"Xu Fan! You!"

Xu Fan had made his stance clear, he had never intended to forgive her from the start. Making her strip was merely his way of toying with her.

"Xu Fan, you're really heartless."

Xia Yanyu looked at Xu Fan with choking sobs. After all, she had done so much; didn't he feel even a hint of compassion?

"Heh, the feeling is mutual."

Xu Fan said with a laugh. Xia Yanyu called him heartless, but how much better could she be?

"I, I have my difficulties..."

Xu Fan's implication was clear, and Xia Yanyu understood it. Ashamed, she lowered her head.

For the Xia Family, there was no possibility of compromise with Xu Fan regarding this matter.

"Alright, there's nothing more to say."

Xu Fan had no interest in understanding Xia Yanyu's difficulties. Since she wouldn't reveal Xiaodie's whereabouts, there was no need to continue the discussion.

He glanced at Xia Yanyu expressionlessly and said, "I came today for business matters. Let's not waste each other's time, shall we? After all, if we talk for too long, I start to feel cold, don't I?"

As he spoke, Xu Fan glanced at Xia Yanyu's enchanting figure with evident interest.

Putting aside her personality, just judging by her figure, this woman could indeed be considered a beauty.

"As for the contract with Su Shouzi you mentioned earlier, I had a look at it when I arrived. The terms of the cooperation are mostly fine. It's just that, regarding the final share of profits, I have some personal opinions."

"Hmm?"

Xia Yanyu furrowed her brow, looking at Xu Fan in confusion.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

This contract was nailed down by Su Shouzi with the military, but due to lack of staff and equipment, they chose to collaborate with the Xia Group.

The final profit was set at fifty-fifty. It was a fair deal—neither side got an advantage or suffered a loss.

The Xia Family provided manpower and equipment, while Su Shouzi would handle the formula and liaise with the military. It was a clean deal with no direct management necessary.

A fifty-fifty split was supposed to be the best ratio. Was Xu Fan not satisfied?

Xu Fan opened the contract on the table and said, "Seventy-thirty, Lingyan Pavilion gets seventy, Xia Family gets thirty. What do you say, Xia Yanyu? Any objections?"

"Xu Fan, you!"

With one sentence, Xu Fan had slashed her side's profits by twenty percent, which translated into over a billion. Wasn't this too tyrannical?

"Xu Fan, on what grounds do you cut my share by twenty percent?"

Xia Yanyu looked at Xu Fan indignantly. Coupled with the previous incident where Xu Fan made her undress, she was really angry now.

"Heh..."

Xu Fan looked at Xia Yanyu as if she was a simpleton, tapping his index finger on the table while saying, "On what grounds? Xia Yanyu, do you really still think you have a choice?"

"You..."

Xia Yanyu's eyes were filled with astonishment, clearly having guessed correctly. Xu Fan stretched lazily and then said, "I don't know what resolution you proposed at the board meeting today, but if I'm not mistaken, this contract of mine is very important to your proposal."

"You need this contract to prove your capabilities, but is Lingyan Pavilion your only option? Jinling is so vast, couldn't I, Xu Fan, find someone else willing to cooperate with me?"

Xia Yanyu bowed her head in disappointment. What Xu Fan said was indeed true. The most important aspect of the contract with the military was under the control of Su Shouzi, who had developed the new pharmaceutical formula. On her part, it was just about providing labor. If it wasn't found in Jinling, it could be found anywhere in the nation.

Xia Yanyu's mood was clearly downcast at having lost twenty percent of the profits for nothing. Xu Fan lifted the corner of his mouth, watching Xia Yanyu, and then said, "Xia Yanyu, at a time like this, how much do you hate me for stepping on you?"

Xia Yanyu did not speak, and Xu Fan had not expected her to answer his question. After glancing at her, he said, "You should know that the business world does not run on sentiment."

"If it really were about sentiment, the cut I just took from you would have been much more than twenty percent."

"Right, the ones sitting in the board meeting just now were all your father's old ministers. You view them as uncles, thinking that decades of relationships would surely make them agree with your proposal. But what happened?"

Seeing Xia Yanyu look at him in astonishment, Xu Fan smiled and said, "When people leave, the tea turns cold; when a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Our predecessors have left us plenty of wisdom. I believe that after these years in the business world, you've managed to keep the Xia Family's ship from sinking, so you should understand all this."

"However, when dealing with these old foxes, you've completely forgotten the experience you've acquired before...."

"Xia Yanyu, the business world is like a battlefield, where sentiment has no place. Do you think that if you speak of sentiment to them, those old foxes would care?"

"I..."

Xia Yanyu's face flushed as she bowed her head, exactly as Xu Fan had said. She indeed made those mistakes at the board meeting.

But thinking that most of those present had watched her grow up and were like uncles to her, she truly couldn't bring herself to be ruthless...

"Heh, Xia Yanyu, if you're truly resolved not to let your father down, then stop playing house with me. When you need to be ruthless, you must be ruthless. I believe that with your abilities, it won't be difficult to find their weaknesses and leverage them."

"Alright, I've said so much; cutting twenty percent off is already letting you off easy. Stop waisting words and hurry up and revise the contract."

Watching Xu Fan push the contract toward her, Xia Yanyu bowed her head meekly.

Perhaps it was just her impression, but Xia Yanyu felt that Xu Fan's purpose in cutting twenty percent was just to teach her this lesson.

Indeed, under Xu Fan's intimidation, all the shareholders agreed with her proposal today. But Xu Fan would not always be there to help her; in the future, she would encounter their obstruction again.

At that time, it would not be something that could be resolved by sentiment.

Just as Xu Fan said, she could be utterly cold toward her opponents, but in front of friends, she was still a woman.

Her father had passed the responsibility to her; perhaps she really should be as ruthless as Xu Fan had said.

After all, just because you consider someone a friend, it doesn't mean they'll see you the same way.

"Xu Fan, thank you for the reminder."

Xia Yanyu took a deep breath then raised her head to look at Xu Fan.

"I will have the contract revised immediately; once it's done, I'll send it to you."

There seemed to be something new in Xia Yanyu's eyes. Xu Fan smiled at her and, to her astonishment, grabbed her hand.

"Xu Fan, what...what are you doing..."

As Xu Fan wickedly kissed the back of her hand, Xia Yanyu's heart pounded furiously, as if it would leap out of her chest.

"Xia Yanyu, let's stop here for today. Next time, I'll personally take off those last two pieces for you."

"At that time, if you don't add any other conditions, I wouldn't mind engaging with you in a pure exchange of the flesh and skill."

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