Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 9
Lock Screen Password
The day of the negotiation arrived quickly.
Before leaving home, Gu Jiahe hesitated for a moment, then decided to change into a shirt and put on a tie.
He was used to being casual at work, wearing whatever he wanted. Often, he would rotate between two T-shirts throughout the summer. But now that he was representing the company, he naturally had to pay more attention to his appearance.
When he walked into the office, Wu Mou was already there.
“Hey, Xiao Gu, all dressed up today,” Wu Mou teased.
Gu Jiahe scratched his head and walked to his desk.
Not far away, by the water dispenser, Li Zhao glanced over and paused for a few seconds as his gaze landed on Gu Jiahe.
Li Zhao was dressed in a shirt and tie, looking no different from usual.
“Let’s go.” After cleaning his cup, Li Zhao returned to his desk and picked up his laptop bag.
Wu Mou called out to Gu Jiahe, “Xiao Gu, why don’t you ride with Lawyer Li today? I’ll take two of our junior colleagues.”
Gu Jiahe had already resigned himself to this arrangement, so he simply nodded and went along with it. It didn’t matter much to him.
After getting into the car, he remembered something and pulled out a small item from his trouser pocket, placing it on Li Zhao’s center console.
“Is this your keychain?”
The little Iron Man sat on the center console, looking somewhat lonely and comical.
Li Zhao glanced at it, nodding. “Ah, I left it at your place last time?”
“Yeah. Take care of it.”
Li Zhao took it, putting it into his own bag without saying anything else.
The company they were visiting was on the other side of the city, at least a forty-minute drive away. Adding to the commute was the morning rush hour traffic, making progress on the elevated highway painfully slow.
“Could you navigate? Is there a route that avoids the elevated highway?” Li Zhao took his phone off the mount and handed it to Gu Jiahe.
Gu Jiahe was lost in thought when he was suddenly interrupted and quickly took the phone.
Li Zhao’s phone was locked.
“The password?”
“314655.”
“Got it.”
Gu Jiahe entered the six digits on the keypad, feeling like he had seen this sequence somewhere before but couldn’t recall.
Oh well, there were plenty of combinations of numbers, he might have dialed something similar himself at some point.
The phone unlocked with a beep, and Gu Jiahe opened the navigation app, inputting the address of the other company to find a more suitable route.
Soon, he found a route that took them through the city’s small roads under the elevated highway.
“It’s set.” Gu Jiahe turned up the volume and placed the phone back on the mount.
As soon as Li Zhao got off the elevated highway at the exit, he stepped on the gas pedal hard, and the car shot forward. Gu Jiahe gripped his seatbelt tightly, startled.
The inner-city roads were narrow, but Li Zhao’s car weaved in and out, not missing any opportunity to accelerate.
Gu Jiahe’s heart was in his throat. He wanted to say that it was still early, and there was no need to rush like this.
These years, Li Zhao’s temper had changed quite a bit. He used to ride his bicycle leisurely without any hurry, but now driving seemed like he was going to fight Godzilla.
Wu Mou arrived a few minutes later than them.
Fortunately, they weren’t late for the negotiation, arriving just five minutes before it began.
The decoration of this company was quite avant-garde, with the floor made of self-leveling concrete and the ceiling pipes exposed, giving it an exaggerated industrial look. However, there weren’t many employees inside; only a few were seen in the office area.
The other party’s legal manager was quite polite, coming out to greet Wu Mou and his team.
However, as soon as they sat down in the conference room, the atmosphere became less friendly. It was clear that they were prepared for this negotiation.
While Wu Mou was nominally leading the negotiation, it was Li Zhao who was leading the discussion throughout. The other side clearly didn’t expect them to send a substitute lawyer.
When Li Zhao mentioned the breach of contract penalty from last year’s contract, the other side’s legal manager chuckled.
“It seems you’ve indeed done your homework. However, if what we need is this sum of money, there’s no need to initiate litigation.” Clearly, they weren’t buying into this proposal.
“Oh, is that so? Litigation wouldn’t benefit your company much.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, according to past cases, the court would prioritize mediation in this type of dispute, which could prolong the process. With your company having so many orders to sign every year, I assume your legal department is quite busy.”
“We’re not in a hurry. We have plenty of time to delay with you.” The other side chuckled, showing little concern.
“I see.” Li Zhao paused briefly, then put on a professional smile. “Manager, it’s like this. We’ve also received some information that your company is currently using ZE technology without paying patent fees to similar companies.”
The other party was taken aback by Li Zhao bringing this up.
“Our issues with other companies have nothing to do with you, do they? We’re focused on resolving the matter at hand.”
