Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 10

The moonlight was soft, gently illuminating the room.

In the small apartment, Zhang Sitan clenched her fists, feeling the warmth of the body in front of her, not daring to make any move.

Night had fallen, there were no stars in the sky, and artificial lights shone everywhere, like scattered broken diamonds, casting messy, chaotic lines.

“Alright,” Zhang Sitan’s body was stiff. After a long while, she finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

The small figure in front of her sniffed. Zhang Sitan’s heart trembled she was crying.

She couldn’t see Qi An’s expression from this angle. Zhang Sitan sighed in frustration and raised her hand to gently pat her head.

Qi An’s short hair was a little messy, with a few strands tangled together. Zhang Sitan separated her fingers, threaded them into the hair, and carefully smoothed it out.

“Sister Sitan, can I sleep here tonight?” It was a request, but perhaps because she had cried for too long, her voice was muffled, sounding like she was whining.

A small gap appeared on her chest. A hint of coolness reached her through the thin fabric. Zhang Sitan lowered her head to look, and the spot where Qi An’s face had been buried was wet.

She sighed and nodded. It was a good time for her to have a proper talk with Qi An.

After washing up, Qi An was already lying in bed.

She was curled up on her side, her eyes a little swollen, watching Zhang Sitan push the door open and enter.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Sitan felt somewhat amused, secretly thinking she was quite self aware.

She lifted the quilt and lay down on her side, facing Qi An.

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes. Zhang Sitan’s hair was long and spread out on the pillow. Qi An leaned forward and picked up a lock of her hair, wrapping it around her hand.

The hair strands were wrapped in circles, then suddenly unwrapped, and then wrapped again.

Zhang Sitan let her play with her hair and asked, “Did they have a fight?”

Qi An shook her head, let go of Zhang Sitan’s hair, and hid her hand under the quilt.

Then why did you come to sleep at my place? Zhang Sitan wondered inwardly.

“It was me who told the reporter that your father fabricated the data,” Zhang Sitan said, instinctively lowering her head to check Qi An’s reaction.

The small figure beside her happened to look up at her as well. Her face was expressionless, her red, swollen eyes blinked, meeting Zhang Sitan’s gaze.

Zhang Sitan quickly looked away, a little afraid of such pure eyes.

“If it hadn’t been me, there might have been a Li Sitan, a Wang Si-tan later…” Zhang Sitan, who never used to justify herself or like to argue, suddenly became talkative.

Qi An listened seriously to her words, then still gently shook her head.

The two looked at each other calmly. Zhang Sitan hesitated for a moment, then got out of bed: “I’ll go sleep outside.”

It was another sunny day, the sunshine making people’s cheeks feel slightly warm.

Zhang Sitan stood with a sun umbrella in front of Qi Shenli’s house.

Reporters, police cars, and onlookers crowded the small area in front of the door.

The surroundings were noisy, a cacophony of sound, making it impossible to distinguish a single keyword.

When she woke up that morning, Qi An had already left. The quilt was folded, the sheets were not wrinkled, and apart from the disposable toothbrush packaging in the trash can, there seemed to be nothing to prove that anyone had been there.

Today was the day Qi Zhiguo was to be imprisoned. After the scandal broke, he had stayed at home until he showed up today.

The residential area’s landscaping was excellent, with a large mass of lush greenness before her eyes. The tree branches were penetrated by the sunlight, casting a tall shadow on the building.

Before starting this project, Zhang Sitan had watched many interviews with Qi Shenli.

The host asked Qi Shenli why she still lived in her original old house after becoming wealthy and hadn’t moved to a big villa. Qi Shenli said casually that she was used to it.

No playing for sympathy, no moralizing, she just said she was used to it.

Zhang Sitan hadn’t planned to come, but when she woke up and saw the empty bed, she suddenly wanted to come and see. Although she couldn’t quite explain what she wanted to see.

A commotion started in the crowd. Qi Zhiguo walked out of the house, and Zhang Sitan also craned her neck to look.

Qi Zhiguo was dressed in plain clothes. He opened the black iron gate in front of the house and handed the bag in his hand to the accompanying police officer.

Qi Shenli followed behind him. As he reached out his hands, she placed the towel she was holding over his wrists.

