The "foreign monk" Fang Yuan had won his first battle, while the "old courtier" Song Jiaqi had unexpectedly capsized in a gutter.
Despite emphasizing the commercial value of BTK27 to investors countless times, in Jiang Tong’s heart, the status of BTK27 and CD30 were worlds apart. One was an unprecedented innovative therapy; the other was a mature product with global sales already reaching billions of dollars—it was merely a matter of taking the original drug, modifying a few structures to circumvent patent protection, and reaping high returns from a small investment. The probability of success was infinitely close to one hundred percent.
With such expectations, Jiang Tong’s reaction to Song Jiaqi’s report on the Phase I clinical results could only be described as shock.
"Why does our BTK27 have such strong side effects?" Rather than anger, he felt a profound sense of confusion. "There are already two or three similar products globally, and no researcher has found that this drug causes patients to develop external hemangiomas."
"Was there another problem with patient recruitment? Or does the dosage need adjustment?"
Song Jiaqi stood formally across the desk, stripped of the arrogance she had displayed over the phone. "We are still investigating the cause... it might be related to the overstimulation of the EGFR signaling pathway."
"But aside from that, all the primary clinical endpoints designed for Phase I were met. The response and remission rates exceeded expectations. The hemangiomas are currently only occurring externally and are small in scale. To be honest, the actual impact on the patients isn't significant; it’s mainly that the appearance is... not ideal."
Jiang Tong sighed. "Fine, I’ll accept that explanation for now. What do you plan to do for Phase II?"
"The dosage will definitely be adjusted. The approval for the Phase I clinical trial of BTK27 in combination with chemotherapy has also come through. I will launch the combination trial simultaneously to see if the hemangioma formation subsides after the EGFR pathway is inhibited."
Jiang Tong nodded. "Let’s do that. Organize the Phase I data into a paper and announce it at ASCO as originally planned."
Song Jiaqi hesitated. "Should we wait until we have some results from Phase II or the Phase I combination trial before going to ASCO? Maybe we should skip it this time; after all, the results are flawed..."
Jiang Tong gave a bitter smile. "Do you think I *want* to go? It’s just that the Series C financing is at a critical juncture. Countless people, from investors to competitors, are watching the BTK results. If we flee without a fight, everyone will default to the assumption that there’s a problem with the data."
"Regardless, the Phase I response and remission rates are good. While the side effects are a blemish, they aren't a fatal flaw." Jiang Tong waved his hand. "Just write the paper well; don't worry about the rest."
Jiang Tong wasn't just comforting Song Jiaqi; he truly believed the mess with BTK27 was within controllable limits. However, plans often fail to keep pace with changes. Before ASCO convened, a significant incident occurred within the industry.
It was significant because the protagonist of the event was closely tied to both Jiang Tong and Huaqing. It was minor because time had passed, and almost no one in the company cared about him anymore.
Due to falsifying invoices and opening a personal company without disclosure, Lu Wei was personally fired by Zhang Yuan less than a year after joining Yongping. On the day the email notification was sent, Lu Wei was still on a business trip in Australia. By the time he returned to China, the R&D department he had personally recruited had already seen a change in leadership. Not only was his keycard deactivated, but all his personal belongings had been packed and couriered home by his secretary.
Jiang Tong learned the news during a team lunch. The whistleblower’s wife worked at Yongping and possessed a wealth of first-hand material, both true and false, which he shared with vivid excitement.
"People at Yongping are saying Lu Wei was taken down because he clashed with Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan originally hired him to be the second-in-command of R&D with a great package. Who knew Lu Wei was dead set on being the boss? He went over Zhang Yuan’s head to contact the elder Chairman Zhang directly. How could the 'Crown Princess' tolerate that?"
Jiang Tong and Li Qianqian exchanged a look, neither saying a word. Song Jiaqi, however, frowned in doubt. "Based on public documents, Yongping’s reasons for firing Lu Wei are very solid. In a company that large, personnel appointments can't be based solely on Zhang Yuan’s personal whims."
The whistleblower shrugged. "I wouldn't know about that. Either way, Zhang Yuan definitely disliked Lu Wei. My wife said Zhang Yuan signed the dismissal himself and didn't even give the guy a phone call. He just sent an email while Lu Wei was on a flight to Australia and called it a day. As soon as Lu Wei landed and saw the email, he flew back immediately. In the end, he couldn't even get through the front gates of Yongping. He was screaming curses in the guardhouse and almost got into a fight with the security guards."
