Chapter 18

A snap of fingers interrupted Lin Yushu’s reverie.

He inwardly exclaimed, “Oh no,” and quickly lifted his gaze, only to meet Song Qiming’s ambiguous eyes.

“Do you find it attractive?” Song Qiming asked.

It wasn’t the first time that Lin Yushu had made a slip-up in front of Song Qiming, yet he strangely felt accustomed to it.

Raising his chin slightly, he concealed his unease and said, “I have something to discuss with you.”

—As long as he wasn’t embarrassed, it would be someone else’s embarrassment.

Perhaps not receiving the expected reaction, Song Qiming suddenly lost interest and turned to walk ahead. “Come in.”

Lin Yushu was familiar with the routine and put on his own slippers at Song Qiming’s entrance. He followed behind Song Qiming and asked, “Have you read the news?”

“What news?” Song Qiming continued walking towards the bedroom.

“The news about Shao Hexu’s imminent divorce,” Lin Yushu closely followed Song Qiming. “Don’t tell me you’re still unaware.”

Song Qiming entered the bedroom and leisurely put on a short-sleeved shirt that was lying at the foot of the bed. “I heard that my second uncle has an illegitimate child.”

With his distracting physique now covered, Lin Yushu no longer needed to worry about his gaze. “You know that’s not the point.”

Song Qiming couldn’t possibly be unaware of the plummeting stock prices, yet he avoided the topic and instead showed interest in the gossip about Shao Hexu’s family. This indirectly confirmed Lin Yushu’s speculation: Song Qiming indeed wouldn’t be benevolent and voluntarily help Yong Xing overcome this difficult situation.

“Are you sure you still want to stay here?” Song Qiming casually placed his hands on his waist, looking at Lin Yushu.

“I haven’t even mentioned the main issue—”

Before Lin Yushu could finish his sentence, he suddenly widened his eyes and quickly turned his body around.

The reason was simple: Song Qiming suddenly removed the towel from his waist.

“I mean, do you still want to stay here and watch me change my pants?” he asked.

“Can’t you be more straightforward?!”

Lin Yushu slammed the bedroom door shut and walked to the sofa in the living room. He said to the dog, Wowo, who was by his side, “Why is your dad so shameless?”

Wowo jumped onto the sofa and sniffed around Lin Yushu.

“Is he like this with everyone?” Lin Yushu rubbed Wowo’s head. “Whenever someone comes, he goes around half-naked.”

Fortunately, Song Qiming still had a pair of black underwear beneath the towel. Otherwise, Lin Yushu vowed that he would never step foot in Song Qiming’s house again.

Wowo naturally didn’t understand Lin Yushu’s words and playfully nibbled on his hand.

A moment later, Song Qiming emerged from the bedroom, wearing loose gray pants on his lower half.

He fetched two cans of soda from the refrigerator and handed one to Lin Yushu. “Speak, what’s the matter?”

“The acquisition contract,” Lin Yushu took the soda can. “Can we sign it tomorrow?”

“No,” Song Qiming pushed Wowo off the sofa and sat down next to Lin Yushu.

His response left no room for negotiation. Lin Yushu had anticipated his refusal, but he hadn’t expected him to be so unyielding and unapologetic.

“The terms,” Lin Yushu said.

“I haven’t thought about it yet.” Unlike Lin Yushu’s urgency, Song Qiming leisurely switched TV channels as if considering tomorrow’s lunch.

Lin Yushu had to take the initiative and give out the conditions. “You’ll have full authority over the SP subsidiary, and Shao Guangjie won’t interfere with your work.”

Song Qiming still had no reaction. “And then?”

The TV screen switched to a soccer match, and the deafening cheers instantly filled the living room. Lin Yushu frowned, enduring the noise, and said, “You’ll have veto power in decisions related to S-power.”

Song Qiming became slightly interested. “So I can have complete control over S-power’s affairs, right?”

