Worlds Apart | Chapter 69 | The Only Witness | Novela.app

Regarding the dinner with Yongping, Jiang Tong instructed Li Qianqian to keep it strictly confidential from the team. Both the BTK27 and CD30 research projects were at a critical stage; shaking the morale of the troops now would be asking for trouble. However, even after working late into the night, Zhang Yuan’s cordial yet certain smile continued to circle in his mind, refusing to dissipate. Zhang Yuan’s offer was too tempting. Money was one aspect, but while Li Qianqian hadn't caught it, Jiang Tong had accurately picked up on her subtext. Lu Wei was likely not as well-off at Yongping as he made himself out to be. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—if Jiang Tong were willing, Lu Wei would pay the price for his past actions. Then there were Yongping’s resources. If he accepted the investment, he would no longer have to endure the endless infighting between Song Jiaqi and Fang Yuan, nor would he have to personally visit the doors of investment firms one by one. They would be lining up to find him. Jiang Tong suspected that, aside from Li Qianqian, none of his subordinates would refuse this offer. After all, once Yongping entered the fray, the value of the options in their hands would do more than just double. Yet, he had refused. For the sake of a vague, dangerous premonition, and perhaps for his own foolish idealism, he had rejected a path that might have led to a happy ending for everyone. This was a situation he had rarely encountered since graduating from university—Jiang Tong did not know if he had made the right choice. Weighty secrets and dangerous confusion, unable to be voiced, could only ferment within his heart. Jiang Tong’s typing speed grew slower and slower. By the time he snapped back to his senses, he realized that on his messaging app, Xiao Fengtai’s minimized avatar was smiling at him. It was always like this, he thought with a bitter smile. The body was always more honest than the soul. What would Xiao Fengtai say? Jiang Tong thought detachedly. From Hua Yu’s perspective, an offer from Yongping would be a godsend. A rising star in the domestic biotech scene joining forces with an established domestic pharmaceutical giant—once the deal was struck, the primary market value of Huaqing would be unimaginable. He absolutely could not breathe a word of this to Xiao Fengtai. Once midnight passed, the building’s central control system automatically turned off the lights. Jiang Tong sat in the silent darkness. The computer screen, having entered screensaver mode, emitted a faint blue light that illuminated a small area in front of him. However, the brightness was severely insufficient, like a tiny gas lamp in a storm, liable to be extinguished with a soft *poof* at any moment. Jiang Tong was suddenly struck by a sense of loneliness. He considered himself well-liked. His mentors, college friends, seniors from the lab, his students, his subordinates... very few people disliked him. He was always so gentle and diligent, not only reliable in his work but also warm-hearted and eager to help others. He was used to listening to the confusion and troubles of others, acting as their lighthouse and compass. His senior year of college had been the rock bottom of his life; since then, he had used redoubled efforts to firmly hide away his weakness, hesitation, and loneliness. Amidst the trusting and admiring gazes of others, he derived a pleasure tinged with a sharp sting. As time passed, he eventually began to believe it himself—that he was a perfect man, that he would not be confused, and that while life was full of unknowns, his will was firm and he was confident in his ability to master his own destiny. Yet at this moment, in the darkness and silence, loneliness surged like a tide, gradually rising until it submerged him. Jiang Tong suddenly felt that to others, he was merely a functional role, an NPC one clicked on for a bag of tricks when encountering difficulties in a game. The contacts stored in his phone spanned every time zone; they warmly called him Senior, Professor, Boss, or Buddy. But if he were to reveal his current thoughts to them—not even the core secrets, but just his confusion, his hesitation, or a single dark thought—his image in their hearts would completely collapse. Except for one person. The witness to the ugliest moment of his life. Only he had witnessed his frailty and the unsightly desires beneath his hypocritical shell. A sudden realization struck Jiang Tong; he finally understood why he had been unable to help himself time and again, and why he had continued this ridiculous physical relationship with Xiao Fengtai until now. Only in front of Xiao Fengtai was he unable to pretend, and lacked the strength to do so. In their verbal sparring, in the sharp gaze of his former student, and in the moments where their bodies intertwined and flesh and soul became one, Jiang Tong felt a relaxation that came from the depths of his soul. Jiang Tong smiled bitterly. He knew how much of a failure he appeared to be in Xiao Fengtai’s heart. He was an emotional fraud, a hypocrite, a gold digger who gave up halfway... but what did it matter? Above all else, he was certain that in Xiao Fengtai’s heart, he, Jiang Tong, was a person of flesh and blood—real and whole. Before hesitation could overcome impulse, Jiang Tong quickly opened WeChat and sent several messages to Xiao Fengtai in one go. He shoved his phone into his drawer with a *thud*, hearing the muffled buzz of a notification as his heart pounded violently. He had crossed the line. Jiang Tong was well aware of this and was mentally prepared to be mocked and then rejected by Xiao Fengtai. Yet at this moment, he felt he had no other choice. He wanted to see him, to the point of madness. ***