Lu Sinian nodded, "Okay, I'll order."
Soon, Lu Sinian finished ordering the food, and the server withdrew, leaving only the three of them in the private room.
Li Ze hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to speak.
Although Mu Yinyin was invited by Lu Sinian, it still felt a bit inappropriate for the occasion.
Their collaboration was confidential, and Mu Yinyin was from Fanxing Group. If the secrets were heard by Fanxing, it wouldn't be good.
For a moment, he really didn't know what to do.
Mu Yinyin sat quietly in her seat, as Lu Sinian had instructed her not to say anything.
So, she was in a state of waiting.
Lu Sinian, however, saw Li Ze's concerns and smiled, "You don't need to be afraid of anything, just say it directly."
The meaning was already very clear.
Mu Yinyin would not steal their secrets. If he spoke too directly, it would make things awkward for everyone.
Li Ze's eyes flickered, and he coughed awkwardly, "Why would I be worried about that? I just didn't say it because the server was about to serve the food."
Lu Sinian raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
Since this collaboration was between their two companies, Lu Sinian was much more astute than him. If Lu Sinian was not guarded, then normally, he wouldn't need to be so wary. Moreover, it might displease Lu Sinian, and what if future collaborations were interrupted by this displeasure?
Women were more important than partners, and he had some sense of proportion.
Mu Yinyin's expression remained calm, as if she hadn't heard what they were talking about.
In fact, she had been hesitant to come because of this before, but since Lu Sinian had already said so, and considering Gu Xiaoqi's situation, she couldn't afford to care too much.
After waiting for a while longer, the server brought all the food, and the private room fell silent again.
This time, they could properly discuss the collaboration.
Li Ze smiled, stood up to pour wine for Mu Yinyin and Lu Sinian, and said with a smile, "It is my honor to be able to invite President Lu this time. I'll toast you first."
This was considered an opening remark. After drinking, they could start discussing the collaboration.
Lu Sinian had already seen the general plan. He was here this time to refine it and see if there were any loopholes.
The three of them raised their wine glasses together. Li Ze looked at Mu Yinyin again and said with a smile, "It is also my honor to have dinner with President Mu for the first time. To the two of you, I'll drink first."
Saying that, he drank the entire glass of wine.
Mu Yinyin and Lu Sinian also drank some, but not as much as him.
Soon, they put down their glasses, and Li Ze refilled their cups.
He coughed lightly and said awkwardly, "I know that President Lu may not be very willing to accept this collaboration because the profit is not much, and it also wastes manpower and resources, but... I believe there is a great opportunity for profits to double in the future. It mainly depends on the future. What do you think?"
The last four words, although a rhetorical question, were more of a plea.
Mu Yinyin lowered her head. If the situation were different, she might have already taken out her phone to browse Weibo.
Lu Sinian spoke calmly, "I've seen the proposal, and as you said, there might be opportunities in the future."
Li Ze's eyes lit up. Did Lu Sinian saying this mean there was hope? He quickly nodded and said solicitously, "Yes, yes! It's mainly a gamble on the future. In the early stages, it won't cost much, although it will take some time, it mainly depends on the future."
Li Ze paused here.
He had actually wanted to praise Lu Sinian a few more times, to compliment Lu Sinian for being a shrewd person, but he was afraid that saying so might displease Lu Sinian, so he didn't dare to.
Lu Sinian narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Li Ze occasionally glanced at Mu Yinyin. Seeing that she didn't seem interested in their conversation, she was just quietly eating with her chopsticks, looking like she was really there to enjoy the food and seemed quite relaxed.
Lu Sinian even picked up his chopsticks and picked food for Mu Yinyin, taking great care of her.
Li Ze's eyes flickered. These two definitely had something going on!
"Eat more of this. This dish here is quite good," Lu Sinian said gently after picking up the food.
Mu Yinyin nodded at him, "Thank you."
Lu Sinian smiled slightly, his gaze towards her exceptionally gentle.
Li Ze: "..."
Could Lu Sinian have fallen in love?
Did he really start to like Mu Yinyin?
Otherwise, why would he be so...
He had collaborated with women before, but Lu Sinian had never acted like this.
Only...
Li Ze didn't know that Lu Sinian was doing it on purpose.
The two of them were cooperating on purpose. Although they usually communicated like this, Lu Sinian was specifically letting Li Ze see how much he cared about Mu Yinyin.
This way, Li Ze would be more aware of the situation later.
After a pause, Lu Sinian looked at Li Ze and said casually, "This collaboration is neither here nor there, but out of respect for our years of cooperation, President Li, I can cooperate with you."
Li Ze's eyes brightened.
It was good to have Lu Sinian say this! If he wanted to play the emotional card, so be it, everyone did the same.
However, before he could say anything, Lu Sinian spoke again, "However, this time, I may have to make a condition for cooperating with you. President Li may need to consider it carefully."
"What condition? President Lu, please say it," Li Ze appeared very amenable.
He originally thought that Lu Sinian's request would not be too excessive. If he could do it, he would. This collaboration might not be particularly important, and it wouldn't matter if it was lost, but what he valued was the endless future collaborations with Lu Corporation.
For greater benefits, he was naturally willing.
Mu Yinyin's eyes flickered, and she remained silent, sitting to the side. She knew that Lu Sinian was about to get to the point.
Although collaboration required going out for meals and took a lot of time, everyone liked to cut to the chase, except for those who enjoyed drinking.
As expected, Lu Sinian's gaze fell on Li Ze, and he said calmly, "We can cooperate, and I will take care of your Li Corporation more in the future, on the condition that you give up one item at this auction."
Li Ze's expression stiffened.
He looked at Lu Sinian with some surprise, "President Lu wants to bid?"
"Not me, but someone very important to me wants to bid." As he said this, his gaze fell on Mu Yinyin beside him.
Mu Yinyin's eyelashes trembled slightly. She opened her lips but still did not speak.