Honest as One

There's no such thing as a "what if"!

In short, it shattered the last self-deceptive illusion that Mr. He Bosi and those around him had created: there was no such thing as a "what if".

"Thank you for providing us with the most professional consultation services at this time. Good night, gentlemen."

The lawyers politely said goodbye to their employers on the other end of the phone. As excellent lawyers, their consultation fees were quite high; a half-day consultation was enough for each of them to earn at least five or six hundred fulas or a thousand Federal Sol soles.

No wonder people always envy the legal profession; they can earn a lot of money just by sitting and talking.

After ending the call, Mr. He Bosi leaned back wearily on the sofa. He suddenly felt a slight dizziness, followed by an intense hunger that made him unable to think.

It was only then that he realized it was already evening, and he had missed lunch and dinner. He had to force himself to stay awake and stomp his cane on the ground to get the attention of others. "Gentlemen, we've been discussing this all day. Shouldn't we eat something?"

"I don't want us to fall ill before Lin Qi has even done anything to us!" He was the first to stand up, and after sitting all day, he almost fell back down, but fortunately, the people around him helped him up in time.

"I will visit Mr. Lin Qi and try to find out his thoughts..." he said, which gave the others some hope.

After a hasty dinner, Mr. He Bosi dressed up carefully, selected some expensive gifts, and went to the hotel to visit Lin Qi.

Although the delegation arrived last night, all the ceremonies were completed today, which means they cannot leave today. Their train tickets are booked for tomorrow morning, and they will stay here tonight.

Compared to yesterday's joy, everyone seemed a bit disappointed today because Hundred Flowers Street was closed. The reason given was that a case had occurred there, and the area was temporarily closed to protect the crime scene.

They had no choice but to return empty-handed. In fact, they all knew very well why Hundred Flowers Street had been closed, but some things you know are best left unsaid.

If you don't say it, you're smart; if you do, it just shows how stupid you are.

I had just returned to the hotel and hadn't even had a chance to change when the front desk called my room.

The Little Assistant answered the phone and asked Lin Qi, "A Mr. He Bosi who claims to be your friend wants to see you..."

Lin Qi was slightly taken aback, then a smile appeared on his face. "Yes, he's my friend. Let him come up."

After hanging up the phone, the Little Assistant was a little puzzled, but also a little admiring. "You have friends everywhere you go. Do you have friends all over the world? How do you know so many people?"

Lin Qi was in a good mood at the moment, and he joked, "Because we are friends with money, we are friends with money too!"

Helen felt that the sentence had some profound meaning. She could sense it, but she couldn't summarize it, and she couldn't help but stare blankly.

Although Lin Qi's education level was not high, only high school, he always said some very philosophical things, making it hard to believe that he was just a high school graduate.

This sometimes makes Helen feel self-doubting. Although she is not a student from a prestigious university, she is still a college student, yet she is inferior to Lin Qi in every way. Is she really such a failure?

A short while later, the doorbell rang, and Mr. He Bosi knocked on the door.

The Little Assistant opened the door, took the gift from Mr. He Bosi, and placed it on the coffee table in front of Lin Qi.

The hotel provided each key member of the delegation with a private suite, as they had booked an entire floor. Some of the rooms were in the Living Room of their suites.

Mr. He Bosi handed his clothes to his butler as he walked toward the sofa. "These are just some worthless trinkets. I've heard you like watches and pens. I happen to have some nice things from my collection that you might like."

Whether it's a member of the Federal or a nobleman like Mr. He Bosi, there's no such hypocritical modesty in the social etiquette of the world, saying things like "It's too precious for me to accept," let alone pretending to be "you're being too polite" when you clearly want something.

The Little Assistant readily accepted the order, and Lin Qi readily opened the box as well. He first opened the watch box, which contained a very exquisite platinum watch.

"With its platinum case, sapphire crystal surface and dial, this is one of three watches made by the master in [year]," Mr. He Bosi introduced the watch with a slightly boastful tone.

It is indeed very valuable. Its maker is a top-notch master in the industry. Only three handmade watches are produced every four years, and the price of each watch can leave some people speechless.

The price ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, comparable to the market value of some companies. Even so, each batch of watches is highly sought after. People are willing to spend a lot of money on these things, only to put them in a display case and never wear them in their lifetime.

