Ning Wan had not expected to receive clients from Shi Wu's company. If it had been up to her, she would not have wanted anything to do with Shi Wu at all, but since she was now the attorney for their M&A case, she, as their lawyer, would perform her duties to the best of her ability.
However, Shi Wu was obviously not of the same opinion when it came to keeping things professional. At that first conference's tea break, she had shown off her power to Ning Wan, but the latter's restraint had not made her give up. The second time occurred, and then the third time. Every time Ning Wan asked Shi Wu for company-related due diligence data, Shi Wu would always come up with something, either trying every possible way to shirk her work, or attempting to make Ning Wan unhappy.
In the end, even Fu Zheng noticed. He said with a frown, "When us lawyers do our due diligence on mergers and acquisitions, we rely on the client company to provide comprehensive, accurate data on their current operations and finances. Them being so uncooperative greatly reduces our efficiency. I will speak directly to the director of their legal department about the matter and find you a new contact." He pursed his lips. "I didn't expect your classmate to care so little about the boundaries between public and private matters, or I would already have asked for a replacement when we first arranged contact people.”
But Ning Wan rejected Fu Zheng's proposal. "No, leave it be." She smiled at Fu Zheng. "I have my own ideas on how to take care of it. Not only is it my own problem to solve, but she's targeting me at work because of her private opinions about me, so if I go over her head and have her boss suppress her, she'll only fight back even more. This is like a brawl; I'll need to fight her face to face before she'll feel at ease with her loss. If I myself don't take action and instead have someone else step in, then even if the other person beats her black and blue, she wouldn't be convinced."
Fu Zheng was stunned, but soon came to understand. Finally, he nodded and said, "Then go for it. After all, I'm here behind you."
Ning Wan smiled sincerely at him and said playfully, "Don't worry, I won't need you. I can outsmart even our community aunties, let alone Shi Wu. Do you think she's more powerful than Yue Lan's square dance queens? So, can I go alone for our next meeting?"
Taken aback, Fu Zheng looked to her. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," she smiled confidently. "I've been gearing up for my first independent client-facing commercial case."
Although Ning Wan had taken the lead in negotiations with clients many times before, Fu Zheng had always still been present. Even though he rarely spoke, his presence alone meant something to Ning Wan. Going to a meeting alone was a completely different beast.
Fu Zheng was indeed worried about how to shield her even if she was in the wrong.
Ning Wan only winked at him. "Anyway, if anything goes wrong, I'm someone with a backer behind me!"
Of course, this was what she said, but she had also prepared and put in order everything that she could beforehand. Since she had been confident enough to propose handling clients independently, she had also made predictions on all the issues that she might encounter during the meeting. Just in case, she even did a final review with Fu Zheng beforehand--
"Do you think there's anything else you can add?"
After Ning Wan finished explaining her strategies and plans, she looked at Fu Zheng a little anxiously, awaiting his evaluation.
Fu Zheng looked back at her seriously. "Come closer and I'll give you some feedback."
Not doubting him at all, Ning Wan shuffled closer and waited nervously. This was her first independent due diligence report. Based on the company information she had obtained so far, she had made an analysis of the legal risks in mergers and acquisitions. Although she had stayed up for several nights to prepare all this data, she was still a little in awe of Fu Zheng's seniority, especially since he was currently taking an ambiguous attitude on the matter. It made her anxious...
However, when Ning Wan leaned toward him, ready to listen, Fu Zheng reached out, cupped her chin, and leaned forward slightly to give her a kiss across the table.
She instinctively pulled back to look at him wide-eyed.
Fu Zheng looked back, innocent and proper.
Ning Wan was so angry that she swelled up like a pufferfish. "That's it?" she demanded. "Where's my feedback? Are you not going to give me any feedback but going straight to kissing?"
Fu Zheng only chuckled. "That was my feedback. You did great, so you get a kiss as a reward."
? ? ?
This man, when did kissing become a reward for her? Wasn't it obviously meant for him?
Alas, before Ning Wan could complain, Fu Zheng's hand gently stroked her hair. "The due diligence report was really well written. I could find no faults in it. Since you've been such a good girl, you have to be praised a little extra.”
Saying so, he leaned over and kissed Ning Wan again.
Feeling a little shy after being kissed hard enough to feel unsteady, Ning Wan blustered, "We're discussing work, we can't do this!"
Fu Zheng looked around and felt a little aggrieved. "We're at home. What's wrong with me kissing my own girlfriend at her home? I haven't even taken into account the fact that you tricked me into working overtime during off hours. I thought I was going to get to do something fun when I got invited to your house tonight, but I had to look over the due diligence report instead. I feel used."
Ning Wan's face was a little flushed. She cleared her throat. "There'll be something fun, just... just wait until I'm done with work first and then I'll favour1in the sense of an emperor favouring a concubine by visiting them personally you!"
"Oh..." Fu Zheng sprawled out on the sofa as if bored, "Then hurry up and finish."
Ning Wan had originally wanted to do a mental walk through of all the possible situations she might encounter in tomorrow's meeting, but with Fu Zheng now staring directly at her, she couldn't calm down.
She had no choice but to put down the file.
Garbage man, ruining a girl's career, defeating a girl's will!
Fine, fine! Ning Wan comforted herself. 'A spring night is worth a thousand gold', so... let's favour first and then discuss!