His phone vibrated. He opened it, his eyes lighting up. "Look, this is a photo her colleague took in the building. It’s a bit far, but you can still see him clearly."
The phone made a round at the dining table, drawing gasps of amazement. Jiang Tong looked at the photo with complex emotions. Though the pixels were blurry and the figure was small, the person tangled with the security guard in a ridiculous posture was indeed Lu Wei himself.
"Bitch gets what’s coming to him," Li Qianqian said, enjoying the sight. "Send me that picture later; I want to keep it forever."
After this ordeal, Lu Wei had been blatantly kicked out by Yongping and branded as an enemy of Zhang Yuan. While people in the industry didn't exactly flee from him, they weren't far from it. Jiang Tong sighed inwardly for a moment and then put the matter out of his mind, only to receive a call from Lu Wei that very night. Seeing the number on the screen, his first instinct was to hang up. But then he thought of their time as colleagues; now that Lu Wei had fallen on hard times while Jiang Tong was safe on the shore, there was no need to kick a man while he was down.
Jiang Tong answered the phone with the mindset of "leaving a path open for future meetings," only to realize he had thought far too highly of Lu Wei.
"It was you." Lu Wei’s voice was strange, higher and sharper than usual, filled with a bizarre sort of agitation. "I knew it. It had to be you."
Jiang Tong was baffled. Before he could speak, Lu Wei’s curses erupted from the other end like a barrage from a machine gun.
"That bitch Zhang Yuan wouldn't admit it, but I finally dug it out! Jiang Tong, you think you can kill me off and then smoothly cash out of Huaqing to live a life of leisure? Keep dreaming your damn dreams!"
"If I hadn't dragged you out of that lab back then, where would you be today? That’s right, I’m in trouble now, but a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse! Even if I have to get flayed, I’ll drag you off your high horse with me!"
"I’ll let you enjoy yourself for a few more days. The time will come when you’ll be crying and begging me. You’d better be prepared!"
Before Jiang Tong could formulate a response, Lu Wei slammed the phone down—judging by the final, abnormal crash, he might have even thrown the phone against a wall.
Being threatened and cursed at for no reason didn't make Jiang Tong particularly angry; he just felt Lu Wei was pathetic. The first time he met Lu Wei, the man wore a crisp, unwrinkled suit and spoke about business with such vigor that no one else could get a word in. Even when they eventually parted ways and things were at their ugliest, Lu Wei had always maintained a face of mature rationality, making Jiang Tong feel like a high schooler in comparison.
To lose his composure like this would have been unthinkable for the Lu Wei of six months ago—no, even one month ago. It seemed he truly had reached a dead end.
*He can’t even save himself; what chips does he have left to strike at Huaqing and me?*
Jiang Tong gave a cold laugh and deleted Lu Wei’s number from his contacts.
Sure enough, after Lu Wei dropped his threats, there was no follow-up, and Jiang Tong gradually forgot about him. It was only on the way to the US for ASCO, while Jiang Tong and Xiao Fengtai—who was traveling with him to scout for new projects—were bored, that Lu Wei was brought up again as a topic of conversation.
To Jiang Tong’s surprise, after hearing the whole story, Xiao Fengtai actually began to worry seriously for Huaqing.
"You should tell Song Jiaqi and the others to be careful lately," he said with a serious expression. "I don't think this is over."
Jiang Tong found it hard to understand. "Lu Wei is like a clay Buddha crossing a river—he can barely save himself. How could he have the energy to deal with Huaqing? He’s probably just in a bad mood and looking for someone to vent on. I’m more worried that he can't handle the blow and his mental health will suffer."
Xiao Fengtai said, "That’s exactly why you need to pay more attention. Once a madman snaps, he follows neither logic nor consequences."
"Your deduction of Lu Wei is based on your past interactions with him. Back then, Lu Wei had too much to lose; he had to maintain a certain grace and decorum. Now he’s a man with nothing to lose, and he’s convinced you destroyed his career. He’s determined to go down fighting. If he truly catches a weakness, even if he can't topple Huaqing, it’ll be enough to give you a hell of a time."
Jiang Tong remained dismissive. Seeing that he wasn't listening, Xiao Fengtai tactfully dropped the subject. However, when they landed in San Francisco and turned on their phones to check messages, they were stunned to find that Xiao Fengtai’s words had come true. Lu Wei, in his capacity as the former Vice President of Huaqing, had publicly declared that the structural design of BTK27 had major defects. He had even prematurely disclosed the Phase I clinical data of BTK27, citing the widespread occurrence of external hemangiomas in the test subjects as evidence.
