Chapter 85
In Riyadh, a large conference room of Huagang Saudi Trading Company was converted into a temporary cooperation office.
"Sorry I'm late."
By the time Guan Ying arrived, Daniel's legal team had already met with Huagang's emergency response team. Both sides shared a common understanding of Guan Ying: she was a key figure in facilitating the collaboration, but not the expert in resolving the case. Therefore, there were no expectations regarding her regular attendance, and naturally, no criticism.
The only one who cared was Daniel. While everyone was rushing to connect the cases, he was the only one who kept looking towards the door.
"Glad that you're here." In front of everyone, Daniel looked unhappy, but he didn't blame them too much.
Guan Ying blushed and sat in the empty seat next to him: "I promise this is the first time I'm late, and it will be the last time."
"I know you're always serious about your work." That's why he was certain she'd show up today. However, she was so late, and he felt doubtful and uneasy. "So, you've already given us everything?"
What you fear will come true. Guan Ying could only smile foolishly: "Haha, yes, don't worry, no one will come to disturb our work again."
Upon seeing her arrive, Mr. Li's secretary brought her coffee and said with a smile, "Mr. Li said that Manager Guan is our benefactor. During your time in Riyadh, if you need anything, whether it's work or personal matters, you can contact me at any time."
"Thank you, but I think I can handle it myself." She was neither an employee of Huagang nor a formal member of Daniel's professional team. At most, she was a mascot in this temporary office, and she knew her own limitations.
Daniel took over the conversation: "Then please arrange for her hotel room to be next to mine."
The secretary glanced at Guan Ying shrewdly.
"For the next half month, you will be my assistant, so of course you will have to live with my team. The team will hold meetings anytime and anywhere, so you'd better be available at any time." Daniel explained to Guan Ying.
"Okay...ok." The request was not excessive. Besides, Daniel was the eldest now, so she had to treat him well.
The secretary rolled his eyes around, smiled, and left the office.
Daniel finally felt relieved. As long as he kept her by his side, there was still a chance, even if it was only for half a month.
"Well, what do you need me to do here?" Guan Ying was already late and was anxious to catch up.
Daniel was quite patient with her. "I've already spoken with the representative of the Chinese law firm over the phone. Although they were very nervous, they were also very professional. They conducted a lot of effective case analysis within the limited time. Their approach to the evidence presented for the defense is also sound. The key point is to prove that Huagang's iron ore procurement prices are not subject to government intervention or market distortion. Huagang's cost data and a series of evidence have been prepared for a long time. We are currently discussing whether additional evidence is needed. Since you understand the business processes of steel companies, perhaps you can provide some advice."
Is that all? Since the domestic law firm has already handled the situation in an orderly manner, why did Mr. Li insist on inviting Daniel? With doubts, Guan Ying first immersed herself in the work of compiling the chain of evidence.
The date for launching the anti-dumping investigation was approaching and time was pressing. The two sides were busy with their docking work until midnight on the first night.
Daniel and several members of his team were temporarily housed in a luxury hotel next to the Huagang office, saving a lot of travel time.
After saying goodbye to their team colleagues one by one in the hotel lobby, Daniel and Guan Ying's exclusive elevator stopped at the top floor and they were led in by the hotel butler.
Following Daniel, Guan Ying suddenly remembered the secretary's look from the day before, and she realized something was amiss. She'd assumed they were just two adjacent hotel rooms, perhaps a luxury suite on a separate floor from the other employees. But she hadn't guessed Huagang would be so generous as to prepare the hotel's only master suite on the top floor for Daniel. And the "next door" he'd mentioned earlier was actually the "Lady's Room" within the master suite!
Even during the peak years of Xicheng Steel's development, she had accompanied her father to various high-end venues to entertain many distinguished clients in order to win business, but she had never been so extravagant as to use the top floor of a hotel. This shows the strength of Huagang, the importance they attached to Daniel, and their determination to deal with the anti-dumping investigation without any mistakes.
The top floor of the huge hotel, from the presidential suite, the first lady's suite, the cloakroom, the reception room, the bar, the kitchen, the sauna room, the viewing balcony... to the accompanying nanny room, the guard room, and the executive meeting room, is more than 500 square meters. It is decorated luxuriously, yet inexplicably solemn. Perhaps it is because of the quiet night, or perhaps it is because Daniel is silent beside him.
"This...that...I...we are not suitable, right?" Guan Ying stopped.
"Don't you think it's a waste of resources for me to live here alone?" Daniel handed his suit jacket to the butler and said thank you. The butler looked at him and retreated.
There's only one person living here, so it's not a waste. It's so empty and lonely that it's unsettling.
"Wait, I'll go with you!" Guan Ying was anxious to leave here with the butler, but was pulled back by Daniel from behind. When Guan Ying turned around again, the butler had already slipped away quickly.
"We don't live in the same room. In fact, with such a long dressing room between us, I even have to call your room to hear your voice." Daniel was very restrained: "What are you worried about?"
"That's different... Daniel, I just agreed to be your assistant for half a month..."
"Of course, that's why you have to follow me. This is the assistant room."
"No, this is the lady's room."
"It's just a room."
“The rooms are interconnecting...”
"Don't you still believe me? I have always respected you, respected your unique reserve as an Oriental... You know I have been patient in this regard, I have never forced you..." Daniel regarded her past rejection of his intimacy as a stereotyped Oriental reserve.
Guan Ying pursed her lips and said awkwardly: "Daniel, I'm not as... as you think..."
