I left the hospital suppressing my excitement.
Back in the business car, Father raised the partition between us and the driver’s cabin, asking: “Did you come to see Old Mr. Sheng so eagerly because of that contract?”
“No,” I firmly denied, “Just to see how Grandpa Sheng was doing.”
“Tell the truth.”
Only then did I admit: “Just thought I’d mention it while I was there.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
Who would want to go to you?
I responded perfunctorily: “I don’t know what kind of deals you have between you. What if you flatly refused and left no room for discussion? Besides, trying to change existing contracts right after taking over would give people something to gossip about. Now it wasn’t me demanding it – I only brought it up because Uncle Sheng wrongly accused me and I got angry.”
Father looked me up and down: “You’re not afraid Sheng Baiqi will hold a grudge and make things difficult for you in the future?”
“He was going to be unhappy about resolving this matter anyway, today was just the most natural opportunity. As for the future, he has plenty of other people to watch out for. We don’t have any core conflicts of interest with him, so it’s not worth his effort.”
“How can there be no conflict? That boy…” Father reluctantly brought up.
I didn’t plan to tell him about “that boy’s” career change plans, “Then we’ll just have to let him be. We’ll deal with future issues in the future. Why would we need to discuss long-term interests with Uncle Sheng? Of course, the present is more important.”
Father listened, then suddenly asked: “These considerations – did he tell you all this?”
Why does everyone seem to think I can’t think for myself?
I said irritably: “Would he need to tell me about such a small matter? He doesn’t know anything about it. I’ll just surprise him when it’s done.”
Father suddenly smiled, leaving me puzzled.
“Whether big or small, the principles of doing business are the same – it’s all about seizing opportunities and knowing how to handle people. My daughter managed this without being taught, must have inherited it from me.”
“…If I inherited anything, it would be from Mom, nothing to do with you.”
Father ignored my words, absorbed in his calculations, “Sheng Baiqi will probably have a rough time for a while, but when your son is disappointing, you can’t blame others. How do you plan to handle the contract matter?”
“Now that Grandpa Sheng knows, we can terminate it without going to court. As for afterward…” I thought seriously, “We have the initiative, and there’s room to sell favors and ease tensions.”
Father grew interested, “How so?”
“Their product quality has proven reliable, and their factory is close to us, keeping transport costs low. If they can compromise in other areas, we could continue working together. Before, when you all held the shares, it wouldn’t have looked good for us to investigate the past, but going forward…”
How to secure benefits for the company in the future?
My mind raced – negotiating below-market prices would be difficult, so…
“Payment terms!” Financial Officer Nie instantly activated, “Negotiate longer payment terms. With the Sheng family connection, they won’t worry about us running away. Longer payment terms can be seen as supporting us younger generation’s business venture. Yes, have Legal communicate with them first, then either I or Lin Yusen can step in…”
“Ah!”
A heavy sigh interrupted my words. I came back to myself to see Father wearing an expression caught between laughter and something else.
“My good daughter…” he muttered something I couldn’t catch clearly, “Don’t go back today. I’ll be in Shanghai for a couple of days with several banquets to attend, come with me.”
My instinct was to refuse, but my mind flashed to last month’s phone call with Mom, and somehow I hesitated.
Seeing my silence, Father added: “Burning bridges after crossing them, using and discarding? Chairman Nie, that’s not how to conduct business.”
My heart softened a bit, but I still insisted: “I need to ask Mom.”
In the end, with Mom’s permission, I accompanied Father to his dinner gathering. Most guests were his business friends, along with two famous collectors. My presence aroused some curiosity, with familiar faces teasing Father about finally bringing out his well-hidden daughter.
Father smiled, saying: “She’s graduated now, time to start working.”
Being the youngest, no one pressed me to drink, so it was quite relaxed. I just ate and drank, occasionally texting Mom and Lin Yusen, sometimes chatting with others. Father appeared to drink about half a bottle of Maotai, spending the latter half of the evening drunkenly sharing brotherhood sentiments. Yet once the dinner ended and we were back in the car, he sobered up instantly.
…Chairman Nie seemed quite the actor.
Father asked where I lived, offering to drop me off. I gave my address, and in return asked where he was staying. He darkened, saying: “A hotel. Your mother took all the Shanghai properties.”
…Well done!
That’s my mom!
Reaching my complex, I jumped out of the car, showing no intention of inviting him to look around. Father was disappointed but ultimately said nothing.
The business car drove away.
I checked the time – almost ten. What would I normally be doing at this hour?
Maybe having a late-night snack, watching a movie, or possibly working overtime at the office…
But, definitely with Lin Yusen.
How strange – we’d talked on the phone just this afternoon, yet now I missed him again.
I should have let Lin Yusen fly back – after all, he only needs four or five hours of sleep, so taking the early flight back to Chengdu tomorrow would have been completely reasonable…
This inconsiderate thought popped into my head, but the next second it oddly transformed into – what if I flew to Chengdu to find him?
This idea startled even me, and I quickly shook my head hard, trying to shake it out. But it seemed to have taken root in my mind, refusing to leave, even making my heart beat faster.
Reasons kept popping up uncontrollably.
Didn’t he ask me to think about where to go for May Day?
Chengdu has great food, fun attractions, and giant pandas – isn’t it the perfect May Day travel destination?
Plus, he’s there negotiating about the production line – I could observe and learn.
The more I thought about it, the more sense it made, even feeling like I could get on a plane right now.
Calm down, calm down.
I still need to go to D University tomorrow to continue discussions, and there definitely aren’t any flights now anyway.
I thought super rationally, though my walking pace quickened. Getting home, I immediately opened my laptop to check flights, thankfully I’d brought it for work.
Shanghai—Chengdu.
Probably because May Day was approaching, all flights had few seats left. Tomorrow’s 1 PM flight only had three seats remaining. I’d only meant to look at tickets, but seeing how tight they were, I bought one directly.
Uh…
Well, since I’ve bought it…
Maybe I should pack my bags too?
So I started packing. Lin Yusen called in the middle of it, but I brushed him off quickly, afraid of giving myself away.
After all this bustle, I woke up late the next day, barely managing basic grooming before rushing out with my backpack.
Only in the elevator did I have time to reply to Lin Yusen’s good morning text.
“Woke up late, might be late to work. Lucky the big boss isn’t here.”
The big boss replied instantly: “Even if the boss were here, he wouldn’t dare do anything to Little Nie.”
Liar, you absolutely would.
Some strange scenes couldn’t help popping into my mind…
Stop, stop, it’s early morning.
Though no one could see, I quickly straightened my expression and sent him a confirming text: “You said before you’re coming back tomorrow, right? What time?”
“Eleven AM flight.”
That works then, avoiding the tragedy of me going to Chengdu while he returns to Shanghai. However, if that unfortunate scenario did occur, what should we do?
I thought for a second and concluded – of course, he’d have to fly back to Chengdu.
Chairman Lin can handle the hassle, but Little Nie can’t make a wasted trip.
The elevator doors opened, and I, having just indulged in my mental drama, held my phone and walked lightly through the lobby, humming and bouncing down the steps. But catching sight of someone at the bottom, my smile froze.
That person seemed to have seen me already, meeting my gaze directly.
After a moment, he said flatly: “Why be so surprised? I live here, didn’t Jiang Rui tell you?”
Nothing to say – I simply nodded and walked past him.
“Not curious why I ended up renting here?”
My steps involuntarily slowed.
“Because it’s too expensive here.” A light voice floated from behind, “This feeling of something being just out of reach keeps one especially clear-headed. It constantly reminds me that if I don’t give it my all, I’ll have to endure this kind of pain forever.”