Ye Jiaping couldn’t help but say, “Seriously? How could you possibly finish reading all that?”

Shang Xinglu replied, “Normally, you can’t, so I pulled an all-nighter…”

Looking at the red veins in her eyes and the dark circles under them, she no longer carried the polished appearance she had when she first came.

Ye Jiaping suddenly wanted to warn her that too many sleepless nights could lead to sudden death. “Young lady, you should take it easy.”

But instead, what came out of his mouth was: “If you rush through it like this, you’ll just forget it all.”

Shang Xinglu said, “I should remember most of it. After all, I’m not a professional researcher—I just need to understand what you all are doing. I don’t need to know too much.”

To be fair, that actually made sense.

Then Shang Xinglu added, “How about you test me? Treat it like a ‘graduation exam.’”

Ye Jiaping pressed his lips together.

Normally, he wouldn’t entertain something as childish as a pop quiz.

But considering the time constraint, he was actually curious to see if she had really absorbed any of the information.

So he asked, “Tripeptide?”

Shang Xinglu answered, “Antioxidant, anti-glycation, promotes type III collagen growth.”

Ye Jiaping: “Benzophenone derivatives?”

Shang Xinglu: “Chemical sunscreen ingredient, filters UVB and part of UVA.”

Ye Jiaping asked a few more questions, and Shang Xinglu answered them all correctly.

Many people talk about learning and understanding something, but few actually follow through.

Most just buy books, read a few pages, and then let them collect dust.

Ye Jiaping understood this all too well, and now, he looked at Shang Xinglu with newfound respect.

After a brief conversation with her, Ye Jiaping became even more certain of his decision.

He and Yin Yao then discussed things further in a small meeting room.

When they came out, Yin Yao flashed an “OK” gesture at Shang Xinglu.

Shortly after, Yin Yao and Shang Xinglu, along with their team, began intensive preparations for the upcoming auction.

According to BiChen, several companies were interested in acquiring them.

Although the company’s founder, Mr. Chen, had personally called to say he favored their team, business was business.

Even if they could outbid Yizhuang by just one dollar, it would be enough.

The BiChen auction was set to take place in a week.

Pricing would be crucial.

Too high, and it wouldn’t be worth it.

Too low, and they wouldn’t be able to outbid the competition.

Throughout the week, the acquisition team held numerous discussions on this issue.

Of course, the final decision rested with Yin Yao and Shang Xinglu.

And so, a week later, Shang Xinglu and Yin Yao arrived in City A once again.

This time, they weren’t alone—they had brought a team of professionals.

In reality, the process was simple.

They would just write down a number and submit it. That was it.

Yet the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

When Shang Xinglu sent Yin Yao in, it felt like she was escorting a student to their college entrance exam.

She turned to Yin Yao’s assistant, Xiao Xia, and joked, “Should I have worn a red cheongsam? I heard people wear red to send off students to their exams as a sign of good luck.”

Though Shang Xinglu had only recently joined the team, she had already gotten familiar with several members.

She arrived with the aura of a “wealthy investor,” but within days, her naturally goofy personality had completely dismantled that image.

Xiao Xia laughed. “If that really worked, wouldn’t everyone get into Peking University and Tsinghua?”

Shang Xinglu grinned. “It’s just for good luck. You know, ‘do your best and leave the rest to fate’?”

At that moment, Xu Hao, the lawyer they had hired, chimed in. “That’s called superstition.”

Shang Xinglu: “…It’s metaphysics! This is metaphysics!”

Everyone burst into laughter at Shang Xinglu’s “metaphysical” reasoning.

But in truth, Shang Xinglu was actually quite nervous.

Even though she wasn’t the one going inside…

Even though, if they didn’t acquire BiChen, the project could still move forward…

BiChen already had a fully developed production line and held several patents. Securing it would be the best option.

Most importantly, she and Yin Yao were determined to win.

Failure simply wasn’t an option.

Though everyone joked around, they were still relatively new acquaintances, so no one took it too far.

Xiao Xia, who had worked with Yin Yao for a long time and was highly observant, noticed that Shang Xinglu was genuinely anxious. She walked over to offer some comfort.

“Don’t worry. Miss Yin has always been very lucky.”

Shang Xinglu responded absentmindedly.

Xiao Xia added, “Besides, we bid so high that only Yizhuang could possibly compete with us.”

Shang Xinglu muttered, “Yeah… and that’s exactly what worries me.”

Xiao Xia reassured her, “Didn’t you pick a lucky number? With such a lucky figure, there’s no way we’ll lose.”

…Wait. How did she know I picked a lucky number?

At that moment, Shang Xinglu’s smile suddenly faded.

Xiao Xia quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shang Xinglu clutched her stomach and put on a distressed expression. “I—I have a stomachache. Xiao Xia, I need to go to the restroom first!”

With that, she bolted away.

Xu Hao watched her back and couldn’t help but say, “This is the first time I’ve seen someone so nervous that they get an upset stomach. If she actually goes in, wouldn’t we need to call an ambulance?”

Shang Xingluo rushed towards the restroom… and then ran past it, heading straight for the conference room.

At this moment, Yin Yao was about to enter the venue.

Shang Xingluo hurried over and pulled Yin Yao aside.

Manager Wang raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh? At a time like this, you still have secrets to share? Women are so troublesome.”

