Chapter 9 Do you have a poor sense of aesthetics?_1
The person spoke in Spanish. When An Lan was studying for her MBI in America, her roommate was Spanish. She wasn't exactly fluent, but she could manage basic communication.
Upon hearing this, she subconsciously turned her head to glance at the man in the video.
Huo Zhanting's eyebrows raised slightly, and with a long arm, he pulled An Lan into his embrace, "You speak Spanish?"
An Lan couldn't figure out what Huo Zhanting meant and vaguely responded, "A little."
"Then you can be my translator."
Huo Zhanting steadied An Lan by the waist, seating her comfortably on his lap, as his warm breath caressed her ear, "Tell him if he agrees to a 30% concession, we can sign the contract right now."
That sentence wasn't difficult, and An Lan translated it word for word.
The person on the other end clearly hadn't expected An Lan to speak Spanish, let alone so fluently. He paused briefly before responding, "Mr. Huo, you're really underestimating us. 30% is too much; we can't agree to that."
"He says it's not possible," An Lan said.
"Tell him, either give us a 30% concession, or the Huo Family will short their company's stock. By then, buying out their corporate group won't cost me a dime."
After hearing An Lan's translation, the person on the other end struggled for a while before finally gesturing his agreement. In the end, he looked at An Lan with admiration and spoke in broken Chinese, "Mr. Huo, this lady speaks very good Spanish, does she have a boyfriend?"
"She is Mrs. Huo."
Huo Zhanting's lips parted slightly, and he replied smoothly in Spanish, his voice carrying a proud and elegant air.
"Well, I'm truly envious. I wish you a loving relationship," the other person said, exchanging a few pleasantries before going offline.
An Lan was somewhat speechless, "You speak Spanish, and yet you had me translate for you?"
"Too lazy to think," Huo Zhanting replied, holding An Lan close, his nose tingling with her unique scent, which made his heart itch, and his hands began to wander.
"Huo Zhanting!" Instinctively, An Lan shivered, her face flushing red. She bit her back teeth and scolded angrily, "I start work tomorrow!"
"Hmm, so let's celebrate," he replied.
Huo Zhanting switched off the desk lamp with a lift of his hand and carried An Lan back to the bedroom.
A night of passion ensued.
The next morning, when An Lan woke up, Huo Zhanting was already gone!
The jerk didn't even wake her up!
Barely able to suppress the soreness in her waist, An Lan got up, quickly got ready, and was about to change into her work clothes when she noticed a large oil stain on them that wasn't there before.
With a deep breath, An Lan knew all too well who was responsible for that.
She turned her head to glance at Huo Jiajia, who coldly snorted with a guilty conscience.
Today was An Lan's first day at work and she couldn't afford to be late, so she wore her regular clothes and had the driver take her to the Huo Family company.
Although she was late, thankfully Zheng Qian didn't blame her and had someone help her complete the onboarding process.
Just as she finished the onboarding process and sat down at her desk, without having a moment to catch her breath, she heard a sharp, sneering laugh from behind.
Xu Yuanyuan, with her arms crossed, sneered at An Lan, "You're wearing such rags to work? Are you looking down on the Huo Family or the public relations department?"
If it wasn't for this bitch stealing her love interest, she wouldn't have had to beg her uncle again for a long time and spend a lot of money to squeeze into the public relations department!
This woman, not only did she snatch her position, but she also came to work dressed so shabbily?
Wasn't this a slap in her own face?
"What's wrong with my clothes?" An Lan asked with a grin, "You're dressed nicely, but I don't see you doing anything impressive?"
"You!"
Xu Yuanyuan was livid, and with a backhanded slap, she threw a file marked as S-class onto An Lan's desk.
"You handle this PR case. If you don't do well, just wait to be fired."
S-class, even a fool could tell that this case was not going to be easy to settle.
An Lan didn't rush to refuse but carefully reviewed the file first.
It was a compensation negotiation for a work injury accident.
The Huo Family wasn't short of money; what they wanted was to maintain their reputation. The case didn't seem too difficult. Why was it labeled S-class?
