During the entire National Day holiday, except for the first day when Lin Yushu went for a ride on the mountain with Song Qiming, he hardly went out.
He stayed at home, cooked meals, counted money, and read financial news, but he didn’t feel comfortable during the holiday.
On the other hand, Song Qiming often went out. Sometimes he went out to walk the dog, and other times he would be out during the day and return only at night. Lin Yushu didn’t know what he was busy with.
On the last day of the holiday, Lin Yize’s family returned from their trip. Coincidentally, Lin Yushu’s cooking skills had reached a dead end. So he brought a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling wine and went to Lin Yize’s house to mooch a meal.
“Brother-in-law, what skincare products do you use?” At the dinner table, Lin Xixi bit her chopsticks and looked at Lin Yushu with envy. “How come you’re almost thirty, but your skin is still so smooth?”
Lin Xixi had just entered the second year of high school, the age when she cared a lot about beauty. She loved outdoor activities and hadn’t paid much attention to sun protection in her early years, so she was darker than Lin Yushu by more than a shade.
“What do you mean by ‘almost thirty’?” Lin Yushu took a piece of ribs from in front of Lin Xixi, and somewhat defensively said, “I’m not turning twenty-nine until next week, okay?”
“But you’re still approaching your thirties,” Lin Xixi murmured, quickly finishing the ribs in front of her.
Whether it was a coincidence or the mention of age reminded him, Lin Yize put down his chopsticks and said to Lin Yushu, “You’re not young anymore. When are you going to settle your personal matters?”
Here it comes again.
If it’s not about finding a job, it’s about getting married.
Lin Yushu sighed inwardly and tugged at the corner of his mouth. He buried his head in the ribs and pretended not to hear.
However, this tactic didn’t work. He Yanjun moved another plate of ribs in front of Lin Yushu and said, “That’s right, Xiaoshu. I see that you have good conditions. Why can’t you find a partner?”
In fact, during his college years, Lin Yushu had a crush on someone. But after his confession was rejected, he focused all his thoughts on his career and became a complete love repellent.
Perhaps it was unimaginable for his colleagues who had been with him for several years that he would still be single. If you had to count intimate contact with someone else, the time when Song Qiming pressed him against the car window was already way too intense for him.
“It’s not that I can’t find someone,” Lin Yushu finally put down his chopsticks. “My career is in an upward phase now, and I don’t have the time or energy for a relationship.”
“How can a relationship affect your career?” Lin Yize said. “I’ve seen several successful business alliances in the Shao family. Why don’t you try to find someone for yourself?”
“Your brother is right. You have a wide network and must know many eligible young ladies, right? Haven’t you found anyone who catches your eye?”
“Our family should also learn from the Shao family. After all, they have successful experiences. I think the photovoltaic energy industry is quite promising. I can help you find a suitable candidate.”
“But you shouldn’t only consider the industry. You should also look at the person’s character.”
“Of course, I know…”
The two of them exchanged remarks back and forth, as if they had already decided on a major life event for Lin Yushu.
Lin Yushu pretended it had nothing to do with him and continued chewing on the ribs. However, at that moment, he suddenly heard Lin Xixi giggling beside him.
“Why are you laughing?” he turned his head and asked in a low voice.
“Are you saying that if you enter into a business alliance, it means our family will join the ranks of prestigious families?” Lin Xixi had a mischievous look on her face.
“You laugh,” Lin Yushu said sternly, “you’re next.”
Lin Xixi stuck out her tongue at Lin Yushu. At that moment, Lin Yushu’s phone vibrated. He checked it and saw it was a call from Shao Guangjie. He finally had a chance to escape from Lin Yize and He Yanjun’s nagging and went to the balcony with his phone.
“President Shao,” he answered the call using the standard line for talking to his boss.
“How was your holiday?” Shao Guangjie’s voice signalled the end of the holiday. Lin Yushu knew it was time to put away the holiday mindset and get back to work.
“It was okay,” he asked proactively, “do you have any work assignments for me?”
“Recently, Song Qiming has been in contact with a new lawyer,” Shao Guangjie said. “Do you know about it?”
Lin Yushu couldn’t help feeling a little guilty, but he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface. “Do you want me to find out?” he replied.
His answer implied that he didn’t know, but he would never respond with “I don’t know” in front of his boss.
“No need. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and it’s too late to approach his lawyer now,” Shao Guangjie said. “Besides, the new lawyer he found has had conflicts with Yong Xing Group before, so it’s unlikely for us to win him over. I wonder who gave him the idea.”
Someone who had given the idea nodded without changing their expression. “Maybe he has his own connections.”
“Anyway, he’s coming aggressively for the second round of negotiations. Tomorrow, you’ll mainly deal with him. Regardless of what demands he makes, you need to hold Yong Xing’s bottom line.”
“I will be the one to negotiate with him?” Lin Yushu furrowed his brow slightly. This was clearly Shao Guangjie’s job. How did it end up being pushed onto him?
“He will definitely play the family card with me, and I don’t want this negotiation to drag on without any results,” Shao Guangjie explained. “…Are you afraid you won’t be able to handle it?” Lin Yushu thought to himself.
Since Song Qiming had changed his lawyer to someone who had conflicts with Yong Xing Group, it was obvious that he was declaring war against Shao Guangjie. Where was there any family connection in that?
