Chapter 097: Secret Conversation
While chatting, the group arrived at the guest rooms.
There are only eight rooms in the resort, distributed on either side of a corridor. The rooms in the west, faced the courtyard, the rooms in the east, faced the mountains. The east facing rooms all had private hot spring bath attached to their rooms.
Si Ze and Qi Yu, as the ones who had the highest status, were naturally allocated the two best rooms with the view of the mountains. The two rooms were next to each other. Song Puxin and Fu Yansheng, as their personal assistants, were given rooms beside theirs.
In the accommodations area, the floor heating was turned on. After entering the room, Qi Yu took off his suit jacket and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows to take a moment and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
After a while, there came a knock on his door. It was Fu Yansheng and Ye Qinru. The two entered, closing the door behind them. Ye Qinru said to Qi Yu, “President Yu is inviting us to have tea in the tea room. It’s probably going to be followed by the second round of negotiations. What are your thoughts on the matter, Chief Qi?”
Qi Yu asked them both in reply, “What do you think?”
Ye Qinru: “Their initial round offer is definitely too high. What we want is absolute control of Blooming Lotus. 53% of the shares is definitely not enough. Neither of them can afford it, let alone Ark Investment.”
Ark Investment was the third largest shareholder controlling Blooming Lotus, holding about 20% of the shares. Before Blooming Lotus went public, they already began to interfere in the company’s direction. They were also the main cause of the current conflict among the company’s decision-makers.
Ye Qinru said, “During the coming negotiation, I will lower the valuation a bit in order to get them to lower their mental estimate.”
Qi Yu: “They won’t get angry? After Si Ze said that just now, the expressions on the faces of Blooming Lotus’ people didn’t look that good.”
Ye Qinru: “Chief Si’s status is special. It’s fine for him to play the role of ‘bad cop’. This is also a type of negotiating strategy.”
Qi Yu turned once again to Fu Yansheng and Fu Yansheng said, “I have no opinion. Since we’ve already reached an agreement on the valuation beforehand, let’s now try to negotiate according to this price.”
Ye Qin nodded and said, “That’s fine. I’ll continue to act as Chief Qi’s spokesperson and wear them down a bit.”
After they exchanged opinions, they went out to head to the tea room. Huang Junwen and another manager under Si Ze were already waiting at the end of the corridor, but Si Ze and Song Puxin were nowhere to be seen.
Qi Yu asked, “Where’s Si Ze?”
Huang Junwen smiled. “He and Assistant Song have some personal matters to deal with.”
Ye Qinru didn’t seem bothered by it. “Then let’s proceed.”
When they got to the tea room, they saw that Yu Lian also brought three people with her and they were already waiting inside. Everyone took their seats. Yu Lian explained that Yan Xiu had the habit of taking an afternoon nap after lunch and she would not be meeting with them again until dinner.
After tea was served, everyone went straight to the matter at hand.
Ye Qinru revealed Si Yuan’s base price, quoting only 125 million, cutting in half the 250 million. Yu Lian frowned and shook her head, saying that it was too low and unacceptable.
The beauty’s brows were tightly knit, looking very much aggrieved. Such a look should have elicited pity, but Ye Qinru remained completely unmoved. “President Yu, I’m not deliberately undervaluing your shares. We’ve met twice before and I admire you very much. But the valuation of your company is really not that high. If you have any doubts, I can analyze with you one by one how we priced Blooming Lotus.”
Yu Lian’s confidence obviously began to wane after hearing this. After all, they were only a small listed company. They weren’t on the same level as the Si Yuan Group when it came to the amount of assets. From the get go, they were already at a disadvantage in this negotiation.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
She said, “The fact is, I can’t make the decision alone. I will discuss it with Yan Xiu and the people in the company when I go back.”
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After a couple hours of drinking tea, they dispersed. Those who wanted to stroll around the premises, went for a stroll. Those who wanted to rest, went to rest. Those who were interested could follow the farmers of the manor to dig winter bamboo shoots in the back mountain.
After the round of negotiation just now, everyone was full of confidence that they would be able to win Blooming Lotus within their expected price. Hearing that they could dig up bamboo shoots in the back mountain, many found it quite interesting and decided to go up there and have some fun.
Qi Yu felt a little tired so he decided not to participate. Instead, he returned to the room with Fu Yansheng.
Once inside the room, Qi Yu recalled Ye Qinru’s performance just now and said with a smile, “This Ye Qinru is really ruthless in cutting down the price. He certainly showed no pity for the lady.”
Fu Yansheng: “After all, this is the first battle he has fought for you since he coming over to Si Yuan. Why wouldn’t he give it his all?”
Qi Yu looked at Fu Yansheng and said, finding it strange, “And then there’s you. Why are you suddenly acting like a closed gourd today?”
Regarding Blooming Lotus’s matter, Fu Yansheng has simply followed behind. Qi Yu originally thought that he would once again be able to see Fu Yansheng’s graceful bearing at the negotiating table today. But whether it was at lunch or during the tea just now, the other party didn’t interrupt at all.
