Chapter 1204: All About Acting

It is often said that life is like a play, and on their own stage, everyone must wear a mask and dance if they want to survive a little longer.

Zhao Fusheng was well aware that Sun Qian, sitting across from him, had always been merely an agent for Mr. Li; in other words, she was just a mouthpiece.

"Mr. Zhao, I have invited you here today to offer you a sincere apology on behalf of Mr. Li," Sun Qian said, looking at Zhao Fusheng with a smile, her red lips slightly parted.

"An apology?"

Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "Miss Sun, what do you mean? Why apologize?"

Sun Qian gave a bitter smile. She knew that he had no intention of negotiating with her.

Glancing at Chen Shijie, who sat cold and silent beside her, she realized she could only rely on herself.

Standing up, Sun Qian walked over and sat next to Zhao Fusheng, holding a glass of wine. She coquettishly said, "Chairman Zhao, A-Jie might not have explained clearly that day. The thing is, there were some internal issues within our group that delayed the cooperation with your company..."

Then, with a flirtatious laugh, she added, "Why don't you come to my office, and I'll explain it to you privately."

She deliberately emphasized the word "privately."

As she spoke, she licked her lips as if inadvertently.

This was outright seduction, but Chen Shijie remained poker-faced, cold and expressionless, while Zhang Qian simply acted as if he hadn't seen anything.

Zhao Fusheng felt a wave of helplessness. He quickly recited several "Amituofo" in his mind, kept his eyes down and mind focused, and instead of looking at Sun Qian, he asked Chen Shijie, "Where is Mr. Tong?"

"Mr. Tong has other matters. From now on, I will be responsible for the cooperation in the capital," Sun Qian said with a light laugh, seeing that Zhao Fusheng dared not look at her.

At that moment, she gained some confidence. After all, he was still a young man full of vigor, and it was inevitable that he would feel some admiration for a mature woman like her.

"You?"

Just then, Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at Sun Qian, and said flatly, "Do you know anything about business?"

Sun Qian was taken aback, and then heard Zhao Fusheng continue, "From the moment we are born, we strive to find a sense of belonging, to find our rightful place in the human community. That place is just a label that makes life more pleasant. Form doesn't matter; what matters is physical and mental pleasure. Do you understand?"

Sun Qian was stunned. She found she couldn't understand what Zhao Fusheng was saying. The only thing she grasped was the phrase "physical and mental pleasure," which she interpreted as a hint for her to offer herself.

With that thought, she glanced at Zhang Qian and Chen Shijie out of the corner of her eye, blinked, and said flirtatiously to Zhao Fusheng, "How about I take you to relax, Chairman Zhao? I guarantee you'll feel physical and mental pleasure."

She was confident that once Zhao Fusheng slept with her, he would become her devoted admirer.

Zhao Fusheng sighed helplessly. He felt that he and this woman were on completely different wavelengths; she hadn't understood a word he said.

But that was fine. At least it showed that he was on a different level from her, and he believed Mr. Li would also be intimidated.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng wiped the smile off his face, becoming serious and earnest. He looked at Sun Qian and said slowly, "Miss Sun, I think you've misunderstood something. Personally, I believe that having too many women is nothing but trouble. Unless I don't care about their feelings and just enjoy myself—being heartless makes life easy. But if I still hold any hope for a happy life, then I will only be loyal to my fiancée."

Then, looking coldly at Sun Qian, he continued, "I am a businessman. The person who first discussed cooperation with me was Tong Zhenbang. A-Jie here is just his bodyguard. As for you, ha, do you think I don't know what you do? And now you tell me that you'll be handling things from now on? What a joke! What do you take me for?"

"Let me make it clear: Future Investment doesn't lack money. I'll return your investment principal and give you the dividends. From now on, we go our separate ways. You take your broad road, and I'll cross my single-plank bridge. I'm done."

Having said that, Zhao Fusheng stood up and walked straight out, leaving behind a stunned Sun Qian and Chen Shijie, who still wore a poker face.

At the door, Zhao Fusheng stopped, turned around, and said coldly to Sun Qian, "And don't think all men are easy prey. You?"

He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Sun Qian's face turned ashen. To put it bluntly, Zhao Fusheng was insulting her to her face, but she dared not retaliate.

