Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Bai Li sat in a swivel chair and casually flipped through the cooperation documents.

He didn't intend to look at the rules and regulations in detail at all.

This was originally a negotiation with ulterior motives.

Bai Li pushed the document back to the center of the table, held up three fingers, and first offered a tentative offer.

"Three hundred thousand," Bai Li announced the first number.

Logically speaking, business negotiations should involve a back-and-forth exchange.

Even though the Xie family is wealthy and powerful, they will still symbolically try to lower the price and find fault with things.

However, Xie Lingmo did not play by the rules at all.

She sat half-sitting on the edge of the mahogany desk, her two fair and shapely legs swaying gently in the air.

Upon hearing the price, she didn't even stammer; her pink head nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"Okay, okay."

Bai Li lowered his hand and leaned back in his chair.

This girl agreed too readily; is making money that easy?

He cleared his throat and changed his words at the last minute:

"No, I just did a mental calculation of the revenue sharing for later marketing and distribution, it should be 400,000."

Xie Lingmo's eyes were still sparkling.

She rested her hands on the edge of the table, her tone cheerful:

"No problem, four hundred thousand it is!"

Faced with such utterly shameless concessions, Bai Li was instead aroused by a touch of wicked amusement.

He crossed his arms over his chest, adopting the posture of trying to persuade and pull investors.

"You've all seen how popular this script is; it has enormous potential for future development."

Bai Li stared at Xie Lingmo's stunningly beautiful face and immediately raised the price even higher:

"Five hundred thousand. Not a penny less."

They called out three prices, each one more outrageous than the last.

Xie Lingmo showed no anger at being treated like a lamb to the slaughter; instead, she approached with a beaming smile.

She leaned forward, her haute couture fishtail dress tightly hugging her slender waist.

Even if her chest is flat, the youthful innocence and tenderness unique to eighteen or nineteen-year-old girls still have an amazing allure.

Her short pink hair fell with her movements, the scent of shampoo mixed with the girl's unique body fragrance, wafting towards Bai Li.

"Is that all you've got?"

Xie Lingmo extended her slender, pale fingers and tapped on the contract cover, her tone indulgent:

"You're not asking for the moon, you're just a little kitten panting."

"Actually, even if you asked for millions, I might sign without even blinking."

Xie Lingmo tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with a playful smugness:

"Because you're my only true friend."

In her worldview, finding a true friend is more precious than life itself.

A few hundred thousand or a few million is nothing compared to this friendship that fell from the sky.

The contract was finally settled at a price of 500,000.

It cost a full 100,000 yuan more than the normal market price.

Bai Li took the pen and signed her name in a flourish.

He took the extra 100,000 without a care in the world.

The rich woman insisted on throwing money around; it would be such a spoilsport to try and stop her.

Consider it a tenfold leveraged return on the friend's fee.

After signing the document, Xie Lingmo stretched lazily without any regard for her image.

"Alright! The important business is done!"

She stood with her hands behind her back, tilting her stunningly beautiful face upwards, her watery eyes filled with anticipation.

"It's almost time, shouldn't we go eat?"

When she asked that question, Xie Lingmo nervously twisted her hands together behind her back, her fingertips turning red.

She was protected by an impenetrable wall from a young age.

Deep in her memory, those ordinary girls from high school would always gather in twos and threes at mealtimes.

They would hold hands affectionately, chattering about which cafeteria window to queue at, their smiles bright and lively.

Back then, she would always sit alone to the side, eating the custom-made meals that were delivered to her.

She found the high-class cuisine, devoid of any human touch, utterly tasteless.

She longed for the warm companionship of holding hands while going to eat, a scene she had always dreamed of.

"Okay."

Bai Li put the contract into her handbag:

"Didn't you reserve lunch for us?"

"Come on, take me to try the food at your company."

Upon hearing that she would be eating at the company, Xie Lingmo's face immediately fell.

She shook her head vigorously, like a rattle.

"No way!"

Xie Lingmo pouted, her tone coquettish:

"What's the point of eating at the company?"

"My dad will definitely be watching us, and the employees below will be secretly watching us all the time."

"With a bunch of people crowding around, who'll be in the mood to eat!"

"I'm going to eat out!"

Xie Lingmo held up one finger to emphasize the key point:

"And only the two of us can go!"

Bai Li pointed to the tightly closed office door.

There were three patriarchs and a fat man sitting in the lounge outside.

If she were to leave them behind and go to have a private meal with this pink-haired young lady, she would be driven crazy by Li Mengmeng when she got back, and Lin Xiaoshuang would probably be chanting the Great Compassion Mantra in her ear.

Bai Li opened his mouth, just about to find a suitable reason to decline.

Xie Lingmo seemed to be able to read minds, and immediately pulled out her trump card.

She took a half step forward, her nose almost touching Bai Li's chin.

"I gave you an extra 100,000 yuan on this contract."

Xie Lingmo winked slyly:

"Is the extra 100,000 yuan not even enough to buy you a meal with me alone?"

Good guy.

Bai Li clicked his tongue in amazement.

It turns out that she willingly took the fall during the negotiations, not even bothering to haggle over the price, just waiting for me here.

He used this 100,000 yuan as a bargaining chip to buy himself a meal.

Cannibals are soft and short.

Having said all that, Bai Li had no choice but to compromise.

"Eating out is fine." Bai Li stood up and picked up her handbag.

"However, it's rush hour now, and the commercial streets in Yunshi are most prone to traffic jams."

"Driving there would probably take half an hour on the road, and there wouldn't even be a parking space."

"How about we just find a restaurant in the neighborhood and grab a bite?"

Bai Li provided a solution:

"We ride electric bikes there; it's the most convenient way, going through the alleys, and we can avoid peak hours."

Xie Lingmo jumped up excitedly when she heard that she was going to ride an electric bike through the alley.

This was a way of meeting up with ordinary people that she had never experienced before!

Bai Li casually asked:

Do you have an electric scooter? Do you have a helmet?

Yes, yes, yes!

Xie Lingmo nodded repeatedly:

"Back then, my group of energetic young women made me buy a No. 9 motorcycle, but it's been gathering dust and never been ridden."

"The helmet company has them; I'll get them for you now."

After saying that, Xie Lingmo prepared to go out and get it.

But when she reached the door, Xie Lingmo stopped and touched her short pink hair.

She spent two hours this morning styling her hair so she could see Bai Li today.

Every single strand of hair is styled perfectly.

"but……"

Xie Lingmo's face scrunched up, showing some resistance:

"A helmet isn't necessary, is it? It's stuffy and uncomfortable to wear, and it'll definitely flatten my hairstyle."

Bai Li flatly refused, his tone unusually serious.

"No, you have to wear it."

"Oh, let's just go to the neighborhood and ride slowly."

Xie Lingmo walked back to Bai Li's side, pinched the cuff of his trench coat with her fingers, shook it gently, and drawled out her words in a coquettish tone:

"It's really uncomfortable to wear them, can't I just not wear them?"

Bai Li let her tug at his sleeve without giving an inch.

"You absolutely must wear one. Safety comes first; it's unsafe not to wear one."

The two locked eyes, and Xie Lingmo was still trying to win them over with her pitiful expression.

Bai Li took half a step forward, closing the distance between the two.

The succubus's fragrance traveled through the air and directly into the girl's nostrils.

"And, if you don't wear it..."

"An accident could result in someone's death."