…

At the same time, in Guanhaiyuan Park.

Mu Yiran watched coldly as Yu Li kept introducing Li Zhenrong's businesses to her.

Her phone, which she was about to use to make a call, was taken away by the bodyguard behind her, who claimed that their boss valued privacy and that these private transactions should not be leaked.

Two men stood behind Mu Yiran.

One on the left and one on the right, ostensibly accompanying, but actually restraining.

“Now that there are no outsiders, let’s serve some main dishes! Come on!” Yu Li clapped his hands twice, and only then did Mu Yiran notice the few girls who had been crowding at the door without coming in.

Mu Yiran recognized them at a glance; they were all internet celebrities that Wen Qingyu had shown her.

Her expression remained indifferent until the woman at the very back of the line came out, at which point her wandering gaze suddenly fixed.

Mu Yiran stared at it for a long time, still somewhat incredulous, and said:

"Lin...Lin Zhi?"

This girl… isn’t she Shi Youxi’s high school classmate, Lin Zhi from the Lin family of the military and political faction?!

How could this be?!

Yu Li raised his hand and beckoned: "Come here! Jing Zhi!"

Jing Zhi, who was called, was wearing a fresh light pink suit dress and had a youthful, first-love style makeup. She glanced at Mu Yiran, as if trying to remember if she knew her, before Yu Li pressed her down to sit on the other side of Li Zhenrong.

The older Korean man also shifted his attention, scrutinizing Jing Zhi from head to toe. His wide cheekbones twitched, and Mu Yiran saw a hint of satisfaction, almost like that of someone eyeing a commodity, emanating from his eyes, which were narrower than sesame seeds.

Jing Zhi stood with her legs together, her body tense. "Director Yu, weren't we supposed to talk about the new drama? Why...?"

"Let's chat! Of course we'll chat! This is President Lee of HG Entertainment in H country. You know how many followers your Instagram gets in H country. And isn't that dance you do considered a H country dance? It doesn't matter where you develop your career, right?"

"So when President Li came to China, I immediately notified you. Who else could be as lucky as you? Huh? Have a good chat with President Li!"

Yu Li said a few more words to Li Zhenrong, and the Korean man chuckled, "Not bad." After saying that, he reached out and touched Jing Zhi.

Just this brief interval.

"Weren't we supposed to be discussing collaboration?"

"........"

A single, clearly uttered "h" made Li Zhenrong and Yu Li both look at Mu Yiran.

Mu Yiran didn't miss Yu Li's disheveled expression. She raised her hand to pour Li Zhenrong a glass of wine, and lightly tapped the wine glass with her ring finger, which was adorned with a plain bracelet, making two playful "tap-tap" sounds.

Mu Yiran sneered:

"Let's talk then."

"What is our collaborative project?"

Now that things have come to this, Mu Yiran finally understands.

Ai Ni hasn't shown up yet, deliberately sending others away, and everything seems off, which is enough to prove that this was a trap set up from the start, so meticulously planned that even Ai Ni was outmaneuvered.

There's no time to think about who the mastermind is; the most urgent thing is to get out of here as soon as possible!

Mu Yiran could wait, but there was no guarantee that these men with unclear intentions wouldn't do anything to others.

But if you want to get out...

Then we must make some eye-catching noise!

Knowing that she could speak H, Li Zhenrong was somewhat surprised, and his interest intensified, as he once again adopted the demeanor of a serious businessman.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll be frank. I’m used to ordering a few sets of jewelry as birthday gifts for my wife, priced at 1 billion RMB. We’ll provide the raw materials, but I want to buy out Saorsa’s exclusive custom-made pieces.”

"One billion?!" Ji Yunli covered her mouth in surprise. Although she couldn't understand H language, she could still understand the kimchi-sounding "one hundred million".

She was very excited. As far as she knew, Mu Yiran had only customized goods worth over a million for her clients so far. A billion? Just the labor costs alone would be enough to pay an average bonus of 60 months' worth of work per person, even if the studio didn't make a single order for a year!

Ji Yunli knew very well that this was a deal that would not lose her anything.

Mu Yiran, however, was not as excited as Ji Yunli. She simply said indifferently, "I need to see the raw stone first."

Li Zhenrong also tapped the glass twice, and someone next to him showed Mu Yiran the photo on their phone.

Ji Yunli, who was behind her, also saw it and recognized it at a glance, "Is it... tourmaline?!"

"Could it be Paraiba?!"

Paraiba, the Hermes of tourmalines, is a diamond so rare and highly sought after that it's practically priceless, let alone the highly saturated and perfectly formed Neon Blue shown in the picture.

