CHAPTER 400: CHAPTER 400: IAN

Ian stared at Mariana as if he had seen a ghost.

His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

Just a moment ago, Mariana had refused to give him even one billion dollars for forty percent of his company.

Yet now, she had suddenly reduced her demand to twenty percent and was even willing to invest the same amount. It was as if she had turned into a completely different person.

Aurora raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a faint smile.

She was not surprised. Instead, she looked at Ian and said in a calm but slightly playful tone,

"Now the choice is yours. You can choose something far worse than my proposal, or you can choose mine. Think carefully. Her offer still asks for one dollar for every product you sell, while l didn’t ask for anything. In the long run, you will lose more with her."

Mariana’s face stiffened when she heard Aurora’s words. Her heart sank.

She had expected Aurora to raise the stakes, but instead, Aurora had turned the whole situation around.

Mariana knew the value of Light Corporation. It had great potential, and she did not want to lose the chance to invest in it.

She had tried to corner Ian with an attractive offer, but now Aurora had made her deal look unfair.

Mariana clenched her fingers slightly but kept a smile on her face. Inside, however, she was frustrated.

She had wanted to make sure Aurora suffered a loss. As long as Aurora raised the stakes even one bit, Mariana would back out, and then Aurora would be frustrated.

Yet with Aurora’s calm words, the whole scene had flipped. Now Mariana’s proposal looked worse.

In fact, she had only quoted till she didn’t suffer any loss in case of risk, who would have thought Aurora would make it seem worse in such a way?

Ian looked between the two women.

For a moment, he could not believe what he was seeing.

Two powerful investors of the world were fighting over him.

Light Corporation did not even have a proper foothold yet, and here they were, arguing about who should invest in it.

’Whenever god gives a blessing... it comes in a pair!’

But Ian was not a fool. He took a deep breath and thought carefully about the two proposals.

Finally, he turned toward Aurora. His eyes carried a hint of gratitude.

"You are the first investor who had reached out to me on your own and treated me fairly." he said slowly. "Your proposal is fair and clear. I can see that you are more sincere than others. I will accept your proposal."

Aurora chuckled inwardly at his words.

She knew Ian was not speaking out of gratitude alone.

He was a businessman and had chosen the better deal.

If he had accepted Mariana’s proposal, he would have offended her(Aurora aka Miss Dawn) and still been trapped in a worse contract.

Even if he had gone with Mariana’s money, he would have been forced to work under her condescending attitude. Aurora, as Ms. Dawn, had not shown that kind of superiority.

She understood his real thoughts but did not call him out. Instead, she nodded lightly and said,

"Good. I will have the contract drafted as soon as we land."

Mariana’s smile turned cold. Her eyes glinted sharply as she looked at Ian.

"So you are really going to go ahead with this deal?" she asked.

Ian nodded without hesitation. "Yes. I believe this is the best choice for my company."

Mariana gave a small laugh and said in a low voice,

"Then I will be waiting to see how you manage to make a comeback in the future."

Her words carried a clear threat. Ian’s back stiffened, and a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He understood the implication in her words.

If Mariana decided to create obstacles for him, it would be a hard road ahead.

His gaze shifted to Aurora, feeling both worried and relieved. From what he had learned, Ms. Dawn was far more powerful than Mariana.

Mariana might be a seasoned investor, but her net worth was only in the millions.

Ms. Dawn, on the other hand, had already crossed into the realm of billionaires.

In fact, her wealth had surged into billions just three months ago. No one knew what kind of miracle she might create next.

Ian thought to himself that it was far better to be on Ms. Dawn’s good side.

If it had been anyone else other than Ms. Dawn, he might have suffered badly after rejecting Mariana.

Aurora, however, had her own thoughts. She said nothing about Mariana’s words.

Instead, she kept her smile polite as she and Ian began to talk about casual things.

They spoke about his company’s future, about the markets he hoped to reach, and about the banquet he planned to attend once his product launched.

Then, out of nowhere, Ian asked, "Is your hair really black?"

Aurora raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking that?" she replied with a faint smile.

Ian scratched his head a little awkwardly.

"It is just that there has been a rumor going around recently. Some people say Ms. Dawn has red hair."

Aurora frowned slightly. She was puzzled. How had anyone even come close to guessing her true appearance?

But she quickly hid her reaction behind a smile. "If it were really red," she said lightly, "I would be thrilled."

Ian chuckled at her playful tone and decided not to press further.

He assumed she had black hair after all.

What he did not know was that Aurora had deliberately shown an amused expression to mislead him.

She did not want her real identity to be revealed so soon.

After a moment, Aurora looked at him and said with a calm tone,

"I will tell you this much. My hair is not black. I will not say it is red either, but it is far from black."

She didn’t want him to feel betrayed when her real hair color was revealed.

Ian frowned slightly at her words. His instincts still told him that her hair might be red, yet her playful answer left him confused.

He could not quite explain why he felt so certain, but he let the matter drop.

When the plane finally landed, Aurora and Ian departed together.

Aurora called Emily to bring the contract documents, and soon Emily arrived at the airport in a car.

Just as they were about to leave, Mariana appeared again.

The moment Ian saw her, he felt his shoulders tense.

His grip on his briefcase tightened as he glanced nervously at Aurora.

Aurora noticed his reaction and let out a soft chuckle.

She turned her eyes to Mariana. In her heart, she thought of the pain that this woman had caused Alex.

Aurora had promised herself that before she took any severe actions against Mariana, she would first find out if Mariana was truly guilty or not.

Mariana stepped forward gracefully, her usual polite smile on her face.

Aurora smiled back and said in a teasing tone, "So, are you here to take investment tips?"

Mariana blinked in surprise for a moment before laughing lightly.

"No," she said, her voice smooth. "I am here to learn how to shamelessly interrupt meetings and snatch away the potential startups that someone else wants to invest in."

Aurora beamed at her words. "That is simple," she replied.

"Whenever you see a promising startup owner being scammed, just step in and stop them from being cheated by offering a better deal."

Mariana’s smile froze for an instant. She understood the hidden meaning in Aurora’s words. Aurora was taunting her, indirectly calling her a scammer.

Ian, standing nearby, felt a rush of relief. His choice now seemed even more right.

One investor had tried to trap him with harsh terms, while the other had stepped in to protect him. He silently thought that Ms. Dawn was not only a good investor but also a reliable ally.

Mariana sighed softly and said in a calm tone, "I am not here to argue today. I came to invite Ms. Dawn to a banquet that will be held in two weeks."

Aurora raised an eyebrow at that. "A banquet?" she asked.

Mariana smiled. "Yes," she said. "It is my nephew’s birthday. We are planning to make it very grand."

Aurora’s eyes gleamed faintly as soon as she heard that.

Her voice turned colder as she asked, "Are you talking about Jasper Green?"

Mariana’s expression shifted to surprise. "You know Jasper?" she asked.

Aurora nodded. "I do. And to be honest, I dislike him. So I will not attend. The last time I met him, he deeply offended me."

Mariana’s eyes widened slightly, then her face softened with a look of realization.

She sighed and said,

"So that is it. Because you hold a grudge against my nephew, you took away this investment opportunity. That is quite petty of you."

Aurora chuckled at that. "You caught me there," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, I admit it. I canceled a deal because I could not stand Jasper."