"If you want the antidote because of reaching that goal, I can certainly give it to you, but I have some other concerns. What if you detoxify Yuexue directly after getting the antidote? Then I would lose the most powerful card in my hand."
Chen Wenzhou squinted at Lu Yi, who furrowed his brow, growing impatient.
"I’ve told you many times, I will absolutely not use the antidote on Yuexue; rest assured, I can prioritise matters. My urgent need is to get Shen Heyu to sleep with me, solidifying our marriage."
Chen Wenzhou found Lu Yi increasingly interesting. He leaned back and slowly lifted his eyelids, watching the man before him, thinking he had been too hasty when he initially decided to collaborate with him.
"How naive can you be? Don’t tell me you actually believe that just by sleeping with Shen Heyu, our marriage will turn real. Don’t forget, before you two registered your marriage, you signed a prenuptial agreement. Your marriage is nothing but a sham."
"What does that matter? As long as the marriage certificate is real, that’s enough. Anyway, I must have Shen Heyu now, I’ve wanted him for such a long time." Lu Yi couldn’t care less; just thinking about Shen Heyu made him irrational, like a madman.
"If that’s what you think, then I have nothing to say. But giving you the antidote still makes me somewhat uneasy. After all, you and Yuexue have an emotional connection, and although there’s no blood relation between you two, I’ve heard Yuexue already sees you as her prospective father."
Even though they were on the same side, Chen Wenzhou had never fully trusted Lu Yi—in fact, Lu Yi was the person he trusted the least. He couldn’t risk handing over something as critical as the antidote to Lu Yi.
"I was good to Yuexue only because she is Shen Heyu’s daughter. To gain Shen Heyu’s approval and favor, I had to establish a good relationship with his daughter."
"Moreover, you just admitted it yourself, clear as day; I have no blood relation with Yuexue. I won’t easily hand over the antidote for an outsider, especially the daughter of my arch-enemy."
"But I still can’t take that risk. You know Yuexue is the only card I have to leverage against Shen Heyu. Without it, the situation could spiral out of control, and then who knows what might happen?" The implication was clear—Chen Wenzhou was refusing Lu Yi.
Lu Yi tried to speak politely, arguing so humbly, yet Chen Wenzhou still refused to hand over the antidote to him.
"Do you really mistrust me that much? Don’t forget we’re partners, and the foundation of a partnership is trust, but I can see none of that coming from you. Be honest, have you ever trusted me?" Lu Yi glared, frustrated and angry.
Facing Lu Yi’s anger, Chen Wenzhou simply smiled lightly and then slowly said, "Speaking of trust, when have you ever trusted me? If you had, why did you repeatedly take matters into your own hands without informing me, only to let me in on it halfway through the deeds?"
Chen Wenzhou squinted as he watched things unfold; his dissatisfaction with Lu Yi had been growing for a long time.
"Take the last time, for example, when I painstakingly set the stage for you to make the cooked rice turn into a reality. I clearly instructed you to drive over from the school, but instead you ignored my instructions and arrived at nine o’clock, waiting there. In the end, it took me a lot of effort to find someone with a similar build and profile to drive and make up for the missed surveillance."
"I thought I’d handed you the meal on a plate and you wouldn’t mess up any further, but it turns out I overestimated you. Not only did you botch it, but you made a mess. You allowed Pei Yansi to play the hero and save the beauty, warming up their feelings again."
"After so many foolish acts, how can I trust you?"
"Not to mention, handing over the critically important antidote to you this time. I’ll tell you this: I will definitely not give away the antidote easily unless you present strong evidence that convinces me you won’t mess this up."
Chen Wenzhou watched Lu Yi intently, eager to see what kind of proof he would present to persuade him.
"What kind of evidence do you want me to provide to convince you?"
"Here’s the deal: Yuexue is my powerful trump card against Shen Heyu. If your mistake causes me to lose this card, the loss would outweigh the gains. So now, offer me something to ensure I don’t incur too great a loss."
"I’ll temporarily transfer all my shares in the Lu Group under my name to you. Does this proof persuade you?"
This offer took Chen Wenzhou by surprise; it seemed Shen Heyu was indeed as treasured to him as his own eyes.
After having transferred all his shares, Lu Yi received a white medicine pill in exchange. He frowned as he looked at the single pill in the box, then raised his head to Chen Wenzhou, who was checking over the contract.
"Can this pill really detoxify the poison in Yuexue?"
"Of course, so let me give you a kind word of advice: be sure to keep this pill safe. Do not let Shen Heyu discover it, or you will lose everything and become a worthless beggar. Then, you’d be even less of a match for Pei Yansi, and you probably won’t be able to compete with any of the other men vying for Shen Heyu either."
"Alright. I’ve got it." Lu Yi pocketed the medicine pill and turned to leave. The moment he turned his back, Chen Wenzhou looked up, his gaze sinister as he watched his retreating figure.
Lu Yi, holding onto the medicine pill, went home and carefully placed the pill before calling Shen Heyu.
"Where are you now? It’s getting late; why haven’t you come back yet?"
"Where I am has nothing to do with you, Lu Yi. I’m telling you, you have no right to control me. Furthermore, I won’t ever come back there again." Shen Heyu coldly informed Chen Wenzhou she intended to draw a clear line between them, unwilling to be entangled with him any further.
Hearing Shen Heyu’s words, Chen Wenzhou’s grip on the phone tightened fiercely.
"Shen Heyu, I have something important to tell you. I have the antidote that can detoxify the poison planted in Yuexue."