Chapter 12

Zhou Sujin came back to the company directly after the blind date.

He instructed Uncle Yan, “You can use the car tonight. You drive.”

Back in his office, he hadn’t even opened his computer when he received a call from his aunt, who was questioning him.

Níng Rujiang had just returned from playing cards, and among the people she played with was the mother of Zhou Sujin’s blind date. It turned out that after Zhou Sujin had eaten hotpot, he rejected the girl completely, leaving no chance for fantasy.

She couldn’t understand why Zhou Sujin would accompany the girl for the hotpot but then reject her afterward.

Níng Rujiang mocked her nephew angrily, “Did you find out that the soup base and dipping sauce weren’t to your liking, so you decided you weren’t compatible?”

Zhou Sujin didn’t argue back, giving his aunt plenty of time to vent her frustration.

“Since you had already decided to reject her before going, why did you still accompany her for hotpot?” She was annoyed that her nephew had given the girl false hope, making her think he was interested in her.

Zhou Sujin replied, “I simply followed your instructions to show respect to the other party.”

Níng Rujiang almost couldn’t argue back. She couldn’t understand why Zhou Sujin would reject such an excellent and beautiful girl. She wondered what kind of girl her nephew wanted!

“Tell me, what kind of girl do you like? I have an idea in mind. Next time someone introduces you, if they don’t meet the criteria, I’ll have your mother reject them directly.”

Zhou Sujin replied, “If there’s a chance, I’ll bring her to see you.”

Níng Rujiang sensed something and asked three consecutive questions, “What do you mean? Do you already have a girlfriend? When did this happen?”

Zhou Sujin carefully considered how to respond to avoid raising his aunt’s suspicions.

“Forget it.” Níng Rujiang quickly calmed down, extinguishing her nephew’s little schemes in advance. “If you found a girlfriend just to deal with blind dates, don’t bring her to my house.”

“If I was just finding a girlfriend for blind dates, would I have gone on one today?”

Níng Rujiang had nothing to say for a moment.

Zhou Sujin didn’t say anything more; some things were better left unsaid.

“Alright, I’ll trust you this time, nephew. When will you bring her to see me?”

“It’s not time to meet the parents yet.”

Níng Rujiang had to admit that her nephew’s few words successfully piqued her curiosity.

Since her nephew didn’t want to disclose voluntarily, she had to press him for information.

“Auntie, I’m busy.”

Zhou Sujin wasn’t making excuses to hang up. He had spent several hours on the blind date, and there was still some work left unfinished.

He worked until 9:10 PM and then asked Uncle Yan, “What time is she likely to finish?”

Uncle Yan replied, “Miss Wei was just dropped off at the restaurant. The district manager she made an appointment with had an impromptu meeting tonight, and they just finished the meeting at headquarters ten minutes ago.”

Zhou Sujin pondered for a moment. “Come pick me up first.”

Uncle Yan arrived in less than twenty minutes, and Zhou Sujin left the company.

After getting into the car, he didn’t say where to go. Uncle Yan wasn’t sure and didn’t dare to make decisions on his own, so he asked for instructions, “Mr. Zhou, are we going to pick up Miss Wei?” It should be right to say it like this.

Zhou Sujin responded with a grunt.

Uncle Yan drove to the restaurant where Wei Lai was meeting someone. The parking spot they used before had been taken by someone else. Uncle Yan informed Wei Lai, “Miss Wei, the car is parked in the spot diagonally across from the restaurant. If you walk north for about fifty meters after leaving the restaurant, you’ll see it.”

He didn’t inform Wei Lai in advance that Zhou Sujin was also in the car.

Wei Lai had just met with Qi Línsheng, and they hadn’t gotten into the main topic of discussing cooperation yet.

Tonight, Qi Linsheng’s phone kept ringing one after another, all from the general distributors of Lemon Food. Unable to ignore the calls, her conversation with Qi Linsheng was constantly interrupted.

Qi Linsheng spoke into his phone, “Let’s discuss in detail tomorrow morning. I have someone here right now.”

