Chapter 333: Chapter 333

Ugh, Su Siming is so smarmy!

"Weren’t you going to buy breakfast? Hurry up and go!"

"Aren’t you coming with us?" Su Siming asked expectantly.

Zhang Zhilan turned heartlessly and went to the lounge.

Discouraged, Su Siming turned back. "If she’s not going, then I’ll have to trouble Miss Yan An to help me buy the food!"

「In the conference room.」

An Yan’s computer was on, and several sheets of white paper were spread out on the table in front of her. They were covered in densely packed notes she had written early that morning—equations, molecular formulas, diagrams, and medicine names.

Ya Zhuo picked up one of the sheets and looked at it, then realized he couldn’t understand any of it. "Professor An, what are you calculating?"

"Planning the work ahead!" An Yan said. "Inoue Kawaetsu can only be treated once her contractions start, and Watanabe Isorou’s current parameters don’t allow for surgery. So, until Watanabe Isorou’s condition improves, I plan to focus mainly on Wada Sakurako."

Ya Zhuo nodded. "Okay."

Actually, he had been thinking the same thing!

An Yan pulled a sheet from the middle of the stack and handed it to him. "This is the prescription I’ve written. See if there are any issues."

Ya Zhuo carefully reviewed it, then shook his head. "I don’t see any problems."

"Then prepare the medicine according to this. Go buy the ingredients yourself, and bring them to me for a final check once you have them. Pay special attention to this one!"

An Yan glanced up to make sure the camera’s microphone was off, then said, "The Dong Xuelian I’m referring to is specifically the one from the active volcano in R Country; it can’t be substituted with our local varieties."

"If you can’t gather all the ingredients, contact Ling Xiao. I remember he should have one plant in stock."

Ya Zhuo frowned. "This Dong Xuelian is too precious. The prescription you’ve written requires its continuous use for ten days. Is one plant enough?"

An Yan replied, "We’ll have to use it sparingly. This herb primarily targets the specific fungus native to R Country. Without it, Wada Sakurako would probably take half a year to recover."

Ya Zhuo sighed. "It would be great if we could buy a few from R Country. They definitely have them."

He then laughed at himself. "That’s impossible, though. We can hardly buy them in normal times, let alone now that we’re competitors. Professor An, I’ll get to it then."

As Ya Zhuo opened the door to leave, he ran into Zhang Zhilan, who had just changed her clothes and was about to enter.

Seeing his furrowed brow, Zhang Zhilan instinctively asked, "Dr. Ya, do you need any help with something?"

Recalling that Zhang Zhilan’s family business seemed to have connections with R Country, Ya Zhuo said, "Could you ask your family to try and source a Dong Xuelian from R Country?"

Zhang Zhilan was speechless. Her family exported daily necessities. Although they had some clients in R Country, none were particularly influential. Dong Xuelian was treated as a national treasure by R Country and its export was forbidden. How could her family possibly acquire it?

Seeing her silence, Ya Zhuo realized he was asking too much. "Forget it."

They would just have to follow Professor An’s instructions and use it sparingly. Hopefully, the medicine’s effectiveness wouldn’t be compromised.

Embarrassed, Zhang Zhilan stepped aside to let him pass.

About fifteen minutes later, Su Siming and Yan An returned. They had bought ten portions of congee, along with side dishes like steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk, completely filling a large table.

Zhang Zhilan ate while lost in thought.

After the meal was finished and everything cleared away, everyone plunged back into the day’s work.

Finally, Zhang Zhilan came up with an idea.

The moment Zhang Zhilan called his name, Su Siming whipped his head around like a knight hearing his goddess’s call. "My goddess, what is your command?"

Zhang Zhilan’s lip twitched. She led him to a corner hidden from the surveillance cameras. "Haven’t you noticed? That Ono Eishi is hitting on the girls on our team."

It wasn’t just the girls; that guy had even hit on him!

"So, why do you think he’s doing that?"

"To make you all fall head over heels, lose focus on work, and thus increase their chances of winning."

"Clever. So why can’t you learn a thing or two from him? Go unleash some of those misplaced hormones of yours on their team!"

Su Siming instantly became wary. "Zhang Zhilan, you don’t need to test me. I, Su Siming, swear to the heavens, I want no one but you!"

Zhang Zhilan was speechless. "..."

She lowered her voice. "Who said anything about actually pursuing someone? I meant..."

As she spoke softly, Su Siming’s initial resistance gave way to acceptance, and finally, eagerness. "You’re right! But let’s agree on this first: if this works, you’ll be my girlfriend!"

Zhang Zhilan nodded. "Alright. Once we have the Dong Xuelian, I’ll agree. Just your girlfriend, though. If we don’t get along, the right to break up is mine."

"Deal!" Su Siming nodded decisively.

Once they started dating, his charms would surely make her regret not meeting him years sooner! Zhang Zhilan, just you wait!

Once they agreed, Su Siming left. Zhang Zhilan emerged from the surveillance blind spot and pushed open the door to the conference room.

Ya Zhuo had left; Liang Chen and Mu Enyu were still in the patient ward.

Now, An Yan was the only one in the conference room.

When Matsumoto Mina saw An Yan alone in the conference room, the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.

Returning to her own lounge, she sat down cross-legged. With a flick of her fingers, she produced a small vial. She uncapped it, formed a handprint, muttered an incantation, and sent a hibernating mosquito from within it into the conference room where An Yan was.

With that taken care of, she left her lounge and casually walked to her team’s conference room as if nothing had happened.

On the large screen, she noted that the mosquito had been delivered to the air vent beneath the air conditioner. Warmed by the hot air, the mosquito gradually stirred to life. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novelFɪre.net

Meanwhile, An Yan remained oblivious, bent over her papers, writing and sketching.

Matsumoto Mina couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement.

She could almost picture An Yan covered in unsightly, dark welts.

Just as her excitement peaked, the door to the conference room An Yan was in opened on the screen. Zhang Zhilan walked in, sat down in the chair next to An Yan, and picked up a case file from the table.

Matsumoto Mina frowned. Her fingers twitched, and her red lips moved, silently forming an incantation. She directed the mosquito toward An Yan.

Zhang Zhilan opened the case file. Just as she was about to read, she caught sight of a mosquito out of the corner of her eye—and it was heading straight for Professor An!

Professor An, head down and engrossed in writing, was completely unaware that she was about to be bitten.

Zhang Zhilan raised her hand.

She’d killed the mosquito.

Startled, An Yan looked up at her.

Zhang Zhilan opened her hand, showing An Yan the dead mosquito in her palm. "Maybe the air conditioner is set too high? The mosquitoes are waking up."

An Yan hummed in agreement. "It does feel a bit warm. But the fact you swatted it so easily means it must have been too sluggish, probably just woke up."

Zhang Zhilan chuckled at her explanation.

The more time she spent with Professor An, the more Zhang Zhilan realized she was actually a normal person. She could be a picky eater, would gossip about things she found interesting, and even enjoyed giving motivational pep talks. It was as if she were constantly worried the people around her would be deceived. In short, the sense of distance from when Zhang Zhilan had first mentally placed her on a pedestal had vanished.

Zhang Zhilan washed her hands, returned to the conference table, and resumed her work.

As for Matsumoto Mina, who had watched the entire exchange from the conference room across the way, she was close to dying of fury.