"I understand. That night, you and him were just trying to piss me off. Although he's engaged to you, he also has other lovers. I've already taught him a lesson. He should at least learn to respect you."
He was talking about Qiao Qi and Kassim's sister. But these two people, one is a celebrity at the center of controversy, and the other is involved in other people's family secrets. It is not convenient for her to defend them, so she can only expose herself:
"Daniel, the reason we're together today is simply because I negotiated a deal with you over the phone before my flight out of Saudi Arabia. Or, to put it more bluntly, I took advantage of you. With your intelligence, you should have seen through it long ago... I'm not as good as you say. The elegance and subtlety of an Oriental woman don't exist in me. You knew this from the very beginning of our relationship. You're not my first boyfriend, nor will you be my last... From the beginning to the end, I've been just a small businessman who seeks profit and avoids harm."
Daniel had already begun to regret that he had been so eager to bring up these topics in front of her, which had caused her to be so serious about talking to him about everything.
"No, don't say that about yourself... It's too late and I'm tired." Even though Rao was a well-known lawyer, in front of the woman he liked, he had no choice but to turn around and walk inside as if escaping.
Guan Ying, however, spoke even more forcefully behind him: "I've never thought of getting back together with you. This has nothing to do with anyone. It's just that it's over between us, a long time ago. When I do business with people, I scheme and use them, but I never force them. After half a month, it's destined to be a fruitless outcome. If you regret it, this is only the first day, there's still time."
Just before turning the corner, Daniel paused. Facing the comfortable, luxurious yet empty reception room, his heart sank. Unable to calmly accept her premature verdict, he turned around and complained, "I don't understand. Why are you so cruel to me? There's nothing wrong between us... Are you still blaming me for leaving here, leaving you? I originally agreed to help you solve the Sabur case, but I gave up halfway and handed it over to Xiao Weiyan, and even allowed him to take you away... I must have hurt you since then, right? Guan Guan, I'm making amends, I've already made amends... When Huagang found me, I knew my chance had come. Since I owed you a case, I'll give you a better one! Mr. Li and the others promised me the best deal, but you refused. So, I'll have them offer Xicheng Steel the best deal. Isn't that what you care about most? Don't talk about deals or exploitation. I know what I'm doing. As long as you forgive me."
"Did you facilitate Huagang's agreement to share sales channels?"
"The harm caused by anti-dumping duties will far outweigh the cost. They're businesspeople and know how to profit. I simply reminded them of what matters most to you." Daniel leaned against the wall, slowly slid down, and held his forehead in frustration. He couldn't figure it out, and his rhythm was off.
Guan Ying was stunned for a moment before slowly sighing, "Oh, so it's you who can't let go. Daniel, have you forgotten? I was the one who decided to end the relationship, and I was the one who told you to leave and never come back. I had my own way of solving the Sabur case without you or Xiao Weiyan. Of course, if I hadn't liked Xiao Weiyan at the time, I could have paid him instead of being his girlfriend... So, believe me, you never owe me anything! To be honest, when I was with you, I never thought of it being a permanent relationship. Love is just an experience for me. If I were as traditional as you think I am, how could a woman like me, running a small business, dare to go through it with someone from a family background like yours? Haha, now, don't tell me you'd give up your career, family, and even your nationality for an Oriental woman you've been with for less than a year and don't even fully understand. That's outrageous. I don't want to be a femme fatale; that won't end well."
Not only is the future hopeless, but even the past is just an experience? Daniel is about to collapse: "No, I know you, Guan Guan, you are not such a casual woman."
Guan Ying curled her lips and fell into deep thought. After about half a minute, she replied, "Maybe it's because I was too emotionally free before, and I always wanted to keep something for my future husband. This would make me feel less guilty and make my marriage easier... In short, I'm only doing this for myself! This may make you think I'm mysterious, traditional, and reserved... But it's only because I knew from the beginning that you wouldn't be my future husband."
Daniel stood up with a frown. "So, that night, you and him weren't just trying to piss me off, but for real? Even if he had a lover outside, you still wanted to marry him? Just because you had an engagement arranged by your parents, you decided that he was your future husband? Guan Ying, this is stupid, extremely stupid! I'm not wrong, you've long been imprisoned by those mysterious and outdated rules and regulations of the East! I will work hard to break free from my family, and so can you. We are the same people!"
For a moment, Guan Ying was like a lost lamb: "No, I did it that night just to piss you off, but..."
Trapped in her own web, she began to question herself: Could it be that what she had been rejecting was something she had already accepted? She had been so resolute and resolute in pushing away the previous eight men, so why hadn't she had the heart to push away Zheng Juyong yesterday? Perhaps Daniel was right: she fancied herself to be carefree, but in reality she was foolish, pedantic, and old-fashioned!
Guan Ying fell into a deep state of self-doubt, and now she wanted to escape from Daniel, whose logic and language were a hundred times stronger than hers. "Oh my God, I can't explain it to you clearly! In short, no matter what, I can't stay here tonight! Daniel, in my eyes, you are a true gentleman. Your upbringing and knowledge are destined to make you pursue your own goals very high, but I have never thought of breaking free from anything. We are not on the same path. Why don't you think about how to let go of yourself and me. I will move to the twelfth floor where your teammates live. If there is a meeting, you can always call us together. Good night!"
Even if she got lost here, she would find a way downstairs.
Looking at her running away, Daniel clenched his fists and said, "I'll prove to you first that it's not that difficult to break free from them."
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