King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

"No, Zhan Yiling, please forgive me. It's all my fault."

Old Yang quickly replied, "Just consider it as if I didn't say anything after you gave me this plate of pistachios!"

"Can we erase this last part and leave everything as it was before?"

"Old Yang, stop fooling yourself. I can't do it, and neither can you!"

Zhan Yiling gave a bitter smile. "Our relationship can never go back to what it used to be. We can never be as carefree and relaxed as we used to be."

"You're thirteen years older than me, you should understand this better..."

"If you're not satisfied with what you already have and want to take more..."

"Then be prepared that you may lose everything you once had."

"Having gained one thing but wanting another, one ends up losing everything."

Old Yang joked, "I was eating what was in my bowl while eyeing what was in the pot, and in the end, I even dropped my chopsticks..."

"You don't need to make fun of yourself like that."

Zhan Yiling continued, "Really, Lao Yang, I'm truly grateful to you!"

"It's not so much that I don't know how to face you, but that I don't know how to face myself. I just can't get over this hurdle in my own mind."

"I understand, I understand. If you can't get through it, then don't try!"

"I don't want to force you, nor do I want to see you force yourself. I also have self-respect."

At this point, Old Yang wanted to shake Zhan Yiling's hand one more time...

But just as he raised his hand, he hesitated and ultimately only rubbed it against the sides of his pants.

From the moment Zhan Yiling stepped out of the Yanjing Hotel until she got into the car, she never looked back at Lao Yang again.

Watching Zhan Yiling get into the taxi and leave, Old Yang looked dejected and fell into deep thought.

...

The next morning, as soon as Zhan Yiling entered the company, she knocked on Jason's office door.

She plopped down opposite Jason and said, "Jason, I'd like to transfer the Jiangji Group case to another colleague; I'm simply too busy."

Jason was taken aback, looking at Zhan Yiling with a puzzled expression: "Too busy? Is that even a valid excuse?"

Having no other option, Zhan Yiling had to change her story: "To be honest, the most crucial person among the clients is quite hostile towards me, and I really can't handle him."

"If I continue to represent IBM, it could affect subsequent business negotiations."

Jason pondered for a moment, then asked, "What do you think of the overall situation of this project? Is the chance of success high?"

Hearing Jason say this, Zhan Yiling was in a dilemma.

If the situation is bad and the chances are slim, no one will be willing to take it on.

If the situation is very good and the opportunity is great, Jason will absolutely not agree to let someone else take over.

She could only say, "It's alright, it depends on who takes over."

Jason glared at her, dialed the internal phone, and called Old Wang over.

Old Wang arrived immediately and was taken aback when he saw Zhan Yiling there as well.

Jason said to him, "Linda has a case involving Jiangji Group, and she's hoping someone can help her. Mr. Wang, are you able to help?"

Old Wang nodded eagerly: "Okay, okay, no problem. Linda will handle the client's communication up front, and I'll do the work from behind."

Jason and Zhan Yiling both frowned at the same time.

Zhan Yiling then said to Lao Wang, "I hope you can handle the client communication on my behalf, and I will take care of the rest of the support work."

Now it was Old Wang's turn to frown. He said worriedly, "Oh dear, this is a bit difficult to handle..."

"no!"

Zhan Yiling asked in surprise, "Didn't you offer to participate in this case yesterday?"

"That's right, but it's not convenient for me to come forward directly. I'll just do the work behind the scenes."

Seeing Jason and Zhan Yiling looking at him suspiciously, Old Wang had no choice but to tell the truth.

"Here's the situation: Jiangji's projects, which were previously decided by local authorities, are now decided by the ministry."

"But the person in charge of this matter in the department had always been at odds with me. I later went to IBM, while he went to Jiangji for a temporary post last year."

"If I were to meet with him now on behalf of IBM, the outcome would probably be..."

What a coincidence!

Zhan Yiling immediately blurted out, "You mean... Old Yang?"

Old Wang was taken aback at first, then nodded somewhat awkwardly.

Zhan Yiling then turned to Jason: "I used to mainly work with local clients, so this Lao Yang felt that I neglected him and had a bad temper with me..."

"That's why I wanted to ask Mr. Wang to help me connect with Lao Yang."

"Since Mr. Wang also has his own difficulties, then we don't need him."

Jason then asked Lao Wang to go ahead and get busy, and Lao Wang left with a regretful expression.

Zhan Yiling then asked, "Jason, could you find someone else to help?"

"Just go see that old Yang for me, I'll continue doing everything else. He can have all the credit, I don't want it."

Jason shrugged. "I don't think that's necessary! You're the sales representative for this case, and you're demanding a replacement every time there's a problem? That's not fair!"

"He feels ignored by you, so you should find a way to make him feel valued!"

"You can use whatever method you want, but please don't turn your problem into my problem, okay?"

Having been rebuffed, Zhan Yiling returned to her seat.

Just when I was at my wit's end, the phone on the table rang.

She answered, saying, "Hello! This is Linda from IBM."

There was no immediate response on the other end of the phone, but Zhan Yiling's heart suddenly raced.

Sure enough, the voice she had sensed finally came through: "It's me, Lao Yang."

"Oh, hello," Zhan Yiling replied blankly.

"I didn't sleep a wink last night, I kept thinking about you. Hey, don't worry! I was just thinking about what's best for you..."

Old Yang continued, "Since you don't want to meet in person for the time being, I'll tell you over the phone."

Zhan Yiling became even more nervous!

She decided to make her stance clear again before the other party could.

He lowered his voice and said hastily, "I also have something to say to you, so let me speak first."

"First, after thinking about it carefully, I think the root cause is that you were too lonely and lost back at Jiangji..."

"It's not because I have anything special that impressed you; you probably would have felt the same way if you met someone else."

"If you had stayed in Beijing before, spending your days socializing with friends and enjoying a booming career, you wouldn't have felt anything even if you met me."

"Therefore, I think you don't need to overemphasize your temporary goodwill towards me."

"Secondly, I just spoke with my boss and asked him to send someone else to take charge of the Jiangji project, but he disagreed, saying that we can't change generals at the last minute."

"In that case, I have no choice but to give up. Let other manufacturers compete for this project then."

Zhan Yiling finished speaking in one breath, but there was no response on the other end of the phone.

She waited anxiously.

After a while, Old Yang calmly asked, "Have you finished speaking?"

"Oh, oh, umm."

Zhan Yiling then realized that her ending just now was indeed a bit abrupt.