The next day, I got up early in the morning, but Zhou Zhaokun, who was traveling with me, got up even earlier. He asked me if I wanted to return with him to Xitang. I remembered that Mi Cai had arranged for Chen Jingming to meet with Jian Wei today, so I temporarily gave up the idea of returning to Xitang.
Before departing, Zhou Zhaokun brought up Leyao again in our conversation. He asked me, “Do you know when Leyao will return to Xitang or Suzhou next time?”
“She should be back in Suzhou soon—I’m planning to discuss taking over the bar with her.”
“If so, please remember to let me know when she comes back next time. I’d like to invite her to dinner.”
“I thought you two talked for quite a while last time. Didn’t you get her contact information?”
Zhou Zhaokun shook his head and said, “No, that was our first conversation. I didn’t want to be too forward. We’ll have another chance to meet eventually.”
His response surprised me greatly. After all, even Tongzi knew how to find Leyao’s contact information from my phone, yet he had been overly gentlemanly, perhaps due to his naturally cultivated disposition as a literary intellectual.
I nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll let you know when she comes back to Suzhou next time.”
Zhou Zhaokun thanked me and sincerely said, “Actually, I have strong feelings for her ever since I first saw her. This kind of feeling is extremely rare for me!”
I smiled and replied, “As an outsider, I can tell. But…”
“But you’re worried I’m not a reliable person?”
“I can’t deny that men with good material conditions tend to be more fickle in emotions. Leyao is in the entertainment industry, and her parents divorced when she was young. In relationships, she needs more protection rather than hurt, understand?”
Zhou Zhaokun nodded and said, “Actually, I can see her vulnerability beneath her strong exterior… I admit that I’m rich, but that shouldn’t be an obstacle for me to pursue true love. That’s too unfair to me, and I’ve never been sincerely moved by any ordinary woman! She’s an exception because I think she’s a pure woman in a secular environment. Although she’s in the entertainment industry, exceptions do exist. Having money doesn’t necessarily mean being unfaithful, right?”
I couldn’t refute Zhou Zhaokun’s words, but I felt a subtle emotion inside. I felt that I wasn’t the kind of man who truly appreciates Leyao. But this doesn’t mean she’s any less than Mi Cai or Jian Wei in others’ eyes. To others, she is also that woman from the city in the sky, inspiring endless imagination. Thinking carefully, this is the subtle emotional connection between people. Even though Zhou Zhaokun had seen that red-clad woman whose beauty seemed surreal and also Mi Cai, the only one who touched his heart was Leyao.
Finally, I nodded and agreed with Zhou Zhaokun. If he could truly see Leyao as that woman from the city in the sky, it would be a good ending for her, freeing her from the struggles and controversies of the entertainment industry. However, this time, the mutual force didn’t work on Leyao. She didn’t develop the same instant attraction towards Zhou Zhaokun, which meant that Zhou Zhaokun was destined to embark on a long journey, waiting for the outcome of that one sight, one love.
Zhou Zhaokun left Suzhou without having breakfast with me. Then I remembered that I had promised him yesterday that I would treat him at that extremely artistic restaurant in CC today. But both of us forgot about it. However, it wasn’t a big deal. As he said, there would be another chance, so we could make up for it when Leyao returned to Suzhou next time.
…
Around nine in the morning, I received a call from Chen Jingming. He asked me to take him to Jian Wei’s advertising company. We agreed to meet downstairs at Zhuomei, and then I got into his car. Following my directions, we headed toward Jian Wei’s advertising company.
On the way, I gave Chen Jingming a general introduction of Jian Wei’s background. He also mentioned that he had heard of Jian Wei’s father, Jian Boyu’s reputation in the advertising and public relations industries. He believed that choosing to cooperate with Jian Wei was a wise decision.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at Jian Wei’s “Simay Advertising.” As I was very familiar with the place, I directly led Chen Jingming into Jian Wei’s office without needing any staff guidance.
At that moment, Jian Wei was sitting in her office having breakfast, holding a milk bottle in one hand and an unfinished piece of tiramisu in the other. Suddenly seeing us arrive, she looked slightly embarrassed, then put down the milk bottle and food, wiped her hands with a tissue, and looked at me with a displeased expression.
I apologized, saying, “Sorry, I didn’t expect you were eating. I forgot to knock!”
“When will you ever get rid of your casual habit?”
“General Manager Jian is right to scold me… Oh, let me introduce. The person beside me is Chen Jingming, the executive vice president of Zhuomei, and also my former boss. He has specially come on behalf of Mi Cai to discuss the PR cooperation with you.” I then turned to Chen Jingming and said, “The one just now holding a milk bottle in one hand and a piece of tiramisu in the other is General Manager Jian, a rising star in the advertising industry!”
Chen Jingming extended his hand in a very professional manner, and Jian Wei stood up to shake it as a sign of respect, but she took the opportunity to glare at me, clearly dissatisfied with my introduction of her. Actually, I wasn’t trying to tease her; I just didn’t want the negotiation atmosphere to be too heavy, considering the upcoming PR crisis was already burdensome enough.
