Meng Xiyue stood under the projector, speaking eloquently. The usually indifferent look in her eyes now carried the confidence and pride that a young person should have.
Ding Yaoyao, standing beside Li Ting, watched Meng Xiyue, who was shining brightly at this moment, holding the materials tightly, her eyes full of envy yet also filled with a competitive spirit. She too wanted to become a strong and independent woman like her.
Clearly, Meng Xiyue’s plan was a success. At least, the expressions on the faces of several heads of Tianyu who attended the meeting were ones of satisfaction, except for Li Ting, the decision-maker of Tianyu Group.
“Miss Meng, your plan is very appealing, but the terms of cooperation are too harsh for Tianyu.” Meng Xiyue smiled slightly: “I think Mr. Li should be aware of the huge benefits behind this plan.”
Tianyu Group is the largest leading company in City S. As the person in charge of Tianyu, the pressure on Li Ting is imaginable, especially since the emerging companies in recent years have been pressing hard.
As the leading company, Tianyu is facing tremendous pressure, and the company’s performance trend in recent years has not been pleasing. Tianyu must make changes.
Li Ting had not been in office for long, and he needed such an opportunity. Meng Xiyue hit right on Li Ting’s spot, but this woman’s ambition was too big, wanting to bite off a piece from Tianyu, not much but enough to make him uncomfortable.
What displeased him the most was that three months ago, Tianyu had extended an olive branch to Meng Xiyue’s company, N.S, but was rejected. The person who rejected them was the woman in front of him. Li Ting was very tempted by this plan, but in his eyes, N.S and Tianyu were like an ant and an elephant.
He, as the dominant party, was being controlled by N.S, which was a blatant provocation to Li Ting, who was used to having the final say in Tianyu’s decisions.
“Miss Meng, as you said, the business opportunity behind this is indeed very tempting for Tianyu, but you should know, the partner doesn’t have to be N.S.”
“But no one can do it better than N.S.” Meng Xiyue looked straight into Li Ting’s eyes. For a moment, Li Ting felt overwhelmingly suppressed by this woman.
“This plan has a huge impact on Tianyu, we need to consider it.” Meng Xiyue’s face showed no sign of disappointment. After saying some pleasantries, she left with Secretary Gao and Assistant Li.
When the meeting room was empty, Ding Yaoyao mustered the courage to speak to Li Ting, who was still sitting in his place: “President Li, why not agree to cooperate with N.S?”
Li Ting was not displeased by Ding Yaoyao’s presumptuous behavior, but instead, raised his eyebrows in a teasing manner: “Why, do you know her?” Ding Yaoyao stared at his handsome face, her heartbeat unconsciously speeding up: “I just think Miss Meng is really amazing.” Li Ting leaned in close to her ear, his voice carrying a different kind of sexiness: “You are amazing too.”
With a sudden movement, Ding Yaoyao’s face turned red, but she stubbornly said, “President Li, we agreed that our relationship is strictly professional.”
Seeing the stubborn light in her eyes, Li Ting chuckled softly, “Alright, you have the final say.”
Her indulgent tone left Ding Yaoyao flustered, causing her to flee the meeting room in a panic.
…
After leaving the Tianyu Building, Meng Xiyue, followed by Assistant Li who observed her usual indifferent demeanor, asked, “President, do you think Tianyu will agree to the partnership?”
Meng Xiyue got into the car and said decisively, “No.”
Assistant Li and Secretary Gao exchanged glances. Secretary Gao asked, “President Meng, should we modify the contract?”
“No need, schedule a meeting with President Xia for me.”
Secretary Gao was momentarily surprised but dutifully responded, “Understood.”
Meng Xiyue was only 50% confident about the partnership with Tianyu. After all, three months ago, Tianyu clearly wanted to take over N.S. Now that N.S had stabilized, there was no need to consider Tianyu.
Their refusal to partner was within her expectations. She wanted to connect with Tianyu not just because it was the leading company in City S, but mainly because the male lead was managing the company.
The male lead was favored by fate, blessed with good fortune, making his path smoother.
Meng Xiyue tapped her fingers on her leg, realizing this path was now closed.
…
Working overtime as usual until ten, Meng Xiyue picked up her coat, turned off the lights, and left with Assistant Li.
