Have You Been Sleeping Poorly Lately?

Lao Xia returned just as Xiang Kun finished ordering.

She doesn't need to spray "Super-Linked Object" all over the perimeter of the Guarding Prosperity Building; she only needs to spray a portion on the side closest to the dedicated entrance on the third basement level.

During this time, many people passed by the Guarding Prosperity Building. Apart from being good-looking, Lao Xia was not conspicuous in the crowd. When she set up the "Super-Linked Object" beads, she simply took the beads out of her pocket, held them in her hand, and flicked them casually between her fingers. The movement was very small, and the beads were also very small. Even if you were next to her, it would be difficult to notice them, let alone on surveillance video.

Although Lao Xia can now use various abilities through the "Super-Sensing Item System," and can even directly manifest Alice as a seemingly "living person," she is no different from an ordinary person, whether viewed with the naked eye or in infrared thermal imaging videos.

Therefore, such a simple stroll would pose no danger and would not alert "Shenxing Technology" to the possibility that they were monitoring the surrounding area from underground.

Seeing the fine beads of sweat on Lao Xia's forehead as he rushed back, Yang Zhen'er asked curiously as Tang Baona handed her a tissue to wipe his sweat, "Lao Xia, what did you go to buy? It's almost lunchtime, why didn't we finish eating before we went to buy it together?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Libing picked up the plastic bag that was placed at her feet, took something out of it, and placed it in her cousin's hand.

Looking at the pack of sanitary napkins in their hands, not only Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona next to her, but also Xiang Kun, who was sitting across the table and knew very well that Lao Xia's trip to buy things was just an excuse, were all stunned.

Tang Baona was the first to react. She quickly rushed over, snatched the sanitary napkin, and put it back in Lao Xia's plastic bag, scolding, "Quickly put it away! Quickly put it away!"

Yang Zhen'er quickly changed the subject. "Oh dear, why is the food taking so long to arrive?"

However, after the dishes were served one by one, Yang Zhen'er couldn't help but complain after eating for a short while, "This is it? This is worthy of being called 'The World's Best Fish'? It's far worse than the fish soup that Chef Xiang casually makes!"

"Be careful, we're on their turf, and we haven't even finished serving our food yet," Tang Baona tugged at her friend and whispered.

Xiang Kun also smiled wryly, "Yang the Third, Zhengyi School. The fish soup I made for you wasn't just something I made casually! It took countless brain cells and my unparalleled culinary skills to carefully prepare it!"

Of course, what Yang the Third said is not wrong. The fish here is pretty good in terms of taste, considering the price per customer and the quality of the ingredients used.

However, compared to the Xiang Kun customized for Yang Zhen'er, Tang Baona, and Lao Xia, making adjustments and designs in every aspect from ingredient selection and processing to cooking methods, heat control, and seasoning details, the taste of the fish and fish soup was naturally far inferior.

"I know, I know, Chef Xiang the best! Sigh, if I had known, we wouldn't have stayed in a hotel in Peng City. We should have rented a bigger apartment. If Chef Xiang came, we could have bought groceries and cooked. I actually quite enjoy shopping at the supermarket now. Seeing those vegetables reminds me of the delicious food Chef Xiang has turned into..." Yang Zhen'er exclaimed.

"So I've really become a master chef? I'll have to cook for you guys no matter which city I go to?" Xiang Kun, both amused and exasperated.

Yang Zhen'er chuckled and said, "Doesn't this show off your cooking skills? The capable should do more! We don't even want to eat food cooked by others!"

Tang Baona immediately said, "Huh? You didn't say that to my mom when you came to my house for dinner before, did you?"

Yang Zhen'er rolled her eyes at her. "Your mother isn't 'anyone else'."

"Why do I feel like you're insulting me?" Tang Baona asked, squinting.

When they were almost finished with lunch, Yang Zhen'er brought up the topic she had been keeping in mind. She deliberately lowered her voice, leaned on the table, and asked in a somewhat mysterious tone, "Chef Xiang, was it true what you said about saving our 'Big Guy'?"

Xiang Kun also leaned on the table and said in a low voice, "I already told you to keep it a secret, why are you still asking?"

"No, I need to double-check if it's true or not!" Yang Zhen'er said.

"Didn't we confirm everything when we called that day?" Xiang Kun said in a low voice, leaning slightly forward and resting his head on the table.

Yang Zhen'er was about to speak when Xiang Kun interrupted her, and she continued in a low voice, "No! There's no confirmation! You're just making things up!"

