ABO Desire 31

Chapter 31: Chen Pinming, What Are You Panicking For?

Sheng Shaoyou stayed in Country P for a full week. For Chen Pinming, every day felt like a year, terrified that he might, with one wrong move, provoke X Holdings, who thought nothing of pulling a gun, and end up never returning, his head and body separated. Fortunately, except for the day of the incident, when Chang Yu had scared him half to death with a gun, the following days were relatively peaceful.

That young master of X Holdings, though he sounded lofty and unapproachable, didn’t actually make things difficult for them. Not only did he arrange a fully-equipped residence for Sheng Shaoyou, but also assigned the most professional team of pheromone specialists in Country P. Doctors took turns standing by the door of the room, on call 24/7.

On the afternoon of the seventh day, Sheng Shaoyou, who’d been running a high fever and barely conscious, finally woke up. When he opened his eyes, he found himself on the private jet returning to Jianghu. Seeing him awake, Chen Pinming felt a rush of mixed emotions, almost moved to tears as if he’d survived a great calamity. “President Sheng.”

Sheng Shaoyou felt as though he were still in a dream, only remembering that at the X Holdings’ salon, he’d been thoroughly humiliated by Chen Pinming. He closed his eyes slightly, a shadow crossing his handsome face. “Chen Pinming, what are you panicking for?”

These past few days, Chen Pinming had panicked about many things. But the fact he hadn’t betrayed them even in crisis was thanks to the good training from his young boss. Like Sheng Shaoyou himself, the close aides around him all had guts. Any other secretary from a domestic company would have wet his pants or fainted if someone pointed a real gun at his head.

Chen Pinming briefly reported what had happened.
Sheng Shaoyou, resting his head on his arm, listened expressionlessly.
“So, you never actually saw what that little emperor of X Holdings looks like?”
“No.”
“That’s a pity.” He moved his sore and weak arm, straightened the reclined seat, and finally turned to him.
“Secretary Chen, did you finish your presentation?”
“Yes, it’s done.”
“Oh, good.” Sheng Shaoyou, ever the optimist, grinned carelessly.
“At least this trip wasn’t for nothing.”

Whether the impression he left was good or bad, at least it was deep enough.
So what if he offended them, as long as he could leave Country P intact and return to Jianghu. After all, once back home, even if that little emperor was displeased by his “disrespect,” he couldn’t possibly chase him to Jianghu and bite his head off, could he?

Besides, the man didn’t seem that petty, at least he let them leave unharmed.
Sheng Shaoyou thought optimistically, who doesn’t get sick? Just because I have pheromone disorder, they refuse to cooperate? That… shouldn’t happen, right?

But this time, Sheng Shaoyou’s optimism was misplaced.
The second Wednesday after the forum turned into a black Wednesday for Shengfang Group.

That day, X Holdings announced an upcoming deep collaboration with HS Group.
X Holdings granted HS Group exclusive rights to use its century-old monopolized pheromone inhibitor formula. The two companies would also jointly build Jianghu’s first pheromone industrial park, set up a central factory, and develop and launch more pheromone-related new products.

The news caused an immediate uproar.
Sheng Shaoyou of Shengfang Biotech had just returned from Country P, and then X Holdings announced their cooperation with HS Group? Did the negotiations fall apart? But why?

Compared to the upstart HS, the well-established Shengfang had an impressive research track record, how did they fail to impress X Holdings? Whatever the reason, it was a huge blow to Shengfang Group.

Although Shengfang’s PR department promptly held a press conference to refute the rumors, the poor financial report and collapsing external partnerships inevitably shook shareholders’ confidence in Shengfang’s financial stability.

There were even rumors that X Holdings refused to cooperate because of Shengfang’s mismanagement and looming cash-flow collapse.
Sheng Shaoyou, once the darling favored by X Holdings’ head, instantly became the fool scorned by shareholders.

The outside world’s attitude toward this young prince, just over a year into his reign, also turned from optimistic to overwhelmingly pessimistic.

But to be fair, Sheng Shaoyou’s management skills were actually superior to the founder’s. He was capable, ambitious, and unwilling to just coast on his father’s legacy.

Faced with rumors, Sheng Shaoyou was unmoved. He was not of the generation that grew up sheltered, nor a hothouse flower. A few spitballs couldn’t drown him. Besides, Shengfang’s cash flow was solid, the eleven-digit liquidity on their books gave them the confidence to poach most of HS’s projects with harsh payment terms.

What worried him more than the rumors, though, was the delivery progress of the projects he’d pried from Shen Wenlang. It was an industry consensus that X Holdings’ products had much longer lifespans than other biotech companies’. With X Holdings’ high-profile entry into the domestic market, many cautious clients, wanting to extend product lifespan and maintain competitiveness, raised their acceptance standards unilaterally.

