So tired.
After the conversation ended, Ji Yeling was left keenly aware of how slippery and difficult Jonas was to deal with. She sat on the sofa in her office, recalling their exchange, filled with helplessness and frustration.
"Jonas is slicker than those slippery bastards. Why does he always handle every conversation so effortlessly?" she muttered to herself, a trace of bitterness in her voice. Her hands rested folded on her knees as she stared blankly ahead.
She had reached the blank-stare stage, past both brimming confidence and incoherent rambling.
Thinking back on their conversation still left Ji Yeling exhausted.
"Miss Ji Yeling, you know I'm always happy to help a friend." Jonas sounded relaxed over the communicator. "I'm always generous with my friends. Oh, my friend, you know I'm always happy to lend a hand."
"But friends? Are we really friends? You're always demanding one condition after another. We ought to be a little friendlier than this." Ji Yeling's voice carried obvious dissatisfaction and doubt.
She had to make her stance known somehow.
I can let myself be slaughtered like a pig, but I can't actually act like some docile pig.
This is humiliating, man.
"Ah, that's a hurtful thing to say. In District 25 and Dragon City-or anywhere in this world, really-everyone has to consider their own interests, don't they?" Jonas chuckled softly. Perhaps she was imagining it, but there seemed to be a hint of provocation hidden in his voice.
Whatever the case, Ji Yeling's fists were already clenching.
"Interests..." Ji Yeling repeated the word quietly, her heart heavy. She knew that, given her current circumstances, she remained at a disadvantage.
"See, Ji Yeling? My conditions aren't excessive. At least, they aren't excessive for you. Cooperation always requires both sides to give something and gain something."