Chapter 11: Negotiations Can Take Place at the Playground

After work, Fu Lan walked for nearly two bus stops. He didn't take his phone out of his pocket until he had rounded a distant corner and could no longer see the library.

Just as he was preparing to notify Shi Ningyu that he was almost there, he saw a white car parked on the roadside lower its window, and Shi Ningyu, in the driver's seat, beckoned to him.

He got into the car and couldn't help but glance at her a few times.

"What's wrong?"

Fu Lan shook his head. "Let's go."

*It’s probably better not to say, "I feel like a child who stole the family car and is about to be caught on a traffic camera,"* he thought.

Shi Ningyu shot him a sidelong glance. "Do you always dress this formally for work?"

Fu Lan checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. It was just a plain white shirt and black trousers, though he had added a blazer since the temperature had dropped today.

"The office has a dress code," he explained. "This is a casual style—does it still look too formal?"

Shi Ningyu gave a vague, dismissive response and didn't say anything more.

Fu Lan quietly observed her attire. It was similar to yesterday's—an oversized sweatshirt paired with a short skirt—but she had switched to brown tones and replaced her socks with black over-the-knee stockings. It looked less "cute" and more "preppy," which actually suited her real age better.

Only then did Fu Lan think to ask, "What kind of person is this contact? If this outfit isn't appropriate, I should go change first."

"He's a middle-aged guy, about your age. There's no need to be so particular."

"Then why did you specifically comment on my clothes?"

Shi Ningyu rolled her eyes. "It was just small talk. You’re way too tense; there’s no need for that."

"I thought I needed to investigate his personality, develop a negotiation strategy, or at least brush up on some jargon."

Shi Ningyu said dismissively, "Verdict: you’ve been watching too many gangster dramas. If the business works, we do it; if it doesn't, we don't. It's not that complicated."

*Perhaps that’s only how you see it,* Fu Lan thought. He took out his phone, glanced at it, and fell silent.

Shi Ningyu was driving with a calm but reckless frequency, cutting off other cars at dangerously close distances, which triggered a chorus of frustrated honking behind them.

Unable to stand the stifling atmosphere in the car, she turned up the music. After drumming her fingers on the steering wheel a few times, she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you always so preoccupied? Your eyebrows are practically knotted."

"That's just how middle-aged men are."

Seeing that he didn't want to elaborate, Shi Ningyu curled her lip and ignored him.

Before long, she arrived at their destination. After parking in the underground garage, they took the elevator up to the basement floor of the shopping mall.

Shi Ningyu wasn't in a hurry to meet their contact; instead, she took Fu Lan to McDonald's for dinner.

She polished off a Double Cheeseburger, a pineapple pie, the fries and snacks from the set meal, and then ordered a McFlurry to go. Only then did she clap her hands together and say to Fu Lan with great solemnity:

"Alright, perk up. Whatever you’re fretting over, don’t bring it upstairs, got it? Clear your head now!"

Fu Lan gave her a skeptical look. "Isn't it better to have your brain engaged when negotiating business?"

"I’m not telling you to turn your brain off, I’m saying clear it! Empty out all the distracting thoughts and then trust your first instinct," Shi Ningyu said, acting a bit neurotic yet perfectly serious. "Our negotiation opponent is a crafty old fox; he’s most wary of someone like you who overthinks things. Don't just sit there like a dummy believing everything he says, either."

*Why are you only telling me all these important details now?* Fu Lan complained to himself.

Still, he knew he tended to be indecisive, and he still couldn't shake the incident where Fu Linxing had discovered his secret... He finished his Coke in one gulp and decided to follow Shi Ningyu’s instructions for the time being.

"Also, the place we're meeting is a bit strange."

Shi Ningyu didn't explain why, clearly intending to give him a bit of a "newbie shock." Fu Lan didn't believe it could be that strange—it wasn't like it was a library.

However, when he arrived at the meeting point with the distributor, he was still stunned.

They weren't at a bar, a karaoke club, or some shady basement.

They were standing on the fourth floor of the shopping mall, surrounded by noisy laughter and the sounds of children screaming and playing. Apart from a few maternity and baby supply stores, the entire floor was filled with toy shops and indoor playgrounds.

