Chapter 209: A Tremendous Challenge

Since Mi Cai asked, I decided not to hide the truth, though I chose a more tactful way to phrase it: “I saw you with Weiran and assumed you two must have something important going on, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Mi Cai leaned her head on my shoulder, with a hint of apology in her voice, and said, “Yesterday was Weiran’s birthday. He held a birthday party, and I originally wanted to invite you along, but…”

“But you were afraid I wouldn’t fit into such a fancy occasion.”

Mi Cai didn’t directly respond, but instead asked me, “Do you really dislike me being with Weiran?”

“I definitely mind, but you two are just friends, right?”

Mi Cai nodded and said, “Yes, my boyfriend is you.”

I gently stroked her hair and whispered in her ear, “Forget about the unpleasantness of these past few days. Let’s just be together, no drama, okay?”

She nodded and echoed, “Let’s be together, no drama!”

I opened my arms and pulled her into a hug, then asked with concern, “Is your stomach still hurting?”

“A little bit.”

“I’ll make you some brown sugar tea when we get back.”

“Okay.”

We left the bench on the street, but Mi Cai suddenly stopped and grabbed my hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“Carry me on your back.”

I smiled, then bent down for her. She climbed onto my back, and I lifted her up as we walked toward her car under the shadows of the streetlights. In that moment, the long-lost sense of happiness finally returned to my heart. I’m sure Mi Cai felt just as happy as I did at that moment.

Back in the old house, I made some brown sugar tea for Mi Cai. She curled up in a corner of the sofa, drinking it with her legs resting on my lap. We shared some recent amusing stories with each other until late at night, until she fell asleep in my arms, clearly tired.

I gently picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, covered her with the blanket, and gazed at her for a long time. Unable to contain my emotions, I kissed her beautiful face. In my heart, I wished for nothing more than to live like this day after day, year after year, until we grew old together without a care in the world.

If there is still something I long for in life, this is what I desire most.

…

Three days passed. During this time, I temporarily put aside all previous unpleasantness and fully devoted myself to the upcoming negotiation with Golden Summit Properties. To better understand this real estate company, I not only searched online for relevant information but also visited several of their ongoing construction sites multiple times, so that I could be fully prepared and know both myself and the opponent when entering the negotiation.

This afternoon, I came to Jian Wei’s advertising company, accompanied by a real estate planner and a designer for this meeting. As I was about to leave, Jian Wei suddenly walked out of the general manager’s office with her handbag and called me back.

I looked at her in confusion, thinking she might have something else to tell me.

She smiled and said, “I’ll go with you. I want to see how you perform in the negotiation.”

I immediately refused and said, “Please don’t. It’s not like we’re going to fight wolves. Having too many people go along will give the client a first impression that we lack confidence.”

“I don’t think so. On the contrary, my presence will show how seriously our company takes this project. Don’t you think so?”

Since we were in front of so many of Jian Wei’s employees, I couldn’t refuse to give her face. Finally, I nodded and said, “Alright then, thank you for your kind support, Madam CEO.”

Jian Wei smiled confidently, then put on her sunglasses and walked out of the company with a strong presence, leading the way.

…

We all took Jian Wei’s Cadillac CTS to Golden Summit Properties. First, we were received by their client manager, and then we met with the director of their planning department.

The planning director seemed to know Jian Wei and kindly addressed her as “Madam CEO.”

Smiling, Jian Wei introduced to us, “This is Director Wang from Golden Summit’s planning department.”

We greeted him one by one, and then Jian Wei introduced us to him. Finally, we all took our seats.

Jian Wei whispered softly in my ear, “I’ve had dinner with Director Wang a few times before, which is why we got this meeting opportunity. He’s a very strict person, but I hope you can stay calm during the meeting, adapt flexibly, and complete this negotiation successfully.”

I nodded. Then Jian Wei introduced me again to Director Wang, emphasizing that I would be fully in charge of this upcoming negotiation.

