Chapter 147: Dramatic

To say she wasn't scared at all would definitely be a lie.

However, having spent so much time with Zhang Congwen, Zhu Qingyan had also learned a lot from him.

She knew that when facing a biting dog like this Pomeranian, the more afraid one was, the easier it was to be attacked. Conversely, putting on an aura even stronger than the dog's would be much safer.

Although Zhu Qingyan was terrified on the inside, she put on a calm facade on the outside and reached out her hand.

The worst-case scenario she worried about did not happen. In fact, this Pomeranian behaved even more calmly than anyone else expected.

Before Zhu Qingyan's hand could fully reach out, the Pomeranian proactively approached, calmly went up to sniff her scent, then licked its lips and politely stepped back two paces.

Throughout the entire process, the Pomeranian showed no unusual behavior at all, looking just like an extremely well-behaved and cute little dog.

This scene left everyone present with a sense of disbelief.

Clearly, it had possessed an attitude of biting someone to death just moments ago, yet its temperament changed in such a short span of time. This transformation felt like magic.

What surprised everyone even more was that the Pomeranian turned around and took the initiative to lie down under its female owner's seat, looking completely at ease and comfortable.

Seeing this, Zhang Congwen's expression finally shifted from initial sternness to a relieved smile.

At this point, Zhang Congwen's dog-training mission for this venture could finally be declared a complete success.

Bidding farewell to everyone, Song Jiawei, along with the staff from the Dog Whisperer Dog Training Base and Aunt Liu, headed straight for a rather upscale restaurant.

Although the dog-training mission had concluded perfectly, Song Jiawei somehow couldn't seem to muster up any happiness.

"Little Song, you brought us out for a nice meal, so why do you look so distracted?" Aunt Liu asked after taking a bite of a dish.

Song Jiawei shook his head and voiced the worries in his heart: "I'm thinking about this partnership. The training for the first two households went pretty well, but the last two weren't so good."

Everyone put down their chopsticks and turned to look at Song Jiawei.

Aunt Liu widened her eyes: "In what way wasn't it good?"

Song Jiawei said, "I'm not saying Congwen didn't train them well, but he said some things he shouldn't have said. I'm afraid it might affect this partnership to a certain extent."

Even though Song Jiawei didn't spell it out, Zhang Congwen and the others knew what he meant. Those so-called things that shouldn't have been said were nothing more than the threatening remarks Zhang Congwen made in order to convince the last two dog owners.

For instance, mentioning methods of poisoning dogs, and the remarks about demanding compensation that he told Xia Lu.

In response, Zhang Congwen appeared rather unconcerned and said, "Leave human effort to men, and the outcome to heaven. It doesn't matter. Those words were harsh, but they were also the truth. Besides, it's not like our Dog Whisperer Dog Training Base wouldn't survive without this partnership. Anyway, my conscience is clear. Besides, you all saw what those two sets of dog owners were like. If it weren't for this partnership, I really would have slammed the table and walked out."

"What you said is true. I was furious at the time, too. But the executives at Xingrong Residential Community might not see it that way. Not a single one of those executives showed their face during our dog training, which clearly shows they still don't value this partnership with us," Song Jiawei said.

Unexpectedly, Aunt Liu slammed the table and declared, "If they point out that Congwen's dog-training abilities are flawed, I won't say a word. But if they try to make an issue out of this, I'll definitely go give them a piece of my mind."

Zhu Qingyan quickly urged Aunt Liu to calm down. Then she smiled and said, "It's not a huge problem either. Given the current condition of our training base, even without this partnership, our revenue remains stable. If they really want to make a fuss over this, it doesn't matter if we don't partner with them. After all, if our philosophies don't align, even if we do partner up, we'll just end up with a pile of problems later on."

Seeing that everyone felt this way, Song Jiawei had nothing more to say. He shrugged, put the matter behind him, and said, "That's true. Damn it, the reason I wanted to start my own business in the first place was so I wouldn't have to look at those bastards' faces—how did I end up falling back into that old habit? Let's eat, let's eat."

With that, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily.

...

A week later, the executives of Xingrong Residential Community still had not reached a definitive conclusion regarding the partnership. However, word from the inside was that Zhang Congwen's remarks had indeed caused some ripples concerning the collaboration.

A faction of the executives believed that while Zhang Congwen's points were valid, voicing them would offend certain homeowners in the community. Another faction felt that Zhang Congwen's words were overly cruel and completely inappropriate for a professional dog trainer.

However, the majority of the executives still largely endorsed what Zhang Congwen had said, believing that although his remarks had a certain impact, his minor flaws did not obscure his immense virtues, and his professional competence remained exceptionally strong.

Yet, when looking at the polarization of these three groups' opinions, they conveniently formed a relatively balanced stalemate, with neither side able to convince the other.

For reasons unknown, the person in charge of spearheading the partnership kept dragging their feet and refused to make a final decision on whether to go ahead with it.

It was unclear how Aunt Liu got wind of the matter. She made a special trip to the Dog Whisperer Dog Training Base, told Zhang Congwen and the others simply, "Leave this to me, you don't need to worry about it," and then walked out.

Three hours later, when Aunt Liu reappeared at the entrance of the Dog Whisperer Dog Training Base, she was followed by a man in a suit who looked to be in his thirties.

As this man walked behind Aunt Liu, he was being chewed out by her, looking precisely like a young boy being disciplined by his mother.

Song Jiawei had sharp eyes and immediately recognized that the man in the suit was none other than the person in charge of the partnership. He hurried over to greet him: "President Tian, why are you..."

The man addressed as President Tian shot Aunt Liu a look of pure helplessness and apprehension, then signaled to Song Jiawei to speak less.

Song Jiawei sensibly clamped his mouth shut. However, an urge to watch a good show rose in his heart, and he quickly sent text messages to Zhang Congwen and Zhu Qingyan, telling them to come watch the spectacle.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Congwen and Zhu Qingyan rushed over, only to hear Aunt Liu demand, "Apologize to them."

"I..."

President Tian looked as though he had a lot to say, but didn't dare utter a single word.

Song Jiawei hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, asking tentatively, "Aunt Liu, you and President Tian..."

Aunt Liu replied with a huff, "He's my son."

"Huh?"

Everyone was dumbfounded. After all this fuss, this so-called President Tian turned out to be Aunt Liu's son.

No wonder Aunt Liu was able to pull strings and bridge the connection between the Dog Whisperer Dog Training Base and Xingrong Residential Community.

Seeing that everyone had misunderstood, President Tian immediately clarified, "Adopted, adopted! Not my biological mother."

Aunt Liu raised an eyebrow. "What? Being adopted means you're not going to acknowledge me as your godmother anymore?"

President Tian instantly reacted like a startled rabbit, blurting out, "How could I ever dare not to acknowledge you? I do! I definitely do!"

Watching President Tian cower to the point where he didn't even dare to breathe heavily, Song Jiawei found it immensely amusing.

Back when he had interacted with President Tian alone, the man had always put on a strictly professional front, giving off a distant and haughty vibe.

Yet right now, he looked just like a tiny chick caught in an eagle's talons, appearing utterly bizarre no matter how one looked at it.

Song Jiawei had to bite his lip hard, terrified that he wouldn't be able to hold back his laughter.

Who could have imagined that a business partnership would take such a dramatic turn?

Without paying any attention to their reactions, Aunt Liu spoke up once more: "Hurry up and apologize to them."