Villain Marrying The Heroine Is Perfectly Plausible, Right? - Chapter 111:

Chapter 111:

Minister Li turned his head and said calmly, “Mr. Ye, I meant eighty million dollars.”

Ye Chen froze. “???”

Seeing Ye Chen panic slightly, Minister Li spoke up again, “I didn’t hide anything—I said it clearly.”

“First, I’m not just quitting this industry. I have to emigrate abroad with my entire family. The money I get from selling this formula must be enough to support us for the rest of our lives.”

“Second, what I’m doing involves enormous risk. If anything goes wrong, I could lose my life.”

“Third, both you and I understand the value of the Langyao formula. Forget eighty million—once you get your hands on it, you could easily earn eight billion in the future.”

He took a small sip of wine, then added in a low voice, “For these three reasons, Mr. Ye, I believe it’s worth eighty million dollars. I only deal with straightforward people.”

“If you want to haggle like an old aunt in a vegetable market, then forget it. Let’s not waste each other’s time. You may leave, and we’ll both pretend this never happened.”

Ye Chen paused.

He had to admit—all three reasons made perfect sense.

With this formula in his hands, he could easily earn thousands of times his investment. At that moment, self-doubt crept into Ye Chen’s mind. Had he lost his edge since returning to Nanjiang from Africa? Was he no longer the fearless Satan who once dominated an entire continent?

Back then, he wouldn’t even blink at paying 800 million.

How did he become so cautious now—arguing over the price like an old housewife?

Ye Chen’s eyes grew cold and resolute. He reached out his hand to Minister Li. “Eighty million dollars. I, Ye Chen, accept the deal!”

Minister Li shook his hand firmly. The look in both their eyes showed determination. This was the beginning of a major collaboration.

“The amount is too large,” Ye Chen added. “Let me transfer it tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll do the exchange—payment in one hand, delivery in the other.”

“Deal. Keep in touch,” Minister Li replied.

Inside the Jiang family’s surveillance room, Jiang Mengyao let out a long breath. Eighty million in hand. The first phase of the trap had been successfully executed. Now, they just had to wait for Ye Chen to take the bait.

…

The next day, at Nanjiang International Airport, in the quiet waiting area, Ye Chen met with a man wearing sunglasses and a mask. It was Minister Li, lugging his suitcase, bundled up tightly.

Checking his phone, Minister Li confirmed the transfer. The eighty million had arrived.

Without another word, he handed a key to Ye Chen. “Top floor of the Jiang family’s R&D building. This key opens the safe. The formula is inside. One hand for money, one hand for goods.”

The look on Minister Li’s face was solemn, as if he were leaving and never coming back.

Ye Chen took the key, nodded seriously, then even gave Minister Li a hug. The two looked like old comrades parting ways.

As Minister Li boarded the plane with his luggage, Ye Chen stood at the terminal, waving confidently as the plane disappeared into the clouds.

It’s done.

He wasn’t the least bit worried that the key might be fake. After all, Minister Li had just boarded a flight to Europe—clearly fleeing from the Jiang family’s potential retaliation.

What Ye Chen didn’t realize was that Minister Li was running—but not from the Jiang family. He was escaping from him.

…

At 2:00 AM that night.

On the top floor of the Jiang family’s R&D building, in the room where the mask formula was stored, the window was left ajar.

In the darkness, a masked figure dressed in black slipped silently into the room, flashlight in hand. He moved straight to the safe, inserted the key, and with a crisp click, the lock turned.

The door opened.

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up in disbelief.

There it was—a sheet of paper resting inside the safe, containing the Langyao formula. It was real.

Minister Li hadn’t lied. The formula was right in front of him.

Ye Chen’s excitement surged. He thought of Jiang Mengyao’s expression once she realized her precious formula had been stolen.

He couldn’t help but laugh silently.

After taking a clear photo of the formula, he restored the safe and the room to their original condition. Then he slipped away quietly.

…

By morning, at the Sun family’s company office—

Smack!

The sudden slap of paper on the desk startled Sun Zhentian. His reading glasses nearly fell off.

Ye Chen stood there proudly, smirking.

When Sun Zhentian picked up the paper and examined it, his entire body froze. “Is this… is this the Jiang family’s formula?!”

Ye Chen nodded casually, a wicked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Sun Zhentian’s hands trembled with excitement as he held the paper. He began pacing behind his desk.

“How on earth did you get this?”

