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Jiang Junlin felt relieved, having raised her for nothing. Her brother was her lifelong brother, but her husband wasn’t!

As soon as Lu Zhiyuan walked to the door, Gu Ci, without hesitation, said, “I’ll help my brother,” without even considering him. Ji Chi and Rong Li looked at him with a sympathetic look.

Lu Zhiyuan didn’t expect Gu Ci to be here. As soon as he entered the door, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, unbearable, but he forcefully suppressed it, his face unchanged.

He hadn’t seen Gu Ci for some time. She looked better, a bit plumper, with a well-proportioned and attractive figure, no longer as skinny as before, her eyes less gloomy.

The guards were all standing outside the door. Qin Wan didn’t participate in the negotiations. She seemed more like replacing Zhang Qiang’s role in protecting Jiang Junlin. When Lu Zhiyuan and the others came in, Qin Wan moved to a corner, legs crossed, cigarette in hand, rebellious, trying to be invisible.

Rong Li glanced at her, full of ridicule.

Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Junlin exchanged brief greetings, both not very enthusiastic. Gu Ci got up to pour tea, her movements elegant. Gu Ci’s gaze fell on the teacup. Ji Chi smiled as soon as he saw Jiang Junlin, not concealing his emotions.

Rong Li gave him a nudge, a love-struck fool, tone it down.

Ji Chi glared at him, single dogs don’t understand the happiness of our love.

Rong Li: Hah!

Ji Chi took the menu and ordered afternoon tea, “Third Master, this place makes exquisite pastries, sweet but not greasy, perfect with black tea. Shall I order some for you?”

“Sure!”

Jiang Junlin and Gu Ci both watched as Ji Chi ordered. Ji Chi coughed twice, “Why aren’t any of you talking? It’s awkward!”

They seemed very awkward!

Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Junlin didn’t seem awkward at all. They sat calmly, and this was the first time they had sat together to discuss business. Both of them were unhappy and uncomfortable.

Gu Ci refilled Jiang Junlin’s tea, and with a calm attitude, offered some to Lu Zhiyuan. Ji Chi and Rong Li poured tea as well.

“Are you all performing a silent play?” Gu Ci asked, “If it’s inconvenient, we can leave, and you can talk alone.”

“No need!” Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Junlin said in unison, quite in sync.

“Since we’re going to cooperate, let’s be open. We lost a batch of cultural relics, was it taken by your group?” Lu Zhiyuan also got straight to the point, asking calmly.

Qin Wan took a drag of her cigarette, wondering if she had made a mistake and been spotted by the Black Hawk?

“We did take the cultural relics, but they were returned intact. You suffered no loss,” Jiang Junlin didn’t deny it. “We had some vital intelligence hidden within the relics, which we retrieved. After obtaining the information, we returned the relics to you exactly as they were.”

Lu Zhiyuan said calmly, “Whether there was a loss or not is not for you to judge. This occurred with our mutual understanding of cooperation. If Mr. Jiang needs anything, just ask directly; we won’t refuse.”

“You say that in an interesting way. Our intelligence is worth a fortune, and our agents risked their lives to deliver it. We haven’t even started cooperating yet, so why should 1 trust you?” Jiang Junlin was not polite either.

Lu Zhiyuan sneered, “If you can’t trust us, then there’s no need to talk about cooperation.”

“It was you who had Ji Chi deliver the message to discuss cooperation. If you don’t want to discuss it, the door is right there,” Jiang Junlin stared at Lu Zhiyuan directly, “Feel free to leave.”

“Fine, as you said!” Lu Zhiyuan’s anger flared.

They exchanged sharp words, the tension in the air palpable. Rong Li and Ji Chi, who had been with Lu Zhiyuan for years, were quite surprised to see him engaged in such a heated argument.

“Third Master, Mr. Jiang, let’s talk properly. It took a lot to set up this meeting. Let’s compromise and find common ground. There’s a vast sea and sky beyond this. Don’t be stubborn…”

“Shut up!” Both Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Junlin shouted simultaneously.

