Chapter 57: An Old Acquaintance

Never could I have imagined that I would meet her again in such a manner.

Only.

I am no longer myself, and she is no longer herself.

She does not recognize me either, as she keeps her head down, reviewing documents.

Putting everything else aside, Jiang Yue has always been quite meticulous when it comes to work.

"Chu Jianghe, your seat is over there!"

No sooner had I taken a seat than Chu Haoran's voice rang out beside me.

I already knew this, as Hu Xuejiao had just reminded me.

Yet, a glance told me that the seat assigned to me was right next to Jiang Yue.

I had no desire to sit beside her; the very scent of her made me want to vomit.

Looking at Chu Haoran with a smile, I said cheerfully, "Brother Ran, just let me sit here, won't you? Why don't you go take that seat over there?"

As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face, yet Chu Haoran showed me no courtesy despite my friendly demeanor.

Glaring at me, he snapped, "Sit where you're supposed to. Do you think this is your home? You can sit wherever you please?"

With that, seeing that I remained still, he barked at me once more, "I told you to go back to your own seat, did you hear me?"

His shout caused everyone in the conference room to turn their eyes toward me.

This included Jiang Yue, whose brow furrowed slightly as she looked my way.

Hu Xuejiao immediately whispered a reminder, "Director Chu, we should just go over there. If the Chairman arrives and sees this, he'll scold you again."

It was not that I feared being reprimanded; I simply wished to avoid bickering with Chu Haoran here.

For the moment he shouted my name, Jiang Yue had snapped her head up to stare directly at me.

I had no choice but to return to my designated seat, with Jiang Yue right beside me.

The fragrance she wore was still so familiar, yet now it filled me with disgust.

Feigning unfamiliarity, I sat down and pretended to browse the documents before me.

Yet Jiang Yue took the initiative to speak to me, "Hello, is your name Chu Jianghe?"

Quite polite, indeed.

I nodded expressionlessly, having no intention of conversing with her.

She continued to gaze at me, her expression somewhat peculiar.

Finding it a bit unbearable, I turned my head toward her and asked coldly, "Is there something you need?"

She shook her head mechanically, then offered a slight smile, "Your name is the same as... someone I used to know."

Someone you knew?

Six years of marriage between us, and in your mouth, I am merely someone you used to know?

So be it, let her say whatever she pleases; I am no longer angry anyway.

A cold sneer arose in my heart, though outwardly I maintained a calm smile.

Come to think of it, she actually smiled just now.

I had almost forgotten how long it had been since this woman last smiled.

Recalling the way she looked at me moments ago, and those expressions of hers, it seemed as though she cared deeply!

Yet now that a person is dead, what use is caring?

Even if she were to kneel before me right now, shedding tears of repentance, my heart would not soften in the least.

I said no more to her, yet she appeared somewhat absent-minded.

From time to time, she glanced over at me with a most complicated expression.

Soon, Elder Chu arrived in the conference room.

The elder, Chu Mingwei, is a man of genuine capability, and I have always held deep respect for such veterans who have risen to this position through sheer competence.

Moreover, Chu Mingwei is a decent person at heart; it is merely unfortunate that none of his children are free of trouble.

Once the meeting commenced, Chu Mingwei handed the proposal to the client's representative.

After reviewing it, the client's representatives held a brief discussion among themselves.

"Director Chu, to be honest, the design from your company is quite mediocre."

Their representative, Frank, was French, so he naturally spoke in French, but I was fully able to understand him.

After Chu Mingwei’s interpreter translated his words, Chu Mingwei furrowed his brow and glanced at Chu Haoran and Chu Mengyao beside him.

Frank continued, "We stated quite clearly in the bidding information that we desired a design with strong traditional Chinese stylistic elements. However, having just looked over your proposal, I feel it still falls short of our standards."

At this moment, Jiang Yue spoke up with a bright smile, "Mr. Frank, would you consider discussing our cooperation now?"

Frank still gave Jiang Yue no quarter. "Ms. Jiang, I have already stated that I wish to meet with Mr. Chu. Since you told me he is unavailable, I feel there is no further need to discuss our partnership."

Unwilling to give up, Jiang Yue pressed on, "I can engage the most professional team in the country. Could you please give me a little more time?"

Frank replied bluntly, "I apologize, but our time is limited; we have none left to spare for you."

With that, the French representatives all stood up, preparing to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

Seeing that the clients were about to depart, Chu Mingwei hurriedly stood up.

"Mr. Frank, we are the professionals after all, and professional matters should naturally be handled by professionals.

If you are unsatisfied with the proposal just presented, we can certainly discuss it further.

Seeing as it is no small feat for you to make the trip here, allow me to treat you to lunch this noon so we can talk things over at our leisure, shall we?"

I knew Chu Mingwei's anxiety stemmed from the company's currently precarious situation.

Should this business deal be successfully concluded, it would enable the company to weather this crisis.

Much like Jiang Yue, though she did not strictly need this partnership to rescue her own enterprise, she desperately needed it to prove her worth.

No!

She needed this partnership just as urgently, for her own company's current standing was far from optimistic.

Coupled with the massive sums she had previously transferred to Cheng Jun, and her subsequent falling out with him, her firm was undoubtedly facing severe cash flow issues.

That was precisely why she had come here today to vie for this collaboration.

Knowing her as I did, had she not been strapped for cash, she would never have lowered herself to seek out Frank again.

Thus, Jiang Yue dared not let go, and even though Frank had directly rejected any cooperation with her, she continued to fight for it stubbornly.

Yet, while Elder Chu's approach might yield results domestically, foreigners simply do not respond to such tactics.

I was intimately familiar with this particular project; I had previously secured it for Jiang Yue single-handedly, though she remained entirely oblivious to the fact.

The opposing party was one of France's top hot spring hotel groups, and their visit to China was intended to establish a hot spring resort winery. Their vision was to retain certain French elements while accentuating distinctly Chinese aesthetic features.

A successful partnership with them would not only rescue the company from its present predicament but also open up international channels and serve as premier industry publicity.

It was an absolute win-win venture!

Under the present circumstances, I was entirely capable of stepping in to help.

Naturally, any assistance I provided would be strictly for Chu Mingwei's sake.

The proposal they had just tabled featured commendable design concepts and innovative ideas, with meticulous attention paid to color matching and detail refinement.

However, they had overlooked one crucial factor: the clients were French.

My university academic advisor happened to be French, and under his guidance, I had familiarized myself extensively with French culture, noting their particularly heavy romanticist inclinations.

Combined with the requirement to infuse traditional Chinese stylistic elements into the design, to be frank, this was not something an ordinary designer could accomplish. It demanded someone with genuine artistic foundations, given the exceptionally high standards for color coordination.

And that happened to be precisely my forte, which was why I had previously won Frank over and enabled him to sign the contract smoothly.

Now, two major corporations were fiercely contending for this collaboration.

Never did I expect that one day, I would become the pivotal figure in it all.