Zhongshu Group Headquarters Building, 17th floor.

"President Xie, this way please."

"Thank you."

Led by a female assistant, Xie Shuyu walked into the inner meeting room.

After the assistant handed her a cup of hot water, she bowed and retreated, gently closing the door.

Xie Shuyu did not sit down. Instead, she strode to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Looking down at the bustling, unfamiliar city below, her eyes were filled with gloom.

Just now she had met with the operations director of Shuxian.

The result had been far from ideal.

The other side neither admitted any delivery problems nor mentioned contract termination compensation.

They just kept dodging, shifting all responsibility away with evasive maneuvers.

She had seen many workplace veterans like that before and dealt with plenty of them.

If this were an ordinary commercial cooperation, she could have triggered legal actions, forced a contract termination, and collected a modest breach-of-contract fee to settle it.

But behind Shuxian stood Zhongshu Group.

This company, with deep state-owned backing, was the logistics and catering titan in the entire Southwest region—a true local powerhouse.

For all Weiguang Coffee’s stores in the Southwest, apart from the cold-chain transport, the core materials in use had suppliers whose roots, to varying degrees, tied back to Zhongshu Group.

Weiguang Coffee had only just entered the Southwest market.

She did not want to drag the expansion plan into a legal dispute.

After a stalemate, the operations director had someone take her here to wait for Shuxian’s person in charge, General Manager Chen Hao.

Based on the information Meng Ran provided, this second-generation heir was not an easy person to deal with.

He was arrogant, eager to produce results to inherit the family business, and thus attached extreme importance to Shuxian’s business.

Knock, knock, knock—the knock sounded suddenly.

Xie Shuyu immediately turned toward the door.

The meeting room door opened.

A man in his early thirties entered accompanied by an assistant.

He wore a well-tailored Zegna suit and slim rimless glasses;

he was handsome enough, but the way his eyes always narrowed slightly ruined the overall impression.

Xie Shuyu, who had read countless people, sized him up at a glance.

A second generation raised on family background and power—overconfident.

The moment he entered, his gaze unabashedly fixed on Xie Shuyu.

Looking at that tall, composed, graceful figure, undisguised astonishment flashed across his eyes.

At 175 cm, Xie Shuyu was pale-skinned and shapely—a genuine beauty wherever placed.

She had long been used to such looks and showed no unusual expression.

"You must be the famous President Xie? I’m Chen Hao. Very pleased to meet you. I didn’t expect President Xie to be this pretty." Chen Hao stepped closer.

His words carried a teasing tone.

Xie Shuyu appeared not to notice and smiled, "Hello, President Chen. I've heard much about you."

After polite small talk, Chen Hao took the main seat.

He looked at her and said, "President Xie, about the small issues that came up in our previous cooperation—I have harshly reprimanded the people below me. Rest assured, I guarantee this won’t happen again."

Those words made Xie Shuyu slightly surprised.

She hadn't expected him to adopt such a humble posture and even admit fault—completely unlike the attitude of the previous Director Wang.

After a moment’s thought, she followed her original plan and politely said, "President Chen, you are too kind. Actually, the main reason is Weiguang Coffee’s own strategic development. We plan to upgrade our national supply chain system, so we have to pause cooperation with some regional suppliers for now. I hope you understand."

"Oh?" Chen Hao’s face maintained a smile, as if unsurprised by her decision. "President Xie, would you mind telling me your company’s development plan? Let’s treat this as friendly chat—I’d like to learn as well."

Xie Shuyu’s brow lifted ever so slightly. She inhaled calmly.

She began explaining, in a clear, low voice, Weiguang Coffee’s future nationwide rollout and the higher supply chain requirements it would entail.

Whatever the case, she didn’t want to offend the other party and hoped for a smooth resolution.

In the meeting room, her voice was intellectual and magnetically mature.

Chen Hao’s eyes brightened more and more.

