Chapter 368: Such Great Intensity (2)

When the assistant opened the door and ushered Yang Hui in, she looked up and smiled—a beautiful boss, both calm and composed, gentle yet dignified. She set down her documents, placed a hand lightly on the armrest of the sofa, and rose with a smooth, elegant motion. The hem of her skirt swayed slightly before quickly settling back into place.

Yang Hui stared at her, momentarily lost in a daze. It wasn’t because of her mature, womanly beauty, but because she felt incredibly familiar. ‘But this is the first time I’ve ever met her,’ he thought.

A hearty laugh from Zhang Chun snapped him out of it. He quickly greeted them, “President Zhang, President Zong.”

Unexpectedly, Zong Lan wasn’t as cold and aloof as the rumors claimed. She came forward to greet him personally. As she walked, her high heels made soft, muffled sounds on the carpet. Her pace was unhurried, and every step carried an invisible aura of power. Her smile was perfectly balanced, both approachable and authoritative.

“President Yang—”

Zong Lan extended her hand and shook his. “Please, have a seat over here.”

Yang Hui instantly relaxed. ‘This President Zong seems pretty easy to talk to,’ he thought. ‘With Brother Chun’s connections, dealing with her in the future should be fairly simple.’

After making the introductions, Zhang Chun handed the reins over to them. Today was mainly Yang Hui’s visit, and the two of them had much to discuss.

After a few simple pleasantries, Zong Lan asked Yang Hui, “President Yang, are there any specific instructions you need us to carry out this time?”

“President Zong, you’re too kind. I wouldn’t dare give instructions. I’m here to ask for your help.”

Behind her, sunlight filtered through the translucent curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window, casting a soft glow upon her. Hearing that Yang Hui needed something from her, she listened attentively. “Please, go ahead.”

‘This direct?’ Yang Hui considered himself a straightforward person, but this was the regional general manager of Xinyue Group, whom he was meeting for the first time. Her posture, which seemed to say she was ready to follow any order, was something he wasn’t used to.

Zhang Chun knew what was going on. He chuckled from the side and said, “A Hui, don’t be so formal with President Zong. I told you before, now that she’s here, she’s definitely going to give your career her full support.”

‘Alright, so this is all thanks to Brother Chun,’ he thought. ‘He must have put in a lot of work for my sake.’ This also showed him that President Zong wasn’t how he’d imagined—he had assumed someone from the Zong Family wouldn’t give much weight to Zhang Chun’s opinion, but he was clearly wrong.

He stopped being polite and laid out his specific requests:

He reiterated the store opening plans for NLB and Zen. He was mainly worried that during the handover from President Tian, she might not have fully grasped the details. After all, a handover isn’t a 100% perfect copy-paste; everyone’s understanding is different.

This, of course, included mentioning Xinyue Group’s existing support for his promotional activities and consumer subsidies for his online mall and live-stream sales.

Zong Lan set the tone immediately. “President Yang, all the support you received when President Tian was here will continue as before. And if there was anything that wasn’t considered back then, feel free to bring up any new needs you have.”

Her being so accommodating was far beyond Yang Hui’s expectations. This filled him with confidence about resolving the matter with Ruijing Commerce.

“There’s one other thing. It’s about the partnership between Ruijing Commerce and Xinyue Group.”

“Ruijing Commerce… isn’t that the company you used to work for?”

Zhang Chun couldn’t help but ask. He was very familiar with the company; for the past two years, Xinyue Group had given Ruijing Commerce a great deal of support—all on account of Yang Hui, of course.

Seeing Yang Hui nod, Zhang Chun asked in surprise, “That company? President Tian told me that after you left, their new general manager said a lot of bad things about you. So, President Tian cut off all support for them and started to terminate many of their joint projects.”

Yang Hui actually hadn’t known about the badmouthing. From what Zhang Chun said, it must have been Fang Zheng spreading those rumors. Given their relationship, that wasn’t surprising at all.

He didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “I’m back at Ruijing Commerce now, in charge of the Qingjiang Region.”

Zhang Chun was stunned. He couldn’t figure out what Yang Hui’s angle was. It couldn’t be for the money; his Yanghe Commerce was already very profitable. The salary of a regional general manager was nothing compared to the income from his own company.

And if it was about ‘experiencing life,’ he could do that anywhere. Why go back to his old company?

Yang Hui explained it away in a single sentence: “President Zhao treated me well, so I went back to help out.”

Listening to their conversation, Zong Lan had likely figured out the situation. She asked, “So, President Yang, are you hoping for Xinyue Group to continue its partnership with Ruijing Commerce and its marketing support, or are you looking to increase the level of support?”

He scratched his head. ‘Why does it sound like whatever I say goes?’ he wondered. ‘This isn’t how you negotiate.’

He remembered the cold shoulder he’d received from the general manager in Jiang’an City, Jiang Ming. That, in fact, was what was normal in the business world. The support he’d gotten from the former President Tian and now Zong Lan actually violated the rules of business. It was basically cheating.

“I hope that Ruijing Commerce’s existing stores can have their leases renewed normally. As for marketing support, just following the previous model will be enough.”

He felt that this was already doing right by Ruijing Commerce. Fighting for any more benefits would come at the expense of Xinyue Group. Comparing the two, he actually felt more aligned with Xinyue Group now. After all, they had been the ones helping him all this time.

Meanwhile, both Futong Commerce and Ruijing Commerce had just been trying to squeeze every last drop of value out of him.

“That’s simple. I’ll arrange it.”

Worried that the information wouldn’t be passed down in time—which would be a problem if Ruijing Commerce’s existing stores signed with other merchants—Zong Lan immediately called her assistant and told them to find the Vice President of Business.