It’s Not Okay to Kiss Me as Soon as We Meet (ABO) - Chapter 14

Looking at Shen Li’s bright eyes, Lin Huaiyi mumbled vaguely, “Um… it’s not something really suitable for an omega. The sales girl misunderstood and thought we were a couple.”

Shen Li felt a bit awkward and didn’t pursue it further. After paying with Lin Huaiyi, she quickly left the range of the sales girl’s intense gaze.

Seeing that Shen Li didn’t ask more, Lin Huaiyi let out a quiet sigh of relief. She really couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud—the sales girl had just told her, “You and your girlfriend are so well-matched. You’re my first sale today, so out of gratitude, please let me give you a bottle of our store’s homemade spring harmony sake as a gift. I hope your life is full of joy and smoothness.”

According to the sales girl, spring harmony sake was a type of liquor their store developed to spice up AO romantic lives—a small bottle, but very expensive, and mainly, it was priceless on the market.

The driver followed the address Lin Huaiyi gave and finally stopped in front of an estate. Shen Li went silent for a moment and muttered softly, “Is this the right address?”

Lin Huaiyi had originally thought the meeting would be at Yamamoto Daisuke’s company too, so now seeing this estate, she was also full of question marks. She wasn’t too sure herself and inwardly shed tears, praying that Lin Feng wasn’t messing with her.

Fortunately, as soon as the two got out of the car, a woman in a traditional kimono walked over. “Excuse me, are you Miss Lin and Miss Shen?”

Lin Huaiyi’s heart finally settled back in her chest. She exchanged a glance with Shen Li and nodded. “Yes, we have an appointment to meet with Mr. Yamamoto.”

The woman receiving them was around forty years old, and the kimono she wore was exquisite and luxurious. Lin Huaiyi had heard before that in big Japanese families, attire was particular—the kimonos worn by the women in the household might have been passed down and worn for several generations from their ancestors, basically qualifying as antiques. Now it seemed this lady’s kimono was very likely that type.

The woman smiled very elegantly. “Mr. Yamamoto is already waiting for you in the pavilion. Please follow me.”

The three passed through a garden, which clearly drew inspiration from the aesthetic of Su-style gardens but also had the unique beauty of Japanese style. The whole garden was very neat and tidy, exuding a quiet and refined air. It was midsummer, so you could hear the cicadas chirping noisily in the garden, and the Japanese waterwheel turned slowly with a ding-dong sound.

After walking for about ten minutes or so, Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li saw a pavilion ahead. In the pavilion sat a little old man around fifty-something who was brewing tea. Behind him stood a young man in his twenties, and the two looked very similar—clearly, this was Yamamoto Daisuke and his son.

Hearing the sounds from their side, Yamamoto Daisuke looked up. The guiding woman stepped forward lightly and bent down to whisper a few words in Yamamoto Daisuke’s ear. Yamamoto Daisuke nodded and let the woman withdraw.

It seemed this elegantly dressed woman was a housekeeper-type figure in the Yamamoto household.

Yamamoto Daisuke stood up and smiled at the two. “Miss Lin, Miss Shen, you’ve come a long way and must be tired. This is my son, Tsuna Yamamoto.”

Yamamoto Daisuke looked thin and kind, while Tsuna Yamamoto was the complete opposite of his father. Tsuna Yamamoto had a narrow forehead and a hooked nose; even from his facial features, he showed shrewdness and dominance everywhere, with a bit of阴鸷 in his eyes.

Shen Li signaled Lin Huaiyi to hand the gift to Yamamoto Daisuke.

Lin Huaiyi understood and said respectfully, “Hello, Mr. Yamamoto. We’re sorry to impose on you by asking you to make time out of your busy schedule to meet us—we feel very bad about it. We hope you like this small gift.”

Yamamoto Daisuke showed delight on his face. “Oh? You even brought a gift—that’s too generous. May I open it and take a look?”

After getting an affirmative reply, Yamamoto Daisuke slowly unwrapped the beautifully packaged gift box and saw the sake jug with the lily motif.

Yamamoto Daisuke: “Eh? Could this be… Tsuna, bring me the magnifying glass.”

Tsuna Yamamoto handed Yamamoto Daisuke a long-handled silver magnifying glass upon hearing this, and Yamamoto Daisuke examined it carefully.

