Chapter 16 - A Little Surprise
Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, the breakfast between Yang Li and Bo Lifen turned out to go smoothly. Unlike his coffee date with Ying Yue He—the woman across from him was someone he didn't know at all, and so asking polite questions was enough for them to carry along their conversation.
A miniature panda lay on the table already full from the dumplings. Yang Li ignored the creature and took a sip of his tea. "I did not know that Bo family was the one who owns the Heavenly Jade Pavilion in the Business District, I hear a lot of good reviews but I haven't been there myself."
A soft chuckle escaped her lips, "Ah, it seems you are the type to stay cooped up in your office all day, Mister Li?" Her tone was light and teasing as she picked up one of the buns in the basket. Even the way she ate her breakfast contained a sense of grace.
Yang Li could see where her little brother took his demeanor from.
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"Perhaps. But I think I'm not the only one who's the workaholic, your great grandmother shared some of her complaints earlier." He added to the conversation..
Bo Lifen's eyes widened before she averted her gaze, "Ah, well, I'm the one who takes care of the family business—my parents are already retired. And my two younger brothers are too young, well, one of them could have helped out around the business, but Bo Ling is too immature." Her gaze focused back on him, and it seemed that she was more on venting
The woman caught herself and cleared her throat lightly, "Our family has been in the traditional tea making industry—but he's too keen on milk tea as if there's not one in every corner of the cities."
So far, this was their more honest tone and it was somewhat a personal and family matter.
What was the appropriate way for him to tackle this? Should he agree? No. He needed to be honest as well. Yang Li placed his teacup down. "That's actually a quite good business, although, compared to the prestigiousness of the Heavenly Jade Pavilion—a milk tea shop is oversaturated. But there's always at least one customer willing to grab a drink. Or an iced coffee maybe?" He thought about it more. "If your brother is able to work through the weaknesses of current stores and play up his strengths, then it might be possible for it to work?"
"Will you risk your position as a CEO for this perspective?" Bo Lifen bit into a bun and smiled at him. It was a little challenging. "My brother is actually looking for investors."
He coughed lightly, "I still need a proper market research if I were to fully stand by my words now. But perhaps your brother has done his own research? If he has, I think I'm willing to look into it or have a friend look into it."
Anything for better iced coffee.
"Well, I'll keep your word for it. I'm sure he'd have a blast knowing that a CEO actually thinks it might work."
And perhaps, Grandma Lanfen was right. If Yang Li ignored the incident of losing Charisma Points, Bo Lifen had been nothing but polite and even accommodating. He could understand why the older woman was proud of her great grandchild. "Shall I pour you another cup of tea, Mister Li?" The woman once again had another smile on her face.
He couldn't help but wonder if that one was forced as well.
But in a society like theirs, it was only normal to tolerate one another's presence. He didn't take it too much to heart and shook his head, "I'm fine, Miss Bo. We're supposed to talk to each other but I can't help but notice so far, that it feels like you're in your Tea Sommelier mode." He added a light smile in the end.
The woman's lips pursed slightly.
It was the only indicator of any deviation from her flowery and gentle demeanor. Until a smile finally curled on her lips, "Does it bother you, Mister Li? I must apologize, I'm used to dealing with clients more often than personal meetings." She said it without actually sounding sorry.
He raised a brow and sipped his remaining tea, "Not really, I was worried that you're the one forcing yourself in my presence. The service industry is quite amazing with holding back their emotions it seems."
"...It can't be helped when your clients can be assholes." She muttered.
Yang Li coughed lightly, not exactly expecting her to say such a word from their earlier exchange during the course of breakfast.