12: Chapter 12 Two People in Action
Thursday, March 20, 2025, Cloudy, 8 ~ 19°C
Thursday, 3:17 PM.
Qiao Yichen's phone vibrated lightly on the desk.
He didn't look at it immediately.
The computer screen in front of him remained lit; he was intensely reviewing the documentation for next week's Channel execution sent over by Party A, which detailed the placement order for the channel window starting next Monday.
After finishing reading, he reached out and flipped his phone over.
It displayed a notification from the bank.
It was very brief.
[Your account ending in **** has received a deposit of RMB 300,000.00.]
Three hundred thousand.
It had arrived.
Qiao Yichen glanced at it, confirmed it was correct, locked the screen, and placed the phone back on the desk.
He felt no excitement.
This step was entirely within his expectations.
What truly settled his mind was that the funds arrived with time to spare.
He pulled open the drawer and took out the piece of paper covered in numbers from the day before, recalculating everything once more.
The thirty thousand loan had just arrived, plus eighty thousand in personal funds, and another one hundred and twenty thousand from Liu Yanran.
This five hundred thousand.
Not one penny more, not one penny less.
It was just enough to secure that test window.
He clicked open Liu Yanran's chat window and sent just one line:
[The money is here. Tomorrow at ten AM, no change.]
A few seconds later, a reply came from the other side:
[I know.]
When he worked overtime that evening, he confirmed the appointment time for the next day with the Channel Provider.
The other party replied promptly.
[Tomorrow at ten AM, coffee shop.]
It seemed this window hadn't truly been locked down by anyone else yet.
The chance was very high.
It wasn't until after 9 PM that Qiao Yichen left the office.
On the way back to his rented apartment,
Qiao Yichen felt very relaxed. After all, everything that needed to be considered had been thought through, and everything that needed preparation had been prepared.
All that remained was to finalize the contract details tomorrow.
— —
Friday morning. The weather today was exceptionally good.
The two of them requested time off separately.
However, Qiao Yichen needed to ask Liu Yanran for leave, whereas Liu Yanran didn't need to find an excuse.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the office buildings, slicing the street into bright patches.
At 9:45 AM, Qiao Yichen arrived at the designated coffee shop early.
The window seat offered a great view, allowing him to see the entrance and exit of the Channel Provider's office building across the street.
He ordered an Americano, no sugar, and waited quietly.
At three minutes to ten, Liu Yanran arrived.
Today, she wasn't wearing the women's suit jacket typical of her work attire. Instead, she had changed into a light, thin beige trench coat, paired with a soft cashmere sweater underneath, and well-tailored cigarette pants. Her entire outfit looked more casual.
Her hair was loosely draped over her shoulders, the ends showing a subtle, almost imperceptible curve, clearly having been meticulously styled.
She looked completely different from her usual demeanor at the company.
“Have you been waiting long?” She sat down next to him, placing her bag at her side.
“Just arrived,” Qiao Yichen said, then quietly admired the person beside him.
She nodded. There was no need for pleasantries between them; she looked at him directly and asked,
“Who is the person coming from their side?”
“A business executive from the Channel Provider, at the Deputy Director level,” Qiao Yichen murmured. “They can't make the final call, but they have room to maneuver.”
“That’s enough,” Liu Yanran replied.
As soon as she finished speaking, the wind chime at the coffee shop door jingled once.
Exactly ten o'clock. The other party appeared right on time.
A man in his thirties walked in, wearing a shirt and dress pants, the top button of his shirt undone. He looked casual, but his eyes gave the impression of being very sharp.
“Mr. Qiao,” he said with a smile, nodding. “Apologies, traffic was a bit heavy.”
“No trouble,” Qiao Yichen stood up, waved his hand, and gestured for him to sit. “The timing is perfect.”
After a brief exchange of courtesies, they quickly got down to business.
“The test window you requested isn't actually on our regular public list,” the other party said with a smile. “It’s an internal testing resource, usually used for running models.”
“We understand and we know,” Qiao Yichen spoke, his tone steady. “That’s why we are discussing this as an individual project, which won't affect your usual main schedule. We only need this one week.”
The other party’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Clearly, this point hit the mark.
Then, Qiao Yichen appropriately added, “It’s the same as the contract sent earlier—full buyout. However, the price will be 20% above the cost you calculated previously.”