On one hand, Mr. Li valued the cooperation with Future Group highly, and she dared not defy his wishes. On the other hand, from the moment Zhao Fusheng started cursing, she noticed that his bodyguard had been watching her. Sun Qian was certain that if she made any rash move, the man could subdue her within seconds.

She knew his capabilities. He had defeated both Xiao Bao and A-Jie before, and Xiao Bao had once admitted that in a life-or-death fight, neither he nor A-Jie would survive.

Faced with such a fierce opponent, Sun Qian could only grit her teeth and endure Zhao Fusheng's insults.

Unless she dared to call in people now and use numbers to overwhelm them with gunfire, she was helpless against Zhao Fusheng at that moment.

Moreover, even if guns were drawn, not to mention whether she could escape the bodyguard's pursuit, this was the capital of China, under the emperor's nose. If the police were alerted, things would get serious.

Helpless, she could only watch as Zhao Fusheng and Zhang Qian walked out.

The entire meeting lasted less than ten minutes.

The talks had broken down!

Even Chen Shijie, who had been silently playing the poker face, couldn't understand what Zhao Fusheng was trying to do. He had thought Zhao Fusheng was holding out for a better offer, but now it seemed the guy had simply flipped the table and walked away, not giving Sun Qian a chance to speak, even humiliating her blatant seduction.

"What is this kid up to?" Chen Shijie wondered in confusion, his eyes scanning Zhang Qian's face for answers.

But unfortunately, Zhang Qian gave no signal, only hurriedly following Zhao Fusheng away.

"What do we do?" Sun Qian asked Chen Shijie, panicking.

At that moment, she truly didn't know what to do. If she let Zhao Fusheng leave like this, Mr. Li would surely not let it go.

And then she would be the one to suffer.

As Mr. Li's trusted aide, Sun Qian knew all too well how ruthless he was to his subordinates. Even those who had rendered great service would be mercilessly discarded once they lost their usefulness.

"Chase after him," Chen Shijie said after a moment of silence.

Though he didn't know why Zhao Fusheng was putting on such an act, he had to play along.

Sun Qian and Chen Shijie quickly gave chase.

"Chairman Zhao, Chairman Zhao, please wait."

Finally, at the entrance, Chen Shijie and Sun Qian caught up with Zhao Fusheng.

Sun Qian quickly blocked Zhao Fusheng's path.

"What, in broad daylight, Miss Sun doesn't intend to let me leave?" Zhao Fusheng squinted, looking coldly at Sun Qian, while Zhang Qian behind him had already reached for his waist.

Clearly, if Sun Qian tried to forcibly detain him, he would take action.

"Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand," Sun Qian quickly raised her hands to show she meant no harm. Looking at Zhao Fusheng earnestly, she said, "Chairman Zhao, that was a misunderstanding. I sincerely hope you can forgive us and that our cooperation can continue."

"Cooperation?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhao Fusheng's mouth. "You? You think you're worthy of discussing cooperation with me? If you want to cooperate, have your boss come in person. What's with all the mystery? Who does he think he is? I'll be waiting for him in the capital. When he brings the money, then we'll talk about cooperation!"

With that, he pushed past the stunned Sun Qian and walked away.

At that moment, Chen Shijie's heart shook. He finally understood what Zhao Fusheng was trying to do.

This guy actually wanted to lure Mr. Li to the capital to capture him.

And he was even planning to catch him red-handed!

With that thought, although Chen Shijie's expression remained unchanged, he felt he should find an opportunity to meet with Zhao Fusheng.

He didn't know that Zhao Fusheng was thinking the same thing.

Watching Zhao Fusheng and Zhang Qian drive away, Sun Qian turned around, her face slightly pale. She looked at Chen Shijie with a hint of gloom in her eyes. "Why didn't I know that Zhao Fusheng thinks so highly of Tong Zhenbang?"

Chen Shijie looked at her coldly. "Are you stupid? It's not that he thinks highly of him; it's that from the very beginning, in his eyes, we weren't worthy of talking to him."

Having said that, Chen Shijie couldn't be bothered to waste more words with this woman and walked straight back into the club.

Sun Qian's plan to seduce Zhao Fusheng was most likely on Mr. Li's orders. That meant Mr. Li valued Zhao Fusheng highly.

For Chen Shijie, this was undoubtedly a very important piece of information. He felt he could use it to his advantage and perhaps find a way to help Zhao Fusheng.