Chapter 244 - 243: What a Sin

Yang Xun never, ever imagined his sister would sell her own body for money.

He was filled with regret. He had let Yang Cai live a hard life. Today, she was willing to serve him to ease his burden, but tomorrow, she could just as easily go find some other strange man.

At her age, his sister should have been carefree, but she had already shouldered far too much.

He took two steps back, his spine hitting the wall. One hand was still covering the ripped seam of his pants while the other was held up in front of him, like a cornered animal.

"Why not?"

Yang Cai took a step forward, her large eyes filled with an almost innocent stubbornness.

"You have to get it out and put it in the bottle anyway, so isn’t it better if I help? Don’t be shy. I... I may not have done this before, but I get great grades in school. I’m sure I can learn this with no problem!"

"Learn what?!"

Yang Xun’s voice cracked, and he looked as if he was about to be driven insane. "Get out! Right now! Immediately!"

His shout made Yang Cai flinch, and the tears welling in her eyes finally slid down her cheeks. "Why are you yelling at me?!"

She just stood there as her tears fell, her shoulders hitching with sobs, yet she stubbornly refused to leave.

Seeing her like this, Yang Xun felt a mix of anger and heartache. In the end, he relented.

He let out a long sigh, his voice hoarse. "Go wait outside. I’ll get it ready and give it to you. That’s fine, right?"

"Really?"

Yang Cai looked up at him with teary eyes, a hint of uncertainty in her gaze.

"Really. If you don’t go now, I’m not giving you anything."

Yang Cai immediately wiped her tears and turned to leave. At the door, she looked back and added, "Hurry up, don’t make me wait too long."

The door closed.

Yang Xun leaned against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, feeling that his life had just reached an unprecedented peak of absurdity.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then lowered his head and got to work.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Are you done yet?"

Yang Cai’s voice came from outside, filled with impatient urgency.

"Almost! Stop rushing me!"

Yang Xun replied through gritted teeth.

Another ten minutes passed.

"Still not done? You’re not trying to trick me, are you?"

"It’s ready!"

With a dark expression, Yang Xun finished filling the small bottle of tadpoles, strode to the door, yanked it open, and irritably shoved the bottle into Yang Cai’s hand. "Here. Take it and go. And don’t ever come here again."

"No way! We’re long-term partners."

Yang Cai said with a serious look on her face.

She thought for a moment before asking, "How about next time, you fill it up in advance, and I just come to pick it up and leave? Would that work?"

The veins on Yang Xun’s forehead throbbed with anger. He gritted his teeth. "You are not to come. Just have Mi Ting come over."

"Alright, then! This is your payment."

Yang Cai nodded and placed four thick stacks of red bills into his hand.

The money felt like it was burning his hand.

To avoid arousing Yang Cai’s suspicion, he symbolically took ten thousand and stuffed the rest back into her hands.

"You’re still young. Don’t go serving men for money in the future. If your brother found out, he would be heartbroken."

Yang Cai looked at the money in her hand, her smile brighter than the sun. "Thank you, Brother Yang! You’re such a good person!"

With that, she turned and ran off, her steps as light as a little sparrow, her ponytail swinging back and forth behind her.

Yang Xun stood at the door, watching her retreating figure, an indescribable feeling in his heart.

He closed the door, took off the mask from his face, leaned against the door panel, and let out a long, heavy breath.

’What did I do to deserve this!’

...

「That evening, Yang Xun returned to the Xu Family Villa.」

He had just changed into his slippers and walked into the living room when he saw Xu Yue sitting on the sofa, flipping through a document. On the coffee table in front of her was a small bottle—the very same one Yang Cai had taken from him today.

Yang Xun’s steps faltered.

Hearing the sound, Xu Yue looked up, a hint of a smile in her gentle, beautiful eyes.

"You’re back?"

"Yeah."

Yang Xun walked over and sat down across from her, pretending to glance nonchalantly at the small bottle on the coffee table. "What’s this?"

"It’s the beauty milk Xiaocai delivered today. The effects are amazing."

Xu Yue picked up the small bottle, twirling it between her fingertips with a slight curve to her lips.

"Xiaocai really did me a huge favor. I already added some of this to the company’s skincare products today, and the results were exceptional. I’ve already decided to start producing a batch for sale."

Yang Xun’s hand, holding a glass of water, tightened slightly, unable to hide his embarrassment.

His sister was reselling his tadpoles, and his wife was planning to turn those tadpoles into cosmetics.

’This is so fucking absurd!’

"Xu Yue, are you really planning to put this in your products?"

"Of course."

Xu Yue’s answer was crisp and decisive. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she explained, "Yang Xun, I have to tell you about the ingredients in this beauty milk. It’s actually... a man’s tadpoles. It sounds disgusting, I know, but I have no idea what condition this man is in; his tadpoles have miraculous effects."

"I asked Xiaocai, and she said she got it from a ’sister’, so she hasn’t had any contact with a man."

"Even though its origin is... unusual, as long as the effects are good, the market will buy it. Besides, I’m going to have the team research it. Maybe we can extract some kind of effective ingredient from it later."

Yang Xun was already well aware of everything she was saying.

Seeing him remain silent, Xu Yue asked nervously, "Are you angry?"

"No."

Yang Xun didn’t know what to say. It would be strange for him to be angry.

Xu Yue let out a sigh of relief and continued, "Good. I’ve already asked Xiaocai to help me negotiate a long-term supply. A price of fifty thousand a bottle is quite reasonable."

Hearing this, the corner of Yang Xun’s mouth twitched. He sold it for forty thousand a bottle, and Yang Cai was reselling it for fifty thousand, making a clean ten-thousand profit.

’That girl really knows how to do business.’

"So when are you planning to start production?"

"Once the R&D team’s composition analysis report is out. If there are no issues with stability and safety, we can start trial mass production as early as next month."

At this point, Xu Yue suddenly looked up at Yang Xun, her gaze softening. "Yang Xun, thank you for everything during this time. If it weren’t for your support, I might not have made it this far."

Yang Xun was slightly taken aback, then smiled. "There’s no need for such formalities between us."

The words had barely left his mouth when Xu Yue suddenly moved to sit beside him. The distance between them was so close that he could smell the faint, sweet fragrance on her.

"Are you tired today?"

Xu Yue’s voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of startling something.

"It’s alright, not too tired."

Yang Xun felt her breath brush against his cheek, and his heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster.

Xu Yue was silent for a few seconds, then reached out and gently placed her hand on his wrist. "Then... can you give me a check-up? I’ve been feeling a little unwell again lately."