Chapter 100: Negotiations (Part 1)

It wasn't until lunchtime that Zhou Xiaoru suddenly remembered that Su Poyang and Gu Liyan had both gone on business trips this week, and she didn't know if they had returned.

She had actually forgotten about this!

Just as she was preparing to call directly to ask about the situation, the message she had sent in the morning finally received a reply.

Upon seeing the message, Zhou Xiaoru couldn't help but exclaim, "Thank goodness!"

It was such a coincidence that the group who went on business trips this week had all returned today.

She sent a message asking Su Poyang if he was free in the afternoon to meet up.

Who would have thought that shortly after the message was sent, Su Poyang replied with a voice message in a very cheeky tone.

"In such a rush to see me, did you miss me?"

The person on this end of the phone, upon hearing his voice, almost wanted to pick up a brick and smash the person on the other end of the voice message.

What a jerk!

Zhou Xiaoru was already gritting her teeth as she updated the contact name for this guy, Dianfan Guo, to a new one.

Jerk!

Thinking that Jiang Bufan had been ruined by this jerk made her so angry that her nostrils were practically smoking.

In the end, they agreed to meet at a commercial plaza near the school.

Leaving Yao Xiang in the dormitory to look after Jiang Bufan, Zhou Xiaoru and Xiao Lan went to the meeting spot early after finishing lunch.

Sitting in the KFC at the plaza, the two sat by the window where they could see the street.

They began to discuss it again...

Zhou Xiaoru: "Let's agree first on who will speak first."

Xiao Lan: "You warm up the scene first. I'm not familiar with him after all; I'll speak when the time is right."

Hearing this, Zhou Xiaoru was immediately speechless—why warm up the scene? This wasn't a circus performance.

"Just watch my eyes and act accordingly when the time comes."

"Got it!"

The two women, in that stance, looked just like they were about to have a showdown with a mistress.

Finally, after waiting for nearly an hour, Su Daguo finally made an appearance.

On the street opposite the KFC, there was a place where one could park.

Sitting in the shop, they could see the situation across the way clearly.

But...

What was going on now?

They saw Su Daguo get out of the driver's seat in the front.

Then, someone else got out of the passenger seat, and following that, the doors on both sides of the back seat also opened.

That black business Mercedes was like a treasure box; one person came out, then another came out.

Looking outside the glass window at the people who were already smiling and waving at them.

The expressions on Zhou Xiaoru and Xiao Lan's faces had already frozen.

Behind Su Poyang...

Like a game of matching tiles, a whole line of handsome men had formed!

That rate of turning heads was truly no joke.

In Zhou Xiaoru's view, this treasure car was packed with the "City Heartthrobs" of A City!

(Author's note: City Heartthrobs? I've only heard of School Heartthrobs; what kind of "throb" is a City Heartthrob? Are you sure this term exists?)

Su Poyang, Zhou Ding, Shen Andong, and... Gu Liyan.

The four men, as if they had agreed upon it, were uniformly wearing white shirts and black trousers.

Watching them enter the KFC one after another, several terms couldn't help but pop into Zhou Xiaoru's head.

F4? The Four Heavenly Kings?

With this stance and this formation, were they about to debut? Or were they a boy band that had just returned from training in South Korea?!

And Xiao Lan was already dumbfounded; what kind of situation was this!

Although handsome men were easy on the eyes, how were they supposed to assert themselves and negotiate with Su Poyang like this?

As soon as these few appeared, they instantly caused all the female compatriots to gasp and scream.

Before the group walked over, Xiao Lan hurriedly leaned over the table and said to the person opposite her.

"Xiaoru, why don't we retreat first? You send a message to Su Poyang saying we'll reschedule!"

"Why? Xiaofan is going to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow; we can't just wait for the results to come out before finding him."

"But with the situation as it is now..."

Before she could finish, the F4 group had already arrived.

Zhou Xiaoru and the others were currently sitting in a four-person sofa booth...

Su Poyang walked over and sat directly next to Zhou Xiaoru, while the other three big men stood to the side watching.