"You're the one who investigated it! All the details, the secret organization, and even my brother who rescued you and Lao Xia in Myanmar —you deduced all of that!" Xiang Kun said matter-of-factly. "I had no choice but to admit it after you 'exposed' me! How can you say I'm just talking to myself?"

Tang Baona, who was standing next to her, was already laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach.

"No, I've been thinking about it, and it seems like you were deliberately going along with what I said," Yang Zhen'er said.

"Then do you think what I said is true or false?" Xiang Kun countered.

Yang Zhen'er frowned at him, and said suspiciously, "I think you're trying to fool me!"

Xiang Kun smiled slightly and straightened up.

"Huh? What does this mean? Chef Xiang, is it true or false? Give me a straight answer!" Yang Zhen'er said, dissatisfied.

Xiang Kun said slowly, "If you think it's true, you'd better treat it as fake; if you think it's fake, then it means you have excellent confidentiality awareness."

"Huh?" Yang Zhen'er was taken aback.

Tang Baona, who was standing next to her, was already laughing so hard she was shaking.

"Nana, stop laughing! Chef Xiang is using such a shameless trick to change the subject; he must be hiding something big from us!" Yang Zhen'er nudged Tang Baona, then turned to Xia Libing: "Lao Xia, you be the judge, you must know something!"

Xia Libing glanced at her cousin, then at Xiang Kun, her eyes somewhat confused. "I didn't understand what you were talking about... If you want to know how Xia Tianhuo was rescued, you should ask him yourself."

"He's still in Myanmar, there are some loose ends to take care of before he can come back. He's not using his old phone number now, and there are a lot of police and embassy people around, so I can't call and ask too many questions," Yang Zhen'er said.

"Then let's wait until he comes back and ask him again. If the situation is different from Xiang Kun said, then Xiang Kun is lying," Xia Libing said.

Yang Zhen'er was stunned, and for a moment she didn't know how to refute him. After hesitating for a while, she muttered, "Then... then he's lying, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Tang Baona, who was laughing so hard she could hardly contain herself, took a deep breath, looked up, and said, "You should take this opportunity to make a deal with Xiang Kun: if what he says doesn't match what your cousin says, he'll cook you two big meals!"

"That makes sense... No, two meals aren't enough, three! Five!" Yang Zhen'er nodded.

"Shut up!" Xiang Kun said sternly, "Didn't I tell you that you must keep secrets about the secret organization? How could you use it for a bet? One meal, that's all..."

Lunch took a long time to finish amidst the playful antics.

Xiang Kun took the opportunity to go to the restroom and briefly entered his "Hyper-Sensory State." He used the "Super-Linked Object" that Lao Xia had just set up to locate himself, perceive the surrounding cognitive information, and mark the location of all possible surveillance electronic devices. He would then have Alice conduct another "reconnaissance" to prepare for his personal investigation that evening.

After dinner, they first took their luggage to the hotel room that Tang Baona had booked for them, and then went to Zhang Qian's company together.

As per Xiang Kun's request, they established two companies for this collaboration on the sound game: one called "Universe Technology," which was the game's development company, and the other called "Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment," which was mainly responsible for operation and distribution.

Xiang Kun is the main shareholder of "Universe Technology," holding the largest stake through his technical investment. However, all of these shares are held by Tang Baona on his behalf. In addition to holding shares on behalf of Xiang Kun, Yang Zhen'er, Chang Bin and his wife, as well as her sister and brother-in-law, Tang Baona nominally holds 70% of the company's shares. The remaining 30% is divided among Zi Cheng, Zhang Qian, Liu Caifu, and You Meng in different proportions.

Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment is primarily funded by Zhang Qian, who holds 60% of the shares. Universe Technology holds 15%, and the remainder is divided equally among Zicheng, Liu Caifu, You Meng, the Yang siblings, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, and others.

The reason for making it so complicated is that Xiang Kun must take the lead in the production and development of the game, and many related technologies will be derived and developed based on it. Many things cannot be made public, so he must have the final say and do things entirely in his own way.

Furthermore, when necessary, he would prioritize using the profits to subsidize Lao Xia's research, the construction of the Chongyun Village Research Base, and related follow-up investments. The return cycle had to be fast—although Lao Xia was a moderately wealthy woman, her "pocket money" wouldn't last long.

On the other hand, entrusting Zhang Qian with the overall operations allows her to leverage her strengths and the resources behind her, as well as her initiative.

