What It's Like Being a Vampire chapter-475-have-you-been-having-trouble-sleeping-recently

Chapter 475: Chapter 475: Have You Been Having Trouble Sleeping Recently?

By the time Xiang Kun had finished ordering, Old Xia had returned.

She didn’t need to spread the “Super-connected Objects” throughout the entire perimeter of Brilliant Fortune Building, she just needed to scatter some around the area near the underground third-floor exit.

At this time, there were many people passing by the Brilliant Fortune Building, and Old Xia, despite her beauty, did not attract too much attention in the crowd. The movements she made while setting up the “Super-connected Objects” were minimal, only taking the small beads from her pocket and flicking them casually with her fingers. Even those nearby would have a hard time noticing, let alone the surveillance cameras.

Though Old Xia could now utilize various abilities through the “Super Sensory Item System,” even co-manifesting “Alice,” a seemingly living being, there was no discernible difference between her and an ordinary person to the naked eye or through infrared thermographic videos.

Therefore, casually strolling around like this posed no danger and did not alert the Divine Technology staff that might be monitoring the surrounding area underground.

Noticing the thin layer of sweat on Old Xia’s forehead, Tang Baona handed her a piece of paper to wipe it off. Yang Zhen’er curiously asked, “Old Xia, what did you just run off to buy? It’s already mealtime, why not wait until we finish eating and we can go shopping together?”

At those words, Xia Libing took a plastic bag from her feet and picked something out of it, placing it into her cousin’s hands.

Looking at the sanitary napkin in her hand, not to mention Yang Zhen’er and Tang Baona by her side, even Xiang Kun, who sat across the table and knew that Old Xia’s shopping was a ruse, was dumbfounded.

Tang Baona was the first to recover. She quickly snatched the sanitary napkin and returned it to Old Xia’s bag, chiding, “Put it away! Quickly put it away!”

Yang Zhen’er quickly changed the subject: “Why is this restaurant so slow at serving dishes?”

However, once the dishes began to be brought up, Yang Zhen’er couldn’t help but complain after a short while of eating: “This is it? This dish dares to call itself ‘Best Fish in the World’? It’s way worse than any random fish soup cooked by chef Xiang!”

“Be careful what you say, we’re on their turf here, our food hasn’t finished arriving yet.” Tang Baona warned her friend in a low voice.

Xiang Kun laughed bitterly, “Yang Lao San, let me correct that a bit, the fish soup I make for you all isn’t just ‘randomly cooked!’ That dish took countless brain cells, my top-notch cooking skills, and careful preparation!”

Of course, Yang Lao San wasn’t wrong. The fish here should be alright in terms of common taste, considering their average order cost and the standard ingredients they used.

But compared to Xiang Kun’s meticulously customized dishes for Yang Zhen’er, Tang Baona, and Old Xia – from ingredient selection, handling, cooking methods, temperature control, to taste adjustment – the fish dishes at this restaurant, fell far short.

“Okay, okay, Xiang chef is the best, sigh, if we had known this, we shouldn’t have stayed at a hotel in Peng City. We should rent a bigger apartment and let Xiang chef cook for us. I kinda like grocery shopping now, seeing those ingredients reminds me of the delicacies they turn into under Xiang chef’s hands…” Yang Zhen’er sighed.

“So you’re suggesting that I’ve officially become a chef now? And I have to cook for you guys no matter which city we go to?” Xiang Kun struggled between laughter and tears.

Yang Zhen’er smirked, “Doesn’t being a chef showcase your great cooking skills? The capable should do more, right? We don’t care for food cooked by others!”

Tang Baona quickly jumped in, “Wait a minute, you didn’t say that when you came to my house for dinner.”

Yang Zhen’er shot her a look: “Your mom isn’t ‘others’”.

“I feel like you’re insulting me.” Tang Baona asked with narrowed eyes.

When lunch was almost finished, Yang Zhen’er returned to the topic she had been curious about. Lowering her voice, she leaned forward on the table and asked, using a somewhat mysterious tone: “Xiang chef, was it true when you said you saved our family’s ‘big guy,’ or were you pulling my leg?”

Xiang Kun leaned in on the table as well, lowered his voice and said, “I already told you that it was a secret. Why do you keep asking?”

“No, I have to confirm it!” Yang Zhen’er insisted.

“Didn’t we confirm everything during our phone call?” Xiang Kun continued in a low voice.

