Chapter 15 1/2

Jiang Li saw that Cen Lang was unwilling to speak about it, and he didn’t force him. Top-tier Alphas always kept their pheromonal information deeply concealed.

His phone vibrated, and he instinctively used a debate flyer to shield it. As he lowered his head to check, he was surprised to find a message from Jiang Lu, whom he had blocked. It was a “deadline” urging him to consider it overnight; otherwise, his “partial paper” would appear in the Jiang family journal tomorrow morning.

Jiang Li bit his lip, feeling not only anger at the threat of plagiarism but also disgust at being entangled with the most detested type of Alpha.

Cen Lang could only see the details of the debate competition on the flyer as he idly wondered if he should go with Jiang Li.

“What are you upset about?” Cen Lang asked.

“Harassing messages,” Jiang Li replied.

Jiang Li returned to his senses, flipped his phone, and, despite Cen Lang’s earlier warning about the Jiang family not being worth cooperating with, he now needed more information from them.

If he didn’t change the topic, his chances of scoring high would be to optimize the adenoma drug, conduct clinical research, and strive to be proven effective during the defense.

For this, he needed funds for clinical research and collaboration with pharmaceutical companies or hospitals.

If Professor Wang Xuning was determined to sell or follow Jiang Lu’s lead, he would likely not approve funding for clinical research. Moreover, he might create obstacles in Jiang Li’s upcoming experiments, forcing him to work on less valuable topics.

The dean was away on a classified research mission, and Jiang Li didn’t want to go through layers of reports to seek justice.

If he went to the vice dean, perhaps the vice dean thought selling to the Jiang family was a good idea.

If only he could solve it himself.

If he could find a pharmaceutical company more capable than the Jiang family, willing to invest and support rather than “buying out” the project,?

“My supervisor wants to collaborate with Jiang Lu, but I want to advise him against it. Do you have any bad things to say about the Jiang family?” Jiang Li leaned forward, his eyes unconsciously expectant.

Cen Lang asked, “Are you sure you want to hear?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve told you before, their losses are heavy if he doesn’t follow orders, right?”

“Yeah.”

Cen Lang, seeing Jiang Li’s attentive expression like that of a good student, curled his lips. “He scrapped an S-class battleship worth several billion.”

Jiang Li’s mind short-circuited for a moment. “Does he have to pay for it?”

Cen Lang smiled. “There’s no making soldiers pay for battleship losses. He was expelled from the space force. Besides, he was hit by debris and scrapped a part himself. The Jiang family pulled strings everywhere, and the final result is undisclosed due to privacy concerns.”

Jiang Li widened his eyes slightly. “Privacy? Do you mean… he became a…”

Cen Lang shamelessly said, “Eunuch.”

Confusion appeared in Jiang Li’s eyes. He truly didn’t understand. If everyone didn’t know, why expose the secret to a partner obtained through coercion and temptation, especially if it involved marriage?

Cen Lang, being a special agent, knew a lot.

“Wang Professor said Jiang Lu is in a hurry to get married lately.”

Cen Lang disdainfully said, “He has a younger brother, Jiang Ji. The two brothers are fighting over the family property. One is planning to stabilize his marriage to increase bargaining chips, the other is sowing his wild oats everywhere, attempting to give their father a grandson.”

Thinking of Mr. Jiang in the restaurant, Jiang Li realized that he was indeed obsessed with having a son.

With Jiang Lu’s shortcomings, it was nearly impossible for him to marry into other prestigious families. That’s why he set his sights on Jiang Li.

Perhaps he was attracted to Jiang Li being a Beta with low fertility, so he could easily blame the Beta if needed and portray himself as a good husband.

Jiang Li’s eyes turned cold. He had considered telling Jiang Lu that he was already pregnant, having used up the “fertility rate.” Would Jiang Lu reevaluate his value if he said so?

Now it seemed that if he said that, Jiang Lu would probably be even more delighted, considering the pregnancy as entirely his and then kicking him out after using him.

Jiang Li knew that Cen Lang had already shared a lot of confidential information with him today, perhaps violating the ethics of a special agent.

Even though he wanted to turn the tables on Jiang Lu using his flaws, what if it ended up affecting Cen Lang?

Jiang Li shifted his approach. “One last question: do you know which major company might be interested in adenoma drugs?”

No one dislikes promising drugs. Cen Lang understood the implied question—whether anyone urgently needed it.

Coming all the way here to act as an information NPC for Jiang Li, he replied without impatience, “Jiang family, probably. Jiang Wanlan has been frequently visiting the sanatorium lately. Of course, it’s called recuperation and relaxation externally.”

As a shareholder in the nursing home, Cen Lang also received some information. Jiang Wanlan had problems with his adenoma due to prolonged use of suppressants, and this person had a strong insistence on staying awake all the time.

Jiang Li felt the name was somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, he realized it was the Omega in the story when he named it.

The gentle Omega turned into a cold workaholic, exhausting his body.

Jiang Li pondered how to meet Jiang Wanlan and pitch an immature drug still in theoretical design.

Maybe he should ask Yang Xiaoli if there’s a way to get him a part-time job in a sanatorium?

“Thank you; your information today has been very helpful to me. If there’s anything I can help you with in the future, I will do my best.” Jiang Li opened his coat, ready to get off the car.

“Then, help me have a meal.” Cen Lang turned the car towards the road leading to the restaurant they visited last time.

“I don’t have time for a meal today,” Jiang Li said. Cen Lang could see Jiang Li was in a hurry. He had arrived at the school gate when Jiang Li answered the phone, and he saw Jiang Li’s face gradually turning worse.

He had never seen such obvious disgust on Jiang Li’s face before.

After asking a bunch of questions about the Jiang family once again in the car, Cen Lang almost guessed something.

If Jiang Li didn’t say, he wouldn’t ask, but he could investigate on his own.

Before he found out, he couldn’t let Jiang Li handle it himself.

Cen Lang couldn’t describe this worry about someone getting a raw deal; perhaps he was naturally generous.

Cen Lang chose a different restaurant this time. It had snowed last night, and today’s weather was even colder, suitable for hot pot. The soup was boiling continuously, and they would be eating for a long time.

Jiang Li messaged Yang Xiaoli, asking for help, and then put the phone away, preparing to get out of the car.

“Put on your coat,” Cen Lang said.

“Thank you

“Since he had been covered for so long, a little longer wouldn’t matter.

With the popularization of nutritional supplements, many people who didn’t appreciate traditional food and valued time abandoned it. Jiang Li used to be one of them. Partly due to a lack of money and partly due to a lack of time, he had never eaten something like hot pot that was both time- and money-consuming.

Looking at the menu, he honestly said, “I’ve never had hot pot before.”

Cen Lang took back the menu and said, “I’ll order. a congee-based hot pot.”

He remembered Jiang Li saying he liked “rice” last time.

“Add another mushroom hot pot,” Cen Lang regretfully said. “Last time, you didn’t want to go mushroom picking with me.”

Jiang Li: “…”

Seeing Jiang Li folding his clothes and placing them on a chair beside him, Cen Lang said, “Spread it over your legs, so the soup doesn’t splash on your clothes.”

I love to wear white and have good hygiene habits; if Jiang Li dirtied his clothes while eating hot pot today, he might not come next time.

There was quite a bit to worry about.

Jiang Li: “Okay.”