20: If you misspoke, I don't blame you.

Lin Chao smiled. "I just did a few insignificant little things."

Lan Yanran shook her head. In those cold eyes, a flicker of a flame called 'disgust' was burning at this moment.

"As soon as I went out, Zheng Guangzhi's thieving eyes kept wandering all over me!"

Here it comes!

Lin Chao felt a surge of joy in his heart, but on the surface, he showed a perfectly timed hint of surprise.

His eyebrows rose slightly, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

"He's that bold?"

"In front of so many people?"

"Yes." Lan Yanran nodded heavily, the disgust in her tone intensifying.

"It's exactly as you said."

"He's just a beast in human clothing, an out-and-out lecher!"

Lin Chao looked at her angry face. A smile flashed across the corners of his mouth before he replaced it with a half-joking, half-serious expression.

He spread his hands and spoke frankly, "There's nothing to be done about that."

"Who told you to be so beautiful, CEO Lan?"

Coming from him, these words didn't sound like greasy flattery; instead, it was as if he were stating an objective fact.

Lan Yanran was slightly taken aback.

Immediately after, a faint trace of self-satisfaction quietly crept into her heart.

What woman wouldn't want to hear sincere praise from others?

But soon, that small bit of pride was replaced by a deeper sense of irritation.

She took another sip of soup, but a cloud of gloom that wouldn't dissipate hung between her brows.

"If this collaboration weren't vital to the future of Lantu Group..."

"I wouldn't even bother saying a single word to a person like that!"

She put down her spoon and gently massaged her temples with her fingertips, looking somewhat exhausted.

"Just thinking about having to face that disgusting face again tomorrow makes me upset."

Tomorrow?

Still talking?

Lin Chao keenly caught this keyword!

In other words, today's cooperation didn't go through!

He immediately let out a long sigh of relief, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Great!

As long as the contract wasn't signed on the spot, he still had a chance!

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, he looked at Lan Yanran with feigned confusion.

"CEO Lan, I have a question. I don't know if I should ask."

"Go ahead."

"Since you want to cooperate with Hongzhi Group, why... don't you cooperate with President Xie?"

Lin Chao had an innocent look on his face, as if he were just asking casually.

Hearing the words 'President Xie,' Lan Yanran gave him a helpless look. Her gaze was like she was looking at an outsider who completely misunderstood business rules.

"Xie Mengya and Zheng Guangzhi are responsible for completely different business sectors within Hongzhi Group."

"This project happens to be within Zheng Guangzhi's jurisdiction."

"So, I can only discuss this cooperation with him."

Lin Chao's brow furrowed immediately. His face was full of incomprehension and innocence as he said righteously, "Then just tell Hongzhi Group directly!"

"Just say you're only willing to talk to President Xie, and if they change the person, you won't talk!"

"Wouldn't that work?"

Seeing Lin Chao's 'let them eat cake' attitude, Lan Yanran shook her head helplessly and gave a bitter laugh.

"You think the business world is too simple."

"Xie Mengya doesn't understand this business field at all; she's a complete amateur."

"Even if I forcibly requested to switch to her, believe it or not, not a single person under Zheng Guangzhi would respect her."

"By then, she'd be a general without an army. The entire project would only fall into greater chaos, and the cooperation would be even less likely to succeed."

So that was it.

Lin Chao understood instantly.

In the final analysis, Xie Mengya lacked sufficient power and prestige within Hongzhi Group.

He threw out one last question.

"Does... this collaboration have to be with Hongzhi Group?"

"Can't you switch to another company?"

This time, a trace of genuine exhaustion and helplessness appeared on Lan Yanran's face.

She picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

"In the country, the only one capable of absorbing such a large production capacity from Lantu Group is Hongzhi."

"The other companies are all too small in scale."

"They... can't keep up."

After listening to Lan Yanran's explanation, that 'innocence' belonging to a salesman who wouldn't turn back until hitting a wall emerged on Lin Chao's face again.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip imitating Lan Yanran, and then set it down heavily.

"CEO Lan, I think that's wrong."

Lan Yanran looked up at him, an inquiring look in her eyes.

"Since only Hongzhi Group can absorb it, isn't it easier for them to manipulate you?"

"Even I, a massager salesman, understand the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket."

Lin Chao tapped the table righteously.

"Then just find several small companies to talk to!"

"If one can't take it, wouldn't three or five of them put together be enough?"

Lan Yanran's brow furrowed once more, clearly having little patience for this amateurish suggestion.

"Talking to small companies requires going through the process with each one; it's too much of a waste of time."

"And the risks are uncontrollable."

"Ha!" Lin Chao acted as if he had heard a huge joke.

"Isn't it a waste of time being at such a deadlock with Hongzhi Group now?"

"I think it's better to run two lines in parallel!"

"While you're wearing down that disgusting piece of work Zheng Guangzhi on one side, you can assign people to contact small companies on the other. Neither side gets delayed!"

Lan Yanran's eyes flickered slightly.

Parallel lines... this line of thinking wasn't entirely without merit.

But she soon shook her head, dismissing the idea.

"It's not that easy."

"Once Hongzhi Group finds out about this, believe it or not, Zheng Guangzhi will immediately use his connections to cut off the upstream raw materials for those small companies."

Her tone carried the weariness of someone in power.

"By then, those small companies won't even be able to survive themselves, so how can they cooperate with us?"

"Once the raw materials are cut, the one ultimately affected will still be our Lantu Group."

Lin Chao became even more confused, his voice rising a few notches.

"If Hongzhi Group has this ability, don't you have it too, CEO Lan?"

"He can cut off others' paths, so why can't you cut off his?"

"Besides, Hongzhi Group doesn't belong to Zheng Guangzhi alone!"

Lin Chao leaned forward, each word powerful and resonant.

"CEO Lan, you can totally go talk to President Xie!"

"Just let her keep Zheng Guangzhi in check within Hongzhi Group, wouldn't that work?!"

Hearing this, that helpless, bitter smile appeared on Lan Yanran's face again.

She looked at Lin Chao as if looking at a naive child.

"Lin Chao, you're still too young."

"They are husband and wife."

"Do you think Xie Mengya would harm Hongzhi Group's own interests for the sake of an outsider like me?"

Lin Chao's mouth twitched.

Husband and wife?

Harm her own interests?

He almost laughed out loud on the spot!

What that woman Xie Mengya was thinking about now was completely destroying that scumbag Zheng Guangzhi, even if it meant Hongzhi Group suffered a major blow!

Lin Chao forcibly suppressed the wild laughter in his heart, but his face deliberately put on a hesitant and very conflicted expression.

His mouth opened and closed, his eyes darting around as if he had something difficult to say.

How keen was Lan Yanran!

She immediately caught Lin Chao's momentary abnormality.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you have something you want to say?"

Lin Chao seemed startled and hurriedly waved his hands.

"No... it's nothing..."

"CEO Lan, I'm just a massager salesman talking nonsense. Don't take it seriously."

The more he acted like this, the more suspicious Lan Yanran became.

Those cold eyes of hers seemed as if they could pierce through a person's heart at this moment.

"Speak!"

"If you say it wrong, I won't blame you."