Fu Yansheng explained, “Ye Qinru is the protagonist of the acquisition of Blooming Lotus and I’m just your business consultant. If I talk too much, wouldn’t I seem to be snatching away the spotlight?”
Qi Yu was surprised. He thought to himself, ‘so that’s how it is’.
It was hot in the room. Qi Yu loosened his tie a little and walked to the patio, opening the glass door. A burst of cool air came in, making them feel a lot more comfortable.
The hot spring bath was built on the patio outside the room. It is made of stone and surrounded by grassy patching, giving it a simple and primitive style.
However, it was already the tail end of December. The temperature up on the mountain was quite low and the bath was still empty of water. Qi Yu was a little curious about how one was to soak in this hot spring bath. Just as he was about to go out to have a look, he suddenly he heard a strange noise coming from next door.
He paused and listened intently. Although there was a wall between the patios, it didn’t extend overhead. — faint moans, a man’s gasps mixed with a regular rhythmic pounding sound, penetrated into Qi Yu’s ears. His face immediately flushed and he automatically took a small step back.
He who had already experienced being in a romantic relationship could of course recognize what kind of sounds these were, but thinking of who was next door, Qi Yu raised his hand to cover his mouth in disbelief.
He wondered, a little confused, were Si Ze and Song Puxin also lovers?
But it was the middle of the day. Did Si Ze refuse to participate in serious business to do this kind of thing with his assistant? Wasn’t that a bit inappropriate?
……
What’s wrong? Fu Yansheng came from behind him.
Qi Yu hurried back, closing the glass door to keep those sounds out.
“It’s nothing…” He turned around and said, “Let’s go out for a walk?”
“Didn’t you say you’re tired? Aren’t you going to rest for a while?” Fu Yansheng said.
“If I rest now, I might not be able to sleep tonight. I’ll just hold on.” Qi Yu said.
Fu Yansheng did not refute. The walls of the corridors of the manor were covered with various ink paintings of landscapes and plants. Every corner was decorated with exquisite works of art. Truly worthy of marvel.
The two walked around the manor’s premises, enjoying the scenery and chatting. They then found themselves at the back of the manor when they happned to run across Huang Junwen and Ye Qinru along with the others, coming back from looking for bamboo shoots. A few people look round in a circle, looking at the winter bamboo shoots they’d dug out. Based on the tenderness of the shoots, the farmer recommended they be used in a few suitable dishes. The shoots were then sent directly to the back kitchen.
Si Ze came to dinner, but Song Puxin didn’t show up. No one around Si Ze showed any concern for the whereabouts of a personal assistant.
Seeing Si Ze full of vitality, the sound of that suppressed and forbearing voice rang in Qi Yu’s mind once again – it was obviously not from Si Ze.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Assistant Song?”
Si Ze said, “He’s not feeling well, so he won’t be coming to dinner.”
Ye Qinru was also surprised when he heard this. “Is Assistant Song in poor health? Last time we went to Yancheng for business together, he seemed to have stayed at the hotel the entire time.”
Qi Yu: “You went to Yancheng?”
Ye Qinru: “Last month, Chief Si and I went to Yancheng to meet Su Jing.”
Si Ze smiled and said, “He wouldn’t be able to eat much even if he came so don’t worry about him.”
Yan Xiu too wasn’t there for dinner that night. Over dinner, Yu Lian explained, seemingly embarrassed, that Yan Xiu was not feeling well and could not be there to accompany them.
During tea in the afternoon, Yu Lian said that she would discuss the price with Yan Xiu again. Yan Xiu’s absence at dinner that night made people wonder if there had been an internal disagreement between them.
Sure enough, at the dinner table in the evening, Yu Lian never mentioned about the price again, chatting with them only about inconsequential topics.
After dinner, someone set up a game of cards. Si Ze very much in the mood to play and asked Qi Yu if he wanted to join. Qi Yu wasn’t interested but Fu Yansheng was pulled in by Huang Junwen and had to stay behind.
Qi Yu went back to the room by himself. He saw a waiter standing in front of Si Ze’s room with a tray in one hand and a room card in the other. He seemed a little hesitant.
He asked, “What are you here for?”
The waiter hurriedly explained, “Chief Si asked the kitchen to make porridge with shredded bamboo shoots and lean meat. He ordered it to be sent to this room but no one seems to be inside.”
Qi Yu frowned and pointed to the room next door. “Try knocking on that one.”
They were all one party so the waiter believed what he said. Putting away the key card, he knocked on the door of the next room. After a while, the door opened.
The waiter repeated what he had just said. Qi Yu was standing in a spot where the person behind the door couldn’t see him. After a few seconds, he only heard a weak voice ring out, saying “thank you” to the waiter.
Qi Yu breathed a sigh of relief and quietly walked into his room. His phone buzzed in his trousers pocket. He took it out and saw that Fu Yansheng had just sent him a message.
