Wang Huanhuan strutted in with her assistant.
Yu Linglong couldn't help but lower her voice and curse, "Damn, I just can't help wanting to tear that Snake Spirit Face of hers to shreds!"
Gu Xiyan's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her visage tinged with a thread of worry, she sighed, "Forget it, let's not stoop to her level. Let's go in and take a look ourselves."
"Sigh, I feel like we've already lost the game; there's really no need to go in," Yu Linglong complained.
"Until the final outcome, who can say for certain that we've lost?" Gu Xiyan, pulling Yu Linglong along, spoke earnestly, "Don't lose heart so easily. We can talk like that when we're truly out of options."
The two women entered the café.
Trotsky had already taken a seat with Wang Huanhuan, and they seemed to be enjoying their conversation.
Gu Xiyan and Yu Linglong also took their seats, both composed and elegant. They casually ordered a cup of coffee from the server. Although Trotsky continued his dialogue with Wang Huanhuan, deliberately sidelining them, he couldn't help but sneak glances at them now and then.
To be fair, Wang Huanhuan had a good foundation, and she was originally quite attractive with six or seven points of beauty. After plastic surgery, to the men who favor her type of Snake Spirit Face, she could even compare to Gu Xiyan and wouldn't be out of place referred to as a goddess.
But who was Trotsky? A national master and a famous fashion guru, a creative director for internationally renowned luxury brands; he had his pick of countless women. How could a woman with the looks of Wang Huanhuan catch his eye?!
To him, only absolute beauties like Gu Xiyan and Yu Linglong, scoring close to a perfect ten, could pique his interest, leading him to endure nauseating conversations with mediocre and vulgar women like Wang Huanhuan, to invoke the feelings of urgency and panic in their hearts, so as to achieve his true purpose.
If not for this reason, why would he, someone constantly flying around to attend various fashion weeks, have the time to visit their modest company in River City for a collaboration?!
Seeing the displeased expressions and suppressed anger on the faces of Gu Xiyan and her companion, Trotsky knew that half of his plan was already complete.
What remained was to see whether they were willing to pay the price and how much sincerity they could offer.
Trotsky sneered inwardly, feeling an increasing heat at his lower abdomen.
After Gu Xiyan and Yu Linglong ordered their coffee and saw that Trotsky was still conversing with Wang Huanhuan, showing no signs of readiness to discuss a collaboration with them, Yu Linglong could no longer hold back her anger and asked, restraining her emotions:
"Mr. Trotsky, we agreed to meet here at eight-thirty for discussions. Your tardiness was already quite impolite. Now you've inexplicably brought Miss Wang, the CEO of Huanyue Company, and are ignoring us, what exactly do you mean by this? If you have no intention of collaborating with us, just say so. We won't cling on unnecessarily."
Yu Linglong's tone was aggressive, dropping the facade of polite courtesy. She was infuriated by Trotsky's arrogant attitude and no longer cared about the possibility of collaboration as she spoke.
Observing this, Gu Xiyan also sighed softly, holding back from saying anything more.
She, too, was dissatisfied with Trotsky's attitude. Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have no intention of collaborating with them. So it was better to be straightforward. If there really was no chance for collaboration, they could just leave and stop wasting time.
Thinking this, Gu Xiyan sat in her place, her hands grabbing her purse and a black plastic bag, which contained the new season's clothing samples from Face of Jade Company.
Indeed, she still harbored hopes for a collaboration with the luxury brand company behind Trotsky.
Seeing the vehemence in Yu Linglong's voice, Trotsky did not get upset but smiled faintly, timely ending his conversation with Wang Huanhuan.
He turned his head toward Yu Linglong and said with casual indifference, "I apologize for being late, but I didn't plan to leave the two ladies hanging. I was just enjoying my conversation with Ms. Wang and forgot to attend to you, for which I apologize again. As for why our discussion has included Ms. Wang, it's simply because I'm aware of the strength her company possesses in River City, hence my indecision about the collaboration here in River City led me to think…"
Trotsky's words were to the point, but also quite clear.
He simply wanted to see which company's cooperation proposal was better, whose price was higher, and whose sincerity was greater—he would then choose to collaborate with that party.
Hearing Trotsky clarify, although there was still a hint of mockery, the expressions of Yu Linglong and Gu Xiyan softened somewhat.
Situations like this were all too common in cooperation talks and, as the weaker party, there was no choice but to hold one's tongue and continue the negotiations if they wished to proceed.
Trotsky was a master of pace. Seeing that his words had given Gu Xiyan and the other woman a glimmer of hope, triggering their fantasies and compelling them to swallow their pride, the heat and amusement in his eyes grew even more intense.
Shifting his tone, he laughed again, "Last night, right after I landed in River City, it was Ms. Wang who personally came to pick me up and I had a rather lengthy interaction with her. I have already been made aware of her cooperation proposal. She has a grand vision and also allowed me to see the thoughtful sincerity she brought."
As Gu Xiyan and Yu Linglong listened to Trotsky, they felt that something was off, sensing as if he was hinting at something.
Last night, cooperation proposal, grand vision, thoughtful sincerity... The more they thought about these keywords, the more uneasy they felt.
But without evidence, they couldn't say anything.
And although they had no proof, they weren't fools. Upon understanding Trotsky's insinuation, bitterness inevitably welled up in their hearts.
No wonder, for small companies like theirs, hoping to discuss a cooperation with an international luxury brand's creative director like Trotsky, he surprisingly agreed readily.
They had fancied that he had agreed not with ulterior motives, but maybe because he liked the clothing they designed.
But now, it seemed their delusions had ultimately been shattered...
Feeling disheartened, they forgot to throw a fit on the spot and storm off.
Trotsky saw that after hearing his words, both women's cheeks flushed with redness, their eyes flashing with shame, anger, and grievance.
He understood that they got the message.
When he saw that they comprehended his hint yet didn't leave, he mistakenly believed that they were ready to present their cooperation proposal and demonstrate their grand vision in a plea to work with him.
Feeling proud, Trotsky spoke up again, "So, I suppose, as the ones who approached me about collaboration first, your proposal must be even more thoroughly prepared, and your sincerity couldn't be any less, right?"
Wang Huanhuan sat aside, coolly observing Trotsky control the flow of the conversation, guiding the emotional ups and downs of Gu Xiyan and company. Her expression was indifferent, but inside she was extremely displeased.
She knew she had been used by Trotsky and understood that Gu Xiyan and the other woman were in fact Trotsky's prey, with herself nothing more than a pawn used for his pursuit of pleasure.
However, she was not worried that Gu Xiyan and her partner would sell themselves out for the sake of cooperating with Trotsky.
Because she knew that proud women like them would never offer the kind of thoughtful sincerity she had given the previous night to Trotsky...
Therefore, the collaboration was bound to be hers alone.