She didn’t know what the other party said, but he hung up the phone.

Wei Lai learned that the district manager had been holding a third-quarter meeting at headquarters tonight, and there were adjustments to market policies, so general distributors from various places were calling to inquire about the specifics.

Afraid that their conversation would be interrupted again, Wei Lai handed him a report she had worked on overnight, along with relevant image explanations.

“Mr. Qi.”

Confused, Qi Linsheng glanced at Wei Lai and then took the phone.

The table showed the amount of snacks to be purchased by the supermarket for the next year, with a column at the end indicating the promotional fees that could be allocated to Lemon based on the actual sales of each snack. This wasn’t the focus; the important part was the last column, which showed the promotional fees for each snack based on actual sales. The promotional plans were also attached at the end, detailed and clear.

Except for promotional discounts and advertising fees, every supermarket branch prominently displays Lemon Food products for free in the most prominent locations, and two slots in the supermarket showcase advertisements are also provided free of charge to Lemon.

The statistical table has a total of two pages. He flipped through them, scanning the second page roughly from top to bottom.

As usual, Lemon manufacturers cover the promotional and advertising fees; the supermarket cannot bear these costs.

This is a gesture of cooperation from Wei Lai.

Qi Linsheng flipped back to the first page and looked at Wei Lai again. Initially, he wasn’t planning to meet and talk with her.

The first time he spoke with this woman, he couldn’t imagine what she looked like, nor did he care about her appearance. He only felt that she was neither humble nor pushy, balanced in her approach, articulate, and pleasant to talk to. That’s why he agreed to meet and discuss.

Seeing her in person tonight, her appearance was indeed outstanding, with a temperament that overshadowed her abilities.

He folded the statistical table and put it aside. “Forgive me for asking, what did you do before?”

Wei Lai: “Venture capital.”

Qi Linsheng: “No wonder.” Her approach was completely different from other purchasers.

Seizing the opportunity, Wei Lai continued, “I participated in several projects of Lemon Foods in Jiangcheng Development Zone.”

On the day of Zhang Yanxin and Mu Di’s engagement, Mu Di instructed the finance department to transfer the project bonus to her, which was from one of Lemon Foods’ projects.

Qi Linsheng picked up his water glass and took a few sips of warm water. She wouldn’t mention Lemon Foods’ projects for no reason. He could guess her intentions.

Wei Lai continued, “I heard that the new factory Lemon Foods built in our Jiangcheng Park two years ago is now in the trial production stage?”

Qi Linsheng nodded, “Yes, the new products will be launched by the end of the year.”

Wei Lai said, “The pre-launch promotion for this new product was particularly successful. It’s highly anticipated, and there’s a snack that everyone on the internet is waiting for. All our supermarket branches have cleared out a shelf specifically for the new product.”

Her flattery came naturally to her.

She picked up a tall glass to toast him. “Mr. Qi, don’t forget to prioritize our supermarket for orders when the time comes. We can all profit from it.”

Qi Linsheng smiled faintly, said nothing, and drank the toast.

The atmosphere at dinner finally eased slightly.

Until the meal was over, Wei Lai didn’t press him about whether they could deliver goods to their supermarket.

As they walked out of the restaurant towards the elevator, she chatted casually, “Mr. Qi, when will you be going to Jiangcheng? When you come, visit our supermarket to inspect the market. We expect all our existing stores to complete the new style renovation by the end of next year.”

Qi Linsheng’s response this time was not ambiguous. “I look forward to visiting the market.”

As they bid farewell to Qi Linsheng downstairs at the restaurant, he had colleagues coming to pick him up. Their destination was not on the way to her hotel, so she politely declined the ride.

“Miss Wei.” Uncle Yan wasn’t in the car; he had been waiting outside the restaurant. He extinguished the half-smoked cigarette and approached her. “I sent you a message, but you didn’t see it.”

Wei Lai apologized, “I had my phone on silent while we were talking, sorry for making you wait for so long.”

“No worries.”

Uncle Yan gestured towards the north. “The car’s over there.”