After inspecting it for a bit, Yamamoto Daisuke nodded in satisfaction. “Mm… no mistake—this is the Louis Ounce XIII series produced by Louis Ounce Manor in 1832. This liquor is very expensive. You’ve put thought into it.”

With that, Yamamoto Daisuke contentedly called someone to store the bottle in his wine cellar. He looked up at the two again, in a great mood, and smiled slightly. “It seems you’ve researched this old man’s tastes thoroughly. My collection was just missing a bottle from this series, and since its jug is crafted by Italian artisans, it’s very recognizable. Ah, when it comes to liquor, this old man just won’t stop talking—I hope you two don’t mind my chattering.”

After speaking, Yamamoto Daisuke pushed two teacups toward Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li. Shen Li felt as anxious as if ants were crawling on her heart, but out of courtesy, she couldn’t show it at this moment. She could only pretend to be calm, pick up the teacup in front of her, and act as if she were savoring the tea carefully.

Yamamoto Daisuke’s eyes were sharp as anything—he could tell at a glance that the two young people before him had hidden worry and anxiety on their faces but were forcing themselves to stay composed.

Yamamoto Daisuke smiled slightly and, for the sake of that bottle of liquor, didn’t make things harder for them. He skipped rambling about tea ceremony insights and cut straight to the main topic.

Yamamoto Daisuke: “I’ve got a rough idea of why you two are here, but since you young ladies managed to find your way to me, you must know that resolving this won’t be too easy.”

Yamamoto Daisuke’s words were translated live by Lin Huaiyi for Shen Li to hear. Shen Li knew he was referring to how someone had already made contact with the Yamamoto company before.

Before coming to visit, Lin Huaiyi had already checked the authorization status of the Yamamoto patent. The authorization they wanted hadn’t been exclusively taken by any other company yet. In other words, the person behind the scenes didn’t want to step forward and sign for that authorization but also didn’t want Shen Corporation to get it. In this situation, the behind-the-scenes person could at most sign an intent agreement with Yamamoto, indicating their future intent to obtain authorization for the Yamamoto family’s patent and asking Yamamoto to hold it for a certain period without signing it to anyone else.

But that kind of intent agreement, no matter how you looked at it, wasn’t a real cooperation contract, and the behind-the-scenes person hadn’t truly started cooperating with Yamamoto. Even if the Yamamoto side breached it and authorized the patent to someone else, the penalty for breach was usually not much.

Shen Corporation now hoped Yamamoto Daisuke would change his mind and agree to authorize it to them. If Yamamoto Daisuke agreed, the cost he would pay was breaking the promise he’d made to the previous person.

Yamamoto Daisuke was asking them for bargaining chips—chips worth more than the benefits of holding onto the authorization.

Shen Li had already thought this through before coming. In business, merchants valued profit. In the business world, nothing was unchangeable—if there was, it just meant the chips offered weren’t heavy enough yet.

Patent authorizations generally involved an annual licensing fee to the patent-holding company. She planned to up the ante there: besides the required licensing fee, she would add 5% of the annual sales of the X1 water purification equipment. This incentive was nothing if not generous.

As soon as she said this, Yamamoto Daisuke indeed showed some interest, but after thinking for a moment, he still shook his head.

Yamamoto Daisuke: “Miss Shen, the profit you offer is plenty generous. But for a merchant, credit is important too. Just this much profit isn’t enough to make me, Yamamoto Daisuke, go back on the promise I gave someone else before.”

Shen Li smiled slightly. “Of course, Mr. Yamamoto—your reputation for keeping your word is known throughout the business world. Since you don’t think 5% of Shen Corporation’s annual X1 series sales is enough, would this catch your eye?”

What Shen Li put forward was the patent for the chip technology she had designed. She knew Yamamoto wanted to open a wholly-owned subsidiary in the automotive industry but had been stuck without suitable chip technology.

The barriers in Japan’s domestic automotive industry were very high, and core technologies like chips were always kept tightly under wraps by each company. It was precisely because of this issue that Yamamoto had yet to break into the automotive sector.

But if Shen Corporation authorized the chip technology to Yamamoto, it would be different—Yamamoto could potentially gain a foothold in the automotive industry with Shen Corporation’s chip tech.

On the surface, Yamamoto trading one parts technology authorization for one chip technology authorization from Shen Corporation meant Yamamoto came out ahead, while Shen Corporation lost out.

