After dinner, Li Xiaoheng sent Tao Mu back to school as usual.
When checking out, Li Xiaoheng also asked the waiter to help pack the eight piece dining set used to peel crabs for Tao Mu. Although the confession failed, Mr. Li felt that his first confession was still worth remembering. He decided to take this set of diningware as a souvenir of his confession towards Tao Mu.
When getting in the car, Li Xiaoheng said to Tao Mu with emotion: “I know, you still don’t believe that I am serious about you. But I can prove that my feelings for you are like the steel used to create this eight piece dining set, it will always be firm and will never change, nor will it rust.”
Tao Mu: “…..” How lame.
Li Xiaoheng looked at the slight disdain that flashed across Tao Mu’s face and couldn’t help but smile.
He felt that although his first confession had failed. But to a certain extent, it was also considered a success. At least Tao Mu was now aware of his intentions. Just like a good project chased by many capitals, now Party B had seen his intention to cooperate. So next, he only needed to prove his sincerity and ability to Party B——
The sincerity to join hands for the rest of their lives, and the ability to solve any problems after the two merged.
Li Xiaoheng felt that he should go back and write up a plan. Not only must Tao Mu see his sincerity, but Tao Mu must also see his executive ability.
And before Tao Mu accepted his pursuit, Li Xiaoheng believed that he must use 200% hard work and enthusiasm to impress this talented but difficult to convince partner.
Thinking optimistically, business partners and life partners were both two word terms. It took him half a year to achieve the former. There was only a one word difference. In terms of time, he planned to give himself at least one and a half years of preparation time.
Having Tao Mu agree to his pursuit would be equivalent to a year and a half to facilitate the establishment of the project. When Tao Mu accepted his pursuit, that was, when Party B agreed to the cooperation, the following dating time would be equivalent to the merger negotiation. When the time for getting along was almost done, they could then consider the merger. Which was basically talking about marriage. And life after marriage was equivalent to strategic adjustments and structural changes after a business merger…..
That night, Li Xiaoheng spent a whole night drafting an “Arbitrage Merger Plan.” And before going to work the next morning, the first part of this plan——how to win the cooperation intention of Party A’s work process, was photographed and sent to Tao Mu’s FlyNews.
At that time Tao Mu was practicing morning exercises on the campus field and reciting lines, when he heard the phone alert. Shivering from the morning chill, he took out his phone and opened it: “?”
Tao Mu didn’t understand it at first, and thought that Li Xiaoheng was planning to engage in some sort of arbitrage trading company acquisition. He was now the chief analyst and senior partner of Xiaoheng Capital, and of course he should not act willfully in his work. So he was just about to take a closer look, combining his previous life experience to provide professional and effective advice to Li Xiaoheng. But when his frozen fingers swiped down, all he saw were “Reporting the schedule every day, learning to cook for Tao Mu, providing convenience in work and life, and trying hard to learn to take care of Tao Mu” and so on that was nothing like what would appear on an arbitrage mergers and acquisitions plan.
What the hell!
“Tao & Li, you are in the front, and I am in the back. Taoli for short.” Li Xiaoheng sent a message through FlyNews especially earnestly to explain: “The unspoken rules established on the negotiating table. Whoever has the first name will have greater leadership. In the cooperative relationship, Party A’s rights and status are higher than those of Party B. Party B needs to serve Party A wholeheartedly and strive for the favor and satisfaction of Party A. I hope that between the two of us, you can occupy more leadership while I will serve as Party B and provide you with more services.”
“As for the merger…..” Even though the other was on the other end of the phone line, Tao Mu’s face was not visible at all, Li Xiaoheng still felt his ears warm up: “I hope our relationship can go from cooperation to merger, from dating to marriage.”
He explained to Tao Mu his theory of “dating/marriage = commercial mergers” that he had thought over about last night: “Because the morning time is not enough, I will only send you the first part of how to pursue you. If you think that something is not good, you can directly tell me. I will continue to modify it according to your suggestions until you are satisfied.”
After a pause, Li Xiaoheng asked a little shyly: “If you are also interested in other procedures, I can send you the whole document later.”
Tao Mu sighed. He had lived two lifetimes, but he had never heard of using commercial mergers and acquisitions methods in dating. Li Xiaoheng was able to write up a whole plan…..even giving it the name Taoli Merger…..mental!
