Can we meet?

The phone on the other end was silent. Yan Liang was afraid he would reject her pleas when he finally spoke.

But he said only two words, Time, place?

Half an hour later Yan Liang thought and then changed her tone, You decide.

She was now trying to be humble, the man said , Ming Ting Court Hotel..

.. room 1619.

Hearing this, Yan Liang finally reacted and frowned. He had hung up the phone. Yan Liang continued to hear the monotonous busy tone as wave after wave of distaste rose in her heart.

Yan Liang drove to the hotel in less than 20 minutes. She stood in front of room 1619. The copper handle, the shining light, the flowers in the corridor. none of these were unfamiliar to her.

She took a deep breath and pressed the door bell. A moment later the door opened from inside. A man appeared in front of her, the expression on his face changed when he saw Yan Liang.

He signalled her to come in and Yan Liang followed him inside.

On the coffee table, there was half a bottle of whiskey, an ice bucket and a half filled whiskey glass.

Yu Nan offered her a glass of water. He seemed to have drunk quite a bit, as he held the glass close to her, she could smell alcohol on his breath.

She politely moved slightly away.

He did not say anything, did not express the glee of the victorious. He only sat next to her in the single sofa and continued pouring his drink.

Yan Liang picked up the glass but did not drink. The silence was like a mental contest, she felt like she was invisible.

Finally she put down the glass with a bang. I can promise that I will allow you to remain on the board, but the chairmans seat cannot be moved , it has to stay within the family.

Jiang Yu Nan paused in the act of picking up his glass. Across the edge of the glass, Yan Liang thought she saw him smile slightly.

After clinking her glass with his, he raised his eyes to her, How are you qualified to talk to me about conditions?

I am still the largest shareholder of Xu.

After tomorrows opening, Xu shares will continue to fall. All those shares you have will not be worth the paper they are written on.

Yan Liang paled; she could not defend this statement.

She only had two choices in front of her continue buying the shares till she gets overwhelmed , apply for bankruptcy, drag down Xu with her, subject Xu to liquidation and restructuring till Li Bo completely wins over.

Or she could give up, cheaply sell her shares to repay the debt partially, allow Li Bo to buy more shares till they become the largest shareholder of Xu and give them the opportunity to ruthlessly kick her out of the board because of her bad decisions and high debt rates.

Both these options were impossible the only option left was to beg to this man for a way out.

Would it be better to listen to my offer? he asked with a smile.

In her heart, Yan Liang did not want to listen to his offer at all , but how would she say so ? He was well aware of that; she had no other option.

If you give up the chairmans seat, I will allow you to retain a seat on the board. In addition, I will ensure that the Xu brands are retained and not merged with Li Bo or sold off in parts to other businesses.

Jiang Yu Nan slowly shook his glass. The ice bumped against each other , creating a pleasant tinkling sound. Even his voice was coated with an illusion of pleasantness, What do you think of my proposal?

She made rapid calculations in her head. She thought of what had happened in the past and all kinds of sarcastic comments came to mind. At that time, she had been confident that she could repel him, that she had friends in high places, in the banks, in the industry , even with the Ming group who would help her. Even Zhou Cheng and her mother had enough contacts, they too could help in pulling in more capital so they could sweep the capital market and reap the benefit.

In contrast, she was sitting here now, considering this humiliating proposal.

I need time to think about it.

It seemed that he expected her to say so, he decisively nodded, Ok.

Time means opportunity; if this man was willing to give her an hour, she would utilise that hour to find a breakthrough.

She was about to relax her high strung nerves when she heard his follow up comment, But..

You do not have much time, Jiang Yu Nan looked at his watch, after all, the stock market opens in less than 5 hours.

How astute he was, with one whisper he had dashed all her hopes of stalling for time.

If I dont get your reply by that time, I will assume you have rejected the offer. Is that clear?

He raised his head slightly as he spoke to her, his attitude like that of a nobleman explaining something patiently and systematically. Yan Liang wished she had a knife in hand so she could murder him and remove this man forever from her life.

( Miumiu : I think this is inspired by what the authors friends told her/him)

But rational thinking was a terrible thing, also the best thing to help Yan Liang calm down and abandon this unrealistic idea.

She had rushed out in a hurry and therefore forgotten to wear a wrist watch. She now looked at her mobile phone to check the time.

She also saw that she had six calls she had missed in the last quarter of an hour when she had put the phone on silent mode. The calls were from Zhou Cheng. He had then texted her saying that the he was rushing to the airport to speak to a consortium in North America who were ready to help them.

All afternoon she was looking for an opportunity and here suddenly one had fallen on her head!