The lead and co-investors for the Series C financing had basically been finalized, but now not only the potential investors but even the Series A and B investors who were already on board were in an uproar. From the airport to the hotel, Jiang Tong’s phone didn't stop ringing until it automatically shut down due to low battery. Xiao Fengtai watched from the side, saying nothing.
"Do you have a power bank?" Jiang Tong asked Xiao Fengtai irritably. "Let me borrow it. I was just getting to the critical part."
"Give me your phone," Xiao Fengtai said noncommittally.
Confused, Jiang Tong complied. "What are you doing? Just give me the power bank, I’ll plug it in myself."
"Who told you I had a power bank?" Xiao Fengtai put the phone in his pocket and gave him a strange look. "Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."
"You’ve had enough calls for tonight. I believe that until eight o'clock tomorrow morning, you only have three things to do."
He held up his fingers. "One, go to the hotel and take a good shower. Two, order dinner with a glass of good red wine. Three, calmly think about what to do next, then go to bed."
"You especially need to calmly consider whether to attend tomorrow’s seminar as planned. Lu Wei deliberately released the news before ASCO, hoping to catch you off guard. Especially considering the impending Series C financing, I do not recommend you disclose the progress of BTK’s R&D on your own without communicating with your existing shareholders and investor relations team."
Jiang Tong was silent for a few minutes. A rebuttal rushed to his lips but got stuck, and what came out instead was:
"In what capacity are you offering me this advice?" He stared at Xiao Fengtai. "Peer, friend, or shareholder?"
Xiao Fengtai avoided his gaze. "That’s not important."
Jiang Tong smiled, his emotions unreadable. "As the founder and Chief Scientist of Huaqing, I guarantee with my academic life that the side effects of BTK27 are within controllable limits. Yes, the structure of BTK is different from the original drug, but it is absolutely not a defect. In fact, the overall data from the Phase I trial is very good, and we have conducted a preliminary analysis of the mechanism behind the side effects. I believe that by adjusting the dosage and using it in combination with chemotherapy, the probability of hemangiomas will be significantly reduced."
"In short, Hua Yu won't lose money." He reached out his hand toward Xiao Fengtai, palm up. "Please give me back my phone."
"That’s not what I meant..."
Jiang Tong kept his posture unchanged. "Unless Hua Yu requests a shareholders' meeting and obtains a majority vote, it cannot unilaterally interfere with the company’s major business decisions. Please give me the phone. I need to contact my colleagues to adjust tomorrow’s PPT and speech."
Helpless, Xiao Fengtai pulled the phone out and returned it to Jiang Tong.
"You misunderstand," he said, hesitating. "I... I wanted to say..."
He suddenly felt a flicker of confusion, a hint of cowardice. He had an answer to Jiang Tong’s question in his heart. But that answer wasn't among the options Jiang Tong had provided.
Jiang Tong didn't see his struggle.
"I’m going back to my room first." He left him with a steady back. "See you tomorrow."
Xiao Fengtai didn't contact Jiang Tong again until the following afternoon. He convinced himself it was to avoid disturbing Jiang Tong’s preparations, but in his heart, he knew he was afraid of the awkwardness. He had originally planned to leave the venue early and skip Huaqing’s seminar, but halfway through his drive, he suddenly ordered the driver to turn around and ran all the way to the lecture hall.
When Xiao Fengtai entered the hall, Jiang Tong’s speech had already ended, and the Q&A session was about to begin. The hall was packed, with a fifty-fifty split between academics and suit-clad finance professionals. About seventy percent of the faces in the front rows were Chinese. Xiao Fengtai sighed; it seemed Lu Wei had already achieved half his goal.
As he expected, the Q&A session was less an academic discussion of the BTK27 Phase I results and more of a siege on Jiang Tong.
"Your company’s former VP, Lu Wei, claims that the widespread occurrence of hemangiomas is due to a structural defect in BTK27. How does Dr. Jiang respond?"
"I have already clarified in my speech that BTK27 does not have any so-called structural defects. We believe the external hemangiomas are very likely caused by the drug’s overstimulation of the EGFR target. In the Phase II trial, we will moderately reduce the dosage to control toxicity. We are also simultaneously conducting a Phase I clinical trial of BTK27 in combination with chemotherapy, and we will see the results very soon."
