80 Glamorous, My Love (1/2)
January the 15th, 4:50 pm.
At the most luxurious hotel in the city, in the Conference Room, under the bright lights, Charles, Chen Zheng, and some of the important staff of DG China were looking forward to what was about to happen next.
Below the stage, the seats were fully occupied by ournalists, holding their cameras, constantly looking back at the entrance of the conference room, hoping to catch the face of the founder of the recently established, and rapidly growing brand, Glamorous.
Rumors said the secret rich female had contributed to the brand's creation and design all by herself. She used to leave the company to the professional intendants, but now because of the signing of the Share Transfer Agreement, she decided to fly to Lin City in person.
Inside DG, quite a lot of people were against the acquisition this time.
They believed that at the crucial point of the rising patriotism, the fact that DG stood out to claim another acquisition, was doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire and would lead to the stimulation of a bigger boycott.
Yet, Charles held his ground.
The way he saw it, Chinese were different to Americans; when pursuing concepts and justice, the Chinese enthusiasm was always fleeting. When there was too much enthusiasm, or too large a challenge, their enthusiasm would somehow withdraw, like magic, with absolutely no persistence.
So Charles thought that right now, becoming allies with Glamorous, instead of adding fuel to the fire, would be like throwing a wet blanket on the protesters. Their enthusiasm was likely to withdraw because of the blow, rather than continue growing.
Plus, there could also be some other benefits to becoming allies with Glamorous. Not only would it sugarcoat the peaceful appearance of the cooperation between domestic and foreign-capital enterprise and win over more support from the public; it could also bash Li Zhicheng's union, leaving the staff psychologically unsettled. In addition, Glamorous was a very profitable brand. There would be nothing like injecting the new and fresh blood into DG.
With the fresh blood, DG would be likely to make it back to the top.
The clock was ticking. The atmosphere in the conference room was gradually getting restless.
Five o'clock ... already past the said time.
The leading female still hadn't show up.
The journalists had already began to whisper and look up constantly. Charles, sitting in the front row, was still wearing a relaxed smile, and turned to Chen Zheng.
”Why is she still not here?” he asked, in a quiet whisper.
Chen Zheng was feeling slightly agitated too.
Standing up, he said, ”I'm gonna take a look.”
Backstage, a subordinate walked up to him, looking panicked and astounded, ”President Chen. They just called us, the deal is off. They're apologizing to us…”
Chen Zhen suddenly froze.
He almost yelled, quietly, ”Give me the phone.”
”Their liaison already hung up.”
Under the bright lights, the discussion outside was getting louder and louder, like a mosquito whining in his ears.
Quietly, he slowly became out of breath.
For the first time in his business career, he met a partner that changed their mind so suddenly, and with such a lack of credibility. A strong idea popped into his head, no way!
Thinking back to the great communication they had with the partner recently ... Glamorous had clearly shown a strong interest. They had gone through intense negotiations. If they didn't mean to sell their company, they wouldn't have acted like that.
The worst thing that could happen when signing the contract was having already reached an oral agreement but flipping in the end. It would only make the victim enraged, but with nowhere to vent.
As long as they hadn't signed on the paper, there would be no obligations to either party, nor the legal responsibility.
But this time, after the partner's suggestion and Charles' delighted permission, Chen Zheng had invited dozens of media outlets to build up momentum. If they were slapped in the face in front of so much media, the beleaguered DG China would become a complete joke to the public. The boycott would get even tougher.
Having thought of this, Chen Zheng suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
What if… this was a trap?
Looking ruthless, he slowly turned to look at the bright conference room outside.
He remembered, that Charles had said as long as DG China could keep its last breath and hang in till the end, without any mistakes, they could survive.
That last breath, is it still here now?
”5:30pm, the Economy Channel of Lin City.”
While receiving the message from Lin Qian, Li Zhicheng was in Aida's conference room, in the middle of a meeting with the senior executives.
Looking calm, he put the phone back on the table, looking up at the others, ”Let's take a break.” Then he turned to Jiang Yuan, ”Turn the television on.”
Every important staff member was at present, except for Gu Yanzhi, who was on a business trip. Liu Tong, Xue Mingtao… having heard what the president just said, they all excitedly turned to the LED screen on the wall.
The news was on.
A reporter was standing in front of a luxury hotel, looking serious, ”... This afternoon, in the conference room of the Beihai Shengting Hotel, there was supposed to be an equity signing ceremony between DG Group and Glamorous. But, it has already passed 5 o'clock, the brand director has not yet appeared. We can also see that protesters are standing in front of the hotel, holding all sorts of slogans, against the acquisition…”
Founding the brand all by herself, was only known to a few people at present. Meanwhile, Xue Mingtao, who was the closest to Lin Qian first grinned, ”I knew it! This is the Stratagem of the Empty City, leaving them bamboozled!”
Liu Tong also shook his head, laughing.
Li Zhicheng was staring at the television, emotionlessly and quiet.
Very bold move.
A newly established small brand, would even dare to turn nasty to DG. Although DG was declining, getting rid of her was still easy peasy. But Li Zhicheng was starting to feel a little delighted.
The woman got to do whatever she wanted because he had her back.
Meanwhile, the voice of the reporter suddenly rose, ”... I've just received the news from my colleague, the founder of the brand Glamorous has returned to Lin City, right in the airport now. Let's switch the camera to the airport…”
In the conference room, everyone was watching more closely.
When Li Zhicheng heard ”returned to Lin City”, he could clearly feel his heart had skipped a beat, and his eyes were getting darker too.
