Cosmic Love Affair

Chapter 9 Oort Cloud I

Xie Li was sitting on the sofa in the reception room.

There was a huge electronic screen on the wall of the reception room, playing the promotional video of Longjing Investment on a loop.

The cola on the coffee table was still fizzing with coolness, and next to it, two pieces of biscuits were neatly stacked on a plate.

The receptionist at Longjing's front desk didn't know who this young boy was. Seeing him following Assistant Xiao with his head down and in a daze through the exclusive passage for the upper floors, she thought he might be a high school student from a partner's family, so she brought him cola and biscuits.

When Xie Li woke up, he found himself still in someone's car, which was parked in the underground garage of a building.

Assistant Xiao was sitting in the front, apparently waiting for him on purpose. As soon as he heard some noise, he turned around and politely asked if he wanted to sleep a bit longer.

Xie Li was too embarrassed to do so.

So Assistant Xiao took him into Longjing's reception room, and before leaving, he told him to wait a moment as he had already notified Longjing's health doctor to come and check Xie Li's hand.

Xie Li sat on the sofa awkwardly, feeling as if he had entered Alice's Wonderland.

He was annoyed with himself for falling asleep in someone else's car and sleeping so soundly.

The door opened with a sound. A woman dressed in a professional suit pushed the door open, carrying a huge health box that looked quite heavy.

Xie Li quickly stood up to help, but the woman waved her hands repeatedly, speaking cheerfully, "No, no, you sit down." With that, she suddenly lifted the box and slammed it onto the solid wood coffee table, accidentally knocking over the cola on the table.

She exclaimed "Oops," picked up the cola and tossed it onto the sofa next to her, then pushed aside the plate on the coffee table and plopped herself down on it.

"Come on, let me see your hand."

Xie Li obediently extended his hand.

The female doctor held his hand and examined it carefully, "You said you knocked over a jade tree yesterday and didn't wash your hands right away, right? Your symptoms seem quite severe. Does it still itch? Have you applied any medicine yourself?"

Xie Li shook his head, "It itched yesterday, but it hurts today."

He really didn't have the heart to mention that he had also applied Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste.

The female doctor nodded, "It's supposed to hurt, it's about time it did." She turned around, opened the health box, took out a bottle of yellow-green liquid, dipped a cotton ball in it, and carefully wiped Xie Li's hand. Then she took out a tube of ointment and evenly applied it to the affected area.

After she finished, she handed the liquid and ointment to Xie Li and instructed him on the usage and dosage. Finally, she added, "If it doesn't improve after three days of use, you should go to the hospital to see a specialist. I haven't seen that plant, so I can only treat you in the usual way."

She paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and suddenly smiled a bit strangely, "Hey, what's your relationship with Mr. Tan?"

Xie Li was caught off guard by the question, holding the medicine bottle in his hand, and immediately stammered, "Uh, he's not really anyone special, we just happened to meet at an event yesterday when I knocked over the flowerpot, so..."

"No, no, he's not a philanthropist with a kind heart," the female doctor said, folding her arms and looking Xie Li up and down with great interest, "There must be some other connection, right?"

Xie Li was at a loss for words and tried to find something else to say to steer clear of the topic: "Mr. Tan, he also does charity work... he donated a telescope to our school."

The female doctor seemed to have heard something new and exciting: "A telescope? He donated a telescope to your school?" She looked at Xie Li suspiciously, "Which school are you from? A high school student?"

"Alright, stop trying to dig into my privacy all the time," Tan Ke pushed the door open and entered, "I could hear you talking outside."

The female doctor finally let Xie Li go, picking up the health box like a strongman and walking towards the door: "It's just that we've never seen you bring anyone back, everyone's curious. This is the first person you've brought to the company, of course we want to take the chance to get to know him."

She walked up to Tan Ke, gestured towards Xie Li, and whispered, "Bro, by the way, remind you, it's illegal to mess with minors."

Tan Ke glanced at her, "I'm telling you again, don't snoop into my personal affairs at the company. If you have time to care about me, you might as well plan some mental health activities for the employees."

"But it's not my official working hours now," the female doctor shrugged, not at all intimidated by Tan Ke's look, "I heard you donated a telescope? The other day, the CEO of Chenghua tried to get you to buy a UNICAT together, and you said you didn't have the money. So you really were broke? Wow, what kind of telescope, I'd love to see it too."

Tan Ke's face darkened, "We'll talk about it when we get home, you can leave now."

The female doctor spread her hands, "Alright, I won't bother you then." Before leaving, she turned her head and winked at Xie Li, "Kid, my name's Tan Xin, see you next time."

Tan Ke was completely at a loss with his sister.

He loosened his tie and walked further in. Xie Li stood up, having already prepared his words of thanks and farewell in his mind, but was interrupted once again before he could speak.

"We've got our eyes on a big catch, hurry up," the newcomer burst in, dressed in sportswear, followed by an assistant holding a folder, neither of them noticing Xie Li standing next to the sofa.

"The Windfield family just released news that they are willing to sell their shares in Medic. We've studied the financial reports of Medic's reagent suppliers. From last August to this March, the shipment of related reagents has increased threefold, which means that the phase two results of the new antidiabetic drug that Medic is developing might be very promising, and it could soon enter phase three clinical trials."

The man in sportswear was tall and thin, with a sunny appearance, speaking rapidly and with expressive gestures.