“Is that so? From what I know, this company is Liankong, a long-term partner of ours. Manager Wu and they have a close relationship. I’ve heard some rumors…”
Upon hearing this, Wu Mou immediately nodded and chimed in, “Yes, Liankong’s legal affairs were handled by my university classmate.”
The other party’s expression changed upon hearing this, then they picked up the phone from the desk.
“Just a moment, I need to take a call.”
Gu Jiahe noticed that his phone hadn’t even lit up, presumably an excuse to leave and discuss countermeasures.
About five minutes later, the other party pushed open the door to the meeting room and returned.
“Since you’ve also come with sincerity, I think we can reconsider the compensation plan.”
Li Zhao followed up on his words, “We’ve also consulted with the general manager. We’ll pay the full patent fees and compensate you for last year’s breach of contract penalty.”
This so-called patent fee was naturally low, just a token gesture.
The other party finally relaxed and nodded, “What you said makes sense. We’re all just working, and nobody wants to go to litigation.”
Gu Jiahe couldn’t help but smirk, but Li Zhao’s hand under the table pressed down on his.
“Calm down.” Li Zhao turned his head slightly, mouthing two words gently.
Gu Jiahe didn’t have time to control his expression before feeling Li Zhao’s fingertips lightly rubbing the burned area on the back of his hand. He wasn’t sure if it was intentional or unintentional, but it felt slightly itchy.
Li Zhao’s expression remained calm, showing no emotional fluctuations.
It was Gu Jiahe who felt a little flustered for some reason.
Fortunately, Li Zhao soon released his hand.
Gu Jiahe turned his head and took a deep breath.
“Well, thank you for your sincerity as well. It’s been a tough day for everyone. How about arranging a lunch nearby?” With the dispute resolved, the other party’s legal team also breathed a sigh of relief and proposed a meal together.
Wu Mou shook his head repeatedly, not wanting to prolong the discussion now that victory was theirs. “We have an important meeting in the afternoon, so we’ll head back. We appreciate your kind offer.”
As the group walked out of the company’s gates, the two interns finally relaxed.
“Wow, lawyer Li, you’re amazing! You scared me to death just now,” Wen Qi’s eyes were sparkling.
“No, it’s because you all prepared the materials thoroughly,” Li Zhao never took credit.
“Hehe, did the information I gathered about Liankong Corporation come in handy?” He Xiao laughed until tears almost came out.
“Yes, keep up the good work.”
Gu Jiahe watched from the side and sighed. Li Zhao was really good with words, soothing everyone effortlessly with just a few words.
Wu Mou walked ahead and didn’t hear this exchange. But when they got in the car, he thanked Li Zhao again.
“Lawyer Li, thanks for today.”
“It’s nothing, just doing my job.” Li Zhao shook his head, smiling as he opened the car door.
It had been a while since Gu Jiahe had seen Li Zhao genuinely smile from the heart. Today was the first time in many days.
He obediently sat back in the passenger seat and waited for Li Zhao to start the car.
It was nearing noon, and there were fewer cars on the expressway.
“How did you know about the dispute between Liankong Corporation and them?” Gu Jiahe asked his lingering question.
“I guessed.”
“What?” Gu Jiahe turned to look at him.
“Yeah.”
“How did you guess that?”
“None of these domestic tech companies are completely clean. In recent years, the market has been saturated, and those that can still make it during this period mostly had shady beginnings. Some intellectual property disputes are as common as daylight. So, I had He Xiao look into it, and it turned out to be true.”
Gu Jiahe nodded at the explanation, feeling impressed. Li Zhao was indeed suited to be a lawyer. His approach to problem-solving was comprehensive, and he often took unexpected paths.
By the time they returned to the office, it was already past lunchtime.
Wu Mou suggested going out for dinner after work. Gu Jiahe was absolutely not keen on going, but couldn’t think of a good excuse to decline.
Li Zhao, unusually in a good mood, took over the conversation, “Avengers: Infinity War 3 is out, and none of us have seen it yet, right? Tonight, I’ll treat everyone to a movie.”
“It’s a small celebration.”
“Great! I’ll invite my wife too.” Wu Mou chuckled.
Wen Qi and He Xiao also jumped up excitedly, “We’ve been so busy these days, haven’t had time to go watch. Thanks, lawyer Li!”
Everyone wanted to go. Gu Jiahe sat awkwardly in his seat.
“Manager Gu, are you coming?” Li Zhao’s voice came from beside him.
“I…” Gu Jiahe hadn’t had a chance to answer.
“Of course, why not? Xiao Gu, you don’t have anything important to do at home anyway,” Wu Mou’s words stopped him in his tracks.
“Okay.” Gu Jiahe could only nod reluctantly.