When Xie Shuyu finished, he even spontaneously applauded, wearing a sincere smile as he praised, "President Xie, you’re amazing! Far-sighted and decisive! I also heard your company has reached a deep strategic cooperation with Yuntong Zhicui—really admirable."

"Thank you for your recognition, President Chen." Xie Shuyu responded modestly. "I just went to Yun Province last week to meet President Zhao of Yuntong Zhicui. The talks were very pleasant."

Chen Hao leaned forward slightly, staring straight at her.

Finally he revealed his true intention: "To be honest, President Xie, I personally am very optimistic about Weiguang Coffee’s future—more precisely, very optimistic about you. I hope our cooperation can become deeper."

Xie Shuyu’s brow knitted slightly, yet she kept her professional smile. "Oh? President Chen, what did you have in mind?"

"Quite simple." Chen Hao’s smile turned confident. "First, we can immediately optimize the supply chain and give Weiguang priority delivery tier, helping you complete nationwide cold-chain transport. As for price, I’ll lower it by another five points for you."

"Second, you may not know, but Zhongshu Group owns a coffee chain called Coffee Moments. It operates twenty-one directly managed stores in the Southwest. We could merge this brand into Weiguang Coffee through cross-shareholding, saving you the huge effort of finding stores and expanding in a new market."

"Third, and most importantly, for Weiguang’s future Series B financing, I and Zhongshu Group behind me can also participate. So—President Xie, are you satisfied with this cooperation proposal?"

He believed no entrepreneur could refuse such a tempting package.

This meeting had been meticulously planned by him.

Having his operations director wear down Xie Shuyu’s patience for an hour before he showed up late was a negotiation tactic designed to make the cooperation smoother.

He wanted achievements to bolster his credentials for inheriting Zhongshu Group. Shuxian’s small business alone wouldn’t be enough.

If he could secure deep cooperation with a rising brand like Weiguang Coffee, revive that half-dormant coffee brand within the group, and even leverage that to enter the national market, his accomplishments would look even brighter.

What surprised him was how beautiful Xie Shuyu herself was.

Her composed, intellectual female leader temperament aroused in him a strong desire to conquer.

He wouldn’t mind a more "intimate" form of cooperation.

Hence his investment temptation.

Xie Shuyu paused, water cup in hand, a flicker of emotion crossing her eyes.

She was an extremely rational businessperson and could clearly calculate the enormous value behind Chen Hao’s words.

Directly absorbing a brand with 21 stores would let Weiguang, at minimal cost and maximum speed, instantly secure a foothold in the Southwest market.

Having Zhongshu Group invest would mean gaining a powerful ally with deep state-owned backing and local resources.

The temptation was enormous.

But after years in business, she also saw Chen Hao’s concealed greed.

Zhongshu Group was a true behemoth—the undisputed leader in Southwest catering. Once they entered as shareholders, they could, through capital operations and unequal resource advantages, gradually dilute and devour Weiguang Coffee.

She had seen too many "making a deal with a tiger" scenarios.

Most importantly, Chen Hao’s gaze had been persistently sticky in a way that made her extremely uncomfortable.

Now that she was with Tang Song, she naturally would not cause unnecessary entanglements with other men for the sake of business.

Tang Song had sacrificed enough for her;

she could not bring him trouble.

With that thought, all her temptations were instantly doused.

"President Chen, your cooperation proposal is sincere and forward-looking. Thank you for valuing Weiguang Coffee. However, Weiguang’s Series A investor is a very low-key independent investor. He has a clear and strong plan for the company’s equity structure and development pace. So… I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you."

She cleverly cast Tang Song as a "mysterious and domineering" behind-the-scenes boss to give him cause for caution.

"Oh? An independent investor? Sounds impressive." Chen Hao leaned back, slowly removing his glasses. "Why don’t you invite him out and we’ll talk face-to-face? I believe Zhongshu Group’s strength will win any top investor’s approval."

The atmosphere in the reception room gradually turned heavy.

