Disobedience To Control chapter 9
Where We Don’t Meet
When Song Siheng arrived at the restaurant Li Ke had reserved, it was ten minutes before ten.
“Don’t worry, he hasn’t arrived yet.” Li Ke rushed to meet him as he entered.
“The clothes, give them to me.” He reached out to Li Ke.
Li Ke immediately handed him a large, neatly folded storage bag containing a set of well-ironed dark blue suits.
Inside the restaurant corridor, just beyond the door, was the restroom. Song Siheng went in with the bag and emerged neatly dressed within a few minutes. He then adjusted his tie in front of the mirror above the sink.
“Do you have your bag with you?” Straightening up, he walked out of the restroom and saw Li Ke waiting by the door.
Understanding his meaning, Li Ke took the hoodie hanging on his forearm and neatly folded it into the bag.
“When did you start liking oversized clothes?” Li Ke asked with a smile.
Song Siheng was momentarily stunned, not answering.
“You didn’t go home last night?” Li Ke asked.
Song Siheng hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat. “I went to work out in the morning and forgot to bring clothes.”
“You work out in suit pants?”
Song Siheng didn’t explain further but followed him into the reserved private room.
Sicheng company originally started with intelligent terminal accessories for foreign giants. Two years ago, Song Siheng established a complete supply chain domestically and began operating his own brand. Earlier this year, he established production lines for smart watches and glasses domestically. This business quickly caught the attention of foreign brands.
The R&D cost of Sicheng was significantly lower than that of overseas brands, but the hardware standards and quality were leading in the industry. For foreign brands, using Sicheng’s production lines for their own products was tantamount to saving a considerable amount of development costs, making it a lucrative opportunity.
“Why did you schedule this time? It’s neither early nor late.” Song Siheng adjusted his shirt cuffs and took a seat first.
“Foreigners, you know, they’re used to this schedule. They said they wanted to try Chinese brunch. They just landed yesterday, so they’re probably still adjusting to the time difference.”
In fact, the terms of cooperation had been more or less settled when both sides had figured out the profit sharing. But every time there had to be this kind of formal meeting, which made Song Siheng somewhat annoyed.
After a whole morning, Song Siheng wore a forced smile, his mouth almost stiff, before finally seeing the guests off. Fortunately, he obtained some useful information.
Currently, several industry giants have embedded medical functions into wearable devices. If Sicheng could quickly obtain medical device certification qualifications, the other party would provide more order demands. This would allow Song Siheng to earn several times more cash than he currently did.
This was a crucial step for Sicheng, which aimed to go public in three to five years.
In fact, Song Siheng had been pushing for this matter half a year ago. However, the medical qualification audit process was long, with strict and complex standards. Many international brands would choose to directly acquire companies with production experience and qualifications.
However, these tasks couldn’t be completed overnight. Even if Song Siheng was impatient, he could only pan for gold in the market and wait for good news.
After arranging for the car to take the guests away, Li Ke returned to the private room to meet with Song Siheng.
“The market has become picky nowadays. Just having heart rate and sleep indices isn’t enough anymore. Many second-tier brands have released functions like blood oxygen and blood pressure. Going forward, even blood sugar and mental illnesses could be monitored using smart devices.”
Song Siheng nodded. “The two suppliers we discussed earlier, we can push further with them. If they have any thoughts on pricing, we can negotiate.”
Sicheng’s cash flow was still abundant, and Song Siheng had some bargaining chips left.
Li Ke understood his meaning and nodded in agreement.
The car back was driven by Li Ke. Song Siheng opened the passenger door and got in.
He adjusted the seatback and fastened his seatbelt.
“Is this yours?”
Li Ke reached into the gap beside the center console and pulled out a small item.
Song Siheng was about to close his eyes and rest, but when he heard Li Ke’s voice, he lifted his eyelids again.
A light gray glove with a white sheep embroidered on it.
Song Siheng paused for a moment, then reached out to take the glove and stuffed it into his coat pocket. “Yes, it’s mine.”
Li Ke didn’t say anything, just started the car without looking at him.
As Li Ke drove towards Song Siheng’s home, they had only been on the road for five minutes when Song Siheng’s phone vibrated.
He glanced at it and was somewhat surprised by the name on the screen.
It was actually a call from Song Qin.
After a moment of thought, he answered the call.
“Yes.”
“How did you know we had this need?”
“Okay, if you can introduce me, we can meet and discuss.”
Half a minute later, Song Siheng hung up the phone.
“Your brother’s call?” Li Ke asked softly.
“He has sharp ears.” Song Siheng breathed a sigh of relief. “The sun rises in the west. He said he knows a medical component supplier and can help me make a connection.”
Like his father, Song Qin was also a medical student. Unlike Song Ping and Fu Xuehua, Song Qin eventually became a teacher and engaged in scientific research. He had also been immersed in the medical field for many years, so it wasn’t surprising that he had some medical-related resources, even though he wasn’t in clinical practice.
