I suggest you investigate; this person doesn't seem to be a first-time reborn individual.

"Mr. Lin, I'm sorry to bother you again." Zheng Qiao's tone was much more sincere this time.

"I know you may have other options at the moment, but I urge you to take a moment to hear us explain the support that Starlight Energy can provide. We are here with the utmost sincerity."

Lin Ran held his phone, a slight smile playing on his lips, but his tone remained calm, even carrying a hint of embarrassment.

"Manager Zheng, I'm really busy. I also have another meeting scheduled with Jin Ding tomorrow..."

"We'll send a car to pick you up tomorrow after you finish your talk with Jin Ding! It'll only take ten minutes; give Xingguang a chance to show our sincerity!"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, with only Lin Ran's breathing coming through.

Finally, seemingly unable to resist the other party's persistence, Lin Ran sighed.

"Okay, I'll call you around 10 a.m. tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lin! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!"

Just as Lin Ran hung up the phone, another unknown number called. Lin Ran raised an eyebrow and answered.

"Hello? Are you Mr. Lin? I'm from the leasing department of Jinding Plaza..."

……

The next morning, Lin Ran got up early.

His young body was full of energy, and he looked down into the blankets.

He felt that if given a fulcrum, he could move the entire earth.

Tang Chen, Ye Li, and Xia Chan had breakfast together at the cafeteria, and then they set off together to Jin Ding Square.

The person in charge of receiving them at Jin Ding was a manager surnamed Wang from the investment promotion department. After seeing that Lin Ran and his group had a somewhat student-like demeanor, Wang's gaze clearly became more disdainful.

"Please have a seat, everyone."

Manager Wang pointed to the sofa in the reception area, then sat down in his office chair, adopting a subtly condescending posture.

After everyone was seated, the manager surnamed Wang instructed his assistant to prepare tea.

He then got straight to the point: "Student Lin, I won't waste any more words. The rental price for the central courtyard in Jin Ding on weekends is 50,000 per day."

He paused, as if giving alms: "But considering you're students starting a business, I can give you a fixed price, thirty-eight thousand."

"Secondly, the deposit is 30,000 yuan, which will be fully refunded if no damage is caused to the mall."

"Finally, regarding the equipment, we can provide basic electricity and lighting, but you'll have to rent the sound system, large screen, and other equipment yourself. And..."

"To ensure the safety and compatibility of the equipment, it must be supplied by our designated supplier."

Tang Chen, Ye Li, and Xia Chan exchanged glances and couldn't help but take a quiet breath.

Before we've even started discussing cooperation, they're already asking for 70,000 yuan, and they haven't even secured the bulk of the equipment yet.

Manager Wang, seemingly oblivious to their expressions, continued, "Of course, our mall will also provide some support, such as allowing you to display posters within the mall and distributing promotional leaflets on the day of your event, etc..."

"However, in the final collaboration, the 'Jin Ding' logo must be more eye-catching than your 'Momo' logo."

Lin Ran listened quietly, his face expressionless. Only after Manager Wang finished speaking did he slowly open his mouth.

"Are there any other conditions?"

Manager Wang was clearly taken aback. He thought the students would try to bargain or ask for a discount, but he never expected Lin Ran to ask such a question.

However, he quickly regained his professional composure: "That's all for now. We can discuss other details later."

"Okay." Lin Ran nodded, stood up, and gestured with his chin towards Tang Chen, Ye Li, and Xia Chan: "Let's go."

Although the other three didn't understand why Lin Ran left without saying a word, they didn't hesitate to stand up after him when they saw him get up.

"Student Lin." Manager Wang called out instinctively, not expecting the other party to leave without even haggling over the price.

The four of them turned to look at him.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Manager Wang's face, but he quickly covered it up: "Is there anything you don't understand? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and we can discuss it further."

Lin Ran waved his hand dismissively: "We understand the conditions proposed by Manager Wang, but we have some things to attend to later. We'll let you know the evaluation results later."

He then strode away without looking back.

Soon, the assistant brought in tea. Seeing that the guests were all gone, he asked Manager Wang with some confusion, "Manager, where are the guests?"

Manager Wang's face darkened: "Let's go."

The assistant stared wide-eyed in disbelief. It had only been five minutes since he came in and left, had it? Had the negotiations fallen apart so quickly? Glancing at his supervisor's gloomy face, he didn't dare ask any more questions and quietly slipped out.

To be honest, Lin Ran didn't really want to come here. His arrogant tone on the phone yesterday had already made him quite unhappy.

However, if you're going to go all the way, you should at least let Starlight know that you have other options.

On their way out, Xia Chan couldn't help but complain, "What's with this? They act like we're begging them. Thirty-eight thousand for the venue fee, thirty thousand for the deposit, and we have to pay for the equipment ourselves. Are we just losing money to make a quick buck?"

Tang Chen frowned as well: "Yes, Xia Chan is right, the cost is too high."

Ye Li nodded: "The most important thing is that they are too powerful, and there will likely be a lot of disputes later on."

Lin Ran looked at the scenery outside the transparent observation elevator and smiled: "In Jin Ding's eyes, our activities are just a bit of a gimmick, not worth their resources."

"However, once you get into Starlight's car, don't mention the Golden Cauldron again."

As they walked out of Jinding Plaza, a Buick minivan sent by Xingguang was already waiting at the entrance. The driver got out of the car as soon as he saw them.

"Is this Mr. Lin? Mr. Zheng sent me to pick you all up."

When the four arrived at Starlight, Zheng Qiao had been waiting for them for a long time. His attitude was completely opposite to Jin Ding's bureaucratic demeanor; he was the epitome of a pragmatist.

"Mr. Lin, I've long admired your name. I didn't believe you when you said on the phone that you were a college student, but it turns out it's true."

Lin Ran stepped forward with a smile and shook hands: "President Zheng, you flatter me. We are just students doing small-scale work."

Zheng Qiao laughed heartily and looked at the three people behind him: "Who are these gentlemen?"

"Technical Director Tang Chen, Design Director Ye Li, and my assistant Xia Chan. I've brought all the key members of our team for this event."

"So it's you directors...and your assistants. What an honor! Please, everyone, take your seats."

Tang Chen and Ye Li exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that the boss was really good at bragging.

The two of them were each in charge of a few insignificant team leaders, but Lin Ran promoted them to directors with just a few words.

Xia Chan, standing behind her, pouted. They'd both been promoted to director, so why was she still just an assistant…?

Lin Ran smiled slightly as he observed the reactions of the others.

When you're out and about, you're the one who defines your status. If you don't raise your own status, do you expect the other person to do it for you?

After everyone sat down, Zheng Qiao immediately took out the plan that he had made during the last-minute overtime work.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these are some preliminary ideas for cooperation that Starlight has put forward for your project. Please take a look."

The group took the documents and quickly browsed through them.

To be honest, the solution offered by Starlight is quite sincere.

The venue fee is only a symbolic five thousand dollars; there is no deposit required.

All equipment is provided free of charge by the mall, and two engineers will be assigned to assist throughout the process. Event announcements will be displayed on all electronic screens in the mall three days in advance.

The shopping mall coordinates booths for high-quality merchants within the mall and provides exclusive coupons, with the costs shared by the mall and the merchants.

Tang Chen, Ye Li, and Xia Chan exchanged glances, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

To everyone's surprise, Lin Ran closed the file and slowly shook his head.