And for Shen Corporation, they had no plans to enter the automotive industry. The chip technology Shen Li was offering now was also a relatively outdated patent internally at Shen Corporation—it was something Shen Jun had tossed her way back then to practice with. But for the Yamamoto family, which lacked chip technology, it seemed quite valuable.

Just as Shen Li had anticipated, Yamamoto Daisuke could no longer stay calm about this proposal. He couldn’t hide the anticipation in his eyes—even a bit of fervor. “You mean it? Can you make the call on this?”

Yamamoto Daisuke had always wanted to enter the automotive industry, but actually, there was opposition to this within the Yamamoto family. Don’t think just because Yamamoto Daisuke was the clan head that he could ignore the opinions of the various branches in the clan.

Yamamoto Daisuke had majored in neither finance nor business management in university but in automotive engineering. It stemmed from a childhood dream of cars—he had always wanted to own his own car company, with a logo he had carefully designed.

In his youth, he had been busy and thought he had forgotten that childhood dream. But now that he had fought for everything he should have, and life wasn’t as hectic as before, he thought of his dream again.

The other members of the Yamamoto family weren’t so interested in cars—they only wanted to stick to the old business for steady returns, not pioneer new fields. The main reason they rejected Yamamoto Daisuke’s proposal was that the Yamamoto family had no chip technology.

Yamamoto Daisuke admitted that this opposing reason was indeed compelling. He had always actively networked with people in the automotive world, hoping to secure a chip technology authorization, but within a price range the Yamamoto family could accept, no company had agreed to Yamamoto Daisuke yet.

Shen Li nodded calmly. “I led the development of this technology, and the current chairman of Shen Corporation is my father. I think I can assure you that if you agree to authorize the patent technology involving the 8924 part to Shen Corporation, then this chip technology—Shen Corporation can authorize it to Yamamoto. This will be a win-win cooperation.”

Yamamoto Daisuke was just about to open his mouth and agree when Tsuna Yamamoto suddenly spoke up.

Tsuna Yamamoto: “Father, I have another idea. Whether it’s the 8924 parts technology or the chip technology, both are immensely significant and indispensable to Yamamoto and Shen Corporation. Relying just on business promises, I think the stability isn’t enough. But if our Yamamoto and Shen Corporation joined through marriage, I believe all unstable factors would vanish. My proposal is that I, Tsuna Yamamoto, take Miss Shen Li as my wife. What do you all think?”

From the moment Shen Li sat down, Tsuna Yamamoto had been drawn to her beauty. At this moment, seeing that the two sides were about to reach a cooperation deal with their side holding the advantage, Tsuna Yamamoto no longer hid his greedy desire for Shen Li. He stared straight at her and licked his lips with a smile. “Shen Corporation and the Yamamoto family each have technology the other urgently needs. If we marry, we won’t have to run around for technology authorizations in the future. Father, if I can marry Miss Shen, would your car dream still be a problem?”

Yamamoto Daisuke went from initial surprise to deep thought—it was clear Tsuna Yamamoto hadn’t discussed this with him at all beforehand. Now that Tsuna Yamamoto had rashly brought it up, Yamamoto Daisuke was quite annoyed at his son’s recklessness. But amid the annoyance, when he thought about Tsuna Yamamoto’s last sentence, he couldn’t help but feel tempted.

Yamamoto Daisuke wasn’t stupid—he could tell the chip technology Shen Li offered was from a couple of years ago. He had originally thought that trading a parts technology he didn’t care much about for an entry ticket to the automotive industry was already a pie falling from the sky.

Now Tsuna Yamamoto’s proposal made him fantasize: if the Yamamoto family married Shen Li, wouldn’t the latest chip technology be within easy reach?

Never mind chip technology—Shen Li herself was a huge treasure trove. All the technologies she developed in the future could belong to the Yamamoto family.

Yamamoto Daisuke glanced at Tsuna Yamamoto, warning the kid that in the future, he had better discuss things with him before speaking. This time, he’d let it slide.

No wonder they said old ginger was the spiciest—Yamamoto Daisuke first laughed heartily and apologized to Shen Li, making amends and blaming Tsuna Yamamoto for being too impulsive. But then he added, “But after thinking it over, this brat’s proposal seems to have a bit of merit. If Miss Shen married into the Yamamoto family, with our family’s solid foundation, we could certainly help Miss Shen secure the successor position at Shen Corporation.”