“But how did he know we were looking for suppliers? Have you been in contact with him recently?” Song Siheng turned to ask.
Li Ke shook his head. “I haven’t been in touch with him for a while.”
The red light turned green, and Li Ke stepped on the accelerator to start again.
“But you still surprise me.” Li Ke teased.
“What’s surprising?” Song Siheng locked his phone again.
“I thought you wouldn’t accept your brother’s help.” Li Ke smiled.
“I’m a businessman, I have no grudges with him, and why not make money if I can?” Song Siheng spun his phone in his palm. “After all, I’ve even gotten up early to have brunch with foreigners. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
Seeing Song Siheng indirectly jabbing at him again, Li Ke just smiled and didn’t say anything further.
As they were about to get off the car, Song Siheng remembered Fu Xuehua’s words from last time and turned to Li Ke. “My mom asked about you last time, said you should visit them more often.”
Li Ke touched his nose and smiled. “Mr. Song, if you don’t go home yourself, how can I, your secretary, fulfill that filial duty for you?”
“Our relationship with them is complicated.” Song Siheng swung one leg out of the car door. “Having a good son like Song Qin with them is enough.”
“Is it okay to park the car here?” Li Ke turned off the engine, preparing to get out of the car.
“You can drive back, it’s cold.” Song Siheng waved his hand. “I’ll drive my SUV to the office on Monday.”
Li Ke didn’t refuse and closed the car door for him. However, as the car started moving, Li Ke stopped the engine and got out of the car.
Song Siheng hadn’t reached the elevator yet when he turned back to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
Li Ke held up his phone. “The foreigners have another new arrangement. They said there’s a party tonight, and they insist on you being there.”
Song Siheng hadn’t even caught his breath yet. “Damn.”
On a good weekend, they didn’t even leave him any space to rest.
“Go back and get some rest. I’ll pick you up at 7 in the evening.” Li Ke said, then turned and got back into the car.
Alone in the elevator, Song Siheng arrived home, where the housekeeper had already set up the temperature and humidity control system in advance. Song Siheng had always been prone to feeling cold since he was young, and in autumn and winter, his hands and feet would feel cold. Fu Xuehua had tried various methods to help him, both traditional Chinese and Western medicine, but with little effect. This had led him to live alone as an adult, always setting up heating devices early every year.
There was already some warmth in the room, so Song Siheng took off his coat and hung it in the closet. Just before closing the cabinet door, he remembered something and reached into his pocket, pulling out the light gray glove and tossing it into the drawer in the entranceway.
At 7 o’clock in the evening, Li Ke arrived at the underground parking lot below Song Siheng’s building on time.
Song Siheng changed into casual clothes and got into the passenger seat.
“Where to?” Song Siheng fastened his seatbelt and turned to ask.
“To the west side of the city.” Li Ke had also changed his clothes. He had accompanied Song Siheng to many occasions and had prepared quite a few outfits.
The car drove onto the main road, and twenty minutes later, Song Siheng started feeling a sense of familiarity with the route.
After another five minutes, Li Ke parked the car. Song Siheng looked up and was slightly stunned.
They had actually returned to that familiar club.
“Here?” Song Siheng opened the car door and got out.
“Yes, don’t you remember coming here?” Li Ke closed the car door for him and walked in front of him.
Song Siheng had been here more than once.
The grand opening flower basket at the entrance had been removed, and the entrance and ground had been cleaned again. Song Siheng followed Li Ke into the club, feeling somewhat fortunate. It was a good thing that Yang Xiaobei had resigned.
When they arrived, several foreigners had already taken their seats and waved enthusiastically at them.
“Song, nice to see you again!”
Song Siheng put on a social smile and glanced at the seating area. They had conveniently left two adjacent seats for them.
Li Ke gestured for Song Siheng to sit first. He walked in and took his seat. Then Li Ke sat next to him.
Tonight’s party had quite a few people, and the seats were even more crowded than the last time at Young Master Lin’s gathering. Song Siheng’s legs almost touched Li Ke’s.
Li Ke also noticed his discomfort and moved over a bit, leaving a palm’s distance between them. Unfortunately, it didn’t help much.
There was nothing on the table, obviously they hadn’t ordered any drinks yet.
As the host, Song Siheng couldn’t neglect this. He lightly tapped Li Ke’s arm. Li Ke naturally understood his meaning and raised his hand to call over a waiter.
Soon, a waiter approached from nearby.
Song Siheng was originally looking down at his phone, but suddenly felt a shadow cast over him. He subconsciously looked up and instantly froze in place.
The waiter also paused for half a second, then quickly raised his eyebrows and smiled, asking, “Who’s ordering?”
Li Ke took the drink menu from Song Siheng and looked at it, then turned to ask the others what they wanted. However, due to the cramped space, Li Ke’s arm inevitably brushed against Song Siheng. Song Siheng, however, didn’t move at all.
Amidst the noisy surroundings, the waiter looked between the two of them, his gaze lingering for a moment.
Song Siheng stared straight back at him, his eyes filled with confusion and anger.