PB - Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Although this was U.E.’s first collaboration with a domestic enterprise, they had been developing the local market for several years. As such, the bidding was held in the conference room of U.E.’s office building in the city. The room utilized an entire glass wall for lighting, which not only provided excellent illumination but also offered a panoramic view of the city.
At nine-thirty in the morning, the representatives from Ruifeng and Rongfang arrived almost simultaneously. As several cars came to a stop, the assistants from each company got out first to open the doors for their respective presidents. Qiao Qi and Gu Jianchu had both, by coincidence, chosen lightweight suits, though their colors were vastly different. Qiao Qi’s was light blue, while Gu Jianchu had opted for white with black stripes. With a smile playing on her lips, Gu Jianchu took the initiative to approach Qiao Qi and greet her.
She extended her hand. “President Qiao, long time no see.”
Qiao Qi offered a faint smile and shook her hand. “Long time no see.”
Hank and Thomas came out to welcome them. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they led the group up to the thirtieth floor. The conference room was spacious; even after the nearly twenty people from the three parties were seated, it still felt empty. The projection equipment had been calibrated early that morning and was ready for the meeting to begin.
Sunlight filled the room. Qiao Qi sat with her back to the floor-to-ceiling glass, enveloped in the warm light. The blue sky complemented her light-blue suit. Gu Jianchu’s gaze drifted toward the window, and it was unclear whether she was looking at the sky or at the person before her.
Once everything was ready, the meeting got down to business. A U.E. representative began with a few brief opening remarks. The moment he finished, Gu Jianchu spoke up. “Rongfang would like to start first.” Her gaze shifted lightly toward Qiao Qi. “I wonder if President Qiao would be willing?”
At work, Gu Jianchu was overbearing. Qiao Qi knew this well. Her voice remained soft as she replied, “Ruifeng would also like to hear Rongfang’s plan and arrangements first.”
Normally, presenting first offered no real advantage. If faced with a strong competitor, they could potentially make last-minute changes to their own proposal to make it even more perfect. Thus, when Gu Jianchu made this request, the other two parties present were both surprised and puzzled. Among them, Hank was the most concerned.
Gu Jianchu’s gaze turned to Zhao Bo on her right. He immediately understood, walked to the screen, and began the first round of detailed explanations. Dressed in a crisp suit, Zhao Bo was brimming with confidence. He first enumerated Rongfang’s existing advantages before moving on to the second module: Rongfang’s overall plan for domestic production and future market operations.
Time slowly ticked by. As she listened, Qiao Qi’s expression grew dark and unreadable, her gaze gradually zoning out, becoming as distant as the boundless sky behind her. Gu Jianchu recognized that familiar look she had when she was lost in thought. A sudden panic seized her heart, and she lost all interest in Zhao Bo’s meticulous presentation. She carefully and unabashedly fixed her gaze entirely on Qiao Qi, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Zhao Bo was hitting his stride and had moved on to the third module. This section was highly targeted, analyzing future domestic and international development trends while implicitly hinting at Ruifeng’s disadvantages, especially its technological shortcomings. On Ruifeng’s side, with the exception of the still-distracted Qiao Qi, the faces of everyone else, including Xu Yangpu, grew paler by the second—a paleness born of shock and anger.
Xu Yangpu tried to capture Qiao Qi’s true emotions from her face, but her mind seemed to be far from the conference room, her thoughts not on the urgent matter at hand. He turned his angry gaze directly toward Gu Jianchu. Gu Jianchu merely swept a glance over him, her attention still fixed on Qiao Qi. He understood. Retracting his gaze, he steadied his emotions and waited for the other side to finish.
Rongfang’s presentation concluded with Zhao Bo’s polished closing remarks. Next, the U.E. representatives posed some questions based on his proposal. Hank, naturally, didn’t make things difficult, and Zhao Bo also answered Thomas’s questions adeptly. Thomas was satisfied with the completeness of Rongfang’s proposal, which made him all the more eager to see what kind of response Ruifeng would offer.
