“That’s true, Young Master Yin’s partner should be a rich heiress, I can understand that.” As soon as my mind cleared, I couldn’t help but become sarcastic and mean.
“You’re mistaken, Miss Li. Our family has never been prejudiced against social class, and my wife is not the wealthy heiress you’re describing. We simply hope that as our daughter-in-law, she should at least have a respectable background.” As he spoke, Chairman Yin gently placed a photocopy of a medical record in front of me. My head buzzed, and my body swayed slightly—it was my miscarriage record—I had used my real name to have the surgery when I suffered a brain hemorrhage.
“Yin Tianyu knew about this a long time ago,” I said through gritted teeth.
"Of course, I think Tianyu really likes you, so I think you can imagine how Tianyu and I argued about this."
“Yin Tianyu is not someone who gives in easily.” I suddenly smiled. Although it was difficult, this person’s name gave me a sense of warmth. “Actually, if you don’t want to see us together, you can just send a trusted confidant to see me privately with a check with lots of zeros. Why make everyone feel awkward in a situation like today?”
“That’s right, you do know him very well. Tianyu went to great lengths to persuade me to give you two a chance, even involving my wife, which is why I agreed to meet you. The reason I chose today’s occasion is to show respect for Tianyu’s serious approach to this relationship.”
"Unfortunately, Yin Tianyu was too happy too soon. You only changed the target of your defection, but you didn't give up the defection plan. Well, it's time for me to see your terms for defection, isn't it?" That medical record made my heart ache. I suddenly didn't have the strength to fight with this old fox anymore, and this old fox represented more than just the identity of a father.
Chairman Yin suddenly burst into laughter: "I'm starting to understand why Tianyu refuses to let go. It's such a pity, such a real pity. To be honest, he almost got things right, but unfortunately, my bottom line is that everyone must be responsible for their own actions, and no one is an exception. It's truly a shame that Tianyu has to give you up." As he spoke, he handed me a document: "These are all the approval documents for the venture capital fund you're applying for. If our transaction goes through, the money will be in your account within a week. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, the Yin family is the executive member of the fund's evaluation committee."
I don't know how many regrets he expressed, but I do know that my hand trembled slightly when I took the stack of documents. Then I stood up and left, not even bothering to say goodbye twice. Chairman Yin didn't say another word. He's a smart man, and smart men don't waste time on unnecessary things.
I sold Yin Tianyu out! I suddenly had an urge to burst out laughing. I actually sold Yin Tianyu out!
"Miss Li, this way please." A man in a suit was already waiting at the door. As soon as I came out, he immediately guided me. After a few turns, I don't know how, but I found myself standing outside the villa. There was a car parked there, and someone opened the door for me. Without thinking, I got in, and as soon as the door closed, the car started moving. I didn't ask the driver where we were going. I knew the destination must be where I was supposed to go, and that Yin Tianyu wasn't there.
Part Two, Chapter Twenty-One
The days that followed were filled with nothing but frantic busyness and extreme physical exhaustion. The funding arrived quickly, and after a hasty farewell to A-Lian, I rushed back to Guangzhou. To get our project running at an astonishing pace and within three months, my partners and I gave it a ridiculously gaudy name: "Blooming."
Our group's average age was only twenty-seven. Our reasons for participating in this project were varied and diverse, but we all shared one thing in common: realizing this plan was based on ideals, not survival. Of course, my ideal was to make money, so comparatively, my opinions were always the least eloquent but also the most feasible. After several lessons learned, "Ask Li for help" became our mantra. I didn't mind being the leader, but it had to be legitimate, and I knew that systems were fundamental to the company's operation. Relying on any one person, no matter who that person was, wouldn't take us far. So, we spent a whole month unifying our business philosophy and regulations, and the words "Executive General Manager" were proudly written on my desk. Thankfully, this prevented our fledgling company from being sunk by youthful idealism. Whenever I think of this, I can't help but wipe the cold sweat from my forehead.
Finally, there are only four days left until the official market launch. Everyone is on edge, their eyes, unusually bright from extreme sleep deprivation, filled with an undisguised intense desire for success.
I was busy checking the route allocation map provided by the logistics company when I suddenly heard Fiona, who was in charge of planning and publicity, yell: "Oh no, we're doomed, we're doomed this time."
"What's wrong?" Almost everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
"We completely forgot to include the order hotline in all our advertisements!"
"What?" Shan Jie, one of the partners, jumped up as if he had been shot in the butt: "Who checked the advertisements for the website?"
“It’s me,” Fiona said timidly.
"***?!" Shan Jie blurted out a string of profanities very fluently. He had a rather impatient nature, and not only him, everyone was anxious. Fiona naturally felt the hostility surging from all directions and burst into tears. I was anxious too, but I knew that being anxious wouldn't solve the problem at this moment.
"Who are our advertising agency and production team?" My mind raced as I considered various options.
"They are all from Shengshi Company."
