"Who is this?" Zhao Pu, seeing Ye Xiao enter the room and walking alongside Xia Mingyue, was very surprised. He looked at Xia Mingyue and continued, "Mr. Xia, didn't we agree to have a meal alone today?"

"This is my driver, oh, and also my cousin." Xia Mingyue said with a smile, "His name is..."

As Xia Mingyue spoke, she looked at Ye Xiao because she had forgotten the name Ye Xiao had just mentioned.

"Ye Biaoshu!" Ye Xiao looked at Zhao Pu with a smile and said, "Mr. Zhao can just call me Cousin if you like."

"What?" Zhao Pu heard Ye Xiao's words and immediately frowned, saying, "You dare to take advantage of me?"

"Huh?" Ye Xiao's face was filled with confusion, looking completely unaware of what was happening.

Seeing Ye Xiao's expression, Zhao Pu immediately looked at Xia Mingyue, only to see Ming Yue herself looking bewildered, apparently also wondering what Zhao Pu meant.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Pu laughed and said, "Haha, your name really is easy to misunderstand."

"How so? Several of my brothers-in-law affectionately call me by my name Biaoshu, 'biao' as in clock, 'shu' as in a family of scholars. Mr. Zhao, you wouldn't be thinking of something else, right?' Ye Xiao still looked shocked, as if he had heard the most astonishing thing, which made Xia Mingyue also secretly chuckle; Ye Xiao truly was a master of acting.

Hearing Ye Xiao's words, Zhao Pu naturally did not want Ye Xiao to misunderstand, but of course, he was most worried about Xia Mingyue misunderstanding. So, he quickly said, "Of course not. Since you are Cousin Biaoshu, please take a seat."

Though Zhao Pu said this, he still felt somewhat awkward.

Xia Mingyue sat in the seat next to Zhao Pu, which had been prepared for her earlier, while Ye Xiao very tactfully sat opposite Zhao Pu and Xia Mingyue, clearly signaling that he wouldn't interfere with their work discussion.

Yet, even if Ye Xiao remained silent, having a man sitting there still made Zhao Pu very uneasy—after all, this was a bit awkward. Originally, Zhao Pu's plan did not include Ye Xiao's presence.

Zhao Pu occasionally showed excessive attentiveness to Xia Mingyue, but he dared not to be too forward; eyes, however, fervently roamed over Xia Mingyue.

"Mr. Zhao, about that deal..." Xia Mingyue's purpose today was for business negotiations, so naturally, she intended to stick to the main topic. But just as she started speaking,

Zhao Pu immediately interrupted with a laugh and said to Xia Mingyue, "Ming Yue, may I call you Ming Yue?"

Xia Mingyue replied with a polite smile, "Of course you may."

"Ming Yue, let's not talk business during the meal; we can discuss work after lunch," Zhao Pu said with a smile, clearly very smart. Besides, his invitation to Xia Mingyue today was not only for work purposes.

Although Xia Mingyue was usually quite decisive, for the stability of the company, she felt she had to be accommodating.

Zhao Pu intermittently introduced various dishes to Xia Mingyue, while also frequently praising her for being smart and capable, as well as beautiful.

In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had passed.

Zhao Pu's original plan was to dine with Xia Mingyue for at least an hour and a half, but due to Ye Xiao's presence, many of his words and plans couldn't be carried out, so the meal ended up being slightly rushed.

"Cousin Biaoshu, did you enjoy the meal?" Zhao Pu looked at Ye Xiao, who was standing up, with a smile.

Ye Xiao responded with a smile, "Very good, much better than what we eat at home."

"How could this be? The Xia family is a large clan. By the way, Cousin Biaoshu, there is an entertainment venue inside the hotel. My people will take you to have some fun. I have some work-related matters to discuss with your cousin," Zhao Pu said to Ye Xiao, obviously not wanting Ye Xiao to continue following them any longer. If Ye Xiao kept tagging along, it would be very unfavorable for him.

Ye Xiao said, "No need, I..."

"Just go have fun, we need to talk business!" Xia Mingyue said, seeing that Zhao Pu apparently wouldn't discuss work with her if Ye Xiao didn't leave. She was here for the company's development, wasn't she? If they didn't settle the deal today, the company might lose this project. Although it was only a deal worth over five million, who could guarantee there wouldn't be three, four, or five more deals of over five million lost? So, for the company, Xia Mingyue could only ask Ye Xiao to leave, even though she knew it wasn't nice.

Ye Xiao looked at Xia Mingyue, paused, and then said, "Cousin!"

"Please!" Xia Mingyue said again.

Ye Xiao, hearing Xia Mingyue's words, shrugged his shoulders. Since they didn't want him to stay any longer, why should he insist? Besides, in broad daylight, he thought Zhao Pu probably wouldn't do anything too over the top.

"Alright!" Ye Xiao said. "I just had lunch, a bit full, I'll go for a stroll."

"Do you want someone to accompany you?" Zhao Pu asked kindly.