Yang Zhen’er was about to raise her voice, but was held back by Xiang Kun: “No! It wasn’t confirmed! You just kept rambling!”

“But you were the one who found out. You figured out all the details about the secret organization and how I went to Burma to rescue you and Old Xia’s older brother!” Xiang Kun argued, “I had to admit it after you ‘uncovered’ it! How was I rambling?”

Tang Baona on the side was already laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach.

“No, I thought about it later, and you seemed to have intentionally followed my lead.” Yang Zhen’er stated.

“Then, do you think I was telling the truth or lying?” Xiang Kun countered.

Yang Zhen’er squinted at him, suspicious: “I think you’re messing with me!”

Kun couldn’t help but smirk before straightening up.

“Huh? What does that mean? Xiang chef, is it true or false, give me a straight answer!” Yang Zhen’er demanded.

Xiang Kun slowly said, “If you believe it’s true, then you’d better treat it as a lie. If you think it’s a lie, it shows you have excellent secrecy awareness.”

“Huh?” Yang Zhen’er frowned.

By now, Tang Baona was shaking with laughter.

“Nana, stop laughing! Xiang chef diverted the conversation with his shameless tricks, he must have a big secret from us!” Yang Zhen’er pushed Tang Baona and turned to look at Xia Libing: “Old Xia, help me out here, you must know something!”

Xia Libing glanced at her cousin and then at Xiang Kun, looking a bit puzzled: “I didn’t understand what you guys were chatting about… If you want to confirm how Xia Tianhuo was rescued, you should ask him personally.”

“But isn’t he still in Burma? He has some loose ends to deal with before he can come back. Right now he’s not using his old phone number, and he’s surrounded by a bunch of people from the police and the embassy. I can’t really call to ask too much.” Yang Zhen’er replied.

“We can wait for his return and ask him then. If the situation doesn’t match what Xiang Kun said, it means Xiang Kun was lying.” Xia Libing suggested.

Yang Zhen’er was stunned and didn’t know how to refute. After hesitating for a moment, she muttered: “Even if… even if he was lying, I still can’t do anything about him!”

Tang Baona, who was almost laughing uncontrollably, took a deep breath and said: “You should take this opportunity to make a deal with Xiang Kun. If his words don’t match your cousin’s, he owes you two big meals!”

“Makes sense… No, two meals are not enough. Three! Five!” Yang Zhen’er nodded.

“Enough!” Xiang Kun said sternly. “Didn’t I tell you that matters about the secret organization must be kept silent? How can you gamble with it? One meal, no more than that…”

In the midst of their banter, they spent a long time over lunch.

During the meal, Xiang Kun took advantage of going to the bathroom to enter a Super Sensory State. Through the Super-connected Objects that Old Xia had just placed, he located and identified cognitive information about all electronic devices that might be used for surveillance. He would let Alice conduct another “reconnaissance” later to make preparations for his personal investigation tonight.

After lunch, they took their luggage to the hotel room that Tang Baona had booked. Then they all went to Zhang Qian’s company.

Following Xiang Kun’s requirement, they had set up two companies based on the cooperation of the sound game. One was “QianKun Technology”, responsible for the game’s development, and the other “Tengjiao Entertainment”, mainly responsible for operation and distribution.

“QianKun Technology” was led by Xiang Kun. He held the most shares by contributing technology. However, all shares were held in custody by Tang Baona. After holding shares for Xiang Kun, Yang Zhen’er, couple Chang Bin, her sister and brother-in-law, plus her own shares, Tang Baona seemingly held 70% of the company. Besides, Zi Cheng, Zhang Qian, Liu Caifu, and You Meng shared the remaining 30% in different proportions.

“Tengjiao Entertainment” was led by Zhang Qian who solely contributed 60% of the shares, “QianKun Technology” held 15%, and the rest was equally contributed and distributed by Zi Cheng, Liu Caifu, You Meng, the Yang siblings, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er and others.

The reason to set up such a complex structure was, on one hand, Xiang Kun had to dominate the production and development of the game. There would be many other related technologies to be derived and developed from this game later on. Thus, he had to have the final say and do things in his way.

Moreover, when necessary, he would prioritize extracting profits to subsidize Old Xia’s research and the construction and subsequent investment of Chongyun Village Research Base. He needed a fast return cycle. Even though Old Xia was somewhat wealthy, her “pocket money” wouldn’t last for long.

