Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 203: Unbelievably Young at 203! Toast Refusal Means Punishment Drink【1 Update】

Chapter 203: Unbelievably Young at 203! Toast Refusal Means Punishment Drink【1 Update】

With Jiang Xulin’s guidance, the Blonde Man was able to enter the dedicated elevator.

At this moment, his heart was nervously intertwined with a bit of complexity.

He had initially underestimated Pulling the Sky Company, but to his surprise, found himself played like a pawn in their hands.

The chairman of Pulling the Sky must be a highly shrewd and scheming individual.

Having held the position of President of the Saint Leys Shenzhou Region for only two years, he still couldn’t help feeling a bit intimidated when facing such an adversary.

By the time he reached the twenty-fourth floor and the chairman’s office, the Blonde Man’s hands were still trembling, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"Chairman Ye," Jiang Xulin knocked on the door, glanced at the Blonde Man, and then spoke, "The President of the Saint Leys Shenzhou Region has come a long way to see you, arriving exactly as you predicted."

At these words, the Blonde Man suddenly froze in place.

"Enter."

The clear, cold voice fell, like a chill breeze stirring up.

The door was opened, and light flooded in.

After the Blonde Man was led in, he finally saw the person seated behind the black desk.

It was a girl, not even dressed in formal wear, just casual summer clothes.

But as she sat there, she seemed like a queen reincarnated, scrutinizing everything.

The Blonde Man’s brain ceased to function, and all thoughts scattered in an instant.

Wasn’t this the assistant who had followed Jiang Xulin to their Jiangcheng branch that day?

How could she be the chairman of Pulling the Sky Company?!

The young woman in front of him was certainly not over twenty years old!

Yet, she exuded a restrained power, accumulated over the years, that made it impossible to meet her gaze.

It took a long while for the Blonde Man to snap back to reality, but he immediately lowered his head and spoke with difficulty, "Chairman Ye, we were wrong in this matter, I apologize, please be magnanimous."

"I said the negotiations are over," Ye Wanlan’s voice was faint, "I gave you a chance before, but unfortunately, you did not seize it firmly."

And to defeat an enemy, one must exert full effort.

Otherwise, leaving the opponent time to recuperate and make a comeback would be tantamount to digging one’s own grave.

This was something she would never do.

"It’s us who..." the Blonde Man now fully realized that the previous negotiation had been Pulling the Sky’s final lifeline to him.

But at the time, he was so confident and utterly unaware of it being a warning, thus he missed the chance to survive.

He wasn’t yet forty this year, at the prime of his career, and he didn’t want it to end like this!

"I can retract the lawsuit, but I want you to withdraw from the Shenzhou market within three days," Ye Wanlan was quick to discern his thoughts, "Otherwise, we’ll see you in international court."

The Blonde Man’s lips quivered violently, and his face turned ashen, "It doesn’t have to come to this. Moreover, it’s not something I can decide on my own whether we can withdraw from the Shenzhou market or not."

He had not reported to headquarters or to the MN conglomerate from the start because he believed he had a sure win in this business war with Pulling the Sky.

But he never anticipated that it was all a trap laid by the opponent.

He hadn’t even realized until it was too late that he was already utterly defeated.

"That’s not my concern," Ye Wanlan lifted her head, "One must pay the appropriate price for their actions, don’t they?"

The Blonde Man took a deep breath, "Chairman Ye, don’t you think this is a bit too harsh?"

Hearing this, Ye Wanlan smiled abruptly, "Harsh? I admit it."

Harsh?

Indeed, very harsh.

But if not, more companies like Saint Leys would follow suit, silently stealing Shenzhou’s culture.

The Blonde Man knew that no amount of pleading would help now, "I will contact headquarters and convey all of Chairman Ye’s sentiments. If it weren’t for your company registering..."

If it weren’t for Pulling the Sky registering the copyright early and even keeping their own employees in the dark, Saint Leys would be the ultimate victor in this battle!

"Ah, you people from Saint Leys really do love turning things on their head," Fang Qingli snorted coldly, "It was you who initiated poaching and plagiarism. Our chairman simply took precautions in advance. If you’re not as skilled, shut your mouth."

Finally, Ye Wanlan spoke again, concise and to the point with one word, "Leave."

The Blonde Man left the chairman’s office in a disgraceful state.

"This really did release a lot of pent-up frustration," Jiang Xulin was in high spirits, "The new recruits have also started learning Su embroidery and signed non-disclosure and non-compete agreements to prevent this kind of thing from happening again."

Ye Wanlan nodded, "Yes, with regards to Su embroidery, we don’t need to hide it. We still want to promote it extensively. The more people know it, the more the culture will thrive. But the coveters, not a single one can stay."

"You really are..." Jiang Xulin was somewhat surprised, shaking his head, "If it were another boss, they would hide all unique skills, but you actually want to promote them."

Ye Wanlan smiled, "Earning money is not my goal. It’s to ensure the smooth accomplishment of my targets."