Ji Chi,

Don’t let your quarrel harm the interests of others!

“Does he seem willing to cooperate?” Lu Zhiyuan said coldly. “If you weren’t interested from the beginning, you could have rejected Ji Chi. Since you’re here, let’s mutually benefit. I advise Mr. Jiang to lower his arrogance.”

Just as Jiang Junlin was about to retort, Gu Ci softly said, “Stop arguing and let’s talk about business.”

Gu Ci’s intervention calmed the tempers of both Jiang Junlin and Lu Zhiyuan. She handed them the terms and conditions of the cooperation project that the Triads wanted to discuss, and Ji Chi also presented the terms and conditions of the Black Hawk’s project that required Triad’s assistance.

Lu Zhiyuan took the documents handed over by Gu Ci and began reading them, with Rong Li and Ji Chi leaning in to see.

Jiang Junlin also took the documents from Ji Chi and reviewed them with Gu Ci. Qin Wan showed no interest in the negotiations; she opened the window, lit a cigarette, and started blowing smoke rings.

“This is quite a hefty demand!” Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Junlin, despite their differences, both seemed to be on the same page again. They both felt like the other side was trying to extort them.

Ji Chi said, “Third Master, let’s finish reading them first.”

Gu Ci also added, “Brother, let’s finish reading.”

Negotiating cooperation was always a process of compromise. Both parties expressed their intentions to cooperate, and there hadn’t been a failed negotiation yet. Unreasonable terms could always be discussed.

After Ji Chi finished reading all the terms, he couldn’t help but think that his brother was even more ruthless than the Third Master. The conditions were such that if the Third Master agreed to one-third of them, it would already be considered generous. Lu Zhiyuan picked up a pen and began crossing out clauses, leaving only seven or eight out of the initial thirty-six.

Jiang Junlin and Gu Ci exchanged glances. Jiang Junlin also took a pen and began crossing out clauses, making adjustments. Lu Zhiyuan proposed twenty-three cooperation terms, and Jiang Junlin rejected twenty of them.

Gu Ci sighed inwardly, thinking, “Brother, please control yourself. This is getting too personal.”

When she saw that the terms Lu Zhiyuan was crossing out were also marked with X’s, Gu Ci was at a loss. How were they supposed to continue the negotiation like this?

She pressed the bell and said, “Madam, please bring us some chrysanthemum tea.”

“Jiang Junlin, are you here to cause trouble and not actually negotiate?” Lu Zhiyuan frowned. “What demands are you making? Hoping for financial cooperation between the Triads and Black Hawk, isn’t that a pipe dream? Who doesn’t want to negotiate here?”

“I think sharing the Black Hawk Eye System is not unreasonable at all,” Jiang Junlin replied, “It’s you who’s thinking too big. Do you think sharing means sharing everything? Do we have to split research and development funds equally as well?”

“That’s fine!” Jiang Junlin continued, “We have plenty of money.”

Ji Chi, taking advantage of the moment before Lu Zhiyuan got angrier, quickly interjected, “Brother, this one isn’t acceptable. We have money too.”

Lu Zhiyuan sneered, “Taking advantage of a situation!”

Jiang Junlin countered, “Daydreaming!”

Rong Li couldn’t bear it and slammed the table. “Why don’t you two just fight it out? The winner gets to speak.”

Lu Zhiyuan remained calm. “I’m fine with that.”

Jiang Junlin chuckled. He had wanted to fight Lu Zhiyuan for many years, and now he finally had the chance to do it openly. He wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. However, Gu Ci spoke up, “A true gentleman settles disputes with words, not fists.”

Jiang Junlin,

Sister, I want to use my fists!

Gu Ci maintained a blank expression, thinking, “Brother, they have backup; we can’t win this fight!”

Lu Zhiyuan and Gu Ci exchanged a glance. Lu Zhiyuan could guess why Gu Ci didn’t want Jiang Junlin to fight. She was probably afraid her brother would be at a disadvantage. She was truly protective of her brother..