Xie Shuyu looked at him. "I think… there’s no need for that."

"Heh." Chen Hao crossed his hands, leaning back. "President Xie, don’t rush to refuse. Weiguang’s business in the Southwest just began—the road ahead is long. You can take your time to consider."

Xie Shuyu’s expression flickered;

she naturally heard the implication behind his words.

She understood that canceling the logistics cooperation smoothly today was impossible.

She inhaled deeply and put back on a polite smile. "Alright. Thank you for the reminder, President Chen. I have other arrangements—if you’ll excuse me."

Chen Hao stood, narrowing his eyes slightly as he watched her. "Shall we go, President Xie? I’ll see you out."

.....

The afternoon sun in Rongcheng shone on her, yet Xie Shuyu felt no warmth—only harsh glare.

Ring—her phone rang suddenly.

[Meng Ran]

Xie Shuyu answered, "Hello, Ranran."

"Xiaoyu, finished the meeting? How did it go?"

"Not successful." Xie Shuyu pressed her dry lips together, fatigue in her voice. "And… a new problem arose."

She briefly recounted the conversation with Chen Hao.

Meng Ran was silent for a long time, then sighed. "In the end, it’s because Weiguang Coffee is too valuable and being watched. Upstream you have Yuntong Zhicui;

downstream you have Nebula International. Especially Nebula International—you might not have looked into it recently, but it has major capital backing and is expanding crazily..."

Hearing this, Xie Shuyu quickly understood.

With Wen Ruan’s strong support, Weiguang Coffee’s cooperation with Nebula International had been fully bound in depth.

Featured as a typical case of "new consumer brand empowerment," it appeared frequently in Nebula’s important external cooperation lists.

This was a key reason for Weiguang’s swift progress in recent months.

In the eyes of interested parties, it was a fat lamb about to soar.

Entering now through cross-shareholding at a low price would yield enormous future returns.

After hanging up, she got into a taxi.

Through the car window she glanced at the Zhongshu Group headquarters building like a looming beast. Deep unease and fear swelled in her heart.

Zhongshu Group was a true Southwest giant, a top 500 Huaxia enterprise with annual revenues in the tens of billions.

Behind it were deep local industrial funds, responsibility for tens of thousands of jobs, and tangled, entrenched ties to local government.

She could not afford to provoke them.

Yet she had to face them.

It seemed when Tang Song came to Rongcheng, they would need to have a serious talk to find a compromise.

She hoped to find a middle ground.

The taxi drove through the crowded streets.

Leaning against the window, a deep helplessness rose in Xie Shuyu’s chest.

At the same time—

By Huanhua Creek, an independent traditional Chinese courtyard tucked among century-old ginkgo and nanmu trees.

In the study, a large zitan wood desk held premium Huizhou xuan paper.

The air carried faint scents of ink and aged wood.

Ouyang Xianyue held a purple-hair brush in hand, calm and focused as her strokes flowed like a dragon and snake.

She wore a modernized qipao made from top-grade Song brocade, perfectly outlining her mature, slender figure—elegant and noble.

Opposite her sat a woman nearly sixty but well-maintained, watching quietly.

Watching her daughter’s fluid calligraphy, the elder’s gaze was full of affection but harbored a subtle worry.

"Xiaoxiong, this time you’ve come back—stay at home a few days. No matter how busy the company is, pay attention to your health."

Ouyang Xianyue set down her brush and studied the single character "tranquil" she had written.

Calmly she said, "Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll stay in Rongcheng for a while. I have very important matters to handle."

"Xiaoxiong" was her childhood name, given by the academician grandfather lauded as a national scholar, wishing her to be as robust as a little bear.

At her age and status, only her mother still used it in private.

"Good." Her mother’s eyes brightened. Seeing her daughter stop writing, she grew concerned about Xianyue’s health and workload.

Ouyang Xianyue moved to the tea tray by the window and, with practiced motions, brewed a pot of dew tea from Mount Mengding.

