Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 11

In the underground parking garage, the light was somewhat dim, and the overhead spotlights were not very bright. Zhang Sitan leaned against a car, scrolling on her phone.

It was a little past six in the afternoon, and the car she was leaning on was Qi An’s semi purple, semi grey Benben.

Before entering the garage, Zhang Sitan had just finished a call with Director Zhang, reporting the outcome of the negotiation.

Everything had concluded as scheduled, and Sitan was preparing to return to Beijing.

Su Wei would remain to conduct further research on the disodium water. Her mission would only be complete after the anhydrous disodium hydrogen phosphate extracted from the disodium water passed inspection.

The later stages of the project would involve using the anhydrous disodium hydrogen phosphate to re-engage in negotiations with Germany’s Senburg Pharmaceuticals to drive down the price of the $beta$ injection.

The beta injection, which treats spinal muscular atrophy, would be widely promoted due to its low price.

However, according to the timeline, the project would be pushed back by at least a few months.

Zhang Sitan was patiently waiting for Qi An.

Right after the negotiation ended, she left Su Wei to handle the interviews alone and looked for Qi An. But as soon as she stepped out, the crowd surged around her, and when she turned around, she couldn’t see Qi An anymore.

She thought she would try her luck at the parking garage. Sure enough, the car was still there, but the person was nowhere to be found.

Should she say a proper goodbye? What else could she say…

The garage was quiet, but the signal was poor. The pages she clicked on took a while to load. Zhang Sitan simply turned off her phone.

She began to review the progress of the past month, drafting a several-thousand-word report in her mind.

There was the sound of an engine starting, the “beep” of a car backing up, and the gentle crunch of tires rolling slowly.

It was seven o’clock, and Qi An had still not appeared.

Zhang Sitan instinctively froze for a moment, wanting to find Qi An’s WeChat to send her a message.

Her right index finger scrolled across the screen, and after a long pause, Zhang Sitan stopped.

Perhaps, seeing her here, Qi An had simply left.

The semi purple, semi grey Benben was still here. Zhang Sitan didn’t believe Qi An wouldn’t come to drive it. That left only one explanation: she was avoiding her, she didn’t want to see her.

Stepping out of the garage, the daylight had dimmed a few shades.

The air carried a slight breeze, very faint, not enough to rustle the leaves, but noticeable on the face.

Is Qingdao a lively city? Zhang Sitan wondered aimlessly.

Actually, she wouldn’t normally focus on such an unanswerable and meaningless question. But now, she forced herself to concentrate on it. This way, she could avoid looking at her phone and stop letting her mind wander.

Perhaps, it was because she felt a bit forlorn.

She hadn’t waited for Qi An, and Qi An was avoiding her. Zhang Sitan felt a sense of melancholy.

She had already called a car on the app, but Zhang Sitan continued to walk along the roadside.

She was wearing high heels today, making a “tap tap tap” sound on the ground. Her well tailored suit made her look very slender but didn’t allow for too much movement.

Various buildings lined both sides of the street. Most were in foreign architectural styles: pointed roofs, red buildings, granite, and Gothic windows like those in a church.

The architecture was hidden behind tall, lush trees. Golden string lights were wrapped around the trees, along with large coins, candies, and five pointed stars.

Everything visible was illuminated, making it hard to feel that it was night.

So, is Qingdao a lively city? Cars lined up bumper to bumper on the street, people hurrying home.

Everyone seemed so lonely.

Zhang Sitan sighed, mocking herself for her mood, wondering when she had become so overly thoughtful.

Back at the apartment, Zhang Sitan couldn’t wait to kick off her high heels. She padded barefoot to draw the curtains in the living room and bedroom, took off her jacket, and slipped into a random t-shirt.

The room lights weren’t on, but the various artificial lights outside the window were bright, and she had only drawn one layer of sheer curtain, so the room was still lightly illuminated.

After changing, Zhang Sitan sat down at the dining table, lowered her phone’s brightness, and began to process her messages.

Half the dining table was in shadow, the other half bleached white by the light. The magnolia flowers in the plastic vase had wilted, their petals half closed and drooping from the bottleneck.

The dinner with Qi Shenli was scheduled for one o’clock, leaving Zhang Sitan plenty of time to pack her luggage.

Su Wei had brought her dumplings that morning, saying Zhou Yangyue had wrapped them herself at her apartment.