This watch was originally priced at around 600,000, but its value has now risen to over a million, and it will likely increase even more in the future.

Lin Qi nodded with satisfaction, took it off, said "thank you," and put it back on the watch holder while opening another box.

The pen, inlaid with gemstones all over its body, cost 180,000 francs. It was a handmade product, and the family that made it had always served the Gefra Imperial Family. The pens used by the emperor came from this family.

Some people have jokingly said that signing a contract with this brand of pen looks exactly like signing the emperor's name, which shows its prestige.

Lin Qi also liked collecting these fountain pens. He always felt that carrying a couple of fountain pens would make him more cultured and refined, even though the people here didn't really understand what refinement meant.

He thanked him again, and had to admit that Mr. He Bosi had put a lot of thought into the two gifts he had chosen. They were things that Lin Qi liked, and he had gone to great lengths to give away gifts worth millions of dollars.

"I thought you would be on vacation in the Federal or somewhere else..." After putting the pen back, Lin Qi looked at Mr. He Bosi. His smile was warmer than usual, but in Mr. He Bosi ' eyes, there was something chilling.

"... I didn't expect to meet you in Gefra. Did you come here specifically to wait for me?" Lin Qi looked at him and asked a tricky question that made Mr. He Bosi's scalp tingle slightly.

His purpose in coming here was to maximize the impact of off-field factors, but he couldn't say these things, or he would offend Lin Qi to death. It must be said that Mr. He Bosi reacted quickly. "I'm here to witness a historic moment."

He cleverly avoided directly answering Lin Qi's question in this way, "Once the Federal and Gefra reach a cooperation agreement, it means that the two most powerful countries in the world will be united, just as the newspapers say, the process of World Peace will take another step forward."

"Once the Federal and Gefra reach these agreements, it means more opportunities will emerge, and that's my goal."

"And you know, someone like me can't stay still. I'm here today and there tomorrow. But you, Mr. Lin Qi, are really surprising. I didn't even know you were in Gefra until I saw the news. I thought you were still in Nagaril."

He cautiously probed with a question, observing Lin Qi with a smile, wanting to see how Lin Qi would respond.

Lin Qi answered just as quickly, "This time, our main studio is negotiating some business collaborations and some private business tenders, so we need some businessmen to come, and I am just one of them."

"The United Development Company is doing well. The directors and the chairman on the Board of Directors have been very kind to me. They see that I am relatively young and want me to come and broaden my horizons."

A curse flashed through He Bosi's mind as he suddenly realized that he might have fallen into Lin Qi's trap, and it might be related to his appearance.

This little bastard's appearance is too deceptive. You can never be wary of a smiling young man in his twenties who looks as innocent as a blank sheet of paper. He was careless!

Mr. He Bosi gave a dry laugh. "I recently heard a funny joke..."

He looked at Lin Qi, Lin Qi cooperated by asking in return, "What funny joke is it? Why don't you tell me so I can hear it too?"

"Some people say that this loan between you and me was a trap you set, that you wanted to swallow the principal and interest. Don't you think that's ridiculous?" he said, laughing loudly as if he really thought it was a joke.

Lin Qi was also laughing, a meaningful laugh. "Of course it's laughable. I wouldn't do such a thing to a friend!"

Mr. He Bosi was not relieved by Lin Qi's answer; instead, he sensed something was amiss, because Lin Qi had never explicitly stated that the two of them were friends.

He looked at Lin Qi with enthusiasm and expectation, "Are we friends?"

Lin Qi replied with a smile, "Of course, we are the best partners!"

His lack of a direct answer left Mr. He Bosi somewhat uncertain, yet Lin Qi's behavior made him wonder if he was being paranoid and overthinking things. He was confused and doubtful, but he could only stop there. He couldn't force Lin Qi to say what he wanted to hear; that would be too deliberate.

"I have some friends here. When you come over, I'll throw you a party," Mr. He Bosi said warmly. "I've lived in Gefra for a long time and know everything about this place. I'm practically a local. You'll have to give me a chance to shine!"

Lin Qi nodded. "Okay, give me a time and place..."

Mr. He Bosi ' visit was brief; he left after agreeing on the time and place for the party in the capital.

After seeing Mr. He Bosi and his butler off, the Little Assistant asked curiously, "Are you good friends?"

Lin Qi smiled but didn't answer directly, "So I prepared a big surprise for him."