Chapter 13 — Ten Years of Love, His Proposal Was Just a Bet

Is a project plan — Early-stage research and development project of ADC drug. The initiator is Tham Thi Biopharmaceutical, the cooperation partner is the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and Pharmacy and a venture capital organization in Singapore. In the Project Manager section, enter my name. I looked up at him, opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.

“This project, you are the person in charge.” He said, "The team has been set up. The person in charge of R&D research is a student of Professor Murdoch, and people from GlaxoSmithKline are involved in pre-clinical research."

“Pho Chi Ha, the things your father hasn't finished yet, you should complete yourself.”

That night, I returned to my apartment, sat in front of my desk, and read the plan three times. After the project started, I was so busy that my feet couldn't touch the ground. Tham Bac Thanh rarely goes to the laboratory, but his level of knowledge about the project is so accurate that it's scary. Every time I reported progress, he always grasped the key issues in the shortest time and pointed out a successful solution. One time, we were stuck at a technical bottleneck. The research team met for three days and still could not come up with a unified solution. I took the data to find Tham Bac Thanh. He watched for less than ten minutes, the problem was solved. When he called me, the person in charge of the research had a tone of surprise mixed with admiration: "That person named Tham Bac Thanh, what exactly is the structure of the brain?" I smiled, but didn't answer. But in my heart I thought: Yes, what kind of person is he? It took me a long time to find the answer to this question. But that's a story for later. At this moment, I raised my head and looked up at the night sky. The starry sky in the Southern Hemisphere is much brighter than in the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way is clearly visible. I remember the times when my father taught me to recognize the constellations, remember when he pointed to the Orion constellation and said, "That is the brightest constellation in winter." I remember he used a slow, gentle voice to advise:

“Chi Ha, no matter where you go, just look up at the stars and you will know the direction.”

I now have direction. Parents. Did you two see it? When I got home, I received a video call from Huong Van. She cried loudly on the other end of the line.

"Do you know how long it's been since you've been gone? It's been more than a year! You haven't even come home during Tet! Do you mean you don't want me anymore?"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry and comforted her: "Next week I have a project report in Hong Kong, I will definitely see you." Huong Van wiped her tears: "Chi Ha, I'll tell you this story."

“Something happened to the Song family.”

My hand holding the cup of coffee paused slightly.

“What?”

"I don't know specifically, I just heard that there was some problem on Mr. Tong Vien Chau's side, the stock price fell miserably. Not only did Luong Thuat not help, but he also withdrew capital, framing the Tong family heavily."

“What about Tong Y?”

"Tong Y," Huong Van pouted, "I heard that when he came to beg Luong Thuat, he was blocked right outside the gate of Trung Vien, not even allowed to enter. Do you think this guy is sick? In the past, because of the Song family, he treated you like that, but now he has turned around and refused to accept anyone."

I was silent for a moment.

“Chi Ha?” Huong Van called my name, "Do you... still remember him?"

I brought a cup of coffee Take a sip.

“Van Van,” I said, “In my heart right now, I can't hold anything else.”

The flight landed in Hong Kong right at dusk. Outside the window, the city that I had staggered and fled a year and a half ago was being dyed a warm, bright yellow by the afternoon. The high-rise buildings are close together, the traffic flows are busy, nothing is different from when I left. But I know, the person who is different is the current me. The project evaluation conference was held at the Hong Kong International Convention Center. The ADC drug research project of Tham Thi Biological Pharmaceuticals has passed the phase 3 clinical trial approval round in the Asia-Pacific region. This means we are one step closer to bringing the drug to market. The celebration party is set for 7 p.m., at the banquet hall on the third floor of the Shangri-La Hotel. I changed into a long emerald green velvet dress, tied my hair up in a high bun, revealing the hollow of my collarbone and tiny pearl earrings. The woman in the mirror and the woman who ran away struggling at the airport a year and a half ago are now two completely different people. Huong Van waited for me at the banquet hall door. As soon as we met, her eye sockets were red.

“Chi Ha, you have become thinner.” She evaluated me from top to bottom. “But your face looks so good, your whole body seems to be glowing.”

I laughed, hugged my friend: "You're getting fat again."

"Go away." She burst out laughing, took my arm and walked inside.

Inside the banquet hall, there were toasts and toasts, with old faces and new forces in the Hong Kong medical world gathered. Tham Bac Thanh didn't come tonight. He said he was too lazy to deal with these types of social interactions, so he let me take care of them myself. I held a glass of champagne, greeted several partner representatives, discussed industry trends, policy directions and research and development plans for the next stage. Everything is handled very smoothly and gently by me. Until I turned around and saw the figure of a man standing at the door. Luong Thuat. He wore a dark black suit, a pure white shirt underneath, no tie, and the collar was slightly open. In the crowd, he will always be the most recognizable - not because of his appearance, but because of his cold personality that is deeply rooted in his flesh and blood. His eyes swept across the crowd, falling precisely on me. I don't understand why he appeared here. In the guest list for the Tham family's celebration party, there should not have been someone from the Luong family. Halfway across the banquet hall, our eyes met. I didn't avoid it, nor did I step forward to greet it, I just calmly looked away and continued to chat with the person next to me. A moment later, I felt someone approaching. The familiar scent, faintly of cedar wood.

“Pho Chi Ha.”

His voice was deeper than I remembered.

“Hello Mr. Luong.” I opened my mouth, my voice was even. "Long time no see."

The moment he heard the three words "Mr. Luong", his eyes slightly changed.

“Can we talk over there for a moment?”

When he said this sentence, his tone was not one of command, but of almost equal discussion and negotiation - something extremely rare in him. This is not like you at all. Wage The previous jutsu never asked "Is it possible?", he just said "Come here". I looked at him for two seconds, then nodded. The balcony door was pushed open, the night wind rushed in, bringing with it the damp breath of late summer in Hong Kong. He leaned against the railing, facing me at an angle, not in a hurry to speak. A moment later, he pulled something out of his vest pocket and gave it to me. It's an envelope. I took it and opened it. Inside was a photo — A photo of my father when he was young. The back is written with a fountain pen, in Dad's handwriting:

"Chi Ha is one hundred days old, dad will make the best medicine in the world."

My eye sockets turned red immediately.

“Where did you find this photo?”

“Song family safe.” Luong Thuat replied, his voice was very light. "In the past, Tong Vien Chau searched and took away from my house. There were many other things, my father's handwritten manuscripts, my mother's experimental notes, and my mother's research notebooks. They were all still there."

"I've already sent someone to arrange it. Next week someone will send it to your place in Melbourne."

I squeezed the photo, my knuckles turning white. After a long time, I took a deep breath and raised my head to look at him.

“Why do these things?”

“Since this is your father's stuff,” He said, “It should have been returned to you.”

“I mean,” I said each word, as if I were asking on behalf of my old self.