Ye Xiao replied, "No need, thank you, Mr. Zhao."

"Mr. Zhao, you're too kind!" Zhao Pu was very pleased at that moment; his greatest wish was for Ye Xiao to leave. Only with Ye Xiao gone could he have a proper conversation with Xia Mingyue.

Ye Xiao said he would leave and was the first to step out of the private room.

When Zhao Pu and Xia Mingyue stepped out of the private room, Ye Xiao had already disappeared.

"Ming Yue, your cousin sure left quickly," Zhao Pu said to Xia Mingyue with a smile.

"Mr. Zhao, where shall we go to discuss work?" Xia Mingyue asked Zhao Pu with a smile.

Zhao Pu said, "I always keep room 912 at the Zhu Hua Hotel reserved for me. Let's go there. After all, it's a very quiet place, and for discussions, it's important to find a spot where we won't be disturbed."

"This…" Upon hearing Zhao Pu's suggestion, Xia Mingyue grew wary, thinking about the industry rumors about Zhao Pu, and became even more hesitant.

Zhao Pu immediately said with a smile to Xia Mingyue, "Ming Yue, you don't want to go? Or do you not trust my character? I always treat you like a little sister. If my little sister Ming Yue misunderstands my character, that would truly upset me."

"No, no, no, how could that be!" Seeing the look of helplessness on Zhao Pu's face, Xia Mingyue quickly said, "Mr. Zhao, please don't misunderstand, lead the way."

Hearing Xia Mingyue's words, Zhao Pu quickly responded, "I knew Ming Yue understood the bigger picture. It seems I misunderstood you. Let's go."

Xia Mingyue didn't see that when she turned around, a disgusting, triumphant smirk appeared on Zhao Pu's face—it was the expression of someone whose cunning plan was about to succeed.

Xia Mingyue and Zhao Pu walked toward the elevator together. At this moment, not far from the restroom entrance, a pair of eyes watched the two of them enter the elevator, the face betraying a faint smile.

The room Zhao Pu had reserved was on the ninth floor of the Zhu Hua Hotel, a floor comprised entirely of luxury suites.

The reason Xia Mingyue dared to come was not that she wanted to, nor because Zhao Pu had provoked her; she felt that with the powerful Xia family behind her, Zhao Pu certainly wouldn't dare do anything to her. Otherwise, how could he explain himself to the Xia family?

Zhao Pu and Xia Mingyue, chatting and laughing, arrived at the door of room 912. Just then, someone stepped out of the room—a housekeeper.

Zhao Pu was slightly surprised, then remembered he had instructed that his room be cleaned daily; it seemed the hotel was indeed diligent.

"Here's for you!" Zhao Pu tossed a hundred yuan to the ground as a tip for the housekeeper, then immediately turned to Xia Mingyue with a smile, "Ming Yue, please enter!"

The housekeeper, seeing the tip from Zhao Pu, immediately teared up with gratitude, giving Zhao Pu an even greater sense of superiority.

"Please, take a seat. What would you like to drink?" Zhao Pu courteously asked Xia Mingyue as she sat down.

"Just water," Xia Mingyue stated.

"But I only have red wine here. For the future cooperation of our two companies, how can we proceed without a toast?" Zhao Pu said cheerfully to Xia Mingyue while moving to the liquor cabinet, taking a bottle of '82 Lafite, and pouring a little into two elegant wine glasses.

Xia Mingyue didn't restrain herself. At this moment, her mind was entirely focused on the business deal and how to negotiate with Zhao Pu, so she didn't pay any attention to Zhao Pu pouring the wine.

At that moment, Zhao Pu stole a glance at Xia Mingyue, seeing she wasn't looking his way, his expression slyly shifted. Suddenly, his hand produced a white capsule, which he then gently twisted open, pouring the powder from inside it into one of the wine glasses and lightly shaking it.

The white powder was astonishingly effective, dissolving instantly in the glass, with no change to the appearance of the red wine, as if nothing had been added at all.

Looking at the wine glass, a smirk of self-satisfaction spread across Zhao Pu's face.

Carrying the wine glasses, Zhao Pu approached Xia Mingyue with a light laugh and handed her the glass with the white powder, saying, "This Lafite has been in my collection for a long time. It's quite good."

"I don't really understand wine, but for the cooperation of our two companies, I must drink this," Xia Mingyue said modestly.

Xia Mingyue touched her glass to Zhao Pu's, ready to drink.

But just at that moment, her cell phone suddenly received a text message, with the notification sound of a little lamb's bleat.

Hearing this, Zhao Pu immediately chuckled, "Ming Yue's text message tone is quite unique."

Xia Mingyue found the little lamb sound notification curious. Only a specific person had that tone, and why would they send a message at this time?

"It's nothing, don't mind it," Xia Mingyue said with a smile.

"No problem, it might be something important," Zhao Pu said generously.

Hearing Zhao Pu's words, Xia Mingyue apologized with a smile, promptly opened her phone, and checked the message.

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