Chapter 8 — The Final Nod

He looked at everyone and then slowly said:

"Let me make one thing clear."

"From now on..."

"An Hop is only negotiating cooperation with Tong Lam's new company."

"If Khai Minh Tech no longer has Tong Lam's guarantee..."

"We will not renew the contract."

Chu Khai Minh put his hands on the table. His hand trembled slightly. I don't look at him. Which took out the third document.

"This is the settlement table of all capital advances and guarantees in the first phase."

"Any amount that needs to be refunded will be refunded."

"Any guarantee that needs to be terminated will be terminated."

"From today..."

"All debts of Khai Minh Tech..."

"I won't bear the burden anymore."

Tham Nghien flipped through the documents page by page. His face remained calm. Then he looked at me.

"What is your final decision?"

Zhou Kaiming stared at me. Red eyes.

"Don't act on emotions."

"We already said that."

"You're back..."

"I will make it all up to you."

I calmly asked:

"Since when do we talk?"

His voice became urgent.

"Isn't what you want just recognition?"

"I've given it to you now."

"You look."

"On PowerPoint I fixed it."

"She is a co-founder."

I looked up at the screen. For eight years. I ask for some recognition. He always says:

"No rush."

Come today. When needed, I save lives. It only took five minutes... He was able to edit a PowerPoint slide. I turned to Tham Nghien.

"I can answer now."

"My decision is..."

"I didn't nod."

Chu Khai Minh's face turned pale little by little. He looked at me in disbelief.

"Do you really want to destroy me?"

Only then did I look straight at him.

"General Zhou."

"Please don't take it personally..."

"On Judgment in Business."

That's the sentence he used to reject me. I returned it to him intact. Zhou Kaiming opened his lips. But couldn't utter a word. Tham Nghien closed the file.

"I got it."

"This funding round of Khai Minh Tech..."

"We withdraw."

Chu Khai Minh immediately turned to him.

"General Judge!"

Tham Nghien didn't give him any chance.

"What we invest in..."

"It's a solid revenue."

"Not a name that was just added to PowerPoint in a few minutes."

He turned to look at me.

"If your new company needs capital..."

"We can talk in private."

"Conditions remain the same."

"What conditions?"

Tham Nghien smiled.

"Just..."

"She nodded."

Chu Khai Minh slowly sat down on the chair. It was as if all the strength in my body had been drained away. I stood up. When passing by him. Suddenly... He reached out and grabbed my sleeve.

"Tri Ha..."

I bent down to look at that hand. He quickly let go. I gently pulled back my sleeve.

"Zhu Kaiming."

"What you lack..."

"Not a co-founder."

"What I really lack..."

"As someone who is willing to work for free for eight years..."

"To the end..."

"Still smiling and telling me..."

'It's okay.'

The news that Khai Minh Tech failed to raise capital spread very quickly. The company chat group was banned from texting for two days, then reopened. No one scolds me anymore. Someone sent a private message:

"Miss Lam, is your new company still recruiting?"

I didn't answer right away.

"Suy Think carefully before coming."

"The new company will not be gentler than Khai Minh Tech."

The other person responded almost immediately.

"I'm not afraid of hard work."

"I'm just afraid of finishing everything..."

"In the end my name disappeared."

I stared at that text message. No reply. ________________________________________ A few days later. Chu Khai Minh found me many times. Once under An Hop's building. Once in front of the gate of my apartment complex. There was another time... He got drunk and called.

"Tri Ha..."

"I really know I was wrong."

"Where did you go wrong?"

The other end of the line was silent for a long time. Finally he said:

"I shouldn't have said those words to you during the capital call."

I hung up. Even now... He still doesn't understand. The mistake was not just in what he said that day. But little by little. One day at a time. Silently accumulated for eight years. ________________________________________ The Board of Directors partially revoked Zhou Kaiming's powers. Hua Man also quickly submitted her resignation letter. On her circle of friends, she posted a photo at the airport. Attached status line: New beginning. The chief accountant took a screenshot and sent it to me.

"Miss Lam, do you need me to scold her a few words?"

I replied.

"No need."

I don't have time to chase and argue with each Hua Man. The stack of company registration documents on the table... Much more useful.