The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 2035 The Shameless Ever

Charles nodded gravely upon hearing this. "Okay, please go prepare the meeting room."

David wanted to express his advice as he threw a look at his boss. But he restrained himself as

Charles already had his nose in the files to get familiar with the relevant information. Obviously, he was

determined to grab every minute to devote himself to the work. So David could only leave the office at

that moment.

When David had left, Charles continued to prepare for the meeting. He always believed in the saying,

'If you know your enemy as well as yourself, then there is no need to fear a hundred battles.'

"President Lu, it's time to go," David said, knocking on Charles' door.

Charles nodded as he went straight to the meeting room without any hesitation.

"President Lu, I've heard a lot about you!" President Xu rose from his seat as he greeted Charles with a

polite smile.

He was a man several years older than Charles, and he looked like he was already in his fifties.

"President Xu, how do you do? Welcome to our company," Charles responded with a smile as he

reached out to shake hands.

Both parties began to negotiate on the project as they sat down. Charles liked the way President Xu

went straight to business without beating around the bush.

However, the negotiation didn't go as smoothly as Charles had hoped. President Xu seemed to be

making too many requests as if he was doing it on purpose.

It wasn't that Charles couldn't handle a situation like this. He was just a little confused. Even though this

was his first time working with President Xu, he'd heard that President Xu was quite easy to work with.

However, this didn't seem to be the case now. It was clear that something was up. Charles couldn't

help but wonder what was going on.

"President Xu, what do you think about this project?" Charles handed the letter of intention to President

Xu as he tried his best to clear his mind. He wanted this partnership to work.

President Xu didn't look at the letter; instead, he looked Charles in the eye and grinned. "President Lu, I

heard that you're an excellent drinker."

"Yeah, I can hold my liquor." Charles frowned at the idea for a split second. He quickly shifted his face

in fear that President Xu would notice.

"This is perfect. Let's drink! It's my first time to visit. Would you honor me by accepting my invitation?"

Even though President Xu was just extending an invitation, it seemed as if he was leaving no room for

Charles to decline. It was written all over his face.

"I'm honored, President Xu. I'm more than delighted to accept your invitation," Charles responded,

smiling. Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.

It was easy to notice that President Xu was deliberately avoiding the topic of the project they were

going to work on together. They were now both playing games with each other.

The entire afternoon they had spent in the meeting room was quite fruitless. Charles then asked David

to send President Xu back to his hotel room before returning to his office.

"President Lu, is there anything else I can do for you?" David returned to Charles after a while.

He was surprised to find Charles a bit distressed, just merely sitting in his chair. He asked, "President

Lu, what is the matter? Is it because President Xu hasn't agreed to the letter of intention yet?"

"If he was just going to decline the project, I wouldn't have spent so much time and energy on it in the

first place. I just can't read him. He seemed to be so willing to work with us, but he doesn't seem to be

interested in discussing any further details." Charles was quite confused. He'd never encountered a

situation like this before—a prospective partner who didn't play by the rules.

David nodded as he listened to Charles. He frowned as he asked, "President Lu, what can we do

now?"

"You will come with me. We need to seal the deal tonight." Neither Charles nor David had any problems

with drinking. However, he was afraid that President Xu had something up his sleeve.

"Yes, President Lu."

David didn't worry because Charles seemed confident about himself.

"Okay. You can go back to work first." Charles knew that it was better to give David time to prepare for

their meeting that night.

"Noted. President Lu, I'll try to find out as much as I can about President Xu."

"Great."

Charles had planned to rest when David left. However, not long after, Vicky called him.

He was already getting annoyed by how often she was calling him.

He'd never met such a shameless woman before. Even though he'd made his dislike for her pretty

obvious, she'd just kept turning a blind eye to it.

"What?" Charles answered coldly.

Charles only saw Vicky as a pest in his life. She was nothing more than a strange woman who wouldn't

leave him alone.

Vicky held her breath upon receiving this cold shoulder from Charles over the phone. She frowned but

it was gone as soon as it came. She smiled and said gently, "Charles, are you getting off soon? How

did everything go? I prepared the..."

"No need to wait for me. I need to have dinner with my client tonight. You can enjoy whatever you have

prepared by yourself." Charles hung up the phone before Vicky could even respond.

Vicky was furious, and she threw her phone to the floor upon hearing the dial tone.

"Miss Ruan, is everything okay?" Stella rushed out from the kitchen when she heard something hit the

floor. She couldn't help but be worried when she saw Vicky's phone on the floor.

"What? Do you enjoy seeing me like this?" Vicky spat.

Stella was taken aback by this snide comment. She'd only rushed out to comfort Vicky; however, upon

hearing Vicky snap at her, she thought that maybe she should apologize. She merely stood there,

unable to say a word.

"Alright, I'm tired. I'm going upstairs to rest now." Vicky couldn't stand the way Charles was treating her.

That was why she careless threw her phone to the floor. She didn't care even if Stella was there.

Stella made sure to tell Charles this once Vicky had left to go upstairs.

Charles thought back to his conversation with Vicky after hanging up his call with Stella. He was

curious about what kind of person Vicky really was.

In front of him, she was sweet and humble, as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong. Yet

behind his back, she was easily angered by trivial things.

"Vicky, let's see how long you can keep up the act in front of me," Charles murmured to himself as he

sneered.

It was almost time for their appointment with President Xu. He had asked David to accompany him to

the hotel where President Xu was staying. He knew that tonight was going to be quite eventful.

Yet Charles wasn't nervous. He was used to business niceties like this. When he first took over the

Shining Company Group, he often grabbed a drink with his business partners. It was a regular thing. As

years passed, he was able to establish his position, which excused him from participating in such

activities.

"President Lu, you don't have to go there in person. I can meet him on your behalf." David knew

Charles well enough that he wouldn't agree. However, he still wanted to offer just in case.

"Are you questioning my competency? Or are you talking about the letter of intention?" Charles asked

as he looked at David calmly.

David shook his head immediately. Those were not his concerns at all. He just didn't want President Lu

to be drinking so much that it would be harmful to his health. On top of that, he couldn't shake off the

feeling that President Lu was just playing them, and he didn't want to be partners with them on this

project.