Chapter Sixteen: How About Striking a Deal?

"President, President Liang of Xingye doesn’t even know what you look like."

"They’ve been waiting in the front hall for three hours. Looks like they’re determined to see you. Should we keep stalling or try to talk them into leaving?"

Fu Zhichen, hearing that Pei Susu had played a trick on the two, found amusement flickering in his eyes. A smile curved at his lips. "They’ve waited all morning. They must be anxious by now. When people get anxious, they stop thinking clearly."

He pulled a document from the ten-centimeter stack in front of him and handed it to Assistant Liu. "Invite them to join the bidding conference at Fu Group in three days."

"Understood. I’ll go and inform them."

"President, if they ask about Fu Group’s stance towards Xingye, should we answer?"

Fu Zhichen twirled the steel pen in his hand idly. "No. Let them speculate."

"We should keep them hanging, neither here nor there," Assistant Liu interpreted his intention as he took the document.

Fu Zhichen leaned back in his chair, giving him a confirming glance.

Assistant Liu quietly left the president’s office and headed down to the first floor to find Liang Wenru and Chu Qingzhu. "President Fu is busy with important matters and doesn’t have time to meet you personally. He asked me to entertain you instead."

He handed them the document. "Development rights for the property in the city center. If President Liang is interested, you may attend Fu Group’s bidding conference in three days."

A month ago, Fu Group acquired a parcel of land from the government, right in the commercial heart of the new district. If Xingye secured it, they could earn over a billion in profit.

Moreover, without Fu Group’s invitation, Xingye wouldn’t even qualify to participate in the bidding.

Liang Wenru took the document, so overwhelmed he could barely speak. "Thank you, President Fu, for recognizing Xingye. We’ll do our utmost to present a proposal that satisfies Fu Group."

With such a precious opportunity from President Fu, how could he possibly be targeting Xingye? Surely, the recent events were just President Fu testing Xingye and his own abilities.

Chu Qingzhu seized the moment, putting on her most polished smile to introduce herself, hoping to forge a connection. "Assistant Liu, hello, I’m Chu Qingzhu, general manager of Xingye."

"Mm, I have business to attend to, so I won’t accompany you further. You may keep your gifts, take them back," Assistant Liu replied, careful not to converse too much with Fu Group’s adversaries.

Chu Qingzhu’s enthusiastic greeting met with cold indifference, leaving her smile frozen.

—

Fu Group, General Manager’s Office, lunch break.

Pei Susu emerged from the dense sea of data, massaging her brow. She closed her eyes for ten minutes, regaining a touch of vitality.

Her phone vibrated—Fu Zhichen’s message appeared.

[Sister, I’ve ordered your favorite dishes. Will you come have lunch with me?]

Beneath the text, a pitiful stray puppy sticker pleaded.

Pei Susu typed a reply. [Alright.]

She glanced through the outer office; only two or three people were working. She slipped through the tea room, climbed the stairs via the fire escape, and reached the elevator.

Luo Yuan, seeing her furtive behavior, quietly followed.

She had sat in the deputy general manager’s seat for five years. With the general manager gone, she should have been promoted. Who would have guessed that Pei Susu, parachuting into the role, would be so flawless—Luo Yuan had watched for days without finding a single mistake.

A few days ago, she noticed Pei Susu mysteriously vanishing from her office. Now, finally, she had caught a clue!

On the top floor, in the president’s office, Fu Zhichen saw Pei Susu enter and immediately set aside his documents. His eyes sparkled as he opened his arms. "Sister, hug me."

Pei Susu brushed his hands aside. "We’re in the office. Be good. You can have your hug when we get home."

Fu Zhichen pursed his lips, aggrieved, "I haven’t seen you for five hours, thirty minutes, and fifty seconds."

Pei Susu’s heart softened. She quickly kissed him at the corner of his lips. "I’ll make it up to you later."

Fu Zhichen pressed his advantage, unceremoniously slipping a key into Pei Susu’s hand. "Sister, move in with me. It’s the key to the villa you used to keep me in."

Good heavens, she thought. That was not something to mention. Pei Susu recalled her infamous history of ‘keeping’ the richest man in the capital, feeling thoroughly exasperated.

"Why didn’t you tell me you were Fu Group’s president back then?"

Fu Zhichen opened the lunchbox and set out chopsticks. "Sister, let’s eat."

Boiled shrimp, fragrant ribs, three-flavor fish maw soup, steamed fortune fish, ginkgo with lily buds—all specialties from a six-star restaurant.

Pei Susu gave him a sidelong glance, feigning annoyance. "Trying to change the subject? By the way, isn’t Zhuoguang Restaurant reservation-only? They don’t do delivery."

Fu Zhichen tilted his head, puzzled. "They do deliver. I called to order, and the manager said yes. It arrived in just ten minutes."

He spoke as he peeled a shrimp and held it to Pei Susu’s lips. "Sister, try it."

Ah, the evils of capitalism. When she called, the manager had clearly said the pricier dishes weren’t available for delivery. Pei Susu bit into the shrimp—so tender and fresh.

Luo Yuan, trailing behind, witnessed the entire interaction, so startled she bumped a vase on the bookshelf.

"Clink." The vase wobbled twice.

Frightened, Luo Yuan fled, still shaken when she returned to her office.

Pei Susu was Fu Zhichen’s lover—no wonder she, just a general manager from a small city-level enterprise, could ascend to the top of Fu Group in the capital. She had gotten there by pulling strings!

"Is someone there?!" Pei Susu instantly pulled away from Fu Zhichen, frowning as she looked in the direction of the sound, but found no one near the vase.

Fu Zhichen’s gaze swept the area, his eyes dark and inscrutable. He patted Pei Susu’s hand in reassurance.

"Sister, I’ll handle it. There’s a camera at the elevator entrance. I’ll have Assistant Liu check. It won’t affect you."

Pei Susu hesitated. "Let’s avoid meeting too often at work unless it’s business. Too many eyes; it’s bound to be seen."

Fu Zhichen silently etched the spy’s identity in his mind. He looked up at her stubbornly, pressing his lips to her palm.

"Sister, won’t you trust me? If I can handle this without our relationship being exposed in the company, you’ll come have lunch with me every day and we’ll commute together."

Pei Susu’s eyes lingered on his cool, composed face, her heart stirring unexpectedly. "Mm, I miss you too."

Since their breakup, whenever she had a free moment, her mind would drift to his steadfast, passionate face.

Luo Yuan brooded in her office for a long time, unable to swallow her resentment.

Why should Pei Susu’s pillow talk with Fu Zhichen so easily strip away her five years of hard work at Fu Group?

As she pondered, she remembered the feud between Liang Wenru and Pei Susu. She flipped through the bidding documents, found Xingye’s, and dialed Liang Wenru.

"President Liang, how about we make a deal?"