The Paraiba stones of this extremely high purity are now extinct. The existing rough stones are either in private collections or national collections and are basically not available on the market. Studios like theirs, which have some reputation but few members, have even less opportunity to examine them.

“I know there’s a private auction in Italy this week, and Paraiba is on the list. President Li is really generous, spending a fortune for your wife.” Ji Yunli said excitedly, looking at the diamond in the video as if she were already holding it in her hands.

It's not hard to admit that she was envious at that moment.

Even professional jewelers and top celebrities who endorse high-end jewelry never have the opportunity to come into contact with it; it's just a small gift to please these wealthy businessmen.

The allure in her eyes amused Li Zhenrong. With a wave of his hand, someone else brought out two jewelry boxes and opened them in front of Mu Yiran.

"These are just small gifts, some trinkets I collected over the years. Please accept them, ladies."

Li Zhenrong chuckled and took a sip of his drink. He swirled his glass, then playfully touched the glass he'd just touched to Mu Yiran's with the other, his tone one of absolute certainty—

"Shall we celebrate our successful collaboration?"

Ji Yunli was surprised that Li Zhenrong would clink glasses with her. Her cheeks flushed, and she presented the glass to him with both hands.

"Cheers—"

"—"

But I didn't get a cheer.

Ji Yunli looked at Mu Yiran awkwardly, "...Aorsa?"

The woman rested her right forearm on the table, her long, slender, white index and ring fingers holding a jewelry box, easily separating two wine glasses that were about to clink together.

Sitting in the back, Jing Zhi clearly saw that Mu Yiran never even glanced at the diamond. The woman said with a cold smile:

"I'm sorry, I refuse to cooperate with you."

The single-eyelid man squinted: "What do you mean?"

Yu Li, who was feigning death on the sidelines, said: "...Aorsa? Do you know what you're saying?! This is such a rare opportunity—"

"It's such a waste that he's an assistant director, why don't you work with him?"

Mu Yiran shrugged and smiled in a cheeky yet alluring way: "We operate on an appointment-only basis and don't accept rush orders."

What's the rush?!

A billion dollars isn't enough to cut in line?!

Yu Li stood up angrily, "Don't be ungrateful! Do you know how many of your lousy studios ten billion yuan could buy!"

One billion!

Once the deal is finalized, Li Zhenrong will give him two percent!

Chen Jie is just too high-minded to see through these quick ways to make money. What benefits could he possibly gain from sucking up to Zhou Yuan and Li Bingcheng? If he doesn't make money, plenty of others will!

Director Chen finally lost his temper. "Yu Li! That's enough! Who are these people you invited! Get them out of here right now! Don't you know she's Zhou Yuan's person?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

Yu Li spat, "Chen Jie, if you want your art film to be shown in H country, you'd better be sensible! Do you think Zhou Yuan can get you Best Director?"

"you!"

Ji Yunli panicked, clutching her skirt helplessly. "Aorsa! Why did you refuse?! We can postpone the other orders—"

Li Zhenrong sat in his seat, leisurely swirling his red wine, watching the farce with amusement, then sighed regretfully:

"Leave? Miss Mu, I came with the utmost sincerity. I can't leave empty-handed. Ten billion, that's ten suitcases."

"Isn't this how people from your country treat guests?"

"Hospitality?" Mu Yiran stood up, her expression disdainful. She smiled, the small mole on her nose twitching playfully. "Since President Li is so eager to spend money..."

"Then I'll lend you a hand!"

Li Zhenrong paused, his hand holding the red wine froze, and his eyes widened in shock.

The wine glass that was just in his hand was suddenly slapped away!

The swirling red wine poured into the air and splashed heavily onto the stove on the table, where the burning alcohol blocks, glowing like the neon lights of Paraiba, jumped!

It exploded suddenly!

At the same moment, Jing Zhi, who had been sitting silently next to Li Zhenrong, quickly grabbed the gas gun hidden on the counter and flung it away!

It sprayed forcefully towards the burning fire!

The porcelain hot pot bowl couldn't withstand the sudden burst of heat and shattered, exploding into pieces! Smoke shot straight up!

The smoke alarm and the fire alarm went off almost simultaneously.

In the corridor, Ai Ni, who was about to kick open the door of the third private room, paused when she heard the fire alarm.

Candice led her to the side to avoid the crowd running out of the private room, and he was also stunned.

"This...fire alarm?"

As if realizing something, the two exchanged a silent glance, and then, without prior arrangement, rushed towards the only quiet private room at the end!