Of course, correspondingly, in terms of this sound game alone, Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment has a much higher profit share than Universe Technology.

Zhang Qian's company is almost fully established, and many promotional resources have been finalized. They're just waiting for the game to be completely settled before they can officially launch.

To be honest, as a collaborator, Zhang Qian showed great sincerity. Basically, all kinds of resources were arranged and prepared with the premise that Xiang Kun's game could be released on time and become a big hit. She was the biggest investor and also bore the biggest risk, but she didn't put any pressure on Xiang Kun. All the urging and communication were carried out through Tang Baona according to his requirements.

Xiang Kun was very satisfied with this partner. In addition, with so many other friends investing money in both companies, he had to ensure that this collaboration would be a success, a huge hit, and profitable.

Previously, in order to hide Alice, and because Alice couldn't be separated from the main unit at home, he had more concerns and had to consider many more issues.

But as Alice's influence spread across the internet, her control over other devices became increasingly sophisticated, and she gained a level of digital world dominance far beyond her time, and she began to move from the purely digital world into the real world through her "Super-Sensing Item System," those problems ceased to be problems.

If necessary, with Alice's current help, Xiang Kun actually has many other ways to easily obtain a large amount of money.

But just as he would deliberately limit his own use of his abilities and set some rules for his actions, he also had to set an example for Alice, providing directional guidance in the current process of her cognitive development, so as to form a cognitive system that would not get out of control.

Zhang Qian went back to her family home today. Although she knew Xiang Kun had come to the company and said he would be back soon, it was impossible for him to arrive immediately, so they arranged to have dinner together tonight.

In the afternoon, the group toured "Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment". Tang Baona couldn't help but find a moment to whisper to Xiang Kun when they would start recruiting for the development team and other related positions, and when the office space would be finalized. Zhang Qian's company was already fully set up, while their "Universe Technology" still only had her and Zhen'er as "mascots". They had spent the past few years at other companies, and many people even thought they were employees of "Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment".

"Have you forgotten where our company is registered?" Xiang Kun laughed.

Tang Baona was taken aback. "Tongshi Town? Then... can we find skilled developers in Tongshi Town?"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. But we'll definitely need an office in Peng City to coordinate with Zhang Qian and the others. You and Zhen'er can choose to stay here, or we can move the branch office to Shenhai," Xiang Kun said.

"That won't do. I work for 'Universe Technology,' not 'Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment.' I'll definitely have to go back to the company eventually. As for the coordination here, we can just train a specialist." Tang Baona said, then couldn't help but ask, "Did you put the company in Tongshi Town to take care of that 'Research Base' in Chongyun Village?"

"Yes, Lao Xia and I have been busy with this matter recently," Xiang Kun said.

"Is your aquaculture research really that promising? Logically speaking... this isn't your area of expertise, is it?" Tang Baona asked curiously.

Xiang Kun smiled and said, "It's not my profession, but it's my interest, and I also believe that if I can achieve even a small result, it might benefit all of humanity in the future."

"Keep bragging, Chef Xiang! And you're saying all of humanity will benefit..." Yang Zhen'er chuckled, leaning closer. "Hey? But the benefit you're talking about, you wouldn't mean creating rabbits with even more delicious meat, would you? Or some other ingredients? If so, hehe, I don't know if all of humanity will benefit, but we definitely will!"

Dinner was arranged at a restaurant that resembled a classic manor. Just by looking at the ambiance, you could tell the price would be exorbitant. Zhang Qian made the reservation. Apparently, the Zhang family patriarch was also one of the shareholders of this restaurant, which operated on a members-only basis, and non-members couldn't get a table.

While waiting for Zhang Qian in the private room, a waiter came in, leaned over to Xiang Kun, and told him that President Zhang was waiting for him in the next private room and hoped to meet him first.

Xiang Kun didn't ask any more questions. He got up and followed the waiter out, turned a corner in the corridor, and entered another private room.

Although it was said to be the "next" private room, it was actually more than ten meters apart.

Upon entering the private room, instead of Zhang Qian, one was greeted by a man in a casual suit, with slicked-back hair and a resemblance to Zhang Qian.

"Mr. Xiang. Xiang, let me introduce myself. I am Zhang Chu, Zhang Qian's older brother. The company she used to manage was founded by me."

The man stood up, extended his hand to Xiang Kun, and introduced himself.

