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Geli Poetry Company is making intensive preparations and will soon be officially put into operation.

At this critical moment, Ding Yuanying chaired a crucial shareholders' meeting.

Besides him and Suning, the attendees were mainly the three shareholders from Wangmiao Village: Feng Shijie, Ye Xiaoming, and Liu Bing.

The atmosphere of the meeting was different from usual technical discussions or production arrangements; it was unusually serious.

Ding Yuanying's gaze slowly swept over Feng Shijie, Ye Xiaoming, and Liu Bing, and he spoke in a solemn tone:
"The company is about to begin the real market battle. From now on, everyone here must firmly establish one concept—trade secrets are the lifeline of the company and the key to our survival."

He then went on to explain to the three men in detail: “Our production cost structure, unique process flow, European evaluation results, future pricing strategy, and especially our trump cards and negotiation details when dealing with large companies like Lesheng… If all this information is leaked and our competitors get hold of it, they can easily target us and make all our efforts go to waste.”

He looked particularly at Liu Bing, who was outgoing and sociable, and Feng Shijie, who sometimes seemed too "honest," and said earnestly, "You may think that it's okay to talk a few more words with relatives, friends, and villagers. But the business world is like a battlefield. A careless remark can cause us to lose everything. I hope you can always remember to watch your mouths. This is being responsible to the company, and also to your own hard work and investment."

These words served as a wake-up call for the three men. Especially when they recalled Su Ning's previous harsh treatment of them, they realized the seriousness of the problem and nodded in agreement.

After the meeting, night fell, and fine snowflakes drifted down in the ancient city, creating a serene atmosphere.

Rui Xiaodan drove to pick up Ding Yuanying, planning to go to a time-honored hot pot restaurant to warm up.

The car was warm and cozy inside, while snowflakes danced in the air outside the window under the streetlights.

While enjoying a bowl of hot mutton hotpot, Rui Xiaodan talked about her upcoming trip to Germany to visit relatives, her tone filled with complex feelings about being in a foreign land: "Actually, every time I go to my mother's place, although the environment is good and life is comfortable, I always feel like a guest and can't fit in. It's only when I return to the old city and put on my police uniform that I feel at ease."

Ding Yuanying listened quietly, then asked, "Why are you so obsessed with being a police officer? With your qualifications, you could have had an easier job."

Rui Xiaodan put down her chopsticks, her eyes becoming deep and resolute: "I think that as long as a person is alive, they always need something to look forward to, something to hold onto in their hands. The job of a police officer, although tiring and dangerous, is concrete. Every time I solve a case, every time I help someone, that real feeling is something that nothing else can give me. It makes me feel that my feet are firmly planted on the ground."

Ding Yuanying understood; this was an ultimate pursuit of a sense of existence and value in life.

He pondered for a moment and then made a suggestion: "Since we're going out this time, why not take a detour to Jerusalem on the way back?"

"Jerusalem?" Rui Xiaodan was somewhat surprised.

“Yes.” Ding Yuanying nodded. “That’s the holy site of the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For thousands of years, it has carried too much conflict, faith, suffering, and hope. Go there and experience the impact of a completely different culture, religion, and history. Witnessing the complexity of the world and the various obsessions of humanity may give you a deeper understanding of life and human nature. This will be helpful to you, both as a police officer and as a person.”

As expected, Rui Xiaodan was swayed by this tempting suggestion.

She knew that this was not just a simple trip, but a spiritual journey and a broadening of her horizons.

She looked into Ding Yuanying's deep eyes behind the steam from the hot pot and nodded solemnly: "Okay! I'll listen to you and go to Jerusalem."

The snowflakes continued to fall silently, while the hot pot restaurant was bustling with activity.

On this ordinary snowy night, warnings about the company's survival and long-term plans for personal growth intertwine, foreshadowing an extraordinary journey for Geli Poetry and its people.

……

Suning held the cool bone china in her hand, her gaze sweeping over the street scene outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

In Beijing in 1996, the plane tree leaves were just turning pale yellow, and the flow of bicycles resembled a slowly moving river. Occasionally, a Xiali taxi would pass by, its body still covered with unwashed dust.

This was completely different from the futuristic city he was familiar with; even the air had a relaxed feel of the old days.

The café was filled with the distinctive aroma of roasted coffee, and an old-fashioned ceiling fan turned slowly, blending the "tap-tap" of a hot girl typing on a keyboard in the corner into the background music of a saxophone.

The woman had long, neat hair and was dressed in a professional woman's attire. She held a nearly burnt-out Mole cigarette between her fingers, and ash fell softly next to her open laptop.

"Excuse me, miss." At this moment, an elderly man in a floral shirt approached with a coffee cup. His belly bulged out of the second button of his shirt, and his face was full of deliberate flattery. "You seem a bit bored by yourself. I'm also in the computer business. Maybe we can chat?"

