Chapter 21. "Win-Win?"
After finishing the chat history with Nie Fei, Ke Fan was about to turn off the phone screen when suddenly a new message popped up from Lu Qiaoyuan.
Ke Fan couldn't help but click on his profile picture.
It's a book cover: the entire painting is painted in warm tones—gold, orange, and brown—not bright and cheerful, but rather as soft as a sunset. An elderly man in a black windbreaker walks alone on a country road, with vast fields and an endless horizon in the distance.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
A Pilgrimage of One Person.
This was a book that she and Lu Qiaoyuan both loved when they were in college. After reading it, they even discussed the plot together in the library.
Later, Lu Qiaoyuan used it as his profile picture and has never changed it over the years.
But sometimes, she couldn't help but click it, because the old man's back walking alone in the vast world was so lonely and so determined.
"I heard that Xing Xiao gave you a hard time again today?"
The Haishi Wind Power Plant and the Ocean University of China Geological Laboratory have a lot of cooperation. Lu Qiaoyuan also has some other acquaintances in the wind power plant. He soon heard about what happened at the backbone meeting and sent a message to inquire.
"Yeah, but it's okay, I'm prepared."
The message "input is in progress" was displayed repeatedly over there. Ke Fan knew that he wanted to organize his words to comfort herself, but was afraid to touch upon the days she was reluctant to recall - the early days of her career when Xing Xiao deliberately set up obstacles and suppressed her.
She sent a picture of a fan spinning, and it turned out an emoticon of "OK", and then typed:
"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I'm really fine. I knew he would do this. Ever since the official announcement that the leaders for the second half of the year's major projects would be selected based not on seniority but on their performance in recent years, he's started to see me as a thorn in his side."
Lu Qiaoyuan also heard some news from his mentor about the wind power institute's major project in the second half of the year.
The current director of the wind power institute is a highly skilled but elderly person, and will retire in a few years. His advisor, Gao Wenjie, is considered half his student. In a private chat, he revealed that the deep-sea project planned for the second half of the year may have more significance than just the project itself.
In recent years, the innovative faction represented by Li Chengjin and Ke Fan has been in a state of conflict with the conservative faction led by Xing Xiao. The director usually condones Xing Xiao's small tricks, but is not partial to him in major matters.
He himself came from a technical background, and he also wanted to see that his future successor had strong capabilities. Therefore, when the strategy of developing deep-sea projects was communicated, he decided to let his strength speak for itself.
Another is that the deep-sea wind power project strategy is a key strategic development direction of the country, and in the foreseeable future, it will have an important position in the fields of renewable energy and marine economy.
The person in charge of a shell company cannot bear this burden. It must be someone who is brave enough to take on the responsibility and has the ability to dig deep in this field to lead everyone.
Obviously Xing Xiao is not such a person.
Ke Fan knew how he talked about him behind his back.
"You're so aggressive at such a young age. Aren't you afraid that failing to solve the case in Jin City will affect the reputation of the headquarters?"
Are you really afraid of affecting the reputation of the headquarters?
Or is it that he usually takes too high an attitude and is afraid that even if he goes there, he won't be able to solve the problem, which will damage his own reputation and lead to a loss in the competition for deep-sea projects in the second half of the year?
Some people just like to use some high-sounding excuses to cover up their shameful selfish motives.
And these twists and turns really annoyed her.
Her beautiful and cold eyes contained a hint of sarcasm, and her fingers continued to tap the keyboard:
"He sees me as a thorn in his side, so I can't bear this title in vain."
"I will also actively compete for deep-sea projects in the second half of the year."
*
A few days later in the morning.
Large patches of sunlight shine into the spacious living room through the glass curtain wall, casting mottled light and shadows on the light gray carpet and modern coffee table.
Ke Fan sat on the black leather sofa in the living room, staring at the light and shadow quietly.
Yesterday, Nie Fei called her to tell her that Yi Lingjia did not immediately agree to the initial version of the project book for the cooperation between the fishery and Oasis, but asked for more explanation and asked her to meet him in person.
Ke Fan arrived at Yi Shi's office building early in the morning, but Li Jing told her that the boss was in a meeting and asked her to wait a little longer.
