Luo Jialin's voice turned ice-cold.
"You used to be my mentor—I respected you everywhere, honored you in all things. That's why I was willing to invest, to give you a chance to turn things around. But look at what you've done! The files you gave me contain only the drug's composition and its supposed efficacy—there isn't a single decent case study. How do you expect anyone to believe you?"
"How am I supposed to persuade hospital procurement officers to choose our new drug? Professor Han, you've utterly disappointed me!"
If he failed to produce returns on this investment, his grandfather would likely strip him of his authority. Whether "President Luo" would remain in the company was anyone's guess.
Luo Jialin bitterly regretted ever believing Xiao Anning's praise of Han Weicheng as a genius—thinking he could outdo He Xin. Clearly, he was mistaken.
As Shu Lanzhou had said, Han Weicheng was nothing more than a flashy theorist. He paled in comparison to He Xin, a hands-on surgeon-scientist who split his time between the lab and the operating room.
Han Weicheng's face went ashen. "Enough!" He hurled the documents to the floor. "What gives you the right to talk to me this way?"
"You studied medicine too. You've spent time in a lab—you know exactly how long it takes to develop a new drug. Our drug is solid—only lacking some clinical validation data."
"If you want that data, it's not impossible to get it. But if something goes wrong, who's responsible? You or me?"
Luo Jialin stormed forward.
"What could possibly go wrong? Didn't you guarantee—guarantee—that your drug was 100% safe? Didn't you swear to me and Director Xiang that its efficacy would surpass He Xin's?"
"If that's so, then why can't you produce a single clinical trial report? Why are you still worried about safety?"
"Are you saying your research was all a fraud? That the 'secret' files you gave us were doctored? That you never discovered any real new compound?"
Han Weicheng panted in anger. "You're an insider—how can you say such things? The two drugs have equivalent ingredients. How would I tamper with the data?"
"There are dozens of people on my team—and Xiao Anning right beside me—no chance to slip in forgeries."
"I can tell you with absolute certainty that this drug has no inherent flaws. If you want clinical case data, go find your own patients to try it on. I can't help beyond that."
"Oh, sure—you can't help me?" Luo Jialin let out a bitter laugh. "Do you think I'd be in this mess if I had even one single order?"
"Because I'm incompetent and it has nothing to do with your R&D? Professor Han, don't forget—you're no longer a tenured university professor drawing a fixed salary."
"You're our head of R&D at Luo Medical. Your success or failure directly affects our sales. If the drug doesn't sell, no matter how brilliant your research was—you won't see a dime!"
Han Weicheng's legs buckled and he sank into a chair.
"I—I didn't mean that. I had no choice—there simply wasn't enough time for testing. Where was I supposed to find patients? I don't know the hospital staff well enough."
"Unlike Luo Medical and the National Hospital—they have pools of ready patients. If you truly want trial data, just file an application to recruit volunteers. That way, even if there's an issue, you have recourse."
"Easy for you to say," Luo Jialin tugged at his tie.
"If you do that, everyone will know our upcoming drug hit the market without proper clinical testing. Do you really think anyone would still buy it?"
The truth was, what they needed wasn't a genuine clinical trial but the appearance of one—to persuade hospital procurement boards. With fabricated case reports mirroring those in Mu Side's hands, plus Professor Han's and Luo Medical's reputations and slightly lower pricing, Luo Jialin was confident he could outcompete Mu Side in the next round of negotiations.
China's market was vast—he refused to believe Mu Side could lock up every hospital in Shen City in just two weeks. Once he secured initial orders and recouped some costs, when both drugs debuted, all bets would be off.
Han Weicheng pressed his temples, aching with guilt. He knew his research—and hence the drug—was flawed. He'd insisted on scheduling their launch after He Xin's precisely because of this. The small batch his team had produced was nowhere near enough for Luo Jialin to distribute. Clearly, it was time for a frank confession.
"There's something you need to know…"
Luo Jialin leapt to his feet in fury. "You—you bastard! How dare you joke about this? Are you even human?"
"I was blind to think you were a good teacher," he spat. "I damned well—"
His eyes burned red with anger.
He had believed the only missing piece was clinical data. Now he discovered there wasn't even a real drug…
So it was true. It really was.
Han Weicheng was a full-blown fraud, spinning lies of the highest order. Where had he found the gall to promise perfection?
If Luo Jialin hadn't cornered him, would he ever have come clean? Was this his plan all along—never intending to deliver?
"And what was I supposed to do?" Han Weicheng roared defensively.
"You all pressured me on timelines! Their research results were already public—if we didn't pull something, we'd end up with nothing."
"Besides," he continued, "didn't all of you once insist that He Xin had no chance of succeeding? Now you'd rather blame me? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
What a shameless scoundrel!
Truth dawned on Luo Jialin, and a flicker of sorrow crossed him.
After a long moment, he waved a hand. "Enough of this drivel. Tell me: what do we do now?"
Han Weicheng looked sheepish. "Originally, I planned to wait until He Xin's drug launched, then replicate it. That way it wouldn't cut into your sales. But now that you can't secure any orders, we have no choice but to…"
His voice dropped to a whisper. "This could get you the clinical trial data you need to steal the market back from Mu Side…but only if you have the heart to do it."
"You…" Luo Jialin stared, dumbfounded. "Is this still the same teacher I knew? How could you sink to such depths?"
"Don't look at me like that," Han Weicheng replied, feigning helplessness. "I'm only thinking of your interests. And it might not even backfire."
Luo Jialin weighed his options. "Fine. I'll arrange it. But you'd better cooperate—and if this goes south, no one escapes responsibility."
After Luo Jialin left, Xiao Anning emerged from the inner office.
"You really pour your heart out for your student—telling him everything, even this?"
Han Weicheng spread his hands. "What choice did I have? If the drug doesn't sell, we all lose."
"I never expected He Xin to go public with his development process—and even hand over his clinical data to the pharmaceutical companies," he sighed.
Xiao Anning was unsurprised. "Did you forget? He Xin and Mu Yanning are Mu family through and through. Their research exists solely to serve the Mu Corporation's interests."
"Of course they'd do everything they could to secure every order. If it meant sharing patient recoveries, they'd have photos ready."
Han Weicheng still couldn't accept it.
"These two only started a year earlier than us. Could they really have overcome the experimental bottleneck so fast? Was their drug truly flawless?"