"And according to reliable information, the FDA is planning to streamline the approval process for antidiabetic drugs in the second half of the year. This means that if the proposal is passed, Medic's new drug could hit the market as early as the end of next year or the beginning of the year after," the man in sportswear said excitedly, grabbing Tan Ke, "Money! It's all about money! I can already see the latest Aston Martin waving at me!"

Tan Ke listened but his attention was diverted towards the sofa.

Xie Li was still standing next to the sofa, wanting to speak up but afraid of interrupting them, looking quite conflicted.

He decided to first settle the young boy who clearly looked uncomfortable, so he said, "You sit down and wait for a moment."

The other two followed Tan Ke's gaze and looked over, only then noticing that there was someone else in the reception room.

The man in sportswear looked Xie Li up and down, then suddenly opened his mouth, turned around, pointed at Tan Ke, and shouted, "Damn it! Tan Ke, you're so irresponsible! What if you get taken away by the company? It's illegal to mess with minors! I demand that we hold a board meeting tomorrow to change the equity structure and dilute your absolute voting rights!"

Xie Li understood only half of what was said, but he could tell that the man was making an issue out of his age, so he hurriedly clarified, "I'm an adult! I'll be twenty-one by the end of the year! And Mr. Tan and I don't have that kind of relationship!"

The man in sportswear looked him over again, then suddenly grinned mischievously, "Oh, not that kind of relationship, then it must be this kind, right?"

He extended his hands, bumping his thumbs together in a very clichéd and vulgar hint.

Xie Li understood immediately and blushed.

"Fang Xian, talk about your business," Tan Ke's face turned cold instantly, "or get out."

The man in sportswear, now called Fang Xian, chuckled, "Alright, alright, I'm talking."

He reached out and pulled the folder from his assistant's arms, opening it, "Where was I? Oh, Medic's current stock price is 36 dollars, Windfield is probably selling around 41 dollars, and we can take it over with just thirty million dollars!"

Fang Xian looked at Tan Ke expectantly.

His assistant also chimed in at this moment, fanning the flames, "If we can make the deal before Medic completes phase two of the clinical trial, there will be at least a 14% increase afterwards. Calculated annually, that's 527..."

"How much?" Tan Ke suddenly interrupted the assistant, somewhat sternly, "Say it again, what is it calculated annually?"

The assistant repeated timidly, "5, 527..."

Tan Ke turned to look at Fang Xian, "Is this your guy?"

Fang Xian glanced at the assistant, his expression also becoming a bit subtle, "Just the new one, an analyst."

Tan Ke was silent for a moment, locking eyes with Fang Xian, and it seemed as if they were communicating something silently.

The analyst was completely unaware of any issue: "Is there something wrong? That 14% times..."

His voice trailed off under Tan Ke's sharp gaze.

Xie Li sat on the sofa, trying hard to pretend he wasn't there, but unexpectedly, Tan Ke suddenly looked at him and waved him over.

Xie Li was puzzled, but obediently got up and walked over, standing next to Tan Ke.

Tan Ke first looked down at his hand, then said, "What's wrong with 527, did you catch it?"

Xie Li was bewildered, why was he being asked?

But not wanting to embarrass Tan Ke, he lowered his head to avoid the analyst's gaze and slowly spoke, "Well, the successful development and trial of a new drug is a sporadic, non-sustaining event. The price increase caused by such an event is unlikely to remain stable and continuous, so calculating it annually seems a bit... I don't really understand finance, I've only taken a few elective courses, so I might be wrong."

Pointed out by a complete outsider who had "only taken a few finance elective courses," the analyst's face was already flushed red with embarrassment. He mumbled an apology and turned to leave the room.

Fang Xian burst into laughter as soon as the door closed, tears streaming down his face, laughing and pointing at Tan Ke, saying, "When it comes to being ruthless, you're the best. You strike at the heart and hit where it hurts, perfect!"

Tan Ke raised an eyebrow, "Why did you agree to bring in someone like him? I think his salary during his time at Longjing should be covered by you."

Fang Xian's smile instantly disappeared: "Come on, is that reasonable? You're treating me like a used tool. When you were not in the country, it was I who dealt with those old-timers for you. If it weren't for that, would I have gotten involved with this troublemaker? His father offered to send his son here to learn, could I refuse? 'No, I suspect your son has played too much King's Glory and has grown a King's Canyon in his head?' Could I say that? Would you still want a trading license if I did?"

Xie Li really couldn't hold back and turned his head to let out a quiet chuckle.

Seeing this, Fang Xian got excited: "This young student, what are you studying? You seem pretty sharp. Have you considered joining Longjing after graduation? In the future, you could work across from Mr. Tan, go to work hand in hand and leave together, how wonderful that life would be."

Tan Ke couldn't bear it any longer and issued an order to leave: "Leave now that you've finished your business, don't stay here and chat idly."

"Leaving, leaving, I'm off," Fang Xian slapped the folder in his hand onto Tan Ke, making a face, "Remember to check it out, don't get so distracted by beauty that you neglect your duties."

The reception room finally became quiet.

Tan Ke took off his tie while walking towards the sofa, and after sitting down, he said, "The analyst just now has a special status, we couldn't directly scold him, so we had to use you as a tool. Consider it a favor I owe you."

Xie Li quickly shook his head, "No need, no need, I should be the one thanking you for having someone look at my hand."

He edged towards the sofa and added, "I've troubled you for so long, I should leave now." With that, he grabbed his school bag and bowed deeply to Tan Ke.

This time, Tan Ke laughed out loud without any restraint, "Wait a moment, sit down first, I have more to say."