The Empress's Gigolo

Sun Qing used a finger to touch the back of the green toad. Then, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped that finger.

"Usually, the toxicity of toad poison isn't very strong. It's okay for us to touch them with our bare hands. As long as we don't get the poison into our eyes or ingest it, nothing serious will happen to us," Sun Qing continued.

"Ahh, I see," Ren Baqian replied, trying to restrain himself from laughing. Then, he put on a solemn look and replied, "The person who gave me this green toad told me it's very toxic. If a person touches it, it will cause him or her unbearable pain and itch. That's why I have been very careful around it for the past few days."

"There are indeed a few toad species that are very poisonous, but this one doesn't belong to one of them," Sun Qing replied while nodding his head.

Before Sun Qing could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a slight itchiness on his fingertip. It was unknown whether or not the poison was starting to take effect.

"I'll go and wash my hand first," Sun Qing said and rushed to the restroom.

There was a restroom in Papa Chen's office. After a minute, Sun Qing came out with a weird look on his face. He looked as though he was trying his best to bear with something.

"Sorry, this is called a green toad, right? Even though it doesn't belong to one of the poisonous toad species that I know of, it is indeed able to poison a person through skin contact. From the look of it, its toxicity is quite potent." As Sun Qing spoke, he showed everyone his right arm. One could see red spots developing on his right arm from his wrist onwards.

"I have never seen any records on this type of toad before. It should be an unknown species, and it has a lot of research value."

"But I have to go to the hospital first. Before I take off, I want to say that I am very happy to join this team," Sun Qing said to everyone while trying to force a smile.

"Professor Sun, are you really alright?" Papa Chen stood up and asked. Xu Shan stepped forward to check Sun Qing's arm as well.

"From the current reaction I'm getting, I reckon that it shouldn't be deadly. However, since the green toad is an unknown species, I can't rule out the possibility of its poison being a rare or even an unknown type."

Ren Baqian looked at Sun Qing in a daze. He did not behave like an ordinary person that just got poisoned.

He was no doubt a Professor, whose rank was higher than a Saint's. A rank lower would be Warrior, right?

[Making a reference to job levels in MMORPG]

Ren Baqian began to have some admiration for him. After Sun Qing finished his sentence and began to walk off, Ren Baqian quickly yelled after him, "Professor Sun, I have the antidote here with me."

Sun Qing turned around and said to Ren Baqian, "I thought so. Carrying such an unknown and reactive poison with you, you would be really stupid if you did not carry the antidote with you."

Ren Baqian's face twitched. He did not know whether should he like or hate this person.

In any case, the way he spoke was annoying.

Following which, Ren Baqian took out a small paper bag from his pocket. It contained dried flower petals.

"Crush it, soak it in water, and apply it to your skin," Ren Baqian instructed.

"Alright, I don't think you need them, right? I shall help myself then." Sun Qing took out two flower petals and pocketed the small paper bag.

Upon witnessing this, Ren Baqian remained speechless.

Sun Qing shredded the flower petals and threw them into a cup. Then, he took out a pen and used hot water to heat up its tip to sterilize it. Following which, he crushed the shredded flower petals with the sterilized pen. He raised his head and asked Ren Baqian, "Hot water or cold water?"

Ren Baqian spread his arms and replied, "I'm not sure. I guess it should be cold water?"

Sun Qing took out some tissues and wrapped the crushed flower petals with them. Then, he poured a small amount of cold water into tissue ball and dabbed his arm with it.

After ten minutes, his right arm was covered with red spots, looking as though he was infected with some kind of disease. It indeed looked frightening. Sun Qing suddenly spoke up, "The pain and itchiness have subsidized, it's effective."

Subsequently, he poured some more water into the paper-wrapped, crushed flower petals, and dabbed his arm with it another time. Sun Qing and Xu Shan observed the healing process attentively. After another ten minutes, the red spots began to reduce in size.