She finally wants to come back.
The woman set free by him.
At the same time, at a lot of places in the city, under the LED screens on the streets, among the protesters in front of the Beihai Shengting Hotel, in a lot of households, in Aida's building… and in the DG news conference where the media workers were just about to leave, the news quickly spread. Many of them were watching television, taking out their phones, or even sitting in front of computers, watching the sensational news.
Even Charles and Chen Zheng were trying to stay off the media's camera, looking serious in the office, watching the tv on the wall.
The airport terminal appeared on the screen.
It was already a little dark outside, the entrance and exit were brightly lit up. From afar, a woman in a navy coat and heels, with glasses on, was carrying the luggage, walking out, surrounded by a group of people.
The media workers who had been waiting by the gate quickly walked up to her.
”Miss Lin, Miss Lin!”
”May I ask, are you back to Lin City in order to sign the Stock Agreement with DG Group?”
”Why did you just arrive? It's already past the signing time, is it because the flight was delayed?”
It was not a matter of how the media found out about her last name, since they knew that she was returning to Lin City, it must've been because someone leaked the news.
Meanwhile, Charles and Chen Zheng, standaing in front of the television, were so furious that the muscles on the faces started to shiver.
”Sorry, President Lin is not going to answer anything!” The assistant beside her was doing her job well, trying to get rid of the reporters.
At such a critical point, of course the reporters would stay, leaving the camera flashes to grow more and more intense, blocking the exit.
”That's ok, ask away.” Her feminine voice was soft and polite, although with the glasses on, they still couldn't cover up the pale gorgeous shape of her face. Dressed in a low-key manner, she still managed to look glamorous under the public's attention. Wearing a smile, she was very likeable.
Then the reporters suddenly became quiet.
Followed by a round of more intense questions.
”Are you going to sell the brand of Glamorous to DG?” someone asked loudly and clearly.
It was the most sensitive and important question.
All the cameras were focused on her.
Off the cameras, everyone who had been watching the live news, were also waiting for her response.
At night, her sunglasses lightly reflected the lights, her jaw was in great shape, looking very young.
She became silent for a little while. And that moment of silence made people even more nervous.
Li Zhicheng was staring at the woman on television who he hadn't seen for a long time. Her long straight hair fell down her shoulders naturally, and her body was in a nice and lovely shape. What she said didn't matter to him that much anymore. Looking at her just walking out of the airport, he almost could see her walking back to his arms.
When she got back to him, they would definitely become a happy couple.
He slightly looked down, picked up the tea on the table, and took a light sip. The tea was Mengding dew, slight green and yellow, leaving the fragrance between his teeth.
”No,” she said in a clear feminine voice, confidently.
There was even a smile that appeared on her face, and after a little pause, she emphasized, ”Never.”
Suddenly, a lot of people started to calm down. Human emotions were interesting. After hearing the word ”never”, some sort of emotion was stimulated intensely in their hearts, growing.
The protesters gathered in front of the hotel had an even stronger reaction. They were cheering and laughing, throwing away their boards, clapping loudly. Someone even started to shout, ”Glamorous, well done!”
Those who acted even more calm but excited, were the thousands of Aida employees. Back in the days when the rumours of Lin Qian betraying Aida were spreading among the company, some believed, and had doubted, and those who didn't even know about Lin Qian, the more they thought about it, the more they hated her.
But now, they had all seen it clearly.
Just like Lin Qian wanted.
At the airport, the reporters surrounding in a circle were also getting a little uptight because of her response.
Some asked, ”Then why did you agree to sign the contract with DG?”
Of course, in terms of these questions, Lin Qian naturally started to play fast and loose, she smiled, ”There're a lot of uncertainties in business, and also many communication issues. Any other questions?”
”A lot of people now have become loyal fans of Glamorous, their enthusiasm for Glamorous' mini films is even bigger than tv shows.” A young female reporter asked, ”President Lin, when will the fans find out the ending of the Glamorous ad?”
Clearly this was a question fawning over her.
Lin Qian responded to her with a massive smile, ”Thanks for letting me know the enthusiasm of the fans, I'm very flattered. Episode three, is also the ending…” She paused, ”It's today, you'll soon see it.”
Meanwhile, her assistant and secretary were dispersing the reporters, ”Alright, thanks everyone, that's it for today. Manager Lin needs to go home now.”
Lin Qian also put on a polite smile, turning to the black business vehicle parked on the side.
”Glamorous isn't sold to DG, but it also didn't join the Chinese Luggage and Bagging Corporation Union!” In another loud and clear voice, covering all the other ones, ”Are you planning to keep it as an individual brand?”
Within a second, all the people quieted down.
Lin Qian, who was just about to step into the car, also stopped.
Off camera, a lot of people were also holding their breath.
The question was clever and blunt.
It might've looked like the question was about whether to keep the brand individual or not, but what it actually meant was if this high-profile brand was planning to remain alone in the war between Chinese and foreign companies.
It was also quite aggressive.
Lin Qian looked up.
The question came from a chubby young man, he didn't look like a reporter, and his face looked outraged.
Maybe he was a hardcore supporter advocating national brands.
Meanwhile, the reporter standing the closest to Lin Qian, gave her a look, suggesting that they were live, and maybe she'd like to cut it.
Lin Qian was staring that the guy, remaining calm.
She then put on her sweet smile again.
”As to whether the brand will remain individual…” she said slowly, ”If some competitive Chinese corporations are offering…”