Termination of the Contract, I Hope We Can Still Be Friends

Victor Yun listened to his father's self-righteous words, staggering backward, shaking his head in disbelief...

He knew there were many restless people in the Young Clan who thought Serena was taking advantage of them, but he never expected even his own father felt that way.

In the face of profit, can people truly not hold onto their nature? His father used to be such an open-minded man, but now he had become like this. This kind of father felt like a stranger to him.

"Father, I feel like I don't know you anymore." Victor choked out, a trace of hurt flashing in his eyes.

The rest of the Young Clan might not know, but surely his father did?

If Serena hadn't reached out to help them back then, the Young Clan would have already declined. If not for Serena's Prenatal Formula opening doors, how could the Young Clan have maneuvered among the nobles?

A measure of grace brings resentment when it grows too large—how true that is. Serena gave the Young Clan so much that everyone now thinks it's only natural.

"Victor, what I said is the truth. It's not just about the Prenatal Formula—there's also Serena's status as our patron doctor. The Young Clan has given Serena too much." Victor's father felt a bit embarrassed under his son's gaze, but he still insisted he was right.

Hearing this, Victor was no longer disappointed—he was numb. He said blankly, "If that's what you think, then I'll go terminate the Young Clan's cooperation with Serena right now. From today on, Serena will no longer be our patron doctor. As for the Prenatal Formula, if you think we're earning too little, I'll tell Serena we're canceling the partnership too."

"The patron doctor relationship with her must end. How could our Young Clan only retain one doctor? As for the Prenatal Formula, it's good for you to clarify things with Serena. We're not the type to burn bridges—if Serena is willing to accept a forty-sixty split, forty for her and sixty for us, we'll still be happy to sell her medicine." Victor's father said after some thought.

After being squeezed by the Four Kingdoms, the Young Clan's century of accumulated wealth was emptied. If the silver from selling the Prenatal Formula came in, the Young Clan could soon rise again.

Victor's father calculated in his mind how long it would take to restore their lost wealth, missing the sarcasm in Victor's eyes.

Victor gave his father a long, searching look, then left without turning back. He took the contract signed with Serena from the study and headed toward Feng Manor.

He owed Serena.

He never realized that, faced with great wealth, anyone could change.

He could understand his father's urgency, but he couldn't accept his father's methods.

It was true the Young Clan had fallen under their stewardship, but that didn't mean they should rebuild their fortune this way. Did the Young Clan really think Serena couldn't do without them?

It was laughable! All along, it was the Young Clan who couldn't do without Serena, not the other way around. If Serena wanted, she could find a better partner anytime.

Victor's grip on the contract tightened, leaving marks on the wooden box. Only this could vent the anger and disappointment in his heart.

His father thought this would force Serena to compromise, but didn't realize that people willing to work with Serena could line up from the Imperial Palace to the city gates. If not for helping him, Serena could easily partner with Vincent Su or the Wang Clan.

Compared to them, he had known Serena the shortest time and their feelings weren't deep, yet when he needed help, Serena thought of him first. That kind of kindness couldn't be measured in silver.

And then there was his life...

Thinking of all this, Victor grew more and more disappointed in the Young Clan. Staring at the wooden box in his hand, he muttered, "Maybe it's better to end our partnership. The Young Clan today isn't what it used to be—they won't even spare me."

He took over the Young Clan in a crisis, with his uncles leaving him a mess. He wasn't angry about that, but he was angry that once the clan revived, those same people came back to seize his power.

People like that could never truly work well with Serena.

Serena had just returned to Feng Manor when a servant reported Victor's arrival.

"So soon?" Had Victor come back just as she returned? Their timing really was unfortunate.

Serena smiled, asked the steward to invite Victor into the flower hall, and went to change her clothes.

"Victor, are you alright?" Serena entered and saw Victor looking lost and dejected. Concerned, she asked, "Did something happen? Tell me, maybe I can help?"

"It's nothing." Victor replied, feeling even more guilty at her words.

Serena sat down and said, "You call this 'nothing'? Who are you trying to fool? If something's wrong, just say it. If it's beyond my ability, I won't pretend otherwise."

Given her relationship with Victor, she wouldn't risk her life for him, but if it was something easy, she definitely wouldn't mind helping.

"I'm really fine. By the way, did you need something from me?" For some reason, Victor found himself unable to take out the contract in his hand.

When they first signed the contract, he had promised Serena that as long as he was with the Young Clan, he would keep the contract going. Yet now... less than a year into their partnership, the Young Clan, revived by Serena's help, was ready to kick her out.

It was Victor himself who did this ungrateful thing.

"Oh, it's nothing major. I just wanted to ask, in the Nine Provinces Realm, where do the most people die from illness each year? And what diseases cause the most deaths?" The Young Clan should know this well.

Victor finally understood what it meant to judge a gentleman by a petty mind. His father and the Young Clan were truly overthinking things.

Victor forced down his resentment toward his family and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"To save people, of course. I can go treat patients where the death rate is highest, or develop pills for the deadliest diseases to reduce deaths." Serena's real goal was to accumulate Medical Ethics Points, but she didn't mind hiding that to seem more virtuous.

Victor caught the scent of business and profit in Serena's words. Normally, he'd persuade Serena to work with the Young Clan pharmacy, but now...

Victor took the contract out of the wooden box. "Serena, I'll tell you what you want to know in a moment, but right now... we need to talk about ending our contract."

Losing this contract wouldn't hurt Serena—it was the Young Clan who stood to lose. But those people just couldn't see it; they all thought Serena depended on the Young Clan to make money.

"Ending the contract? What do you mean?" Serena's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Victor.

Was the Young Clan collapsing?

Victor closed his eyes in humiliation and slowly explained the Young Clan's thinking. He tried to soften it, but couldn't hide their greed.

Human greed knows no bounds!

"Serena, after ending our contract with the Young Clan, I hope we can still be friends." Victor held out the wooden box to Serena, speaking earnestly.

To him, Serena was more than a business partner—she was his savior and a friend. Serena was different, and he didn't want this to drive them apart and become strangers...