The Substitute Bride

Charles nodded gravely upon hearing this. "Okay, please go prepare the meeting room."

David wanted to express his advice as he threw a look at his boss. But he restrained himself as Charles already had his nose in the files to get familiar with the relevant information. Obviously, he was determined to grab every minute to devote himself to the work. So David could only leave the office at that moment.

When David had left, Charles continued to prepare for the meeting. He always believed in the saying, 'If you know your enemy as well as yourself, then there is no need to fear a hundred battles.'

"President Lu, it's time to go," David said, knocking on Charles' door.

Charles nodded as he went straight to the meeting room without any hesitation.

"President Lu, I've heard a lot about you!" President Xu rose from his seat as he greeted Charles with a polite smile.

He was a man several years older than Charles, and he looked like he was already in his fifties.

"President Xu, how do you do? Welcome to our company," Charles responded with a smile as he reached out to shake hands.

Both parties began to negotiate on the project as they sat down. Charles liked the way President Xu went straight to business without beating around the bush.

However, the negotiation didn't go as smoothly as Charles had hoped. President Xu seemed to be making too many requests as if he was doing it on purpose.

It wasn't that Charles couldn't handle a situation like this. He was just a little confused. Even though this was his first time working with President Xu, he'd heard that President Xu was quite easy to work with. However, this didn't seem to be the case now. It was clear that something was up. Charles couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

"President Xu, what do you think about this project?" Charles handed the letter of intention to President Xu as he tried his best to clear his mind. He wanted this partnership to work.

President Xu didn't look at the letter; instead, he looked Charles in the eye and grinned. "President Lu, I heard that you're an excellent drinker."

"Yeah, I can hold my liquor." Charles frowned at the idea for a split second. He quickly shifted his face in fear that President Xu would notice.

"This is perfect. Let's

hanging up his call with Stella. He was curious about what kind of person Vicky really was.

In front of him, she was sweet and humble, as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong. Yet behind his back, she was easily angered by trivial things.

"Vicky, let's see how long you can keep up the act in front of me," Charles murmured to himself as he sneered.

It was almost time for their appointment with President Xu. He had asked David to accompany him to the hotel where President Xu was staying. He knew that tonight was going to be quite eventful.

Yet Charles wasn't nervous. He was used to business niceties like this. When he first took over the Shining Company Group, he often grabbed a drink with his business partners. It was a regular thing. As years passed, he was able to establish his position, which excused him from participating in such activities.

"President Lu, you don't have to go there in person. I can meet him on your behalf." David knew Charles well enough that he wouldn't agree. However, he still wanted to offer just in case.

"Are you questioning my competency? Or are you talking about the letter of intention?" Charles asked as he looked at David calmly.

David shook his head immediately. Those were not his concerns at all. He just didn't want President Lu to be drinking so much that it would be harmful to his health. On top of that, he couldn't shake off the feeling that President Lu was just playing them, and he didn't want to be partners with them on this project.