He stated it very directly.
There was no haggling, and no unnecessary preamble.
The other party picked up his coffee and didn't answer immediately.
“You should know, there’s been quite a bit of inquiry about this window recently,” he said.
“We understand,” Qiao Yichen nodded. “That’s why we came directly.”
After these words were spoken, the other party also smiled.
It wasn't a relaxed smile, but the kind of smile one gives when “being seen through makes things simpler.”
“Then you two certainly have guts,” he said.
“We will bear all risks ourselves,” Liu Yanran stated. “Regardless of the final outcome, it will have no bearing on your side.”
“Very well, we’ll proceed with the agreed 20% increase.”
The negotiation entered its most critical few minutes.
The other party was clearly more concerned about one thing: “Can you confirm it right now?”
Qiao Yichen glanced at Liu Yanran.
She nodded.
“Yes, we can,” he said. “Once the contract is signed, the money transfers immediately.”
That sentence seemed to put him at ease.
Next, the price, payment method, and execution boundaries were confirmed one by one.
There was no pulling back, and no back-and-forth.
At 10:43 AM, both parties cleanly finalized the agreement.
Test window: Full buyout.
Effective time: 00:00 AM next Monday.
End time: 12:00 AM next Sunday night.
They bought out a full week.
When the last word was confirmed, the other party closed the file and said casually,
“Honestly, if you had been any later, it might not have been available to you.”
Qiao Yichen knew clearly in his heart.
This wasn't just polite talk; someone was genuinely eyeing this spot.
As they walked out of the coffee shop, the sunlight seemed a bit harsh.
Liu Yanran suddenly stopped and let out a soft breath.
“This step was actually quite risky,” she said.
“But it was worth it,” Qiao Yichen replied.
She turned her head to look at him; she didn't argue.
“Now, it all depends on the results we get from running this window.”
“Yes,” he said.
The two didn't say anything more and returned to the company together.
This was the point where they had the most tacit understanding—they both knew what needed to be done.
— —
That same afternoon.
In another office building.
Director only found out around 4 PM that the test window he had been monitoring was gone.
The news came from a friend at the Channel Provider.
It was just a casual remark.
“That flash test slot you asked about a few days ago? Someone snatched it.”
Director was smoking in his office when he heard this, and his fingers paused for a beat.
“Snatched it?” he pressed, frowning. “Who?”
“Not sure,” the other person replied. “The contract is already signed, and the money has been paid.”
“Which company?”
“I didn’t hear which company,” the other person said after thinking for a moment. “It seems to have been signed under an individual’s name.”
Signed under an individual’s name?
These few words made Director's heart sink inexplicably.
He didn't show any outward sign of abnormality.
He just firmly ground out the cigarette in his hand and asked,
“When did this happen?”
“Sometime this morning.”
After that, the conversation ended. The call hung up.
Director's office fell silent.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, thinking for a long time.
The events flashed rapidly through his mind.
Last Friday, the project was signed away by Liu Yanran’s company.
So, on Saturday, he started monitoring Liu Yanran, intending to pry some information from her about the channel placement situation.
An unexpected hitch occurred.
On Monday, he started inquiring with the Channel Provider about the window situation and contacted friends in outsourcing.
This week, he had mostly been waiting, waiting for a 'safer' opportunity to enter the market.
The result—
At the crucial moment, someone directly took it.
This meant someone else had recognized the value of this window.
Moreover, the move was more decisive than he had imagined; it happened while he was still hesitating.
Director leaned back, tapping his fingers on the desk.
Several possible names surfaced in his mind, only to be dismissed one by one.
No.
These people didn't have that kind of nerve.
Nor did they have that speed of reaction.
He glanced at the screen again, his gaze slowly hardening.
What if that person actually managed to generate data?
What if that person truly validated the value of this window?
Thinking of this, Director's throat tightened instantly.
Now, all he could do was hope that this window wouldn't produce any results.
...
At night.
Qiao Yichen returned home from work, showered, and sat in front of his desk.
The system interface remained quiet.
The second piece of intelligence was still hanging there.
He didn't click on it.
He simply closed the computer and looked out the window.
He knew that from this moment on, the card table was about to be reshuffled.
He should be able to acquire some decent chips next week.