." Xiao Fengtai slammed the roadshow materials onto the desk, looking as though victory was already in his grasp.
"He’ll come back to us."
***