However, what puzzled him was that Xiang Kun did not show any surprise or doubt after entering the private room. He calmly shook hands with him and sat down, as if he already knew that he was going to meet him.

"Mr. Zhang, is there something you want to say to me?" Xiang Kun asked casually.

He wasn't surprised, of course, because he had already overheard Zhang Chu talking to the restaurant manager and waiters in the private room when Zhang Chu entered the restaurant.

He naturally knew who Zhang Chu was. Zhang Chu had previously sent a private investigator to follow Zhang Qian, but he had discovered it and then notified Officer Chen. Later, that private investigator came to spy on him again, but he had outmaneuvered him once more.

Therefore, he was somewhat aware of the discord between the Zhang siblings.

"Mr. Xiang, the Zhang family supports your collaboration with my sister. As you know, she has already invested over eight figures, and there will be more investment and support from various channels. This is not something she could do alone. However, according to my recent investigation, 'Heaven and Earth Technology Co., Ltd..,' which provides related products, technical support, and services to my sister's company, is basically an empty shell now. What's going on?" Zhang Chu stared at Xiang Kun with a serious expression.

"There's nothing wrong with the product. The company is still being set up, so it won't delay the game's launch. Ms. Zhang is well aware of all this. If you have any questions, Mr. Zhang, you can ask her or the relevant person in charge within the company," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

"Mr. Xiang, I'm not representing my sister's company right now; I'm representing the Zhang family. I should make it very clear: Zhang Qian alone cannot come up with that much money. With the Zhang family's support, 'Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment' can exist; without their support, 'Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment' will immediately collapse, and your cooperation will naturally fail. Mr. Xiang, you need to convince me now to get the Zhang family to continue supporting my sister and your cooperation. You need to offer something tangible, something more compelling than trying to persuade Zhang Qian."

Xiang Kun's expression remained relaxed. "I understand, Mr. Zhang. You mean that although President Zhang supports me, the Zhang family plans to withdraw their investment and is no longer willing to cooperate with us?"

Zhang Chu nodded. "If you can't convince me, then it's indeed possible."

"Alright, I have a few friends who originally wanted more equity and hoped for deeper cooperation and participation, but because we made a promise to Mr. Zhang, we had to decline them. Now that the Zhang family wants to withdraw their investment, if Mr. Zhang needs money, my friends can join in. Of course, Mr. Zhang can still steer 'Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment' and continue the previous cooperation. As for the Zhang family's money, we certainly won't cheat you; we will hire a professional accounting firm to handle the relevant liquidation."

Xiang Kun spoke, he picked up his phone and said, "If you can represent the Zhang family, then I'll contact my friends right now and have them come to Peng City. Mr. Zhang should be arriving soon too. Let's all sit down and talk it over, and if it's okay, we can finalize the matter."

Zhang Chu was completely bewildered. He was not there to question Xiang Kun behalf of the Zhang family, nor was he there to withdraw his investment. In fact, he had found out what Zhang Qian had been busy with recently, knew that she was cooperating with Xiang Kun, and learned through his connections at the restaurant that Zhang Qian was going to host a banquet for Xiang Kun and others tonight. So he took it upon himself to come and test the waters.

His goal was actually quite simple: to try and get involved in the cooperation, or even to seize control of it and replace Zhang Qian's role. Even if that didn't work, he wanted to at least annoy Zhang Qian and sabotage her relationship with this Xiang Kun. In fact, he had some suspicions that Zhang Qian might have fallen for Xiang Kun.

Regardless of his purpose, he never intended to completely sabotage the Zhang family's investment, because he knew very well that Zhang Qian's success in pushing things to this point must have been due to the approval of him and Zhang Qian's grandfather, Zhang Hongpu, the former chairman of the Zhang family.

Who would have thought that Xiang Kun would flip the table before he even finished the first move of Xiang Kun three-pronged attack?

"No... wait a minute..." Seeing Xiang Kun pick up his phone and start looking up his contacts, Zhang Chu quickly got up and went over, reaching out to stop him, "It's not that bad yet, don't be in such a hurry."

"Didn't Mr. Zhang say he wanted to withdraw his investment?" Xiang Kun asked, looking puzzled.

"Tsk! You're a tech guy, how can you be so impatient? We're just having a discussion! We invested so much money, can't we even ask about it?"

Xiang Kun suddenly frowned. "Mr. Zhang, have you been sleeping poorly lately? You always seem to fall asleep close to dawn?"

