Chapter 35 Lin Chaoyue's heart hardened...

Lin Chaoyue grew up mingling with her parents in various social settings.

But today, for the first time, she was so focused and attentive during a negotiation.

Although most of the time, she was just listening to Pei Shuwen talk.

But she discovered that the so-called mind-reading ability was not accidental; once at the negotiating table, many things could indeed be guessed.

For example, Liu Liu's nervous fidgeting with her hands shows that she was completely blinded by anger and didn't realize that if Simei Biotechnology was upright and honest, the temporary direction of public opinion wouldn't determine anything, and that they had the upper hand from beginning to end.

For example, there was a photo she had just torn up and crumpled into a ball. The photo was very blurry, but you could tell from the blurry figure of the man in the photo that he was not very old.

It could be described as the extramarital affair of the owner of Simei Biotechnology, but it could also be described as something else entirely.

"Judging from just one photo doesn't prove anything. You could say he's the woman Mr. Zhong is having an affair with, but we could also say..."

"Pretend he's my boyfriend."

Lin Chaoyue interjected at the opportune moment; this was the first thought that popped into her mind, and also the best explanation she could come up with.

Liu Liu slammed her hand on the table, clearly displeased: "Whatever you say goes!"

Their actions were so intimate; how could it not be an extramarital affair?

Lin Chaoyue looked at Pei Shuwen, who paused for a moment, then gestured for her to continue.

Lin Chaoyue painstakingly spread out the photos she had just torn up, picked out a few fragments, and pieced them together.

Then I found a photo from a few years ago in my phone's photo album.

She and Xue Wei were skiing together at the Qingsongling Ski Resort. In the rest area where they were changing equipment, Li Cong snapped a photo of the two of them with their arms around each other.

He had previously spread rumors in the group that she and Xue Wei were having an affair.

Many people in the group took it seriously.

She ignored Li Cong for a whole month because of this, but she kept the photo.

Li Cong did a good deed in some mysterious way.

Lin Chaoyue: "Yes, I say so. If you have eyes, you can see for yourself."

Xue Wei has a tattoo behind his ear, which makes it quite obvious that he is the same person.

Seeing that she was at a disadvantage in every aspect, Liu Liu's mood immediately plummeted.

Lin Chaoyue was able to find evidence to retaliate so quickly, she knew she had no way out.

Liu Liu composed herself, squeezed out two tears, and skillfully put on a pitiful look.

"I'm just a small-time blogger begging for a living online. My family favored boys over girls when I was young, so I dropped out of junior high school and started begging. I wasn't born into a privileged family, and I've suffered a lot along the way. Life has been very difficult for me. Simei Bio is a big company, and I'm just an ordinary person. Please give way to me, and I will definitely repay you in the future..."

How can a person be so shameless?

If Lin Chaoyue hadn't witnessed her arrogant and domineering demeanor, she almost would have believed it.

Pei Shuwen: "Behind large enterprises lies the hard work of generations of ordinary people. I accepted the commission from Simei Biotechnology to minimize the losses of my client. I am not interested in the reward you mentioned."

"Moreover," Pei Shuwen leaned forward, a half-smile on his face, "your crying was too fake, it didn't achieve the performance effect you imagined. President Qiu's taste is truly unique."

Lin Chaoyue finally understood.

The "President Qiu" that Pei Shuwen mentioned should be Liu Liu's financial backer and the boss of the company she signed with.

But that's not the point.

The important thing is that she suddenly realized that Pei Shuwen, who usually seemed so serious, was unmatched in her sharp tongue.

No need to utter a single swear word.

The person opposite him was so angry that their face turned red and then white.

Compared to my own chaotic arguing, this is on a completely different level.

Liu Liu was completely overwhelmed this time, and she got up to leave.

Pei Shuwen did not stop her.

Lin Chaoyue said in a sinister tone, "Liu Liu, you just said I spread rumors and need to pay compensation. You should know that you also need to pay compensation for spreading rumors, right? If we really pursue this matter, with such a huge loss, do you think your sugar daddy will still protect you?"

Won't.

Liu Liu knew Qiu Chengming too well; he was just a profit-driven businessman.

Not only will he not protect her, but he will also kick her when he needs to.

Signing her to another shell company was his backup plan.

Liu Liu took a deep breath, and her eyes and voice finally stopped pretending to be a young girl: "I can send out the apology statement today, but I can't make decisions on other requests. I need to go back and ask... him."

"Give me an answer by 8 p.m. tomorrow at the latest," Pei Shuwen said.

"Can."

Liu Liu left, leaving only her and Pei Shuwen in the private room.

She ate a few snacks but wasn't very hungry; Pei Shuwen hadn't eaten anything for dinner yet.

But judging from his expression, he was also preparing to leave.

"Are we leaving now? Aren't you going to eat anything?" Lin Chaoyue asked.

Pei Shuwen: "Let's eat next door."

"Huh? Next door?"

"Hmm." He glanced at the messy table and said nothing more.

Next door is VIP room number one. Compared to this room, VIP room number three, where I was just with Liu Liu, can only be described as cramped.

There was no one inside, but some cold dishes were already on the table. The table overlooked the window, directly facing the cherry blossom tree that had been planted in the yard when we came in. It wasn't the blooming season, but the lush greenery was still very beautiful.

When they first came in, Lin Chaoyue remembered the restaurant owner saying there were no more private rooms available.

Although this room is empty, it must have been booked by someone.

"Can we just come in like this? Is that alright?"

Pei Shuwen: "This is my friend's shop, which he reserved for me a week in advance."

