Two days later.

Zhao Rui appeared at the office again.

This time he wasn't here to negotiate. He was here to sign the letter of intent.

The atmosphere in the conference room was even more tense than last time.

Liu Wei sat at the head of the table. A stack of documents sat in front of him. His fingers tapped the surface nonstop.

Liu Xin sat to his right. He held a teacup. His eyes kept darting around.

Two sales reps huddled in the corner. Barely daring to breathe.

The door pushed open. Zhao Rui walked in wearing a dark blue suit. His leather shoes gleamed. He looked around. A faint smile played at the corner of his mouth.

Two assistants stood behind him, one on each side. Like two walls.

"Team Leader Liu, my board approved it," Zhao Rui said as he took the head seat. He crossed his legs. "But the terms have changed."

"What terms?" Liu Wei asked.

"You get the west side of the city. But I want the east-side channels too. Joint operation? Seven-thirty split. I take seven."

Liu Wei's expression shifted. "Director Zhao, this isn't what we discussed before..."

"What we discussed before was just an intent," Zhao Rui smiled. "Intents can change at any time."

Liu Xin gripped his pen. His knuckles went white. He couldn't even hold his teacup steady.

The two sales reps exchanged glances. Desperation filled their eyes.

Su Cheng sat in the corner. An open notebook lay in front of him. Not a single word written inside.

"Director Zhao," Liu Wei said with difficulty. His voice sounded dry. "You're putting us in a difficult position..."

"Then don't do it."

The room went dead silent.

Nobody dared to move.

Zhao Rui stood up. He pushed his chair back half a step. "Let me be straight with you. I never planned on a deep partnership. A small company. Less than two hundred million in annual revenue. And you want to talk exclusivity with me?"

He scoffed.

Snap — he slammed his lighter onto the table.

"I came today to give you face. Sign or not. Up to you."

He tossed the pen onto the table. The cap popped open. It spun twice before stopping.

"Sign, and I'll have my people wire the money. Don't sign — forget it."

Liu Wei's hands trembled.

Liu Xin lowered his head. His fingernails dug into his palm.

The two sales reps barely dared to breathe.

Zhao Rui swept his eyes across everyone. Very satisfied.

"Nobody's talking? I'll take that as agreement."

He bent down to pick up the pen.

A voice came from the doorway.

"Then don't sign it."

Everyone turned around.

Su Cheng leaned back in his chair. Somehow, a glass of water had appeared in his hand.

Zhao Rui straightened up. He frowned. "Who are you?"

"An intern."

"An intern?" Zhao Rui laughed out loud. "An intern calling the shots for your team leader?"

"I'm not calling the shots for him." Su Cheng took a sip of water. "I'm calling the shots for your Zhao family."

Zhao Rui's smile froze.

"What do you mean?"

Su Cheng set down the glass. His voice was calm. Unhurried.

"At 11 PM the night before last, your father's financial director was auditing your company's Q3 accounts."

Zhao Rui blinked.

"Your father called you three times. You didn't pick up a single one. He sat in the living room all night. At 3 AM he was still going through your company's reports."

Su Cheng paused.

"At 5 AM, he sent you a message."

The conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Su Cheng looked Zhao Rui straight in the eye. Each word deliberate.

"'Rui. Don't mess around out there. Our family can't take the fallout.' "

Zhao Rui's face went pale. Visibly.

Liu Wei whipped his head toward Su Cheng. His mouth hung open. He couldn't close it.

Liu Xin's pen clattered onto the table. He didn't even bother picking it up.

The two sales reps gripped each other's arms. Their eyes bulged.

"You..." Zhao Rui's voice tightened. "How do you know that..."

"Your father's personal phone called mine last night."

"You—" Zhao Rui shot to his feet. His chair flew backward. "What nonsense are you spouting?!"

"You can call him to verify."

Su Cheng calmly pulled his phone from his pocket and placed it on the table.

The screen was lit up. The contacts page was open. The name "Zhao Zhenguo" was clearly saved.

Zhao Rui stared at that name. His pupils shrank.

"Want me to dial it?" Su Cheng asked.

Nobody spoke.

Zhao Rui's hands shook.

He looked at Su Cheng's phone. Then at Su Cheng's face.

Thirty seconds.

For a full thirty seconds, the only sound in the conference room was the hum of the ceiling air conditioning.

Then Zhao Rui bent down and picked up the letter of intent from the table.

Everyone thought he was going to sign it.

Rrrrip.

He tore it.

First tear — split it down the middle. Second tear — four pieces. Third tear — shredded paper scattered across the table.

"Today never happened. Pretend I was never here."

He turned and walked out.

At the door, he stopped. He looked back at Su Cheng.

"Kid. Just wait."

The door slammed shut.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Fading further and further away.

The conference room was so quiet you could hear a needle hit the floor.