"This antidote is quite effective, its efficacy is very strong. What kind of flower is it?" Sun Qing asked.

"Ninewood flower," Ren Baqian answered.

"What other uses does it have?"

"I'm not sure," Ren Baqian replied honestly.

Sun Qing nodded his head. Then, she said to Papa Chen, "It's worth researching. When can we start the research?"

"It can already be started. There are still some equipment that have yet to be delivered, but they won't affect the early stages of the research," Pap Chen said.

Next they began to discuss the laboratory. Ren Baqian and Chen Qing had no interest in the matter and exited Papa Chen's office to smoke.

Looking at Ren Baqian's back view, Papa Chen gave a smile. Ren Baqian was making it clear that he was not going to participate in anything that happened hereafter.

He was very satisfied with this kind of behavior. Initially, he was afraid that Ren Baqian would want to undertake this business with the reckless drive of a vigorous young man and cause nothing but trouble.

The current state of affairs was just right. As long as they could successfully develop the black mud cream, he could gain prestige and status, and Ren Baqian could earn the majority of the profits.

Ren Baqian was smoking with Chen Qing outside Pap Chen's office. It had been a very long time since he last had smoked. Smoking merely half a stick already made him dizzy, but it felt good at the same time.

"So? Are we going to have some fun tonight?" Chen Qing poked Ren Baqian and asked.

"Oh yeah, I have something to ask you. So what's the situation between you and my classmate?" Ren Baqian suddenly thought of Dong Haiqing.

"What situation can there be?" Chen Qing spread his arms helplessly and said, "When I knew she was your classmate, I sent her back to her place, and I didn't even go up to her house. I am afraid of involving myself with girls that are affiliated to me, it's too troublesome."

"Where's Jiang Nan? Let's have lunch together. Recently I have been quite busy, it has been a long time since I last saw her."

"She should still be working, let me give her a call."

After giving Jiang Nan a call, Chen Qing told Ren Baqian, "She's still working, we will go and find her later."

"So are you on for tonight?" Chen Qing asked again. "Luckily for me, you're here. It's meaningless for me to have fun alone."

"Am I your only friend?" Rem Baqian asked while chuckling. An influential man like Chen Qing could easily find someone to drink and party at nightclubs with him.

"You're the only one that I can drink and pick up girls with," Chen Qing said and shrugged his shoulders.

They waited outside for quite some time. When they saw Sun Qing and Xu Shan coming out of the office, they nodded their heads to the both of them.

They went back into Papa Chen's office to bid him farewell and set off to look for Jiang Nan.

Papa Chen invited Ren Baqian for lunch, but Ren Baqian declined his invitation as he felt awkward having lunch with him alone. He would be more at ease having lunch with Chen Qing.

After finished eating lunch, Chen Qing went back to his law firm while Ren Baqian went to buy two sets of clothes and then returned home to go online.

Now that the issue of the black mud cream's formula has been settled, he felt totally relaxed.

As long as the black mud cream was successfully developed and sold on the market, a steady flow of money would enter his pocket. When that happened, he would not have to worry about his future anymore.

Ren Baqian found some time to give his family a call. Naturally, he received a nagging session from his mother. Halfway through the call, his father took over the phone and asked him about his company. He reminded him to stay alert, be careful, not get scammed, and so on.

That night, Ren Baqian and Chen Qing went to a bar, and they did not return empty-handed.

The girl that he picked up tonight was young but wild. After a night of wild sex, when Ren Baqian woke up the next morning, he felt his entire body ached.

Looking at the perfumed snow-white shoulder poking out of the blanket, Ren Baqian shook his head.

Both parties were purely sexually related. Since they were not emotionally invested in each other, they had no need to keep in contact. After putting on his clothes, Ren Baqian prepared to go home and rest.

When he opened his room door, a guy with dark circles under his eyes popped out from behind the door opposite his room and gave him a silent thumbs up.