On the other hand, letting Zhang Qian lead the operation could leverage her and her behind-the-scenes resources, as well as her initiative.

Of course, in terms of this sound game alone, “Tengjiao Entertainment” had a much higher share of profits than “QianKun Technology”.

Zhang Qian’s company was almost set up, and many promotional resources were almost finalized. As soon as the game was ready, they could start rolling everything out.

Honestly, as a collaborator, Zhang Qian showed great sincerity. She planned and prepared various resources with the prerequisite that Xiang Kun’s game could be launched on time and become wildly popular. She was the largest investor and also bore the most significant risk, but she didn’t pressure Xiang Kun at all. All the urging and communication were done according to his requests, through Tang Baona.

Xiang Kun was very satisfied with this collaborator. Besides, numerous good friends inside the two companies had invested their money. He felt obligated to make sure the collaboration was successful, making it incredibly popular and profitable.

Previously, in order to hide Alice and the fact that she couldn’t detach from the home mainframe, he had more concerns and had to consider a lot of issues.

However, as Alice’s “root system” spread on the internet, her control over other terminal devices became more skilled. She demonstrated a command of the digital world far beyond the current era. Additionally, she had begun branching into the real world from the purely digital one, making use of the “Super Sensory Item System”. Thus, those previous problems were no longer issues.

If necessary, with Alice’s help, Xiang Kun had many ways to easily acquire large amounts of money.

Yet, just as he would deliberately limit his own use of abilities and set certain principles for his conduct, he also had to set an example for Alice during her formative cognitive phase. He needed to guide her and establish a cognitive framework that wouldn’t go out of control.

Zhang Qian had gone home today. Knowing Xiang Kun had arrived at the company and was interviewed for magazine articles, she invited him to dinner.

In the afternoon, the group took a tour around “Best Fish in the World Restaurant.” Tang Baona couldn’t help but ask Xiang Kun when they’d start hiring for the development team and other related positions. They also needed to finalize their offices. Zhang Qian’s company was all set up while their “Qiankun Technology” only had her and Zhen’er, the two mascots, who had been at the other company for the past few years. Many people even assumed they were part of “Best Fish in the World.”

“Have you forgotten where our company is registered?” Xiang Kun asked with a smile.

Tang Baona was startled, “Tongshi Town? Can we really find competent developers there?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. And we will need an office in Pengcheng City to coordinate with Zhang Qian’s team. You and Zhen’er can choose to stay here, or we could establish a branch office in Shenhai.” Xiang Kun replied.

“That’s not going to work, I belong to ‘Qiankun Technology’, not ‘Best Fish in the World’. I have to go back to our company eventually. As for coordination, we can just train a specialist later on,” said Tang Baona and then couldn’t help but ask, “Did you set up the company in Tongshi Town to oversee the research base in Chongyun Village?”

“Yes, Old Xia and I have been working on this recently,” Xiang Kun replied.

“Is your breeding research really that promising? It doesn’t seem to be your professional field,” Tang Baona asked curiously.

Xiang Kun laughed, “It’s not my specialty, but it’s my interest. I believe that even if we make a slight breakthrough, it might benefit all of humanity in the future.”

“You’re bragging, Chef Xiang! Benefit all of humanity… ” Yang Zhen’er joked, “hold on, by benefit, you don’t mean putting out tastier meat rabbits, or other ingredients, do you? In that case, I don’t know about all of humanity, but we’ll definitely benefit!”

The dinner was set in a restaurant that resembled a classical manor. Just by looking at the environment, it was obvious the prices must be exorbitant. Zhang Qian had chosen the place, which was said to be partially owned by the Zhang family patriarch and operated on a membership basis—non-members couldn’t even book a table.

While waiting for Zhang Qian in the private room, a waiter came in and leaned over to Xiang Kun, telling him Mr. Zhang was waiting for him in a nearby private room and hoped to meet him first.

Without questioning, Xiang Kun stood up and followed the waiter out. They turned a corner down a corridor and entered another private room.

Although it was called the “next door” private room, it was actually more than ten meters apart.

Walking into the private room, instead of Zhang Qian, he saw a man in a casual suit, his hair slicked back, who bore a resemblance to Zhang Qian by about fifty to sixty percent.

“Hello, Mr. Xiang. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Zhang Chu, Zhang Qian’s elder brother. She was managing the company I founded from scratch.”

The man stood up and extended his hand towards Xiang Kun, introducing himself.

