Chapter 67: On Official Business Abroad

Jiang Yang stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at her. "What is it? Does President Wang have any further arrangements?"

Ruo Lan walked back behind her desk as she spoke. "If you genuinely want to apologize, I have an errand for you. Once that's accomplished, we'll consider today's matter settled."

"What errand?" Jiang Yang asked.

"You know the Business Department is currently negotiating with Xincheng, right?"

"I know. They've met once already and are scheduled to head out for a second meeting tomorrow. I'm not entirely clear on the specific details, though."

"Tomorrow, go on a business trip to City F with the colleagues from the Business Department. As long as you successfully secure the Xincheng Group, I will forgive you for today."

Jiang Yang looked at her in astonishment. "Just like that?"

She was actually proposing to use work to redeem his mistakes? Did she really value the company's business more than the relationship between the two of them?

Ruo Lan chuckled lightly. "Just like that? Do you think Xincheng is that easy to win over? Do you have any idea how many competitors we have—four or five of them, and not a single one is a pushover. Relying solely on the Business Department won't make it easy to close the deal. Whether we succeed will depend fifty percent on you."

"All right, I'll give it my all, help the Business Department land this client, and bring you good news."

Ruo Lan slowly walked up to him and gently tapped his chest with her fingertip. "You aren't doing it to help me; you're doing it to help yourself."

Jiang Yang took a deep breath. Such an arrangement wasn't bad at all; it was beneficial both publicly and privately.

"I'll go find the Business Department right now to prepare," he said. With that, he immediately left the office.

Watching the door close, Ruo Lan slowly closed her eyes, calming the intense emotional turbulence within her just moments before.

Actually, when Jiang Yang had cornered her earlier, she had felt a strong impulse to engage in a passionate encounter with him right there in the office, but she had held back. She knew very well that getting back together with him now on a mere impulse was definitely not the right timing.

Today's events served as a wake-up call. If she wanted a lasting future with Jiang Yang, those other women were like landmines scattered around her, waiting to detonate at any given moment.

And the most crucial, biggest landmine of all was her own past. It wasn't simply a matter of having had a few past relationships; only if Jiang Yang could truly accept her history would they ever have a chance of genuinely being together.

Before that could happen, maintaining this distance—keeping him where he could see her every day but couldn't quite touch her—was the best way to mend their relationship.

Sending him away on a business trip today was also intended to pave the way for executing her multi-stage plan.

She had endured so much hardship holding back lately!

...

Emerging from the general manager's office, Jiang Yang went to find Xue, the head of the Business Department, to get up to speed on the Xincheng Group. "Director Xue, President Wang has arranged for you and me to head to City F tomorrow to negotiate with the Xincheng client."

Xue Yang said, "Oh, President Wang just told me you'd be joining us. That's fantastic! The client will feel that we attach great importance to them, and the probability of a successful negotiation is quite high."

Jiang Yang nodded. "This is a new client. I've only heard that you were in talks with them, and I don't know much about their situation. If it's convenient, could you brief me on them?"

"Xincheng is a veteran manufacturing enterprise that originally started out making high-end remote-control toys. Later on, as the toy business became increasingly difficult, Chairman Xia Mingjie gradually abandoned the other toy lines six years ago and successfully transitioned into professional drones. Because the company already had a certain technological foundation, the transition to professional drones went smoothly. Although they can't rival the top domestic drone companies, Xincheng now holds a considerable share of both domestic and international markets. Their current market value is in the billions, and their future growth potential is enormous. This trip is to compete with several other advertising agencies for their brand promotion over the next few years. That's a massive pie."

"Since they're such a powerful client, our competitors must be formidable too. Who are we up against?"

"As far as I know, there are four companies competing with us, including Lechuang and Guoyi. The other two are much weaker, so we won't even mention them, but you already know about Lechuang and Guoyi..."

"Their strengths are indeed much greater than ours, and Lechuang has always been known for lower bidding prices."

"Right, so I honestly don't hold out too much hope for landing this. Plus, with our company having just changed its boss and the head of the Design Department, whether they'll choose us or not, I'm actually..." Xue Yang spread his hands, indicating he didn't have much confidence regarding this client.

A wave of displeasure washed over Jiang Yang. It seemed his colleagues still didn't approve of him. After all, his sudden rise to power, combined with the gossip about his relationship with Ruo Lan, made him look like a freeloader relying on a woman's support.

This stirred up a strong urge in him to prove himself. He wanted to prove to his colleagues, and to Ruo Lan, that he wasn't just living off someone else. Even if he were to rely on someone's backing, he would do it with undeniable competence.

"Here's what we'll do," Jiang Yang said. "Give me all the materials you have on hand, including the design samples our company has already prepared for them. I'll hunker down and work on refining them this afternoon and evening. President Wang's directive is that we must find a way to secure this."

"President Wang's directive?" Xue Yang mused over the phrasing, then cheerfully agreed. "It would certainly be great if we can land it. I'll send the files over to you right now."

Back in his office, Jiang Yang immediately received the documents sent by Xue Yang.

He mustered his full concentration and threw himself into the work, thoroughly studying the client's background, corporate history, and product features.

Simply reviewing these materials caused him to work overtime until eight o'clock in the evening. By then, everyone else had left the company, and he was the only one still there.

Only when his stomach genuinely began to rumble did he finally leave for home, intending to spend the night pulling an all-nighter to redo the client's promotional video sample.

Naturally, he didn't notice that as he walked out of the office building, a certain woman had also gone without dinner just to watch him leave from downstairs before walking away with a sense of peace.

...

Early the next morning, having pulled an all-nighter to rush the work, Jiang Yang met up with Xue Yang, the head of the Business Department, at the airport and boarded a flight bound for City F.

He had worked until four in the morning to finish a video sample that satisfied him, grabbing only a brief nap afterward.

He was pushing himself this hard precisely to prove his worth; he didn't want anyone, including Ruo Lan, to look down on him.

With the preparations from the previous night, he felt much more confident about their design prospects on this trip to City F.

Little did he know at this moment that, due to a lapse in Ruo Lan's attention, this business trip to City F would inexplicably transform into yet another emotional battlefield for him.