Ye Chen said arrogantly, “You don’t need to know that. What matters is—we now have the Langyao Mask formula. The Jiang family doesn’t even know it’s been stolen yet.”

Sun Zhentian’s excitement faded into nervousness. “Isn’t this… illegal? After all, that formula belongs to them!”

Ye Chen laughed. “Old Sun, why are you so timid? They have no proof. What can they do to us?”

“Relax. I handled everything discreetly. And the only other person who knew about this is already on a flight overseas.”

“There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Sun Zhentian opened his mouth hesitantly, “But…”

“Don’t worry. Have the company speed things up! In two days, the Jiang family will host their product launch for the Langyao Mask,” Ye Chen declared confidently. “We’ll release ours at the exact same time. If we’re fast enough, when the time comes to investigate, it won’t even be clear who stole from whom!”

Noticing Sun Zhentian’s hesitance, Ye Chen tapped his temple with a finger and said, “Old Sun, you need to use your brain if you want to win in a business war, understand?”

“With this move, the Jiang family can only suffer in silence. They’ll have no choice but to swallow the loss and obediently give us half the market!”

He flicked his coat sleeves and tapped the table impatiently. “So get going. I want to see the finished product as soon as possible!”

He added, “Also, Old Sun, be more courageous. Push forward with all your strength if you want to keep up with me, Satan, as I conquer Nanjiang! Don’t drag me down!”

…

Two days later, the technical staff at Sun Zhentian’s company finally produced the mask. Inside the laboratory, Sun Zhentian, Ye Chen, and several staff members gathered around the table, staring silently at the finished product—a dark, sticky, almost tar-like mass.

Sun Zhentian looked puzzled. “Ye Chen, this mask isn’t fake, right? Can this even be applied to the face?”

Ye Chen remained confident. “Of course! Old Sun, you didn’t see the original Langyao mask that day. It looked exactly like this!”

“Back then, I made the same mistake—judging it by appearance. I paid the price for that!”

Sun Zhentian turned to the researchers. “Anyone willing to test it?”

The lab staff all instinctively took a step back. They hadn’t seen the real Langyao mask, but the dark substance on the table gave them a very bad feeling.

Ye Chen barked, “Step aside! I’ll do it myself!”

“When you see the transformation, don’t be too shocked!”

He confidently reached out, scooped a thick layer of the dark paste with his hand, and without hesitation, slapped it across his face.

As he applied it, he spoke to the others. “You didn’t attend the reception, so it’s normal you don’t know. Langyao’s mask is this color. Once applied, it doesn’t feel like much…”

But mid-sentence, Ye Chen’s expression twisted.

Wait—why does this feel wrong?

Suddenly, a sharp and unbearable pain shot across his face. A burning, stinging sensation surged across his skin. It felt like a thousand needles piercing his flesh, or like venomous ants gnawing his face alive.

It didn’t feel like a mask at all.

It felt like someone had nailed a hot steel plate onto his face.

The agony hit so abruptly that Ye Chen didn’t even have time to react.

“Aaaaaargh!!!”

“Quick—get me water!!!”

Ye Chen screamed as he clawed at the mask, pulling it off in chunks while gritting his teeth in pain. No one had expected such a sudden reaction, and the lab was thrown into chaos.

Several staff members sprinted out to find water.

When they returned with a basin, Ye Chen was already rolling on the ground, howling in agony.

He shoved his head into the water, scrubbing like mad.

When the mask was finally washed off, everyone gasped.

Ye Chen’s face was bright red—gleaming, raw, and flushed. It looked like it had been freshly boiled. So red and glossy that it put even a cooked crab to shame.

Even Guan Yu would’ve looked away in embarrassment.

Ye Chen exhaled, exhausted. The pain had dulled slightly, but it still burned.

Everyone around him stared in horror.

What kind of formula had he brought back? A mask that disfigured someone in seconds? Would it literally cook a person’s face?

Thankfully, none of them had volunteered to try it.

Suddenly, Sun Zhentian snapped to realization and shouted, “Ye Chen! You’ve been set up!! Someone deliberately gave you a fake formula and lured you into stealing it!”

Lying on the floor like a red-skinned duck, Ye Chen frowned deeply and tried to recall the entire operation.

Everything had gone smoothly, hadn’t it?

Could it be that Minister Li had tricked him? That couldn’t be possible—they’d boarded the plane and left.

“No, no… there must’ve been an issue somewhere else…” he muttered, dazed, refusing to believe the obvious.