After we sat down, the business discussion began. Chen Jingming sincerely asked Jian Wei, “May I ask what requirements General Manager Jian has regarding the remuneration for this cooperation?”
Jian Wei seemed well-prepared and said to Chen Jingming, “For this cooperation, I don’t need monetary compensation.”
This answer surprised Chen Jingming a bit. After glancing at me, he asked in confusion, “General Manager Jian, what do you mean by that?”
“I have my eyes on the two advertising billboards at the north gate of Zhuomei. I heard their contracts are expiring next month. I hope Mi Cai can use the three-year operating rights of these two billboards to offset the cooperation fee.”
Chen Jingming immediately showed a difficult expression. After a long time, he said, “General Manager Jian, as an industry insider, you must understand the commercial value of these two billboards at the north gate.”
Jian Wei calmly replied, “Of course I know. These two advertising spots are the most prime locations in the city center. If any one of them is auctioned separately, the annual rent would be at least 800,000 yuan.”
I was immediately shocked. If calculated at 800,000 yuan per billboard per year, two billboards for three years would amount to a rent of 4.8 million yuan, which could easily reach 5 million yuan with a slight increase. Jian Wei’s request was indeed quite high! But precisely this showed that she had no personal feelings involved in this cooperation, hence her demand. After all, at this stage, her advertising company was in urgent need of such prime advertising resources. She was indeed a strategic business operator.
After a long silence, Chen Jingming finally said, “I need to discuss this with Mi Cai. I don’t have the authority to make such a decision on her behalf because the amount involved is really too high. No advertising company in the industry would charge such a high PR service fee!”
Jian Wei shrugged and said, “Is a PR service fee of 5 million yuan really that high?”
Chen Jingming nodded seriously and said, “Indeed, it’s quite high… Of course, if you can guarantee a hundred percent success in resolving the potential PR crisis, then 5 million yuan wouldn’t be a big deal for Mi Cai.”
I was immediately impressed by Chen Jingming’s negotiation skills. No wonder Mi Cai had entrusted him with such an important task. With just one sentence, he had turned the passive situation in the negotiation into an active one, leaving the difficult decision to Jian Wei. Now it was up to Jian Wei whether she dared to commit to a one hundred percent success rate.
Jian Wei then took out another tissue and wiped her hands again. She then pulled out a contract from her drawer and handed it to Chen Jingming, saying, “This is the cooperation contract we have prepared unilaterally. If we cannot completely resolve the PR crisis for Zhuomei, we will not charge any service fee. Conversely, Zhuomei must transfer the operating rights of the two billboards at the north gate to me for three years.”
Chen Jingming looked at Jian Wei in shock, seemingly overwhelmed by the woman’s strong confidence and boldness. After a long time, he finally took the contract from her hands and began to read it carefully.
Although the contract was only a few pages long, Chen Jingming read it repeatedly for ten minutes before turning to Jian Wei and asking, “General Manager Jian, are you sure you want to proceed with this gambling-style contract?”
“Since I drafted the contract myself, of course I have the intention to proceed. Now it’s up to you whether to sign it or not.”
“I will consult with Mi Cai first. Please wait a moment.”
Jian Wei made a gesture indicating that he could proceed and then picked up her unfinished breakfast from the table to continue eating. This calm and composed demeanor made even me feel confident about this cooperation.
A moment later, Chen Jingming returned to the office after consulting and nodded to Jian Wei, saying, “Mi Cai says we can sign the contract. She also asked me to convey her greetings to General Manager Jian. If this PR crisis can be resolved, in addition to those two prime advertising spots, she will give you a substantial reward after she returns to the country.”
Jian Wei smiled and said, “Mi Cai is too kind.”
Chen Jingming responded with a smile of his own, then took a deep breath and finally picked up the pen to sign his name on the contract prepared by Jian Wei. This marked the official beginning of the historic cooperation between Jian Wei and Mi Cai.
After the contract was signed, Jian Wei and Chen Jingming shook hands as a formality. Chen Jingming then asked her, “May I ask, General Manager Jian, who have you prepared as the PR team for Zhuomei this time?”
Jian Wei sat back in her office chair and immediately pulled out a stack of documents from her drawer, handing them to Chen Jingming and saying, “These are the profiles of Wei Ruli and Sun Rui. They are the elite of the PR industry. As long as the PR crisis doesn’t reach the level of the Sanlu incident, they can handle it.”
Chen Jingming took the documents from Jian Wei’s hands again and started flipping through them while saying, “I’ve long heard of these two’s reputations in the PR industry. General Manager Jian, being able to invite them shows that you are well-prepared. I hope our cooperation this time will be a great success!”
…
After both parties signed the contract and discussed some details, Chen Jingming and I were preparing to leave when Jian Wei suddenly called me back, saying she wanted to talk to me alone. I let Chen Jingming go ahead, but to my surprise, before leaving, Chen Jingming took out a check for 1.5 million yuan from his briefcase and handed it to me, saying it was prepared by Mi Cai. This action immediately drew an unusual look from Jian Wei.
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