Ning Weikai sensed the differences in Aida.

  However, these differences were blurred and hard to trace. He could only infer from the subtle moves in Aida that they were going to introduce a brand of new products, and they might be outdoor products. He couldn't find information that was any more specific.

  In the last battle against Vinda, Li Zhicheng and the company had worked together as an irresistible force and pinpointed all the spies New Bori put in Aida. All of them were either held financially accountable or fired. Although none of them had confessed who had sent them, Aida worked as an absolutely cohesive team now.

  He had to admit: Li Zhicheng was a very strong compet.i.tor.

  Monday morning, Ning Weikai went to the headquarters of Zhu's for a meeting like usual.

  The weather was fantastic that day. Ning Weikai's entrance in the headquarters was a grand spectacle like it always was. Although he only brought his secretary, Yuan Jun, to keep a low profile, everyone graciously welcomed him. He was the Chairman's son-in-law and New Bori, the business he ran, was the most profitable company under Zhu's.

  The meeting started at 9:00 am.

  The head chairman, Ning Weikai's father-in-law Zhu Boyun, was no longer responsible for the daily operations of the corporation, and wouldn't show up to such meetings.

  Instead, Zhu Boyun's oldest son, Zhu Hanchong, ran the meeting. He was also a chairman of Zhu's.

  He was a refined and cultivated man wearing gold-framed gla.s.ses. He always spoke gently and smoothly. Everyone said that Mr. Zhu was a good leader, only lacking a bit of boldness.

  After the operations management department reported last month's sales record of each subsidiary and business department, he smiled to everyone in the meeting and said, "This is a good start to the year, and everyone has put in their best effort. The chairman must be exhilarated by these numbers, especially the bags sales." He looked at Ning Weikai beside him. "New Bori surpa.s.sed the target number again and took first place. Weikai, thanks for your hard work."

  Everyone looked to Ning Weikai with a polite and respectful smile.

  Ning Weikai internally sighed with a bit of contempt. I made them jealous again.

  However, the smile on his face was very sincere. "New Bori gained its steady development thanks to the help of the chairman and everyone present. We will strive to do our best in the coming new year and try to give a satisfactory performance to the board."

  Everyone just kept nodding. Zhu Hanchong smiled in silence.

  In the meantime, the second Zhu brother, Zhu Hancheng, who was in charge of a real estate business, said apathetically, "I hear that Aida's booming these days. I also hear they're preparing a new product to rival the market our corporation is dominating right now. Weikai, is this true?" He just turned twenty-six and was five years younger than his brother. He was a handsome but ferocious-looking man who always talked in an impa.s.sive way. He had been successful in expanding the real estate business, so when compared to the bookish Zhu Hanchong, the subordinates awed him more.

  Ning Weikai was a bit surprised that he knew about this.

  Umm… They've been keeping a really close eye on us. Well, I've made New Bori so perfect that the Zhu's are anxious when there are any compet.i.tors.

  Zhu Hancheng looked to the people in the marketing department and said, "How could you skip something so important during the report? Do you know how many Vinda bags were sold in the past several months? Are they posting a threat to us? Why aren't you functioning as a marketing department of the headquarters?"

  The manager of the marketing department felt wronged. The operations of New Bori were always independent; especially after Ning Weikai had come into power, the headquarters didn't have a say in how the company was run. They indeed weren't aware of the situation Zhu Hancheng had just described.

  However, why were they the collateral damage of the conflict between the superiors?

  The manager didn't provide an explanation; instead, he answered vaguely, "Sure Mr. Zhu. We'll pay attention to it in the future."

  "Okay." Zhu Hanchong started to smooth things over. "Weikai knows a lot about the bag industry and he knows what he should do. Hancheng, you don't need to worry about it too much."

  The corners of Zhu Hancheng's lips curved and he looked to Ning Weikai. "Then, Weikai, what happened? Are you prepared for this premeditated attack?"

  Ning Weikai didn't like Zhu Hancheng, who always called him "Weikai," in the slightest. He was two years older than Zhu Hancheng, but because he'd married his younger sister, he didn't show any respect for the older.

  "I haven't made any plans yet," he answered with a smile.

  Everyone was astounded by what he said—Zhu Hanchong was also dazed. Zhu Hancheng, however, was as cool as a cuc.u.mber.

  The meeting room remained quiet and some old members from the board looked at each other at dismay. Yuan Jun, who was sitting in the back and didn't get a chance to say anything, however, thought his boss was awesome.

  Ning Weikai looked around calmly, put one of his hands on the desk, and the other started tapping it continuously, bewildering people.

  After a long while, he started to speak without expression. "I'll first introduce everyone to the history of the market. In the past three years, trend followers such as SMQ, Aida, and Shunkai challenged New Bori with either new products or marketing strategies over a dozen times. And we've witnessed a vast number of innovative products of high quality and brilliant marketing ideas. With all of these, if we had let them develop without obstacles, the market structure could have been changed completely and New Bori's leading position could have been lost."

