CHAPTER 218: CHAPTER 218: WHY SO DISTANT?

"How come he hasn’t arrived yet? Did President Bian oversleep this morning?" A provoking remark caused laughter to ripple through the venue.

"In my opinion, President Bian has made such a clear distinction between us and Lixing. Mr. Shen’s heart must be quite chilled," said a young board member recklessly, eliciting laughter.

Originally indifferent, Shen Jinci gave the latter a faint glance and said emotionlessly, "If I remember correctly, Zhou Quan, right?"

Startled, Zhou Quan stood up uneasily, "Mr. Shen, how come you remember my name?"

"Just a good memory," Shen Jinci replied coolly, still emotionless, but it sent a chill down everyone’s spine, "So you’d better watch what you say."

Shen Zhaoli also sneered, "You should go back and practice writing your name a thousand times, then you’ll know how to speak properly!"

With that pointed out by both, Zhou Quan’s face turned pale, and he sat down anxiously, no longer in the mood to jest.

Those who were originally laughing also suddenly fell silent.

Only Shen Jian quietly said, "Mr. Shen, after all, it is a meeting, and everyone should speak freely."

Ever since Shen Shiniang had been driven away, Shen Jian had been acting according to Shen Jinci’s mood in the board meetings. His sudden interjection was clearly instructed by someone.

Shen Jinci looked at him faintly and remained silent.

Shen Jian’s remark didn’t find support from the others, and the atmosphere became even more unbearable.

Finally, the door opened, and Bian Yue walked in.

Shen Jinci, who had been indifferent up until now, subtly softened his expression when he saw Bian Yue.

She sat down beside Shen Jinci, who calmly said, "President Bian, please."

Bian Yue signaled to Anny at the door, who then placed the prepared documents in front of everyone.

"These are Mintang Media’s recent business profits and tender documents. We have already secured an exclusive collaboration agreement with the industry-leading Xinghe Film and Television. In the future, we will have a vast space for growth."

As she spoke, everyone opened the files, even Shen Jinci began to look through them.

With her fists clenched, Bian Yue eased her nervous emotions and continued, "Although we are not the largest company in the industry yet, if we continue to develop in this manner, we are bound to go far."

"The data is indeed impressive, and there are no issues with your prospectus." Shen Jian looked up at Bian Yue with a warm smile, "Since we’re talking business, may I speak frankly?"

"Please do."

"The data you provided indeed proves that Honey is a company with great potential, and certainly, the short-term data looks impressive. But it’s still a new company without enough depth." Shen Jian smiled kindly, "Why do you think, President Bian, that Lixing would choose Honey over traditional capitals like Red Mountain?"

Shen Zhaoli frowned unhappily.

He subconsciously looked at Shen Jinci, who was still flipping through the documents.

Shen Zhaoli realized that Shen Jinci didn’t plan to intervene at all, he was really just watching from the sidelines.

"Of course, Lixing Group has a wide range of choices in Xiangjiang, and Honey is just one of them," Bian Yue smiled calmly, looking at Shen Jian, "but Honey is willing to bear the profits and losses alone."

"What do you mean?" Shen Jian was taken aback.

Everyone instinctively looked at Bian Yue.

Shen Jinci paused in his flipping, and then continued to watch quietly.

"If Lixing and Honey cooperate, and Honey fails to become an industry leader within a year, bearing all the resulting losses alone, Honey will ensure that it will not implicate Lixing."

The room buzzed with discussions.

Zhou Quan, who had been making jokes earlier, was now surprised and exclaimed, "Are you serious?"

Given Shen Jinci’s status, it was really unnecessary for Bian Yue to start a business.

She was already standing at the pinnacle simply by virtue of Mrs. Shen’s status.

But she was indeed intending to take a gamble.

Zhou Quan was greatly puzzled, "Why? You’re taking such a huge risk, and being so detached from your husband?"

Shen Zhaoli tightened his expression and tapped the table, coldly saying, "Shut your mouth! If you don’t want to continue the meeting, you can leave now."

Zhou Quan gestured to be silent and ceased further commentary.

Unnoticed, Shen Jinci began observing Bian Yue, his emotions growing darker.

Bian Yue didn’t look his way, instead, scanning all the directors.

"President Bian, I mean no malice, I just simply want to ask, can I understand this as Honey being willing to bear the profits and losses, and if it fails to become the industry leader, Lixing can withdraw unconditionally?"

"Yes," Bian Yue said calmly, her expression composed as she continued, "I am willing to give Lixing Group 15% of the shares in exchange for Lixing Group’s business resources and subsequent cooperation."

"Actually... this could be feasible?"

"Yes, I actually think this deal is quite worthwhile," someone whispered.

Shen Zhaoli breathed a sigh of relief, desperately hoping the meeting would end soon. Though Shen Jinci sat expressionless, his heart was in turmoil.

He could tell the atmosphere between the two wasn’t right.

Then, Shen Jian spoke again, breaking the momentarily eased atmosphere, "15%? President Bian, you previously mentioned 30%, why has it suddenly halved?"

"Honey is willing to bear the profits and losses on its own, so halving the shares doesn’t mean a loss for Lixing," Bian Yue said calmly: "Chairman Shen, this share is not a small number for Honey, you should see my sincerity."

"The sincerity of President Bian, I indeed haven’t felt much of it either," Shen Jian smiled.

Shen Zhaoli, infuriated yet mocking, didn’t wait for Bian Yue to respond as he retorted, "You say you can’t see it because you haven’t seen it? Where’s your reason?"

But it was Bian Yue who remained calm, looking at Shen Jian.

Shen Jian, unaffected by Shen Zhaoli’s emotions, still smiled warmly but his words were quite piercing, "I heard that Xinghe took away a full 35% of the shares from Honey. Don’t you think that President Bian believes Lixing is inferior to Xinghe? Isn’t this a bit biased?"

The room went silent; Shen Jian smiled and looked at Shen Jinci, clearly intending to stir the waters further, "Mr. Shen, what do you think about this?"

Bian Yue pursed her lips, looking at Shen Jinci.

His gaze was deep, like the abyss of black obsidian, and he finally spoke slowly, "Merely bearing the losses indeed does not offset the halved shares. Whether the outcome is good or bad, both Lixing’s time and reputation are more valuable than mere profits and losses."