F1S: “Take a dip in the hot spring and rest early. I’ll go back directly to my room after playing cards with them so no need to wait up for me.”
Qi Yu replied, “Okay.” Just now, he told the waiter at the dinner table that he wanted to take a bath in the hot spring. The attendant had already come over to fill the bath with water. The patio was filled with steam and mist.
But he didn’t know if it was because he’d heard their voices as Si Ze and Song Puxin doing it that afternoon but as Qi Yu sat in the bath, his mind was filled with things he shouldn’t think about. Instead of relaxing, he managed to get himself horny instead…
Qi Yu shook her head and scolded himself for “losing his head over lust”. He quickly got rid of distracting thoughts and willed himself to calm down.
After soaking in the hot spring for 20 minutes, Qi Yu was completely relaxed. He wiped his body dry and after laying down in bed, he quickly fell asleep. However, because of jet lag, he suddenly woke up in the middle of the night.
Looking at the time, it was only one o’clock in the morning. Qi Yu couldn’t fall back asleep. He vaguely remembered that there was a reading area at the entrance of the corridor. He wanted to find a couple of books to read, so he put on his dressing gown and got up. Unexpectedly, as soon as he got through the door, he heard a conversation coming from the end of the corridor.
…How long have you been like this with him?
Qi Yu was stunned, almost thinking that he heard wrong. That was Fu Yansheng’s voice.
“A year and a half already…”
This was… Song Puxin?
“He forced you?” Fu Yansheng asked.
After a few seconds, there was an almost inaudible “en”.
Qi Yu frowned. What were they talking about?
“You applied for a transfer of your post for personal reasons before. Is this the reason?”
…
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Fu Yansheng’s voice was obviously a little anxious, “You can tell the higher-ups that you’ve been threatened… This is already beyond your scope of work and you don’t need to do this at all.”
“He took pictures…”
There was another moment of silence, and Fu Yansheng said gravely, “I will talk to Old Ren about this matter. Your situation right now is so wrong…”
“There’s no need for that anymore…” Song Puxin’s voice paused. It sounded exhausted and weak, “He has already changed a lot and it will be over soon anyway, so just let it go.”
————
【Little Theater】
During the daytime, I heard Si Ze and Song Puxin doing the deed.
Qi Yu: …
At nightime, I heard Fu Yansheng and Song Puxin having a secret conversation.
Qi Yu: …
Qi Yu: I’ve learned so much today!
No Si Ze you absolute asshole! Not OK 😡
Wtf that’s terrible! I hope they don’t end up together if he isn’t covering his relationship up 😭😭😭😤😤
That’s so sad 😞
😦 what the heck!
Si Ze.. such a jerk! 🙁 I feel so bad for Song Puxin…
Also, YS..you gotta be careful or you’re gonna blow your cover, and Qi Yu wouldn’t let you off easy then!
Qi Yu is discovering his secret talent in eavesdropping on ‘secret’ knowledge this chapter! One of these days, I hope someone comes in and chops Si Ze’s third leg off for me!! 🤬🤬 ARGH Poor Ah Xin, he should really be transferred soon!! He deserves so much better!
Damn damn damn
i knew it! si ze looks shady af 😡 i hope spx will be alright 🥺
i knew it sigh
To think that i thought they were going to be a cute side couple 😔 si ze is so… gross
thanks for the chapter!
I thought so… Liek the way That Si Zi doesn’t allow song Xin to be involved much give the toxic trait of his away…but forcing someone into sexual relationship is a Big NO! I hope he rot in hell
fvck, i knew it!!!!! ever since song puxin was introduced, i already have a vague, unpleasant feeling of the possible situation, and each time it was mentioned the he was getting thinner, i’m getting more and more uncomfortable because i only have one thing in my mind, ‘ he was forced!”
I knew it. There was no way Si Ze would be a good guy after all of this set up🙄
The apple doesn’t fall too far for this Si family; it’s only the cover that’s different. At least Si Hang doesn’t hide it.
I had a hint about their relationship but who knew it was actually forced. Maybe we should have know, I mean since that kidnapping attempt in which QY had to be hospitalized and SPX visited him, all the melancholic aura talked about by the author…tsk tsk.
No no no n o~ I don’t want that Si Ze to improve nor xiao Song to give in.. I don’t accept this side CP.. Xiao Song is too precious wuwuwuwu.. This stinking Si family.. Grrr
I guessed that Song Puxin was being forced into this sort of relationship with Si Ze, I up Si Ze gets what he serves. He is trash, so many flags against this garbage is popping up
Song Puxin…my heart goes out to him. He had a very heavy price to pay for just doing his job. He could have never thought something like this would happen to him.
But also…Oh no oh no…Qi Yu is too smart. This is the loose thread, it’s all going to unravel now. I guess it’s better than finding it out suddenly.
i’m going to set si ze on fire i hate this guy