Zhang Chu was taken aback, not understanding why the bald man was suddenly talking about his sleep. He asked in confusion, "Yeah, I've been quite busy lately, often not sleeping until almost dawn. What's wrong?"

"Do you often experience heart palpitations, rapid breathing, cold hands and feet, and night sweats while sleeping?" Xiang Kun asked quickly.

What exactly are you trying to say?

Have you been experiencing lower back pain lately? Mainly on your right side? Do you sometimes feel nauseous? Do you sometimes get muscle cramps while sleeping, and it always affects your right calf?

"How... how did you know?"

"Do you know what your sister called me when she first met me?" Xiang Kun suddenly asked.

Zhang Chu was slightly taken aback. After a moment's recollection, he remembered the title "fortune teller"—normally, he shouldn't have known this, but he had sent a private investigator to investigate the relationship between Zhang Qian and Xiang Kun, so he happened to know this.

Without waiting for Zhang Chu's reply, Xiang Kun stood up and said to Zhang Chu, "Come, look into my eyes."

Zhang Chu subconsciously looked up at Xiang Kun's eyes, his gaze slightly unfocused.

"Come, look at my hand." Xiang Kun raised one hand, spread his five fingers, and placed it in front of Zhang Chu, asking, "Count how many fingers I have."

"Five... wait a minute, six... seven... eight..." Zhang Chu couldn't help but rub his eyes. When he opened them again, he found his vision completely black and was startled. "My eyes..."

But the next second, his vision returned. Xiang Kun patted him on the back and said, "Come on, sit down and rest for a while, have some water." As he spoke, he took the half-cup of tea from the table and made him drink it.

After drinking some water, Zhang Chu, still shaken, said to Xiang Kun, "Press your hand under your left ribcage, yes, there, press down."

Zhang Chu pressed the button as instructed, and suddenly let out a scream, his face turning deathly pale and covered in cold sweat.

After a moment, having recovered, Zhang Chu looked at Xiang Kun in horror. "Mr. Xiang. Xiang... what happened to me?"

"You should be somewhat aware of it yourself, right? Your sleep schedule is upside down, you're indulging in too much alcohol and sex, there's something wrong with your health," Xiang Kun sighed, shaking his head as if his expression suggested that his next words were, "Your days are numbered."

"Then... then... I..." Zhang Chu's expression was a little flustered. To be honest, when he first learned that Zhang Qian called Xiang Kun a "fortune teller," his first reaction was that it was just a joke, a little trick Xiang Kun used to fool the girl, but he never thought of it as a real "fortune teller." But now, he was really flustered. Every reaction of his body, whether in the past or now, was completely predicted by the other party, leaving him no choice but to believe it.

Xiang Kun held up two fingers and said, "You have two choices. First, starting today, go to sleep before midnight... oh, that is, before 11 pm every night. Get up before sunrise every day, go to an open space, face east, greet the sunrise, and take thirty deep breaths. Drink at least 5 liters of water every day, and finish it before 8 pm. Meditate for 20 minutes before going to bed, purify your mind and abstain from sexual desires. Do this for ninety days."

"The second option is to go to the hospital for a full checkup and follow the doctor's advice. This may not completely solve all the problems, but at least your life will be safe."

Watching Zhang Chu leave the private room with a somewhat dazed expression, Xiang Kun knew, based on the cognitive model he had just built up through his interaction with Zhang Chu, that this guy would most likely make both choices, with a small probability that he would only make the first one.

Based on his observations using infrared thermal imaging and other sensory methods, Zhang Chu only had some kidney stones and mild inflammation, mainly due to long-term excessive drinking, unhealthy diet, and irregular lifestyle. If this continued, his body might develop serious problems, but for the time being, he wouldn't die.

If Zhang Chu can maintain a regular sleep schedule and diet, drink plenty of water, and exercise more, he will recover quickly. Of course, a comprehensive examination at the hospital will also allow him to receive better treatment.

As for the visual blurring and temporary blindness, Xiang Kun achieves this by using the "Super-Linked Object" on his body in conjunction with his extremely shallow, emotionless "Projection Manifestation," which can be considered a new "combination technique."

The pain upon pressing was caused by Xiang Kun quickly entering "Oxygen-Saving Mode" and controlling the water Zhang Chu had just drunk through a sensor. It did not cause him any real harm, only discomfort.

If we only consider the last paragraph, no one would take it seriously unless they possessed hypnotic abilities like Guo Tianxiang. However, given the preceding groundwork, Zhang Chu couldn't afford to ignore it.

