Water and Fire~Chapter 94.2: Problem Solved

 

Chapter 94.2: Problem Solved

In that moment, Chu Qianmiao could hardly recall Tan Shen's previous appearance. His former chatterbox, willful nature, and temper were all gone. Now, only the image of a business elite remained, becoming increasingly clear and profound.

Chu Qianmiao smiled as she sipped her coffee.

Tan Shen caught her smile and asked what it was about.

Chu Qianmiao said, "Nothing. I just feel like these past few years haven't been wasted."

Everyone is improving and has become different from before.

Tan Shen also laughed. "Why didn't you ask me what I wanted you to do?"

Chu Qianmiao said, "You'll say whatever you want to say without me asking."

Tan Shen put down his coffee and spread his hands. "Maybe I was born to be ruled by you." After a pause, he said, "Okay, I'll tell you. I've called you to discuss the gambling agreement."

Although she had guessed it, Chu Qianmiao still raised an eyebrow and asked, "You should talk to my boss about this."

Tan Shen leaned back in the leather chair, his elbows resting on the armrests, and shook his hands. "No, I won't talk to him."

Chu Qianmiao: "Why?"

Tan Shen answered bluntly, "Because I have hostility towards him." After a pause, he added even more bluntly, "The enemy of a rival in love."

Chu Qianmiao felt a headache. After thinking it over, she decided to emphasize her point again. "Mr. Tan, bringing personal feelings into work is unprofessional. And I've said this more than once: there's really no need to harbor hostility toward Mr. Ren. I have no personal relationship with him. Think about it, he's clearly rejected me, yet you're treating him as a rival in love. The logic is ridiculous."

You're fighting over something he doesn't even want. So why bother?

Tan Shen smiled. "You don't understand." After a pause, he added, "You understand nothing at all."

Chu Qianmiao felt that these simple words had somehow managed to convey a profound sense of mystery.

But she didn't want to get too involved. Right now, she just wanted to talk business.

"Okay, Mr. Tan, since you want to talk to me about the VAM, let's discuss that."

Tan Shen shrugged. "Yeah, okay." After a pause, he said, "I'll help you resolve the veto, but the VAM can't be terminated. What if Liya doesn't pass the IPO review? What if Liya fails to go public and its performance declines? That would be a loss for Qian Siji, and he wouldn't have to compensate us for our performance. So," he paused, then said, "At most, we can change it to a VAM with additional conditions. For example, we could sign an agreement stipulating that if Liya successfully goes public, the VAM clause will automatically expire, but if it fails, the VAM clause will remain in effect."

Chu Qianmiao shook her head. "That won't work. Based on practical cases, VAMs with such additional conditions will ultimately fail the CSRC's review. During the review period, the regulator will require the company to completely terminate the VAM."

Tan Shen rubbed his chin with his hand, raised an eyebrow, and asked Chu Qianmiao, "Then what do you say?"

Chu Qianmiao said, "The VAM must be completely terminated."

Tan Shen said, "If it's completely terminated, the interests of us, Yingji, as investors, won't be fully protected, and I'm afraid our boss won't agree." After a pause, he said, "To tell you the truth, our general manager wasn't on a business trip. He said that because he was afraid Ren Yan would come directly to him for the talk. He was deliberately avoiding it."

Chu Qianmiao frowned. She remembered the peculiar tone Ren Yan had used when he said Liya General Manager was "on a business trip." He might have already seen through that excuse and was trying to figure out how to break through it.

She was a little worried. According to Tan Shen, the bet-against-the-bet issue now seemed like a dead end.

"In that case, Liya might not be able to go public. If Liya can't go public, you, as investors, won't be able to reap the benefits of the secondary market. Isn't that a pity?" she asked Tan Shen.

Tan Shen smiled. "There's nothing to regret. Even if Liya can't go public, as long as its performance declines, Qian Siji will compensate us. If its performance grows, we'll reap the benefits. As long as we don't cancel the VAM agreement, we're guaranteed to win. On the contrary, if it is canceled, it's fine if Liya goes public, and we can reap the benefits of the secondary market. But if the listing fails, we'll lose Liya's performance compensation. It's a mixed bag of risks."

"So, don't try to intimidate us by threatening to suspend Liya's IPO unless the VAM agreement is terminated. Honestly, we don't care," Tan Shen said.

Chu Qianmiao's heart sank.

She couldn't help but agree with every word Tan Shen said. It seemed Yingji Capital was determined not to engage in VAM agreements. If that were the case, Liya's IPO might truly come to an end.

Thinking about the six months they'd already put in, the blood, sweat, and labor, the strange people and situations they'd endured, the days they'd missed out on family time because of work—if the project just stopped like this, she and the other team members wouldn't be willing.

"Is there really no room for maneuver?" she asked Tan Shen.

Tan Shen looked at her, his gaze deep. Suddenly, he smiled at her. "If you agree to be my girlfriend, I'll help you talk to our general manager. I'll find a way to convince him to cancel the gambling agreement."

Chu Qianmiao looked at him for a moment, silent. The next moment, she stood up and started to leave.

Tan Shen quickly stood up, trotted over to the door, and stopped her.

