Both sides attached great importance to this meeting.
On Su Ning's side, this was evident in her waking up early without needing the system's alarm. One person and one Sys brainstormed to discuss what she should wear—
This was actually very important.
As the saying goes, people judge the clothes before they judge the person.
Even for the same person, different outfits and makeup can give others a completely different impression, and can also reveal certain unspoken messages.
"How about this soft satin qipao trimmed with silver fox fur? With a cloak over it, it looks beautiful and the materials are exquisite. It shows a lot of care."
Inside the spacious dressing room.
Su Ning glanced at the qipao recommended by the system, thought for three seconds, and shook her head. "It's nice, but it's too traditional Chinese... It doesn't fit my background of having just returned from abroad."
Her overseas background was one of her greatest weapons for establishing herself.
She could not abandon it for a single moment.
Next, she successively rejected overly Westernized trench coats and the like, which annoyed the system so much that it simply laid out all kinds of character model pictures and let Su Ning choose directly:
"These are the outfits and styles of socialites and big shots from a decade before and after this era. There are all kinds of styles. Choose and match them yourself!"
It annoyed the Sys to death; a host who was too cautious was also torture for a Sys.
"I knew you were the best."
Su Ning was never stingy with free compliments. After a few words of praise, the system was clearly coaxed, and it awkwardly answered whatever Su Ning asked later.
Having a massive number of examples for reference really made a difference.
Ten minutes later, everything was finally selected.
In the tall, clear glass mirror, the woman's figure was slender and tall. Her outfit was simple yet luxurious, and her only jewelry was a diamond brooch on her chest and a gemstone bracelet on her wrist.
"I really look beautiful."
Su Ning looked at herself in the mirror with admiration and spoke. The system hesitated to speak. Clothes make the man, and when the host dressed up seriously, she indeed looked more than fifty percent better than usual—
But this beauty was too sharp.
Originally, her facial features and bone structure were very clean-cut. If described as a painting, it would be like a meticulous brushwork painting outlined with sharp lines and angles everywhere.
Coupled with her innate coldness and arrogance.
Set off by the luxurious clothes, her whole person had nothing to do with gentleness. She was cold, arrogant, and ruthless. Even describing her as a winter plum blossom would be too soft.
Like a sharp Tang sword wrapped in silk—the system thought for a long time before finding the accurate adjective.
Obviously, it wasn't the only Sys who thought so. Lin Sen, who hurried in to report the news, was also struck by her appearance. His first thought was that the young lady indeed took this meeting very seriously.
"What is it?"
There was at least an hour before departure. Lin Sen wouldn't act without a sense of propriety; something must have happened.
"They sent a message asking to change the meeting place. They said everything is their fault and begged for your forgiveness, Miss..." After recounting the cause, Lin Sen added his own intelligence:
The original meeting place was a teahouse. But at the last minute, more than half of the place was booked to host a banquet, and it was the kind of unrestrained banquet held by wealthy playboys.
"Heh."
"Chen Huaiqian is quite useless."
Hearing these blunt words, Lin Sen lowered his head even further, but he strongly agreed in his heart. No matter what twists and turns were involved, the result was that the news had been leaked.
And they were outplayed by their opponent.
Just think about it. If their reaction had been any slower and they still met at the teahouse, while the banquet next door was filthy and scandalous, the mastermind behind the scenes would then spread the news.
That would be a massive joke!
"Miss, then... should we postpone the meeting?" They could use this to express their dissatisfaction. Moreover, from this small incident, it seemed that Mayor Chen's strength was still inferior to the other side.
It would be fine to be more cautious when placing their bets.
With both sides competing, holding out for a better price would yield more.
"No need."
Su Ning neatly rejected this suggestion and waved her hand to let Lin Sen pass on the message: the meeting time remains unchanged, and there's no need to bother finding a new location. They would meet right at the city hall!
"Since the news has already been leaked, why bury our heads in the sand? It's better to go openly and let everyone know that I am meeting with Chen Huaiqian."
"Would they dare to hold a banquet at the city hall too?"
"If they dare, I would actually admire them!"
Hearing this, Lin Sen could not suppress the astonishment on his face at all.
This... was equivalent to tearing up the last shred of pretense!
Seeing his expression change drastically, as if he was about to advise against it, Su Ning instead comforted her capable subordinate. Without explaining much, she said softly:
"Deputy Mayor He's faction acts deceitfully, which can be seen from this incident. They easily steer things toward filthy matters of relations between men and women. If I really sided with them, I would be truly doomed."
Speaking of this, her smile deepened:
"Therefore, not only can we not abandon Chen for He, but we must also trample them firmly under our feet."
"Otherwise, wouldn't I be doing a disservice to the insult I suffered today?"
It was indeed an insult.
As a man, Lin Sen's focus on the issue was different from Su Ning's. In this matter, what he saw was Chen Huaiqian falling to a disadvantage in the struggle.
But he failed to see the invisible contempt that Deputy Mayor He's faction had for Su Ning.
Waiting for the highest bidder was fine.
But if the other bidding party was not sincere, no amount of advantages would mean anything.
Although he understood, the situation was right in front of them, and the worry in Lin Sen's heart did not diminish in the slightest. He could only comfort himself that his Miss was wealthy and powerful. Even if she really bet on the losing side, it wasn't as if there was no room to maneuver—
No one would refuse a large sum of gold and silver.
Unlike him.
With the spoilers from the original novel, plus her good knowledge of history, Su Ning could be said to have a lot of confidence in Chen Huaiqian. Even with this incident, she was outwardly angry but inwardly happy.
Adding icing to the cake is never as good as offering fuel in snowy weather.
The more Chen Huaiqian's momentum declined, the more valuable her support at this time would be.
...
On the other side, Chen Huaiqian himself was not that confident.
To be honest, after receiving the news from the teahouse, his heart plunged straight into an abyssal icy lake, feeling both cold and painful. Although he quickly found out who leaked the news, it still couldn't alleviate this anxiety.
No one understood better than him.
How important Su Ning, or rather the money in Su Ning's hands, was to him right now!
In a month or two, there would inevitably be a great war between the southern government and the local forces. Peiping's location was too crucial, and he had to race against time to stabilize the situation.
"The person has been dealt with. Don't worry too much; Miss Su shouldn't be the type of person to change her mind easily."
The Secretary-General came in from outside. Although he was offering comfort, the emotions in his eyes were extremely complex. For no other reason than the fact that the betrayer was an old classmate and old friend of his and Chen Huaiqian's.
Their friendship, which started in their youth, had made them place their trust in him.
Unexpectedly, time was enough to change anyone and anything.
"Disasters should not implicate one's family. Just say he died in the line of duty, and issue the pension to his family as usual. Oh, right, don't forget to pick someone from He's side to return the favor."
Chen Huaiqian appeared very calm.
However, his lack of response to the second half of the Secretary-General's comforting words about Su Ning was an answer in itself—he dared not be certain about any change in Su Ning's intentions.
Merchants seek profit, chasing the rise and abandoning the fall.
The possibility that she would continue to bet on him had already dropped infinitely.