Liu Wei sat with his mouth open. He stared at Su Cheng. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Those things you said... were they true?"

"They were."

"How do you have Zhao Zhenguo's phone number?"

Su Cheng smiled. "A friend told me."

He offered nothing more.

Liu Xin finally picked up his pen from the table. He wiped the tea stain off it. "That's not a number a normal friend would have."

"No," Su Cheng said. He didn't deny it.

Liu Wei slumped back into his chair. He let out a long breath. "Kid... you saved my life today."

"Not that dramatic."

"It is." Liu Wei pointed at the pile of torn paper. "If this deal had fallen through, my year-end review would be done for. But if I'd signed on his terms — the money the company lost, I'd be carrying that debt for three years."

Su Cheng said nothing.

Liu Wei stared at him for a long while. In the end, he didn't press further.

"Fine. I won't ask. You, kid..." He stood up. He patted Su Cheng's shoulder. "You've got something."

When he pushed the door open and walked out, his steps were much lighter than when he'd walked in.

Liu Xin was still sitting.

"You're not leaving?" Su Cheng asked.

"Gonna sit a bit longer," Liu Xin said. "My legs are a little weak."

Su Cheng smiled.

All afternoon, one thing spread through the entire office —

The new intern had made the Zhao Group Young Master tear up the contract with a single sentence in the conference room.

In the pantry, the two sales reps were reenacting the scene.

"He was just like this — put the phone down on the table —"

"Stop acting, stop acting. I need to ask him in person..."

Sister Lin walked over with a coffee. She stopped at Su Cheng's desk.

"Su Cheng. What exactly are you?"

"An ordinary person."

"An ordinary person has the Zhao Group chairman's personal phone number?"

"I happen to know someone."

"Who?"

"An auntie."

"What kind of auntie lets you save Zhao Zhenguo's private number?"

Su Cheng thought about it. "An auntie who cooks really well."

Sister Lin choked.

She held her coffee cup. She wanted to ask more. But she didn't know how.

"Fine... If you don't want to say, I won't ask."

She turned, walked two steps, then looked back. "By the way — that auntie of yours. Does she need a goddaughter?"

Su Cheng shook his head, smiling.

After Sister Lin left, Su Cheng checked his phone.

Fourth Senior Brother had just replied with a message:

"Zhao Real Estate's weak point is the land plot in the south of the city. Their capital chain — breaks in Q3. Control the pace."

Su Cheng read it. Deleted it.

5:30 PM.

He packed up his things. Ready to clock out.

Liu Xin came out of the office and called to him.

"Su Cheng."

"Yeah?"

"What happened in the conference room today... I'm not here to ask how you knew." Liu Xin paused. "But I want to warn you — Zhao Rui isn't someone to mess with. His father Zhao Zhenguo even less so. You slapped his son's face in public today. He won't just let it go."

"I know."

"Good that you know." Liu Xin pulled a business card from his pocket. Looked at it. Handed it over. "This is a contact of mine. Deputy captain of the city bureau's criminal investigation unit. If Zhao Rui tries any dirty tricks — call him."

Su Cheng took the card. Glanced at it. A name and a phone number were printed on it.

"Thanks, Brother Liu."

"Don't mention it." Liu Xin turned away. "I just feel... you're different from other people."

He walked two steps. Then looked back. "Also — that line you said today. 'Calling the shots for your Zhao family.' That was hard."

Su Cheng tucked the card away and stepped into the elevator.

Before the doors closed, he saw through the crack that Liu Xin was still standing in the corridor. Looking in his direction.

The doors shut.

His phone rang.

Third Senior Sister.

"Little Junior Brother. Flying to Shenzhen tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"What time?"

"9:40 flight."

"Alright." Keyboard clacking echoed from her end. "I upgraded your seat. First class, row one, window."

"No need to go to that trouble..."

"I said I upgraded it, so I upgraded it. Don't argue. If you squeeze your back in economy class, Big Sister will find out and yell at me."

Su Cheng smiled. "Okay."

"I've arranged a contact for you in Shenzhen. One of my old subordinates. One of our own."

"Got it."

"And —" Third Senior Sister lowered her voice. "I covered for you with Big Sister. She knows you're on a business trip and would insist on sending a car. Be careful on your own."

"She knows I'm going to Shenzhen?"

"What doesn't she know?" Third Senior Sister snorted. "She's just pretending she doesn't. Do what you need to do. Just don't expose too much."

"Understood."

"Alright, I'm hanging up. Text me when you land tomorrow."

"Okay."

Su Cheng ended the call and walked out of the office building.

The autumn wind was a bit cold.

He zipped up his jacket and looked up at the sky.

In the southeast, behind a layer of clouds, a plane was descending for landing.

He muttered to himself.

"Three months of mortal trial... and it's only the third day."

End of Chapter 3: One Sentence