Huangfu Shaohua glanced at Sister Fen again, feeling that she was a little different from the maids in the mansion, and seemed to have an unusual relationship with his mother.
He thought for a moment. If he called Daisy now and told her what had happened, but couldn't meet her, she would probably worry a lot.
It was better to listen to his mother and wait another day to see how the Sheng family's problem would be resolved as his mother had said.
"Okay." He responded to Sister Fen and went back to his room upstairs.
...
On Huangfu Mengqi's side, a project she thought she could easily finalize with Yao Feili was delayed, with no definite answer from Yao Feili.
She had met Yao Feili again two days ago.
During their meeting, whatever she said, Yao Feili would reply with "no problem," but when it came to making a decision, he would say he needed to consider it further.
Two days had passed since his "consideration," and Yao Feili had not contacted her proactively.
In her office, she looked at the project agreement she had drafted, thinking that Yao Feili was merely using this project to keep her hanging.
Could this person be trying to force her to do something she was unwilling to do using this project?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. But she had already assured her father that if she failed, she would have to go to the overseas company and give up everything here.
She suppressed her anger and had to contact Yao Feili again.
He readily agreed to meet her again. This time, Yao Feili chose the location: a leisure center.
Mengqi knew that meeting him in such a place would lead to ambiguous associations, but she had no choice.
Without meeting and discussing further, she wouldn't know where the problem lay.
She arrived at the leisure center as scheduled, changed her clothes through the women's changing room, and found Yao Feili in the foot bath room.
"I really like this wellness method, you should try it too." Yao Feili greeted her with a smile.
Mengqi sat on the massage chair next to him, soaking her feet, and asked, "Mr. Yao, do you still have doubts about our cooperation? Or do you have any requests? Please feel free to bring them up and discuss them openly."
"Miss Mengqi, do you think I'm intentionally making things difficult for you?" Yao Feili leaned back in the massage chair and voiced the question Mengqi wanted to ask.
"Aren't you?" Mengqi asked back with a smile.
Yao Feili chuckled and turned his head to look at her, saying, "Then you underestimate me. I do have a good impression of you, but I can distinguish between personal matters and business."
As he spoke, he took out a document from a waterproof bag and handed it to Mengqi. "Take a look yourself."
Mengqi took the document and quickly flipped through it. Her surprise grew as she read, and at the end, she found it was a letter of intent for cooperation from Aoxiang Group.
"So, you plan to cooperate with Aoxiang?"
"Yes, I'm considering it." Yao Feili said helplessly. "Based on both your company's proposal and the conditions you can offer me, if you were me, who would you choose?"
Mengqi couldn't answer him. What surprised her was that Aoxiang Group's proposal and conditions were superior to theirs in every aspect.
Or rather, their offered conditions were just slightly more favorable, as if they had seen their project proposal and added some incentives on top of it.
Seeing her lost in thought and remaining silent, Yao Feili smiled and said, "Do you feel very unwilling to accept defeat? You should go back and investigate the people within your group."
"But I can't lose." Mengqi immediately stared at him and asked, "What do you want me to do to sign this project with our group? I can offer you better terms than Aoxiang, but we'll have to re-plan and get my father's approval again..."
"How long will that take? I can't wait any longer. I have to return to the overseas headquarters in a couple of days," Yao Feili said with regret. "There are many matters to attend to at the group. I've also analyzed it carefully. Although Aoxiang Group doesn't have the deep roots of your Huangfu Group in Lancheng, it's a large group that has emerged in recent years, with good development momentum and prospects. They are bold and innovative in their approach, not sticking to old conventions..."
"So, you've actually made a decision?" Mengqi felt a knot in her heart. Was there no room for salvage?
Yao Feili nodded and said, "I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with you, or rather, with your Huangfu Group, next time. Please also convey to your father that even though the business didn't work out, we are still friends."
Mengqi tightly gripped the armrests of the massage chair, gritted her teeth, and said, "If I'm willing to try dating you, or even marry you, would you choose the Huangfu Group?"
This took Yao Feili by surprise. He asked, "Miss Mengqi, your Huangfu Group doesn't depend on this project for survival. You wouldn't go so far as to involve our personal matters, would you?"
"The Huangfu Group doesn't care whether this project succeeds or fails, but I do. This project is crucial to me!"
"Why?" Yao Feili asked curiously.
Mengqi glanced at the technician who was massaging their feet, unsure how to explain the situation to Yao Feili.
Yao Feili said to the technician, "You can go out now. We don't need your services here."
After the two technicians left, Mengqi said, "Because there have been some rumors about me online recently, my father and I made a bet using your project."
"You made a bet using my project?" Yao Feili found this father and daughter pair quite interesting. "I'd like to hear the details."
After Mengqi finished explaining, he understood.
Yao Feili felt it was no big deal and said, "If you want to develop overseas, just come find me. I believe I can help you more abroad. You don't need to force yourself for the sake of this project's outcome."
"I can't go overseas. I have to stay at the Huangfu Group headquarters in Lancheng. I've worked hard at the group for so many years. If I leave, all my previous efforts will be in vain, do you understand?"
Yao Feili felt that Mengqi had strong career ambitions, which was rare among wealthy young ladies. He didn't want to miss such a capable partner.
"I understand. But if we are to mix our personal matters with the project discussion, then I can tell you clearly that this project can be cooperated with your Huangfu Group, but you have to marry me, not just try dating."
Mengqi understood Yao Feili's meaning. If she wanted to win this project, she had to go straight for marriage with him.
She hesitated again, unable to agree immediately.
Yao Feili smiled and said, "If we become a family, then no matter how good the terms offered by others are, I will definitely only cooperate with my wife. However, I know you don't have feelings for me yet, so it's up to you to decide whether to accept my proposal. But you only have two days to consider."
"Okay." Mengqi lost the mood for a foot massage.
She now knew the root of the problem and understood that the only way to win was to make a decision about marriage within two days.
After leaving the leisure center, she didn't want to go home. She drove to a commercial building and went directly to the twenty-fourth floor. She used her fingerprint to open the door to a company, and upon entering, she saw that it was still under renovation.
It was already night, and the construction workers had left for the day. Materials were piled up everywhere.