However, what puzzled him was that upon entering the private room, Xiang Kun did not show any signs of surprise or doubt. He shook hands with him and sat down calmly, as if he already knew he was going to meet him.

“Mr. Zhang, did you call me over because you have something to say?” Xiang Kun asked casually.

Of course, he was not surprised. He had heard Zhang Chu enter the restaurant and speak to the restaurant manager and waiter in this private room.

He knew who Zhang Chu was. Zhang Chu had previously hired a private detective to track Zhang Qian, but he found out and informed Officer Chen. Later, that private detective came to spy on him, but he set a trap for him.

So he knew a bit about the discord between the Zhang siblings.

“Mr. Xiang, our Zhang family supports the cooperation between you and my sister. You know that she has already used more than eight figures of capital and there will be more investments in the future, with support from various channels. This is not something she can do on her own. However, recently, according to my investigation, the ‘Qiankun Technology Co., Ltd.’ which provides related products, technical support, and services to my sister’s company, is basically a shell now. What’s going on?” Zhang Chu said in a serious tone, staring at Xiang Kun.

“There’s no issue with the product, and the company is still under construction. It will not delay the game’s launch time. Director Zhang is very clear about this. If Mr. Zhang has any questions, he can ask her or the relevant person in charge in the company.” Xiang Kun replied with a smile.

“Mr. Xiang, I’m not here representing my sister’s company, but the Zhang family. I should make it clear that Zhang Qian could not have brought up that much money on her own. With the support of the Zhang family, ‘Teng Xiao Entertainment’ can exist. Without the support of the Zhang family, ‘Teng Xiao Entertainment’ would immediately be finished, and your cooperation would naturally not come to fruition. Mr. Xiang, you need to convince me now to let the Zhang family continue to support my sister and your cooperation. You have to come up with something substantial, something more powerful than what you used to persuade Zhang Qian.”

Xiang Kun’s expression remained relaxed, “I see, so what you’re saying is, even though Director Zhang supports me, the Zhang family is considering withdrawing its capital and not planning to cooperate with us anymore?”

Zhang Chu nodded, “If you can’t convince me, that’s a possibility.”

“Okay, I have a few friends who have always wanted to acquire more shares and hope to have more in-depth cooperation and participation. But because I made a promise to Director Zhang first, I had to refuse them. Now if the Zhang family wants to withdraw their capital, then Director Zhang can get the money from my friends if she needs it. Of course, Director Zhang can still steer ‘Teng Xiao Entertainment’ and continue the previous cooperation. As for the money from the Zhang family, we won’t rip you off, we will hire a professional accounting firm to do the relevant liquidation.”

As Xiang Kun spoke, he picked up his phone and said, “If you represent the Zhang family, then I’ll contact my friends now and ask them to come to Peng City. Director Zhang should be arriving soon, and we can all sit down together for a chat. If everything goes well, we can seal the deal.”

Listening to Xiang Kun’s words, Zhang Chu was confused. Of course, he didn’t come to question Xiang Kun on behalf of the Zhang family, let alone to withdraw the investment. In fact, he discovered what Zhang Qian had been busy with lately, knowing that she was working with Xiang Kun, and he found out through the restaurant that Zhang Qian was planning to host a dinner for Xiang Kun and others tonight, so he took it upon himself to probe.

His purpose was actually very simple, he just wanted to insert himself into this cooperation in some way, even trying to take control of it, replacing Zhang Qian’s role, or at the very least, to screw over Zhang Qian and disrupt her relationship with Xiang Kun—he was even somewhat suspicious that Zhang Qian might have a crush on Xiang Kun.

But no matter what the goal, he had not considered ending the Zhang family’s investment in this matter entirely, because he knew that for Zhang Qian to be able to successfully advance this matter to this point, she must have obtained the approval of her grandfather, Zhang Hongpu, the old chairman of Zhang family.

Who would have thought that before he could even complete his first move against Xiang Kun, Xiang Kun would just flip the table?

“Wait… hold on…” Seeing Xiang Kun pick up his phone to call, Zhang Chu hurriedly stood up, stretched out his hand to stop him, and said, “It’s not that serious, don’t rush.”

“Didn’t Mr. Zhang say he wanted to withdraw their investment?” Xiang Kun asked, looking confused.

“Tsk, you’re a tech guy, how can you be so impatient? We’re just discussing, right? We put in so much money, can’t we ask about it?”