“Right.” He took a few steps and then turned back. “Mr. Zhou is also there.”

It was strange that when Uncle Yan waited for her, she felt embarrassed, but she didn’t have the same reaction to Zhou Sujin waiting for her. Even when she heard he was in the car, she couldn’t help but quicken her pace.

Opening the car door, she saw the familiar tall figure.

He didn’t turn to look when he heard the movement; he remained focused on his computer screen.

Wei Lai got into the car. “Thank you for coming to pick me up so late.”

Zhou Sujin: “It’s nothing, just being a good host. And I want to discuss some matters with you.”

He saved the file. “Is the cooperation settled?” He glanced at her.

Wei Lai: “It should be, no major issues.”

Uncle Yan started the car and drove Wei Lai back to her hotel.

Wei Lai was waiting to discuss the contract with him, but he continued to be busy with work, probably because Uncle Yan was in the front and it wasn’t convenient.

Zhou Sujin glanced at her. “If you have nothing to do, you can take a nap; there’s no need to feel embarrassed.”

Although Wei Lai had caught up on sleep during the day, it wasn’t very deep. She was in a half-dream state. If it were before, she would have been embarrassed to sleep in someone else’s car, but now that their relationship had changed, she had to adapt slowly.

So, without further politeness, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

Uncle Yan stopped the car at the hotel entrance, and Wei Lai was fast asleep.

Zhou Sujin called out, “Wei Lai.”

His voice wasn’t particularly loud, and Wei Lai didn’t react.

He called out again and lightly shook her shoulder.

Wei Lai, in a state between being awake and asleep, felt a hand on her shoulder, indicating someone was beside her. Reflexively, she leaned toward Zhou Sujin.

This reflex has been developed since childhood. After her parents divorced, whoever had time picked her up from school. Sometimes she would be doing homework in her mother’s office until 9 p.m., and the next day she might be at her father’s law firm until 10 p.m. Regardless of who picked her up, she always returned home late at night, often falling asleep in the car. When she did, her parents would hold her in their arms. It was as if she lacked a sense of security; even when she leaned against her parents, she would tightly grasp their clothes.

As she grew older, she would sleep with her head on her parents’ shoulders.

Later, during work and relationships, she would sometimes work late, and Zhang Yanxin would pick her up from work, and she would fall asleep on his shoulder. She also fell asleep leaning against Tang Yi’s shoulder on the airport shuttle bus late at night when returning from a business trip.

However, Zhou Sujin didn’t know about this habit of hers. By the time he realized she was leaning over, it was too late to stop her, and her head was already resting on his shoulder.

Following this was the fragrance of her hair, a refreshing scent with a hint of coolness.

In her subconscious, Wei Lai raised her hand to grab onto the person’s clothes beside her, searching for something to hold onto for security. Her hand reached his waist.

It was only at this moment that Zhou Sujin remembered the benefits of airline seats.

If they had installed airline seats in the back at the time, with a fixed armrest in the middle, she wouldn’t have been able to lean over.

Zhou Sujin’s voice was cold and deep, “Wei Lai!”

The chilly voice came from above, and Wei Lai was already almost awake. With a sudden start, she realized what she had done and quickly retreated to her side.

She glanced at the driver’s seat in a panic, but fortunately, Uncle Yan wasn’t in the car; she didn’t know when he had gotten out.

“Sorry, Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Sujin didn’t make a big deal out of it and changed the subject, “Two years from today, our relationship will automatically end.”

Wei Lai nodded. The contract had already encountered a hiccup on the first day. Now fully awake and without any drowsiness.

Zhou Sujin continued, “We don’t usually need to stay in touch. If there’s anything, call me. When you come to Beijing on business, you can look for me.”

Wei Lai voiced her previous concerns. She couldn’t leave Jiangcheng to develop over here in Beijing. “Long-distance relationships, we’re not familiar with each other. Pretending to be your girlfriend would be easily seen through by your family.”

Zhou Sujin replied, “It won’t. From now on, every one or two months, I’ll come to Jiangcheng to see you.”