Zhao Bo returned to his seat beside Gu Jianchu. Only then did Gu Jianchu withdraw her gaze and speak to him in a low voice. The U.E. moderator was about to turn to Ruifeng when Xu Yangpu spoke up first. “For the sake of perfecting our proposal for this collaboration, I, on behalf of Ruifeng, would like to request that your company suspend the meeting and grant us a one-hour break.”
Hank replied, “Mr. Xu, if we agree to your request, it would be unfair to Rongfang Group.”
The suspicion that Rongfang had stolen Ruifeng’s trade secrets was not a reason that could be used here. Xu Yangpu suppressed his urge to lash out and simply said again, “Our proposal was submitted to your company early on. We guarantee that we will take a one-hour break without changing any of the content within that proposal.”
Hank’s attitude was firm. “This is against the rules. We cannot agree to your request.”
As they reached a stalemate, Thomas stepped in to mediate. “What is Miss Qiao’s opinion?”
Qiao Qi had already snapped back to reality the moment Xu Yangpu spoke. Throughout the back-and-forth with Hank, her expression remained unchanged and composed, betraying no emotion. Since the question was now directed at her, she took it. However, her words were not for Thomas, but for Gu Jianchu. “Regarding our request, I wonder if President Gu is willing?”
Zhao Bo, seeing victory within his grasp, grew impatient and was about to refuse, but Gu Jianchu raised a hand to stop him. She wore her usual smile. “The meeting has been going on for a while, and I’m a bit tired too. A short break would be good.” Hank and Zhao Bo both shot her looks of confusion.
Thomas quickly interjected, “Since President Gu has no objection, let’s take a one-hour break. However, I hope the Ruifeng side will adhere to its earlier promise not to make any changes.”
The U.E. office building had plenty of private break rooms. Tea and snacks were quickly arranged. Led by U.E. staff, Qiao Qi and Gu Jianchu took an elevator down to the twenty-fifth floor. During that short time, Qiao Qi’s gaze never once fell upon Gu Jianchu, and Gu Jianchu could feel this cold indifference.
The two companies’ break rooms were at opposite ends of the hallway. The moment he stepped inside, Xu Yangpu could no longer contain his anger. He took out his phone and called the office. “Check who has been in close contact with Rongfang recently. Pull all the security footage from the fifteenth to the twenty-ninth floors for the past month and send it to my email. Do it now.”
Xu Yangpu hung up. The break room fell silent. The others were also furious but dared not show it with Qiao Qi present. The air was thick with tension for nearly five minutes before Xu Yangpu finally composed himself and spoke again. “President Qiao, we have to revise our plan to counter this.”
Qiao Qi sat on a single sofa, her head propped on one hand. She wasn’t as angry as one might expect; instead, she seemed unusually calm. She spoke slowly, “You promised in the conference room that you wouldn’t change the plan.”
“But they stole our secrets! Are we just going to let them get away with this?”
Qiao Qi looked up at the anxious Xu Yangpu. Her calm gaze held a soothing power. “Yangpu, there’s nothing we can do right now. If you change the plan, Hank will use it as an excuse to kick us out. If you want to accuse them of stealing trade secrets, you first have to go back to the company, pull the surveillance footage, and find evidence.”
“President Qiao, are we just giving up like this?”
She stood up and met his gaze. “Yangpu, let’s not waste time on something that’s doomed to fail. We need to cut our losses.” A faint smile touched the corners of her eyes. “Don’t be resentful. There are still many things we can do. Trust me, okay?”
Although Qiao Qi’s words were directed at Xu Yangpu, the gloom weighing on everyone else’s hearts seemed to dissipate considerably. Qiao Qi just had that power. They trusted her and were won over by her, not just because of her outstanding professional ability, but also her composed attitude and calm personality. Still, it was an insult that no one could swallow so easily.
“I have something to take care of first. You all don’t need to overthink it. Just treat this as a break.”
