Chapter 16 — Leaving You, I Shine

But whatever. I don't have time to think about him. Until the fifth week, an unexpected accident broke this peace. That afternoon, while I was working overtime at the studio, my phone popped up with a news notification –

“Co Thi Real Estate plans to acquire 30% of the shares of Tinh Than Cultural Media, with an estimated transaction value of 800 million yuan.”

I looked at that news, my finger paused on the screen. Co Thi. Purchasing. Spirit. My current biggest customer is Tinh Than's project. If Co Thi becomes a major shareholder of Tinh Than - then the relationship between me and Co Hanh will once again intersect in the business market. Is this a coincidence? Or was it his move? I immediately called Do Minh Vien.

"Director Do, I saw the news. Co Thi bought Tinh Than, is it true?"

Do Minh Vien was silent for two seconds: "It's true. The news was just released today."

“Will this affect my project?”

"Not at the moment. The purchasing is shares at the group level, the projects in the East China region we still operate independently. But—"

“But what?”

"But if the acquisition is completed and Co Thi sends people to the board of directors, the process of approving external contractors for future large projects... may have to go through their hands."

My back is cold. If Co Hanh joins Tinh Than's board of directors, whether my contract will be renewed or not, whether the money will be disbursed or not, it all depends on his face. This is not a coincidence. After six years of being by his side, I know very well how he does business - no pressure, no tears, just quietly spreading the net. He is using the power of capital to force me back into the range that he can reach. I hung up the phone, sat at my desk, and calmly thought for 5 minutes. Then picked up the phone and sent Co Hanh a text message - the third text message I proactively sent him in the past six years.

“You bought Spirit because I'm working on their project?”

This time he answered very quickly.

"Not really. Tinh Than's operations are complementary to Co Thi. This deal was negotiated half a year ago."

“Half a year ago I was still in Co Thi.”

“Yes.”

“So you're saying, this has nothing to do with me?”

He typed a line and sent it over.

“It has nothing to do with you. But I won't pretend you don't exist.”

I stared at this text for a long time. What is "not pretending like you don't exist"? During the six-year marriage, he treated me like air, now divorced and "not pretending like I don't exist"? I didn't answer him. Turn off your phone, take a deep breath... That's not right. I stood up, walked to the window, and pushed the door open. The night wind blew in, carrying the scent of cinnamon flowers. Be calm. No matter what his purpose is, the only thing I can do - Is before his hand reaches the East China region of Tinh Than, must make this project so perfect that it cannot be replaced. Making Do Minh Vien and Tinh Than's senior leadership inseparable from me. So that even if Co Hanh could get on the board of directors, he wouldn't find any reason to replace me. Use the results to talk.

—

The next two months, I almost surrendered my life to those 12 brands. Overall strategy of phase 4 The first signal was delivered at the end of the month. During the evaluation meeting, Do Minh Vien said:

“The level of completion of this set of plans is 30% higher than my expectations.”

In the meeting there were also people from Tinh Than headquarters, a deputy general director pounded the table and decided on the spot: For the remaining 8 brands, allocate additional budget to 4 million yuan, continue to assign Chieu Bach to work. 4 million yuan.