Chapter 307 - 215: She Is Hu Mei?
Han Chao lowered his head and said, "President Li, I spoke with them. They’re leaning toward working with Yanghe Commerce."
Li Yang’s expression immediately turned cold. Han Chao hastily explained, "Several Yida Department Store locations said that while our NLB brand does have a partnership with them, its performance is only about a hundred-some thousand a month. In contrast, Yanghe Commerce’s NLB, in just one store at Xinyue Square, did nearly two million in less than a month."
They were both well aware that department stores rely on commission from sales for their revenue. The higher the sales performance, the greater the store’s profit. With both Futong Commerce and Yanghe Commerce selling NLB, the performance gap was just too large. It was obvious which one they would prefer.
"Continue negotiating with the others as usual. Have you talked to the Yida Department Store on Qingzhou Pedestrian Street?"
At the mention of this store, Han Chao snuck a glance at Li Yang’s face. Steeling himself, he decided to just come out with it. "I went to talk to them. The store said they’re already drawing up a proposal."
Li Yang felt a surge of joy. Even if the other stores weren’t working out, securing this one would be a breakthrough. If Yida Department Store gave him their best location, it would influence the other stores, making future negotiations much easier.
But the next sentence sent him into a rage.
"But the proposal they’re drawing up is for Yanghe Commerce."
What? Li Yang shot to his feet. Startled, Han Chao took a step back, half-afraid that his boss would lose control and start throwing things at his head.
"Damn it. Taking my salary while spending company time on his personal business. He’s despicable."
Li Yang’s knuckles slammed against the desk with a dull thud. Veins bulged on his temples, his eyes grew bloodshot, and his jawline tensed into a sharp arc. The sound of his teeth grinding escaped from between his lips.
Han Chao breathed a sigh of relief. ’So, the anger is directed at Yang Hui.’ Seeing the pure fury on his boss’s face, he brazenly decided to fan the flames. "I heard the spot they’re planning for is on the first floor, right along Qingzhou Pedestrian Street."
He shouldn’t have said anything. The moment he did, the office fell into a dead silence. He peeked over and saw that Li Yang’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he stared him down. "You bastard! Why didn’t you ever think of communicating with Yida Department Store about this location? What the hell do I pay you to be the head of channel development for? Is your professional expertise worse than someone in operations management?"
’Yang Hui’s eye for business is truly venomous.’ Li Yang realized they had been stuck in their old way of thinking, assuming NLB had to be placed in the sports or casual-wear sections on the upper floors. It had never occurred to him that Yida Department Store might give such a prime location to a brand like NLB.
Now that Han Chao had mentioned it, he suddenly realized this was a location that could potentially generate even more revenue than the first-floor spot at Xinyue Square. And now, it had been snatched away by Yanghe Commerce again.
"No, we have to fight for this spot. You go talk to the store. I’ll personally call Wang Qing. I have a good personal relationship with him. I have to get this location."
He knew Yang Hui had probably approached Wang Qing as well. The first time he’d met Yang Hui was at a dinner hosted by President Tian, with Wang Qing also in attendance. That was the dinner where he’d gotten to know Yang Hui.
Seeing his boss step in personally, Han Chao felt a great deal of pressure lift from his shoulders. Otherwise, he really couldn’t have handled this on his own. The Yida Department Store on Qingzhou Pedestrian Street was their most important project, and a major adjustment like this required Wang Qing’s approval. It wasn’t like changing one or two brands on an individual floor, which wouldn’t need Wang Qing’s nod.
「Yinlu · Xiang」
In a private room that could seat six, Yang Hui was having tea with Serene. He was hosting a dinner here tonight for Zhang Chun, President Tian, and Wang Qing. Having nothing to do in the afternoon, he had been wandering around outside when Serene called, asking to meet so he could sign the partnership agreement. She needed it to register the company.
"This is the partnership agreement. Please take a look."
Serene took out the document and handed it to him. Yang Hui noticed a blush rising on her face, as fair and smooth as white jade. He found it a little strange that someone usually so composed would blush over signing a partnership agreement.
But her beauty captivated him, and he didn’t give it much more thought. The curve of Serene’s face was like a river stone polished by moonlight—full and gentle. This woman was breathtakingly beautiful, and what was worse was her perfect figure. Yang Hui excused his own thoughts—’If a man wasn’t attracted to a woman like this, could he even be called a man?’
He took the partnership agreement. The moment he prepared to sign, the tip of his pen twitched in shock, tearing the paper. He looked up as if he had seen a ghost and asked, "What is this ’Hu Mei’ about?"
On the list of shareholders in the partnership agreement, it was clearly written: Yang Hui: 60%; Hu Mei: 40%.
A wild idea surfaced in Yang Hui’s mind, but he refused to believe it. ’Serene’s Chinese name can’t also be Hu Mei, can it? Is she Aunt Zheng’s daughter? But how is that possible? Would a woman like this need Aunt Zheng to be so desperate to set her up? With just a slight wave of her hand, she could probably have the most eligible men in the world falling over themselves for her.’
But another thought told him, how could there be such a coincidence in the world? Two different women named Hu Mei, both connected to him?
Serene, or rather, Hu Mei, raised her cup and took a sip, leaving a faint lipstick mark on the porcelain rim, the same shade as the blush on her cheeks.
"My Chinese name is Hu Mei. I’m also your online friend, ’Lamb in the Tiger’s Maw’."
"Ah—" She was no longer willing to beat around the bush. Her laying everything bare all at once left Yang Hui unable to process it for a moment.
Back when Aunt Zheng had tried to set them up, both had been very resistant. But Yang Hui figured Aunt Zheng just wanted them to add each other on WeChat and chat, so he decided to play along for a while to placate her. Hu Mei had also felt that since she wasn’t going to meet him in person, it was just a matter of adding him on WeChat, so she didn’t argue with her mom.