“Mr. Li!” Tao Mu scratched his head with his hand in annoyance: “You are a person who is destined to be Party A all your life. Why distress yourself to be Party B. There are so many good projects in the world, and a capital bigwig like you can completely choose at will. You can choose whatever you want. Party B will never reject a Party A like you. So why can’t you put yourself in the place of Party A instead of wasting time in finding another Party A, who might not be so good, and turn yourself into Party B?”
“Because all the Party B’s are not you.” Li Xiaoheng’s voice came from the other end of the line, gentle and firm: “There is another traffic jam. The traffic in Beijing is like this. Traffic jams every day. But every morning, you have to drive out to go to work. This is not a waste of time, but a rigid requirement.”
“Tao Mu, you are my rigid requirement. Everything I do for you is a strategic need, and nothing is a waste of time.” If necessary, even a capitalist’s sweet talk could be more pleasing than that of a poet.
Because poets did not make money most of the time when they wrote poems. So he wrote from emotion, first pleasing himself, and then touching others. But every word the capitalists say was for profit. So he must find the lifeblood before he acted. Sometimes direction was more important than hard work. But in order to maximize the benefits, both direction and effort were indispensable.
Li Xiaoheng believed that successfully pursuing Tao Mu was related to his life-long interests. So he had to find the right direction, then bombard and open the gates around the heart that Tao Mu had set up a heavy guard around.
This was a protracted battle that required unremitting efforts and perseverance. Of course, during this period, it might also require countless early-stage capital expenditures. Li Xiaoheng was already fully prepared for this.
“I am a shrewd businessman. I have the ability to discern right from wrong and possess business insight. I can take responsibility for the decisions I make. I know exactly what I am doing and what kind of person I want.” Li Xiaoheng chuckled warmly: “Xiao Mu, I don’t quite understand what your concerns are. What I am referring to is you not being confident in yourself. But I think even if you want to dispel my enthusiasm, at least don’t question my judgment and execution. Because we all know what kind of people we are.”
“You——” Tao Mu was speechless. Noticing that his classmates were no longer memorizing lines around him, and were instead secretly eavesdropping. Tao Mu got up and walked to the edge of the campus field.
“What do you like about me? Is it because I have a good stock market vision? Can cook? Or because I have good looks?” Tao Mu thought about it for a long time last night, but still couldn’t figure out what about him attracted Li Xiaoheng.
Li Xiaoheng said that they knew who each other was, but Tao Mu felt that what he said was wrong. Tao Mu really knew who Li Xiaoheng was. But Li Xiaoheng didn’t necessarily know who Tao Mu was. Because Tao Mu in Li Xiaoheng’s eyes was not the real Tao Mu. It wasn’t the Tao Mu who was vicious, paranoid, cowardly, and didn’t even have the courage to live. But a fake elite who was wrapped in the halo of having knowledge of a decade into the future from his rebirth.
After ten years passed, when he could no longer produce accurate and effective investment reports and his true nature revealed itself, Li Xiaoheng would be disappointed in him. Like so many people he had ever met, they would abandon him like a worn shoe or even become enemies with him.
“You are indeed really handsome. I admit that you are the most handsome man I have ever seen.” On the other end of the line, Li Xiaoheng couldn’t see Tao Mu’s expression, but he could hear the rollercoaster of emotions in Tao Mu’s voice: “But I can’t guarantee that this is a subjective bias due to my liking you. Because I like you, I think you are the best.”
“Your vision in the financial field is really superior. But I think if it is just because of your high financial talent, I would not like my business partner so casually. Before you, I did not like the other talented financial analysts and stock traders I’ve met. No matter how excellent the other was or how strong the talent shown in the financial field. It can be seen that this is not a necessary condition for me to like you.”
“The dishes you cook are also delicious. But I don’t think I will like a person just because they cook delicious food. If I like to eat delicious food, I can go to the restaurant. In fact, if you want, I am also willing to cook for you.”
“So you see, I like you completely because you are Tao Mu. All the other external conditions are only part of you.” Li Xiaoheng analyzed rationally: “They are not even your bonus points. Because we all know, even if you can’t trade stocks or cook, I will still like you.”
“But if I’m not handsome, you might not like me anymore?” Tao Mu raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know how he was in the mood to joke.