“Yes,” Lin Yushu said, annoyed by the TV noise. He took the remote control from Song Qiming’s hand and muted it. “Do you have any other conditions?”

The living room instantly became quiet, but Song Qiming quickly took the remote control back and turned the TV volume on again. “50 million dollars is impossible.”

“Then how much do you want?” Lin Yushu asked.

“Two hundred million,” Song Qiming lazily said, “and in addition, Yong Xing Motors will allocate 20% of its annual revenue as research funding for me.”

“What?” Lin Yushu snatched the remote control from Song Qiming’s hand. “Song Qiming, you’re going too far!”

“You’re snatching my remote control in my house,” Song Qiming chuckled and reached for Lin Yushu’s wrist. “Who’s going too far?”

“You’re taking advantage of the situation, do you realize that?” Lin Yushu pressed the power button, turning off the TV. “Yong Xing has already made the biggest concession. Don’t push your luck.”

“I’m pushing my luck?” Song Qiming raised an eyebrow and opened his palm toward Lin Yushu. “I’ll count to three, and you’ll give me the remote control back.”

Lin Yushu refused to give it back. “Sign the acquisition contract.”

“You negotiate with me with this attitude?” Song Qiming became more determined, leaning over to forcefully take it. “If I don’t sign, what can you do…”

Lin Yushu hid the remote control behind his waist and leaned back on the sofa armrest. Initially, Song Qiming hadn’t exerted much force, but unfortunately, Wowo, eager to join in the excitement, suddenly jumped onto the sofa and accidentally stepped on Song Qiming’s back, causing him to pounce towards Lin Yushu with great momentum, almost failing to stop himself in time.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and used his hands to support the sofa armrest, preventing their foreheads from colliding.

“Wowo!” Song Qiming scolded, and the enthusiastic dog immediately ran away to the balcony.

Lin Yushu sat up against the armrest, not wanting to continue the tense conversation. He handed the remote control back to Song Qiming, conceding first. “You can decide the acquisition price. We’ll discuss the research funding separately. Just sign the contract for now.”

Song Qiming lazily crossed his legs and turned on the TV again. “I didn’t say I won’t sign.”

“Sign it tomorrow,” Lin Yushu said. “Every day you delay is a loss for Yong Xing.”

“What’s in it for me if I sign tomorrow?” This time, Song Qiming muted the TV and looked at Lin Yushu. “You owe me a favor, and I can ask you to do anything?”

“Yes,” Lin Yushu couldn’t afford to be too picky at the moment and agreed, “Come to the company tomorrow, and we’ll sign the letter of intent.”

“Fine,” Song Qiming finally relented, but his focus was no longer on the contract. “With the favor you owe me, can I ask you to do anything?”

“Yes,” Lin Yushu didn’t have the luxury to think too much and agreed in advance, “What time will you come tomorrow?”

“We’ll see then,” Song Qiming glanced at the time, seeming uninterested in continuing the conversation. “Aren’t you going back yet? It’s almost 11 p.m.”

With just one step away from success, Lin Yushu naturally couldn’t accept going back like this. “Can we still meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow?”

“Depends on my mood,” Song Qiming stood up, looking down at Lin Yushu. “Are you not going back because you want to stay overnight at my place?”

“Give me a definite answer,” Lin Yushu stood up as well.

“I said it depends on my mood,” Song Qiming clearly didn’t want to continue the conversation and headed towards the bedroom.

“Just ‘depends on my mood’,” Lin Yushu stubbornly followed behind Song Qiming. “How am I supposed to report back if I go back now?”

Song Qiming didn’t respond and walked into the bedroom. Lin Yushu took a few steps forward and grabbed Song Qiming’s wrist. “Is 10 a.m. okay?”

“Not okay,” Song Qiming grabbed Lin Yushu’s arm and pressed him against the bedroom wall, his tone filled with impatience. “If you don’t go back now, don’t bother going back tonight.”