  Everyone listened to him quietly and Zhu Hancheng maintained a straight face.

  Ning Weikai smiled and went on saying, "However, the fate of all these products were the same: they were replaced by products of greater quality and higher popularity that New Bori designed."

  He looked around. "Hancheng, and all members of the board, and all the managers: there's no need to worry about New Bori. Since we are the leader in the market, compet.i.tion will never cease. But fortunately, our overall strength and compet.i.tiveness are much better than they think.

  "We're much more advanced in independent research, design and foreign technology than any other company. Maybe they have some new ideas. But unfortunately for them, whatever high-quality products they can make, New Bori can also do it and do a better job. In this market, the best talents are all in New Bori and hence all the best products will only come from New Bori.

  "I've got to say it's tragic for our compet.i.tors. Because all the new market s.p.a.ce they think they've occupied will eventually come back to us."

  Lin Qian sat in the hotel restaurant in Taipei, which was on a small platform filled with sunshine. It was early and hardly anyone was around; she picked up the contract Li Zhicheng signed with Mingde Fabric Factory and started to read carefully.

  Li Zhicheng sat right across from her, eating quietly.

  To be honest, the conditions in the contract were sensible, but beyond expectations. People said the old man in Mingde was a bit aloof. He held several fabric patents and was reluctant to sell them. Lin Qian had known that there was mystery involved in the deal that allowed Li Zhicheng to convince him.

  And this was an expensive "mystery."

  According to the contract, Mingde would provide the two existing fabric technologies exclusively to Aida over the next three years. Also, Aida would have priority over other corporations in utilizing new fabric under the same price. If there were a breach of contract, three times the order amount would be paid.

  Lin Qian was relieved after reading this condition.

  Fabric cost the most in producing bags, and they had come a long way to find this most cost-effective option.

  If Aida introduced new products, New Bori would definitely launch products of the same kind as compet.i.tion. However, as long as Aida had exclusive rights over the raw material, it would be difficult for New Bori to find fabric as cost-effective and high-quality as theirs.

  Everything came with a price. To get the exclusive rights to the fabric, the contract dictated that all activities, sales, and all promotion of Aito, such as television and media advertis.e.m.e.nt, must include MingDe, which meant Aida must treat Aito and MingDe equally when introducing them to the market.

  The cost and work required for Aida to satisfy this condition was immense. Take television advertis.e.m.e.nt for instance: even one second on CCTV, which might cost millions of yuan, would be split between Aito and Mingde.

  Lin Qian closed the contract and looked up at Li Zhicheng.

  He was bolder, more resolute, and more capable of understanding human nature than she'd thought.

  Usually, negotiations between raw material factories and manufacturing factories only concerned monetary terms. He, however, had been able to bring up a win-win agreement to build the reputation of the other party. The old man in Mingde was innately zealous. It was a small factory and held an incredible patent. The fact that it hadn't been bought out yet meant he wanted the brand to remain independent. How could he reject such an offer?

  Everyone had their ambitions. One was just comparatively more ambitious than others if he was "zealous."

  The sunshine mottled Li Zhicheng's shirt and his short black hair. Lin Qian stared at his left cheek—there seemed to be a small red mark on it. She rejoiced at seeing that.

  That was her kiss. Early in the morning, Li Zhicheng had met her downstairs for breakfast and they had kissed at the gate. And today, knowing she was going to Mingde, she had put on some makeup. Her lipstick was on his face.

  "Clean it again." She gave a tissue to him.

  Li Zhicheng understood what she meant. She took the tissue and wipe his face while gazing at her.

  "What are you looking at?" Lin Qian asked. "How could I meet someone without putting on makeup today?"

  Li Zhicheng didn't say anything. After a while, he put down the tissue.

  Lin Qian stirred her coffee with her head down. "There's still some on your left collar, and some on your neck."

  Lin Qian smirked. "Okay."

  Lin Qian was a bit embarra.s.sed. What do you mean by 'Okay?' Why are you pretending to be weak again? Annoying!

  After he finished cleaning himself up, Lin Qian asked, "Although a three-times penalty is stated in the contract, can you say for sure that this Mr. w.a.n.g won't betray us?"

  Li Zhicheng said succinctly, "He never will."

  Although she had no idea why he was so confident, the fact that he said so meant he was one-hundred-percent sure. Lin Qian could also rest a.s.sured now.

  Mingde was located in the suburbs and surrounded by blooming trees and gra.s.s. Beside it were several ecological, agricultural companies.

  Li Zhicheng was welcomed in by the secretary and conferred with Mr. w.a.n.g alone. Lin Qian and Jiang Yuan sat outside in the reception room, looking at the trees and factory outside, waiting quietly.

  Lin Qian estimated the a.s.sets of this factory to be tens of millions of yuan, excluding the value of the patent. It was indeed mutually beneficial to cooperate with Aida.