The onlookers became quiet, silently watching Qi Zhiguo walk toward the police car.

Halfway there, Qi Zhiguo paused, seemingly speaking to someone.

Zhang Sitan was far away, only able to roughly understand the phrase “Dad is sorry for you” by reading his lips. She anxiously scanned the surrounding heads, unable to see Qi An.

The police car gradually drove away, and the crowd dispersed, but Zhang Sitan still couldn’t find Qi An.

The storm passed, and the online topic had cooled down. Finally, the day for the negotiation arrived.

“Si-tan.” As soon as she walked into the hall, Zhang Sitan was called by Su Wei.

She greeted her with a smile: “Teacher Su.”

Su Wei’s young apprentice was behind her, still cold-faced and didn’t greet anyone.

Zhang Sitan teased her: “Your little apprentice, she really follows you everywhere.”

A faint smile appeared on Su Wei’s face, and she spread her hands helplessly: “Didn’t teach her well, the kid is impolite.”

With that, she turned back to criticize Zhou Yangle: “Say hello to Captain Zhang.”

“Hello, Captain Zhang.”

Zhang Sitan smiled and waved her hand. It was just a joke; she wouldn’t take it seriously.

She was wearing a suit set today, her hair pulled up, and a pair of gold rimmed glasses on her nose, making her look humble and refined at a glance.

As she was nearing the lounge, several reporters carrying tripods and equipment walked past the corridor.

They were there to interview the representatives of the Air Group.

The lounge for Taiyong Group and the lounge for the Air representatives were on this corridor. People were bustling, different kinds of people moving in and out.

Zhang Sitan had instructed not to accept interviews before the negotiation, so no one was entering or leaving their lounge.

After closing the door, Zhang Sitan placed her large black leather bag on the side table and pulled out a large stack of documents and a laptop.

The layout of this lounge was similar to a reception room: black leather sofas, an old fashioned tea table, tea mugs on the table, and some slogans related to Party building on the wall.

Her phone was set to vibrate. Zhang Sitan opened WeChat. Qi An’s chat box had sunk a long way down, requiring a few scrolls to see the pink anime profile picture.

Since that day, this profile picture had never flashed in Zhang Sitan’s chat box, and the small green figure had never appeared in Zhang Sitan’s sight again.

While momentarily lost in thought, Zhang Sitan, on a whim, clicked into her Moments (Chinese social media feed).

This was the first time she had clicked in.

She used to despise the kind of Moments posts made by college students wealthy, idle, unaware of the world, and disconnected from society.

But now, she wanted to know how Qi An was doing.

Clicking in revealed a horizontal line, with the words “Visible to friends for the last three days…” in the middle.

Zhang Sitan was startled, a flicker of self-mockery in her eyes. Of course, she’s not doing great. Why do I suddenly care about these things?

Before exiting Qi An’s Moments, Zhang Sitan quickly glanced at the line of text below Qi An’s profile picture: Little Biscuit.

Little Biscuit? What Little Biscuit?

Could it be her background picture? Is that dark, sticky, indescribable object a biscuit?

Without thinking further, a new message came in, and Zhang Sitan clicked back.

The contact for the new message was Li Hao.

She had sent Zhang Sitan a message: “Good luck.”

Bureau Chief Zhang had ultimately assigned the project to her. She must have been very busy recently, but she hadn’t forgotten that today was the first time Zhang Sitan was participating in a negotiation as “Captain Zhang.”

Zhang Sitan curved her lips and replied to her: Thank you, you too.

As time advanced, the footsteps outside the door became increasingly noisy, and the crowd grew larger.

Finally, someone knocked on the door to urge them: “Captain Zhang, Teacher Su, it’s time to enter.”

Zhang Sitan nodded, putting the documents and laptop back into her leather bag.

The bag was bulky, and she slung it over her shoulder.

In the conference hall, people gradually filled the two long tables.

On Taiyong’s side, besides Zhang Sitan and Su Wei, there were several team members Zhang Sitan led and people from Taiyong Group.

Reporters gathered behind them, tripods were already set up, and people with microphones ran back and forth, testing the audio quality.

In addition to the large chairs at the conference tables, many small chairs were placed behind. The cushions were black leather, and the wooden chairs were somewhat heavy, making a muffled sound of wood rubbing against the floor when dragged.

