Yu Zi had never spent such an uncomfortable two hours. After leaving the cinema, Xie Dongcheng’s left arm was covered in scratches.

“Is this what you call exciting?” Yu Zi’s face was pale after leaving the theater.

“Isn’t it exciting?” Xie Dongcheng stood in the corridor of the cinema, speaking softly.

Yu Zi began to doubt what kind of person he was in Xie Dongcheng’s eyes to leave such an impression.

He turned to Xie Dongcheng and said firmly, “I’ll arrange our dates from now on.”

“Why?” Xie Dongcheng was puzzled.

“No reason!”

The next day, Yu Zi received a message that Paul had finished his industry summit and returned to the northern city.

Yu Zi took out Paul’s secretary’s business card, which had “Li Xu” and a phone number written on it. He hadn’t contacted this Secretary Li before. He just happened to get his business card at a cocktail party.

Yu Zi decided to directly call the number.

The phone rang a few times, but the call was quickly hung up.

Not giving up, he called again, but it was still hung up.

It was normal for executive secretaries not to answer calls from unknown numbers.

“He’s not picking up?” Xie Dongcheng saw the call rejected on Yu Zi’s phone screen.

“Yeah.” Yu Zi nodded.

“Let’s go directly then,” Xie Dongcheng suggested.

Yu Zi thought for a moment and nodded.

He had asked Sister Lin about the  Xuyang office where Paul was located before. Yu Zi quickly found the location on the map software and sent it to Xie Dongcheng’s phone.

It took more than half an hour during the morning rush hour for the black Toyota to arrive at the Xuyang office building. The building was located in a bustling area, but it was decorated very elegantly. There were two tall pillars at the entrance with the flamboyant words ” Xuyang” on them. Next to the lobby was a water feature, surrounded by green bamboo. This was very rare in the bustling commercial district of the northern city.

The former Yu family’s hotel also had such an office area, but Yu Qing’s taste was terrible. He had craftsmen make two ugly giant lions to put at the entrance. Every time Yu Zi passed by, he felt like his eyes were tainted.

The two entered the Xuyang office building. It was the morning rush hour, and many white-collar workers with their work badges were hurrying inside. The two were crowded along with the crowd.

Soon, Yu Zi followed the crowd to the front desk. He politely asked if Paul would be receiving guests today, but was told that without an appointment, they couldn’t enter the office area.

Yu Zi remained silent for a moment, then asked the front desk to make an exception and help him call Secretary Li.

The front desk saw his sincere attitude and reluctantly agreed, “Let me try.”

This time, the call went through, but the person on the other end hung up after hearing what the front desk said.

The front desk could only apologize and smile at him, “Maybe he’s busy.”

On a weekday morning, there were more meetings, so it was normal. Yu Zi patiently continued to wait at the front desk.

However, it wasn’t until the lunch break that Secretary Li’s phone still couldn’t be reached.

The front desk advised them, “Without an appointment, it’s really impossible to meet today. You two should go back.”

Yu Zi still didn’t want to leave. If they left today, they would have to come back tomorrow. It was better to wait here until dark.

Even if Paul didn’t give him any face, he should give some face to those two hotels.

The sun in the sky turned from east to west, and the sunlight changed from golden to deep orange. The sofa in the waiting area was heated by the sunset, and Yu Zi changed his position several times but still felt his back burning.

Just as he was about to change his position for the eighth time, Xie Dongcheng suddenly stood up and patted his back, “Someone’s here!”

Yu Zi raised his head abruptly and saw a familiar figure from the elevator.

“Secretary Li!” Yu Zi waved to him.

The man turned his head at the sound, his expression as if he had eaten a fly.

“What’s the matter?” Yu Zi was about to go forward, but Xie Dongcheng took a step ahead of him and greeted Secretary Li, “We called you this morning, but couldn’t get through. Is it convenient now?”

Xie Dongcheng was tall and imposing, blocking the way in front of him. Secretary Li swallowed a lump in his throat, a hint of impatience flashed across his face, but he endured it.

“Are you looking for Paul?”

“Yes.” Xie Dongcheng nodded, “Can you spare us ten minutes?”

Yu Zi quickly handed over his business card and added, “Mr. Paul knows me, you can tell him directly.”

Secretary Li took Yu Zi’s business card and glanced at it, “You’re Yu Zi?”

Yu Zi nodded, “Yes.”

“Wait for me for five minutes,” he said, leaving behind a sentence before walking back into the elevator lobby.

“Looks like there’s something going on,” Xie Dongcheng said, watching his figure and lightly tapping on Yu Zi’s hand.

After about half an hour, the secretary Li finally emerged from the elevator and waved to the two of them, “Come on in.”

Xie Dongcheng immediately followed. The two of them entered the elevator one after the other.

Security in the Xuyang office building was extremely strict. To reach the general manager’s office, one needed a key card with the appropriate permissions.

After Li swiped his own key card, he pressed the button for the 20th floor.