Her cold eyes brightened, she bit her lower lip to avoid displaying any emotions. She stood up to go. The man on the opposite end looked at her with half lowered eyes, I will get the contract made in five hours. You get ready to sign it.

But when she walked past the single sofa where he sat, Jiang Yu Nan called out, Wait !

She stopped abruptly.

She had her phone in her hand.

Jiang Yu Nan put down the glass and stood up leisurely.

He must have found out something.. Yan Liangs heart beat increased, her fingers holding the phone stiffened, her hands trembled. When Jiang Yu Nan placed a hand on her shoulder, her whole body froze.

The smell of alcohol moved closer.

You seem to forget something he said, his mouth close to her ears. His voice was melodious but sharp, and Yan Liang felt like his words were stabbing her nerves. Hurriedly she asked, What?

Her sudden shocked response may be termed as asking the obvious. But Jiang Yu Nan was not going to answer directly; he was playing a game where he was leading her to the trap little by little.

Dont you remember? When you came, didnt I ask you what qualifications allowed you to negotiate conditions with me?

Based on Xus condition now, I am at your mercy. What do you want?

As she finished speaking, Jiang Yu Nan slowly turned her around by her shoulders and looked at her.

Yan Liang could see that his eyes showed the effect of alcohol, This suite is not unfamiliar to you, is it?

Such an obvious hint, along with the alcohol smell that was seeping into her body, raised Yan Liangs hackles.

Even though she was in half a mind to call Zhou Cheng immediately, the other half of her brain was telling her to be quiet, to be sensible. She stood motionless ,secretly hiding her phone in her pocket.

His face was near hers; to repel him, she closed her eyes.

She could feel his breath on her cold lips, as if the next moment he would kiss her. But his mouth moved to her ear instead. The first thing she heard was a domineering laugh.

She opened her eyes . He was standing so close to her, their heads were almost touching. His voice was gentle and warm, but merciless, Dont misunderstand me. I am not like Mr Lu, I dont need a sexual bribe.

*** ***

Yan Liang felt he could read the humiliation in her eyes. She stripped her camouflage of humility in an instant. Stepping back, she raised her hand angrily to slap him

(Miumiu : Ah!Alaykim gets her wish of smacking JYN..almost :))

Jiang Yu Nan quickly captured her wrist and smiled, Why? I dont deserve the honour?

Yan Liang fiercely pulled back her hand. Her chest was heaving due to the anger she felt. But Jiang Yu Nan was unaffected with this display and put his hand in his pocket to take out something and place it in front of her.

It was a suede box in a midnight blue color. The colour was as beautiful as the night sky, and the shape was soft and lovely. But what was inside, what was his ulterior motive?

Yan Liangs eyes were captivated by the box as Jiang Yu Nan used two fingers to extract what was inside it.

It was a wedding ring, one that Yan Liang was familiar with. This was the one they had selected when they had gone to the jewellery store early morning.

The diamonds dazzled in front of her eyes, glaringly bright.Her fingers felt chilled as he put the ring on her finger.

We will set up a wedding reception after the shareholders meeting.

You should know that you have no power to say no.

Jiang Yu Nan lifted her face slightly, bent forward slightly and pressed a cold kiss on her lips , marking the end of this paradoxical romance.

*** ***

Yan Liang walked out of the hotel like a ghost. At this time of the morning, the dark clouds in the sky ensured there wasnt the slightest sunshine. The streets were still lit. Behind her, the Ming Ting Hotel shone brightly, but in front of her, there was only darkness.

She did not venture any further into the depths of darkness. She stopped and touched the edges of the diamond ring. It was cold and hard, not giving her the slightest warmth.

Finally she remembered she still had one path open to save herself.

She hurriedly took out the phone and dialled the number. The phone was switched off. Had the other party already boarded the flight ?

She looked at the time and estimated the time it took from the city to the airport. She shook her head. Quickly, she dialled another number.

Just as she was pressing the last digit, her phone rang

The caller ID showed that this was Zhou Shus phone number.

Yan liang did not want to answer immediately.

Ms Yan!

There was a world of panic in the voice that spoke as soon as she connected.

Her nerves tightened, Zhou Shu, what happened?

He said, I drove him to the airport ..there were reports.. they said that he was involved with a financial fraud.. the police arrested him in the airport..

Just at the point of a resurgence of hope, who orchestrated the last blow?

Her ears were flooded with the elderly mans fragmented voice, as she thought about the curious coincidence.

She turned back and looked at the Ming Ting Hotel behind her.

Who was looking down from the windows above as the ants on the ground were being trampled mercilessly?