"We have also heard that some patients have discovered internal hemangiomas. Please confirm this."
"False news," Jiang Tong said decisively. "We have not had a single case of a patient discovering an internal hemangioma. I also want to emphasize that the incidence of severe adverse reactions in the BTK27 Phase I trial is lower than that of similar drugs. The discovery of hemangiomas will not cause the clinical progress of BTK27 to stall."
"The BTK27 Phase I clinical trial was once halted by the NMPA. How does Huaqing guarantee the quality of its data?"
"That is a very good question." Jiang Tong paused for a moment. "I will take this opportunity to clarify: the suspension of the BTK27 Phase I trial was mainly because the enrollment conditions of some patients did not match the experimental design. After we discovered the problem, we reported it to the NMPA immediately and proactively halted the experiment. Personally, I believe this is the best manifestation of Huaqing’s responsibility toward its patients."
"The early leak of Huaqing’s clinical data—does this indicate a lapse in experimental management?"
"We are currently stepping up our investigation into the source of the leak. Preliminary findings suggest the information flowed out through a partner CRO and the hospital side. However, only part of the data was leaked. The report published by Lu Wei contains a large amount of false information, including the number of enrolled patients and the overall remission rate, which I have just clarified in my speech."
"Lu Wei claims he left Huaqing because he lost confidence in BTK27. What is your comment on this?"
Jiang Tong smiled. "Lu Wei’s departure involves another company in the same industry, so it is not convenient for me to comment further. Regarding the parts of his statement concerning BTK27, I must emphasize again that Lu Wei’s claims about the Phase I results contain several factual deviations and distortions in interpretation. We will publish a written response on the company website later. Since time is limited, I hope the following questions can focus more on BTK27 itself. I am very happy to share details of the Phase I trial and our future R&D plans for BTK."
The questions from the audience were sharp and often malicious. However, Jiang Tong’s responses were neither humble nor arrogant, clean and decisive, frequently supported by the clinical data he had introduced earlier. The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated, and the questions began to return to the track of normal academic exchange.
Xiao Fengtai had been anxious when he walked into the hall, but by the end, he had to admit Jiang Tong was right. The waves Lu Wei had stirred were no longer enough to topple today’s Huaqing, and Jiang Tong... he was far more skilled at handling such situations than Xiao Fengtai had imagined.
Was this an ability honed during his time as a professor in the US? A young Asian professor, to command a room of American teenagers full of strange ideas and self-importance, would need not only strong self-confidence but also a breadth of mind and quick-wittedness far beyond the average person. Standing in the back row, Xiao Fengtai watched Jiang Tong speak with ease and poise, imagining him teaching at a university. The image gradually blurred and then sharpened again, merging with his fantasies from when he was eighteen.
He smiled silently. In those naive fantasies of years past, he would also be in the back row, pretending to be one of the students, idly scrolling through his phone while waiting for Jiang Tong to finish class so he could drive him home.
The restaurants they went to for the first time, the movies they watched, all his absurd plans for the future... he thought he would never think of Jiang Tong again in this life, but it turned out he remembered everything.
After the seminar concluded successfully, Jiang Tong was still surrounded by a few lingering listeners. Having taught in the US, he had a wide network, and many former colleagues had come to support him. Xiao Fengtai found a seat in a corner, replying to emails while waiting for Jiang Tong to finish.
"...news... I knew it was fake." He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but fragments of sentences drifted into his ears. "After what happened with Lily, you’re the last person who would ever cut corners on a clinical trial."
Who was Lily?
The voice continued: "How is Dennis? Last time Chen went to China on business, we all chipped in to buy him a giant tub of candy. Did he like it?"
Jiang Tong replied with a laugh, "Don't even mention that tub of candy. He ate it every day and got several cavities. Luckily, his baby teeth are starting to come out one by one now, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do."
"When are you bringing him to the States? Alice misses him to death!"
"Maybe during the summer break." Jiang Tong’s voice held a hint of helplessness. "The educational pressure on the mainland... sigh, let’s not talk about it!"
The mist of fantasy gradually cleared, and Xiao Fengtai’s fingers froze on the screen. He had almost forgotten that Jiang Tong not only had a wife but also a child. A beautiful mixed-race boy named Dennis.
*It seems he’s quite like Jiang Tong,* a ridiculous thought rose in his mind. *Everyone seems to like him.*
Lily was gone. From the fragments he had gathered, Xiao Fengtai deduced that her departure had a profound impact on Jiang Tong. He couldn't help but wonder: if Lily were still here, what would everything be like?