The small chairs were also full of people. These people were not all professionals; some were invited by the investors, and some were from new media.

Various sounds intertwined in the venue, and people were bustling.

Among the crowd, Zhang Sitan instantly spotted the most unique one.

Short, ear length hair, stubborn big eyes. Everyone else was busy socializing or reviewing drafts, but she sat blankly in the crowd, staring straight ahead, her eyes darting around. Zhang Sitan guessed she was looking for herself.

People kept walking through the middle. Zhang Sitan wanted to stand a little longer so Qi An could see her, but someone beside her reminded her: “Captain Zhang, please sit here.”

Zhang Sitan nodded and was led to sit in the middle of the conference table.

The microphone in front of her had not yet been turned on. Zhang Sitan pushed it down, adjusting its position.

From Qi An’s perspective, a group of people in suits, often in groups of three or four, walked in through the door and hurried out.

The only person Qi An was familiar with among these people was Zhang Sitan.

She sat upright in the center. A few strands of hair framed her face, her nose was elegantly raised, catching the outdoor light. She slightly tilted her head, flipping through the documents in her hand.

Qi An was wearing a camel-colored hoodie today, which was completely out of place with everyone else’s attire.

She rarely saw Zhang Sitan wear black, and she rarely saw Zhang Sitan wear glasses.

Everything was so unfamiliar that she regretted coming.

She had originally intended for this to be a farewell. After today, she would no longer contact Zhang Sitan.

The negotiation would end, and Zhang Sitan would return to Beijing. She would stay in Qingdao, accompanying Qi Shenli. The two of them would never have any interaction again.

But now that she was here, seeing this unfamiliar Zhang Sitan, watching those people in adult skins walk past in their leather shoes, watching the representatives of all parties orderly enter and take their designated seats, she hesitated.

She couldn’t bear not contacting Zhang Sitan.

Her finger moved away from the “Delete Friend” button. She turned off her phone screen, then turned it back on.

Finally, Qi An went to the browser, found an all black image, and changed her profile picture to the black one.

Just then, applause sounded in the conference hall. The two teams of representatives stood up. In the densely packed silhouettes, Qi An felt a sense of solemnity.

As Zhang Sitan was about to sit down, Qi An felt her glance in her direction, but only for a moment. Before Qi An could catch that look, Zhang Sitan sat down properly, facing the opposing representatives.

Both sides began to introduce their respective situations.

The Air representative first launched the attack “Was your company’s self-exposure of a scandal about a week before the negotiation an intentional hype to promote the company’s image? Are there other instances of fraud within your company that haven’t been investigated yet?”

Upon hearing this, someone in the venue “hushed.” Qi An also focused, not expecting such a sharp start.

She looked at Zhang Sitan with some worry but saw Zhang Sitan nod slightly and respond unhurriedly:

“Mr. Qi Zhiguo and General Manager Qi have been married for twenty-three years. Hearts are made of flesh; there’s no need to make such a great sacrifice for just one negotiation.”

As soon as this was said, everyone looked at the Air representative’s reaction. The camera also zoomed in for a close-up on him.

The words sounded soft, but they struck at the high mindedness of the Air company and simultaneously refuted the Air representative, making people gasp.

“After General Manager Qi learned that there were loopholes in the group’s drug supply, she immediately took action, following the clues to find the data loophole in Mr. Qi Zhiguo’s thesis. This kind of courage and responsibility precisely demonstrates that the group is not negligent.”

“Our representative has been inspecting the group for over a month. The company’s rigorous attitude and humanistic environment reflect the company’s desire to climb higher. Being able to cooperate with Air Company…”

Zhang Sitan’s mouth moved open and closed, her hand slightly gesturing as she spoke. She occasionally looked down at the script on the table, but mostly stared directly into the eyes of the opposing party.

The two sides went back and forth for a long time. People constantly went out and came in.

There was an old cadre style tea mug on the table, which Zhang Sitan didn’t touch. She spoke eloquently, dominating the discussion.

In the middle, the Air representative went out to make two phone calls. When he made the last call, Qi An clearly saw Zhang Sitan’s face relax slightly.

Both she and Zhang Sitan sensed the approaching victory.