上海安全生产监督局

Chapter 2

The other party immediately revealed a knowing smile: "So you\'re the legendary beautiful assistant who is loyal to Mr. Lu."

It is known in the circle that Lu Lingchuan has a very capable female assistant. Although young, she is very capable and has helped Lu Lingchuan win many projects.

It can be said that without Shen Nian, Lu Lingchuan\'s company would not have developed so well.

"You flatter me, President Li." Shen Nian bowed her head modestly.

But President Li was very interested in Shen Nian, and asked her, "Nian? Which Nian?"

There are many homophones for "nian".

"...Upon hearing this question, Shen Nian looked a little lost. She came to her senses and softly replied, "The \'nian\' from \'dian nian\'."

Lu Lingchuan glanced at the calm Shen Nian, frowning. At the same time, a shy and gentle girl\'s voice rang in his ears.

[My name is Shen Nian, the \'nian\' that means to remember.]

From remembering to mourning, Lu Lingchuan knew the reason.

Thinking of something, pain flashed through the man\'s dark eyes, quickly turning to resentment. He immediately looked away and stopped looking at her.

The two parties sat down. Lu Lingchuan got straight to the point to discuss the project. But the other party was an old fox. He waved his hand at Lu Lingchuan with righteousness and said solemnly.

"Hey, no talk of work during break time. Let\'s eat, let\'s eat."

This was entirely to fob off Lu Lingchuan. If they really didn\'t want to discuss work today, they wouldn\'t have brought assistants to the meeting either.

Sitting next to Lu Lingchuan, Shen Nian looked at the cup of hot water she had just poured in front of her.

The waiter had brought in a pot of hot water when he came in earlier.

She had just had an abortion and her body was still very weak. She could not catch a cold or eat cold food.

With one hand on her belly, Shen Nian stood up, a proper standard smile appearing on her face again: "I\'m sure you already understand the capabilities of our Lingrui Group. Please trust us, we will definitely not disappoint you."

On the men’s dining table, it was better for a beautiful woman to give them some face when speaking.

Sure enough, the two presidents no longer blocked their mouths on the pretext of “no talk of work during dining time”, and the rotund President Fang ogled Shen Nian’s slender figure, laughing heartily.

"President Li and I naturally understand the capabilities of your company. We also heard that Miss Shen is famously good at drinking in the circle. President Li and I happen to have good alcohol tolerance, so why don\'t we have a drinking competition?"

Having just had an abortion surgery not long ago, there was still a dull ache in her lower abdomen.

Shen Nian had one hand on her belly. The lipstick made her look like she was in good spirits, not too ghastly.

President Fang did not give Shen Nian a chance to refuse, and asked the waiter to bring the alcohol.

Soon the waiter brought an ice bucket with a few bottles of alcohol inside, mixed with ice cubes.

"Drinking chilled alcohol is the most refreshing!" President Li laughed as he took a bottle of chilled alcohol from the ice bucket, opened it, and poured Shen Nian a full glass first.

The 720ml glass was filled to the brim. After filling up his and President Fang\'s glasses, he raised his wine glass.

"Miss Shen, you’ll have to give President Fang and I some face."

"...Looking at the full glass of wine, Shen Nian\'s fingertips lightly touched the rim of the glass, chilled so that her fingers trembled slightly.

Lu Lingchuan\'s face was cold and stern without saying a word.

After three seconds of silence, just as President Li and President Fang were about to say something more, Shen Nian looked up with the same proper smile.

She picked up the wine glass, raised it to both presidents: "Cheers."

After speaking, she tilted her head back and downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp.

Shen Nian was very slim, so her collarbones were very prominent. After downing the full glass of chilled wine in one go, the icy drink slowly flowed down her throat without a drop left behind.

After chugging it all in one go, Shen Nian turned the glass upside down. Only a few drops of wine remained in the tall stem glass, dripping onto the floor.

It was said that Shen Nian had been with Lu Lingchuan since he founded Lingrui Group.

In the early days when the company had no investment, they had to solicit clients themselves. Shen Nian followed Lu Lingchuan to all kinds of business dinners, competing in drinking with the old foxes in the business circle, just for a chance to get noticed.

Indeed, seeing is believing. This Shen Nian really was as fierce as the rumors said. She looked delicate and fragile outwardly but was actually a fierce woman.

President Li and President Fang were stunned for a moment before bursting into loud laughter.

"Good, we like talking to Miss Shen like this!"

After speaking, they also downed their wine in one gulp.

Shen Nian was very fair, the kind of fair that looked white even without foundation. After a glass of chilled wine, her face was even paler, and the faint haggardness between her brows and eyes could be seen.

The lipstick had helped her look spirited earlier, but after drinking the wine, there was a clear lipstick mark on the rim of the glass. The lipstick on her mouth had faded a lot.

Without this layer of protection, her frailty was revealed.

But Shen Nian rarely showed her vulnerable side to others. The smile on her face did not diminish as she picked up the bottle of wine next to her and poured more wine for the two presidents first, before filling up her own glass.

"It is my honor to receive praise from President Fang and President Li. Let me make a toast to you two gentlemen. I will drink up, while you two can drink at your own pace."

Tilting her head back, she downed the entire glass of wine again.

After two glasses of wine, they could get down to the business cooperation they were here for.

Shen Nian put down the glass and got to the point: "Since President Fang and President Li have agreed to meet us, it shows you still recognize the capabilities of our Lingrui Group. And we cherish the opportunity to cooperate with your esteemed companies as well. Since there is mutual goodwill, why hesitate? Wouldn\'t it be better for both our sides to cooperate sooner?"

Since Shen Nian was so direct, President Fang and President Li also stopped beating around the bush.

"In fact, besides your company, we have also looked into another company. The capabilities of both companies are comparable, it\'s just that... the other party promised a 10% higher profit margin than your company, so..."

President Li\'s face revealed embarrassment and hesitation.

In the eyes of businessmen, every percentage point was a huge amount of wealth. No one was unwilling to get the maximum return for the minimum cost.

"...Lu Lingchuan\'s eyelids fluttered slightly. His face was always expressionless, cold as ice. His pitch-black eyes seemed boundless like the night sky, with no visible specks of light.

Shen Nian understood immediately.

After knowing each other for many years, at some point they had developed a tacit understanding where just one look conveyed his meaning to her.

The two glasses of chilled wine were already taking effect, and stabbing pain shot through her abdomen as if pierced by hundreds of blades.

Shen Nian almost stumbled to the ground in embarrassment, but fortunately she had been tightly gripping the stool after sitting down earlier, avoiding making a fool of herself.

After catching her breath, she stood up again.

First picking up the wine bottle, she took Lu Lingchuan\'s wine glass in front of him and poured it full, before handing it to Lu Lingchuan.

Receiving the wine Shen Nian passed to him, Lu Lingchuan stood up. Raising his glass slightly, looking at the two presidents, his face still expressionless, his voice not loud but forceful and convincing.

"The other company promised President Fang and President Li a 10% higher profit margin, then our Lingrui Group promises to double your profit."