The hot girl paused, the cigarette between her fingers hovering, without looking up, but the keyboard clicks suddenly stopped.

Only when the man took another half step forward did she slowly raise her eyes, her gaze beneath her eyelashes as cold as ice, her arms crossed over her chest. "What do you want to do?"

"Would you like to have a drink somewhere else?"

"If I accept your invitation, then what?"

The man paused for a moment, then chuckled dryly twice: "And then...and let's be friends! After all, it's always good to make more friends."

"And then what happens after you make friends?" She raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone laced with undisguised sarcasm.

"This..." The man's face turned a deep purplish-red, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the inside of his coffee cup. "It's just... it's about looking out for each other, so we can help each other out in business in the future..."

"Hmph." The hot girl scoffed, her voice not loud, but it drew the attention of several tables around her. "Stop pretending, so you want to take me to bed, right?"

"You, you..." The man's face instantly turned from red to white, and he hurriedly took two steps back, knocking over the chair behind him. "It seems I've disturbed you."

After saying that, he practically fled, forgetting even to take the coffee he hadn't finished.

Not far away, Su Ning couldn't help but chuckle softly, tapped the table with his fingertips, and got up to walk towards the table that was half empty.

"Miss, is this place empty? May I sit here?"

The hot girl had just stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray when she glanced at him, a playful smile playing on her lips: "What? You're like that old man from before, wanting to sleep with me?"

Su Ning didn't answer, but pulled out a chair and sat down, tapping his empty glass in front of him with his fingertips: "Let me make this clear first, I can only afford one Americano, since I've just arrived in Beijing."

He looked up at the woman, his gaze honest and unadulterated. "But you're so beautiful, isn't it normal to want to sleep with you?"

The woman's mockery faded slightly, and her fingertips returned to the keyboard, but she didn't type anything. Instead, she stared blankly at the report on the screen: "Then let me ask you, what happened after we slept together?"

“It depends on fate.” Su Ning picked up the Americano the waiter had just brought, took a sip, and felt the bitterness spread across her tongue. “If we get along, we can meet up for coffee again next time and talk about these things on your screen—I guess it’s your company’s financial statements? If we don’t get along, let’s just consider it a good dream last night, and go our separate ways when we wake up in the morning. The adult world doesn’t need to be so complicated, does it?”

The woman finally looked at him directly, a hint of inquiry in her eyes: "You understand financial statements?"

"I only know the basics." Su Ning smiled, but his face was full of disdain.

The woman's guard completely relaxed. She simply closed her laptop, slung her black backpack over her shoulder, and said, "Let's go."

"Where to?" Su Ning raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you want to know if we get along?" She pushed open the door, and when she turned to look at him, a genuine smile finally appeared on her lips. "We'll have to try to find out."

Su Ning followed her through two alleys and finally stopped in front of a five-star hotel with a sign that read "Beijing Hotel".

The crystal chandelier in the lobby was dazzlingly bright, a world apart from the bustling city outside. Once inside the room, the woman's earlier restraint and defensiveness vanished…

Suning, too, readily cooperated with this hot girl's wild and unrestrained nature...

Nothing happened that night. When the morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains, Su Ning groggily opened her eyes and found that the spot next to her was already cold.

On the bedside table sat a copy of "The Stranger," with a line written in pen on the title page: "The world is absurd, life is painful—but occasional encounters are not so bad."

There was no contact information, no farewell, not even a single extra word.

Just like her sudden appearance last night, and her sudden disappearance now, leaving only the words on the pages of the book and the faint smell of cigarette smoke in the air, it has become the most special memory that Beijing left for Suning in 96.

He picked up the book, glanced at the line on the title page, and couldn't help but smile...

Perhaps this is the most comfortable encounter for adults: no entanglement, no questioning, just a brief stay in each other's worlds, and then carrying this warmth, continuing on to our respective distant horizons.

……

Su Ning drove Rui Xiaodan to meet Xiao Yawen. Xiao Yawen had already rented shops and warehouses for Geli Poetry Company, and now they were just waiting for them to sign the final rental agreement.

The elevator doors opened with a "ding," and Xiao Yawen, dressed in a neatly tailored beige suit, stood at the end of the corridor checking documents.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and her gaze froze the moment it met Su Ning's. The tips of her ears turned red involuntarily.

A knowing smile flashed across Su Ning's eyes as she stepped forward and extended her hand. "Manager Xiao, I've heard so much about you. I didn't expect you to be the 'capable and reliable' Xiao Yawen that Mr. Ding mentioned."

Xiao Yawen composed herself and placed her fingers directly on his palm, the touch gradually overlapping with the temperature of that night in her memory.

Then, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, she forced a professional smile, but her tone betrayed a deep complexity: "I never expected that Su Ning, the partner of Geli Poetry, would be you."