When the crowd around the podium finally dispersed, Jiang Tong noticed Xiao Fengtai sitting in the hall with a displeased expression.
"What’s wrong?" He walked over to Xiao Fengtai. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Xiao Fengtai looked up. The concern in Jiang Tong’s eyes was so sincere. Had he cared for and accompanied another woman with that same gaze? They must have loved each other deeply to have such a beautiful son.
He smiled at Jiang Tong. "Congratulations on the successful seminar."
Jiang Tong sat down beside him. "When did you get here? I didn't see you when the speech started."
"I caught the most exciting part." Xiao Fengtai spoke idly, offering pleasantries. "Were those people your friends? Introduce me sometime when you’re free; there might be good projects to collaborate on..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt something was off, but the chance to fix it vanished instantly. Jiang Tong turned to look at him. "You heard everything?"
Xiao Fengtai said nothing.
Jiang Tong pondered for a moment, then stood up and beckoned to Xiao Fengtai. "I’ll take you somewhere."
Xiao Fengtai had actually guessed Jiang Tong’s destination, but he hadn't expected Lily’s grave to be so close to the venue. Behind a small community church, several rows of pure black marble were quietly embedded in the lush green grass. The surfaces of the tombstones were polished bright, with a few simple lines of English introducing names and dates of birth and death. At the bottom was a small black-and-white portrait—men, women, young, and old, of different races, smiling at visitors under the brilliant California sun.
Jiang Tong stopped in front of a tombstone at the very edge and bent down to gently place the lilies he had bought on the way.
The two were silent for a time. Xiao Fengtai stood with him for a moment before he finally couldn't help but speak.
"Jiang Tong, I didn't mean anything by it. But..."
"This is it." Jiang Tong smiled. "Let me introduce you."
"Long time no see," he whispered to the tombstone, then turned back to Xiao Fengtai. "Let me make a formal introduction. Xu Zhiyu, also known as Lily Xu, my legal partner. We met for the first time two and a half years ago. Lily participated in the Phase III clinical trial of an ARK inhibitor I was leading in the US—it’s a last-line therapy for ovarian cancer."
Jiang Tong made this explosive statement in a flat tone. Xiao Fengtai was momentarily thrown into confusion, unsure of his intent. "But you said she was the child’s mother..."
"Dennis was born to her. Lily was an orphan; her adoptive parents died in a car accident when she was in college. She had artificial insemination after she started working... She worked at a law firm in New York for those years and had a good income... She wanted to give herself a home again."
He looked at the small black-and-white photo on the tombstone, appearing somewhat dazed. The young woman in the photo was radiant, with long eyebrows slanting toward her temples and a wide, toothy grin. Though her hair was shoulder-length, she had a certain neutral, hardy quality.
He had never seen Lily like this. When they first met, Lily wore a brownish-brown short wig. She tried her best to hide her illness with makeup, but she was far too thin, her skin dry and loose, and she walked with a precarious wobble that made her look like a piece of paper that had been soaked, crumpled, flattened, and then dried.
Her smile, however, was as frank and cheerful as it had been when she was healthy. But the shadow of death grew deeper by the day—a handful of fire about to go out in a blizzard; the more intense the flame, the colder it made the onlookers feel.
She had brought Dennis with her to the initial consultation. Back then, Dennis was a chubby little kid who couldn't speak clearly yet. A child’s mask covered his round face, and his little legs pitter-pattered as he walked, reminding Jiang Tong of a neighbor’s Corgi. While Jiang Tong and Lily discussed her condition, Dennis didn't say a word, his large eyes darting between Jiang Tong and Lily from above his mask.
"The treatment for the next period will require hospitalization. It’s best if someone at home can look after the little one." After explaining the treatment precautions, Jiang Tong hesitated before advising Lily, "If the child is healthy, it’s best if he doesn't come to the hospital often."
If Jiang Tong had understood Lily’s background then, he would have known he was essentially stabbing her in the heart. However, the woman only smiled. "Thank you for the reminder, Doctor."
"Later, we still saw Dennis often. I initially had a bad impression of Lily because of that, until a colleague explained her situation to me... Later, we became friends and found we got along quite well."
"And then you fell in love?" Xiao Fengtai didn't realize his tone held a trace of imperceptible mockery.