This violated the contract.
But in practice, even with a contract in hand, as a vendor who’d only received a small down payment, Shengfang was in a passive position.

Until conditions were renegotiated, delivery delays and postponed payments were inevitable.

Throughout October, Shengfang’s stock plummeted. By late October, its market cap was less than 60% of its peak. The rapid drop put shareholders under immense pressure.

Worse, on the last day of October, X Holdings suddenly used a large tract of land as collateral to entice Shengfang’s longtime partner banks to withdraw loans. This left Shengfang, already bled dry, barely able to stay afloat.

At this point, Sheng Shaoyou finally realized that he’d truly been hated by that petty little emperor of X Holdings.
That brat, who renamed his own group to include the word “idiot” (叉), really knew how to play dirty!

What a waste of that beautiful, clear voice, how ugly must the face be to match such a black heart?
Sheng Shaoyou ground his teeth in hatred.
But in Country P, with anonymous company registration and layers of ownership structures, he hadn’t even seen the guy’s face, let alone figured out his full name.
Even if he wanted to stick pins in a voodoo doll, he didn’t know what name to write.

In just one month, Sheng Shaoyou and his mighty biotech empire were plunged into an unprecedented crisis.

The doctors at Cici Pheromone Clinic urged him repeatedly to come back for inpatient treatment, but Sheng Shaoyou was so busy he barely had time to eat or drink, much less be hospitalized.

Still, his body held up well. Despite working like a spinning top every day, his condition never flared up again.
For an entrepreneur who wished every minute could be stretched into two, no symptoms meant no illness.

Feeling strong and healthy, Sheng Shaoyou returned to the kind of life he’d had when his father was first hospitalized: skipping meals and sleeping only four hours a day.

But unlike back then, now he at least had Hua Yong.
That gentle, understanding orchid soothed his mind whenever he saw him.

That weekend, after securing a loan from a childhood friend’s bank, Sheng Shaoyou allowed himself a rare morning of sleeping in.

When he woke up, Hua Yong was in the kitchen with the maids.
The two maids helped with prep work while Hua Yong, wearing an apron, held a cookbook and learned to make soup.
When he looked up and saw Sheng Shaoyou, he smiled.
“Mr. Sheng is awake? I just made cordyceps and conch soup, want some?”
“So nourishing?” Sheng Shaoyou, in his robe, walked over and wrapped his arms around Hua Yong’s slender waist.
“First time making Cantonese soup and you’re already trying something this hard?”
“It’s not hard.” Hua Yong, tickled by the embrace but not pulling away, shrank his neck with a soft laugh.
“Mr. Sheng, it’s ticklish.”
Sheng Shaoyou felt a corresponding itch in his heart and deliberately didn’t let go, sniffing at the back of Hua Yong’s neck.
“Where does it tickle? Let me help you, hm?”
Hua Yong fell silent.
Sheng Shaoyou kissed his slightly red ear, the scent of orchids in the air growing heavier, making him feel hot and soft inside.

After lunch, they’d planned to watch a documentary together, but just as they sat in front of the screen, his phone rang.

It was Chen Pinming.
At this hour, it must be urgent.
“President Sheng.”
On the other end, Chen Pinming sounded nervous and hesitant.
“What is it?”
“Secretary Gao from HS just called, saying Mr. Shen wants to speak with you urgently.”
“I’ve got nothing to say to beasts.”
Since Hua Yong came back, Sheng Shaoyou had blacklisted all of Shen Wenlang’s contact methods.

For more than a month, Sheng Shaoyou had worked nonstop. Hua Yong, sensitive and a top business graduate, understood Shengfang’s predicament almost as well as he did.
Sensing his partner’s worry, Sheng Shaoyou covered the phone, gave Hua Yong a reassuring look, and instructed Chen Pinming:
“I’m busy. Don’t bother me with this kind of crap again.”
“But…” Chen Pinming hesitated, knowing it was important, and finally blurted it out despite risking his boss’s wrath:
“But Mr. Shen said he wants to talk about the shared gene-editing application patent.”
“That’s all they’ve got of value.” Sheng Shaoyou’s arm around Hua Yong tightened, his gaze sharp with the edge of a negotiator.
“I’ve already made it clear I refuse.”
“But,” Chen Pinming added reluctantly,
“Secretary Gao also said, if you accept Mr. Shen’s terms, HS is willing to swap equity with Shengfang. In the future, the two companies would merge, working as one, making money together, turning hostility into friendship, and transforming resentment into harmony…”