The next morning, Xiao Xun, wearing his pajamas, made breakfast for the two of them.
He then returned to his room to freshen up. By the time he finished and arrived at the dining table, he was surprised to find Mu Jiahe already sitting there, eating breakfast.
She had arrived as silently as a ghost, and he had no idea when she had sat down.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Xiao Xun asked, "Ms. Mu, may I ask a slightly impolite question?"
"Ask away!"
"Before me, were you also living alone?"
Without looking up, Mu Jiahe uttered two words, "That's right."
Seeing that she didn't seem displeased, Xiao Xun boldly continued, "Aren't you afraid of living alone?"
He actually wanted to ask if she felt lonely, but realizing it was inappropriate, he dropped the question.
"What is there to be afraid of? I specifically ensured the security here. I hired 'retired' experts and pay them handsomely. All public areas are monitored around the clock, without blind spots. Otherwise, why would those top tycoons buy houses in my community?"
As she spoke, Mu Jiahe wiped her mouth. "Any more questions? If not, we should get going!"
Xiao Xun had been so engrossed in asking questions that he hadn't eaten anything. He quickly stuffed a couple of bites into his mouth, knowing someone would clean up later.
After changing his clothes, he followed Mu Jiahe out of the complex.
"No need to go to the head office yet. Accompany me to Jingji Group. I have a business deal to discuss."
Xiao Xun knew Jingji Group. It was a very famous multinational corporation, not a domestic enterprise.
In their country, it was known as a 'chaebol,' a massive conglomerate with extensive involvement across numerous fields.
Even the presidential elections in their country required the support of their group. It was one of the top companies globally.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the Jingji Group building, a red carpet had already been laid out, and all the employees were lined up to welcome them.
Several senior directors from St. Roman Group, along with Mu Jiahe's secretary and assistant, were also waiting there.
Mu Jiahe opened the car door and stepped out, with Xiao Xun following. An assistant quickly stepped forward to take over Xiao Xun's role as driver.
The regional president of Jingji Group personally greeted them. After shaking Mu Jiahe's hand, he gave her a tour of the entire building. Then, both parties convened in the large conference room on the top floor.
St. Roman, led by Mu Jiahe, occupied seats along the wall, while the Jingji Group representatives took seats by the windows.
Both sides exchanged documents. Xiao Xun was fortunate to have a seat, albeit at the very edge.
The secretaries and assistants sat on chairs behind them, recording the proceedings of the meeting.
The two parties exchanged opinions on in-depth cooperation and engaged in heated discussions. Since St. Roman was also a multinational group, but its parent company was domestic, it received significant policy benefits. Jingji Group saw this as an advantage and chose to collaborate with them.
Mu Jiahe remained silent throughout the discussion, with the company's director and COO speaking. Their president nodded frequently and occasionally raised counter-arguments.
The CTO of Jingji Group said to the COO of St. Roman, "Currently, our company's technology ranks among the top three globally. Many military projects utilize our 'Stellar-class' computing model. Your company's 'Cloud Map' system is still not fully mastered. Therefore, in terms of technology, we should be the primary guiding force. In design and development, we will also create corresponding applications based on our country's conditions and public preferences."
The president of Jingji Group added, "Of course, we are weak in application development, but we have always been at the forefront in both chips and systems. If you agree to our terms, we can assign our system engineers to help you overcome this challenge."
Xiao Xun looked at the cooperation intention letter from Jingji Group. He felt the terms were like a contract of servitude. This wasn't cooperation; it was essentially becoming their 'dog'!
"We are currently using the 'Cloud Map' system because the general public only accepts this system. This does not mean our technicians are inferior to your so-called system engineers."
All eyes turned to Xiao Xun, who had just spoken. Xiao Xun held immense contempt for the "fake foreigners" in front of him. From the negotiation so far, their objective was clear: to use the guise of cooperation to significantly expand their influence into the domestic market, and then to discard their partners once the time was right.
In reality, everyone at St. Roman understood this, but technology was the bottleneck. Without the appropriate technology, they couldn't create suitable applications. They could only resort to rigid formats and templates, making them easily imitable by smaller companies. The pace of technological advancement was too rapid.
The president of Jingji Group was unsure of the identity of this young man who had suddenly interrupted and looked at him with curiosity. "And who is this gentleman?"
Everyone awaited Mu Jiahe's introduction. Apart from the vice president of the head office and the secretary behind her, no one knew why President Mu had brought a young man and allowed him to sit at the negotiation table.
Mu Jiahe glanced at Xiao Xun. "This is our company's CTO. His technical prowess is renowned globally."
Upon hearing this, the opposing CTO was unconvinced. "Oh! This circle of ours, it's not vast, nor is it small. There are only a handful of people who can be called technical 'big shots.' I admit that St. Roman Group is a very powerful company, but that strength is primarily reflected in real estate and manufacturing. We've only recently ventured into the technology sector. Furthermore, your CTO looks like a recent college graduate!"
Seeing that he was being looked down upon, Xiao Xun replied with a blank expression, "Do you want to have a competition?"
The COO of St. Roman reprimanded Xiao Xun, "Do not be rude! We are here to negotiate today; we should seek harmony."
Unexpectedly, the CTO from the other side stood up, glanced at his own president, and then said to the COO of St. Roman, "Since you have such a formidable expert, how can we discern the sincerity of our cooperation without a contest? If you possess technology equal to or even surpassing ours, then our cooperation will be a strong alliance of equals. If you are merely boasting, then you can content yourselves with being our contract manufacturers. I believe our president will offer a favorable contract for OEM."
The reason why the regional president of Jingji Group allowed the CTO to speak this way was because this CTO was directly dispatched from the head office, with the objective of capturing the market in this country.
The well-known technology companies in their country were definitely not within reach for cooperation. They had to seek out large companies that had undergone recent transformations and possessed strength. St. Roman was their preferred target.
Mu Jiahe cupped her chin with both hands. "Since this gentleman has put it this way, it would seem impolite of us not to accept the challenge. Tian Qi, please compete with this CTO, so he doesn't think our group lacks talent."
Xiao Xun nodded at Mu Jiahe. Since the president had spoken, the other directors had no reason to object further. Moreover, they felt the arrogance from the other side, which was quite displeasing.
The CTO of Jingji Group had his assistant bring a laptop. He performed a few operations on the computer and then had his assistant hand the laptop to Xiao Xun.
"This is the underlying operation of our company's 'Star Chart' system. If you can alter its computing rules without affecting its usability, you win."
Although it was called a competition, it was essentially a test from Jingji Group for Xiao Xun and the entire St. Roman.