Chapter 118: Attacking the Heart

“Why am I the only one in this world living such a pathetic life?”

“Actually, many people are in the same situation as you. But everyone only likes to show their good side. When you feel lonely, others may be even lonelier than you.”

“Then why am I the only one living such a hard life?”

“Everyone has their own hardships. They just don’t want to talk about it until they reach a breaking point. After all, life has to go on. If you don’t support yourself, no one will support you.”

Gao Dawei didn’t believe it. “Give me an example!”

“On my uncle’s birthday, he chased a street cleaning truck while crying the whole way.”

“Why?”

Jiang Qin pursed his lips. “Because that day, only the street cleaning truck sang him happy birthday.”

“Oh shit…”

“Come, let’s have a toast.” Jiang Qin raised his glass.

Gao Dawei could almost picture himself chasing a street cleaning truck. He suddenly felt like he was about to break down. “I don’t mind for myself, but bro, imagine how sad my parents would be if they knew about this?”

“Gao, they will only feel sad that you’re not doing well, not that you made the right choice.”

“But I… I’m in my forties and don’t even have a child!”

“We can barely take care of ourselves. Should we bring a child into this world to suffer? With billions of people in this world, continuing the family line doesn’t fall on our shoulders.”

Hearing “bring a child into this world to suffer,” Gao Dawei felt even more on the verge of breaking down.

…

Gao Dawei’s milk tea shop wasn’t a small storefront like Xitian. It was a large 40-50 square meter shop with a seating area, bathroom, and a small storage room not included in the floor space. This was why the milk tea shop was so in demand.

While Jiang Qin and Gao Dawei were drinking and chatting, quite a few people had already gathered outside the door.

Several were other business owners who also wanted to negotiate a price.

Several were Gao Dawei’s good friends who came to see him.

But Jiang Qin had already locked the milk tea shop’s front door early on, so no one could enter and could only wait outside.

Half an hour later, Jiang Qin opened the milk tea shop door and walked out, standing on the steps and taking a long breath under everyone’s surprised gazes.

“Boss, how did it go? Did you reach a deal?”

Wei Lanlan got out of the car at this time, looking at Jiang Qin with burning eyes.

“Signed it. Take the contract back with you.”

Jiang Qin handed the contract to her and walked off into the night, casually unzipping his jacket to let the evening breeze blow into his chest.

Wei Lanlan took the contract and paused for a moment before quickly flipping it open to check. After confirming the signatures on the back, she blinked, inwardly astonished.

She knew very well what kind of person Gao Dawei was. After all, their market team had called him for three days straight without getting him to budge on the price by even a cent.

Such a stubborn mule was really persuaded by the boss?

At the same time, the sound of sobbing came from inside Encounter Milk Tea Shop, the voice full of the inexpressible bitterness of adulthood. The onlookers outside the shop all glanced at each other with wide eyes upon hearing it.

“What’s going on?”

“Seems like he was moved to tears from their talk.”

Amidst the discussions, the nearby business owners who came to negotiate and Gao Dawei’s friends who came to see him all walked inside. They found Gao Dawei currently holding a wine glass, weeping, but with a hint of relief in his expression.

Seeing this scene, everyone couldn’t help but look at each other, a trace of astonishment flashing through their eyes.

A young man not even twenty years old made a irritable middle-aged man in his forties cry from their conversation?

Let’s not even mention the generation gap. Just based on life experience and perspective, they can’t compare at all. How could they have such a heart-to-heart? Is this a joke?

Of course, some nearby business owners were unconvinced, feeling something was fishy about drinking and signing a contract.

Because if the other party signed the contract while drunk, even if the signature on the contract was perfectly neat, it would have no legal effect.

But when they entered, they discovered the two bottles of alcohol were only half finished. The other bottle wasn’t even opened and was still tightly sealed.

It turns out what’s intoxicating was never the alcohol, but the stories.

“Gao Dawei, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ve figured it out. I’ll go back to my hometown to see my parents tomorrow. I can’t keep delaying it. I’ve also transferred the milk tea shop. You all can go.”

“…”

At the same time, Jiang Qin went to sit on a long bench not far away. Although he didn’t drink much, he smacked his lips and felt a strong taste of alcohol in his mouth.

Using the method of hitting someone’s sore spot to attack their heart was a common tactic in business negotiations.

Because once you can empathize with the other person, they will emotionally depend on you to a certain degree.

Especially people who have gone through a breakup, divorce, or family tragedy. They are prone to having their weakness taken advantage of precisely because they are in dire need of emotional support.

It’s like when Chai Jing interviewed Stephen Chow and Chow said “thank you” to her twice in a row. Those three words “you understand me” are truly invincible.

But Jiang Qin wasn’t sure if it was because Gao Dawei’s life had too many similarities with his own past life, making him feel like he was looking in a mirror when he tried to persuade Gao Dawei.

Where exactly did his own emotional support lie?

Jiang Qin fell silent for a moment and suddenly realized his fingers were making the motions of gently caressing something.

Well well, I’ve caught you! You clearly have your own thoughts!

“Boss, are you drunk?” Wei Lanlan chased after him with the contract.

Jiang Qin waved his hand nonchalantly. “No, alcohol is like water to me. But I definitely can’t drive. You take a taxi back first. I’ll wander around a bit.”

“Alright, be careful, boss.”

“It’s fine, go on.”

Jiang Qin walked for a while then took out his phone and called Guo Zihang, asking where he was. Guo Zihang said he was in the dorm.

Old Guo’s evenings didn’t have too many rich leisure activities. He either played games or stayed in the dorm reading novels, no different from most university nerds. Why? The root cause was not having a girlfriend.

It was fine. Jiang Qin wasn’t in a hurry to leave, so he went to the dorm to chat with Guo Zihang for a bit.

“Jiang, did you really get the milk tea shop?”

“Mm, but the promotional event can’t be launched for now. Don’t be impatient. Sooner or later I’ll let you buy an electric scooter. Then you can give pretty girls rides on the back. It’ll be glorious.” Jiang Qin put on the air of a capitalist, painting a rosy picture for Old Guo.

Guo Zihang pouted. “I like older, more mature women.”

Jiang Qin stiffened for a moment. “Oh, I forgot about that. Then you can skip straight to giving old ladies rides on the back. Infinitely charming.”

Guo Zihang felt much better after hearing this. He quickly thought of something else and lowered his voice slightly. “By the way Jiang, a while ago, Chu Siqi was messaging me like crazy for three hours straight, from 8 to 11 pm nonstop. Scared the hell out of me.”

“…”

“Then what?”

“She asked me if you and Feng Nanshu were together and when you got together. If I didn’t reply, she would keep messaging. It kept me up all night.”

Jiang Qin’s breath hitched slightly after hearing this. “Don’t tell me in the end you once again told her everything you knew without holding back?”

“No, I wised up this time. I only told her I didn’t know.”

“…”

Jiang Qin knew Old Guo’s personality. He was the type of nice guy who smiled at everyone and wasn’t good at rejecting people. So no matter who it was, as long as they weren’t an enemy, he definitely wouldn’t ignore their messages.

But being able to say the words “I don’t know,” Old Guo had definitely grown.

“Just say you don’t know. No need to say anything else.”