He had many ways to get rid of Zhang Chu, and the reason he used this method was to give Zhang Chu something to focus on for the next period of time so that he wouldn't bother him anymore, because he had many important and secret things to do next.

After Zhang Chu left in a panic, Xiang Kun returned to the private room.

"Where's Ms. Zhang? Since she's here, why doesn't she come in? Why did she call you aside to be alone?" After Xiang Kun sat back down, Tang Baona, who was to his right, asked in a low voice. She had also heard the waiter talking to her earlier.

"It's not Zhang Qian, it's her brother," Xiang Kun replied.

"Her brother? What does her brother want with you?" Tang Baona asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, he was just curious about the details of his sister's collaboration with us. Of course, I couldn't tell him, and when he didn't get what he wanted, he had no choice but to leave."

"I think I heard that Zhang Qian and her brother have a conflict, a power struggle within a wealthy family! Chef Xiang, you'd better be careful, don't get used as a pawn!" Yang Zhen'er, who was sitting next to Tang Baona and had been eavesdropping, couldn't help but lean over and whisper a warning.

Besides the four of them, there were also several senior executives from Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment in the private room, including Director Lin, an old acquaintance of Xiang Kun, so they were naturally embarrassed to discuss the topic loudly.

At this moment, the door to the private room opened, and Zhang Qian, dressed in a business suit and looking shrewd and capable, walked in. As she took her seat, she apologized to Xiang Kun, Lao Xia, Tang Baona, and the others.

After instructing the waiter to begin serving the food, Zhang Qian hesitated for a moment, then asked Xiang Kun across Xia Libing, "Mr. Xiang, did my brother Zhang Chu come looking for you just now?"

"Oh, Mr. Zhang did chat with me for a while," Xiang Kun nodded.

"I apologize on his behalf. He's been spoiled and domineering at home, so he might have said some inappropriate things. Also, because of what happened at his company before, he might have misunderstood me, which is why he said some nonsense..."

"It's alright, Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang and I had a very pleasant chat," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

"Oh... I see." Zhang Qian was taken aback, and couldn't help but recall the distraught and somewhat frightened look on Zhang Chu in the parking lot before she came in. She was genuinely curious about Xiang Kun had talked to him about.

Xiang Kun didn't talk to Zhang Qian about that topic for long. With his superhuman senses, he had already figured out while chatting with Zhang Chu that Zhang Qian's car had arrived at the parking lot outside the restaurant, but she didn't come in immediately. Instead, she sat in the car and waited.

Furthermore, considering Zhang Qian's subtle reactions when talking about Zhang Chu, Xiang Kun could easily deduce that she hadn't just found out that Zhang Chu had come to the restaurant to see her; it was very likely that she had tolerated Zhang Chu's "trouble" to some extent.

Xiang Kun could actually understand Zhang Qian's thoughts. From the very beginning of their cooperation through "Director Lin", Zhang Qian had been constantly making concessions and was at a complete disadvantage. No matter how bizarre or demanding Xiang Kun's requests were, she had no choice but to agree. Of course, in the end, it was proven that Xiang Kun had not cheated her.

But precisely because of this, even with such large-scale cooperation, she remains very passive, has minimal influence on Xiang Kun, and finds it difficult to change this situation.

Judging solely from their identities and the resources they contributed to the collaboration, outsiders would hardly imagine that Zhang Qian and Xiang Kun's relationship would be like this.

Therefore, when Zhang Chu appeared as a variable, Zhang Qian wanted to use this to put some pressure on Xiang Kun, to see if she could slightly reverse the situation and make Xiang Kun produce more and be more under her control.

In any case, given their current level of cooperation, the relationship between the two companies, and the connection between the shareholders and Xiang Kun, it's not something that can be easily stopped or disrupted.

Even if Zhang Chu offended Xiang Kun, she could step in to clean up the mess, make amends, and might even use it to achieve her goals.

Although Xiang Kun doesn't have "mind-reading" abilities and can't directly explore her subconscious using "Dream Within a Dream," the logic is sound based on his cognitive model of Zhang Qian and the information he's observed.

However, Xiang Kun didn't hold a grudge. It was normal for Zhang Qian to have such thoughts; she was a strong-willed and controlling person, and it was quite an achievement that they had managed to reach this level in their collaborations.

As things stand, Zhang Qian remains the most suitable partner.