Li Xiaoheng chuckled: “I have to admit this. I liked you when I first met you. Your appearance is very in line with my aesthetics. If it weren’t for your face, I don’t think I would have continued to contact you and gradually develop the curiosity to understand you. Moreover fall in love with you.”
Tao Mu’s ears became slightly heated: “You guys who come back from studying abroad, do you all speak in such sappy ways?”
“This is honesty.” Li Xiaoheng said solemnly: “You have to admit that I am at least an honest and reliable partner.”
Tao Mu didn’t know what to say.
Li Xiaoheng laughed lightly: “I have a meeting at half past nine. It will be held for about an hour and a half. Can I invite you to lunch at noon?”
Tao Mu silently breathed a sigh of relief when Li Xiaoheng took the initiative to change the subject. He must admit that even if he didn’t want to accept Li Xiaoheng’s pursuit, he didn’t want to fall out with Li Xiaoheng. The cost of their cooperation collapsing was too great, at least the current Tao Mu couldn’t afford it: “I have to film a drama performance recently for the finals. There’s no time to go out to eat at noon.”
“Then can I apply to visit the set?” Li Xiaoheng asked, “Didn’t you say that you want to eat hot pot? I can call Shujin Pavilion in advance and ask them to prepare the ingredients and chef and go to Beijing Film to cook it for you.”
“Don’t make such a fuss. My classmates will be uncomfortable.” Tao Mu said, “I’m just going to eat randomly in the cafeteria at noon.”
“Don’t eat randomly.” Li Xiaoheng frowned, “Didn’t you always advocate that one should eat well, no matter how busy one is at work, one must eat seriously. This is what you told me.”
“That’s because you have stomach problems. Besides, I just eat like this once in a while. Isn’t this because of the finals and we have to take all the time to rehearse?” Tao Mu said, “Don’t worry. I will definitely take good care of myself, I absolutely won’t treat my own health casually.”
“That’s good.” Li Xiaoheng thought for a while, and then said, “Are you still going back to Songji to cook at night? How about I drive to school to pick you up?”
“I can drive back by myself.” Tao Mu said, “If you are busy——”
“I want to eat your pot simmered deer tendon dish.” Li Xiaoheng said warmly: “I said yesterday that I will just take a day off and then eat your dishes every day.”
Without waiting for Tao Mu to respond, Li Xiaoheng said again: “And I want to learn more cooking techniques from Mr. Song. You invite me to eat the dishes you cook, and I should also invite you to eat the dishes I make. How much did you already cook for me? Now, I have to at least cook twice as more for you. This is the consciousness that Party B should have during the cooperation period.”
Tao Mu frowned: “Brother Li, you don’t have to do this.”
“Why not? Haven’t you always been doing this before?” Li Xiaoheng said lightly: “During our cooperation, no matter how much I give you, you will try your best to return it to me several times or even dozens times more. Short selling in the international crude oil market is the case, and the same is true for short selling in the international financial market. Xiaoheng Capital was also allowed to act as the title sponsor for the opening of the charity event “Holding Hands and Offering Love”.”
Tao Mu interrupted Li Xiaoheng’s words: “Brother Li is too courteous. We are partners, and these are what I should do.”
“I am your admirer. Being good to you, and getting your approval is what I want to do.” Li Xiaoheng continued: “Xiao Mu, I am now chasing Party A with a Party B’s mindset, and solemnly request you to give me this chance.”
Tao Mu was speechless. After a long while, he sneered and said, “Brother Li, do you know how many Party A’s will be chased by one Party B in a year?”
“I don’t know.” Li Xiaoheng slowly inched his car forward, and said directly amidst the surrounding honking of car horns, “I don’t care how other people do business. I only know that I, Li Xiaoheng, will be Party B for you alone in this life.”
The cold winter wind blew past. The knife-like biting cold wind blew cuttingly across people’s cheeks, blowing away the white breath that misted from the nose and mouth. Tao Mu held the phone stiffly with his fingers, feeling that his chin was almost frozen off. He couldn’t even say a word.
Li Xiaoheng continued: “Before the new partnership is reached, everyone will have a certain degree of doubt about their partners. This is human nature. Even after the cooperation has started, there will be many partners who hold a certain degree of vigilance. Because they feel uneasy and are afraid of betrayal.”
“But my reputation in the industry is pretty good. I will not actively betray my business partner, nor will I betray my life partner. You can set an evaluation period for me. I especially look forward to taking on your assessment.”
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