The tea aroma swirled, refreshing.

Her mother sipped and looked at her daughter, who seemed even more splendid amid the rising steam. She spoke slowly, words warm but pointed, "Your tea skill is increasingly like your grandfather’s. Seeing Tang Yi now in your hands, flourishing like this, he must be proud in heaven."

She paused, then changed tone with gentle implication, "But, Xiaoxiong, no matter how grand a tree grows, how solid the roots, to pass down for a hundred years it needs new branches;

only then can it better withstand storms, right?"

Ouyang Xianyue put down her cup and looked at her mother with a faint smile. "What—did Dad ask you to 'point this out' again?"

Her mother’s expression went slightly awkward, then released a soft sigh. "Some things need long-term planning. Your grandfather likely won’t make it through this winter."

A flash of dimness crossed Ouyang Xianyue’s eyes and her motion faltered.

The towering tree that had sheltered her was about to fall.

Seeing her expression, the mother urged on, "And Qi Ming has been gone so many years. I worry about you being alone. Now that Tang Yi Precision is so huge, you should consider your own future."

Hearing the name of her deceased husband, Ouyang Xianyue was silent for a while, then slowly shook her head.

"My own matters, I know in my heart. It’s not the time yet."

Behind her, the giant-looking power structure rested on a delicate balance between two pillars.

On one side was her own Ouyang family and the tangled domestic political and business resources inherited from that brief marriage—her "roots."

On the other side stood the Tangjin Family Office, representing top international financial capital—her "wings."

Deep roots ensure invincibility;

strong wings allow soaring.

If she remarried or had heirs, that fragile balance would be instantly shattered.

But now was far from the moment to reveal cards.

"Jin Meixiao." Ouyang Xianyue murmured inwardly, her gaze deepening.

Jin Meixiao and Anne Kate represented an international capital bloc full of uncertainty and danger.

She needed to slowly change and influence things, using family resources to safeguard Tang Rong from being swallowed by greedy capital.

Jin Meixiao controlled daily operations across the Tangjin system.

Moreover, Tang Song had been "hidden" these years.

If Tang Song truly vanished, she would rightfully become the de facto controller.

To her, the relationship between Tang Song and Jin Meixiao likely included gratitude for recognition and a gradually nurtured "love."

Jin Meixiao loved Tang Song—this was unquestionable.

But how deep that love was, who could guarantee?

Ironically, what she feared most every day was that Jin Meixiao, incensed by Tang Song’s wandering affections, might be driven to extreme actions.

The temptation was huge.

If she were in Jin Meixiao’s position, facing a partner whose loyalty was suspect and surrounded by many admirers—holding absolute power capable of replacing him—some wavering of intent might arise.

Even if not now, then later?

If Tang Song had a child with someone else…

This was the root of Ouyang Xianyue’s forced involvement in the "harem" struggle.

She had to cultivate within her family another force capable of counterbalancing Jin Meixiao.

Form an internal, healthy power check to ensure Tang Rong’s safety and the stability of the Tangjin system.

So far, though, neither Su Yu nor Liu Qingning was mature enough;

each had fatal flaws.

Su Yu possessed top-tier looks and the halo of a national goddess—hundreds of millions of fans and unparalleled social influence—but she was too fragile and unstable at her core.

Ouyang Xianyue understood that Su Yu’s feelings for Tang Song had reached a kind of pathological obsession—both her greatest weapon and her most fatal weakness.

Liu Qingning was the opposite.

Her decade-long deep bond with Tang Song was unrivaled.

She was smart and rational, a top graduate from Imperial Capital University.

But her scale of thinking and political maneuvering were still far from sufficient.

As her thoughts churned—

Ding-dong—

The phone on the tea tray lit up.

Ouyang Xianyue glanced and instantly sat up straight.

Those typically calm eyes ignited with a sudden intense radiance.

[Tang Song: "Long time no see, Ouyang."]