  After more than an hour, the meeting room door opened. Li Zhicheng walked out with a skinny man in his fifties.

  Lin Qian and Jiang Yuan immediately stood up with a smile, observing this person in silence.

  He wore a navy-blue Mao suit and had a pair of gla.s.ses on, looking like a refined and knowledgeable college professor. Nevertheless, he looked nonchalant and pretentious, with a touch of mystical light shining in his eyes. He glanced at them and his gaze fell on Lin Qian.

  Lin Qian shook his hand and beamed. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Li. I'm Lin Qian from Aida."

  Mr. w.a.n.g glanced at Li Zhicheng before shaking her hand, and said slowly, "Ms. Lin came from afar. I'm not showing adequate courtesy."

  Lin Qian was a bit surprised hearing him talk so politely—he was well-known for his harshness. It seemed she benefited from her relationship with Li Zhicheng.

  Suddenly, Mr. w.a.n.g said to Li Zhicheng, "Does Mr. Li prefer his career or his lover?"

  Lin Qian was rendered speechless.

  Ummm… How does he know?

  Jiang Yuan, who stood to the side a bit, was surprised as well. He looked unruffled, however, pretending like he didn't hear it. Li Zhicheng peeked at her calmly and held her hand.

  "Mr. w.a.n.g is a senior man in the industry. We should be humble and learn more from him." He spoke to her in a husky voice and made sure that everyone around could hear.

  "Sure, sure." Lin Qian blushed.

  So he was playing the humble junior card?

  Lin Qian understood interpersonal relationships very well. The deepest business relationships were definitely not formed just hitting it off out of mutual interests. Instead, private friendships enabled better business relationships.

  That was happening right now. Li Zhicheng, after the official business, talked to the pompous professor/factory director along with his girlfriend there. This showed both his frankness and trust—this also worked well on the imperious old man. In his eyes, Li Zhicheng was not just a businessman vying for more money, but also a vigorous young man who cared for his girlfriend.

  Lin Qian walked with Li Zhicheng. She stared at his serene face.

  Though this man is reserved, he's quite insightful. He knows quite a lot about human nature.

  What relieved her was that he'd already made a promise that he wouldn't use the same trick on her.

  The corners of Lin Qian's mouth curved up, but she pouted when others were not paying attention. "Why did you tell the others? Especially Mr. w.a.n.g?"

  Right now, everyone was following Mr. w.a.n.g to tour the park. Standing on the two sides were factories and trees. Li Zhicheng pressed his hands against her palms and answered, "We'll have lots of contact with him—this ident.i.ty is more convenient."

  Lin Qian was jubilant, but she thought, This ident.i.ty?

  Blah—I'm your girlfriend, and you're talking like I'm the mistress.

  She smirked again when she heard him say, "He can attest to it: I didn't tell him anything." He glanced at her and smiled. "He's quite perceptive and you… You're not able to hide it."

  Lin Qian, in a daze, glared at him.

  The thing she hated the most was this kind of inscrutable behavior from him and Lin Mocheng. They thought they were the only ones capable of handling life. As for her, she was too naive to them.

  What triggered her the most was the way they had talked to her: "Don't do anything. I'll handle it myself."

  Lin Qian muttered, "I'm not that naive. I was very tactful before meeting you!"

  Li Zhicheng chuckled and turned his head to her. She thought he looked emotionally ignited and like he wanted to kiss her.

  But it was a public place after all. He just gazed at her quietly and said in a deep voice, "Then use that on me."

  In the afternoon, they flew back to Lin City.

  Li Zhicheng was quite frugal in outings, booking economy-cla.s.s tickets all the time. Nevertheless, Jiang Yuan gave the two seats that were together to them while he sat at the corner two rows away. He could hear his boss's instructions without disturbing their private time, which was a perfect arrangement.

  The seats in the cabin were a bit small. Lin Qian leaned on Li Zhicheng and rested her hands in his lap. She looked at the clouds outside and felt sweet inside.

  Huh…


  She recalled what he had said in Mingde, telling her to use her tactful nature on him.

  However, she was thankful that this man wouldn't scheme against her. Comparisons were odious, and his shrewdness scared her.

  Will my ploys actually work on him? Isn't it going to be like nothing to me?

  The more she thought about it, the more she realized he was the same person as her brother.

  She felt kind of down when thinking about her brother. Lin Mocheng hadn't replied to her since the day she had sent that smug message. She had been so devoted to romance the past two days that she'd overlooked him. Is he really mad?

  "Have you talked to your brother at all?" the man sitting next to her asked.

  This was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

  "I'll call him when we land," Lin Qian answered honestly.

  "Okay," Li Zhicheng looked at her as if he were thinking about something. He took out a yellow folder from the laptop bag under him and put it on her tablet.

  "What's this?" Lin Qian asked.

  "This is the additional pact I made with him. It's time to let you know."