Zhang Sitan was both shocked that Zhou Yangyue, a girl who looked so unreliable, had such a skill, and impressed by how delicate and perfect the dumplings were.

“Dumplings before departure, noodles upon arrival,” Su Wei told her.

This was the first time Zhang Sitan had heard this saying. She smiled genuinely and ate the entire plate of dumplings.

After packing, Zhang Sitan knocked on Su Wei’s door, waiting to go to Qi Shenli’s banquet together.

The day after the negotiation ended, Zhang Sitan’s team and several people from Taiyong had already held a celebratory dinner.

So this meal was specifically a farewell banquet for Zhang Sitan and her small team.

Zhou Yangyue drove, Su Wei sat in the passenger seat, and Zhang Sitan instinctively pulled open the back car door.

The days in Qingdao had mostly been sunny, making people feel bright and cheerful.

There were few pedestrians on the street at this hour, mostly cars rushing past.

Zhang Sitan started a conversation: “Professor Su, I saw in the last interview that you planned to take a vacation after this project. Have you decided where to go?”

Su Wei turned her face back, showing a thoughtful expression: “I’ve considered a few places. I like the sea. I watched a video about a cruise, but it’s a bit too expensive for two people, so I’m still considering.”

“Two people?” Zhang Sitan was confused for a moment.

“Zhou Yangyue is going too,” Su Wei didn’t elaborate, turning her body further back to facilitate the conversation.

“You really care about your little apprentice,” Zhang Sitan praised, glancing at Zhou Yangyue through the rear-view mirror, noticing that the young girl, who usually wore a cold expression 24/7, was subtly curling the corners of her lips a rare sight.

“Speaking of which, since you’re leaving, aren’t you going to try to reconcile with Qi An?” Su Wei didn’t notice Zhou Yangyue’s little expression and asked Zhang Sitan.

I tried. I waited for her in the garage for nearly an hour, but she never showed up.

Zhang Sitan mumbled this in her heart, but on her face, she gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

“Let her be. It’s hard for anyone to take this,” Su Wei nodded and turned back around.

When they arrived at the hotel, several colleagues had already arrived. Zhang Sitan was familiar with their cars. As they parked, she deliberately scanned the surroundings, but she didn’t see the car she was most familiar with.

Inexplicably, she thought of a line from Sima Guang: “Is meeting as good as not meeting? Is being passionate as good as being heartless?”

She had never expected any contact with Qi An outside of work, and now that the work was concluded, there was indeed no need to meet.

Although she didn’t know the reason for this immense emptiness in her heart, once she returned to Beijing and got busy, she would quickly forget.

Zhang Sitan got out of the car, enduring the sun, and comforted herself with this thought.

The parking lot was right in front of the hotel, an open-air area with few cars parked. The car roofs reflected the light, and the edges of the car bodies were almost burning hot.

A doorman had offered to park Zhou Yangyue’s car in the basement, but Zhou Yangyue refused, preferring to leave the car to bake in the sun here.

Su Wei didn’t express an opinion, letting Zhou Yangyue park however she wanted. She got out of the car and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Sitan toward the hotel entrance, leaving Zhou Yangyue to follow behind.

The relationship between the mentor and apprentice was quite strange. There was no student’s awe for a teacher, nor a teacher’s patient guidance for a student. It always seemed like one was giving a cold face and the other was composed and unhurried.

Zhang Sitan wondered about the nature of their relationship was it close or adversarial? She followed Su Wei into the private room that Qi Shenli had booked.

As soon as they pushed the door open, a burst of hearty laughter entered their ears.

The private room was large. Upon entering, there was a reception area with leather sofas, a wooden coffee table, and elegant décor. The bright lights shone on the dark wooden floor, making it look like an old corridor from the eighties or nineties, stepping on it felt like treading upon a soft passage of time.

The curtains in the room were drawn shut. The heavy drapes hung down to the floor, and the complex trim was perfectly placed, not dragging down the height of the room.

The curtains were tightly closed to guard against the media, who had been constantly prying into Qi Shenli’s private life recently, trying to dig up some explosive material.

Qi Shenli and the others were seated on the sofas. There weren’t enough seats, so they had pulled over chairs from the dining area.

Seeing Zhang Sitan and the others enter, a few people stood up.