"And what are your targets?" Jiang Xulin stroked his chin, "But I’ll be honest, money doesn’t interest me much either; it’s probably the only thing I’m not lacking."

Fang Qingli clenched her teeth and formed a fist, striking him on the head.

"Hey!" Jiang Xulin held his head, "What are you doing? You’ve returned to the Fang Family; you’re not short of money."

Fang Qingli sneered, "That doesn’t stop me from despising the rich, especially rich like you."

Jiang Xulin: "..."

"The goal?" Ye Wanlan gazed into the distance, smiling faintly, "To build a true national brand recognized internationally, to take Shenzhou culture to the world."

That was her goal.

Hearing this, Jiang Xulin let out a long sigh, "That’s a pretty big goal. Not to hide from you, my aunt has been at it for so long and still hasn’t achieved that."

Indeed, Shenzhou had many skills, whether it was ancient jewelry or Cloud Brocade and Su embroidery, each one of them was capable of astounding the world.

Brocade was said to be "worth its weight in gold", and its value was incomparable to that of the garments and handbags of international top luxury brands.

But it was precisely the lack of a successful brand that prevented these crafts from having sufficient space to thrive on the international stage.

"That’s why it’s a goal," Ye Wanlan said lazily. "Things that aren’t difficult, aren’t called goals; they’re called trivial."

Jiang Xulin fell silent.

Always proud of his talents and himself, but ever since he met Ye Wanlan, it was as if he had wandered into a world of some abnormal madmen.

**

The plagiarism scandal between Saint Leys and Pulling the Sky Company had become the hottest discussion topic these days.

In the community, many people had spontaneously started organizing boycott campaigns against Saint Leys.

For a time, Saint Leys stores in major cities across Shenzhou were as empty as a ghost town.

[Didn’t we agree that whoever plagiarizes will exit the Shenzhou market? Saint Leys won’t go back on their word, right?]

[Anyone can use Su embroidery, even the patterns are identical, this is theft!]

[I was a loyal customer of Saint Leys, but from today onwards, I will no longer buy their clothes. I will start the boycott against plagiarism.]

However, the Blonde Man no longer had the luxury to care about these issues since it involved stealing competitors’ company secrets; his own position was at stake.

With the issue blowing up, news naturally reached the headquarters—

Starman Federal Empire, MN Corporation.

MN Corporation was one of the largest luxury empires in the world, with dozens of luxury brands from various fields under its banner.

Saint Leys, a light luxury label, isn’t even in the top thirty within the MN Corporation.

Yet the impact of this issue was severe, and MN Corporation also had to intervene.

"Those senior executives in the Shenzhou Division certainly won’t be able to keep their positions," said the assistant in a low voice, "but for Saint Leys to withdraw from the Shenzhou market..."

That was essentially a slap in the face of MN Corporation.

"You tell this Pulling the Sky Company, our headquarters is already aware of the issue caused by the Saint Leys Shenzhou Division," the Director said with a hint of disdain, "Saint Leys will not withdraw from the Shenzhou market, even if we agreed, their Shenzhou consumers wouldn’t accept it."

The assistant was surprised but could understand, "Yes."

"Our biggest concession is to publicly apologize and replace all high-level executives in the Shenzhou Division," the Director said coldly, "Nothing else is possible."

"But the other side’s attitude is very tough," the assistant hesitated, "If we can’t provide a perfect compensation plan, it might indeed deal a severe blow to the company’s revenue..."

"It’s not that I don’t want to bow down; unfortunately, the ones with the shortest memories are these Shenzhou consumers," the Director sneered contemptuously, "Even if there’s a boycott in the short term, so what? As time passes, this incident will eventually be turned over, and their consumers will flock again."

Five years ago, Seres, one of the three biggest top luxury brands in the world, insulted Shenzhou in a promotional video with a scene intentionally or unintentionally referencing the Battle of the Armies from 300 years ago.

Once the issue erupted, there was a national boycott, and ultimately Seres apologized and pulled the video.

But in the end, the matter was left unresolved.

And today, Seres’s revenue in Shenzhou still reaches several billions each year, with queues lining up outside stores when releasing new season’s collections.

The assistant understood, "I will make the call right away."

A transnational call was made, ringing in the Chairman’s office where Ye Wanlan was located.

Ye Wanlan answered and pressed the speakerphone.

Fang Qingli caught on and took out a voice recorder.

Upon hearing the response from MN Corporation, Jiang Xulin jumped up in anger, "You—"

Ye Wanlan stopped him, her voice calm, "Is that so?"

"Do you know who will suffer losses and be affected in the end?" laughed the Director, "It’s those inheritors of your intangible cultural heritage craftsmanship!"

Jiang Xulin’s face looked extremely ugly.

"Tell me, however strong your Shenzhou cultural heritage is, what’s the use of having a history of five thousand years?" the Director shook his head, "All these years, do you have any luxury brands that are recognized by the international community and the public? No."

With what could they compete against the MN Corporation, which had countless luxury brands under its command?

It’s better not to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.