The elevator ascended smoothly, with Xie Dongcheng standing at the forefront.

“Cough,” Li cleared his throat.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Dongcheng turned to look at him.

“You’re blocking the display,” Li pointed to the small screen.

“Oh, sorry,” Xie Dongcheng stepped aside to give him a clear view.

Li breathed a sigh of relief and adjusted his tie with his hand.

Paul’s office was located at the furthest end of the 20th floor. The three of them walked for about five minutes before reaching a large, deep bronze door.

Li gently knocked on the door, and a voice from inside said, “Come in.”

He then pushed open the door and led Yu Zi and Xie Dongcheng inside.

With the setting sun shining through the glass wall, Paul’s office was bathed in orange light, casting a warm glow on the deep gray carpet.

“Why does Young Master Yu have time to come today?” Paul looked up at him without getting up.

“Mr. Yan,” Yu Zi addressed him for the first time, “I heard that Xuyang is looking for new investment projects in North City. I came today to discuss this with you.”

Paul put down the pen in his hand and asked softly, “What new project?”

“The winery in Bai Cheng,” Yu Zi said, taking out a bottle of wine from his bag and placing it gently on Paul’s desk. “This is a wine produced by a winery in Bai Cheng. Its taste is comparable to the top-grade products from France. I want to push it into a larger market.”

Paul didn’t even glance at the bottle of wine, still focused on his work. “Winery, there are plenty of them in the country. What’s so special about this one in Bai Cheng?”

Yu Zi patiently explained, “This wine is called Shandai. It is made from the Pinot Noir grapes produced in Bai Cheng. There are very few areas in the country that cultivate Pinot Noir, and they have achieved a very good taste. The positioning of this wine can be considered as a mid-to-high-end product, targeting urban elites. Instead of directly competing with foreign famous chateaux, we focus on the middle-class taste.”

Paul chuckled, “Young Master Yu, the wine industry is not as simple as you think. Do you think nobody has done it before? Foreign countries have mature industrial chains, and now the import prices are very competitive. What do you have to compete with them?”

“Bai Cheng’s industrial chain is not inferior to that of French wineries. I have visited the place in person. If you don’t mind, you can join me…”

“No need.” Paul interrupted directly, shaking his hand. “Young Master Yu, there are many businesses in this world that can be done.”

Yu Zi didn’t understand why he was so resistant to the winery industry. “The domestic industry support law has just been passed, and it is a good time to enter the market. If we miss this opportunity, it will become a saturated market. Moreover, Xuyang has always been looking for new investment opportunities, haven’t they?”

Paul continued to lower his head, opening his phone to reply to messages, and lightly said, “The hot money in the market is all going to the mobile internet. An application from others can bring in hundreds of millions of revenue in a year. Why should I invest in you?”

Yu Zi was undeterred and retorted, “The products of the mobile internet have a cycle. A mobile application can maintain its peak for only two to three years at most, and then there is the organizational redundancy brought by personnel expansion, and the market value declines. This kind of thing has been seen many times. But a good wine brand has sustained profitability. Once a brand is truly established, it can bring continuous growth for more than ten years. Moreover, Bai Cheng’s vineyards have many varieties, half of the foothills are wineries, and in the future, we can even produce beverage wines and enter a younger retail market…”

Paul suddenly glanced at him, then laughed, “Young Master Yu, you truly inherit your father’s confidence. The market of the domestic wine industry has never seen a significant expansion, indicating that development has reached a bottleneck.”

Yu Zi’s Adam’s apple rolled, “That’s because there hasn’t been a good product yet. Profits are being eroded by foreign capital.”

Paul lowered his head again, opened his phone to reply to messages, and lightly spat out three words: “Young and arrogant.”

Yu Zi took out a transparent folder from his bag, “I brought the complete business plan. If you have time, please take a look. Inside are the development plans of the Bai Cheng winery, different product positioning, and the promotion rhythm after listing. According to my estimation, the profit of the winery will double within three years. The document is not long, if you spend half an hour…”

“Put it there. I have other business to attend to.” Paul interrupted him again, waving his right hand to stop him, pointing to the desk.

Then, Yu Zi saw him turn his head and nod slightly to Li.

Li quickly understood his intentions and walked towards the two of them.

“Sorry, gentlemen, Mr. Paul has a senior executive meeting to attend shortly,” he said, then walked to the door of the office, pulled open the door handle, and extended his right hand outside, gesturing, “If there’s nothing urgent, I’ll escort you out.”

Yu Zi stood still. The entire office was extremely quiet, with only the rustling sound of Paul’s pen rubbing against the paper. The conversation ended, and Paul didn’t even stand up from the chair behind him.

The cold air blowing from the air conditioner swept over the backs of the two people, like the final eviction notice.

“Let’s go.” Yu Zi led Xie Dongcheng out of the office with a slow pace.

Secretary Li did not follow them out, but walked back behind Paul, arms folded, watching them leave.

The deep bronze door gradually closed. Only the cold wind remained outside, left behind with them.