His smile faded. He said sternly, "I'm sorry, Qianmiao, I was just joking."

Chu Qianmiao said nothing, wanting to pry open the doorknob and leave.

But he stood in her way.

Chu Qianmiao said, "Mr. Tan, please move aside."

Tan Shen refused to move, standing firm, unwavering. Chu Qianmiao was furious. She took a deep breath, looked up, and said to Tan Shen, "Shen, we're all just working. I hope you can be more professional."

Tan Shen half-lowered his gaze at her and said, "Qianmiao, don't worry. I'll talk to our general manager and help you get the VAM agreement lifted."

Chu Qianmiao sighed, "No need. Let's figure this out on our own." She looked up at him and repeated, "Mr. Tan, please move aside. I need to leave."

Tan Shen looked at her for a moment, then stepped aside.

As Chu Qianmiao opened the door to leave, Tan Shen said from behind her, "Qianmiao, I'll help you."

That evening, Chu Qianmiao received a call from Ren Yan.

Ren Yan told her that Qian Siji would be in Beijing the next day and would go directly to Eagle Capital. He and Eagle Capital would sign an agreement on the spot to lift the veto power and the VAM clause. Ren Yan informed her not to go to Litong tomorrow morning, but to go directly to Yingji Capital. They needed to review the terms of the agreement before Qian Siji and Yingji signed it.

Chu Qianmiao was slightly startled by this announcement.

Tan Shen had indeed gone to talk to his boss, and the results were surprisingly rapid.

She was momentarily lost in thought when she heard Ren Yan on the phone.

"Tan Shen called to let me know. He said that after the meeting, you went to talk to him alone. You convinced him to help us."

His tone was calm as he stated this, but Chu Qianmiao's heart skipped a beat.

"I didn't actually convince him. He made the decision himself." She didn't want to take credit for something she couldn't fully explain.

Ren Yan was silent for a moment on the other end of the line. When he spoke again, he said, "Go to bed early." After a pause, he added, "Read a little more before you go to sleep. The next exam is almost here."

He hung up. Chu Qianmiao was bewildered.

Go to bed early, read a little more before you go to sleep.

Which instruction was she following?

She felt that Ren Yan's logical thinking had been so erratic lately, comparable to his "Shut up, I don't want to hear it" and "Speak, are you mute?"

The next day, Qian Siji arrived with the official seal and signed a termination agreement with Yingji Capital, which stipulated the veto power and the VAM clause. The two thorny issues were finally resolved. Chu Qianmiao knew that, no matter how you slice it, it was only thanks to Tan Shen's help.

So, when Ren Yan invited her to ride with Qian Siji in his car back to Liya to continue his business trip, she told him she would take the high-speed train later because she had some errands to run.

This time, Ren Yan actually prodded her about her business. It was the first time he insisted on knowing why she was leaving late.

Chu Qianmiao felt there was nothing left to hide, and pressed the issue, she simply said, "I owe Tan Shen a meal and want to repay it before I leave. Otherwise, I'd feel uncomfortable being burdened by a debt of gratitude."

After she explained the reason, Ren Yan, with a blank expression, asked, "What are you treating?"

She was taken aback for a moment before reacting and replied, "Hot pot."

After she finished, he snorted, rolled up the window, and drove off with Qian Siji in his car back to the industrial province.

Chu Qianmiao did treat Tan Shen to hotpot that evening. She also invited Huang Ying along. She explicitly told Huang Ying, "Senior, if you run away halfway through again, our sisterhood will be over."

Huang Ying didn't dare run away again. Compared to her schoolmate relationship with Tan Shen, she felt hers was deeper with Chu Qianmiao.

So, the meal went smoothly and without incident.

After dinner, Chu Qianmiao took a taxi straight to the high-speed rail station.

The next morning, she arrived at the due diligence office on time to find Qin Qianyu, Liu Lifeng, and Yan Yunqiang all haggard and sunken-eyed, looking like they had been forced to come to work after a hangover and still hadn't figured out where to go.

Ren Yan, on the other hand, looked his usual self, sitting at his desk, sipping hot water. Seeing her come in, he glanced up, then retracted his gaze, not even giving her a chance to say hello.

Chu Qianmiao sat down and chatted with Qin Qianyu on the computer.

"Brother Qin, what's going on? The company threw a banquet yesterday and got you all drunk."

Even Qin Qianyu's reply to her text seemed weak. "Oh my god! I don't know if my boss has had a genetic mutation lately or is just bored out of his mind. He actually invited us to hot pot the moment he arrived from Beijing yesterday. He took the initiative."

Chu Qianmiao: ""

Qin Qianyu: "Then he brought six bottles of Moutai for us to drink. We thought he was giving us a favor by inviting us to drink, so how could we be shameless? So we drank it. But it's true, Brother, the thought of Moutai now makes my mouth taste like vomit. I'm afraid I'll never be able to enjoy Moutai again in my lifetime."

Chu Qianmiao: ""

What did he ask her before leaving yesterday?

What were you planning to treat him to?

She said hot pot.

How did he get so greedy? He wants to eat whatever others eat. Absolutely ridiculous.

The author has something to say to Ren Yan: Who are you greedy for? Believe it or not, I'll eat you up.