Campus Ace Girl

Chapter 1089 - 1088: We’re Nothing But Puppets on Strings

Lu Ze chuckled lightly and took a file from an assistant nearby, throwing it in front of Jiang Chaoge: "This is your file, full of your deeds, from nearly killing King Jingyao’s father during a hospital transfer, to your medical mishaps in the UK. Don’t think that just because it wasn’t in our country, no one knows about it. Chaoge, Uncle Lu firmly believes you handle these things adeptly, so there’s no reason for you to oppose me on principle, right?"After speaking, he tossed down the file and gently twisted the ring on his finger: "No one who has opposed me has ever lived well in this world."

Jiang Chaoge’s heart was racing, and she felt fear just looking at the man in front of her. The scariest part was that Jiang Bin was in agreement with him, and the medical project she had hoped could turn things around was now a ticking time bomb. This man intended to use people’s lives as test subjects.

Lu Ze looked at her expression, surprisingly smiling with affection, then pat her shoulder: "Chaoge, this is temporary. We can modify it later... In the end, we will achieve fame and fortune, and everyone will worship us. Isn’t that good?"

Jiang Chaoge saw the madness hidden beneath Lu Ze’s calm smile, and took a step back, shaking her head gently, "I also want fame and fortune, but this is too far beyond my limits."

"Yes, stepping beyond your limits... that will make you invincible." Lu Ze smiled slightly: "You’ll understand later that your Uncle Lu is always right."

Jiang Chaoge murmured: "But doesn’t the Bo Family also have fame and fortune?"

At the mention of the Bo Family and Bo Nianyao, Lu Ze’s face twisted with jealousy and hatred, and he laughed, sinisterly: "No matter how good the Bo Family is, Chaoge, you can’t turn back. Don’t forget you’re already on the same boat as us. Do you want to run away? How is that possible, since you were the one who signed off on this project at the start, so..."

He gently patted Jiang Chaoge’s face: "Behave, otherwise I don’t know what I’ll do to you if you betray the results of our experiment."

Jiang Chaoge stared in shock at the person in front of her, suddenly looking towards Lu Heng.

Lu Heng remained exceptionally calm.

Jiang Chaoge smiled: "I know now, I’m just a stepping stone, right? Once I’ve secured this project, I’m basically useless, and you and my uncle hit it off seamlessly. You never intended to profit legally, just looking to gain massive profits quickly."

"You could say that." Lu Ze smiled faintly: "Now that you know, do you plan to expose us? Don’t forget you’re the first who won’t escape, and will your uncle let you go? Consider how you can take responsibility for the fifty billion investment."

Jiang Chaoge fell silent.

Lu Ze spoke with a softer tone: "So, standing with us ensures your benefits afterward."

His gaze held deep meaning: "Don’t say how moral you are; isn’t fame and fortune what you’ve been pursuing? How you get there or what you sacrifice, who cares? Even if there are piles of bones behind you, in front, you still shine brightly."

Jiang Chaoge was profoundly taught a lesson, only then realizing she no longer had access to core data. Lu Ze had taken control of everything, and even Lu Heng had no say in many matters.

At night, she asked Lu Heng to join her for a drink, but Lu Heng frowned.

Jiang Chaoge spoke with a faint, bitter smile: "Senior Brother Lu, after such a shock today, don’t you want to have a drink with me?"

Lu Heng watched her quietly, as Jiang Chaoge leaned closer, speaking lowly: "Don’t look at me like that, it makes me feel pitiful. Aren’t you just another puppet in Uncle’s hands?"

Lu Heng spoke coldly: "I’m not."

"You’re not?" Jiang Chaoge laughed mockingly: "Senior Brother Lu, you’re just fooling yourself."

Lu Heng’s gaze turned cold.

An hour later, they sat at a bar in Jiang City, Jiang Chaoge had drunk quite a bit, and alcohol emboldened her. She used to be afraid of Lu Heng, but suddenly she dared more. Letting her long hair down, her gaze was somewhat hazy as she looked at Lu Heng, smiling, "Senior Brother, didn’t we take an oath when we studied medicine..."

Lu Heng said nothing, lowering his head, his long, elegant fingers gently playing with the mug.

Suddenly, Jiang Chaoge cupped his face, lifting it up.

Lu Heng was somewhat angry; he disliked others touching him.

Jiang Chaoge’s grip was strong, her fingers pinching the flesh of his well-defined face, eyes staring fixedly at him, speaking half-drunk words: "Senior Brother, I’ve done some bad things, too, and tried to climb up by clinging to men, but it was because the past was too bitter..."

She suddenly let go, holding her glass, "I liked Senior Brother Bo, liked him desperately, but I knew someone like me could never marry into the Bo Family, so I worked desperately hoping to become remarkable, but before I could try enough, he brought back Gu Anxi..."