Fu Lan followed Shi Ningyu through the colorful play equipment and stopped at the entrance of a large children's play area.

A bald man in an apron, who had just finished moving a set of archeological fossil toys for a table of children, looked up and saw them. He wiped his hands on his apron, his chubby, round face breaking into a friendly smile.

"Ms. Shi, is this Teacher Fu?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

Shi Ningyu nodded and introduced him to Fu Lan: "This is Boss Tian."

"Just call me Old Tian."

His eyes crinkled into slits when he smiled. Fu Lan couldn't reconcile this image with the term "crafty old fox," but he didn't let his guard down.

Old Tian invited them to sit at a table behind the counter, separated from the customers by only a low wall of toys. The children were busy playing with cars and digging in the sand, while the parents were occupied with their phones and their kids; no one paid them any mind.

*Are we really starting here?*

Hearing Old Tian get straight to the point and ask for the samples, Fu Lan realized this wasn't a sick joke.

Seeing Old Tian take the sample from Shi Ningyu and reach his hand out toward him, Fu Lan couldn't take it anymore.

"I’m sorry, Boss Tian," he said, standing up. "I think I’ll look for someone else."

"What’s wrong, Teacher Fu? Is the hospitality lacking? Sorry about that—I can't leave the shop floor right now, so I had to put you through this inconvenience."

"No, it’s just... I can't bring myself to do business with someone like this—someone who would involve Magic Ember with these... these children."

Fu Lan looked at the figures playing around him and had a momentary hallucination; the innocent laughter seemed to carry a hint of madness.

He looked down at Shi Ningyu, hesitating over whether to pull her away, but she only kept her eyes lowered, digging into her McFlurry as if silently mocking his overreaction.

Old Tian maintained his smiling expression, gently patted Fu Lan’s arm, and urged him to sit back down.

"Teacher Fu, it’s a misunderstanding. How could we do something so heartless?" Old Tian explained. "This shop is my personal property; it has nothing to do with that side of the business. I don't even use it for the accounting. It’s very clean."

"Is that so..."

"Absolutely, I guarantee it."

"Then... I apologize. I was too blunt just now." Fu Lan wiped his forehead in embarrassment.

Shi Ningyu sighed loudly enough for everyone to hear.

After this small disturbance, Fu Lan handed over the small bag of samples he had brought. Old Tian glanced at them briefly before picking up his phone and sending a message.

Before long, a young man dressed as a cleaner arrived at the shop and took the two samples away.

Even though Old Tian had offered an explanation, Fu Lan still felt a visceral sense of discomfort in this environment.

He couldn't help but remember ten years ago, when he was unemployed and staying home with the kids, often being dragged to places like this by Fu Linxing. Just hearing the sound of the bumper cars gave him PTSD...

During the wait, Old Tian made small talk, laughing bitterly about how his own child was already in elementary school but still loved coming to the shop to play, and complaining about how his wife ignored their son to spend all day scrolling through social media.

Fu Lan kept Shi Ningyu’s warning in mind, refusing to let his guard down or be tricked into revealing any personal family information.

After ten minutes of testing, Old Tian checked the results on his phone and said to Shi Ningyu, who had finished her McFlurry: "Snow White truly lives up to its reputation. If you can provide a stable supply of over 20 units per month, I’m willing to pay this much." He wrote a number on a piece of paper.

Shi Ningyu didn't even look at his offer and replied flatly: "I can't produce that much."

"Are there difficulties with the raw material supply? Ah, that happens... If I provide the raw materials on my end, how much can you do?"

"What's your asking price for the raw materials?"

Fu Lan listened to them haggle from the side, silently learning the ropes.

However, he felt Shi Ningyu’s arrogant attitude didn't have much reference value. *Is this how she’s always negotiated business? It’s a miracle she’s made it this far...*

In the end, Shi Ningyu rejected Old Tian’s proposal, preferring to source her own materials. Old Tian was still willing to buy her goods, though the price was lower.

After finishing with Shi Ningyu, Old Tian turned to Fu Lan: "Teacher Fu, Princess mentioned your ideas to me briefly. After seeing your product just now, the purity lies somewhere between salt and snow. Honestly, we usually don't sell this grade."