Lin Yushu’s mind was filled with work, and it wasn’t until Song Qiming’s breath was close to his ear that he realized his action of entering the bedroom was inappropriate.

He pursed his lips and met Song Qiming’s gaze. “I’ll wait for you tomorrow.”

“Tsk,” Song Qiming let go of Lin Yushu and lay down on the bed. “Workaholic.”

“You must come tomorrow, we agreed,” Lin Yushu said.

“If you say one more word,” Song Qiming replied helplessly, “I won’t let you leave.”

“See you tomorrow,” with these final words, Lin Yushu quickly slipped out of Song Qiming’s bedroom.

The next morning, as expected, Yong Xing’s stock price plummeted at the opening.

To make matters worse, when it was already 10 a.m., Song Qiming was nowhere to be seen in the office.

Shao Guangjie anxiously fiddled with his pen and asked Lin Yushu beside him, “Are you sure you reached an agreement with him?”

“He promised to sign the contract as soon as possible.” Lin Yushu was also anxious as he watched the falling stock price. He picked up his phone and said, “Let me give him a call.”

For the next half hour, Lin Yushu called Song Qiming numerous times. Finally, one of the calls went through, but on the other end, Song Qiming’s lazy voice came through, “Just woke up, what’s up?”

Lin Yushu suppressed the veins popping on his forehead. “When are you coming over?”

“In the afternoon, I guess.”

Lin Yushu looked at the hung-up phone in disbelief, wondering how he hadn’t realized before that Song Qiming was so difficult to handle.

Back in the meeting room, Shao Guangjie erupted in anger. “Is he playing games with us?”

Lin Yushu didn’t know what to do either and could only say, “Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe Shao CEO can go and attend to other matters for now?”

“You tell him, if he doesn’t come today, the acquisition is off,” Shao Guangjie frowned and spoke with a harsh tone, “I just checked the stock price. It has stabilized. Does he really think Yong Xing can’t do without him?”

…Stabilized?

A thought flashed through Lin Yushu’s mind, and he opened his laptop to check. He saw that after the initial plunge of 8% at the opening, Yong Xing’s stock price had slowly started to recover over the past hour.

The selling volume hadn’t decreased; in fact, more people were selling. But at the same time, the buying volume was also significant, which meant—

Someone is buying Yong Xing’s stocks at a bargain price.

This situation continued until 3 p.m., and in the end, Yong Xing’s stock price still dropped by 7%.

Song Qiming finally appeared in the office of the home branch, this time without even bringing a lawyer, showing a more casual demeanor than the previous two times.

“The research funds can be adjusted annually, but let’s finalize the overall framework. The acquisition price is $180 million. Song Qiming, do you have any objections to that?”

In this afternoon’s negotiation, Shao Hedong and Shao Hexu personally attended, and Song Qiming also made a slight concession. He gave a 10% discount on the acquisition price he had in mind for Yong Xing.

After more than a month of negotiations, the acquisition was finally settled. Although some details still needed to be worked out, at least they could sign a letter of intent.

While waiting for the contract to be printed, Lin Yushu’s phone suddenly vibrated.

He casually glanced at the screen and saw a message from someone sitting across the negotiation table.

【Song Qiming: Shall we go to Mount Zhuan tonight?】

Lin Yushu didn’t reply and simply put his phone aside, continuing to organize the documents in his hands.

However, the phone vibrated several times in succession, even catching the attention of the two bosses.

Lin Yushu calmly unlocked his phone, only to find a series of new messages from Song Qiming.

【Song Qiming: Ignoring me?】

【Song Qiming: Sad WoWo.jpg】

【Song Qiming: I came today to sign the contract. Are you not happy?】

【Song Qiming: Accompany me to Mount Zhuan tonight】

【Song Qiming: Otherwise, I won’t sign】

Lin Yushu took a deep breath, maintaining a calm exterior, but his hand nearly crushed the screen.

【Lin Yushu: I have to work overtime!!!】

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