After Qiao Qi left, the others finally dared to speak. “Special Assistant Xu, are we really just admitting defeat? If our plan was genuinely not good enough, that would be one thing. But losing like this is too humiliating. We’ve been through so many negotiations, big and small, but we’ve never looked this bad.”
Xu Yangpu’s face was ashen. “I know everyone’s hard work over the past few months has gone to waste, but this isn’t the time to talk about that. This was an internal leak. It must be thoroughly investigated.”
The person next to him, angry but helpless, could only say, “Right. When we find out who it is, I’ll be the first to kill them.”
Qiao Qi paused outside Gu Jianchu’s break room, hesitant. She raised her hand several times before finally knocking. The moment the sound was made, Gu Jianchu seemed to sense it and came to open the door herself. Qiao Qi looked at the familiar smile and remained silent for half a minute before speaking. “Is it convenient to talk?”
“Of course.”
Qiao Qi hadn’t expected Gu Jianchu to grab her hand and open the door to an adjacent break room. Before she could react, she was pushed inside. Gu Jianchu hugged her, her grip tighter than usual, making Qiao Qi feel confined. They were both wearing lightweight summer suits, and the thin fabric did nothing to block the warmth radiating from the other’s body. Qiao Qi stirred, trying to break free from her embrace.
Qiao Qi’s struggle sent another wave of panic through Gu Jianchu. She tightened her grip slightly and then kissed the person in her arms. Qiao Qi struggled again a couple of times but then submitted to the kiss. She could sense the abnormality in Gu Jianchu’s eagerness. When the kiss ended, Gu Jianchu still showed no intention of letting go, just smiling at her.
Qiao Qi took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the lipstick that had smudged on the other’s lips, her movements as gentle as if she were handling a treasure. She asked her, “Is this collaboration very important to you?”
Gu Jianchu didn’t hide it. “Gu Yong has been restless lately.”
A hint was all that was needed. Qiao Qi understood. “I see.” She folded the handkerchief neatly and put it back in her pocket. “Let go. I have to go back.”
Gu Jianchu carefully studied Qiao Qi’s flawless expression. The seemingly normal conversation gave her a sense of unreality. She felt that if she let go, she might never be able to hold on to her again. This was the first time she had ever felt such unease. She let herself act like a petulant child who had done something wrong, stubbornly refusing to let go.
But she would have to let go eventually, so Qiao Qi calmly allowed herself to be held. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, followed by a man’s voice. “President Gu, you have a call.”
Qiao Qi watched as Gu Jianchu released her. Once free, she turned and left. Gu Jianchu watched that tall, straight back until it disappeared. Her heart skipped a beat, and another wave of panic washed over her.
The one-hour break ended, and the three parties were seated in the conference room again. The U.E. moderator, not wanting to waste any more time, got straight to the point. “President Qiao, are you ready to begin?”
Qiao Qi stood up and said unhurriedly, “After a brief discussion just now, my company has concluded that the other party’s proposal is already very complete. Therefore, my company will voluntarily withdraw from this bid. We also wish your company and Rongfang Group a successful collaboration.”
Qiao Qi had not discussed this decision with Xu Yangpu and the others beforehand, so when they heard her words, everyone in the conference room was stunned. Gu Jianchu looked up, feeling that Qiao Qi, set against the azure sky, was completely unreachable.
Thomas exclaimed in shock, “Qiao, what are you saying?”
“Thomas, it is also a great regret for Ruifeng that we could not cooperate with your company. Rongfang is an extremely mature enterprise in this country. I believe they can also bring your company a larger market and greater opportunities.” She bowed slightly in apology. “I am very sorry for taking up so much of everyone’s time. I hope there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future. We will take our leave now.”
Ruifeng swept out of the conference room like a gust of wind. Everyone from Rongfang, except for Gu Jianchu, was overjoyed. Of course, Thomas was just as shocked and uncertain as Gu Jianchu. He cast a hesitant glance at Gu Jianchu. This extraordinarily strange result was beyond his expectations. He glanced out the window. The weather was good today, perfect for flying. It seemed he no longer had a place here.
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