"First, call them to inform them to change all advertising content starting tomorrow. Then, produce two new ad drafts today. One is a suspense ad, letting the whole world know that our hotline number hasn't been published yet, arousing everyone's curiosity. The other is a large-format ad for our hotline number, which won't be published until the fourth day, the day we officially start taking orders. And the audience reach must be twice that of the previous days..." I said, organizing my thoughts as I spoke, and my pace quickened.
"Interesting!" Liu Yiming, who was in charge of logistics, interrupted me abruptly, saying excitedly, "This is called turning a mistake into an opportunity. We might as well hire a group of people on that day, put on uniforms with the hotline number printed on them, and send them out on the street to deliver flowers!"
"The clothes can't be too cheap, don't make it look like you're selling aphrodisiacs—wearing a yellow T-shirt and daring to walk around the streets! It has to be the kind with a checkered apron and a headscarf."
"Yes, the delivery location also needs to be selected, preferably near subway stations where white-collar workers are concentrated."
...
With everyone chiming in, I could see these enthusiastic young people were about to go off-topic again, so I quickly pulled them back. "Fiona, go make a call and see if the advertising agency can keep up with the production schedule."
FIONA dashed off to make a phone call. I think if she could, she would definitely want to disappear even sooner, much sooner.
A little while later, Fiona walked into my office again, looking dejected: "Shengshi said the manuscript is too late to be completed and they won't help us."
“Give me the contact number.” I tried to suppress my anger, not wanting to embarrass this beautiful woman too much. FIONA gave me a business card, which I saw was from a client manager at Shengshi, and it read “Nicole.Lee.” I just couldn’t bring myself to feel any goodwill towards important people whose business cards had English names printed on them. Sure enough, when I called, the secretary told me that “Ms. Nicole is in a meeting.” Looking at my watch, I realized I didn’t have much time, so I simply told the caller that I would be at their office in fifteen minutes to await Ms. Nicole’s arrival. After hanging up, I grabbed FIONA and headed to Shengshi. I didn’t want to tell her how to do things; I wanted her to experience it for herself.
After sitting in the meeting room for more than ten minutes, Ms. Nicole finally appeared. However, the moment our eyes met, a dramatic scene unfolded: what a grand account manager, what Nicole Lee, it turned out to be Xia Mengmeng, that idiot!
"Are you kidding me, Nicole Lee?!" I almost dropped a teacup.
"You bastard Li Hao, you're still alive!" Xia Mengmeng's voice was still high-pitched and shrill, but I caught a fleeting tremor in it, and my heart ached suddenly, then I immediately cheered: "What's wrong? You got your hair permed to pretend to be instant noodles, huh? And you're still calling yourself Nicole Lee? You've even abandoned your surname. Tell me, what trouble have you gotten into out there? To end up looking like this, neither human nor ghost, changing your appearance to pretend to be a returnee from overseas."
"Get lost! She's married now, so naturally she takes her husband's surname." Hearing her startle again made my scalp tingle, but when I heard she was already married, I was stunned: "What kind of person has lost their mind to dare marry you?"
"Hey! Are you kidding me? I must have lost my mind to marry him, okay? MICLE .LEE, the general manager of Shengshi." Xia Mengmeng's voice immediately softened when she saw her secretary follow her in.
"No wonder you didn't even notice that our advertisement didn't include a hotline number. Only a company with a manager who's lost their mind would do something like that." I was genuinely happy for Xia Mengmeng; I felt like today was the happiest day I'd had in months.
"Is that so? How could that be?" Xia Mengmeng asked repeatedly, while telling her secretary to get our files. At Zhengdong, we were used to prioritizing work over personal matters. After Xia Mengmeng agreed to our revised plan, I went to the creative department to work on the advertising copy, while Xia Mengmeng followed up from beginning to end. Perhaps because the boss's wife was personally overseeing things, the draft was completed quickly, which I was very satisfied with. After the film and the FLASH file for the commercial were finished, even Xia Mengmeng couldn't help but exclaim with a capitalist's ugly face, "Damn it, our company can be this efficient! It seems those guys in the creative department have been slacking off quite a bit!"
Finally, after even the cable TV station called back to confirm the latest advertising package and the new broadcast time, it was already completely dark. Xia Mengmeng grabbed me without saying a word and said we were going to eat.
"Let's make it clear first, I'll only go if you treat me," I said as I walked out of the company gate.
"No problem, it's on me," Xia Mengmeng said impatiently.
"No, let me check your wallet first. It's no wonder you treated us, and after we ate and drank to our hearts' content, you suddenly forgot to bring money when it came time to pay the bill." I ultimately didn't have much faith in Xia Mengmeng's abilities.
"You're such a chatterbox. Here, take my wallet." Xia Mengmeng generously pulled out her wallet and handed it to me. I was about to take it without any hesitation when suddenly a familiar white-shirted figure flashed past in front of me. Completely out of my control, I ran after it.
Part Two, Chapter Twenty-Two