Cornered by the CEO

Her schedule was packed beyond belief. It was a Wednesday. From eleven to seven in the evening, the conference would commence and she would meet budding entrepreneurs. At eight-thirty they would have dinner and then head back to their rooms. Yun Qian Meng planned on going out to walk the cities roads until twelve in the night before returning.

Hence, she started. The clothes she had worn were perfect for the conference. She just needed to retouch her makeup and go to the designated hall before the conference began. She looked at the clock. It was twenty minutes before the inauguration, so she hurried downstairs. The conference hall was on the third floor and half the room was already filled with people. When she looked around she could tell these were the nervous entrepreneurs putting their companies laundry up for others to see. The bigger investors were yet to arrive.

She could see some familiar faces from the years before and smiled at them in acknowledgment before settling into her designated seat.

She looked at the name card on the seat next to her and kept her face without expression. Mo Qingchen definitely had some sort of agenda for approaching her. That was why he asked her out to dinner at the broadcasting station. She was confused about what exactly he wanted but he was trying so hard that she had to admit and appreciate his determination.

She looked around the room as she tapped her finger on the desk and caught sight of Jiang Da. He was looking at her, as well. Unlike the other entrepreneurs, she was not nervous. At least outwardly.

Yun Qian Meng scoffed internally as she turned her eyes away. 'It's always the ones who are overconfident.'

She heard the scratching of the chair scraping against the floor beside her. She kept her head straight and saw him sit down from the corner of her eyes.

Neither greeted the other. They silently sat through the inauguration and the first couple of entrepreneurs who came up. There were quite a few looking for angel investments. Others came for B round investments or seeds. She took quick notes, plotting out potentials and using her calculator to find out the true numbers.

Sometimes they didn't add up to the marvelous numbers shown on the screen, sometimes the entrepreneur didn't have any idea how to move their company forward. And then there were some that said the exact truth but their offers weren't good. This was the reality of the business world.

You could be rewarded for lying than saying the absolute truth. If that was what profited people.

Mo Qingchen peered at her piece of paper, making an impressed face before going back to his own. Yun Qian Meng, ever curious about what he was writing and what his thought process was, peered over towards his notepad and frowned.

He was doodling on the paper.

"You don't find any of them interesting?" she whispered, keeping her body in position. She knew he would hear. The scoundrel had excellent hearing skills. Corporate espionage would have been his poison if not for his successful career as an entrepreneur.

"No, some of them have potential but not to my standards," he told her in his normal tone of voice. Some people around them turned to look. But Mo Qingchen's voice wasn't loud enough, to begin with, so they turned back towards the presenter.

"But then again. You aren't impressed with any of them either." His declaration was true. Some of the companies were good but the people behind the company weren't up to the mark. It was in her business philosophy that a company is not just the product or service they sell but also the people behind it. The humans... the cogs in the wheel mattered. And if they didn't feel right for her, she wouldn't put her finger in that pickle.

"Indeed, what people say is true. It is only your mortal enemy that knows you the best." She paused. "I know why I wasn't impressed but what about you?" she asked curiously.

"None of them possess the quality to make extravagant returns. If I see a deal where I make a lot of money, I'll jump on it." Simple replies were always the ones that surprised people.

"Good point. That should be your priority."

"But that's not what you look for in a company, is it?" Mo Qingchen guessed. "What is it that you look for?"

"Multiple things. The first is returns. How much will I make from putting my money into the company? Second, I look at what I can offer to the company. I am not a fan of blindly making money. I like to be a critical part of how the company develops. And third, the people. If I don't like the people in the picture, I don't invest."

"You have really high standards, Yun Qian Meng," he said wryly. "But what's wrong with making money without lifting your finger?" he asked. This is what he was curious about. She loved to pile work onto herself.

"If I am not passionate about something, I can't put money on it. If I am passionate about something, I need to voice my opinions. That's all." That is what she believed.

"Or is it that you want to be of use to people. To gain their trust and acknowledgment."

"I don't get off on praise," she snapped.

"Self-realization is a good thing. Think about why you are the way you are. Running around people and looking for affection and acknowledgment everywhere you go." He paused. "Your philosophy is mature, something most businessmen should develop towards, but the psychology behind it is wrong."

"Are you done yet?" Qian Meng gritted out through her teeth.