“What if we still can’t reach an agreement tomorrow?” Lin Yushu patiently asked.
“It’s normal if we can’t reach an agreement. His psychological price will likely be far from ours,” Shao Guangjie said. “Anyway, tomorrow you should act according to the situation. You must negotiate and bargain with him. Even if there is still a significant gap in the end, you need to keep him stable and bring him to the third round of negotiations.”
…Why not just let me go directly to his house to negotiate?
“Alright, President Shao,” despite his inner complaints, Lin Yushu’s response was seamless. “Leave it to me.”
The last day of the holiday was always accompanied by heavy traffic on the roads.
After having dinner and leaving his elder brother’s house, Lin Yushu ended up stuck in traffic for over an hour before returning to his own residential area.
After parking his car in the designated parking spot on the basement floor, Lin Yushu entered the elevator. Just as the elevator doors closed, they reopened again when he reached the first floor — coincidentally, Song Qiming walked in, leading Wowo.
The large dog, upon seeing a familiar face, eagerly attempted to pounce forward. Despite his tall stature, Song Qiming was pulled several steps forward and had to reprimand, “Wowo, sit!”
Haunted by the shadow of being “attacked,” Lin Yushu instinctively moved to the corner of the elevator when Wowo approached. He finally breathed a sigh of relief when Wowo obediently sat down. He casually greeted, “Just finished walking him?”
“Yeah,” Song Qiming raised his gaze from Wowo and looked at Lin Yushu, asking, “Just got back?”
“Yeah,” Lin Yushu replied nonchalantly.
It was a typical exchange between neighbors, and Lin Yushu didn’t intend to engage in further conversation. However, Song Qiming took the initiative to bring up the negotiation: “You’ll be present tomorrow too, right?”
“I will be,” not only present but also Shao Guangjie’s spokesperson.
“Is Shao Guangjie willing to increase the price?” Song Qiming asked, “Anyway, I won’t agree to 100 million.”
“He will propose some increase, but it won’t reach your psychological price.”
“I can lower the acquisition price, but establishing a subsidiary is non-negotiable for me.”
“Hold on a moment,” Lin Yushu suddenly sensed that something was off and quickly interrupted, “If there’s something, bring it up tomorrow. Don’t tell me now.”
Song Qiming had been looking at the numbers on the LCD panel, but upon hearing Lin Yushu’s words, he turned to look at the side of Lin Yushu’s face. “Why?”
“I still have to pretend not to know. Don’t make it difficult for me, okay?”
Song Qiming chuckled, “Testing your acting skills, huh?”
“As long as you know,” Lin Yushu said, “Shao Guangjie isn’t a fool. If you expose me, you won’t have anyone helping you.”
The elevator made a “ding” sound as it reached their floor, and Wowo rushed out first. Song Qiming walked ahead and turned back to Lin Yushu, saying, “So, have you thought it over?”
“What?” Lin Yushu headed towards his own apartment door.
“About helping me,” Song Qiming said.
In fact, Shao Guangjie’s instruction to Lin Yushu was somewhat accurate — to act according to the situation. However, Lin Yushu didn’t feel like explaining all the details to Song Qiming and simply replied, “I’ll figure it out.”
With that, Lin Yushu used his fingerprint to unlock the door, but Song Qiming called out to him again, “By the way, do you have any recommendations for good Chinese restaurants?”
“Chinese restaurant?” Lin Yushu stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Song Qiming.
“Yeah, I’ve been looking at review apps, but they’re not very reliable,” Song Qiming replied.
Most of the rankings and reputations on those review apps were artificially inflated, so it’s no wonder they weren’t reliable. Song Qiming had only recently returned to the country, so it was understandable that he couldn’t find good restaurants.
Lin Yushu pondered for a moment and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll send you a few recommendations on WeChat.”
Although he said “a few,” Lin Yushu ended up spending half an hour to compile a list in an Excel spreadsheet. The list categorized over twenty Chinese restaurants according to the eight major culinary styles. It included high-end star hotels with expensive average spending, as well as ordinary and affordable private kitchens. Each restaurant even had recommended signature dishes.
The reason Lin Yushu went to such lengths was not that Song Qiming was particularly special or that he wanted to be attentive to him. It was purely a professional habit because whenever the Shao family’s boss assigned him a task, he would always be thorough. While Song Qiming wasn’t his immediate superior, he was still a member of the Shao family. Lin Yushu never half-heartedly fulfilled his commitments, and since making the spreadsheet didn’t take much time, he turned this casual assistance into work.
【Lin Yushu: Take a look, choose according to your taste.】
【Song Qiming: Wowo is astonished.jpg】
【Song Qiming: So detailed?】
To avoid Song Qiming from misunderstanding, Lin Yushu came up with a quick excuse.
【Lin Yushu: I helped Chairman Shao sort this before.】
In reality, he hadn’t done such a thing. The bosses all had their own preferred restaurants, and there was no need for Lin Yushu to help with the sorting.
The chatbox displayed “typing” at the top and after a moment, a new message popped up.
【Song Qiming: You’re treated well by your boss, huh?】
That statement was somewhat twisted because it was usually the employees who were either well or poorly treated, and no one usually associated the term “boss” with being treated.
Before Lin Yushu could reply, two more messages appeared in the chatbox.
【Song Qiming: I’ll work hard.】
【Song Qiming: Strive to become your boss soon.】
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