Xiang Kun suddenly frowned, “Mr. Zhang, have you been having trouble sleeping lately, only able to fall asleep close to dawn?”

Caught off guard, Zhang Chu didn’t understand why Xiang Kun was suddenly bringing up his sleep pattern, he wondered, “Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy lately. I often have to work until dawn before I can sleep. What’s up?”

“Do you often feel a bit of palpitation, rapid breathing, cold hands and feet, night sweats?” Xiang Kun asked quickly.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Have you been feeling back pain lately? Mainly on the right side of your back? Sometimes nauseous? Having cramps during sleep and always cramping the right calf?”

“How… how do you know?”

“Do you know what your sister called me when she first met me?” Xiang Kun suddenly asked.

Zhang Chu hesitated for a moment, remembering the title “fortune teller”—normally, he should not have known this, but he sent a private detective to investigate the relationship between Zhang Qian and Xiang Kun, so he happened to know this part.

Xiang Kun didn’t wait for Zhang Chu’s answer, stood up and said to Zhang Chu, “Come, look into my eyes.”

Zhang Chu raised his eyes subconsciously to meet Xiang Kun’s gaze, and his eyes were slightly dazed.

“Come, look at my hand.” Xiang Kun raised one hand, spread his five fingers in front of Zhang Chu, and asked, “Count, how many fingers do I have?”

“You have five…wait a minute, six…seven…eight…” Zhang Chu couldn’t help but rub his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw everything in darkness and was startled, “My eyes…”

But the next second, his vision returned. Xiang Kun patted him on the back and said, “Come, sit down and rest a bit and drink some water.” He took a half-filled cup of tea from the dining table and handed it to him to drink.

Startled, Zhang Chu took a sip of water, then Xiang Kun said, “Place your hand under your left ribs, yes, there, press down.”

Zhang Chu pressed as told, then suddenly screamed miserably. His face went ghastly pale, and a cold sweat quickly spread across his forehead.

After a while, when he finally caught his breath, Zhang Chu looked at Xiang Kun in horror. “Mr… Mr. Xiang, what’s happening to me?”

“You should be somewhat aware, right? With your constant late nights and indulgence in wine and women, there’s something wrong with your body.” Xiang Kun sighed, shook his head, and spoke as if to say ‘you don’t have much time left’.

“That… That… I…” Zhang Chu looked panicky. When he initially heard Zhang Qian referred to Xiang Kun as the ‘fortune teller’, his first thought was thinking it was a joke nickname. He figured Xiang Kun used some tricks to deceive girls, but he never really considered him as a true ‘fortune teller’. But now, he was genuinely panicking. Every reaction of his body, whether in the past or the present, was completely predicted by Xiang Kun. It made him believe it.

Xiang Kun held up two fingers and said, “You have two choices. Firstly, starting from today, you should sleep before eleven o’clock every night. Get up before sunrise every day, go to an open space, face the east, and breathe deeply thirty times while welcoming the morning sun. Drink at least 5 litres of water every day, finish drinking it before eight at night. Meditate for twenty minutes before bed, keep your mind clear, abstain from lust, and stay away from women. Do this for ninety days.

“The second choice is to go to the hospital for a full body check-up. Follow the doctor’s directions; the issues with your body may not be completely resolved, but at least your life won’t be in danger.”

As he watched Zhang Chu leave the room in a daze, Xiang Kun knew, based on the cognitive model he established from his contact with Zhang Chu, that this guy would likely choose both options, with a small chance of only choosing the first one.

Anyway, according to his observations through infrared thermographic vision mode and other sensory methods, Zhang Chu just had some small kidney stones, a minor inflammation in his body, and more likely the result of long-term excessive drinking, unhealthy eating habits with a chaotic lifestyle. If he kept going like this, serious problems could emerge, but for now, his life was not in danger.

As long as Zhang Chu could regulate his sleep, diet, drink more water, and exercise more, he would recover quickly. Of course, if he went to the hospital for a comprehensive check-up, he could receive better treatment.

As for the blurriness and temporary blindness in vision, Xiang Kun achieved this through the “super-connected objects” on his body and a very shallow, emotionless “co-manifestation”, which constitutes a new set of “combined techniques”.

And the pain from the pressing was achieved by Xiang Kun quickly entering the “oxygen-saving mode”, controlling the water Zhang Chu had just consumed via associative sensing. While it didn’t physically harm him, it was very uncomfortable.