And after Su Poyang sat down, Young Master Gu's murderous gaze immediately shot over.

The other two were both looking at him in unison, both watching the show.

Conversely, our Su Daguo acted as if he hadn't seen it and went on bantering with Zhou Xiaoru.

"What's wrong? You were in such a rush to get me out here; I even pushed aside my afternoon social engagements to rush over."

The four of them had just been at the same cocktail party; after Su Poyang saw the message Zhou Xiaoru sent him, he showed it to Gu Liyan.

After seeing it, Zhou Ding and Shen Andong found out about it as well.

Seeing Zhou Xiaoru message Su Poyang to meet, how could the handsome Young Master Gu sit still? And the other two, wanting to watch the chaos, had to come along too.

That is how the current combination came to be!

Zhou Xiaoru was already regretting it; she should have listened to Xiao Lan just now. With N pairs of eyes staring at her like this, how was she supposed to perform!

She rested her arms on the table, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered to the person sitting beside her.

"I only invited you to come over, why did you..." bring so many members of your fan club along.

After finishing, she glanced at the three long-legged men to the side.

The meaning of these words was extremely clear; although the volume of her speech had been kept to a minimum, it had all been heard by the three men nearby.

Because the face of a certain gentleman was no longer just dark; it had two large characters written directly across it.

Unhappy!

And the other two, who were not afraid of things getting too chaotic, also raised their eyebrows; it seemed there was a good show to watch.

Su Poyang continued to tease, also lowering his voice.

"Xiaoru-ru, you could have just sent me a message about this privately. With so many people here, I'm actually embarrassed."

Zhou Xiaoru, "......"

A certain Xiaoru kept a cold face, watching the person beside her start to act up vigorously.

At this moment, Xiao Lan, who was sitting opposite, interjected.

"Xiaoru, why don't we make another appointment with President Su in the evening."

Under these circumstances, sitting here and being stared at by the few people around them was like being surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves.

It made one feel completely uncomfortable.

Upon hearing this, Su Poyang first put on a look of surprise, then deliberately said.

"An appointment in the evening? That wouldn't be good, would it."

Zhou Xiaoru, "......."

She was already trying her best to restrain the fist she wanted to swing at any moment!

Damn it! It really validates that saying: whether someone is a jerk depends on their behavior!

How had she not noticed before that this guy Su Poyang was even more punchable than Gu Liyan!

Truly, the world is going downhill, and jerks are in charge!

After adjusting her breathing a few times, Zhou Xiaoru shifted her gaze to the few people standing to the side.

From just now until now, her ears had been filled with the whispers of those around them.

This was a commercial plaza near the school, and it was full of university students; everyone was discussing just how handsome these few guys were.

She even heard words like "blind date."

These few men standing here were simply too conspicuous, and they needed to talk to Su Poyang about Jiang Bufan's pregnancy.

Now, not only were they being watched by a male group, but also by all the female compatriots in the shop; this scene...

Just thinking about it felt extremely bizarre.

She was truly afraid that tomorrow they would end up on the headlines of the entertainment gossip section and the social news section.

Thinking of this, a certain Xiaoru spoke up, "Could you three please move over there? We have something we need to discuss with Young Master Su!"

She felt that being able to maintain such a polite, graceful, and calm attitude while on the verge of exploding was truly not easy.

Faced with this direct order to leave, Gu Liyan's face was already dark; after looking at the person who spoke, he was the first to move his feet.

He did not go to another seat, but walked straight out of KFC.

Zhou Ding and Shen Andong followed along, looking somewhat bored.

They hadn't gotten to see the excitement, and they both expressed their regret.

Finally, seeing that they had all left, Zhou Xiaoru let out a sigh of relief.

Sigh... they hadn't even started discussing serious matters yet, and she already felt her vitality was severely damaged.

At this time, Su Poyang had put away his teasing and looked at the person beside him with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong? So serious."

It made him start to feel flustered inside as well.

Zhou Xiaoru stared at him with eyes like torches, entering negotiation mode.

"Su Poyang, we are looking for you today for a private matter, unrelated to work. Don't take the opportunity to retaliate against me at the company later."