"Ya Wen, do you know Su Ning?" Rui Xiaodan looked at Su Ning, then at Xiao Ya Wen, her eyes full of surprise.

She knew that Xiao Yawen was Ding Yuanying's former subordinate, and she also knew that Su Ning had only recently arrived in Beijing. How could the two of them have any connection?

At this moment, Xiao Yawen withdrew his hand, avoiding Rui Xiaodan's probing gaze: "We met once some time ago, it was like... we became friends after a fight."

Su Ning smiled, took the rental contract from her, and paused at the signature line: "In any case, it's quite a coincidence that we met again so soon. Thank you for your help, Manager Xiao."

"You're too kind! Rui Xiaodan and I have a very good relationship."

That same evening after the contract was signed, Han Chufeng hosted a dinner for Rui Xiaodan and Su Ning.

The private room was decorated with bright red palace lanterns, and the aroma of roast duck fat mixed with the rich fragrance of Moutai liquor filled the air.

After a few rounds of drinks, Han Chufeng discussed the company's future plans, then changed the subject and asked Xiao Yawen about her specific ideas, "Yawen, what are your thoughts on Geli Poetry Company?"

She put down her wine glass, her tone calm yet resolute: "President Han, I believe in Mr. Ding, and I also believe in the direction of Geli Poetry. In life and in work, it's all about 'going with the flow, cherishing what comes, and not forcing things.' When the time is right, seize it, do your best to do things well, and as for the results, leave it to time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Chufeng couldn't help but clap his hands, his eyes full of admiration: "What a wonderful 'cherish what you have'! Xiao Dan, your friend has an extraordinary perspective."

Rui Xiaodan smiled and nodded, but out of the corner of her eye she caught Su Ning and Xiao Yawen exchanging glances. The unspoken understanding in their eyes made her even more curious about their "past".

After the dinner, Su Ning followed Xiao Yawen back to her rented apartment under the pretext of "consulting on the details of the consulting firm's operations."

The two-bedroom apartment wasn't large, but it was very well organized. The bookshelves were mostly filled with law and management books, and there was an old-fashioned laptop in the corner...

It was the same computer she used when she was looking at the financial statements in the coffee shop.

Xiao Yawen had just poured a glass of warm water and handed it over when Su Ning gently grasped her wrist.

The familiar warmth made her body stiffen slightly, but she did not break free.

She simply looked up at Su Ning, her eyes swirling with surprise and confusion, and a hint of expectation that she herself didn't even realize.

“I knew you were special from the moment we met at the coffee shop that day.” Su Ning gently stroked her wrist with his fingertips, his tone serious. “It wasn’t because you were pretty, it was the focus you had when you looked at the reports, the clarity you showed when you confronted that old man, and… that indomitable spirit in your bones.”

Xiao Yawen's heart skipped a beat, and the one-night stand he had deliberately suppressed resurfaced...

A frantic entanglement in front of a coffee shop and a hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows; a figure disappearing into the morning light...

She never imagined that her fleeting romance would be rewritten in this way.

Then Xiao Yawen hugged Su Ning tightly again.

As night deepened, Xiao Yawen leaned contentedly on Su Ning's shoulder, her fingers gently tracing his chest, her voice slightly hoarse with a hint of intoxication: "Last time at the coffee shop, did you already know my identity? Did you know I used to be President Ding's subordinate, and deliberately approach me?"

Su Ning lowered her head and kissed the top of her head: "I really don't know. When I first got close to you, I was just attracted by your 'clear-headed yet passionate' temperament. It had nothing to do with your identity or anyone else."

He paused, then lifted her chin with his fingertips, looking intently at her: "As for our reunion later, it was probably just like you said, 'When fate brings you together, you catch it.'"

Looking at the seriousness in his eyes, Xiao Yawen unconsciously smiled, reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest.

It turns out that some relationships, which seem accidental, are actually preordained.

……

A few days later, the Geli Poetry Audio Store quietly opened on an inconspicuous commercial street.

There was no ribbon-cutting ceremony, no advertising, and even the shop sign was just a simple wooden sign with the four small characters "Geli Poetry Audio" engraved on it.

Ding Yuanying stood outside the shop, watching passersby occasionally stop and then hurry away, a deep meaning flashing in his eyes.

Su Ning and Xiao Yawen stood side by side inside the glass door, looking at the neatly arranged audio equipment on the shelves, and smiled at each other.

Xiao Yawen gently touched the back of his hand with her fingertips and said in a low voice, "Next, it's up to you and Mr. Ding to pull off some amazing moves."

"Don't worry! It will be absolutely fantastic."

Suning wore a meaningful smile as he gazed at the street scene outside the store.

He knew that this story about sound, about cognition, about fate had already begun and was about to continue.

...(End of chapter)