If he only said those last words, without hypnosis abilities like Guo Tianxiang’s, naturally no one would take it seriously. But with the previous build-up, Zhang Chu couldn’t help but take it seriously.

Xiang Kun had a multitude of ways to dismiss Zhang Chu, but the reason he chose this method was to give Zhang Chu something to concentrate on in the coming days, so that he wouldn’t bother him anymore, as he had many important and secret things to do.

After Zhang Chu left in a panic, Xiang Kun returned to the previous room.

“Where is Director Zhang? Since she came, why didn’t she come in, but had you called out instead?” After Xiang Kun sat back down, Tang Baona asked in a low voice from his right. She had also heard when the server came over to speak earlier.

“Not Zhang Qian, it was her brother.” Xiang Kun replied.

“Her brother? What did her brother want from you?” Tang Baona asked in confusion.

“Nothing much. He was curious about the details of his sister’s collaboration with us. Of course, I couldn’t tell him anything. When he couldn’t get the information he wanted, he simply left.”

“I heard that there is some conflict between Zhang Qian and her brother. It’s a fight within the wealthy family! Brother Xiang, you should be careful not to be used as a pawn!” Yang Zhen’er, who was sitting next to Tang Baona and had been listening in, leaned over and warned Xiang Kun in a whisper.

In addition to the four of them, several executives from “Tengjiao Entertainment,” including old acquaintance Director Lin, were also present, so they naturally felt embarrassed to discuss this topic aloud.

At this moment, the door to the room was pushed open and Zhang Qian, dressed in a professional suit, looking sharp and competent, walked in. As she took her seat, she apologized to Xiang Kun, Old Xia, Tang Baona and others.

After asking the waiter to serve the dishes, Zhang Qian hesitated for a moment and then asked Xiang Kun, “Mr. Xiang, did my brother Zhang Chu come to see you just now?”

“Oh, I did have a chat with Mr. Zhang.” Xiang Kun nodded.

“I apologize on his behalf. He’s used to being spoiled and willful at home. He might have said some inappropriate things. Moreover, because of the affairs of his company, he might have some misunderstandings about me causing him to talk nonsense…”

“It’s fine, Director Zhang. I had a nice chat with Mr. Zhang.” Xiang Kun replied with a smile.

“Oh… I see.” Zhang Qian was taken aback, reminiscing the haunted and somewhat frightened expression her brother had as she entered the restaurant. She was quite curious about what Xiang Kun and he had talked about.

Xiang Kun didn’t elaborate on the topic with Zhang Qian. Through his super sensory abilities, he already knew Zhang Qian had arrived and was waiting in her car in the parking lot before he had even finished his conversation with Zhang Chu.

Along with Zhang Qian’s subtle reactions when mentioning Zhang Chu, Xiang Kun easily inferred that she was aware of Zhang Chu’s plan to ‘make trouble’ beforehand and to some extent, had let it happen.

Xiang Kun could understand Zhang Qian’s thoughts. Since they first agreed to collaborate through Director Lin, Zhang Qian had been continuously making concessions and remained in an absolute weaker position. No matter how absurd or harsh Xiang Kun’s requests were, she had no choice but to agree—of course, the final results always proved that Xiang Kun never cheated her.

As a result, her current position of large-scale cooperation remained extremely passive. She had minimal influence over Xiang Kun and found it hard to change this state.

If she were to consider the two parties’ positions and resources in their cooperation, outsiders probably wouldn’t be able to imagine the relationship between Zhang Qian and Xiang Kun being as it is now.

So when Zhang Chu emerged to potentially cause issues, Zhang Qian hoped this would put some pressure on Xiang Kun, hoping this would slightly change their positions, making Xiang Kun bring more to the table and be more controllable.

Now, based on their level of cooperation, the relationship between the two companies, and the ties between the shareholders and Xiang Kun, it would not be disrupted or destroyed easily.

Even if Zhang Chu offended Xiang Kun, she could still make amends and compensate for the situation. Perhaps taking advantage of this could help her achieve her goal.

Although Xiang Kun could not ‘read minds’ and was currently unable to directly use the ‘dream within a dream’ technique to explore her subconscious mind, according to the cognitive model he had established about Zhang Qian and the current information he observed, this logic stands.

However, Xiang Kun didn’t mind. It was normal for Zhang Qian to have these thoughts. She was a strong and controlling person after all. They’ve come a long way in terms of cooperation.

For now, Zhang Qian is still the most suitable partner.