She had to give this guy a heads-up beforehand, otherwise, how would she continue to survive at Tengyuan in the future.

"How could I? Don't worry, I am a person who distinguishes right from wrong."

Hearing him say this, Zhou Xiaoru looked at him with a face full of suspicion.

Then she began to get to the point, "Su Poyang, do you have a girlfriend right now!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they actually stunned Xiao Lan, who was sitting opposite!

'Zhou Xiaoru! What are you doing? Why are you asking that!'

After blinking his eyes twice, Su Poyang began to think seriously; he thought there was something wrong with his ears.

Uncertain, he asked again, "What did you ask me?"

Zhou Xiaoru repeated it again, firmly and decisively, "I asked you, do you have a girlfriend right now?"

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with his ears, the answer that followed from Big Brother Su was enough to make the two female students present so angry they could fly straight to the galaxy.

"Girlfriend... are you talking about a permanent one, or a non-permanent one?"

Zhou Xiaoru, "......"

Xiao Lan, "......"

Sure enough, ginger is still spicier when it's old!

Su Poyang was, after all, a mature male individual in his early thirties!

He has not only been rolling and crawling in the business world for many years, but in the circle of women, it is the same!

Zhou Xiaoru and Xiao Lan cannot help but think, in this man's eyes, are they both little white rabbits now?

Yet he is a big gray wolf with great lethality and attack power!!

With their complexions shifting between green and red, the four hands resting on their laps were almost simultaneously clenched tight!

They really chose the wrong place to meet; they should have asked this scumbag to some small riverbank, if only this were by some river.

They would have pushed this scumbag straight in without the slightest hesitation!

Seeing the expressions on these two, Su Poyang hurriedly changed his tune.

"I was joking with you, I don't have a girlfriend."

At this, Zhou Xiaoru's expression turned cold to the core.

She changed her way of asking, "How many girlfriends do you have? Formal ones, informal ones, even female friends you have dealings with, female companions, bed partners—how many in total!"

Xiao Lan, "......"

This question, asked once more, had already made Xiao Lan start sweating on her back.

Yet, it was a rare feat to stump Su Poyang.

He did not expect Zhou Xiaoru to ask like this; at this moment, he could not help but think more seriously.

"This, I really haven't carefully tallied it up... Why are you asking these things?"

These two questions had already made him increasingly curious.

And a certain Xiaoru, hearing this answer, had cursed in her heart for the hundredth time.

'Damn it! I didn't expect that in this world, there would be someone even more shameless than Gu Liyan! Truly, there is always a heaven beyond heaven, and a person beyond a person; one face is more shameless than the next!'

She used to think Gu Liyan was scum, but now she realized that this eldest cousin of his was peerlessly scum, and so confidently scum that he was simply unprecedented and would never be surpassed.

She adjusted her breathing with effort once again...

And at this moment, on the sofa seat behind Zhou Xiaoru, a group of people had changed without anyone noticing.

Because Xiao Lan was so distracted by these successive questions and answers that she had no mind to pay attention to anything else, she did not notice the few boy band members who had returned.

At this time, Zhou Ding, Shen Andong, and Gu Liyan had already returned to the shop and were even sitting in the seats behind Zhou Xiaoru.

Next, even more explosive questions came...

Completely oblivious, Zhou Xiaoru spoke up again to ask,

"Then do you have any plans for when you will get married?"

Once this question came out...

Xiao Lan, "......"

Su Poyang, "......"

Zhou Ding, "......"

Shen Andong, "......"

Gu Liyan......

Uh, Gu Liyan had already been so agitated he almost wanted to come over and throw his eldest cousin out, but he was held back by Zhou Ding at his side.

Su Poyang had not yet digested the previous question when he was stuck again by this one.

Gradually, Xiao Lan began to admire Zhou Xiaoru's wisdom in her heart.

Although she had been complaining in her heart just now, wondering where the promised rapport was and why she was asking such questions.

Now she was gradually able to understand why Zhou Xiaoru would ask these seemingly irrelevant questions.