"There was a brightness in her character that I quite liked." Jiang Tong was very candid. "Unfortunately, her condition progressed too quickly; neither of us had the mind for romance."
Jiang Tong’s eyes grew dim. Lily had a severe adverse reaction to the ARK inhibitor and had to stop the medication early. After stopping the drug, the tumor progressed explosively. She didn't last long.
It wasn't Jiang Tong’s fault. All the possible extreme dangers had been clearly listed in the waiver. Yet, deep down, he still felt guilty toward Lily. He couldn't forget the first day she came for a consultation, holding Dennis’s hand. The boy hadn't spoken the whole time, but the eyes he turned toward Jiang Tong were bright, filled with hope.
"Lily had no living direct relatives, so before she died, she hoped I could adopt Dennis. Her treatment costs were covered by the company, and the real estate and investments in her name were enough to raise Dennis to adulthood. But adoption requirements in the US are strict, so we had to get married first—"
"Are you insane?" Xiao Fengtai suddenly interrupted Jiang Tong.
"It’s not just you; this Lily Xu’s head was also broken. Do you two have any concept of what it means to raise a child?" Xiao Fengtai was shaking with rage. "Have you joined some cult church in the US over the last ten years? The kind where you martyr yourself like Jesus? If you had even one percent of the cold calculation you used when you dumped me back then, you wouldn't have done this!"
This was a trashy ethical plot that even a third-rate Hollywood screenwriter wouldn't dare write! What did Jiang Tong think he was? He gave up... gave up so much to get to this point, and in the end, it was all to go overseas and be someone’s cheap father?
A part of him sneered inwardly. Jiang Tong was always eager to seize the moral high ground, ready to lend a helping hand to those around him at any time. This was the price of hypocrisy. After telling so many lies, he actually believed he was a saint.
Even so, he had gone too far. Spending ten or twenty years raising a child by hand! Did Jiang Tong know the consequences of his momentary act of kindness?
Xiao Fengtai suddenly felt dejected. Who was he to consider these things for Jiang Tong? On many mornings, he woke up alone, looking at the floating clouds outside the window. His future, Jiang Tong’s future—longitude and latitude interwoven—he carefully searched for any clue but could never find a way out. And Jiang Tong? What a casual person! Decisive when pulling away, and yet capable of giving without limit when he chose to. All of Xiao Fengtai’s deductions and plans became laughable and pathetic in front of Jiang Tong.
Xiao Fengtai’s unexpected fury caught Jiang Tong off guard. "You... you should calm down first."
"To hell with that." Xiao Fengtai’s lips curled into a mocking, cold smile. The fire died out, leaving only cold, pale embers.
"Have you ever thought about how many people would accept you starting a family with such a big child? Not to mention whether he’s willing to be brought into a new family by you—do you realize you’ve just thrown your whole life away?" He let out a long sigh. "You’re even stupider than I thought."
"I don't think adoption is a sacrifice!" Jiang Tong raised his voice. "Just like Lily, back then, I wanted to build a family for myself!"
"And then play the role of a single father whose heart is deader than ashes? When a woman who’s interested in you asks you out for a drink, you say no, I have to leave work at six sharp to drive home and fry hamburger patties and toss a salad for my son. After your son is asleep, you sit alone under the lamp watching 80s romance movies, reminiscing about your youthful love while you watch?" Xiao Fengtai sneered. "Jiang Tong, no one has watched that kind of plot for fifty years!"
"Yes! That’s exactly it! Say whatever you want!" Jiang Tong also began to shout at him. "Do you have to make me confess it to you word for word!"
Xiao Fengtai fell silent in shock. He finally understood Jiang Tong’s underlying meaning.
"Why are you telling me this?" he finally asked. "Why now?"
"Because I regret it."
"I don't mean I regret adopting Dennis... I asked you that question in the taxi, and you didn't answer. I thought about a lot of things on the way."
"Before, I told myself I only wanted happiness in the here and now. But now I’ve found that I’m even greedier than I imagined."
The Jiang Tong of ten years ago could afford not to think about the future, but the Jiang Tong of ten years later could no longer be satisfied with a precarious happiness. It wasn't just about this moment; he wanted every moment. He wanted forever.
He looked into Xiao Fengtai’s eyes, waiting for his answer.
Xiao Fengtai looked away.
"I’m going back first." He looked down at his watch. "I have an appointment tonight. I’ll be in touch."
He brushed past Jiang Tong, walking quickly toward the venue.
It was almost like a flight.
***
