When Lu Xia returned to her seat with the Ice Spirit Gene, Lan Ya was just coming back, beaming, with a slender Snake Man by her side. Noticing the box in Lu Xia’s hands, she asked in surprise, "Where’d you go, Xia? You disappeared for a moment. What’s this?"

Lu Xia glanced at the Snake Man beside her. "Yeah, I went to meet someone. And who is this?"

"This is Ellis. I won him in the auction. All his time belongs to me tonight. I told you to go up, but you wouldn’t. It’s too late for regrets now."

Seeing Lan Ya’s "you-missed-out" expression, Lu Xia didn’t feel the least bit of regret. Not wanting to continue the pointless conversation, she asked, "Where are the others you mentioned?"

"They’re already here. Let’s go." Lan Ya looped her arm through the Snake Man Ellis’s and led Lu Xia into a private room.

When she pushed open the door, deafening music blasted out, along with some off-key caterwauling.

Lu Xia once again regretted agreeing to come out with Lan Ya to "relax."

’This kind of "relaxation" is more like torture for me.’ But as she touched the box in her hand, she felt this trip had been lucky after all, and the bit of irritation in her heart subsided.

There were three females in the room, each with a male companion. Lu Xia couldn’t tell if they had brought their own dates or ordered them here.

Noticing them enter, someone immediately gasped, "Ah, Lu Xia! You’re finally willing to see us?"

Her arm was suddenly grabbed, but Lu Xia’s impression of the person was hazy. ’It’s just as vague in the original owner’s memories.’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Ah!" Before Lu Xia could respond, another person shrieked, then shouted, "Lan Ya, you actually managed to get Ellis!"

Everyone’s attention was then drawn to Ellis, who was beside Lan Ya. Lu Xia breathed a sigh of relief, found a seat, and decided she would leave after a little while. She definitely wouldn’t be staying long.

Ellis the Snake Man was apparently the star attraction here, and usually highly sought-after. It was incredibly lucky that Lan Ya had managed to snag him this time.

While the others crowded around Ellis, touching him and looking him over, Lu Xia ate some of the food on the table. She hadn’t had dinner yet and was already hungry.

Seeing that Lu Xia wasn’t joining their little group, one of them turned to her as she was eating. "Xia, you’re not into this kind of thing anymore? You used to love it!"

Lu Xia, who was eating a small cupcake, nearly choked on the words. Realizing the original owner had also been part of their ’groping and gawking group,’ she suddenly felt a bit ill.

"Yeah, I’ve quit. You guys have fun, don’t mind me."

"What do you mean, ’quit’? Don’t tell me your main husband at home is too strict and won’t let you fool around outside?" To her surprise, the reason she gave didn’t end the conversation. Instead, it seemed to pique their interest.

"Of course not. I’m just not into it anymore." However, to everyone else, her words just sounded like a weak excuse.

Lu Xia didn’t want to explain any further. She had given her reason. Whether they believed her or not wasn’t her problem. It’s not like she knew when—or even if—they would meet again.

After they’d finally had their fill of interacting with Ellis the Snake Man, one of them sidled up to Lu Xia. "Xia, is that research institute you and Lan Ya started still looking for investors?"

"The research institute that Lan Ya and I founded together? Is that how you’re introducing it to people?" Lu Xia raised her gaze to Lan Ya, who was currently embracing Ellis the Snake Man.

Lan Ya immediately retorted, "That’s not what I said, so don’t you go putting words in my mouth. I’m just an investor. The institute’s business has nothing to do with me."

The others didn’t understand the distinction. "We want to invest too, just like Lan Ya! Xia, can we invest?"

They had all seen how much money Lan Ya had made recently. And while none of them were poor, who would ever complain that they had too much money?

Lu Xia glanced at the three women staring at her with wide, eager eyes. There was no sense in turning away an opportunity that had landed right in her lap. "Alright. You can each invest five million, same terms as Lan Ya. As it happens, the No. 1 Institute is about to start research on the second-generation beauty cream and hair growth liquid, and we do need a new round of funding."

"Gah!" One of the women suddenly cried out, startling Lu Xia, who thought she was choking on something. It turned out she was just overjoyed to hear the beauty cream was getting an upgrade!

"Xia, what new effects will the upgraded beauty cream have?"

"The anti-wrinkle and skin-firming effects we talked about before will be added in the upgrade. The specifics will depend on the final results."

"Doesn’t that mean we’ll only need to use the beauty cream from now on? We can get rid of all our other products?"

Lu Xia nodded. "That’s the idea."

"Xia, will the second-generation upgrade come in a bigger size? It’s really not enough for me. I have to use it on my whole body every time!"

Lu Xia felt a wave of helplessness at her words. ’If you’re using it on your entire body, how much would ever be enough?’

"The current size is already quite large. There won’t be any major increases."

"I see. In that case, I’ll have to stock up some more. It’s so hard to get your hands on it otherwise."

"We’ve increased production capacity. Is it still that hard to get?" Lu Xia was a little surprised.

"It’s not as hard as it used to be, but have you forgotten? Everyone stockpiles it! Buying it as you need it is never enough. Take me, for example. I might not have a hundred bottles at home, but I definitely have dozens. Even so, I still don’t feel like I have enough, so whenever I’m bored, I’ll go online and try to snap up a few more."

Lu Xia was left speechless. "The beauty cream has a shelf life. You shouldn’t stockpile so much, it’ll expire before you can use it all."

"Not an issue! I use one whole bottle every day after my shower—every single day! So this is just a few months’ supply. The shelf life is two years, but there’s no way I’d have it for that long. I’ll use it all up!"

Lu Xia: "..."

She had never considered that. ’So extravagant.’

For that kind of usage, even the largest size of the beauty cream was indeed too small. Lu Xia had no intention of changing it, however.

For the average person, the amount was more than enough. People like this woman were a minority.

After all, the truly rich were few and far between.

After eating and chatting for a bit, Lu Xia saw the group was about to start singing, drinking, and getting lovey-dovey with their male companions. Finding it all incredibly dull, she stood up. "You guys have fun, I’m heading out. It’s on me tonight."

Seeing her leaving so early, Lan Ya let go of the Snake Man and rushed over. "You’re leaving already? The party’s just getting started!"

"Yeah, I have things to do tomorrow morning. You guys have fun, I’m heading out. I’ve got the tab." Without any more hesitation, Lu Xia called in Xiao Du, who was waiting outside the door. "For this room’s expenses, send the bill here."

Hearing this, the others made a half-hearted show of protesting, but none of them actually refused.

Lu Xia said her goodbyes to the others and left the private room. Xiao Du escorted her all the way to the entrance and watched her get into her car. Just as he was about to turn back, Lu Xia gave him another tip. "If any other Alien Genes come up in your establishment’s auctions, contact me."