She looked up, smiling foolishly at Lu Heng: "It’s okay, without Senior Brother Bo I then met Mr. Wang, a powerful and handsome man who knew how to please women. I liked him not just for his power, but also because of the man he was. But... when I thought he would marry me, he announced Lin Hua as his wife."

She downed her glass in one go: "I’ve become the joke of all of Beicheng."

After drinking, unable to handle her liquor, she collapsed onto the bar, turning her head to look at Lu Heng, "This project is all of my hope; I want to live with dignity. I want my mom to be able to walk out proudly... Am I wrong? I have done nothing wrong, yet now, you’re telling me this project and my life are both jokes. What I want and reality are completely different."

As she spoke, she reached out to lightly touch Lu Heng’s face, murmuring: "Lu Heng, tell me, how did you succumb? How were you brainwashed as a child? I thought I was already bad enough, unscrupulous enough, but I never imagined someone could be worse to such an extent, seeing others’ lives as equal to money in their eyes."

She closed her eyes in pain, "Is the scalpel in our hands meant to stab those innocent people?"

Her world collapsed. She had thought that through hard work she could rise above others, but she had fallen into an unbelievably filthy circle, so far removed from what she had imagined... She started to feel afraid, even more lost, trying to grasp something, but found she had nothing.

Jiang Chaoge smiled softly, with tears in the corners of her eyes under the crystal lamp; those were tears of broken dreams.

She drank a lot, recklessly, no longer caring for herself.

Her life was ruined, because she knew there was no way out for her...

Five billion, enough for her and her mother... to die countless times.

Lu Heng kept watching her quietly, saying nothing.

He could be considered a cold-hearted man, having faced many hardships since he was young, witnessing much more than she had. He had long become numb, but at this moment, Jiang Chaoge peeled away that numb façade, making him recall those unbearable pasts.

Those unbearable moments, filled with blood and pain, with the despair of countless innocent people; yet no matter how desperately they cried, they couldn’t escape their fate as lab specimens.

Those were what Lu Heng had been exposed to since he was five.

He didn’t know if Jiang Chaoge would go through these, but she already knew too much. His father wouldn’t let her go... The scalpel in her hand would either stab the innocent or herself.

Because of this, Lu Heng had a trace of patience with her for the first time, perhaps because Jiang Chaoge was a reflection of his smaller self. He watched her drink cup after cup and occasionally drank one himself.

It was late at night, Jiang Chaoge was drunk, and Lu Heng had drunk quite a bit too.

In the bar’s corridor, dark and sultry, under dim lights, two figures overlapped...

It wasn’t until ten in the morning that Lu Heng woke up, startled awake by the phone.

He glanced at his phone; it was a call from his father, so he answered, "Dad."

Lu Ze’s voice was tense, "Lu Heng, where did you go? Your mother said you didn’t come home last night."

Lu Heng slowly sat up with the phone in his hand, looking at the person sleeping beside him, and said, "I’m in Beicheng, handling some matters."

Lu Ze’s tone eased, "I see."

He paused slightly, "By the way, Chaoge didn’t come to the lab today, have you seen her?"

Lu Ze sounded a bit uneasy, "This girl wouldn’t have gotten scared and gone to Beicheng to report us to King Jingyao, right?"

Lu Heng looked at the sleeping person, cleared his throat lightly, "Probably not, maybe she’s in a bad mood and needs some time."

"That too," Lu Ze didn’t suspect, "Alright Lu Heng, just pay some attention to her, she’s not like family. Also, finish your business and come back to Jiang City soon."

Lu Heng nodded.

He hung up the phone, tossed it aside, took a cigarette pack out of his pants pocket on the carpet, leaned against the headboard, and smoked a cigarette. Just as he almost finished, he saw Jiang Chaoge waking up. Without a word, he got up and went to the bathroom.

Jiang Chaoge sat alone at the head of the bed, a bit dazed, still not fully awake after drinking too much.

Listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom, she looked around at the chaotic scene in the bedroom and then understood what had happened.

She covered her head with her hands, unwilling to accept such a reality, but like it or not, she had to. Only after Lu Heng came out into the living room did she go to the bathroom, showering for a long time before wrapping herself in a bathrobe and coming out.

She sat across from Lu Heng, hesitated a bit, and finally said, "Lu Heng, I drank too much last night."

Lu Heng was smoking, looking noble, not even glancing at her, opened his mouth casually, "I drank too much too."

For a moment, Jiang Chaoge didn’t know what to say.

At this moment, Lu Heng suddenly raised his eyes, "Jiang Chaoge, you don’t want me to take responsibility?"

He knew he wasn’t her first man, yet he still asked, not because he liked her, but perhaps because he pitied her.