Shen Xingkong quickly snapped back to reality, realizing the immense value of his unique abilities. He understood that the opportunity in front of him was too great to miss.
What were a mere thousand yuan or so? Two months of living expenses for Shen Xingkong? It was insignificant. If he continued to be satisfied with such small gains, he would be dreaming forever about affording a villa like Chang Le’s.
"Old Chang, step outside for a moment. I need to talk to Auntie Song," Shen Xingkong calmly pocketed the money Auntie Song had given him, then proceeded to usher Chang Le out of the room.
"Huh? But isn’t the beauty treatment done..."
"Oh, Xiao Le, Kongkong has something to say to me. You should step out for now," Auntie Song, ever the charming little vixen, playfully nudged Chang Le out of the guest room. Her full attention was now on Shen Xingkong. As a woman who had become the mistress of a wealthy man, she was constantly dreaming of becoming his legitimate wife. Her biggest fear was the inevitable loss of youth and beauty, but now, with Shen Xingkong around, what did she have to fear? As long as she put in some extra effort at night with her boss, there was no way he wouldn’t ditch his old wife.
With these thoughts, Auntie Song couldn’t contain her excitement and joy.
"Kongkong, you..."
"Ahem!" Shen Xingkong cleared his throat loudly.
"Oh, sorry, your name is Shen Xingkong, right? What did you want to tell me?" Auntie Song quickly corrected herself.
"Old Chang already introduced me to you earlier. I’m the sixth-generation descendant of an imperial physician, and my great-grandfather served the old hag, Empress Dowager Cixi. If it weren’t for Old Chang’s sake, I wouldn’t have given you this beauty treatment. As for the money you gave me, you know yourself whether it’s enough. I value relationships above all else—first because of Old Chang, and second because I’d like to become friends with you, Auntie Song." Shen Xingkong spoke with a calm demeanor, neither warm nor cold.
"Uh…" Auntie Song was taken aback, not fully understanding what Shen Xingkong was getting at.
If it were an older man saying this, she’d suspect he had some ulterior motive. But Shen Xingkong was ten years younger than her. Even if his tastes were a bit unusual, it didn’t seem likely that he’d be interested in someone her age.
Shen Xingkong, not caring about whatever wild thoughts were running through Auntie Song’s mind, continued, "I have to eat too. I can decline your money, but if you have any friends who might be interested… well…" Shen Xingkong intentionally left his sentence unfinished, leaving Auntie Song to figure it out on her own. He was sure she wasn’t too dense to get the hint.
"Hehehe!" Auntie Song suddenly burst into laughter, reaching out to pinch Shen Xingkong’s cheek, only to be stopped by his cold gaze. "Don’t worry, Shen Xingkong. Leave it to me. I have plenty of sisters, and I’ll introduce them all to you. Just don’t complain if you get too tired handling them all, hahaha!"
"As long as you understand. Here’s my phone number. You can call me anytime," Shen Xingkong finally smiled, a sly grin like that of an old fox, as he handed Auntie Song his phone number.
After Auntie Song noted down Shen Xingkong’s number, the two finally left the guest room. Chang Le, who had been standing outside, looked completely bewildered when they came out. Everything that had happened tonight was beyond his expectations, including Shen Xingkong’s “secret formula” and the miraculous transformation of Auntie Song’s skin. It all felt like a dream.
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"Hehe, Xiao Le, Auntie Song is leaving now. I’ll come see you again sometime!" Auntie Song, bursting with happiness, grabbed her bag and shoes at the villa’s entrance and hurried out, eager to spread the word about the miraculous beauty doctor she had found.
It wasn’t until she left that Chang Le snapped out of his daze. He lunged at Shen Xingkong, determined to use any means necessary, even resorting to extreme measures, to extract the truth about this so-called secret formula.
But Shen Xingkong was ready for him. Just as Chang Le lunged, Shen Xingkong kicked him away. However, Chang Le was quick and managed to grab onto his leg. The two men tumbled onto the woolen carpet, wrestling with each other—poking eyes and pinching noses.
"Bastard, spill it! What’s the deal with your secret formula?"
"You pervert! Give it up!"
"Ugh... Are you serious?"
"Of course! You tried to grab my little brother earlier!"
They tussled until midnight, finally separating and lying on the carpet, panting heavily. Taking the opportunity, Shen Xingkong came up with an excuse and explained to Chang Le that his grandfather was an old Chinese medicine practitioner who had left behind many secret formulas. However, these formulas were explicitly marked as family secrets that could only be passed down to Shen family descendants and were absolutely not to be shared with outsiders.
Realizing there was no way to dig deeper, Chang Le reluctantly gave up on his inquisition. Nonetheless, he was genuinely happy for Shen Xingkong. With these "secret formulas," Shen Xingkong might never be looked down upon again. As a future doctor, using these formulas to cure people could lead to a very successful career.
Since Shen Xingkong’s home had been vandalized by Wang Lei’s gang, with his bed and blankets soaked in water, he had no choice but to stay overnight at Chang Le’s house.
There was no shortage of rooms in the Chang family villa, so Chang Le specifically arranged for Shen Xingkong to have a large one and asked the housekeeper to replace the bedding with new sheets and pillows. After everything was set up, Chang Le, yawning, left Shen Xingkong to retire to his own room. Shen Xingkong, after securing the door, undressed and lay down on the new bedding, feeling lucky to have a friend like Chang Le.
Moreover, the success of tonight’s beauty treatment for Auntie Song, who was the mistress of a wealthy man, gave Shen Xingkong more confidence in his abilities. The bright path of his future was already laid out before him.
The next morning, he and Chang Le woke up around the same time. After breakfast, Chang Le once again drove them both to the medical college. Throughout the drive, Chang Le couldn’t stop talking about last night. He felt a sense of pride knowing that Shen Xingkong had managed to give Auntie Song such a successful beauty treatment.
It was Saturday, and there were no classes scheduled. However, during yesterday’s medicinal plants class, Teacher Gao had insisted that all students come to school today for a special activity.
This Teacher Gao was the same one who had previously forced Shen Xingkong to climb the mountain to collect Tienchi—an old, strict, and somewhat sadistic woman. She had initially decided to fail Shen Xingkong for the semester, but Professor Shi had personally intervened on his behalf. Though Teacher Gao had a bad temper, she didn’t dare defy Professor Shi, so she grudgingly decided to give Shen Xingkong a pass.
At around 9:30 AM, all the students gathered on the small playground on the west side of the school. After waiting for half an hour, Teacher Gao finally arrived, hands behind her back, face cold, and eyes looking up at the sky as she approached them.
Every student was cursing in their hearts. It was the weekend, and everyone wanted to rest and have some fun, but now they were stuck at school, wondering what on earth the old lady had planned.
"Today, ahem, I’m going to take you all, ahem, up the mountain for a practical session. Ahem, so you can experience, ahem, the charm of nature, ahem, and personally experience the joy of collecting medicinal herbs. Ahem, you’ll get to see Chinese herbs with your own eyes, understand their forms, ahem, and their natural environment." Teacher Gao coughed between every few words, either because her throat was uncomfortable or because she thought it made her sound more authoritative.
"Sigh!" Not a single student showed any enthusiasm for Teacher Gao’s activity. Everyone was listless, sighing heavily, and a few had even secretly decided that they would sneak away as soon as the old lady wasn’t paying attention.