These questions were all to test Su Poyang's character; his current reactions and answers had already well verified that he was a person whose scumminess reached the bone-ash level.

Zhou Xiaoru watched his reaction, and seeing it was about enough, it was time to talk about the real business; the preceding groundwork had been laid.

Just as Xiao Lan thought, she just wanted to see exactly to what degree Su Poyang was scum.

For a person like this, unless he went to be reincarnated, how could she let Jiang Bufan be with him?

Calmly cutting to the next segment, a certain Xiaoru had completely controlled the current situation.

"Jiang Bufan... you still remember her, right."

At this moment, the bewildered Su Poyang, as if hypnotized, foolishly nodded his head.

Zhou Xiaoru continued to ask, "The matter that happened at the boutique hotel last month... you should, still remember it, right."

She was reminding him not to do something and then refuse to take responsibility!

Although Jiang Bufan had been very straightforward about not needing him to take responsibility before, the situation had changed now; who would have thought that the aftermath of a one-night stand would only manifest a month later.

Su Poyang still foolishly nodded, looking innocent, as if he understood nothing.

Yet it was precisely this appearance that had deceived countless innocent young girls.

Asking up to this point, Zhou Xiaoru officially entered the closing stage, lowered her voice, and cut to the theme.

"It's good that you still remember! Now, Jiang Bufan is pregnant, and it is definitely yours. I see you have no intention of getting married in the next few years, and Xiaofan has no intention of being with you just because she is pregnant. See what kind of explanation you can give to Xiaoru now."

After she finished speaking, Xiao Lan opposite her had already revealed an expression of admiration for her.

The preceding groundwork and the final closing were both absolutely perfect!

And the three people in the seats behind, having overheard this, all had expressions of sudden realization.

Young Master Gu, after hearing these words, changed his expression entirely; the darkness from just before was completely gone.

Zhou Ding, who was sitting opposite them, did not hear clearly what she had just said because the distance between him and Zhou Xiaoru was too far.

Somewhat anxiously, he mouthed the words to the two brothers opposite him.

'What did she say just now? I didn't hear it.'

But the two people opposite acted as if they didn't see him, making him very depressed.

Facing these successive, hard-to-digest pieces of news, Su Poyang felt at a loss for the first time in his life.

He had roamed the field of love for over a decade and had never once crashed his car.

Yet all of this changed after he met this rumored younger sister-in-law of his.

Still somewhat dazed, he asked, "She's pregnant?! Are you sure?"

Xiao Lan, who had been sitting there for a long time without saying much, took over the conversation at this moment.

"It's almost certain; we'll take her to the hospital tomorrow to confirm it."

Upon hearing this, a long silence followed...

Finally, after holding it in for several minutes, Su Poyang spoke again, and this time, he hit exactly what Zhou Xiaoru was thinking.

"How much money does she want? Name a price."

So, it turns out that not everything in those TV dramas and novels is fake.

At critical moments, this kind of trope is still dragged out to pad the plot.

Zhou Xiaoru had just been harboring a small hope that this man could be more of a man and show some sincerity.

But these words were spoken without warmth or emotion, once again igniting a nameless fire in the hearts of Zhou Xiaoru and Xiao Lan.

Xiao Lan, who had always had a good impression of Su Poyang, immediately darkened her face and spoke up.

"Boss Su! Although money is omnipotent, there is a saying: money cannot buy a sincere heart, and money cannot buy my willingness. We came here this time just to have you give our friend an explanation. But that explanation is not predicated on money!"

Hearing this, Shen Andong, who was behind them, looked at them with newfound respect; he couldn't help but feel that the few young women around Zhou Xiaoru were all very interesting and extraordinary.

Su Poyang's expression also began to turn serious; his demeanor had returned to something similar to when he negotiated with business competitors.

He leaned back and asked.

"Did Jiang Bufan send you to talk to me?"

Seeing his expression change, Zhou Xiaoru also became guarded.

"Do you think a woman who gave you her first night but didn't ask you to take even a cent of responsibility would ask us to come and talk to you about this?"

He really didn't understand Jiang Bufan at all...