I calmed myself down, quickly relaxed, and then, with a professional smile, greeted Director Wang, saying, “Hello, Director Wang. First of all, on behalf of Sima Advertising, I would like to express our sincere desire to cooperate with Golden Summit Properties. At the same time, I wish your ongoing projects great success in sales.”

Director Wang smiled and asked, “Tell me, which of Golden Summit’s ongoing projects do you know about?”

I calmly listed the names of several ongoing projects.

Director Wang nodded and then said to me, “Then please share your personal views on these ongoing projects.”

I quickly recalled the information I had gathered beforehand about these projects and, still maintaining a calm demeanor, expressed my thoughts to Director Wang.

After listening to my explanation, Director Wang nodded again but suddenly turned serious and said, “This year, Golden Summit Properties has three projects launching in Suzhou. The advertising budget allocated is five million yuan. This is a highly attractive business opportunity for any advertising company. However, securing our business is not that easy. I’m sure you already know that our company previously held a public tender, but all the advertising agencies that participated unfortunately failed. Therefore, this time you must give me a convincing reason why we should choose Sima Advertising.”

My heart immediately sank, because previously I had estimated the advertising budget to be between one and two million yuan. I never expected it to be a staggering five million. It seemed that Jian Wei truly had great ambition—or perhaps recklessness. Such a huge advertising contract alone could sustain a medium or small advertising company. Without considerable strength, no one would dare to even dream of it. And Jian Wei’s newly established advertising company—how strong could its resources really be?

I suddenly felt immense pressure, even forgetting that if I could successfully secure this business, I would earn a commission of 500,000 yuan.

Not giving me time to think, Director Wang pressed on with an intimidating tone, “Don’t talk to me about how many top planners and designers your company has. The agencies that previously participated in the bidding were basically up to 4A-level standards. What they lacked most was not top-tier planners or designers.”

After Director Wang finished speaking, even the planner and designer accompanying me looked visibly flustered, let alone me, the one directly engaging with him. At this moment, I was certain: Director Wang already understood the routine strategies of advertising companies. If I continued with conventional negotiation tactics, I would surely fail.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Jian Wei unintentionally. Even she showed signs of nervousness on her face. I could imagine that if she were the one leading this negotiation, she would also be completely thrown off by Director Wang’s unconventional approach, disrupting all our carefully prepared plans.

I forced myself to stay calm and quickly tried to think about what unique advantages Sima Advertising had that other advertising companies didn’t. However, the more I thought, the more anxious I became, because I couldn’t think of any unique advantage—only a long list of disadvantages.

I deeply understood that this opportunity for negotiation would only come once. If I failed to seize it now, there would be no second chance. Therefore, I forced myself to overcome my nervousness, trying to buy myself a bit more time for thinking.

I smiled and honestly said to Director Wang, “Director Wang, to be frank, I’m really nervous right now. Your deep understanding of the advertising industry has completely disrupted my negotiation strategy. Compared to other advertising agencies, our company indeed has no obvious advantages, and perhaps even more disadvantages. However, there is one unique strength that other agencies don’t possess.”

Director Wang seemed to enjoy my comment about his understanding of the industry. He smiled and patiently said, “What strength? Please tell me.”

At that moment, I still didn’t have a clear idea of what this advantage might be. I had said that only to buy myself more time to think. So I replied to Director Wang, “May I ask if I could have a cigarette?”

Director Wang nodded and made a gesture indicating permission: “Of course, go ahead.”

I took out a pack of Zhongnanhai cigarettes, but to my surprise, Director Wang made a gesture indicating he also wanted one.

I pulled one out and handed it to him, then lit it for him. He took a puff and said, “I used to live in Beijing for a while, and I always smoked this brand. I really miss it.”

I nodded, then took one for myself and lit it. During this brief cigarette break, I once again quickly tried to think of that unique advantage. To be precise, I was trying to fabricate one, because such a unique advantage didn’t really exist. But I still wanted to make this final attempt.