"Alright, I'll take on this case," she said.
Xu Yuanyuan's face revealed a schadenfreude smirk, "Good, everyone is waiting in the conference room. Go on then!"
After saying that, she walked away with her nose in the air, deliberately bumping into An Lan as she passed.
An Lan couldn't be bothered with her and gathered her things to head into the meeting room.
"Sorry, for the wait…"
She stopped mid-sentence, frozen.
Xiao Yihe?!
Why is he here?
Xiao Yihe hadn't expected to encounter An Lan either, and he almost blurted out, "Lanlan…"
"Hello, I am An Lan, representing the Huo Family."
An Lan steadied her nerves and cut off Xiao Yihe, politely extending her hand.
A flicker of disappointment passed through Xiao Yihe's eyes. Was she pretending not to recognize him?
"Hello."
Xiao Yihe also extended his hand.
An Lan lightly grasped it for a moment before attempting to withdraw, but Xiao Yihe tightened his grip.
His gaze burning, he pulled An Lan from the meeting room right in front of everyone and dragged her through the emergency exit door.
"Lanlan, I don't want you to lie to me, have you really been doing well these past three years? Has Huo Zhanting treated you well?"
He spoke urgently. An Lan subconsciously stepped back two paces against the door, her eyes darting around, "Umm, I'm quite well."
"You're lying!"
Xiao Yihe clutched An Lan's wrist. "Then why are there injuries on your body?"
"An Lan! We had an agreement, no matter what happens, you can't lie to me!"
Xiao Yihe pulled at An Lan frantically, his usually gentle and polite demeanor appearing impetuous, "If Huo Zhanting isn't good to you, I will find a way to help you! Even if his power is overwhelming, there still is the law. I can definitely rescue you!"
"Just nod, and I'll take you away right now!"
"Will you? An Lan, I'll take you away!"
Xiao Yihe was very close, his scent reassuringly familiar to An Lan, so familiar that it made her heart constrict.
If he had said this when her mother just passed away, maybe she really would have gone with him.
But now that she had gotten involved with Huo Zhanting, and had decided to take on her mother's deep-seated hatred and resentment, how could she even consider herself?
Moreover, he was going to get engaged to An Yuxian.
"Let go of me!"
An Lan shoved Xiao Yihe away forcefully, "Isn't Mr. Xiao getting engaged to my stepsister? What's the point of saying these things to me now?"
"It's not like that…"
Pain filled Xiao Yihe's eyes, but before he could explain, An Lan pushed him away.
"Today, my role is as a negotiator for the Huo Family, and I am here for work. Mr. Xiao, if there's nothing else, I shall take my leave."
Having said that, An Lan turned decisively and re-entered the meeting room.
Xiao Yihe stared at her retreating back for a long time, then dejectedly returned to the meeting room.
"The compensation proposal provided by the Huo Family is roughly as follows."
An Lan finished presenting the proposal in one breath, but Xiao Yihe was still staring at her dazedly.
Not until the person beside him nudged him did he react, "Xiao Lawyer?"
"Hmm?"
Xiao Yihe snapped back to reality, "We agree."
"Good, then tomorrow I will send the specific compensation proposal to lawyer Xiao, and that will be all."
As the meeting ended, An Lan stood up with no intention of lingering and was ready to leave.
"Wait, An Lan, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Xiao Yihe also stood up quickly, grabbing An Lan's arm.
"Yihe! Is the case discussion going smoothly?"
A voice interrupted Xiao Yihe, as An Yuxian walked in, casually looping her arm through his without a care in the world.
An Lan swept a cold glance at An Yuxian, and Xiao Yihe sulkily withdrew his hand.
Adopting the posture of a victor, An Yuxian clung to Xiao Yihe's arm and cooed non-stop, "Let's go back and talk about the engagement party in a few days, no need to waste time here, right?"
"Or is it that someone is seducing you, hmm?"
While speaking, An Yuxian's eyes were firmly fixed on An Lan.