A sharp “slap” echoed through the air. The sound was particularly crisp and loud. Lu Yan didn't see it coming. His breath caught in his throat, and he forgot to resist. He just let his mother's palm land hard on Ning Anmiao's face!
Well, it was his face now.
Within a few seconds, Ning Anmiao's petite, fair, and smooth face started to swell. A searing pain shot across his face.
It was very real.
“You slut! I think you've forgotten your place after a few days without a beating!”
The insults got worse and worse. Lu Yan's heart sank to the bottom. He remembered his mother's words in the past and the increasingly silent expression on Ning Anmiao's face every time he tried to persuade her. His expression turned even colder.
But this expression obviously angered Lu's mother. As she raised her hand to deliver a second slap, the phone suddenly rang. The caller ID flashed on the screen, and the words “Lu Yan” were very prominent.
Lu Yan covered his stinging face. His expression tightened slightly. To avoid being discovered by others, Ning Anmiao had specifically swapped phones with him when she went out, just in case.
In this situation, it should be Ning Anmiao calling.
“Answer it quickly!” Lu's mother was so angry that her hands trembled. But she didn't dare to let Ning Anmiao ignore her son's call. So she retracted her hand and impatiently ordered, “Stop dawdling. I don't know why my son married you. It'd be better to get divorced earlier—”
It'd be better to get divorced earlier...
Lu Yan's expression froze slightly. Yeah, no wonder Ning Anmiao had proposed to divorce him.
With his mother's attitude like this, who could bear it?
He composed himself, picked up the phone with his fair hand, and pressed the answer button.
A familiar voice came from the other end. It was his deep voice, but there was a hint of panic that didn't match his temperament: “There's a problem with the meeting.”
——
“Dress properly and don't cause trouble for Lu Yan!”
Under Lu's mother's impatient and hasty urging, Lu Yan went back to his room and put on a proper suit before going out.
His face wore the same calm and cold expression as his personality. After getting into the Lu family's car, he only said a few brief words: “Go to Xinghe.”
The driver was stunned. If it weren't for the fact that it was indeed Mrs. Lu's face, he would have thought he had picked up the wrong person.
“Yes, madam.”
Although he answered, the driver was confused in his heart: Where did the same coldness and sense of oppression as the young master of the Lu family on Mrs. Lu come from?
Could it be that after being together for so long, their temperaments had assimilated?
He had been in such a hurry when answering the phone just now that he didn't have time to ask in detail what had happened. But he could vaguely guess that the other side must be causing trouble.
Lu Yan rubbed his phone and lowered his eyes without saying a word.
It seemed that he and Ning Anmiao would have to cooperate from within and without later. It all depended on how quickly she could react.
——
In the main conference room of Xinghe.
“Sorry, Mr. Lu. I'm afraid we have to suspend the project we talked about before.”
The other person leaned back in the chair, looking arrogant: “The group of artists we brought are not satisfied with the treatment you offered in the last contract. They plan to raise the price temporarily.”
“If Mr. Lu can't offer a higher profit - sharing ratio, we plan to cooperate with Yunyun.”
As soon as the words were out, everyone in the room was stunned.
In the whole Baicheng, who didn't know that Yunyun and Xinghe were bitter rivals?
The arrogance of the other side was obvious.
It was no wonder that this brokerage company was so arrogant. After all, one of the artists they held was Yu Qianyan, the hottest new - star actress this year.
If they could sign with them, it would surely be a huge profit.
With such a trump card in hand, it was not unreasonable for them to challenge Lu Yan.
Since “Lu Yan” had returned from the bathroom just now, his face had been gloomy. He drooped his eyelids and hadn't given a solution to the other side's unreasonable demands.
People around didn't know his temper and didn't dare to act rashly at the moment. They held their breath and waited for Lu Yan's order.
Anyone could tell that their Mr. Lu was angry.
In fact, “Lu Yan” was thinking—
“Why isn't Lu Yan here yet! If this continues, I won't be able to hold on. If this deal falls through, it can't be blamed on me!”
During Ning Anmiao's school days, she had never been exposed to knowledge about business games. She also knew that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make. To avoid collapsing Lu Yan's persona, she could only keep silent.
But waiting like this wasn't a good solution.
Just then, the door of the conference room was pushed open, and a woman out of breath appeared at the door.
“Ning Anmiao” gasped slightly. There were faint beads of sweat on her forehead. The uniform on her body showed off her curves, making her look extremely sexy, but there was a hint of coldness between her eyebrows.
When they saw the person coming, everyone's expressions changed.
Wasn't this Mr. Lu's secretly - married wife? Why did she barge in here?
Only “Lu Yan” sitting in the main seat had a glint in his eyes, but he didn't show too much emotion. He just said calmly, “Why are you here? Do you have something to say?”
His attitude was no different from Lu Yan's usual one. In just two simple words, there was even a hint of surprise at the other person's sudden appearance here.
“Ning Anmiao” was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood the other person's intention. She slightly curled her lips and immediately cooperated, saying, “Suddenly there's an urgent matter. I'd like to talk to Mr. Lu alone.”
“Lu Yan” frowned slightly, but still nodded. He waved his hand and said, “Sorry, please wait a moment. Family matters are important.”
After saying that, he strode out of the conference room first, and “Ning Anmiao” followed behind.
In the office, Lu Yan quickly took out a Bluetooth earphone from his pocket and handed one to her: “Later we'll communicate through this. You just need to repeat what I say.”
Ning Anmiao raised her eyebrows. She didn't expect him to be so well - prepared. She directly took the Bluetooth earphone and then returned to the conference room.
Strangely enough, no one knew what Mr. Lu and his wife had talked about. When they came back, the situation had completely changed. It was no longer as stalemate as before.
“Mr. Liu's request is reasonable. Xinghe can make concessions on the profit - sharing ratio.”
“Lu Yan” had handsome features and a deep, cold voice that allowed no room for negotiation: “However, correspondingly, Xinghe also needs to have enough dominance.”
“Regarding the work arrangements of artists like Yu Qianyan, Xinghe must have enough control and decision - making power.”
After saying that, “Lu Yan” looked around at everyone, making people can't help but shiver.
After a moment of silence, the other person clapped his hands and laughed, “Good. Mr. Lu really knows how to do business.”
Businessmen always had to consider the chips they held.
In business, Lu Yan was indeed an out - and - out capitalist.
Hearing the other person's response, the voice in the Bluetooth earphone chuckled softly.
“A pleasant cooperation.”
“A pleasant cooperation.”
The voice in the earphone and the voice in the conference room merged into one.
...