Paula Rouco looked at Ribs at her feet, crouched down, patiently pushed her little paws away and said, “Ribs, I’m going to go, I’ll see you in a little while, okay?”
Severo Laris’ heart was touched to hear him say this to Ribs.
Does he mean he will be back?
However, Severo Laris never does anything he is not sure of.
The man came up on his two long legs and said with a look of circumstance, “Costillas must miss you after seven years without seeing you. ”
Paula Rouco ignored him, caressing Costillas’ soft, fat body, and said, “But I’m going home.”
A deep look crossed Severo Laris’ eyes as he suggested, “Why don’t you borrow Costillas for a few days?”
Borrow?
Paula Rouco felt extraordinarily uncomfortable at the word and said, “I picked up Costillas in the first place, would he be the Costillas he is now if I hadn’t insisted on keeping him in the first place?”
Without replying, Severo Laris seconded her words, “You’re right.”
“Costillas was already mine, and even if I take her home now, you have no right to stop me.”
“Of course.” It was suddenly incredibly pleasant to talk to Severo Laris.
Paula Rouco froze, Costillas had climbed into her arms and was leaning on her.
“Meow, meow.”
Paula Rouco couldn’t leave Costillas behind, she was so clingy. Costillas was clinging to her like she had clung to Severo Laris, and she didn’t want to say no to Costillas.
Paula Rouco picked up Costillas, cleared her throat and said, “Costillas I’m taking him into storage for a few days.”
“Be my guest.” Incredibly generous.
…
It wasn’t until Paula Rouco loaded up Costillas, climbed into the repaired 911 and put Costillas in the passenger side, that she realized, with hindsight, that he had fallen into the well.
She’s taking Costillas home, so won’t they see each other again in a while when Severo Laris comes to pick up Costillas?
Anyway, she just wanted to take Costillas home for a few days to recuperate.
…
The Holy City and Imperial have always had branches of the MO Group.
Once Severo Laris settled in La Ciudad Santa, it was time to get down to business.
The branch has a heavy workload, with a lot of business overseas that has just been received back home.
Severo Laris just left the conference room after a three-hour strategy meeting with the branch’s top management.
Salvino said, “Boss, there is a guest in the room, surnamed Zeng, and since she told the counter downstairs that she was an old friend of yours, the lobby did not dare to stop her.”
Surname Tsang.
Severo Laris certainly knows who she is.
During these seven years he had intermittent and occasional contact with Engracia.
Engracia stood up and looked at him with a smile as Severo Laris made his way to the living room and pushed open the clear glass door to enter.
“It’s been a long time, Professor Laris.”
Severo Laris also smiled slightly, “Professor Laris, have you come to make fun of me?”
Engracia was dressed in a light-colored professional suit, with neat ears peeking out from under her dry, short hair and delicate, light makeup.
“How dare I tease you now that you are a multinational businessman? I knew you had just arrived in The Holy City, so I came to see you at your branch, and thank goodness the security guard downstairs didn’t stop me because I didn’t have an appointment. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to meet Professor Laris today. ”
Soon after, Salvino brought two cups of coffee.
Engracia took a sip and noticed a warm orange tattoo on the inside of Severo Laris’ left arm with the sleeve rolled up, small, not too noticeable, but impossible to ignore.
Engracia said, “Looks like you’ve come back to The Holy City for more than just the group’s business strategy.”
However, Severo Laris wonders, as his name suggests, “Why do you say that?”.
Engracia raised an eyebrow, “Don’t forget I am a venture capitalist, I have analyzed for you the MO Group, you don’t necessarily have much to gain by going back to China. First of all, the national government supports domestic companies, you won’t get half the benefits of the policy, and you may face big tax problems.”
Severo Laris smiles lightly and reassuringly, “As long as there is a challenge, there is an opportunity, and you have to admit that there is a big piece of vacant pie in the country, and no one is going to get a bite of that pie for a while.”
“It’s true that the pie is big, but your MO Group can easily become uncomfortable in the water, and don’t forget that there are domestic rules in the domestic business arena.”
“Rules, people make them, rules are not set in stone, rules can be changed.”
Engracia said, “But entrenched systems are difficult to change and your modus operandi will take a long time to adapt to the national landscape, and in the process of adaptation you will have internal conflicts and all kinds of problems.”
Severo Laris neither refuted nor approved, but merely curved his thin lips slightly.
Engracia glared at him, “You know everything I’ve said, you’ve thought about it more than I have, but you’re back and making money is probably second.”
“You’ve come back just for her, haven’t you?”
Engracia has always been frank, and Severo Laris was little uncomfortable and did not deny it.
Because what she said, was the truth.
Severo Laris’ suddenly serious face said, “I’ve lost her for seven years, and I can’t lose another minute.”
The voice was calm and imperturbable, neither too loud nor too small, but extraordinarily firm.
Engracia looks at the tattoo on her arm and asks, “Paula Rouco is not a girl you call and remove, she’s proud of it.”
“I know.”
“So what makes you think she would agree to reconcile with you now when you hurt her so badly seven years ago?”
Severo Laris laughed, looked at her and said, “You’re wrong, I never thought she would reconcile with me.”
Engracia asks, “Even if you don’t make it in the end, do you have to throw it out there?”
“It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t reconcile with me for the rest of her life, as long as I’m allowed to keep an eye on her and be with her.”
When Engracia saw the persistence and seriousness in his dark eyes, she froze and said, “I probably didn’t lose to Paula Rouco seven years ago, I lost to you. I always thought you were so mature that winning or losing was all that mattered to you. There’s hope of getting it before you did, but you treated her in … Like you broke all your rules.”
“Winning and losing has always been important to me; doing business, to get, making money, to get. But Engracia, do you know why I’m so desperate to get?”
Engracia rightly said, “You come from a humble background, and every humble kid has the ambition to jump the Dragon Gate Gangsters. ”
Once upon a time, yes,” Severo Laris says. But that vain idealistic ambition alone could not have kept me here. My motivation, it’s her.”
“Seven years ago, turning down your invitation to go abroad was because of her, and later accepting your invitation to go abroad was because of her. The MO Group was founded because of her. All these longings were because of her.”
When a man has all his desires. Desires and longings, all piled up, that sense of conviction is invincibly powerful.
When Engracia left, she looked at him and said, “Severo Laris, you are paranoid.”
Severo Laris admitted he was sick.
“I am sick, the medicine is in your hand, and if you don’t let go, I will die of thirst.”
Engracia is still confused: “I still don’t understand why you broke up with Paula Rouco then?”.
Severo Laris did not give many explanations, but spoke lightly and took all the blame: “I am the one who failed her.”