"Ah." Lin Chaoyue suddenly realized, then felt something was off: "Isn't this the place Liu Liu chose? You really can read minds, you can even guess what place she chose."

"happen."

"What a coincidence!" Despite her doubts, Lin Chaoyue didn't ask any further questions.

Pei Shuwen handed her the menu.

"I'm going out for a bit. Order whatever you want to eat. There's a service bell on the table."

"Oh...which tea did you just drink?" Lin Chaoyue flipped through the tea leaves. She didn't really like tea, but the Longjing tea she had just drunk was really good.

"I stored it here; someone will bring it to you later."

"oh."

No wonder the quality is so good.

However, even though tea was prepared, they said it wasn't prepared in advance.

Pei Shuwen asked calmly, "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Lin Chaoyue wanted to say something else. She was unusually hesitant, but after thinking it over, she said, "Um, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you just now. You really weren't making sarcastic remarks."

On the contrary, she threw a tantrum without any rhyme or reason, almost ruining the important matter.

Liu Liu did make one correct point.

She's definitely not qualified to be an assistant; she's a complete waste of her talent.

Pei Shuwen looked at her for a moment, then said, "This kind of case is very common in law firms. You'll get used to it. You did well today, keep it up next time."

Lin Chaoyue was somewhat dazed.

But Pei Shuwen didn't give her time to think it over. Before leaving, he only left her with one more sentence.

"Order more of your favorite dishes, I probably won't have this much free time anytime soon."

"oh."

Lin Chaoyue had just eaten pastries and wasn't really hungry or had much of an appetite, but thinking that Pei Shuwen hadn't eaten, she still carefully ordered a table full of food.

After ordering her food, she sat there in a daze.

Pei Shuwen didn't return for half a day, but tea was served twice: one pot of pre-Qingming Lion Peak tea and another pot of Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea, which the boss said was a special gift.

The newly served teacups looked very similar to those at her home, so she picked up her phone to take a picture.

Upon opening the message, I saw a screen full of exclamation marks sent by Li Cong.

Li Cong: !

Li Cong: ! !

Li Cong: !!! !!! !!!

It turns out she had turned on Do Not Disturb mode, no wonder she hadn't received a reply from Li Cong for so long.

I just sent an emoji.

Li Cong called directly.

Lin Chaoyue felt that Pei Shuwen probably wouldn't be back for a while, so she pressed the answer button.

"May Heaven judge who is loyal and who is treacherous! Yuebao, you ignored me for a whole month because of this, and now you've helped Aunt Zhong so much, you have to make it up to me!"

"Stop messing around, I'm annoyed right now."

Lin Chaoyue sent Li Cong all the details of what just happened. He was in frequent contact with Xue Wei, so she asked him to give her a heads-up in advance.

Even if Liu Liu had a backup of that photo, she wouldn't be afraid.

She remembered the dress Ms. Zhong was wearing in the photo; it must have been taken at Xue Wei's father's birthday party. She was there too, playing cards with Li Cong in the flower room. Otherwise, there might have been more than just her mother in that photo; she herself might have been there as well.

Li Cong said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? Let me tell you, this is nothing. My husband, Old Li, often encounters these kinds of things, from scams and swindles to extortion and honey traps. He's spent a lot of money."

"Really? I've never heard you mention this before."

"Really? After all, my family owns an entertainment company. I've told you a lot of gossip at our previous gatherings, aren't you interested? It's really not a big deal. I used to help Lao Li with this back in China."

Lin Chaoyue didn't believe her: "You can do this too?"

"Yes, I can. I have to know a little about my own family business. Otherwise, who will I rely on when my husband gets old?"

Lin Chaoyue fell silent.

She wouldn't.

She is an only child in her family.

Li Cong had obviously thought of this as well, and coughed lightly: "Well, you just graduated, you're just starting out, you'll get the hang of it later. By the way, didn't you say you were planning to run away? Are you still going to run away or not?"

"I won't run."

"What's wrong? You've fallen in love with your job? You've come to enjoy this feeling of being tortured? Is your job really that great?"

Li Cong became increasingly resentful as he spoke.

His new girlfriend is busy with work, and they can only date on Saturday afternoons. He's so bored that he can't find Lin Chaoyue to play games with, and lately he hasn't even seen her when he's chatting with her.

"good."

Anyway, it's not as annoying as it was at the beginning.

Li Cong has known Lin Chaoyue too well over the years, and he keenly sensed something different.

Li Cong: "Do you think the job is okay, or the people you work with are okay?"

Lin Chaoyue subconsciously wanted to deny it, saying it had nothing to do with anyone, but Pei Shuwen, who had been missing for a while, suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

He stood in the courtyard talking to people.

The man across from them must be the owner of this Japanese restaurant. He was also quite young, about the same age as Pei Shuwen, but his appearance was more ordinary. He offered Pei Shuwen a cigarette.

Pei Shuwen took it, but didn't light it.

She seemed to have never seen Pei Shuwen smoke in front of her before.

Lin Chaoyue said softly, "Wouldn't it be strange if I said I had both?"

"Huh? You really like him? Who is it? When did this happen? Yuebao, have you been working lately? You're not secretly dating behind my back, are you?"

Li Cong kept rambling on the phone, saying one minute it was really big news, the next minute that the fortune teller was really accurate, and that he was going to go see him again to have his fortune told about his and his sister's sweet love.

Previously, it was just a vague feeling, and Lin Chaoyue wasn't quite sure.

But today I saw Pei Shuwen's hand, red from being burned while shielding her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

So, does that mean you like it?