Assistant Li had grown accustomed to the company boss’s schedule. Only after sending Meng Xiyue home could he start his personal time.
On their way, Assistant Li noticed a woman walking unsteadily by the roadside. She was dressed brightly and had a graceful figure, prompting him to take a second look, then he recognized her.
“President, that seems to be Miss Xia from the Xia Corporation, Xia Yuan.”
Their company was about to discuss a partnership with Xia Corporation, and as an assistant, Assistant Li had familiarized himself with Xia Corporation early on, including seeing photos of Xia Yuan.
Meng Xiyue looked over and saw Xia Yuan leaning against a tree, looking disheveled. Meng Xiyue frowned and finally said, “Help Miss Xia into the car.”
Assistant Li quickly pulled the car over and helped Xia Yuan, who was incessantly asking “why”, into the car. Xia Yuan was still conscious and, as Assistant Li approached, she hit him several times with her bag, asking, “Who are you?”
Assistant Li could only explain.
Xia Yuan didn’t recognize anyone named Meng Xiyue and became even more wary. It wasn’t until the car window beside the road rolled down, revealing Meng Xiyue’s indifferent face, that Xia Yuan reacted as if she had been stepped on her tail. She straightened her back and walked over with pride, her chin slightly raised as she wore her high heels. However, due to having drunk too much, her steps were a bit unsteady, and she staggered a few times before regaining her balance. Feeling extremely embarrassed, Xia Yuan subconsciously looked towards Meng Xiyue.
To her surprise, Meng Xiyue wasn’t looking at her.
For some reason, this made Xia Yuan even angrier. She glared at Assistant Li, who was trying to help her, and with a clack of her high heels, she got into the car.
Assistant Li: “……”
As soon as Xia Yuan got into the car, she crossed her arms, full of attitude, and snorted, “What, you want to see me make a fool of myself?”
Meng Xiyue didn’t respond, only saying, “Miss Xia, where do you live? I can give you a lift.”
Xia Yuan glanced at Meng Xiyue, who was dressed in light-colored work attire, her expression calm and indifferent. For some reason, Xia Yuan felt outdone. She lowered her arms and, mimicking how her brother used to sit, crossed one leg over the other in what’s commonly known as the “Erlang’s leg” position, resting her hand on her knee. “What? You want to curry favor with me?”
In a sense, Xia Yuan wasn’t wrong.
Meng Xiyue smiled faintly without speaking. In fact, Xia Yuan didn’t need her to speak and continued on her own, “Don’t bother trying, I won’t speak well of you in front of my brother.”
Assistant Li had already explained Meng Xiyue’s identity, and Xia Yuan wasn’t stupid. She immediately understood that she had misunderstood Meng Xiyue today. Meng Xiyue wasn’t the kind of woman she had imagined, someone seeking to climb the social ladder. But Xia Yuan couldn’t bring herself to apologize. How could she be the one in the wrong? It was still Meng Xiyue’s fault for not clarifying her identity properly.
“Hmph, don’t think that just because you didn’t gain any favors from Brother Li, you can seek cooperation with my brother. My brother and Brother Li have grown up together since childhood; he won’t help you. Give up.”
Meng Xiyue couldn’t help but take another look at Xia Yuan.
Unexpectedly sharp, is it intuition?
Before she could look away, Xia Yuan turned her head and glared at her, “What are you looking at?”
Meng Xiyue smiled, “Miss Xia, you haven’t given me your address yet.”
Xia Yuan frowned, snorted, and spat out an address, then fell silent.
The car instantly became quiet. Assistant Li, through the rearview mirror, carefully observed the situation of the two big shots in the back seat.
Big shot one: Meng Xiyue slightly tilted her head, calmly looking out the window.
Boss 2: Xia Yuan was resting with his eyes closed.
Neither of them paid any attention to the other.
Meng Xiyue was quite satisfied with this situation. She was never much of a talker to begin with. After a day’s work, this quiet environment was exactly what she needed.
Soon, they arrived at Xia Yuan’s place. Before getting out of the car, Xia Yuan hesitated for a while before finally mumbling a “Thank you.” Then, she quickly got out of the car.
Meng Xiyue watched her retreating figure through the car window, her eyes and brows softening even more.