Shang Xingluo replied, “I got her a protective talisman. What do you know?”

Manager Wang scoffed in disdain.

Of course, Shang Xingluo hadn’t really gotten a talisman.

She was just good at making things up and wasn’t actually superstitious.

Besides, she had been so busy this past week that she barely had time to see Lin Heng.

Their schedules never aligned—either one was working, or the other was. There was no way she had time to visit a temple.

Yin Yao, being in the same situation, naturally understood.

Shang Xingluo leaned in and whispered something to Yin Yao. Yin Yao raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Shang Xingluo whispered a few more words, and Yin Yao’s expression turned serious.

She simply said, “Got it.”

The two exchanged a look.

Yin Yao remained composed and graceful as she entered the meeting room.

About fifteen minutes later, the bidders exited the room.

Manager Wang looked pleased and said, “Hey, you two young ladies put in a lot of effort for this trip. If you don’t mind, let me treat you to a meal?”

Yin Yao smiled slightly. “No need for that. But since you look so confident, now that the bidding is over, why don’t you share the price you just wrote down?”

Manager Wang couldn’t hide his smugness as he announced a figure—precisely calculated down to the last digit, despite being a billion-dollar acquisition deal.

He chuckled. “Isn’t this number lucky? I thought someone else might use it, so I added one more dollar just in case.”

His bid was exactly one dollar more than Yin Yao’s team’s original price.

It was a move designed purely to irritate them.

No matter how you looked at it, Wang and Yin Yao had always been at odds. Now that they were in the same industry, the competition made things even worse.

He was eager to see Yin Yao’s poised expression crack into panic. The thought filled him with twisted satisfaction.

But… that moment never came.

Yin Yao remained calm. In fact, she extended her hand and said, “Well, I suppose I narrowly won this round.”

Manager Wang’s face stiffened. “You bid higher than Yi Zhuang?”

Yin Yao nodded. “Yes.”

Manager Wang’s expression darkened. “By how much?”

Still calm, Yin Yao answered, “Not much—just one dollar more than you.”

Manager Wang: “!!!”

A realization hit him—right before the bidding, Shang Xingluo had rushed over.

Furious, he accused, “You—you must have sent someone to spy on our bid! This is unfair! You two are despicable! I demand a re-bid!”

Yin Yao smirked coldly. “Who’s really being despicable here? You know the answer yourself.”

She turned her icy gaze to Xiao Xia.

Xiao Xia’s face turned deathly pale, and she quickly looked away.

For once, Shang Xingluo played the role of peacemaker.

“Manager Wang, don’t be mad. You know, some of us are just a little more… superstitious. It’s pure luck we beat you by one dollar! Maybe you should visit the temple I went to—who knows, maybe next time, you’ll have divine foresight too!”

Her words almost made Manager Wang choke on his rage.

He stormed off to demand a re-bid from Bi Chen’s manager.

However, Mr. Chen sternly rejected his request.

“Miss Yin and her team plan to keep Bi Chen’s brand intact, which I already preferred. Plus, they also submitted the highest bid. The results are fair.”

Manager Wang’s face twitched with suppressed fury, but Mr. Chen was firm in seeing him out. He had no choice but to leave, albeit begrudgingly.

Before leaving, he shot Yin Yao and Shang Xingluo a venomous glare.

Yin Yao, unfazed, turned to Xiao Xia. “We need to talk when we get back.”

—

That evening, Yin Yao sat alone in her dim office, the lights off, feeling disappointed.

Xiao Xia had worked with her for years—someone she had completely trusted. Yet, over trivial matters and some money, she had turned against her so easily.

Shang Xingluo entered and said, “Winning Bi Chen is a big deal! I booked a restaurant. Let’s go eat!”

Yin Yao turned her chair around. “Louise, how did you figure it out?”

Shang Xingluo shrugged. “Didn’t I pick a ‘lucky’ number? It was never mentioned in any meetings, and only you and I knew our final bid. But Xiao Xia somehow knew I had picked a ‘lucky’ number. Sure, she could’ve guessed based on my personality, but I didn’t trust her enough to take that risk. That’s why I came to you.”

“And told me to increase by two dollars?”

“To be precise, if Yi Zhuang’s bid was XX, ours would be XX + 1. If they didn’t use it, we’d go with XY instead.” Shang Xingluo grinned. “Turns out, Manager Wang is as petty as I thought. One dollar? Seriously, who was he trying to mess with? In the end, it backfired spectacularly! If that didn’t drive him crazy, I’d change my last name to Wang!”

Yin Yao couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing Manager Wang’s reaction had been priceless.

It’s easy for a fly to be annoying, but making the fly feel disgusted instead? Now, that was rare.

She said, “Alright, let’s go eat. Open a good bottle.”

Shang Xingluo, who hadn’t had a proper meal or drink in ages, immediately perked up.

They chose a cozy French restaurant and ordered a nice bottle of Riesling to pair with their meal.

Midway through dinner, Shang Xingluo excused herself to the restroom. On her way back, she noticed a wet floor where a waiter was cleaning up a spill. She took a detour.

A few steps in, she suddenly ducked behind a pillar.

Peeking out cautiously, she confirmed what she saw.

At a table behind some greenery sat President Lin… with a young woman.

A very beautiful one.

Shang Xingluo: “……”

Was it the white wine? Why did her mouth suddenly taste so sour?