I raised my hand and looked at my watch. It was 10:19. Almost an hour had passed.
Next to the reception room is the spacious and luxurious president's office. There seems to be a thin glass wall in the middle, which does not seem to be very soundproof.
During this hour, Ke Fan did not hear Yi Lingjia holding a meeting.
Of course, it's possible that the curtain wall of Yishi Group's office building is very advanced, with some kind of built-in soundproofing technology. She turned her head and stared at the blurry figure next door.
She suddenly picked up all the project materials she had brought that were piled on the coffee table, packed her shoulder bag, and was about to leave.
Before she reached the door, Li Jing suddenly appeared, his eyes flickering with a hint of unconcealed guilt:
"Excuse me, Sister Ke, my boss just finished a meeting and would like you to go to his office."
The figure in the office next door also stood up, looking a little anxious.
Ke Fan's lips curled up into a playful smile.
It was like I had rediscovered the fun of teasing him during my school days.
She suppressed her smile and replied calmly:
"Oh, really? I thought Mr. Yi was busy."
"I'm free, I'm free... No, I just became free." Li Jing said dryly, and hurriedly led her to the office door.
Ke Fan stood at the door of Yi Lingjia's office.
A thin door separates two people.
I thought of that day at the Su Bang Restaurant, when she was standing outside a door like this, waiting for the door to open in the next second.
After that day, Nie Fei told her that Yi Lingjia's emotional problems had improved.
He was no longer as extremely dull and depressed as in the past few years. When he spoke to Nie Fei, he occasionally showed some of the familiar playfulness from their college days.
God knows how much Nie Fei misses Yi Lingjia like this.
When reporting to Ke Fan over the phone, he repeatedly affirmed Dr. Xu's treatment method:
"Dr. Xu said the first stage is emotional re-experiencing, which involves increasing your contact with him and helping him regain his emotions. I was worried about whether... but it seems to be working!"
"Well, I will definitely promote the cooperation today, and we will have more interactions later." Ke Fan replied.
Her hand touched the handle of the office door in front of her, and the cold touch of the metal suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts.
He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Large patches of sunlight shone into the office, giving the man behind the desk a golden edge.
Today he was wearing a white half-high collar inner layer and a well-fitting black suit jacket made of excellent material. He looked unpretentious, dignified and reserved in his handsomeness.
The moment their eyes met.
All the memories of the kiss in the stairwell that day came flooding back.
Ke Fan saw him slowly stand up, his hands on the desk, his deep black eyes staring at him intently.
Then his eyes moved down to his lips, and he quickly looked away.
When we looked at each other again, his eyes were clear and distant, and he had a businesslike attitude.
Ke Fan realized that he didn't want to break this window paper.
But, is it really up to him?
After all, she is the most patient.
So he sat down opposite him, took out the project information he brought, and explained it one by one, as if he really just came to discuss cooperation.
"Boss Yi, Nie Fei should have explained the benefits of this model. We are not here to requisition the sea area, nor do we want to disrupt your aquaculture operations. We are here to discuss joint development.
The data you've accumulated over the years on stocking density, ecological monitoring, and species is crucial for our wind power project site selection and pile foundation design. We offer more than just wind turbines—we can provide intelligent systems, water quality monitoring platforms, and even anti-theft pile foundations, helping you elevate your aquaculture efficiency and safety to a whole new level.
The fish farms of the future will be about more than just raising fish. Imagine deploying artificial reefs and shellfish attachment pads beneath wind turbines, a multi-layered aquaculture system that boosts both production and brand power. And what about electricity? We have direct wind power supply—connecting the cold chain, processing, and e-commerce, truly extending the industry chain."
"Boss Yi, why not do this kind of win-win situation?"
Yi Lingjia stared at the polite smile on her face.
Her lips touched lightly between words, as red as a ripe cherry.
It was clearly that day that this bright red mark was imprinted on his lips, and during the wet grinding, he also felt her loss of control.
But today she sat here calmly and talked rationally.
A pang of pain and itchiness rose in his heart, and Yi Lingjia could no longer hold back and spoke.
He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses with his slender, bony fingers, and said with a hint of coldness:
"Win-win?"
"Between us, isn't it always you who wins?"
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