Chapter 18: Negotiation

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Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated

Qin Chu held a black ink pen in his hand, spinning it casually without saying a word...

The twenty or so executives in the room were equally silent, holding their breaths in fear of interrupting his thoughts. The atmosphere seemed to be a little tense.

After a moment, Qin Chu opened his mouth and said, "That case? I've already rejected it."

"Huh? Rejected it? Why would you do that, President Qin? It took our department three months to draft a proposal after spending the last year working out the budget and business metrics. It'll profit for sure, and has already been approved by the Chairman."

When Qin Chu heard those words, he raised his head and unconcernedly looked at the director of Land Development before saying, "GK is in my hands now and I don't need to justify my decisions. If you cannot accept it, simply hand in your letter of resignation."

As the last words exited his mouth, he flung the pen onto the table, terrifying and silencing everyone.

He proceeded to walk out of the conference room...

He knew that the Greenfield Manor project would be profitable, but he also knew that if they were to go through with it, 2nd High School would be forced to relocate. Nobody knew how important 2nd High School meant to him, just as nobody knew how much he loved the girl named Huo Mian.

Inside the president's office-

"President Qin, there was a call for you. I picked up but she did not say who she was."

Yang, his secretary, cautiously handed the cell phone over...

The moment Qin Chu saw the caller ID, warmth rushed into his cold eyes.

He called back immediately...

"Mian, you were looking for me?"

"Qin Chu, let's talk." On the other side of the phone, Huo Mian had calmed down from her enraged state.

"Sure, I'll pick you up. Where are you?"

"You don't need to do that. Meet me at Cafe en Seine on Half-Mountain Road."

"Alright, I'll head over right now."

Hanging up, Qin Chu's lips perched up into a smile. He was a completely different person than he was in the meeting room.

Yang's jaw almost dropped from surprise...

The new president had been employed for a week already, but Yang had never seen him smile at anyone, not even the chairman.

But this call made his boss smile, oh gosh...

It seemed like the caller was an important person to the president, and the secretary made a mental note to pay attention to that number next time.

Qin Chu drove his Audi R8 to their rendezvous spot, arriving in less than fifteen minutes. Huo Mian was already waiting inside.

From afar, he saw her sitting by the window.

He could only see the side of her face, but the sight of her had already given him butterflies in his stomach nonetheless.

For the past seven years, she was constantly on his mind, and the thought of her almost drove him to insanity...

He suppressed the urges in his heart and slowly walked in...

Huo Mian was dressed simply. Before meeting Qin Chu, she returned to her apartment to change.

She was wearing plain white pants and a yellow tee; the look was simple but poised.

Huo Mian was also too lazy for makeup unless it was for special occasions. She felt that rubbing chemicals on her face made it sticky, and since it didn't seem to have anti-aging effects, she'd rather not go through all that trouble.

Qin Chu strode over and sat down in front of her...

Huo Mian's thoughts snapped back to reality and she calmly said, "What do you want to drink?"

"I'll have whatever you are having," he answered.

"But I'm drinking water."

"Then I'll drink water too," he insisted.

Huo Mian felt helpless as she waved the waiter over, and said, "Excuse me, can he get a cup of water?"

Turning back around, she glared at the face in front of her, ever so familiar yet distant, before slowly opening her mouth.

"Qin Chu."

"Mhm."

"Let's talk."

"Sure."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want us to go back to what we were before," Qin Chu blurted out without a second thought.

"Ha, that's impossible, Qin Chu. Things are different now. Everything is different." Huo Mian smiled bitterly.

"I'm sorry about your stepfather, I only found out recently."

Surprisingly, Qin Chu apologized with an extremely sincere attitude.

Having known Qin Chu for so long, she knew how prideful he was. Willingly admitting his faults was a herculean task for Qin Chu.

"The dead can't come back to life, what can an apology do?"

"I can make it up to you," Qin Chu added.

Huo Mian sneered, "Make it up to me? With what, your life? Or your money? Did you know that my mom got hypertension yesterday after you went to find her, and she ended up in the hospital? We've already had one death in the family, what else do you want? Do you want me to die too? Then you will be happy, right?"