“Please sit, quickly,” Zhang Sitan immediately put on a smile, hiding her earlier melancholic mood.

She sat next to Qi Shenli, resting her bag behind her.

Someone offered her a teacup. She took it, but before she could drink, she heard Qi Shenli joke:

“You’re late, you guys. You’ll have to be fined a few drinks later.”

“Haha,” Zhang Sitan placed the teacup on the coffee table in front of her and stated, “Absolutely. No one has anything tomorrow, so let’s drink freely today.”

The crowd cheered again, laughing and joking for a while, before finally settling down at the dining table.

Only a few cold appetizers had been served, arranged in a circle along the round table.

Several bottles of wine were placed in the center of the round table. The bottles were not the originals; the wine had been poured into specially made, unmarked, unlabeled bottles.

Qi Shenli took the main seat first, with Zhang Sitan and Su Wei on either side.

Several assistants moved the teapots and cups from the reception area to the table, pouring tea for everyone.

Someone was called to announce the dishes, and one by one, the dishes were brought out by the waiters.

The last dish was Snow Vegetable Silver Cod. A long fish was completely filleted open, the white flesh beautifully displayed in slices, with chopped snow vegetables and pieces of bamboo shoots scattered around it.

The wine had been uncorked, and the person who had been pouring tea now took the wine bottles, starting from the main seat, and filled each cup.

The wine poured into the cup with a gurgle, and a rich aroma filled the air.

As there were many women at this table, and it was Qi Shenli’s event, there weren’t many rigid rules. Except for the initial three mandatory toasts, everyone was free to drink wine, tea, or soft drinks afterward.

Zhang Sitan’s flight was scheduled for the next afternoon, so she had no worries and decided to drink freely.

Qi Shenli took a small spoon and a small bowl, scooped a full serving of dried fish maw, and placed it in front of Sitan.

The tender yellow fish maw was completely soaked in the rich broth, glistening with a bright sheen.

“Good wine needs to be savored slowly,” Qi Shenli moved her wine glass slightly to the side, “Eat more dishes.”

Zhang Sitan smiled brightly, her tone slightly playful: “CEO Qi prepares good wine.”

She still accepted the bowl of fish maw, scooped a small piece with the spoon, and slowly put it into her mouth.

The meat was tender, but Zhang Sitan felt a bitterness.

Tasting it again, the bitterness was gone.

She dutifully finished the bowl of fish maw. There was a faint taste of yellow butter crab on her lips, light, sliding across the roof of her mouth.

Zhang Sitan remembered the waiter introducing the dish as Crab Meat Consommé Fish Maw.

She took another sip of wine, self-mockingly, and only then realized that the wine was bitter.

Mellow, astringent, and bitter. The person who brewed this wine must have been carrying extremely complex emotions.

After a long session of drinking, everyone talked for a long time before finally dispersing.

Zhang Sitan had consumed a lot of alcohol. Qi Shenli offered to help her, but she insisted on walking by herself, though her body was honest, leaning weakly against Qi Shenli.

“Until next time,” Qi Shenli said softly.

“Mhm.” Zhang Sitan nodded, parted her lips, and then broke into a huge smile.

No one mentioned Qi An, and the meeting ended just like that.

On the way back to the apartment, Zhang Sitan slightly poked her head out of the car window, gulping in the roadside wind.

Her stomach was bloated, and sitting uncomfortably in the back seat, she felt the alcohol fermenting on her face, a thick, sticky layer plastered on it.

She never drank so unrestrainedly in public. The immense emptiness filled her with panic.

As the car sped by, Zhang Sitan pulled her head back and lit up her phone screen.

Tapping into Qi An’s message interface, she was startled to realize that Qi An had changed her profile picture. She stared blankly at their last chat page; a long time had passed since then.

Zhang Sitan didn’t know exactly what she wanted to say; she just wanted to type something, to see some kind of response from the other side. She didn’t want it to end so vaguely and unresolved.

Looking at the completely black profile picture, Zhang Sitan felt a sudden, inexplicable heartache.

Before she could even open the keyboard, Zhang Sitan saw the notification bar change to “The other party is typing.”

Zhang Sitan’s breath hitched for a moment. She leaned back against the car seat, waiting for the message.

The “The other party is typing” notification flickered on and off, but until Zhang Sitan got out of the car, no message was ever sent.